Brevity by Dan Thompson for June 23, 2013

Have you ever noticed, Oprah spelled backwards is Harpo?

Willard, her production company is called Harpo…She’s way ahead of you dude…

Other people that have left lucrative jobs too soon? Me….

Jesus Christ!!

Susan, Susan. where fore art thou Susan?….Anyway, thanks for the post card…I’ll try to be more in touch…39 tomato plants, huh? Nice…..

Yeah, I love it when “Big Stars” start believing their own press and leave successful gigs cos they’re so much better than the job that brought them fame….

Of course there are some success stories…. but looking at Tom Hanks or Robin Williams in a silly sitcom, you already knew they were bound for better things.

The minute I saw George Clooney on “One Day at a Time,” I thought “movie star.”

But certainly not Shelly Long… or Mclean Stevenson….

and Joe Piscopo? David Caruso?

Give me a break!

There are plenty of others but I can’t think of them right this minute…also dissatisfied musicians who thought they were being held back by their successful groups…who left, and fell into deserved oblivion.

I know sometimes a person has to say “I just can’t do this any more”… but it’s quite another thing to let everyone know “I’m too good for this.”

Um… Varnes…I’d already answered your e-mail…

I think Shermy was fired – as was Violet and Patty. Larry Linville should have been fired. Wayne Rogers left early.

Chuck Cunningham had no choice. He just didn’t fit in.

David Carusso (sp) left to do movies and failed had to end up back on tv

OK, I give up. Who is Lyman?

@SusanSunshine Don’t think George was ever on “One Day at a Time”, “Roseanne” yes, and a sitcom E/R way before the drama ER

Lyman?

I have no idea who Lyman is (or was? or will be?) It’s interesting when reading the “Complete Peanuts” collections, to look at the indices and track how many times Shermy, Patty, Violet, and Pig Pen appear in the later ones. The current one, 1985-1986, has just one Patty, one Violet, and no Shermy, even though Shermy was the first “Peanuts” character to speak! (The only one to speak, the very first episode, in fact: “Charlie Brown: How I hate him!”)

Lyman was Jon’s roommate in the Garfield strip who suddenly disappeared (see Bruno’s comment above).

I was hoping a commentator would explain who “Lyman” is. Googling didn’t give me a anything specific enough.

Actually, some foreign market deal for ‘Anger Management’ is under way that may change the way business is done. Charlie Sheen may make a lot of money through it than he would have from 2 1/2 Men. He’s making about 750,000 an episode now. It’s less than half what he was making, but he’s hardly on the breadline. In fact, he’s more famous, and in our whore for celebrity society, isn’t that what truly matters?

Hervé Villechaize

Heeeeyyy! Whatever happened to the ‘Fonze’. Uhhh, playing a dweeb for the rest of his career?

Henry Winkler was great as the incompetent lawyer on “Arrested Development.” (Is he on the new episodes?)

This is about big-headed performers who leave lucrative careers because they think they can do better.

It;s unfair to put Henry Winkler in that category!

I’m no big fan of his, but I do know that he’s known as a nice guy.

And he stayed with Happy Days to its demise, even though he unintentionally became its breakout star, and had many other offers.

After that, he became a very successful director and producer.

And Herve Villachaize (?) was fired from Fantasy Island, he didn’t quit…. just like Shermy…. only unlike Shermy he was reputed to be very difficult to work with.

The George Clooney thing is a mystery….I only saw the first few years of One Day at a Time….

I’d SWEAR the first time I ever saw George Clooney was on that show… maybe only one episode, but I thought two or three….

I remember him being, I think, on the fire escape talking to Bonnie Franklin through the window…He was very young, maybe 20-ish, and handsome.

But now I can’t find any reference to it, even though the next time I saw him I remembered his as “that kid from One Day at a Time.”

Dave Chappelle

That can’t be Oprah. She is too thin.