Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Repository of Forgotten Entertainers


It has occurred to us what the purpose of this "blog" might be, and that purpose is contained in the title of this "post." Whether it is someone we have only just discovered (see Woody Woodbury or Moko the Chimp), an old favorite like John Qualen, or a person who merely makes us say "eh," like Marty Ingels (no offense to Mr. Ingels, of whom we have some good accounts. It is not his fault that we have not been properly exposed to his particular talents!), the "blog" delights in its pitiful attempts to push these hard workers back onto the cultural radar. With that in mind, we would like to remind everyone of Pete Barbutti (pictured), the address of whose own "web" site misspells his last name. But I am gratified to see that he is working; indeed you can email him if you like, just like Roy Clark. Mr. Barbutti, whose appearances on the Johnny Carson show thrilled me as a young piano playing boy (he played the piano in an amusing way and smoked and drank), had slipped my mind COMPLETELY, I am grieved to admit, until David Letterman mentioned him in passing on his program the other night. This has been the first in what we hope will be a series of public service announcements.