"A perfectly silly, genius idea" -- David Letterman

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Brian Williams


Jimmy Philbin, longtime Late Show security staffer, is a familiar sight to CelebriGum fans.  Day in and day out, in all kinds of weather, he welcomes arriving guests and escorts them inside.  He appears in many of the photos I've taken.

What you don't get from the photos is the verbal abuse Jimmy often has to endure from celebrities.  Mr. Funny Nice-Guy Newsman Brian Williams is one of the worst offenders, and this particular day was no exception.  I heard it all from the window:

"No more watching the CBS Evening News!  I don't care what network you work for!  I'm a special friend of the Late Show, dammit, and that means you watch me on the NBC Nightly News!  You understand me?  I know powerful people!  One call from me and Obama puts you in Gitmo!  Oh, and check out my new show, Rock Central, moving to Wednesdays at 9, 8 Central, as of February 8th, on NBC!  You got all that, punk?"

Jimmy, thanks for your extraordinary patience in the face of such childishness.

25 comments:

  1. Clearly, all of this celebri-gum-ity has gone to his head!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jimmy Philbin... is that Regis' brother? Kinda looks like Jay Leno.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually don't know. I'd ask, except he must be terribly sick of people asking. Also, probably not.

      Delete
  3. Geez, so how much ABC pay you for the commercial?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Replies
    1. Yeah! I have a call in to the DuMont Network to see if they'd like to develop a CelebriGum show. Haven't heard back yet.

      Delete
  5. I challenge your knowledge of television history with this comment. "I would love to "Clutch Cargo" this photo."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the moving mouth over the photo/cartoon face. I only know it because the Comedy Channel circa 1989 was doing some stuff with it when I worked there. Also I think Conan adapted the technique in the 90's.

      Delete
    2. Bingo! I learned about it from my father, but I had seen the Conan (Talking Bill Clinton: Robert Smigel) bit before and connected the dots. And that's why learning is fun!

      Delete
  6. I think all the eating sandwiches out of dumpsters has damaged Mr. Williams brain, making him prone to nasty outbursts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds familiar, but I can't quite place the reference... was that something he talked about on the show from when he was a struggling young guy?

      Delete
    2. You're kidding, right? You're trying to make a fool out of me right?

      Delete
    3. No, I'm quite willing to admit I'm the fool.

      Delete
    4. Okay, I Googled sandwich dumpster "Brian Williams," and discovered that it was a bit on the Late Show last fall. Maybe I knew about it at the time, maybe I didn't. Most things from the show don't make it into my long-term memory.

      Delete
    5. Steve didn't you write that bit? Or does Mr. Williams really eat from dumpsters?

      Delete