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( 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 . ('wc f<> ms JSvm MhlwW Setmybmeb «;/ / 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.