Linda, Carl & More

RIP Linda Cristal, 89, a beautiful presence on the big and small screen. Born to a French father and Italian mother in Argentina, she was on her own at 13, educated at a conservatory in Uruguay. While vacationing in Mexico, she was discovered by a film producer. Hoping to break into Hollywood, she learned English, her fourth language. She was named “Motion Picture Sweater Queen” in 1958. She had mostly minor roles in films when her big break came — the female lead in NBC’s The High Chapparal, which ran 96 episodes. After the series ended, she did several prime time guest shots before a long run, 187 episodes, on Mexican telenovela El Chofer, on which there is little info, ditto the 39 episodes of Rosse`, also produced south of the border. She ended her acting career with a 12-episode run on General Hospital. After that the brainy beauty proved a savvy businesswoman, investing wisely, accumulating wealth. Along the way she gave birth to two sons. Well done, madam.

RIP Bronx-born Carl Reiner, 98, a legend who did it all behind and in front of the camera. He won nine Emmys and a Grammy, the latter with Mel Brooks for their 2000 Year Old Man routine. His career spanned 1948–2019. At IMDb there are 100 titles listed under his name as Actor, 25 as Writer, 21 as Director and twelve as Producer. He created The Dick Van Dyke Show. He did Broadway. He wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, Enter Laughing, that was adapted to the screen in 1967, his first movie directorial effort. My favorite of his works is the cult classic Where’s Poppa? (1970), daring for its irreverence at the time, screenplay by Robert Klane, based on his novel. His 65-year marriage ended with his wife’s passing in 2008. Curiously, IMDb lists no credit for Your Show of Shows on his profile page. He was in 139 episodes, and then in 68 when it evolved to Caesar’s Hour from ‘54-’57. He was a mensch. Here he is as Laura Petrie’s nemesis, Alan Brady, loosely based on Caesar:

Topsy-turvy is our world, which this headline at nypost.com manifests: “Protesters set up guillotine in front of Jeff Bezos’ DC home.” And here’s a snippet from the article: “Bezos said on Instagram earlier this month that he was ‘happy to lose’ customers who did not support Black Lives Matter.”

Since this blog has literary pretensions, here’s a book that is gaining steam more than a year after publication:

Not only did the Patriots sign a former MVP QB, they did it for the minimum, $1.05 million. It’s practically a no-lose situation. Even if Cam Newton’s play rewards him the incentives that would up his pay to $7.5 million, it would likely mean the team prospered under his leadership.

Speaking of literary pretensions: my novella is live. I just order 15 copies, plus a combined total of eight of three other of my books. I’m very disappointed that there is a shipping charge: $14.90, which cuts into the profit margin.

Action at the floating book shop was almost the complete opposite of yesterday. My thanks to the woman who bought a paperback in Russian that Wolf had just donated, and to the latter who also donated a hardcover; and to the gentleman who parked his SUV at the bus stop and beckoned. There was a large box filled with books in the rear.

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