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Qld’s draconian bill not just a sop to Murdoch — it would fundamentally change the justice system
Lawyers for a voting machine company that’s suing Fox News want to question founder Rupert Murdoch about his contentious efforts to change his family trust , the attorneys told a court Monday. Election-tech company Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation suit regards Fox's reporting on 2020 voting fraud claims. But Smartmatic’s attorneys suggest the separate succession fight over Murdoch's media empire might shed light on any Fox Corp. involvement in editorial matters. It's an important, if technical, question as Smartmatic seeks to hold the deep-pocketed Fox parent company responsible for statements that the news network aired. Fox contends that there's no such liability and that it was engaging in journalism, not defamation, when it broadcast election-fraud allegations made by then-President Donald Trump 's attorneys. Rupert Murdoch may already have given a deposition — out-of-court questioning under oath — in the defamation suit. Such records aren't public at this stage, but plans for his deposition were briefly mentioned at a 2022 hearing. Smartmatic now is seeking to talk to Murdoch about his efforts to rewrite his plans for his businesses after his death. The matter is playing out behind closed doors and in sealed files in a Nevada probate court. The New York Times has reported that Rupert Murdoch wants to keep his eldest son, Lachlan , in charge of the conglomerate's newspapers and television networks in order to ensure a continued conservative editorial outlook . Smartmatic wants to get the 93-year-old patriarch on record while the probate matter plays out, company attorney Edward Wipper told a judge Monday. Fox News lawyer K. Winn Allen said the probate case “has nothing at all to do with” Smartmatic's claims and is “not appropriate” fodder for the suit. Fox Corp. declined to comment after court. Fox News' lawyers, meanwhile, want Smartmatic to provide records about a U.S. federal criminal case against people, including Smartmatic co-founder Roger Piñate, accused of scheming to bribe a Filipino election official . Piñate has pleaded not guilty. Smartmatic isn't charged in the criminal case, and Smartmatic attorneys have said the matter was irrelevant to the defamation suit. Fox lost prior bids for a court order to get the information, but a hearing on the network's renewed request is set next week. It's unclear how soon Judge David B. Cohen will decide on that request or on Smartmatic's bid to dig into the Murdoch family trust case. Both requests are part of pretrial information-gathering, and no trial date has been set. Smartmatic says it was a small player, working only with California's heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In subsequent Fox News appearances, Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell portrayed Smartmatic as part of a multi-state scheme to steal the vote from the Republican. Federal and state election officials , exhaustive reviews in battleground states and Trump’s own attorney general found no widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. Nor did they uncover any credible evidence that the vote was tainted. Dozens of courts, including by judges whom Trump had appointed, rejected his fraud claims. Fox News ultimately aired an interview with an election technology expert who refuted the allegations against Smartmatic — an interview done after the company demanded a retraction . The network is countersuing Smartmatic , claiming it violated a New York law against baseless suits aimed at squelching reporting or criticism on public issues. The New York defamation suit is one of several stemming from conservative-oriented news outlets' reports on Trump’s 2020 vote-rigging claims. Smartmatic recently settled with One America News Network and Newsmax . Fox News settled for $787 million last year with Dominion Voting Systems, another election-technology company that sued over conspiracy theories blaming its election equipment for Trump’s 2020 loss. Jennifer Peltz, The Associated PressSocial media ban to ‘test’ Dutton as opposition fraysYou could keep things simple with the new BMW 1 Series , or you could satisfy your enthusiast desires instead. BMW’s fourth-generation 1 Series hatchback brings a lot to like: two variants with two different engines, both of which are well-geared for their intended purposes, loaded with advanced interior tech, and brimming with the kind of design and build quality expected of vehicles from such a well-established European brand. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today So the only question appears to be which of the two cars in the range your should choose. Well, they’re actually quite different, and they have a huge $26,000 pricing gulf between them, so it’s rather easy to set them apart. If you want an affordable German hatch to run around in, albeit one that offers decent performance, crisp handling and can accommodate a surprising amount of people and cargo, the logical choice is the front-wheel drive 118 three-cylinder – which we’ve published a separate review of. But if you want something a little extra that delivers hot-hatch performance in the same 1 Series body, you’d go for this – the new M135 xDrive. WATCH: Alborz’s video walk-around of a German-market M135 xDrive. It has the same high-quality cabin technologies, materials and fit and finish as the 118, but adds a four-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive, so the difference is it’s properly fast. And there’s a comprehensive range of optional gear available to make it more like a full-fat 1 Series M model. Naturally, like the 118, the higher-performance M135 has a few competitors that also hail from Germany, including equivalent versions of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Audi A3 – the A35 AMG and the S3 respectively. There’s not a lot to separate them on paper, and their prices are equally competitive. We published our first review of the new 1 Series from the international launch a few months ago, and now we’ve had our first drive of the new 1er at BMW Australia’s local launch, where were able to sample both variants on roads in and around the Melbourne suburb of Dromana, providing a solid mix of road types and conditions. Is the new M135 worth the significant price premium, or are you better off keeping it simple and saving a big wad of cash by buying the 118 instead? How much does the BMW 1 Series cost? The 2025 M135 xDrive is priced at $82,500 before on-road costs – a $5900 increase over the outgoing model – while the new 118 costs ‘just’ $56,500 plus on-roads. At that price the M135 has three direct hot hatch rivals, and all of them are also German and powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine driving all four wheels via an automatic transmission. The closest-matched Merc is the A35 AMG, which for a premium ($88,500 before on-roads) offers nearly identical power outputs and, unlike the BMW, is also available in sedan form. However, note that the second-generation BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe sedan, including the similarly renewed and renamed M235 xDrive, arrives here in early 2025. In the case of Audi, the M135’s most direct competitor is the S3 Sportback at $75,400 before on-roads. Again, it has a similar engine with nearly identical outputs, all-wheel drive, and a sedan counterpart, meaning the BMW splits the difference on price. Though it’s significantly cheaper at $70,590 before on-roads, you can also compare the M135 to the Volkswagen Golf R , which again is almost nearly identical in terms of its powertrain and body configuration. To see how the BMW 1 Series stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool What is the BMW 1 Series like on the inside? The 118 and M135 are very similar inside, and that’s reflected by the similarities between our two reviews. That said, there are some tastier M-flavoured treats to be found in the M135. At first glance and without the M Sport Package Pro fitted, you’ll struggle to find any major differences between the M135 and the 118. That’s partly why you won’t be missing out on much by opting for the cheaper 1 Series, at least not on the inside. As standard, M135s are fitted with the same dual driver-oriented screens, sporty seats upholstered in either a mix of Alcantara/vegan leather – known as Veganza – or purely Veganza at no extra cost, and the same chunky leather-wrapped steering wheel as found in the 118. The subtle changes are in relation to the driving controls. Starting with the steering wheel, it’s still buttery smooth in the hands but you’ll notice a red 12 o’clock marker stitched into the top. Behind it are larger paddle shifters, which are aggressively shaped and feature unique cut-outs to signify positive and negative on each side. Adding the M Sport Package Pro takes things to the next level. The most minor change is the stitching, which on the steering wheel features the iconic blue and red M colourway. Then there are the seats, which are swapped out for aggressively racing-inspired sports buckets. They hold you in place well too, making sure you’re planted if you decide to take the M135 for a spirited drive. You’ll find more M accents on the seatbelts, while the brake calipers are now painted red and the interior ambient lighting also reflects the colours of BMW’s performance sub-brand. It’s all very nice, but it’s worth remembering those tweaks are added to an interior setup that’s already very well put together. The interior ambient lighting can also be adjusted through the 10.7-inch infotainment screen, through which most of the car’s other functions are also controlled. Unique interior presets can also be optioned at the time of purchase, which are configurable here and change the experience inside the cabin. A handful of modes are primarily presets for lighting colours and screen backgrounds, but others actively adjust things like audio and the panoramic sunroof to alter the environment for the cabin’s occupants. Silent mode, for example, closes the sunroof shade and mutes the quality audio coming from the Harman Kardon speakers, allowing you to focus on, well, driving. If optioned, there are realistically a few too many modes to figure out and select. Chances are most owners will find one they like best and stick with it, leaving the others sitting there dormant except perhaps for showing new passengers what the car can do. From a practical standpoint, the infotainment display is also where you’ll find the climate control system – with which BMW has taken an always-on approach. That means the screen displays the climate control interface at the very bottom regardless of what menu is selected above. It’s better than having to go through a menu, but we’d still prefer physical buttons because we find screen-focused climate systems to be finicky and distracting while on the move. The 1 Series in general also features a similar isolated toggle and dial, as seen in the 5 Series, to adjust air vent direction, which can be a little unintuitive until you get used to it. Using this system has allowed BMW to hide the vents in narrow slots within the dashboard itself. It’s clean in appearance as a result, but as with the 118 it’s perhaps not worth sacrificing user-friendliness in the pursuit of minimalism. Around the gear selector is the exact same array of buttons as found in the 118, which focus on functions like window demisters and driving-related modes. As expected, it’s linked directly to the infotainment screen above, which means a menu will open when a button is pressed. At least it’s not all gloss-black plastic, but that doesn’t excuse its use on the couple of buttons that are frequently touched. One of those is the button to start and stop the engine, which is integrated into the larger gear selector panel. It’s a neat place to put it but it’ll take you a moment to find when you first jump in. In a similar sense, the functions of some of the nearby buttons may not be completely obvious, which means some time with the car will be required to become fully familiar with the car. Even then we had to ask for some guidance from the BMW execs at the launch, primarily around what all the different infotainment modes do. We found the ‘Personal’ mode is the default setting, while the