INONEEARffOUTTriEOTHER
Your article spotlighting Eddie
Murphy was very interesting
and entertaining, hut should
your front cover attract "such racial
overtones" as "Saturday Night l ire's
Darkest Comedian Makes New
Album and a Major Movie"? Racial
suggestions of this type should be
avoided, or do you really mean to
call Mr Murphy a “darkie"? It is so
easy to say Black, or leave it out
completely.
Vandella Broun
Iowa City, loti'll
As a black student enrolled at
the University of Calif at Santa
Barbara, I found your recent
publication of Ampersand insulting
In the issue, Eddie Murphy is fea
tured on the cover while the caption
below states "Darkest Comedian
Makes New Album and a Major
Movie." Apparently for the Amper
sand editors, it is Murphy's color
rather than his comic prowess that is
most interesting Similar mockery is
not new to Afro-Americans who
have, in the past, been labeled as
"coon," "blackie," "nigger" and other
insulting terms And now in your Oc
tober issue of Ampersand we are
being mocked "darkest" 1 doubt that
an Anglo-Saxon comedian would be
subjected to the same ridicule If
Steve Martin appeared on your cover
would the caption read "Whitest
Comedian"? 1 am proud of my herit
age and of our cultural contributions
to the American stage, screen and
the arts; and I resent the implicit ra
cism represented by the Ampersand
caption 1 hope in the future your
"collegiate" publication will lie more
cognizant of how you portray Afro
Americans It should not be too
much to expert it to be in a sensitive,
tair and reasonable manner
Etbusian Kxum
l ’C Santa Barbara
It mis simply a play on wonts, and
we likeii the double entendre — re
jerring not only to Mr Murphy (who
is undeniably darker than the other
paste faces on Saturday Night l.ivei
but iilso to black comedy, a kind of
humor thitt is best described as get
ling laughs from something that is
not intrinsically funny Black
humor is a distinctly non racial
term, first applied to Lenny Bruce in
the fifties Blink humor is angry, bit
ter, sarcastic, moilem - and funny
Much like Mr Murphy
Vtv dul not call him a darkle
A< a matter of historical fact, we
did call actor Christopher Walken
"The New Wasp Hearttbroh " on our
May 1979 carer, hut Ms Exum’s
suggested Steve Martin headline is
far belter than the one we used for
his cover blurb
Last, hut certainly not least, we did
choose Mr Murphy for our cover
Were we really racist, we probably
ivould bate used someone of a more
beige persuasion
Regarding your article on
Danny <* Marie being drop
,ped from Hawaiian Punch's
ad-campaign because they're no
longer "hot." Frankly this annoys me.
Your column gave no factual reason
for their termination but inferred
their lack of popularity was the rea
son, and that they weren't connected
with "fun & sun.' The reason this
annoys me is because die Osmond
family is a rarity in the entertainment
business concerning their beliefs in
family, in religion, and in avoidance
of liquor & drugs If kids today can t
identify with good, clean, decent
people as role models, without
being laughed at. we re in trouble
That leaves the likes of Alice Cooper
to idolize. P S the principal export of
I'tah is copper.
Jamie Racltiei
l C l\uis. CIA
Vt(</ us your comments, complatnrs.
compliments (especially tour com
pliments). your pbiiosoph)' of life or
eien tour S.\T aeon's U e like to yet
mail —any mail Semi tie e< hsites to
In One Hu HSSt > North Vine. Suite
lMH). Hollyuooti, t 'A 'XMUti
BY Sm« Ginsbeik.
Meet McCartney
PAtu McCaktniy is in London
starring in his first feature length
solo film since the Beatles days
Called Cite My Regards to ItnuiJ
street, it features McCartney's wife,
l.inda. Ringo St.irr and guitarist Erie
Stewart in a story that traces a tie
tionalized day in the life of
McCartney The former Beatle is also
writing the screenplay and compos
ing its theme and other songs
(.There will also be other music from
the Beatles and Wings ' The picture
is being done through McCartney's
own company. MP1. Communica
tions. Incidentally. Paul any! Ringo
did star in their own short film. The
Cooier. which tmspooled at the Can
nes Film Festival earlier this year
Ampersand
Jokes
So ninny yucksf We could
barely get any work done, what
with all the guffawing, cbor
fling, giggling and tittering Fi
nally, at gunpoint, the editors
and the publisher forced them
selves to choose. The winners
below were picked on the basis
of apparent originality and
downright funniness, fust re
member, one person 's tee bee is
another's yawn, so shut up if
you don't like 'em.
