Post by LolaBut the thing is, Sinatra and Dean Martin were incredibly gifted
singers. Sammy Davis, Jr. was incredibly talented. It was also an era
when a black entertainer could not do much more than shuffle and say
"yes, boss" -- and Sammy Davis Jr. was trying to be accepted, and
white. So in addition to the banal sentimentality there was an
undercurrent of tension and seriousness to the era that just begged to
be lampooned. The Sammy Maudlin Show kills me all the time -- when
they all put their pinky to their eyes to wipe away fake tears -- the
Rat Pack did that. The Rat Pack laughed too hard, and
inappropriately,
Post by Lolaat "in jokes" that just weren't funny. SCTV nailed it all. The
original movie, Ocean's 11, is a TERRIBLE movie. It's wonderful in how
terrible it is, and Maudlin's 11 just really gets the tone.
But the real focus of the parody is not the three most talented members
of the Rat Pack: SCTV lampoons the hangers-on, the ones who ached to
be famous and accepted. They never go after Dean Martin, or Sinatra
(except for the Frank Insence at Christmas).
I couldn't agree with you more on Sinatra. As a singer, he exists in
his own universe. Martin's singing was two notches or so below Frank
but was a better actor, especially in comedy. Sammy was very good and
versatile indeed, he could dance and sing terrifically well, and wasn't
a half-bad actor (didn't he play the drums too?). Sammy, and all black
performers (and people) of his day, had to put up with a ton of
bulllshit. One of the best things about Sinatra was his support for
Sammy, and other black entertainers, on things like getting into hotels
and restaurants, most of which in those days wouldn't serve
African-Americans. Frank owed a lot to black performers like Billie
Holiday and Louis Armstrong, and admitted as much and helped out a lot.
I read people criticizing Sinatra's and Davis's relationship, but I
don't think Frank treated him any worse than than he treated most
people. The racial "humor" was just that, as far as I can determine,
an attempt at humor. It looks cruel now (I find it embarassing now),
but in those days there was never a peep about race relations in
mainstream media when blacks and whites shared a stage, as infrequently
as that was. Race was the elephant in the room no one would
acknowledge. At least Frank and Sammy did acknowledged it, and by
doing a latter-day minstral show, put it out in the open for the masses
to chew on in a non-threatening way. I'm sure a lot of the laughter
was guilty, but the exposure was by-and-large beneficial to race
relations. That said, they did have a "complicated" relationship. I
understand that Sammy was even more obsequious with Sinatra than the
rest of the Rat Pack was, and Frank did boss him around.
The original "Ocean's 11" is even worse than the remake. It's
unintentionally funny as time capsule. SCTV does indeed completely
nail it. And while I don't think SCTV went after Sinatra the way, say,
Phil Hartman did on SNL, any portrayal of that time and place drags
Frank into it by association. Isn't the pinky to the eye just the
best? In those days it wasn't only a way to show how much more fun
these hipsters were having than the rest of us, but a way to show off
their snazzy pinky rings. I die every time I see that.
Has anyone here ever seen the old Sammy Davis Jr. talk show? It was
worse than you could imagine. Sammy was always convulsing in laughter
and slapping his leg. He would have these Vegas acts like Sandler and
Young, and would invite them over to the couch, and they were just
awful. Or "funny man" Shecky Green, a really unfunny guy, on the couch
singing "My Yiddishe Momme" to phony tears all round. Beyond insipid
and maudlin. My wife, who grew up without a television, really enjoys
bits like "The Sammy Maudlin Show" and "Ocena's 11" but to her they're
just funny bits. To a tv addict kid like I was, who didn't know any
better than to sit through tyhat crap, they're killer.
Anybody know who wrote them? "Maudlin's 11", "Vic Arpegio, Private
Eye" had to have been written by the same person.