Russ Meyer- the sexploitation filmmaker who William Goldman described as the last true American auteur- has died at the age of 82. Meyer directed such classics as “Faster Pussycat- Kill! Kill!” and the Roger Ebert-scripted “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” although come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a single Russ Meyer film.
And speaking of pornographers… last Saturday I went to a show put on by the Jewish musical comedy revue known as “What I Like About Jew,” and on the bill for a standup set was legendary Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein. I had seen a listing for the show while reading the Jewish Week in Penn Station the day before- while looking for Esther’s column, actually- and thought, “I have to go to this.”
What was interesting was the contrast between the comedy of the “What I Like About Jew” duo –Sean Altman and Rob Tannenbaum- and that of Goldstein. Both sets consisted of extreme, Jewish-tinged ribaldry that included lots of penis jokes- at one point Altman and Tannenbaum even sang a song called “This is Not a Song About Our Dicks”- but the audience totally ate up all of their material, while they seemed more creeped out than anything else by Goldstein’s routine. It might be because the ‘About Jew’ dudes are young, good-looking guys, while Goldstein is a fat old man who made his living for 30 years as a pornographer.
I use the past tense because Goldstein, whose hilariously low-budget “Midnight Blue” cable access show I used to watch religiously when I first lived in Manhattan, has left the porn game, and after a stint living in his car in Florida, is now working as a host at the Second Avenue Deli. I got to meet him after the show.
Posted by Stephen Silver at September 23, 2004 06:12 PMThis is unrelated, but have you read the review of the new Philip Roth novel in the New Yorker? Interesting stuff. I may have to get the book.
Posted by: Daniella at September 23, 2004 07:42 PM