However, if you 're anxious to
earn an easy S20, as do these
three happy contributors, send
your jokes to Ampersand Jokes,
1680 North Vine, Suite 900, Hoi
lywood, CA 90028.
1. What’s black-and-white
and red and can’t turn
around in a telephone booth?
.4 penguin with a Javelin
through Its bead
David Nicholls Montague, Jr.
Charlottesville, VA
2. What Is the difference
between erotic and kinky?
Erotic Is when you use one
feather; kinky is when you
use the whole chicken.
Rebecca A. Winfield
Normal, IL
3- Did you realize that San
Francisco actually has gay
schools now? They teach the
kids about the birds and the
birds.
Rob Gold
Sacramento, CA
Future Flicks
Warren Hum, who is not
exucth collecting unempfoy
mem. just signed .1 deal to star in
Mernuiul His salary Is million. The
script rbv C. .1 Canal hers. to lx.1 re
written b\ Robert Towne) is about
this niermakl who is kissed by i,ansi,
as legend gix-s, subsequently falls in
low with) a handsome young rake,
but he Ix-travs her and six- ends up
with the older brother Maybe
Kolx'rt Redford was originally set to
star, but as one Hollywrxxl "it ob
served, 1 just couldn't see Bob get
' ting in any tank with a girl in a mer
maid skin
Obviously, someone in charge
should hire Bette Midler for the
mermaid She already has the cos
tume.
Tut stars ot Officer and a Gen
tleman are busy — but sepa
rately (.although there is talk of a
sequel, since the aforementioned
flick was the only one to give E T a
run for its greenbacks). Ms Winger
will play Shirley Maclaine’s daughter
in Terms of Endearment, to be writ
ten and directed by Jim Brooks, who
created Taxi and The Maty Tyler
Moore Sbou' (.good) and the Burt
Reynolds film Starting Over (bad).
Mr Gere is off in Mexico starring in
The Honorary Consul, after the
Graham Greene novel. It also stars
Michael Caine and Britain's irresisti
ble Bob Hoskins (The Long Good
Friday)
Good news for Saturday Might
Live fans. Dan Aykroyd (you
remember him from the old show)
and Eddie Murphy (the new kid) will
begin work on a new comedy film in
December directed by John Landis
(Blues Brothers). The only problem
is the title: Black and White The
powers-that-be don’t think it’s exactly
the right image for this particular
project, so they're offering a cash
reward to crew members to come
up with something better. The rest of
us are excluded from the competi
tion, they say, because the picture’s
subject mailer is very hush-hush. Big
deal.
WE CHECKED THIS ONE twice. Yes,
there will be yet a third in the
hugely successful series of Smokey
and the Bandit films. No, this one
will not star Burt Reynolds or Sally
Field. But it does once again feature
Jackie Gleason as both the dumb
hick sheriff, Smokey, and as the
Bandit (Burt’s role). Hence the title
Smokey Is the Bandit. Argh.
This mecbwuytl t*e**mty
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if/ ttreygon He evrns IW Jk»r
bts Ion. ftKi. may
embvmee w«r tnexmme; just
smbmtt yvmr vrigimvl Amperssami.
remmiereU tn Mini M on fmsfter tv
impersvmU i>/ tfv HtMffc Nurti Vfnr.
'■f« «m>. MkwI. a sw«.'«
PM i Bartel inu Mary Woronov
(introduced to Ampersand
readers in the October issue) are
currently filming a new flick called
Get Crazy, directed bv Alan Arkush
(Hock n High School.
