This was a wonderful article, especially in light of the week Juneteenth Day occurred.
Chris Rock happens to be my favorite comedian of all time, and I often tell people that although I wasn't a Black kid at an all-white school, everything that happened to Little Chris at Corleone Junior High School, also happened to me at Memorial.
Although his last two Netflix specials had some disappointing moments (he said his father would not be comfortable with the transgender movement, yet his dad passed away close to forty years ago), he is still a brilliant observer of America and its denizens.
One of my favorite bits of his is what I could only imagine he would entitle "Spitters Are Quitters". Many years ago, Chris did an HBO special, where they spliced together three of his live comedy concerts from London, Johannesburg, and either NYC or Atlanta. He went on a twenty minute rant about blowjobs, and his conclusion was that "Spitters are Quitters". Naturally, I cannot locate any footage of this rant, nor mention of it anywhere. The very best part was after the concert, and they interviewed people leaving the venues about what they thought: two young women from Johannesburg, when interviewed, shouted in unison, "We're not quitters!!!". I laughed so hard at that, that I had years gong down my face and stomach pains!!!
I also saw recently of an unheralded dramedy that Chris wrote and directed, called "Top Five", and have seen probably over a hundred times, from the time it was in movie theaters, "I Think I Love My Wife"
As for poor Whitney, she probably died of a broken heart that resulted in drug addiction, based on all the "new revelations", although an ex-girlfriend told me about her true orientation over twenty years ago, as her cousin went to high school with Whitney and her girlfriend in East Orange. Always better to be yourself, than live a lie!
Mark, I've always loved hearing about your encounters with actors, musicians, and celebrities -- you always seem both at ease and excited, like a true New Yorker! I hope you'll be sharing more stories!
This was a wonderful article, especially in light of the week Juneteenth Day occurred.
Chris Rock happens to be my favorite comedian of all time, and I often tell people that although I wasn't a Black kid at an all-white school, everything that happened to Little Chris at Corleone Junior High School, also happened to me at Memorial.
Although his last two Netflix specials had some disappointing moments (he said his father would not be comfortable with the transgender movement, yet his dad passed away close to forty years ago), he is still a brilliant observer of America and its denizens.
One of my favorite bits of his is what I could only imagine he would entitle "Spitters Are Quitters". Many years ago, Chris did an HBO special, where they spliced together three of his live comedy concerts from London, Johannesburg, and either NYC or Atlanta. He went on a twenty minute rant about blowjobs, and his conclusion was that "Spitters are Quitters". Naturally, I cannot locate any footage of this rant, nor mention of it anywhere. The very best part was after the concert, and they interviewed people leaving the venues about what they thought: two young women from Johannesburg, when interviewed, shouted in unison, "We're not quitters!!!". I laughed so hard at that, that I had years gong down my face and stomach pains!!!
I also saw recently of an unheralded dramedy that Chris wrote and directed, called "Top Five", and have seen probably over a hundred times, from the time it was in movie theaters, "I Think I Love My Wife"
As for poor Whitney, she probably died of a broken heart that resulted in drug addiction, based on all the "new revelations", although an ex-girlfriend told me about her true orientation over twenty years ago, as her cousin went to high school with Whitney and her girlfriend in East Orange. Always better to be yourself, than live a lie!
Glenn
Mark, I've always loved hearing about your encounters with actors, musicians, and celebrities -- you always seem both at ease and excited, like a true New Yorker! I hope you'll be sharing more stories!