others – excluding Sport and Efficient – are almost entirely focused on interior aesthetics. We know choice is good, but again there’s just a bit too much going on. Still, having dedicated shortcut buttons for such menus in a place that’s easy to find and reach is always a bonus. On the centre console are two cupholders, as well as two USB-C ports and a 12V outlet. There’s also a phone-sized cubby, which doubles as a wireless charging pad. More buttons are found on the steering wheel, which – as mentioned – is exactly the same as in the 118 if you exclude the red stripe. All of its buttons are finished in durable hard plastic instead of the gloss-black alternative, and they’re all physical instead of haptic like we’ve seen in some other German cars. We’re thankful for that, because it means the 1er feels much more analogue and easy to work with. The buttons may also seem minimalist in appearance, but you’ll find their functions are all actually clearly labelled. That means the functions here – which include driver assist and infotainment controls – are easy to figure out, and unlike some of the car’s other features will not be too confusing when you first hop in. Better yet, we find the steering wheel’s edgy design elements to be quite stylish. As with the 118, the second row is surprisingly spacious. Given its hatch body though, the 1 Series will be fairly cramped when you’re at maximum five-person capacity. Average-height passengers will find there’s plenty of room all around, helped by the high roofline towards the back of the car and cut-outs in the front seatbacks. It may feel somewhat boxed-in back here, but that’s likely because of the black headlining above. That headliner and sunroof make everything feel a bit more premium, and the cozy atmosphere back here means it’s a nice place to spend time in. Rear-seat passengers can also make use of two USB-C ports and a pair of rear-facing air vents. There’s a fold-down centre armrest too, and overall the three-seat rear bench is comfortable to sit in, if a little flat. Finally, the boot offers a large, flat floor and a robust cargo cover up top. For comparison, seats-up space in the 1er is 10 litres larger than in the A-Class hatch, and exactly the same as in the A3 Sportback. BMW has fitted a fair few cargo hooks here too, but there is a pronounced loading lip between the boot opening and the floor. That’s typical of many other similarly sized hatches, though it’s not any less impractical. The lack of a spare wheel means the floor can sit lower, which means you get more cargo space. Unfortunately, BMW only provides a tyre repair kit. To top it all off, there’s a powered tailgate as standard. Everything is just as premium as in the 118, though those optional M Sport extras are well worth adding if you’re already making the jump to BMW’s fastest hatch. To see how the BMW 1 Series stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool What’s under the bonnet? You’ll find the most powerful engine of the two-car 1 Series range in the M135, and it’s capable of producing 233kW of power and 400Nm of torque, which despite being 160kg heavier than the 118 is enough for BMW claim a rapid sub-5.0-second 0-100km/h acceleration time (more than 3.5 seconds better than the 118 and it feels that quick). Its peak power output is up 8kW over the previous model (and now ahead of both the 228kW S3 and 225kW A35), though maximum torque is down by 50Nm and now matches its German foes. The engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (like the 118) and all-wheel drive as standard. We’re unable to provide a representative real-world fuel economy figure, as we didn’t get enough time behind the wheel of any one vehicle to properly test how efficient it would be to live with, but note that fuel bills will be pricier on a diet of 98 RON unleaded, as per the 118. To see how the BMW 1 Series stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool How does the BMW 1 Series drive? This is where the largest disparity between the M235 and the 118 lies, and the performance gap is big enough to make them feel like completely different cars on the road. While you’d be forgiven for mistaking the 118 for the M135 inside, closer inspection reveals exactly what you’re about to drive when you hop behind the wheel of this car. There’s a heightened sense of excitement, even if you’re greeted by the same M badges as seen across the BMW range. But pressing that discreet startup button reveals exactly what it is you’re dealing with. The M135-specific quad-exit exhaust gives the car much more presence via an aggressive idle, which sounds as tastefully harsh as you’d expect from a performance BMW. It’s clear the German brand wanted this car to have much more aural character, which is just one of the ways in which it sets itself apart from the comparatively tame 118. Flick the gear selector down into Drive and you’ll immediately find there’s plenty to take in, starting with all the tech going on here. First are the drive modes, which have a significant impact on how the car feels on the road. The default Personal mode provides a good compromise between performance and comfort, though you will notice how firm the suspension is straight off the bat. As you’d expect from an M-badged BMW, the suspension is firm enough to keep body roll well in check, yet it’s still surprisingly compliant over difficult bumps. Switching to Efficient mode will dramatically cut power, while also dulling the throttle response in an attempt to save fuel. The steering remains light in both modes, which aids manoeuvrability around town. But the real deal of the M135 is its Sport mode, which is when everything gets turned up to 11. The exhaust becomes louder, steering heavier, and the suspension stiffer, setting the car up for some properly fast driving. Its displays reflect these modes too, with the colours and amount of information presented on the digital instrument cluster adapting accordingly. Hitting the open road with Sport mode engaged is a lot of fun. Put your foot into the throttle and that 2.0-litre turbo four opens right up, with an appropriately loud exhaust note to match – even if it may be partly fake. Throw it into a turn and you’ll feel just how well it sticks to the road. Even on the tightest bends we struggled to induce any serious understeer, and planting your right foot out of a turn won’t spin the wheels thanks to its AWD traction. While the standard Sport mode will automatically shift the transmission into its own sport setting by default, the M135 has no issue letting you take control yourself via the paddle shifters, when the shifts are fast and responsive – and complemented by a unique feature on the head-up display. When in Sport mode and shifting manually, the head-up display shows a shift indicator when you get close to redline, like the old-school gauges in previous M-cars. The lights that climb from yellow to orange and finally to red are a racy addition, and it all adds to the experience when you’re throwing the car around. Naturally, the engine has a surprising amount of poke in it’s most aggressive mode. Though there has been a 50Nm reduction in torque, it never feels like M135 is hanging around and there’s always plenty of twist on tap. In normal driving it may take a second for the transmission to kick down for optimum power, but Sport mode does well to keep the engine in its ideal range. But if you’re just cruising and need a quick boost of power, BMW has thought of that too. As in the 118, holding the left paddle for a second or two will engage Boost mode, which provides 10 seconds of full power regardless of the drive mode selected, making it easier to overtake slower traffic thanks to a quick acceleration hit. Despite its somewhat unassuming face, BMW has successfully managed to apply its ‘driver’s car’ ethos to the M135 xDrive without ruining its everyday appeal, and it’s impressive just how fun it can be on the right road. Of course, most won’t buy this car just to throw it around a mountain road or racetrack, so it’s pleasing it’s also such an easy car to live with on a daily basis. Without the M Sport Package Pro you still get sporty seats, but they remain well within the realms of liveability. That means on rough roads or during the typical commute, you won’t be sore by the time you get to your destination. As mentioned, the suspension does a good job of ironing out major bumps even if it is very much on the firm side, and we found that its ride quality helps boost confidence even in normal driving. A downside may be that the dual-clutch transmission is a little hesitant at low speeds, but it’s by no means difficult to manage. Of course, that trait is typical of such transmissions anyway, and its application in the 1 Series feels much more polished than it does in some of the alternatives. On the tech side, there’s also plenty to like. Though there is wireless smartphone mirroring, BMW’s native software is pretty clever and easy to use. If you engage the native navigation, some interesting things happen immediately. Of course, the maps appear on the central screen and head-up display, but BMW has also cleverly integrated the car’s front facing cameras. An augmented reality display will automatically appear on the infotainment screen, which shows the view out the front of the car while adding digital arrows to show you exactly where you need to go. It’s a fun novelty when you first see it, but likely won’t be something you use all the time. The camera view takes up a significant portion of the map as well, but it can quickly be turned off if you’d rather do it the old fashioned way. Thankfully, driver assist systems like adaptive cruise control and lane centring all work reliably, and even the driver monitoring function didn’t get in the way while on the road. Another thing that can be easily turned off is the speed limit warning, because the M135 suffers from the same annoying beeps as the 118. It’ll beep when you first exceed the limit by any amount, and then beep again when your speed changes by even 1km/h. Its volume and tone aren’t nearly as intrusive as in some other cars, but they quickly become grating. Unfortunately, just keeping up with traffic will often see the speedo reading higher than your actual speed, so a quick dive through the infotainment menus is the easiest way around its warning. Diving through those menus isn’t as simple as it is in the 118 though. There are loads more screens to flick through and many more settings that can be changed because of those optional extras, which makes things overwhelming if you’re looking through it for the first time. For that reason it pays to take a moment to have a look through the multimedia system before you hit the road, because unless you have a passenger it won’t be easy to identify everything while you’re moving. That said, after a while many owners may appreciate the level of choice available. The modes are easy enough to navigate once you’re used to the car, and the minimalist approach to physical controls never really gets in the way of making the car do what you want it to do. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the M135 xDrive’s on-road performance. It’s just as fast as you’d like it to be, thanks to an engine that’s as great as its chassis, forming a combination that’s deeply rewarding when you drive it aggressively and access its limits. While it may ride and handle a lot like the 118, the increase in power makes this car a much more complete package. Indeed, ride quality and dynamics are the highlights of the M135, even if it is geared more towards the latter. We could just do without those speed limit warnings, and perhaps a pruning of the driving-related menus. To see how the BMW 1 Series stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool What do you get? The 2025 BMW 1 Series range is available in two variants, and the top-spec M135 xDrive is as good as it gets in terms of standard tech. If you can spring for the M Sport Package Pro, you’ll bring the new 1er as close as possible to the full-fat ‘M1’ that BMW will never build. 