The Prince of Funny Faces Was On Double Dare

Philadelphia, PA - January 11, 1987

Fast forward to 21:07 to see the future King!

Thank you Reddit!

The Double Dare Story - 1/11/1987

My father grew up with Geraldine Bond Laybourne, who was the President/CEO of Nickelodeon Television in the 1980's. When I was eleven years old and my brother was eight, she sent us tickets to see a taping of Double Dare. Somehow, my mother got us a day off of school and she drove us down to Philadelphia to see this:







I shouted out "Harvey!" at the top of my lungs. This picture doesn't capture it, but he was annoyed! Harvey was the announcer of the show, very much beloved by me and by many kids of my generation.



And here is the host of the show, Marc Summers. Years later, he was in the news talking about having OCD, and I often wondered if this story had something to do with it. Did it make him worse? Was he trying to repress this memory as much I had tried to? I don't know. But Marc Summers  was the host of Double Dare, one of the biggest kids game shows of all time.



It was a kid's dream come true! Before the big obstacle course event at the end of one of the episodes (we saw four being taped), Marc goes into the audience and talks to some of the excited kids in the audience. He picked me! I was so excited!



But then things got ugly...

Of all the questions that the host of the most popular kids game show in America could ask me, he asked me if I had a boyfriend. He slipped. He made a mistake. But the damage was done...



I was a weird kid in the 80's. These were the days of "Nerds" and "Geeks" and "Dweebs" and John Landis movies. I was teased more than most, I fear. Of all the questions in the world he could ask me, why did he ask me if I had a boyfriend? I asked myself that question many times over the years. And I never really talked to anyone about being on everyone's favorite show, at least not until several years had separated me from the pain and humiliation.

I'm not homophobic now. I wasn't homophobic then. This has nothing to do with homophobia. I was just pissed that Marc Summers gave all of the 'popular kids' in school a reason to tease me. Yeah, it had a lot to do with pride and ego, but hey...I was eleven years old. Forgive me, please.

Well that's another amazing story from the life of the current King of Funny Faces.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey, USA
Established 1782

UPDATE:

The Little Prince of Funny Faces

The Little Prince of Funny Faces
Originally uploaded by Erik B. Anderson

"Little fellow, this has nothing to do with the fox?"

"Why?"

"Because we're going to die of thirst."

The little prince didn't follow my reasoning, and answered me, "It's good to have had a friend, even if you're going to die. Myself, I'm very glad to have had a fox for a friend."

He doesn't realize the danger, I said to myself. He's never hungry or thirsty. A little sunlight is enough for him... But the little prince looked at me and answered my thought. "I'm thirsty, too...Let's find a well..."

I made an exasperated gesture. It is absurd looking for a well, at random, in the vastness of the desert. But even so, we started walking.

-Antoine De Saint Exupery: The Little Prince, Chapter 24

Erik Worked for the Chester County Historical Society

CCHS Promo - w. Erik's hand in it
Originally uploaded by Erik B. Anderson

I was a Public Relations Intern, a Museum Tour Guide, a Receptionist and a Library Attendant for about six months at the Chester County Historical Society for about six months in 1996.

I really enjoyed it.

I solicited bids from web developers to create CCHS's very first "web site". I also made a lot of phone calls, updated press contact info and I like to say I "got my hand in" the pamphlet (right). You can see my 21 year old hand pointing to one of the exhibits in the picture in the middle.

The Chester County Historical Society is located on North High Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania. There are two main buildings. One of them used ot be an Opera House built by Thomas U. Walter, the architect of the United States Capitol Dome. He built six other structures in West Chester in the 19th Century. They are all very impressive.

Here are some other facts about the history of Chester County:

• Bayard Rustin was born in West Chester. He was the man who introduced Martin Luther King, Jr. to Gandhi's ideas. They recently named the High School after him. Parents complained because he was gay and he was a communist. He was a great author (I recommend Down the Line) and organizer of the civil rights march in 1963.

• Frederick Douglass spoke publicly for the last time at West Chester University, where I was a sociology student while I worked at the museum.

• The Battle of the Brandywine, which was called the "bloodiest battle of the Revolution", was fought not far from West Chester.

• Chester County was known as the "Mushroom Capital of the World." There was a whole exhibit about the mushroom industry when I was there.

They have a library with a vast genealogical archive. They have a children's playroom and a vast auditorium where speakers often come to talk.

If you can go visit, I think it would be worthwhile.

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

Erik Read's ShakespeareNJ's Gareth Saxe Star-Ledger Interview - Critically

Read this review with the actor playing Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
True to himself: Gareth Saxe tackles Shakespeare's most difficult role
by Peter Filichia/For The Star-Ledger

I posted what I wrote below in the comments section of the Star-Ledger.com and also under the link to the article that The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey posted on their Facebook site.

***

It is offensive that this actor plays Hamlet like he is feigning madness. How is the Tragedy of Hamlet not a tragedy of inaction?

Hamlet was the lawful heir to his throne. That was the action that should have been taken before the play started. It was interfered with by Hamlet's incestuous mother and his incestuous uncle. Then it was interfered with by the wretched rash intruding fool Lord Polonius who told his mother that he is mad because he is mad. They are the ones who decided he is mad. Madness is not a medical disease. It is a social position. It allows the one who is labeled mad to be marginalized and removed from his or her proper role in society. In Hamlet's case, his proper role in society was to be King. The few characters who did not interfere directly were Polonius, Marcellus, Rosencrants and Guildenstern, but they took no action. This play is certainly a tragedy of inaction.

