Books & Theater
Mary Poppins Live
Birther Book Appears a Bit
Late for Relevance
By kam williams
For The Skanner News
PhoTo CourTeSy PCPa
“I
The Broadway touring production of ‘Mary Poppins,’ including a multi-
racial cast, runs in Portland June 22 - July 10, at the Keller Auditorium. For
tickets call 503-241-1802.
‘Hangover 2’s Dr. Ken Jeong
Makes a House Call
By kam williams
For The Skanner News
T
he son of Korean immi-
grants, Ken Jeong was
born in Detroit on June
15, 1969 but raised in
Greensboro, North Carolina.
He graduated from high
school there at the age of 16
after playing violin in the
orchestra and being elected to the student
council. Next, he attended Duke University,
earning a bachelor’s degree before studying
medicine at the University of North
Carolina.
However, while completing his residency
in New Orleans, Dr. Jeong was moonlight-
ing as a standup comedian, and he moved to
L.A. after winning “The Big Easy Laff-
Off.” He has since delivered unforgettable
performances in such movies as The Kims
of Comedy, Knocked Up, Pineapple
Express, Couples Retreat and The
Hangover.
On TV, he’s appeared in a number of
series and currently enjoys the recurring
role of angry Spanish teacher Señor Chang
on the NBC sitcom “Community.” He has
also done a number of television specials,
most recently hosting this year’s Billboard
Awards.
As for his private life, Ken’s wife, Tran, is
a physician, too, and they have twin daugh-
ters, Alexa and Zooey. Here, he talks about
reprising his role as the flamboyant Mr.
Chow in The Hangover Part II.
kam williams: Hi Dr. Jeong. I’m hon-
ored to have this opportunity.
ken Jeong: Oh, thank you for interview-
ing me. How’re you doing, Kam?
kw: Just great, thanks. I told my readers
I’d be interviewing you and they sent in a
lot of questions, so I’d like to get right to
them. Ken Emerson says: I have been one
of your biggest fans ever since I saw you
climb naked out of the trunk of the car in
The Hangover. What do I have to do to get
an autographed picture of you?
kJ: [Laughs] Just forward his request to
my publicist and I’d be very happy to send
a picture to him. Absolutely!
kw: How did you enjoy shooting The
Hangover Part II over in Thailand?
kJ: I loved it! It was just great. Being
invited to go back to the big dance for the
sequel to the movie that made my career
was like a dream come true for me. It was
an amazing opportunity to revisit the char-
acter that put me on the map and to revisit
with family. These guys are my favorite
crew to work with. I just had a blast!
kw: All the biggest laughs
this go-round revolve around
your character.
kJ: [Chuckles] Thank you.
That’s very kind of you.
kw: Larry Greenberg says:
You’re cooler than Buckaroo
Banzai. I read that your come-
dy
career
took
off
when Brandon Tartikoff saw
you perform in New Orleans.
Another reader, Fred Plunkett, Jr., who is
from New Orleans, thinks that it was Bud
Friedman who told you that you’ve got
what it takes. Care to settle the debate by
sharing who it is you credit with telling you
to head for Hollywood?
kJ: Yes, sir. It was a standup comedy
contest in New Orleans called “The Big
Easy Laff-Off,” and the judges of the con-
test were both Bud Friedman, the founder of
The Improv, and Brandon Tartikoff, the for-
mer President of NBC and ex-Chairman of
Paramount Pictures. I won the competition
and got to perform at The Improv in Los
Angeles. This was fifteen years ago. When
I finished my residency in New Orleans, I
went to L.A. where I would work as a doc-
tor during the day, and then at night I would
actually go to The Improv and do standup,
all the while kind of cultivating my comedy
resume.
kw: Fred remembers seeing you perform
with the Brown Improv group, which just
celebrated their 17th year anniversary in
New Orleans. He wants to know whether
you still keep in touch with any members of
the troupe.
kJ: Of course! That was the improv
group I worked with every Saturday for
three years while I was doing my residency.
I credit Brown with really helping me find
my comedic voice. And there are many tal-
ented actors and comedians I worked with
there who I still keep in touch with today. I
look back upon Brown as my training
ground, my Second City, if you will.
kw: Fred also reminisces about catching
you at True Brew Café on Open Mic Night.
Does that ring a bell?
kJ: Yes! True Brew was a great venue
located in New Orleans’ business district. It
was a place where they had standup come-
dy once a week. It was great because it gave
me an opportunity to develop my act. I have
very, very fond memories of New Orleans.
kw: Will Cooper says: Given the number
of years you invested in becoming a doctor,
from med school to residency, before
switching careers, do you ever wish you had
s the 44th President
of the United States
of America, Barack
Hussein Obama, illegally
occupying the Oval Office?
This book will demonstrate
conclusively that no legal
authority has ever verified
Barack Obama’s legal eligi-
bility to be president, that
glaring inconsistencies and
blackouts in his life narra-
tive have caused widespread
doubts among the American
populace, and that, in fact, a
compelling body of evi-
dence exists that Obama is
not a natural-born citizen as
is required of all presidents
by Article 2, Section 1, of
the Constitution.
This book further estab-
lishes the case that Barack
Obama, aided by the media
collaborators, has conduct-
ed one of the most auda-
cious cover-ups ever perpe-
trated at the highest level of
American politics. By the
time you finish reading, you
will understand the need to
block Obama’s bid for re-
election in 2012...”
— Excerpted from the
Preface (pg. v)
Four years ago, black con-
servative Shelby Steele took
a calculated risk when he
published a book explaining
why Barack Obama would-
n’t win the Presidential
election of 2008. But in
spite Shelby’s ending up
with egg on his face, there’s
been no shortage of so-
called “birthers” again will-
ing to predict the demise of
Obama’s 2012 campaign
even before it begins.
With the help of Donald
Trump, the notion that
Barack was born outside of
the U.S. began to catch fire
this spring, at least until the
President finally called a
press conference on April
27th, the very same day that
a book called “Where’s the
Birth Certificate?” was
being published by Skylar
Blue. So, by releasing his
original birth certificate,
Obama ostensibly headed
that opus off at the pass
while simultaneously torpe-
doing Trump’s political
aspirations.
I think most folks consid-
ered the birther issue put to
rest once and for all, but
now along comes another
tome with the same title as
Blue’s. This “Where’s the
Birth Certificate?” was writ-
ten by Jerome R. Corsi,
author of Unfit for
Command, which ques-
tioned the veracity of
Senator John Kerry’s serv-
ice record during the war in
Vietnam.
However, Corsi’s 400+
pages of copiously-detailed
insinuations read more like
the desperate ramblings of a
mental patient or a paranoid
conspiracy theorist than the
product of years of sound,
well-reasoned
research.
Nonetheless, all is for
naught,
given
the
President’s dispositive pro-
duction of the missing docu-
ment in question.
Where’s the valid birth
certificate? On file in
Hawaii, fool!
where’s
the
Birth
Certificate? The Case That
Barack Obama Is Not
Eligible to Be President
by Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D.
WND Books
Hardcover, $25.95
420 pages, Illustrated
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
May 25, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 7