2025 BMW 118 equipment highlights: M135 xDrive adds: The optional M Sport Package Pro ($2700) adds: Is the BMW 1 Series safe? The 2025 BMW 1 Series has yet to be assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP. Standard safety equipment on the 118 includes: The M135 xDrive adds: How much does the BMW 1 Series cost to run? The BMW 1 Series range is covered by the German brand’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. BMW offers a five-year, 80,000km Service Inclusive Basic package for the 1 Series, which costs $2210 as per the 2 Series . To see how the BMW 1 Series stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool CarExpert’s Take on the BMW M135 xDrive The new BMW 118 is good, but the M135 should be high on the list for any European hot hatch enthusiast. Sure, its price may be higher than some of its non-European alternatives, but against its immediate rivals it’s right where it needs to be. It backs up its price with upmarket interior presentation, ergonomics and build quality, as well as a plethora of advanced tech as standard. What is disappointing is the fact you need to pay extra for the M Sport Package Pro goodies to really separate this from the 118, but the M135’s standard spec is still nothing to sneeze at. But all that is forgotten when you hit the road, where the bristling turbo four slams down exceptional performance, and its sharp chassis setup is plenty capable of maximising every ounce of it in the bends, even if it eschews the rear-drive layout for which BMW was famous. However, the M135 is just as well suited to the weekday grind, where its practical yet compact five-door body, premium high-tech interior and well-sorted ride may well be the icing on the cake. Of course it isn’t all perfect, because there’s almost a dizzying amount of settings and menus to wrap your head around. A lot of it is optional, but we’d forgive you for not being able to figure it all out on your own. The speed limit warning is annoying too, and it’s not made any better by the fact you have to trawl through those menus to turn it off. You’d get used to it if you lived with the car though, but some more physical buttons for such shortcuts would go a long way in tightening up the experience. Nevertheless, we’re very impressed with the M135. It offers everything you’d need in a performance-oriented hatch while carrying BMW’s exceptional standards for quality and driver experience – partly helped by the fact some of the competition has lost its way in recent years. If you can get over the price and optional extras, the new performance 1er is undoubtedly worthy of your time. Interested in buying a BMW 1 Series? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here MORE: Everything BMW 1 Series Pros Cons Top Line Specs
AAP legislator Naresh Balyan was arrested here on Saturday in connection with an extortion case lodged last year, police said. The MLA from Delhi's Uttam Nagar Assembly segment was called to the Delhi Police's Crime Branch office in R K Puram for questioning and was later arrested, they said. The development came hours after the BJP alleged that Balyan was involved in extortion activities and questioned why AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has not taken action against him. The Aam Aadmi Party defended Balyan, claiming that his arrest was illegal. The MLA had refuted the BJP's allegations and said he would lodge police cases against those who "spread lies" about him. A police official said that an audio clip of a conversation purportedly between Balyan and gangster Kapil Sangwan, currently based abroad, had gone viral on social media. The conversation involved discussions about collecting extortion money from businessmen, he said, adding further investigation and interrogation was underway. Finance AI and Generative AI for Finance By - Hariom Tatsat, Vice President- Quantitative Analytics at Barclays View Program Web Development Advanced C++ Mastery: OOPs and Template Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI for Everyone: Understanding and Applying the Basics on Artificial Intelligence By - Ritesh Vajariya, Generative AI Expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development C++ Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Future of Marketing & Branding Masterclass By - Dr. David Aaker, Professor Emeritus at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, Author | Speaker | Thought Leader | Branding Consultant View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Advanced Excel Course - Financial Calculations & Excel Made Easy By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrow's Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Leadership Business Storytelling Masterclass By - Ameen Haque, Founder of Storywallahs View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Leadership Crafting a Powerful Startup Value Proposition By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Leadership From Idea to Product: A Startup Development Guide By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Leadership Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Finance Tally Prime & GST Accounting: Complete Guide By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged that since Kejriwal has started raising the issue of law and order and rising crime in Delhi, the BJP and the central government are "trying to harass and conspire against his party leaders". "Balyan has been arrested under this conspiracy and the charges against him are baseless," Singh claimed. "The BJP leaders have played a fake audio despite the High Court's order against it. Balyan himself complained to the police about multiple threats received by him from the gangster Kapil Sangwan," he claimed. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Stocks closed higher on Wall Street ahead of the Christmas holiday, led by gains in Big Tech stocks. The S&P 500 added 1.1% Tuesday. Trading closed early ahead of the holiday. Tech companies including Apple, Amazon and chip company Broadcom helped pull the market higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%. American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended mostly higher after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue. Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. On Tuesday: The S&P 500 rose 65.97 points, or 1.1%, to 6,040.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 390.08 points, or 0.9%, to 43,297.03. The Nasdaq composite rose 266.24 points, or 1.3%, to 20,031.13. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 22.42 points, or 1%, to 2,259.85 For the week: The S&P 500 is up 109.19 points, or 1.8%. The Dow is up 456.77 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq is up 458.53 points, or 2.3%. The Russell 2000 is up 17.48 points, or 0.8%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,270.21 points, or 26.3%. The Dow is up 5,607.49 points, or 14.9%. The Nasdaq is up 5,019.77 points, or 33.4%. The Russell 2000 is up 232.78 points, or 11.5%.
As it often happens, the Charlotte Hornets have players down with an injury. This includes face of the franchise LaMelo Ball , who has had a sensational season thus far. Ball, who sustained calf strain, is out for at least another week . However, backup Tre Mann will be sidelined for at least as long as him due lower back soreness. OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball has been diagnosed with a left calf strain. Additionally, further evaluation of Tre Mann’s low back soreness has been diagnosed as disc irritation. — Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) November 30, 2024 This has led to former EuroLeague star Vasilije Micic being promoted to the first unit. In his first game as the Hornets’ starting point guard, Micic tallied nine points and eight assists. Yet, he was unable to consistently connect from beyond the arc, going 1-5 from three. As a career 27.4 percent three-point shooter in the NBA, the 30-year-old likely won’t look like a Splash Brother anytime soon. Still, he holds plenty of value as a playmaker due to his basketball IQ and passing prowess. So, with rookie KJ Simpson the only other point guard in the roster, his experience is all but invaluable at this juncture. However, Simpson has a terrific opportunity in front of him. Hornets Rookie KJ Simpson Has Terrific Opportunity In Wake Of Injury Updates Drafted 42nd overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Hornets signed Simpson to a two-way contract . If he has aspirations of having his deal converted to a standard deal, his performance while Ball and Mann are sidelined can go a long way towards making that a reality. On Friday, he played his third career game. For the first time, was on the floor for over 10 minutes. In those 16-plus minutes, he recorded 11 points, two assists, two steals, and one block. Though he went just 1-5 from three-point land, he was 5-10 overall because of his ability to make plays happen inside the circle. KJ Simpson had a career night with LaMelo out, dropping 11 points on 50% shooting in 16 minutes. Showed good scoring instincts, especially when attacking downhill, and was super active on defense as well, getting 2 steals and a block. One of the Hornets’ intriguing young weapons. pic.twitter.com/pwxjuzkDYK — HornetsHoops (@hornetshoops_) November 29, 2024 Call it youthful energy, but his hustle and enthusiasm helped him outshine even a player of Micic’s stature. His sheer ability was notable as well. Perhaps because he’s more seasoned than the average rookie after spending three seasons at Colorado, he wasn’t deterred by the Knicks rotations or afraid to attack their defense. With Simpson averaging 19.7 points per game in his junior season, the second-highest mark in the Pac-12, its not hard to see why. Forcing his way onto the Hornets’ roster will take a fair bit more than that. Regardless of that though, he’s already flashed the ability to be a rotation-caliber player. With the Denver Nuggets showing interest in Micic, Simpson could earn a standard contract by or after the trade deadline. He just has to prove he deserves it. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.As the leaves fall, the heat goes on, the temperatures drop and the sweaters and jackets are pulled from storage, it’s also a great time to think about making a pot of soup. Soup is one of the best comfort foods, perfect for those New England fall and winter days. Whether you fancy clam or corn chowder, a roasted butternut squash soup, a classic Italian sausage orzo or something unique like lasagna soup, there’s a special place in everyone’s heart for that big pot on the stove. We have found five recipes that are sure to make your mouth water. No matter what soup preference you may have, you’ll find something to cook for the whole family. This recipe is by Allrecipes.com . Ingredients Directions This recipe is by Allrecipes.com . Ingredients Directions This recipe is by Allrecipes.com . Ingredients Noodles: Soup Base: Cheese Mixture: Garnish: Directions This recipe is by juliasalbum.com . Ingredients Directions This recipe is by Allrecipes.com . Ingredients Directions
