We’ll begin with the fun stuff. Yes, that’s a young me at KLOS in Los Angeles with Ringo Starr. Proof that I have met a Beatle! As the nation remembers back 50 years ago this week when The Beatles invaded America, played the Ed Sullivan Show and changed our lives, I noticed an article about an old friend of mine who owns a piece of that Beatles history!
Andy Geller hit it big in the world of voiceover. In 2002, at the top of his game and a known collector, he learned about the piece of backstage wall at The Ed Sullivan Show that had been signed by all four Beatles just moments before hitting the air that historic night.
A stagehand is responsible for getting the band members to sign the back of the wall section known as a hardwall traveler, which is rolled back and forth to reveal the next act. It’s believed to be the largest Beatles autograph.
“It was a spur of the moment thing,” 81-year-old Jerry Gort said in a telephone interview from his Calabasas, Calif., home. “They came down from stage right from their dressing rooms, I gave them a marker and asked them to sign the wall.”
The band signed vertically from the bottom up: John Lennon first, then Paul McCartney, who scribbled “Uncle Paul McCartney,” followed by George Harrison. Ringo Starr, shorter than the rest, couldn’t reach the top so “I put my arms around him and lifted him,” said Gort, simultaneously putting his foot on the wall to keep it from opening until Starr finished signing the piece.
Gort said Starr then “made a mad dash to get to his drums” and the band launched into “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Or, as it hung in Andy’s home
Today, Andy joined me for the last half-hour of the show to talk about his investment, and catch up after not speaking for close to 20 years!
FloriDUH
As I write this, closing arguments are going on in the Jordan Davis murder case. While we were focused on the miscarriage of justice surrounding Trayvon Martin’s murder, it happened again. A white guy who shouldn’t have had access to a gun shot and killed a black teenager – and claimed self-defense. I hope the prosecution asked the right questions and, this time, actually mounted a good case. To be continued…
Meanwhile, former Republican Governor turned independent senatorial candidate turned “Democratic” gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Crist is making the talk show rounds, pushing his new book. He was on Real Time last Friday, the Colbert Report last night and has been on TV show after TV show- trying to convince everyone he’s really a Democrat.
Crist was a quite moderate Republican and, for a Republican, not a bad Governor. But just because the Republican Party has gone batshit, teabag crazy, doesn’t make Crist a Democrat!
In an interview with Michael Smerconish just a few days ago, Crist praised his predecessor in Tallahassee:
SiriusXM host Michael Smerconish: “Would Jeb
[Bush] make a good president?”Former FL Governor Charlie Crist: “Yeah, I think he probably would. He made a great governor, in my humble opinion. He’s a good man…I don’t agree with him on everything…but when I saw him as Governor [of Florida] when I was Attorney General—and they’re elected separately in Florida—we had a lot of hurricanes, and Jeb Bush did a great job protecting our beautiful Florida during that [time].”
Seriously? Now this just popped up on my Twitter feed:
Jeb Bush to Charlie Crist: Get lost http://t.co/rjslYsOYHX #sayfie
— Allison Nielsen (@AllisonNielsen) February 12, 2014
and
@JebBush spokeswoman calls @CharlieCrist “habitual opportunist with zero credibility” #sayfie
— Allison Nielsen (@AllisonNielsen) February 12, 2014
I hate to say it, but Crist’s comments remind me of the idiocy of President Obama’s constant bending over backwards to appease his political opponents in the hopes that they’d see he’s trying to play ball with him, while they laugh at him and block every move.
Hey Florida Democrats. Now is a good time to remember, we have a great progressive running, and her name is Nan Rich. See what she’s about:
Don’t Run Hillary!
Crooks & Liars‘ Managing Editor Susie Madrak joins me each Wednesday morning. Today, we discussed Krystal Ball’s commentary on yesterday’s The Cycle in which she implored Hillary Clinton not to run in 2016. Surprisingly, Susie and I disagree on this.
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