Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
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Roasting
July 12, 2006 11:44 PM
At the Friars of Beverly Hills right now, in the Sinatra Lounge right off the Milton Berle Dining Hall.
We were just given a tour of the club by Friars of Beverly Hills president Irwin Schaffer, who along with his son Darren -- the new CEO of the organization -- is embroiled in fierce rivalry with the Friars Club of New York.
Both places are steeped in show biz history, even if the Friars may be today best known for the roasts occasionally shown on Comedy Central. Schaffer was showing me composite photos from old roasts and tributes, with pics of Johnny Carson, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Henny Youngman and the ubiquitous Slappy White.
The dispute seems to focus on what Darren is doing to the club -- changing its name, making it for-profit, trying various ways to bring in a younger clienele (Milton Berle used to joke that the average age of a member was "deceased"). We will also travel to NYC to get that club's side of the story....
Just an interesting Summer feature.... Obviously there are more important world events going on, but this will be a look at an intriguing dispute in American pop culture... A cleansing sorbet, if you will.
Irwin Schaffer had some great stories about these old guys back in their heyday... Sounds like quite a wild time...
More later --
Jt
July 12, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (1)
But it's what you do well--the close examination of various facets of American pop culture! I was utterly unaware of the circumstances surrounding the dueling Friars Clubs in LA and NY: I thought they were parts of one harmonious organization (that organization being a place where old comics get together and tell each other really dirty jokes, like in "The Aristocrats"). I'm not sure my nerves are up to a behind-the-scenes examination of this strife, but I'll try to gather my courage and prepare to watch. There is no one I would trust more to present such a report than you!
Posted by: chuck | Jul 13, 2006 2:32:49 PM
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