More than a decade ago the writer and broadcaster Kurt Andersen did an interview for this blog. A native of Omaha, he came to NYC in the 1970s and became a real success story -- he worked as a journalist, co-founded the groundbreaking satirical Spy magazine with Graydon Carter, and wrote books. He has also hosted the very popular public radio show Studio 360 for a long time now.
Recently Kurt made a great appearance on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and it's worth a listen. Several of the things he talks about in the podcast he talked about in his interview with Mr NYC more than a decade go. It feels so good to be a forerunner.
This fall marks the 25th anniversary since the premiere of Friends, the eternally popular sitcom about six wise-cracking vaguely beautifully people who live in a vague-like NYC and who all seem vaguely to be in their twenties and thirties.
I remember watching the very first episode the night it premiered so the fact that it's not a quarter-of-a-century old makes me feel, well, old as F.
Friends was a great show but not a great NYC show -- the city existed merely as literal window-dressing, none of the characters looked or acted like real New Yorkers, they lived in apartments they couldn't have possibly afforded, and the show barely seemed to even acknowledge the city at all. Honestly, they should have just set the show in LA -- it would have been more accurate.
That hasn't stopped some people in this city from cashing in on the Friends NYC connection -- this fall there will be a "pop up experience" in SoHo that recreates the world of the show -- Central Perk, the apartment, the whole thing. If you want to part with your money for this, be my guess. And if you feel later on that you were gypped ...
Great read about a man who worked as a big-time publicist for Broadway show for more than 40 years. He did publicity for many big hits (Hamilton) and some notorious flops (Shogun). He's a real NYC success story, one of those"guy-behind-the-guy" guys. He's retiring now and leaving the city -- but not before sharing some interesting stories about his career.
The brand new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is an eccentric character who will either successfully take the United Kingdom out of the European Union or inflict one of the greatest catastrophes on that nation since the Second World War.
Them's the stakes, Game of Thrones style -- he'll either "win" or "die" (politically and economically that is).
The blond moppy-haired Johnson will be the economic equivalent of either Thomas Cromwell or Neville Chamberlain -- he'll either "deliver Brexit" with a deal from the EU or "crash out", the economic equivalent of going Cold Turkey. It'll be fascinating to see what happens.
On the great old show Yes, Minister there's a memorable quote: "Britain has had the same foreign policy for 500 years -- a disunited Europe." Mr. Johnson seems very qualified to help continue that policy.
For all his silliness, Mr. Johnson is the ultimate son of the British aristocracy and privilege which one small catch -- he was born in NYC and lived here for a long time. He has a foot in both the New and Old Worlds. Even though he was Mayor of London before becoming British PM, Johnson is very familiar with this country and city -- he could probably even navigate his way on the subway.
Talking about British leaders in NYC, you should check out this documentary that was produced in 1972 when King Edward VII -- the man who abdicated the throne in 1936 for "the woman I love" -- died. Fast forward to about 0:16 where he talks about how, in 1919, when still the Prince of Wales, Edward visited NYC and invited then-Mayor Hyland to lunch. Shockingly, the Mayor turned the Prince down! No lunch for you! Can you imagine -- being invited to lunch by royalty and bailing?
So why did the mayor do it?
Because the mayor was an Irish immigrant and depended on Irish votes and Irishmen and women back then hated the British monarchy because Britain ruled Ireland like a colony. So he stiffed the King! Hard to imagine a New York mayor doing the same kind of thing today!
A lot happened back in 1994 -- both for me personally and also in the life of this city and country. So much happened, in fact, that I have a link here to Mr NYC's complete 1994 coverage. It's exhaustive!
Memories of 1994, that gauzy time 25 years ago, seem to be forcing their way back into the public consciousness these days -- OJ Simpson is on Twitter, Quentin Tarantino has a new movie, and there may or may not be another Woodstock in August. Either way, 1994 is a year that never seems to end.
One nice memory from that time is below -- the great song "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. This song was a huge hit back in the summer of 1994, it played endlessly on the radio, people sang along to it ad nauseum, and I never got tired of it. It's just so catchy, so sweet, and has a totally original sound. It's a song of empowerment, of making the best of a bad situation, a real pick-me-up tune.
The video itself is interesting -- it's Ms. Loeb simply running around an empty NYC apartment, singing the song. That's it. The music is so good that nothing more is required. Interestingly, it was directed by the movie star Ethan Hawke.
It's a very New York video for a very New York song -- and both are classic.
The biggest news story in NYC right now -- besides Jeffery Epstein -- is the weather.
This past weekend it was scorching, brutally hot. If you went outside you became drenched in sweat within minutes. Well, the heat went away but now we're still getting drenched -- literally. For the past two days, the city has been pummelled with downpours, the heavens opening up and dumping water on us all. There have been floods and washouts galore across the five boroughs. It's wrecking havoc!
Global warming is truly having its fun with NYC -- massive storms are the new norm.
Two legendary New Yorkers just died -- Robert Morgenhhau and Paul Krassner.
Morgenthau, the longtime Manhattan DA, who prosecuted numerous high-profile cases (Bernie Goetz, Robert Chambers, Joel Steinberg, the Central Park 5, and many others) and, unlike many prosecutors today, also went hard after white collar and corporate crime. He was a child of great privilege who committed his life to public service, serving in WWII and a US Attorney before becoming DA in 1975. Famously, he was hanging out with then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy on November 22, 1963 when they together learned of JFK's assassination. He was 99 years old.
The other passing was Paul Krassner, the legendary satirist and social activist, founder of the satirical magazine The Realist and a brilliant mind. Krassner was a leader of the 1960s counter-culture, a member of Ken Kesey's Yippies, and a friend to people like Lenny Bruce. He knew everyone, went everywhere, wrote about and did everything, and lived an amazing, culturally-rich life. He was 87. Even better, Paul Krassner was kind enough to do an interview for this blog in April, 2018 (just last year!). He was funny, kind, and told us many interesting things about his long life and career -- including being responsible for having abortion legalized in New York State before Roe v. Wade. He was a real original, an NYC legend, and it's a huge honor to have done one of his last (if not his very last) interviews. At the end of the interview I asked him how he would like to be remembered. He replied: "Laughter from the satire I felt urged to share on Earth." Paul, you will be remembered thus. RIP.
In NYC, being a cop or firefighter is, for many, a family business. The sons, daughters, and grandchildren of cops and firefighters grow up to become cops and firefighters themselves -- generation in and generation out, decade after decade.
Not only are these good, secure, working class jobs with great benefits and pensions but there's an entire culture, an ecosystem of support, that comes with it. Someone enters the force and is mentored and looked out for by someone who knew his or her father or mother years earlier. It might seem like nepotism to some but these are, after all, very hard and life-threatening jobs, so having a family connection must make this grueling, emotionally draining much more bearable.
If you ever saw the show Rescue Me, the main character, firefighter Tommy Gavin, is the child of firefighters. This both helps and haunts Tommy, realizing that he is part of a legacy greater than himself.
That's why this particular story is fascinating: a man who works for the NYPD is the great-great-great-great grandson of the man who was the "high constable" of what is now the NYPD back in 1802. Can you imagine -- two people working for the same department more than 200 years apart? Now that's a legacy!
Generation after generation, public servants keep this city safe.