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Turkey Day may be over, but rejoice in the leftovers, because you’ve got much to be thankful for, Baylor fans. What a difference a year makes? Nah, squash that. What a difference eight weeks make. Three thoughts from Baylor’s 45-17 win over Kansas Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium. Look, when Lazarus came back from the dead, I’m sure it was rather mind-blowing that day, but it didn’t stop being impressive two months later. If ol’ Lazzy had been out there turning cartwheels and performing high-kicks 60 days after wearing embalming fluid as a cologne, you’d probably find yourself slack-jawed a lot of the time as an observer. That’s where we are with these plucky Bears. Dave Aranda’s team completed its resurrection from 2-4 to 8-4 with a thorough 45-17 dismantling of previously percolating Kansas in the regular-season capper on Saturday at McLane Stadium. It was as awe-inspiring on the last day of November as it was on the third Saturday in October, when the rehabilitation launched. These Bears should be the national spokesmen for resilience. They’ve had the most underrated turnaround in college football, transforming themselves from left-for-dead to alive-and- kicking-the-tails-of-everyone-in-their-way. Look, I was one of the guys kicking dirt onto their graves. I’ll own that turd in the punch bowl. Following Baylor’s home loss to BYU on Sept. 28 that dropped the Bears to 2-3 (with a loss the next week to Iowa State still to come), I wrote that the Aranda Era was “going nowhere” and that while there were still seven games remaining in the season, “that’s shaping up to be a death march now.” Yeah, I was wrong. Big-time. Death March? More like a Resurrection Strut. “Everybody knew we had a good team. I know we can point to the 2-4 (start), it’s easy to do,” Aranda said. “But I think everybody felt like we’re being buried, but we’re still alive. It’s hard to breathe when they’re putting dirt on you, you know what I mean? And, so, to get some oxygen and to breathe a little bit, I think you look at (defensive back) Devyn Bobby as a great example of that. Devyn has an opportunity to make picks and he drops them, and now all of the sudden he’s grabbing picks out of the air, all over the place. That’s just the power of belief and the power of being positive. It’s cool to see.” Bobby is certainly one of the poster boys for Baylor’s resurgence, though far from the only one. The secondary as a unit has been eviscerated at times, and absorbed probably the cruelest twist of the knife when they surrendered a Hail Mary touchdown to Colorado at the end of regulation of that overtime loss in Boulder. But now these dudes are making game-changing plays when it matters most. Bobby snared two interceptions on the day, highlighted by an absolute beauty in the end zone to snuff out a potential KU scoring drive. Those takeaways give the Baylor defense 13 picks on the season, including six in the last three games. That’s a marked improvement over last year, when the Bears made seven total interceptions and none over their final three games. “I think it’s just a will,” Baylor linebacker Kyler Jordan said. “It’s our end zone, and they’re not getting in. We made a few mistakes to let them get down there, and it’s like, are we going to finish it like we finished the season or are we just going to let them score? So, yeah, just a will.” Baylor Football: Highlights vs. Kansas | November 30, 2024 // via BaylorAthletics on YouTube Another leading character in the “Baylor Comeback Story” — coming soon to a YouTube video near you — is none other than Sawyer Robertson. You know, the guy who didn’t even start out the season as the starting quarterback. Robertson’s resilience has been writ large over the season. His consistency has been the offense’s stabilizing influence. Sure, he had a ragged game last week against Houston. But he still led the Bears to the win that day. And he was brilliant in this one against Kansas, throwing on-target darts like Ted Lasso in an English pub. Robertson completed his first 10 tosses of the game on his way to a 310-yard, four-TD performance. “I don’t really know. It’s a good question,” said Robertson, when asked if he could have imagined this at the start of the season. “I think God’s bigger than the situations and circumstances we find ourselves in. The 2-4 start, whether I was the starter or the backup, he’s bigger than all of that. “I couldn’t be happier to be where I’m at now with the teammates that I’m with, with the coaches that I’m with, it’s just such a cool moment and I’m going to enjoy it, just because it’s not (promised).” And then there’s Aranda. If anyone deserves to smile and enjoy himself, it’s Deadpan Dave. Granted, he’s not going to, because, again, he’s Deadpan Dave. He smiled twice during a 14-minute postgame press conference, and as usual it came when he tickled himself with one of his own analogies. At one point, in probably his most intense oratory of the presser, he talked about being “effin’ pissed off” about some of the yardage the Bears gave up defensively to the Jayhawks, who, remember, were playing for their postseason lives, needing a win to reach bowl eligibility. (Kansas had also beaten three straight ranked opponents coming into this one.) Baylor Football: Postgame vs. Kansas (Aranda, Ma'ae, Jordan, Robertson, Washington) | Nov. 30, 2024 // via BaylorAthletics on YouTube I’m not trying to suggest Aranda isn’t proud of his team or satisfied with their effort and their grit. Far from it. He talks about that all the time. I’m not even suggesting that he’s unhappy. He’s just not one that’s going to do a lot of joke-cracking or cheesy smiles in an interview setting. That’s not his personality, and that’s perfectly OK. But Aranda turned out to be the perfect coach at the perfect time for Baylor. Heck, I’ll take it a step further and pass along this message to Mack Rhoades: If you want to give Dave another contract extension, it makes a heck of a lot of sense now. (Not that Mack needs to take any advice from me, he’s doing just fine on his own.) “The growth has been exhausting,” said Aranda, when asked about his journey as a head coach this season. “But I think it’s important, because I think the game is changing.” Baylor put up more than 600 yards of offense and beat Kansas on Saturday to finish the season on a six-game winning streak. Aranda’s peel-the-Band-Aid-back frankness is probably his most refreshing quality, as he’s always quick to point out his mistakes and shortcomings. But he doesn’t flip it around the other way and thump his chest over his successes, which is a testament to his humility. He kept this team on track when it seemed like the season was completely derailed. Want proof? Remember that BYU loss I referenced earlier? The one where I was writing Baylor’s obituary (and a lot of other media and fans were doing the same)? In the midst of all of that, Aranda stayed calm, level-headed. He could see hope where few others could. “I don’t think last year really has too much to do with this year,” Aranda said that day. “I understand the record of last year. I think this is a very different team. And I think this circumstance for this game is very different than last year’s circumstance. I think we do have to play better.” He was right. We were wrong. The nice thing is, he’s not one to gloat. “I’m proud of that team in the locker room there. Just the grit that they showed,” Aranda said, following Saturday’s win over the Jayhawks. “I told them this — to go through the season that we did and to continue to believe and to not let the outside get on the inside, all those things are just really hard. Nowadays it’s multiplied times a hundred, the force of the outside. Just way proud of them.” You should be, Dave. It’s not every day you see somebody rise from the dead. Be the first to know Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
NonePolice hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO's masked killer after 'brazen, targeted' attack on NYC street NEW YORK (AP) — UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been shot and killed in what police say is a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding its investor conference. The shooting rattled the city and set off a massive dragnet hours before the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. Police say 50-year-old Brian Thompson was shot around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says the shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire. Police have not yet established a motive. UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the US but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk Wednesday became a mystery that riveted the nation. Police say it was a targeted killing. Thompson was 50. He had worked at the company for 20 years and had run health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s insurance business since 2021. It provides health coverage for more than 49 million Americans and brought in $281 billion in revenue last year. Thompson's $10.2 million annual compensation made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives. Hegseth fights to save Pentagon nomination as sources say Trump considers DeSantis WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s Pentagon pick, is fighting to hold on to his Cabinet nomination amid growing questions about his personal conduct as the president-elect’s team considers alternatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Hegseth says, “We’re not backing down one bit." The Trump transition team is concerned about Hegseth’s path to Senate confirmation and is actively looking at potential replacements, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hegseth is under pressure as senators weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him. Beyond DeSantis, there have been discussions about shifting Michael Waltz, who was named by Trump as his national security adviser, to the Defense Department Supreme Court seems likely to uphold Tennessee's ban on medical treatments for transgender minors WASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people. The Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender healthcare for minors. Peter Navarro served prison time related to Jan. 6. Now Trump is bringing him back as an adviser WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is bringing Peter Navarro back to the White House for his second administration. Trump announced Wednesday on Truth Social that Navarro will serve as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing. He was a trade adviser in Trump's first term. Navarro served four months in prison after being held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump also chose Daniel Driscoll as Army secretary, Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator and Adam Boehler as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. Israeli strikes on a Gaza tent camp kill at least 21 people, hospital says KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian health official said Wednesday that at least 21 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a camp housing displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants. The strikes hit in the Muwasi area, a sprawling coastal camp housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people. It came after Israeli forces struck targets in other areas of Gaza. According to Palestinian medics, strikes in central Gaza killed eight people, including four children. The war in Gaza is nearly 14 months old and showing no end in sight, despite international efforts to revive negotiations toward a ceasefire. South Korean President Yoon's martial law declaration raises questions over his political future SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning martial law declaration lasted just hours, but experts say it raised serious questions about his ability to govern for the remaining 2 1/2 years of his term. The opposition-controlled parliament overturned the edict, and his rivals on Wednesday took steps to impeach him. Yoon's move baffled many experts. One analyst called his action “political suicide.” Yoon’s political fate may depend on whether a large number of people in coming days take to the streets to push for his ouster. Yoon hasn't commented on the impeachment bid. But the political instability he unleashed could make it more difficult for his government to nurse a decaying economy. French lawmakers vote to oust prime minister in the first successful no-confidence vote since 1962 PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right and left-wing lawmakers have joined together to vote on a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet to resign. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed. President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027. However, he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply divided parliament. Macron will address the French on Thursday evening, his office said, without providing details. Barnier is expected to formally resign by then. White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered the new details Wednesday about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. Harris found success with women who have cats, but Trump got the dog owner vote: AP VoteCast WASHINGTON (AP) — The lead-up to the 2024 election was all about cat owners. But in the end, the dogs had their day. Donald Trump won more than half of voters who own either cats or dogs, and he had with a big assist from dog owners. That's according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. Dog owners were much more likely to support Trump over Kamala Harris. Cat owners were evenly split between the two candidates. Harris did end up decisively winning support from women who own a cat but no dog. Past comments by Trump's running mate, JD Vance, about “childless cat ladies” briefly became a campaign issue.