Heartbeeps) which features Malcolm
McDowell in hts first singing; role,
plus Lou Reed, John Densmore
(drummer for the Doors), Howard
Kavlan of Flo i4 Eddie, and assorted
ocher music ntavens The plot cen
ters around events in a Fillmore
East type concert establishment.
Despite the tragic death of Vic
Morrow and two child actors
while filming director John Landis'
segment of the upcoming feature
Twilight Zone. Warner Bros, is going
ahead with plans to release it next
summer to theaters. They claim it
would be even more tragic if Mor
row's final performances were not
seen. We suspect that the Accounting
Department would find it most
keenly tragic. Also featured in that
episode are Dan Aykroyd and Albert
Brooks. The movie has three other
segments, one of which will be di
rected by Steven Spielberg.
Quote of the Month
Eighteen-year-oi.d student and
unknown actress Jennifer Beals
is the star of Flashdance, a much
talked-about picture concerning a
woman who goes through the mo
tions of stripping at a bar filled with
men but actually remains clothed.
She recently spoke about beating out
thousands of others for the role:
“I had moved into the dorm at
Yale and didn’t have a phone so the
producers had to go through the
New Haven police to track me down.
When they told me I had the part I
said I would only do it if Yale would,
give me a deferment. If Yale said you
can't defer 1 would’ve stayed in
school.” Yeesh.
Best Sellers
TT otbi New Hampshire and Gorky
JL M. Park, two recent best-selling
novels, are all set to be made into
movies in 1983. Jodie Foster and
Marty Feldman have signed to start
making Hotel (a strange saga about
five kids in a family) this spring in
Montreal and Vienna under the eye
of writer-director Tony Richardson.
Gorky Park, a thriller about the
ramifications of a triple murder in
Moscow, starts earlier in the year in
northern Europe with director
Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daugh
7*^
tit ) and screenwriter Dennis Potter
ftttinirsJhMH tkiam) William Hurt
stars a> Arkuvh
PROLIFIC WRITS* H ARLAN ElUSON has
signed to write the screenplay
for \<>nf of ii\- Ahotv, based on a
political novel titles! Hug Jack Htn>n
Costa-Gavras, who recentfv directed
his first American movie. Missing,
helms this one beginning in June
Shake, Rattle and Roll
with the Punches
VETERAN RlH kLR JERRY Lit LEWIS,
who was nearby scandalized into
oblivion 2s years ago when lie mar
ried his then 13-year-old cousin Mvra
Brown, may find his personal life the
subject of a new movie. Polygram
Pictures has optioned the film rights
to Myra's tell all book Great Hails of
Fire
Big News for Small
Screens
With more than SO features to
his credit, famed Swedish
filmmaker Ingmar Bergman says he
is giving up the big screen and will
instead work only on the stage or in
television. The reason? A loss of
energy. "But 1 love to have a camera
and a small crew and to make things
for television," he said in a recent
Variety interview. "You can make it
and then in one evening it is fin
ished. Nobody thinks about it any
more.” We try not to.
The Paper Chase has been a
movie, a canceled network tele
vision show and a regular rerun on
PBS. What else is left? Well, cable
biggie Showtime has just ordered
seven new hour-long episodes of the
program at a cost of $500,000
$600,000 each, making it the first pay
service ever to have a regular dra
matic series.
Kiss Off
by Paul Rosta
‘If they spent this kind of money
to promote an unknown band,"
groused one wishing-to-be-anony
mous guest, "it would make their
career"
Kiss is hardly an unknown band,
but they have been rather ignored
lately. To get the once-reigning
bubblegum stompers back in the
public eye, and to promote their
100-city tour for a new LP called Cre
atures of the Night, Casablanca Re
cords threw a shindig like no one in
the pinched record business had
done for years. At a Zoetrope Studios
sound stage in Hollywood the bar
was open and so was bass player
Gene Simmons’ mouth. “We’re the
best show on Earth,” he informed
the assemblage.
Before the buffet was cleared and
the room forcibly emptied by means
of playing the group’s new single at
top volume, over and over, someone
asked Simmons if he didn’t think the
band’s flamboyant garb was perhaps
a wee bit out of style. “We're above
style,” Simmons shot back.