I highly recommend that Gareth Saxe read Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin and The Politics of Experience by R.D. Laing before he goes onstage again and gets more reviews like the one like the one on CentralJersey.com that says he looked like he was poring over his notes and then got interrupted by the "obligatory" to be or not to be speech, in which he is questioning whether to kill himself or to take action to end a sea of troubles.

Get mad, sir! Get mad! Get really mad! Remember the old rule, acting is not pretending. Acting is taking action. I'm not sure, but I think Sandy Meisner said that.

I say again. Get fuming mad! Froth at the mouth if you have to! You're playing Hamlet, for God's sake!

Warm Regards,

Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782

More about Erik:
http://thetragedyoferik.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIR2nUcsiRw

This is not Erik's best performance, but it will have to do for now.

This blog is cross-posted on MySpace.

Erik B. Anderson: Early Childhood

Erik B. Anderson
by Mary Wilkin (Grandma)

The first child of Kay and Bruce Anderson, the first grandchild of Marion Anderson and Mary Wilkin, Erik was born prematurely on June 9, 1975 in Morristown Memorial Hospital. The excitement of his birth turned to anxiety as Kay had a convulsion in the hospital and was diagnosed as having toxemia. No one knows what cause this condition but the baby must be delivered immediately. A Caesarian operation was performed and the 5 lb. 4 oz. boy was put in an incubator. He was only 3 weeks early. His mother, however, was kept highly sedated with only her husband being allowed to see her. He was only 3 weeks early. His mother, however, was kept highly sedated with only her husband being allowed to see her. After a couple of days Kay was allowed to see her baby but not to hold him. We later learned that this was because they thought she might have another seizure and drop the child. Her dream of nursing the baby was denied, but the family of 3 eventually returned to their home at Quakerchurch Rd. in Randolph, N.J. with a healthy, thriving son.




Erik was the joy of the family. Round face, big brown eyes and chubby, rosy cheeks make him a delight to look at or hold. He was content in his swing or on the floor on the bright quilt his Aunt Joan (Wilkin) had made for him. Both Grandmas visited often and took frequent pictures of his various stages of development. Baby-sitting was their pleasure.

Erik sat up alone at 8 months, walked alone at 15 months. His first method of walking was his monster stride. He would put both arms straight out in front of him for balance and cross a room. In his high chair he would pick up Cheerios one by one from the tray while waiting for the rest of the meal. When the food arrived, he stuffed his face putting more in his mouth before he had swallowed the first bite. Kay frequently said "Manners don't count until you're 3."

Climbing out of the crib or playpen was a trick he learned from another toddler in Vermont where the family had visited in August '77. Skipping naps began about the same time at 2 years and 2 months. A month later on a long car trip to Cape Cod, Erik could identify most letters on a sign. When one was pointed out to him he would say, "That's an S or that's a C." While the car was stopped at one crossroad he said, "That's S-T-O-P --- Pots." Indoors adults would point to letters in the headlines and he would name each letter. Once his Daddy pointed to a quotation mark. Erik looked at the beginning and end quotes and said, "That's two sixes and two nines."

At home Erik knew how to turn on the radio for Grandma when she couldn't figure it out. He almost locked Grandma out of the car when she was scraping snow off the windows and he was inside pushing buttons. His first set of blocks he threw but he soon learned to build towers and knock them down. When no blocks were available at a time instead of knocking them down. After learning to make choo-choo trains of blocks Erik made choo-choos of any three items he encountered on a table or the floor.

In November 1977, Erik showed his imagination in a restaurant when he took a drinking straw and held it like a pencil and said, "I'm writing." Next he put the straw across his upper lip and said, "It's a mustache." When he held it above his eyes, he claimed, "It's eyebrows." Finally, he tried to twirl it like a baton.

Erik seemed unusually interested in words. When examining a humidifier in Grandma's house he asked what it was for and how it worked. Still puzzled when he peered inside, he asked, "Did my Daddy light the fire in the humidifier?" Once he said, "When I get covered with dirt, I'm dirty. When I spill my milk, I'm milky. When I play in the sandbox, I get sandy. When I roll on the lawn do I get lawny?" Another time he asked his mother if she razed her legs with a razor. As he got older he decided that a boy who plays soccer is a soccerist.

In the months before his brother was born, Erik knew that the baby was in his mother's tummy. He heard the heartbeat on the stethoscope in the doctor's office. When Kay came home with the new baby, Erik was given a boy doll that was anatomically correct. He would hug the doll and say, "I love my brudder."

At age 4, Erik loved to get presents. He was very particular about picking up the wrappings and putting them in the wastebasket. One gift, a Hop-it, frustrated him because he couldn't get the coordination to put both feet on it and walk as on low stilts. A fishing net he enjoyed because he could catch frogs in it. At this age, he was able to converse and relate details of his recent trip to Magic Mountain. His voice was often very loud. He had to be reminded to use his "inside voice" in the house.

For Hallowe'en of 1979 Erik dressed as the HULK and frightened his little brother. In toy stores, Erik was attracted to all games and toys that are related to monsters. At home he loved television but was very considerate about early morning sound. When he had Darlene, a teenager, for a babysitter he was so considerate he didn't wake her until it was too late for his ride to nursery school.

When his parents were due to arrive home from their trip, I suggested we write a Welcome Home sign for them. Instead he cut out a picture for them and wanted to write it himself saying, "Hello Mommy and Dad" not Daddy.

For one trip to say overnight at my house, Erik packed his own bag which he called his Brucecase. He remembered to pack everything except his pajamas. It was about this time that he declared that he did not want to be kissed. Grandma Anderson said she was going to kiss him anyway. Grandma Wilkin started blowing kisses to him.