Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:48:21 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <mjw at press.jhu.edu>
To: "WSFA members" <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Dropping like flies
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

> "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net> 6/29/2009 7:40 PM >>>
>"Michael Walsh" <mjw at press.jhu.edu> wrote:
>
>> Farrah Fawcett
>> Michael Jackson
>> Bille Mays
>> Gale Storm
>
>You forgot Ed McMahon, who also died last week.  I was roundly
>condemned in rec.arts.sf.fandom when I said I had only known of him as
>the scammer who used to send me letters that falsely said I had won a
>multi-million dollar sweepstakes.  He sent similar letters to plenty
>of other people.  Several went into debt to fly to Florida to pick up
>their winnings in person within the short deadline specified, after
>they were repeatedly unable to reach anyone on the phone.  So I was
>surprised to read in the obits about his TV career, which I had known
>nothing about, and to see no mention of this massive fraud.  On
>Googling, I see that he and the parent organization were sued for
>millions, an the parent organization paid.

This:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Family_Publishing
has a bunch of "External Links" detailing the legal issues.

>I was also condemned for expressing surprise that Jackson's death got
>more publicity than Fawcett's.  I knew he was a famous singer decades
>ago, and that he had been in the news more recently for being tried
>and acquitted.
>
>I guess I'm out of touch with popular culture.

Indeed you are.  Not said in "Oh you're an idiot ..." tone but just an =
observation.

There are news reports that the volume of searches for Michael Jackson on =
the day of his death caused Google to think they were under an automated =
denial of service attack.  See: http://www.mysmartrend.com/briefs.asp?story=
type=nw&storyid=11109 .

As for being out of touch, two stories.

In 1992 when I was also handling the sales representation of the U of Penn =
Press one of the books offered (either Spring or Winter season) was: =
"Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth".  =
Now, I expect just about everyone here can figure whet that book was =
about.  The buyer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston when coming across =
this in the catalog asked "What's Star Trek?".

Right now: can you come up with a one minute concise accurate description =
of the show and why there's a book?

Next, when we (JHUP) were publishing yet another train book and it was a =
book we wanted to promote at the annual American Booksellers Traders Show =
(now BEA), one of the marketing folks suggest giving away Good & Plenty =
candy.  Apparently the use to use a character called Choo Choo Charlie who =
would shake the box to make sort of a train sound.  I drew an utter & =
complete blank as to WTF he was talking about.

Now, part of my excuse is that during the fifties I spent a lot of time =
outside of the US (Taiwan & Korea) essentially cut off from American tv =
and radio.

Others recognized the character, so I just went with it.  It did make for =
an amusing story in our booth at the ABA that year.

mjw