Fall is the best time to think about cooking soup. Here’s 5 recipes you’ll want to tryMartin Earwicker will take up the role in January 2025 after being selected following a "rigorous recruitment process". He will take over the role from Steve Erskine, who will step down at the end of the year having served the maximum six-year term. Hampshire Hospitals said it is grateful to Mr Erskine for his exemplary and steadfast leadership during his tenure. Mr Earwicker is currently chair of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, but has also held several other board-level roles. These include serving as chief executive of the Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, chief executive of the Science Museum and vice chancellor of London South Bank University. He has also been a non-executive director at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Alex Whitfield, Hampshire Hospitals' chief executive, said: "I am delighted to welcome Martin as the new chair of Hampshire Hospitals. "His exceptional leadership experience across diverse sectors, along with his understanding of health and social care, will be invaluable to our staff and the communities we serve. "Martin’s visionary approach and values-driven leadership will help guide the trust as we continue to deliver outstanding care and navigate both the opportunities and challenges ahead." Mr Earwicker will also continue in the role as chair of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for a few months to ensure a smooth handover to his successor. Speaking about his new role, Mr Earwicker said: "I’m really looking forward to joining Hampshire Hospitals at the start of 2025. "Hampshire Hospitals is a brilliant organisation, and I understand the vital role it plays in providing essential services to local communities, as well as specialist care to patients from further afield. "This is an exciting time to join the trust as it looks to the future, working with partners to modernise healthcare for the benefit of the communities it serves." Mr Earwicker is said to have a proven track record of delivering "transformational change", fostering positive organisational cultures, and working with partners to drive improved outcomes for patients. He is deeply committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and is passionate about ensuring that patients remain at the heart of decision-making. Over the coming months, Mr Earwicker and Mr Erskine will work together to ensure a 'smooth and seamless transition'.
In February 2007, I met with writer-director-musician Marshall Brickman at his Upper West Side apartment overlooking Central Park to interview him for my book And Here’s the Kicker . After we spoke, Brickman went on to co-write the book for the 2010 Broadway production of The Addams Family , co-starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. The musical, nominated for two Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards (winning for Best Set Design), would run on Broadway for more than 700 performances and continues to tour to this day. On November 29, at the age of 85, Brickman passed away in Manhattan. Below is an excerpted version of our interview. Fans of writer-director-actor Woody Allen like to refer to the mid-to-late 1970s as his career’s high point, his cinematic heyday. But three of his most critically lauded films during that period — Sleeper , Annie Hall , and Manhattan — were co-written by another Jewish kid from New York, the lesser known, but multitalented Marshall Brickman. Brickman may have looked like an overnight success in 1978 when he walked onstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to accept the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall (which he shared with Allen), but he was far from a novice to the comedy-writing game. He was already an accomplished television scribe, a former head writer for The Tonight Show (a job he received at the relatively young age of 27), and a staff writer for Candid Camera and The Dick Cavett Show. Brickman was also one of the key writers of a little-seen pilot in 1975 called The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. It was a risky venture to combine Sesame Street –type Muppets with adult content, but Marshall somehow managed to make it work, with irreverent yet oddly innocent gags such as the “Seven Deadly Sins Pageant” (appropriately, the character of Sloth arrived just as the end credits began to roll and asked, “Am I late?”). Brickman didn’t stick around when The Muppet Show was picked up for its first season, but he did leave a lasting influence. Without him, the world might never have enjoyed a bushy-eyebrowed Swedish Chef howling, “Bort! Bort! Bort!” After helping Woody Allen win his first Oscar, Brickman went on to write and direct many of his own projects, including Simon (1980), Lovesick (1983), and The Manhattan Project (1986). He co-wrote Manhattan Murder Mystery with Allen in 1993, directed a TV adaptation of playwright Christopher Durang’s Catholic satire Sister Mary Explains It All (2001), and co-wrote the Broadway hit Jersey Boys (2005), a musical about the popular early rock-and-roll quartet the Four Seasons. It’s not a coincidence that Brickman would write about a singing group. During the early to mid-’60s, shortly before making a living as a writer, he was a member of the folk trio the Tarriers, then later the New Journeymen, which included a pair of musical visionaries named John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, who would soon go on to form the Mamas and the Papas. Perhaps Brickman’s biggest hidden talent is his bluegrass roots. He played guitar and banjo (along with banjo virtuoso and Juilliard graduate Eric Weissberg) on the 1963 album New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass, which would find a huge mainstream audience nearly ten years later as the soundtrack to the wildly successful John Boorman–directed movie Deliverance. It’s almost impossible to ignore the inherent irony that the banjo picking of Deliverance, which so many people associate with the stereotypical Hollywood-created southern rednecks and “mountain folk,” was at least partly created by a future New Yorker comedy writer and Woody Allen cohort. It’s just another example of how Brickman can be so wonderfully and unexpectedly subversive. What was it about bluegrass that appealed to you growing up? I first heard it when I was about 11. My friend Eric Weissberg had been playing the banjo for a few years, and he was kind of a genius at it. It was a thrilling sound — it just knocked me out. But I’ve never been able to satisfactorily answer why this particular music appealed to guys like us, from Brooklyn, urban Jews. Especially back when the idea of doing this type of southern local music was so associated with things that we had a lot of suspicion about — politically, socially, culturally. It was so alien, in a way. Maybe that was part of its appeal. Or maybe it was the type of percussive, masculine sound that preadolescents enjoy so much. The Deliverance soundtrack has an interesting history. Eric and I made a record called New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass in 1963 and it sold about 5,000 copies. It was a kind of experimental album — we were developing a style of playing that was a combination of traditional Earl Scruggs–style picking and something more fluid and melodic. Other guys like Bill Keith and, later, Béla Fleck, did much more impressive developing of that kind of playing, but we were among the first. Anyhow, now it’s 1971 or so and John Boorman, the director of Deliverance, had this idea for the sequence in Deliverance — or maybe it was James Dickey, the author of the book and the screenplay — when one of the characters plays a duet with a little kid. So Eric and Steve Mandell then recorded the “Dueling Banjos” track. I really had nothing to do with it — I was already working on The Tonight Show as a writer. Warner released it as a single and, for some crazy reason, it became a big hit in Detroit. But Warner needed a whole album, so they remastered our old New Dimensions album. They released the record as the “soundtrack from Deliverance, ” which it certainly is not, but it took off and it’s been a steady seller for 30 years now. How did you get involved with your first folk group, the Tarriers? Was this after college? I graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in music and science. Eric had already been with the Tarriers, but he felt they needed something else. They were a trio at that point. And he asked me, “Why don’t you join the group? We’ll become a quartet.” What did you bring to the group? I played a bunch of instruments — bass and country fiddle, and guitar and banjo. Since I could tune up pretty fast and had a little background in comedy, it defaulted to me to do the between-song patter — de rigueur for folk groups of that era. I was the guy who stood up in front of the group and told jokes. Do you remember any of the specific patter? Thankfully, no. I would guess that the material, while appropriate for a coffeehouse audience of 1966, might suffer and die from exposure to print — even if I could remember any of it. Who else was in the group besides you and Eric Weissberg? Bob Carey and Clarence Cooper. Two Black guys and two Jews. An integrated group — that must have been a rarity. We couldn’t play south of Washington, D.C. We couldn’t get booking for the same hotels. What year was this? 1964 or so. This was around the time of the British Invasion. Yes, but as folk purists, we never felt we were in the same world as the Brits — or the Roger & Roger groups that were vying with the Brits for space on Billboard’ s Top 10. How did you end up joining forces with John Phillips? “Join forces” — that’s an interesting way of putting it. It was more like John ingested me whole, like a python. John had a group called the Journeymen. In the early ’60s he met a spectacular-looking young woman named Michelle Gilliam and promptly fell in love. We all became friends, and we formed the New Journeymen. A clever name, no? John, Michelle, and me. Were you ever in the running to become a member of the Mamas and the Papas? On the contrary. Leaving the group — which I did after an eight-month wild ride — was, for me, the equivalent of escaping from a burning building. John was into drugs of all kinds; experimental, over- and under-the-counter. John was wonderfully talented and charming, but I was this kid from Brooklyn and really couldn’t tolerate that lifestyle. It was madness. We’d come into some town to perform, and I’d keep saying, “We have to rehearse! We have to do a sound check!” And John would say, “Chill out.” And he and Michelle would take off and do interesting things like buy two motorcycles and ride around town. Whereas I would stay back at the hotel and write bass charts. [ Laughs ] Did you keep in touch with John after you left the music scene? We did remain friends. Later, I quit the music business and went to write for Candid Camera and later for The Tonight Show. By this time, John and Michelle had hit it really big, and they were living in Bel Air in [’30s and ’40s film actress] Jeanette MacDonald’s old house, a spectacular chalet with a giant pool and peacocks strutting around the grounds — like a drugged-out Versailles. It was quite a scene. I used to work all day at NBC in Burbank and then, at the end of the day, I’d switch gears and call John and ask, “Okay, what have you got for me tonight? What’s going on?” One Friday in 1969, I called John to see what the plan was, and he said, “We have a choice. There’s a party over in Malibu. Or we could go over to Benedict Canyon.” You have to understand that as head writer for a daily show like The Tonight Show, one is always looking for material. I used to read every magazine and newspaper I could get my