Oh Toni, You’re So Fine
July 18th, 2012
But I’m not sure what blew my mind more: the fact that the ever-so-simplistic song Mickey lives on in our hearts and continues to conjure up images of valley girls in the early 1980’s, or the fact that thirty years after the fact, I was able to meet the performer of this classic song. It must evoke a rather mind-blowing experience for Toni Basil as well. Afterall, she didn’t write the song, nor does her performance of it stand out as anything that would blow the minds of the American Idol judges – and yet we are still willing to shell out $20 for an autographed photo, based solely on the success of this #1 Billboard song 30 years earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
I had just one last little adventure to round out my trip that encompassed Disney World, Disneyland, a Hollywood Show, and Knotts Berry Farm. This would be the most low-key, but also the most unique of all of the experiences of the week. I only found out about this because I happen to be friends with Larry Hankin on Facebook. I had originally requested him as a friend because I was a fan of his work in Billy Madison (as Carl), Friends (as Mr. Heckles), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (as Doobie the cab driver), Annie (as the dog catcher), and most notably – to me – as Tom Pepper, the actor who plays Kramer in the pseudo-sitcom Jerry on Seinfeld. He’s the one that stole the box of raisins during his audition. If you care to look him up, I’m sure you’ll be impressed that his credentials go on and on. 
Actually, not so much. No offense at all to Corbin Bernsen – and this may sound ridiculous to the average reader – but his roles in the highly acclaimed L.A. Law and the more recent Psych meant very little to me. They might in the future, but so far I haven’t really seen much of either of them. So how did Corbin Bernsen get on my want-list? It was actually for a very small part in The Trip episode of Seinfeld, in which Corbin Bernsen plays, of all things, Corbin Bernsen. Yes, he plays himself, confronted by George while Corbin waits for his slot on The Tonight Show. After recognizing him and saying “big fan! big fan,” George ends up annoying him so much by suggesting potential cases to do on L.A. Law, that both he and George Wendt, also as himself, end up discussing and belittling George while being interviewed on the show. 
Sometimes I like them obscure. Sometimes the more obscure the actor or actress, the most fun for me. But sometimes, they’re really not all that obscure – but the reasons I like them are pretty obscure. Sometimes. I guess this is the case for Fabiana Udenio. Not being a fan of the Austin Powers franchise, I had to look up Fabiana before I met her at the Hollywood Show on February 11, 2012. Before passing someone up, it’s always a good idea to see if they have starred in some obscure little role that you didn’t pick up on right away. Sometimes this pays off.