Google
 

Letters to the Editor: Waddington & Wolf as Martin & Lewis, the debate rages…

February 22nd, 2008 by Scott Marks

steve-david.jpg

On December 12 I wrote a piece commenting on the Waddington and Wolf Martin & Lewis Holiday Extravaganza.

This letter from Steve Waddington, one of the stars of the show, came in response to my article:

Hi Scott,

Someone just forwarded one of your “rants” to me from Dec 12, 2007: “Imitation is the Sincerest from of Failure. The “Dean Martin” & “Jerry Lewis” Christmas Show!”

Wow.

At first I thought it was going to be a review of our show, but then I noticed it was written on Dec 12, a full four days before our show even took place. So…I guess it’s more like a review of the promotion of the show? Or is it just the fact that you don’t care for shows of this nature? Truly, it is your blog site and you have every right to your express your views and opinions, but to use words like “failure” and “dupes” regarding us, without ever having seen the show, seems a little mean-spirited. I could understand if you saw the show, and still didn’t like it, for whatever reasons, but I don’t ever remember reading a negative review of a show before it even took place. Perhaps you viewed some of our videos, taken by fans with their video cameras at a couple of our live shows, and didn’t care for them. That’s fair. But you don’t mention it anywhere in the article.

We do not have ANY endorsements or funding. We’re just a couple of guys who got together at a night-club called “Frank and Dean’s”, at the urging of the owner Frank, to have some fun with the concept, and people seem to really enjoy it! Out of that, we were approached by other club owners, agents and charities who thought it would be fun to have the show at their venue or event. And, yes, we do quite a few benefit shows for “Actors For Autism”, as well as “Ability First”, the USO, various senior centers, and other charitable organizations who think we could help raise funds, as well as take our show to entertain those who, for a variety of reasons, can’t venture out on their own.

Yes, we HAVE appeared on cruise ships, as well as night-clubs, casinos, comedy clubs, corporate parties and special events. And our shows always receive an enthusiastic response from the crowds, partly because they enjoy the comedy, the chemistry and the songs, and partly because they take it in the spirit in which it is intended…just a couple of guys having fun and bringing entertainment to them in a different form than what they usually get these days.

We bill our show as “A Tribute to Martin And Lewis”, and it is just that, a heart-felt tribute to the fun and the entertainment styles of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and we have a lot of fun with it. Our show is un-scripted and, from what we are told, pretty close “in spirit” to the type of show Dean and Jerry put on prior to their Colgate Comedy Hour shows. But we purposely don’t try and take the audience back in time to 1946-1956, after all, there are plenty of “Rat Pack” shows that attempt to do just that, take the audience BACK in time to 1961 or so. And most of them seem quite successful at it. So, to keep our show a little more original and fresh, we attempt to bring Dean and Jerry FORWARD to today’s audiences and touch on a lot of the songs and humor of Dean Martin from his entire career, and the characters and antics of Jerry Lewis from his entire career. That way, we get to do more of Dean’s hits that people love from after the M&L era (”Sway”, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”, “Volare”, etc,) and a lot of Jerry’s characters that he introduced through his movies after their split as well (The Nutty Professor, Buddy Love, The Chairman of the Board, etc).

We take to the stage with a song-list, and a few random props…nothing more. Everything else is improv and off-the cuff, in the moment, and includes the audience as well. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a verbatim re-creation of their original nightclub act. In fact, I don’t know of any real footage that exists of their act prior to the Colgate stuff. Do you?

As far as I know, we are the ONLY Martin and Lewis Tribute show working, and as such, our potential for doing shows is extremely limited at the moment. After all, no one calls an agent looking for a “Martin and Lewis Tribute Show”, because few know that one even exists. (Unlike the many requests they get for a “Rat Pack”.) And I had done a few Rat Pack shows in the past, but with so many Rat Packs out there, I felt it was important somehow to represent Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and bring some sort of recognition to the work that they did together live, in the clubs. Because, first and foremost, I am a fan! I would have LOVED to see them back in their night-club days!

Oddly enough, when we are performing, we run into many people who tell us that after they saw our show, they went out and bought the box-set that you refer to in your article, or the box-set of their movies together. (I guess there are those who enjoy watching BOTH “dupes”!)
And they always ask the same question…”where do I get DVDs of their original night-club act?”
I don’t know what to tell them.

OK, thanks for letting me vent a little! By the way, I read a lot of your other stuff, and, although I’m not clear on exactly why you do it, I really enjoy it!

Thanks again,

–Steve Waddington
www.MartinAndLewisShow.com

First off, I find it impossible to dislike anyone that loves Martin & Lewis as much as you and David do. I did look at clips of your act on You Tube and must admit that you both do a commendable job of imitating the boys. I find myself in a similar position as you in that I too am not clear on exactly why you do it.

I’ve never warmed to impressionists. What’s the point? For me, people who impersonate others haven’t found their own comedic identity. I don’t mind it when people “borrow” and make it their own. I howl when watching Woody Allen channel Bob Hope in the opening segment of Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex… Hell, I even chuckled during a lot of Eddie Murphy’s remake of The Nutty Professor.

If you look around my site, the one gripe that keeps coming up over and over again concerns the lack of originality in the entertainment industry. Sequels to movies that never should have been made in the first place or remakes of films that were perfectly good to begin with hold no value in my book and I stand by my original assertion that imitation is the sincerest form of failure. Where is the art or originality in rehashing the work of others?

I do not think that you and Steve are ruthless profiteers out to collect easy cash by raping the bones of Dean & Jerry. Your act is obviously filled with passion and affection for both men. Instead of Dean & Jerry, figure out a way to be David & Steve. Find the potential for originality inside yourselves and forge a partnership in the tradition of Martin & Lewis, not simply a carbon copy. Imitation is easy, originality a bitch. Capture their spirit, move away from the text and make the act your own.

Out of a sense of fairness, here is a clip of Waddington & Wolf in action. You be the judge.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Filed Under Rants

Imitation is the Sincerest form of Failure: The “Dean Martin” & “Jerry Lewis” Christmas Show!

December 12th, 2007 by Scott Marks

torture.jpg

Direct from the cruise ship to you! Move over Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, here comes the latest imitation sensation: Steve Waddington & David Wolf.

The critics rave:

“They were much better than JAN & DEAN!..It’s a really nice feeling to re-live that Era”!- Comedian Murray Langston aka The Unknown Comic from Gong Show fame!

 “Great Jerry Lewis bit! Thanks for making our last event such a huge success!  Everybody LOVED having you there and you were definitely the hit of the party! I didn’t know you did so many impressions…your Sammy Davis, Jr. is Wonderful”! –Actors For Autism, Tarzana CA

 “Steve got up and sang, David runs up…and the two of them just tore the place apart!  The audience LOVED them.  They are one of my very favorite acts!”
—Skip E. Lowe, legendary TV host, showcase M.C., actor, author, Beverly Hills, CA

Admittedly, when I began writing this I didn’t realize that they were endorsed by the Tarzana branch of Actors for Autism.

For less than what a Waddington & Wolf ticket would set you back, you could also buy a 5-DVD box set of the Colgate Comedy Hour. I’d rather watch those dupes than these.

Tags: , , , , ,

Filed Under Rants

keep looking »