hands on, in a never-ending, desperate attempt to find material for the show. I had read earlier that day, in the science section of the Los Angeles Times, that there was a colony of phosphorescent plankton that had drifted into Malibu from the Pacific, and that every time a wave crashed, it looked like a big neon tube lighting up the entire beach. So I opted to go see the plankton. That’s the kind of fun guy I was. I told John: “Let’s go to Malibu.” We show up at this party — hosted by this Brit director Michael Sarne, who had gotten a little heat from a 1968 film called Joanna and who later directed a train wreck called Myra Breckenridge . Anyhow, we showed up, and it was like Caligula’s Rome. There was a big pile of white powder on a table, which turned out to be mescaline. People would casually stroll by, lick a finger, dip it into the power, and lick it off. Who was I not to do this also? Out on the beach was a huge bonfire, and everyone was singing and playing and doing other things not suitable to mention in a family publication, and at one point my hand started to strobe in front of my face. Understand that up to that time I was, pharmaceutically speaking, pretty much a virgin. Maybe a little grass in the dressing room. So, as a Jewish control freak now out of control, I started to panic. I said to John, “My hand is strobing.” He looked at me for a full 20 seconds, his pupils teeny little black dots, and finally said, “What?” And I yelled, “My hand is strobing in front of my face!” And he said, “God gave you a gift, man. Why don’t you enjoy it?” So I immediately called a friend of mine and told her, “Get me the fuck out of here.” My friend picked me up and deposited me back at the hotel on Sunset Boulevard where The Tonight Show put up their staff, and I put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door and went to sleep. When I awoke, there were about six dozen messages waiting for me. You’re probably ahead of me, but that was the night of the Manson murders. The horrible events took place at the other party I could have gone to — the one in Benedict Canyon. The first victim they had discovered was a young man about my age who was shot numerous times. All my friends thought it was me. My God, it could have easily been you. Absolutely. Then again, maybe if I had been there, the murders wouldn’t have taken place. But, most likely, I would be dead. And we wouldn’t be having this conversation. What can we learn from this? Perhaps: Stay out of Los Angeles. The music scene was just never for me. There used to be a mirror on 57th Street in New York, a little distorted, like a fun-house mirror. One day, as I was carrying my banjo and my guitar, I looked at this strangely shaped person in the reflection, and I thought, Is this why my father escaped from Poland? So I could become an itinerant musician with a squished head and spindly legs? So I gave up the music scene entirely and eventually got a job as a writer for Candid Camera. This was before writing for The Tonight Show. How did you get the job for Candid Camera ? I auditioned for Allen Funt, the creator of Candid Camera, by writing a couple of pages with ideas for those hostile, hateful little stunts he used to do. I guess you could say that Candid Camera was one of the first reality shows. Compared with what goes on today, those stunts were very sweet. I know. Nobody had to eat tarantulas. What was Allen Funt like to work for? Kind of eccentric, and when he walked into the room there was an aura of tension around him. I was fired after about seven months, which was par for the course. Pretty much every writer was fired from that show at one point or another. What sort of ideas did you come up with for the show? One of the ideas — I think it was mine, but it’s been a long time — concerned a dry-cleaning establishment. A guy would drop off his suit to be dry-cleaned — this took a little planning, of course — and we would manufacture an identical suit but in a tiny size, like for a chimpanzee. When the guy returned for his suit, the clerk would bring out the tiny version and explain that it had shrunk, and he was really sorry, but the customer should have read the warning on the back of the ticket. And some people accepted it and some people became very angry, and so on. I recall one customer didn’t respond very well. It turns out this guy was caught once before by Candid Camera. He was in a city he wasn’t supposed to be in, with someone he wasn’t supposed to be with. So after he was caught for the second time, and after he was told, “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera !,” instead of smiling, he went berserk. He spotted the hidden camera and picked up a glass ashtray weighing about six pounds and hurled it at the camera operator and broke the two-way mirror the camera was hidden behind. Then he decked the clerk, who was, of course, an actor working for the show. Lots of good, wholesome fun. Needless to say, he didn’t sign the release. But the footage was a big hit at the show’s Christmas party. Did this happen often? Not as violently, but the ratio of filmed segments to segments that actually aired was something like 20 to one. It must have been tough to pull off those stunts. The cameras were huge compared with the ones today, and I assume you needed a tremendous amount of lighting. You’re absolutely right. One of the crises on the show was the phasing out of anything that was in black-and-white. They had to start using color film, which needed about five times the amount of light as black-and-white film. So they had to put these 2,000-watt bulbs in the lamps in the fake offices or other places we used. Most of our “locations” were more like movie sets than offices. The walls didn’t even go up to the ceiling. And there would be some poor person earning $4.10 an hour, hired as a temp, sitting at a desk. The “manager” would tell this temp, “Look, I’m going out for 20 minutes, so just answer the phone and take messages.” And then a man in a gorilla suit would run through. And then the “manager” would return and say, “I’m back from lunch. Did anything happen?” And the temp would often say, “No, nothing.” People don’t notice what they don’t want to notice — either that, or they don’t trust their own senses. More likely, they were afraid that if they were the only one to have seen the gorilla, they might be locked up. It was like that famous experiment conceived by the Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram, detailed in Obedience to Authority [ Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 1963; HarperCollins, 1974] . If a person in a white lab coat tells someone it’s okay to hurt someone else, then it becomes accepted. Someone in a position of authority can remove all rationality from a person’s responses. That’s especially true when you’re a temp. You don’t want to rock the boat. How did you get the job writing for The Tonight Show ? My friend Dick Cavett, who was a writer on the show at this time, the early ’60s, was leaving to try his hand at stand-up. And I was bouncing around after Candid Camera . So I said to Dick, “Let me see what your stuff looks like when you hand it in to Johnny.” I had this idea that if Carson saw material submitted to him in the form that he was used to, he would think I had already worked for him. Or deserved to work for him. Anyhow, he hired me. That’s the key to life, isn’t it? Acting as if you belong where you want to end up. “Assume a virtue if you have it not,” as Shakespeare wrote. How did you become the head writer for the show? I didn’t have an office when I started, just a rolling typewriter stand with an old Royal on it. And I would push my stand to an empty part of the office and write my jokes. Walter Kempley, who later wrote for Happy Days , was then the head writer. He had a disagreement with the producer over a raise, and he left. Walter called me into his office and said, “Congratulations, kid. You’re the head writer.” He gave me half a box of cigars and his joke file. I got his office — a nice office with a window — and a backlog of four or five years of jokes. How long had you been on the show? A month or two. You skipped over all the other writers to become head writer? The other writers didn’t want the job. They were smart. The monologue writers, like David Lloyd, who later wrote for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cheers and Frasier , merely had to deliver a monologue to Carson every day by three o’clock. I shouldn’t say “merely,” because writing a daily monologue can be a terrifying task. But the head writer, in addition to running the writing department, had to write all the sketches, the little interview pieces, the comedy spots. Such as Carnac the Magnificent, Aunt Blabby, and “The Tea Time Movie”? All that shit. I have piles of it, cubic feet of it, stored somewhere. They were very vaudevillian, those sketches. Johnny loved to do characters. And the advantage we had was, as a nightly show, the material didn’t have to be timeless — or even very funny. But if you had timely references, it usually worked. And Johnny was quite skillful. The audiences loved him. TV’s a monster. It just eats up material. It’s impossible to be continuously good. That’s why I’m amazed when I see a TV show that’s good consistently, night after night, week after week. One of the things that I’ll go to my grave having to apologize for is having invented the “Carnac Saver.” Which was what? Every time Johnny’s character Carnac the Magnificent told a joke that bombed, he would have a line that would save him. Like a “hecklerstopper.” And we would give Johnny a page of these jokes: “May the Great Camel of Giza leave you a present in your undershorts.” I can’t believe we were paid for this. Was there a lot of pressure for you on The Tonight Show ? I didn’t experience it as pressure. It was a good stress. I was young, had a lot of energy. I was what — 26, 27? What are your feelings about Carson? What was he like to work with? He was an avuncular figure to me, even though he was probably only 40 when I started on the show. He had a reputation for being difficult to write for, very aloof. Aloof, I guess. He wasn’t a touchy-feely type of guy. But appreciative and loyal. And a good boss. What were his strengths, from a writer’s standpoint? He knew how to deliver a joke. He was a good reactor. He was perfect for television. He never gave a whole lot away. But in terms of delivering comic material, he had that glint. He knew exactly what would work for him. He had a good arena instinct, a solid sense of what the audience would accept from him. Not only in terms of the kinds of jokes, but how far he was willing to push it politically. He was a kind of barometer. When he finally did a joke about Johnson or Nixon or whomever, then it became okay to think about those things in a different way. I’ve always thought that television exists for the audience as a kind of parental entity. If it’s on TV, then it’s been certified by someone, somewhere. And if Johnny did a joke about Nixon or the mayor or whomever — then it became okay to do jokes about that person. We were constantly trying to push Johnny — by we, I mean Jewish, liberal-left-wing writers. We would always try to have him do jokes that were a little stronger than what he wanted to do. But every once in a while he’d sense when the time was right. That was his strength, really. He was like a tuning fork. He would vibrate with what he perceived was the mood of the country. So he could sense when the time was right to tell a certain joke? Yes. Without losing his constituency. I think of Carson as representing this gentile, Middle America persona. Did you have trouble tailoring your humor to that world, being a Jewish writer from Brooklyn? No, it’s easy to write for someone who’s already established a persona. It’s easy to write for a Bob