March 2010

Attracting Lots of Photogs

railwayphotog

iPhone Photograph by Robert Lachman ? 2010

 

I think there were more photographers taking photographs of the reopened Angels Flight Railway than there were passengers when we check it out a few days ago. -RL

 

More Disney Hall at Lunch

disneypoint

iPhone Photograph by Robert Lachman ? 2010

 

I am really enjoying the daylight during my lunch-break walks. I probably need to go in a different direction tonight, too much Disney Hall. -RL

PS: I did use the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone.

 

Sunset Over Disney Hall

SunsetOverDisneyHallweb

iPhone Photograph by Robert Lachman ? 2010

 

This was my first photo from my lunch-break walk during daylight saving. It was felt strange getting out during the daylight hours. More photographs to come. Time for the commute. Have a great day. -RL

 

It’s Been a Year Since I Lost My Dad

mortonboatwebLos Angeles Times
Morton Lachman dies at 90; gag writer
for Bob Hope, sitcom producer

MortBobHopeNBCwebBy Elaine Woo,

Morton Lachman, one of the creative minds behind Bob Hope who was a writer and producer for the famous comedian for more than two decades before shifting into sitcom production in shows including “All in the Family,” “Gimme a Break” and “Kate & Allie,” died Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center. He was 90 and would have celebrated his birthday Friday. The cause was a heart attack and diabetes, according to his family.

For 28 years, until 1975, Lachman was a key member of Hope’s gag-writing machine, along with such writers as Larry Gelbart, Hal Kanter, Gene Perret, Sherwood Schwartz and Mel Shavelson. He also co-wrote and produced Hope’s television specials.

He later produced, directed and wrote for such shows as “The Red Skelton Hour,” “Sanford” and “That’s My Mama.” He also wrote for 11 Academy Awards and six Grammy Awards shows and co-wrote the movies “Yours, Mine and Ours” (1968, 2005) and “Mixed Company” (1974).

Among his awards were two Emmys: one for outstanding comedy series in 1971 for “All in the Family” and the other for directing an episode of “ABC Afternoon Playbreak” called “The Girl Who Couldn’t Lose” in 1975.

Born March 20, 1918, Lachman was a Seattle native who often was mistaken for a New Yorker (“People just naturally assume . . . every writer went to high school with Woody Allen in Brooklyn,” he once quipped.)

He aspired to become a journalist when he was a student at the University of Washington in the late 1930s. But after World War II, when he got out of the Army, he saw an ad in Variety seeking gag writers for singer-comedian Eddie Cantor. That job led him in 1947 to Hope, who invited Lachman to pitch jokes for his radio show.

The self-described “introvert from Seattle” found himself in a room full of gag writers vying for Hope’s approval. He jotted a joke on an old envelope and shyly gave it to the star, who read the joke to himself, then crumpled the paper. When all the other writers finished pitching their gags, Hope recited Lachman’s joke, earning big laughs.

Over the next decades, he traveled the globe with Hope, who was “fabulous to work for if you were a writer,” Lachman told Daily Variety in 1996. “He was comfortable in his own shoes, and not jealous like a lot of comics.”

Lachman recalled in that interview one occasion when the comedy icon was “at a loss” to explain how people were treating him. “We were in Red Square for the first show from Moscow ever done. We were passing Lenin’s Tomb and passing thousands of people and nobody looked at him. He said, ‘Mort, this is weird. Nobody knows me.’ I said, ‘Congratulations, now you know what it’s like to be me.’ He laughed and hugged me.”

Lachman is survived by his wife, Natalie Gittelson Lachman of Los Angeles; three children from his first marriage, JoAnn Culbert-Koehn, Diane Lachman and Robert Lachman; three stepchildren, Celia Gittelson, Eve Gittelson and Tony Gittelson; a sister, Doris McKeever Keenan; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Test Your Hockey Knowledge

hockeygoalie1

Photograph by Robert Lachman/Los Angeles Times ? 1976

 

Test your hockey knowledge, it’s the Los Angeles Kings in the home light jerseys, but I can’t identify the team wearing the dark uniform. My best guess at the goalie is Rogie Vachon during a game at the Forum in Inglewood. Just working at my office at home cleaning, organizing and scanning some of my old photographs. Any help on the names of the other players would be appreciated. -RL

 

Oh So Cute, Must be the Saddle Shoes

RL Train4-8-JPEG
I used to be so cute, I’m not sure what happened. It must be the clothes. How can you miss with saddle shoes, gray-cuffed slacks and the extra-wide collar folded out of the v-neck sweater? I wonder if Bed Bath & Beyond sells the amazing train bed spread? I need to get to some yard work and exercise, have a great weekend. -RL

 

 

Is It Worth More Than a Cup of Coffee?

visorcoffeeABy Robert Lachman
I remember how excited I was to get the Handspring Visor which ran the Palm OS and was quite a technical masterpiece. I’m still going with the cup of coffee as the better value.

I decided I needed to take a break from writing on Fridays. I need some exercise, so I have started, ?Is it worth more than a cup-of-coffee, Fridays?? Any outside submissions would be greatly appreciated.

Cell phone photos would work great. I?ll also put the link to your web page so you can get two or three extra page views. Send your pics is today!

Just email me a photo of your favorite coffee cup (a cup of tea also works) and any of your miscellaneous high-tech items that has dwindled in value down to the two-dollar range.

 

Queen Mary X 3

queenmary3

iPhone Photograph by Robert Lachman ? 2010

queenmary1

queenmary2

During a recent visit to Long Beach, I couldn’t resist taking photographs of the Queen Mary with a heavy does of the Hipstamatic iPhone App. Please, leave a comment and let me know which one you like best. It’s almost time for work, but it is my Friday today. I’m looking forward to the weekend, although, there is rain forecast for Saturday. -RL