May 26, 2000
Greetings Accumulators!
Ah...at last, sunshine in the Big Apple! Well, this puts me in a talkative
mood, so here's what I've heard this week:
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COURTSIDE SEATS SPIKE LEE WOULDN'T BUY
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Yes, Accumulators, we thought we'd seen everything. And where else would
we find proof that there is always someone even crazier, just waiting to be
discovered, but on eBay? Michael Toney, on Death Row in Texas for a
bombing attack that killed three people, apparently tried to auction five
seats to his execution. He was planning, he said in his listing, to use
the money to start a trust fund for his two daughters, from whom he is
estranged (somehow, this doesn't seem like the way to smooth things over).
The ever-vigilant eBay pulled the auction before anyone could bid on the
seats, which is a good thing, because prison officials in Texas say the
winners wouldn't have been allowed to attend anyway. Condemned prisoners
in Texas are each permitted to invite five people to witness their
executions, but the intent seems to be that they actually know each other.
No word on whether the tickets came with backstage passes.
In a related story, someone tried to sell, also on eBay, the remains of a
gun they claimed was taken from the ruins of the Branch Davidian compound
in Waco, Texas, after the FBI raid there. The folks at eBay yanked that
one too, because it violated their prohibition against the selling of guns.
Jeez, can't we all just stick to wind-up toys and Fenton glass?
CROSS-DRESSING, SUPPOSEDLY WELL-ENDOWED OLD-TIMERS DEPARTMENT
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Milton Berle, now 92 years old and still hilarious, is suing NBC. It seems
that Mr. Television and the network jointly owned the kinescopes of his
early 1950s TV shows. Berle claims it was the network's responsibility to
safeguard and preserve the films, but 130 reels of them are missing. And,
Berle says, the network "appears to have lost and/or
dispersed the original films to others, including donations to entities for
NBC's benefit." Uncle Miltie discovered the kinescopes were missing when
he contacted NBC with a proposal for marketing them to the public, and he
wants 30 million dollars in compensation. The Los Angeles Times reports
that NBC attorneys claim there never was any agreement giving Berle rights
to the films
.
A GENUINE WOODY
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If you can get yourself to Washington, DC between May 27 and August 13, you
will have the opportunity to view, at the Smithsonian Institution, some
never-before-seen artifacts which are part of a tribute to an American
legend: folk singer and writer Woody Guthrie. If he doesn't sound
familiar, it might help you to know that he wrote "This Land Is Your Land"
and that he was Arlo Guthrie's (think "Alice's Restaurant") father. Guthrie
died in 1957, of ALS. The exhibition includes films, artifacts, recordings,
and even some unreleased music.
FELLOW ACCUMULATOR ADOPTS WEIRD TRIANGULAR HAIRDO
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Just kidding. There's an oddly cropped photo of me at The Collecting
Channel's website. It's there because they are webcasting an interview I
did with Accumulator Tony Brooks, about board games. If you have the
chance to go there, please do. There's sound and everything! Here's the link:
http://www.collectingchannel.com/cdsHomeBC.asp?CID=1
Okay, Accumulators, time to run. Artie and I are heading up to the country
house for the holiday weekend. I hope your holiday is wonderful and joyous
and filled with good friends, good food and great yard sale-ing. Please
remember to either designate a driver, or have your last drink more than an
hour before you hit the road. And watch out for the other guy - maybe
nobody loved him enough to take away his keys. Have a great week,
Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2000 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #122
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
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