Hope or a Jack Benny or a Groucho Marx. Those characters have already been developed. It’s the hardest thing to develop a persona. That’s why movies and plays about fictional comedians are almost never truly convincing. Because it takes years for the audience to help a comedian shape a comedic persona. A case in point: Woody Allen’s act was all over the map at first. I remember, early on, he had one of those “What if?” premises. For instance: “What if Russia launched a missile and it was going to hit New York? And Khrushchev had to call Mayor Lindsay and warn him about it?” And then Woody would get on the phone like Bob Newhart and be Mayor Lindsay’s half of the phone conversation. It was funny, of course — because he can make anything he touches funny. But then he eventually started to explore more personal things — subjects about his psychiatrist or his marriage. Initially, people were kind of shocked that he was willing to be so intimate onstage — it’s hard to believe this now in the current environment of public confessionals — but they didn’t know what to think. And a lot of times they didn’t laugh. Woody would say his jokes for 20 minutes, and the audience would just stare at him, as if he were an oil painting. When did you first meet Woody? He opened for the Tarriers at the Bitter End in the early 1960s, and we were represented by the same manager, Charles Joffe. He thought Woody and I might be able to write together, and as I said, I was the one in the Tarriers who was the front man and told jokes. It turned out Mr. Joffe was right. You once said that Woody is very intuitive, while you’re much more analytical and logical. I would always try to back into something logically. And he would always make an intuitive leap. How would you write together? Just like you and I are doing now. A dialogue. Then he’d go off and write a scene and give it to me, and we’d trade it back and forth. Or we would play “What if this?” or “What if that?” like Woody used to do when he first started in stand-up. One of us would say something and someone would say something else. You know, if you’re loose enough, you can make it work. That’s the trick. It’s hard to do. It’s like an actor who’s in the part but who’s also looking at his own performance at the same time. Then you can come up with the right material. A lot of it is intuitive, and it’s hard to get your internal editor out of the way. The editor is always sitting there and editing before you say it. Collaborations can often be tricky, though. In the end, who ultimately decides what’s funny and what’s not? I don’t think there’s ever a totally equal collaboration. There has to be one dominant intelligence or creative force that informs the process. You have to have one person who is making those decisions, so that you wind up with something that has a little consistency and integrity. Can you give me a specific example of your creative process with Woody? Our first movie was Sleeper . We first wanted to do the movie with an intermission. Talk about arrogance! We wanted the beginning of the film to take place in contemporary New York, where a guy who owns a health-food store goes in for an operation. And then there would be an intermission, and you would come back and this character would be defrosted and in the future. We thought there would be no speaking whatsoever in our version of the future. We wanted to do a purely visual comedy. And we tried to figure out why in the future there would be no speaking. We decided that in the future it was a privilege to speak, that only certain classes of society had the right to speak, that everyone else had to be quiet. So we wrote a whole scenario in which none of the things that we were good at as writers, like dialogue and jokes, were in the second half of the movie. Fortunately, we soon came to the conclusion that this was a bad idea. It eventually became what it became, the movie that everyone knows, but it had to go through that exploratory process first. What are some specific jokes that didn’t make the final cut of Sleeper ? One early joke was that the president of the future exploded and Woody had to reconstruct him. But the only thing left was his penis. That was later changed to a nose. When you’re loose and intuitive, you’re vulnerable to a variety of peripheral influences. We were working on the screenplay during the 1972 Fischer- Spassky chess match, in Reykjavík. We were both chess fans, and we were watching a lot of it on TV. So we wrote a chess sequence in which the pieces were played by actual human beings — knights on horses, the whole deal. Woody filmed the scene out in the desert on a giant chessboard. He was a white pawn, and he was trembling. One of the other players, who was the voice of God, muses, “Hmmm ... should I sacrifice that pawn?” Woody starts to argue with God and then finally breaks all the rules of chess by running off the board, with the other chess pieces chasing after him. That scene never made the final cut. It was like what later happened with Annie Hall . A lot of material was taken out because the audience just doesn’t care how clever the authors are. They only want a good story. And they’re right. Are there jokes in Sleeper that you now regret? Any that you feel are too dated? I try never to regret anything. But the Albert Shanker joke is one that might need some explanation to current viewers. At the time of the movie’s release in 1973, Albert Shanker was the very powerful president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York. The joke was that Shanker had somehow gotten his hands on a nuclear bomb and destroyed civilization. How do you feel about that joke now? I love that type of stuff. I think it really grounds it in its time and place. If people don’t get it now, too bad. I think you always have to be as specific as possible; that’s the only way you can achieve the universal. But that’s the problem with TV — it tries for the universal and gets nothing. It’s like E.B. White’s advice about writing: Don’t write about Man, write about a man. Exactly. Let’s talk about Annie Hall . From what I understand, it started as a book. Woody might have started it as a book. I’m not sure. After Sleeper , we decided to do something else. We were working on two ideas for movies simultaneously: One was this kind of weird literary piece, which turned out to be Annie Hall. The other was a more conventional period comedy. For me, trying to decide which one to finally do was like being in a desert between two mirages. As you got closer to one idea, it would start to break up, and you’d turn around, and the other idea would look very nice from a distance, and you’d approach that one, but then that one would start to disintegrate. We went back and forth for a while, until, one morning, Woody said, “You know what? The movie that could really be a breakthrough hit is the kind that nobody’s tried before. So let’s do the crazy one, the literary one.” Which was Annie Hall. The French had tried it a little bit, talking to the camera, breaking the frame. Very Brechtian, always reminding the audience that they were watching a movie, with split screens and cartoons. Nobody had really tried anything like that in American cinema, however, and we really couldn’t have done it anywhere but at United Artists. They were enthralled with Woody, and they gave him carte blanche. What was the first version of Annie Hall like? Was it different from what eventually ended up onscreen? It was full of brilliance. It was very long — about two hours and 40 minutes — and it really didn’t have Annie as a significant character. She was just one of the women in his life, among the others. If I remember correctly, she didn’t come from Wisconsin; she came from New York. But that was just in the first draft of the screenplay. By the time the movie was shot, she was from Wisconsin. When we saw the initial screening, we thought, There’s no story here . In the first scene of the original version, Woody came out and looked at the camera and said something to the effect of, “Well, I just turned 40 and I’ve been examining my life. How did I become who I am?” And it went on from there, in a ruminative and associative fashion. After watching it, we thought, Where’s the relationship? When people come to me with ideas, sometimes they say, “I want to do a story about a war” or “I want to do a story about a hospital.” And I’ll always say, “Tell me the story in terms of a relationship.” So, with Annie Hall , we knew what was missing. It didn’t focus on a relationship. Audiences don’t really care how bright you are as writers and how many literary associations you make and how brilliant you come off. When you’re showing off, it becomes a little exclusionary to the audience. You’re just being precocious. That’s why the movie was called Annie Hall and not Anhedonia or The Second Lobster Scene , which were two working titles. Didn’t the movie have a few working titles, such as Roller Coaster Named Desire , Me and My Goy , and Me and My Jew ? Not to my recollection. Those sound like jokes, not titles. What were your thoughts upon first seeing that two-hour-and-40-minute cut? I was very inexperienced. I didn’t realize that a rough cut is exactly that — rough. There’s a Yiddish phrase: “Never show a fool something half-finished.” Well, I was the fool in that situation. And I don’t even know why they bothered to show it to me. I thought, Uh-oh . It was like a nightclub act, like a riff. Later, after the drastic edit, were you upset that a lot of the brilliant material never made it to the screen? Oh, no, no, no. Because when I saw the final cut, I thought, That’s it. It went through a lot of reshoots, didn’t it? A few. The ending took a while to get right. But who knows why that film works? I have no idea. It’s a film where you can learn nothing as a screen-writer or as a director, because it’s so eccentric. It’s such an odd, idiosyncratic, personal thing, and that’s probably part of its appeal. And, not to take anything away from Woody’s performance, which is very skillful, but I think that a lot of the success and charm of the film is due to Diane Keaton, with her endearing eccentricity and the way she appreciates Woody and grows as a character. She was — and is — a delight. She sort of inhabits the whole movie. And I think that’s what you leave with, that glow from her performance. But again, who knows, really, why it works? It’s a mistake to think that what you’re seeing up on the stage or on the screen is what the author intended. It isn’t. It’s always the result of a hundred compromises and accidents, both good and bad, and if you’re lucky, you get lucky. People feel such a strong attachment to Annie Hall. It was, among other things, a reasonably accurate record of what it might have been like to live in New York at that time. In a way, it’s an anthropological document. It was sort of at the tail end of the new Hollywood, the revolution that started, I guess, with Easy Rider , when the Young Turks from USC film school took over Old Hollywood — those years when Elliott Gould was in every other movie. There was an air of promise, an aura of possibility. It was sort of like the cultural equivalent of what happened socially in the ’60s, when you felt that there was a possibility for something new and exciting. And I’m not sure that exists anymore. I think there’s a kind of nostalgia for that now, when everything’s become so corporate, so homogenized and controlled. That generation in the ’70s used movies as their way of defining themselves culturally, the way kids now use music. Film for us was really a very important cultural experience. We loved foreign films by Bergman, Truffaut, Resnais, Fellini. What were your thoughts when you saw the first cut of Manhattan ? The same as Annie Hall ? I never saw the first cut. I just saw the final film. I thought it was fine. And it looked wonderful. I did have one discussion with Woody about a scene. It was the only time we ever had a real disagreement. In this particular scene, Woody lists Groucho Marx, Louis Armstrong’s “Potato Head Blues,” Flaubert’s Sentimental Education , Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony, and a few other things that make life worth living. And I thought, Why Sentimental Education? Why not Madame Bovary? And how do you pick the “Jupiter” Symphony over another Mozart symphony? Woody was doing the same thing he accuses Diane’s character of doing in the movie — ranking works of art. Plus, isn’t that a tad myopic? How about things that really make life worth living? Kids. Family. Love. Sacrifice. Yes, it can be argued that this is the character’s view of the world, but I thought it was dangerous — the line between who Woody was in life and the characters he was playing in his movies was pretty fuzzy. And I said, “The critics are going to kill us! It’s a pretentious, narcissistic, solipsistic view of the world that you’re offering up.” And he said, “Nah, you’re crazy, nobody’s going to say anything, it’s going to be fine.” And he was right. The only person who criticized us was Joan Didion in The New York Review of Books . She said something to the effect of: “Who in the hell do they think they are with their things worth living for?” I’ve always felt that that particular speech was essential to the broader theme of the movie — that an obsession with minutiae takes our minds off the bigger issues. Maybe you can extract a theme from that dialogue, but, honestly, we were not writing to proselytize a point of view like that, although I guess it’s sort of inherent in the movie. None of that was really in the air when we were writing the screenplay. Most of what we talked about was conversation and plot. When you look at Manhattan , can you tell who wrote what? What scene or joke you came up with and what Woody came up with? Sometimes, but the great rule I learned from Woody is that when you get in a room with another person, you’re both responsible for the result — assuming that there’s a reasonably equal level of talent. This is not as coy an answer as it might appear. Even though a great line or idea might be uttered by one person, it may have been triggered or stimulated by what the other party said. This happens all the time in collaborations, so the safest and fairest way of attributing ownership — though probably less satisfying to the curious — is to attribute everything to both parties. How did you eventually write for the Muppets? I was an enormous fan of Jim Henson’s; I really thought he was a genius. I was finally introduced to him by a mutual friend, and when Jim was given the green light to develop a pilot for ABC, he asked me to work with him. This was the 1975 TV special called The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. The Muppets were making fun of sex and violence on television, complete with a beauty pageant featuring the Seven Deadly Sins. The humor was somewhat mature for a show featuring puppets. As evidenced by the following two jokes: “What’s black and white and red all over? The Federalist Papers!” Also: “Knock knock. Who’s there? Roosevelt. Roosevelt who? Roosevelt nice, but Gladys felt nicer.” Did you write either of those jokes? I don’t remember, truthfully. But I did create, or help to create, a few of the Muppet characters, like the two old men in the balcony, Statler and Waldorf, and the Swedish Chef. Somewhere out there, there’s a cassette of me speaking in a mock Swedish accent that Jim Henson listened to in order to capture the mood for that character. Maybe it’ll show up one day on eBay. You wrote and directed a movie called Simon , released in 1980. The plot involved a think tank that performed a social experiment on a character played by Alan Arkin. The purpose of this experiment was to convince Arkin’s character that he was an alien. I always looked at Simon as being a film for the ’70s. It was satirical of the culture at the time — especially TV and faith in science. All of that seemed to be in the air then. In one scene, a group of believers pray before a giant TV set. I take it you’re not such a fan of television? TV is just a medium. What I’m not a fan of is how TV has replaced more meaningful cultural values and experiences — like reading and group activities. Watching TV is an isolating, rather than a socializing, experience. It creates passivity in the viewer. Most of TV is a sales tool; the culture and entertainment aspects are just a means of delivering markets to merchandisers. Do you have any interest in writing more humor for the page? You’ve written a few pieces for The New Yorker but not in a long while. It’s been more than 30 years. I’d love to. In college I was introduced to the writings of S.J. Perelman, Robert Benchley, and the whole New Yorker bunch. What they were able to do with the written word had an effect on me similar to when, at the age of 11, I first heard Eric Weissberg play Scruggs-style five-string banjo. It was like watching someone levitate. The first thing I ever wrote for The New Yorker was actually published. It was called “What, Another Legend?” It involved a fake press release for a fictitious, 112-year-old Black clarinet player. But those pieces are not so easy. They take some time to get right. I am forever indebted to my editor at The New Yorker , Roger Angell, who led me through my overwritten stuff and edited it down to what finally appeared in print. At one point, many years ago, someone from the New York Times took me to lunch and asked me if I would be interested in taking over for the columnist Russell Baker. And I said, “You’re crazy. I could never do that each week!” Baker, as I recall, did two columns a week. I couldn’t imagine doing that. Besides, I didn’t really have a voice then. How would you describe your voice now? I don’t know. If it’s anything, I suppose, it’s anti-sentimental. Can you give me a specific example? In Jersey Boys , there’s a scene in the second act when the two members of the Four Seasons who are left, Frankie and Bob, are sitting and having a cup of coffee. And Bob says, “Look, I think you need to go out on the road.” And Frankie replies, “You want me to go out by myself? What if they don’t like me as a solo singer?” Originally, the next line was: “Frankie, this is your time.” And it never sat right for me. So I changed it to: “Frankie, what makes you think they liked you before ?” It’s a nice little change, because it defines the relationship between these characters very quickly, that they’re able to deal with each other like that. Also, it’s funny and it’s not sentimental. What I like to do is to turn 90 degrees from something that’s headed towards sentimental and undercut it. That’s a very Jewish sensibility. The Jews have always had something amusing to say while they’re getting the shit kicked out of them. I can attest to that. Right. So it’s the abhorrence of unearned sentiment, I guess. Which is defined as asking the audience to feel more for the characters than God does. By the way, I still can’t believe I wrote Jersey Boys . Why did you? What was it about the story that appealed to you? When I heard that the Four Seasons had sold about 175 million records here and abroad, I blinked. And then, when I finally met with Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli and they told me the story of their rise from blue-collar New Jersey — with their involvement with the mob, with being poor, to finally making it, the whole arc of success and failure — I realized that this was not only a true story but it was a very good story. Are you a fan of musicals in general? Some, like Guys and Dolls. But not a fervent aficionado. I’m more of a movie guy. That’s where I was for 20 years. But when musical theater works, there’s really nothing like it. You almost never get a movie audience to stand up and cheer, because they realize on some level — not a very deep level, actually — that what they’re seeing onscreen has already happened . In a very real sense, movies are dead. In live theater, the audience gets to bond through the live event with live actors and singers. It’s all happening in real time in front of their eyes, and it can be a deeply moving and socializing experience. How is writing for the stage different than writing for the screen? It follows the same general rules about character and action, of course, but in many ways writing for the stage is a totally different animal. For instance, initially, I’d write a scene and then end it with, “Then we cut to ...” And I would have to be reminded that in live theater you don’t “cut” to anything. So it’s a different set of rules — how to get people on and off the stage, how to make smooth transitions, remembering that there are no close-ups or reaction shots. The audience looks where it wants to look, and it’s the job of the author and director to make you, in the audience, look where you need to look. Because of the fluidity and freedom of theater, you can do many things without apology — and without being necessarily naturalistic. Great productions of the classics have been done with minimal sets and props — a table, a drop, some lighting. You couldn’t get away with that in a movie, in which the “contract” with the audience is different. Movies are, on a certain level, documentary. It’s time to end the interview, so I’m going to pull out one of my stock, yet extremely popular, questions. Do you have any advice to the aspiring comedy writer on how to discover their voice? Search your roots and your heritage, your ethnic background, the way people speak. Most great comedy comes from minorities — ethnic, social, economic. If you think about it, most comedy ought to function as a corrective — against one or another social or cultural or economic inequity. Perhaps I should modify that to read “real or imagined” social or cultural or economic inequity. Then there’s the issue of language and style, which gets into the equation somehow. But even that definition doesn’t cover the entire waterfront, as it doesn’t exactly include parody or other literary forms, such as with Benchley and Perelman and others. And yet, it’s a good start. So, by searching your own roots and using what you have at your disposal, does this make the comedy more authentic and true, and thus more real and funny? I really have no idea as to why something is funny. I know it has something to do with the correct matching of performer and material, or some set of commonly held assumptions about the world, or an attitude. I get dizzy trying to deconstruct it. I do know that when I can match a comic performer or writer with some sociological turf, then the comedy has, for me, a better chance of landing: Jonathan Winters and his characters from the Midwest. Or Woody Allen, from a Jewish-urban landscape. Or Chris Rock, from the upwardly mobile, urban-Black perspective. And so on. I do know that those performers who seem to come from the Land of Media have a more difficult time making me laugh — the exception is David Letterman, much of whose humor is deconstructionist and exhibits, or tries to conceal, a hilarious rage against the various forms of media, like advertising, political doublespeak, and so on. So there are exceptions. Any advice for the comedy writer on how to succeed in the movie or TV business? My feeling is that there are already too many comedy writers. What we need is people in health care. Learn CPR and how to fill out a certificate of death. And if you’re not into CPR and still want to pursue humor writing? Have an uncle who runs the New York office of the William Morris Agency. And if you’re not lucky enough to have an uncle who runs the New York office of William Morris? Then you must go into health care.
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