Taps and the City

So I turned on "TAPS" on FMC because I wanted to catch the scene that is used in the Scene It board game. What I found out while watching was that--brace yourself--Harry Goldenblatt once had hair! I know! Oh, and that was also 28 years ago. Quite the career, I'd say, Mr. Handler.

For the uninitiated, Harry Goldenblatt is Charlotte's husband, in "Sex and the City."

I'm still working on a screenshot of him in "TAPS," but I'll get it posted once I get one.

Actor: Evan Handler
Previous work: "Sex and the City" and "Californication"
Fun(ny) fact: He used to have hair. Who knew?

Most Annoying Sound in the World: Oh!

Somebody says yous need protection. Dat true?

No, no. Well, kind of... I'm confused. So, you are a hitman, but you are offering protection to me while I stock this convenience store fridge with Miller lite?

Still confused. Oh, well. You wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world? And follow that up with some hot peppers?



Actor: Mike Starr
Commercial(s): Miller Lite Taste Protector Cap thingy
Previous work: "Dumb & Dumber" and "Life on Mars"
Fun(ny) fact: I once saw him and his lady friend (wife, maybe?) coming out of the spa area in the Nordstrom building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago

Sonic Commercials

Again, couldn't think of a good title for this entry. Many apologies. So, just to get this out of the way, here are the Sonic Drive-in peeps.





There's another actress that has been turning up recently, but I don’t have her yet. Sorry. Many apologies … again.

Actor: T.J. Jagodowski
Commercial(s): Sonic (first commercial, on the left)
Previous work: "Stranger than Fiction" and the Second City in Chicago

Actor: Peter Grosz
Commercial(s): Sonic (first commercial, on the right)
Previous work: "Stranger than Fiction" and "The Weather Man"
Fun(ny) fact: He's also a writer for "The Colbert Report"

Actress: Molly Erdman
Commercial(s): Sonic (second commercial, on the left)
Previous work: "According to Jim" and the Second City in Chicago

Actor/Actress: Brian Huskey
Commercial(s): Sonic (second commercial, on the right)
Previous work: "Superbad" and "Semi-Pro"

Smooth Scrubs

Cabbage! And Smoothie ... from Jack in the Box! And running shorts! Oh, ewww. Sorry, Cabbage. Not much more to say after that.





His character's nickname in "Scrubs" is Cabbage, in case you were wondering.

Actor: Shaughn Buchholz
Commercial(s): Jack in the Box fruit smoothies
Previous work: "Scrubs" and "Joey"
Fun(ny) fact: Cabbage is also the pronunciation of CABG, which, in medicalese, stands for coronary artery bypass graft

You Say DiGiorno, I Say Di-Juno

There have been several questions about this guy. Most people probably saw him in a movie called "Juno." You might have heard of it. Anyway, he was the lab partner who had a "love spat" with his girlfriend/lab partner. Where you're most likely seeing him now is the DiGiorno pizza commercial where he plays a delivery kid at a party.

Video to come when I can find an adequate version.

Actor: Steven Christopher Parker
Commercial(s): DiGiorno and Snickers
Previous work: "Juno" and "ER"
Fun(ny) fact: He plays another pizza guy in one of his new films, "3 Days Blind"

Gimme a H, gimme a U, gimmer a GIANT @#% &$^#

This is the kind of stuff I love: making connections with faces I knew I knew, but couldn't place. I'm giddy. In the words of Bob Costas, "Feel these nipples!" Ten points to the one who names that movie.

Anyway, the new CW show "Privileged" stars Joanna Garcia. Check out the interview with her below. Or not, it's kind of long.



But she was familiar outside of that, and I'm not even talking "Reba." Try this (earmuffs!!):



That's right! Ha!

And who doesn't love the cheerocracy?! Seriously.

What a glorious evening.

Actress: Joanna Garcia
Commercial(s): K-Mart
Previous work: "Not Another Teen Movie" and "Reba"

Spring Awakening Likes TV Peeps

"Spring Awakening" is a musical set in 1890s Germany and deals with subjects like abortion, masturbation, rape and suicide. Awesome, right? Well, it turns out it is. Last year the show picked up eight Tony Awards, one of which was Best Musical.

Not only that, but it also is attracting some relatively recognizable names. For instance, Silas from "Weeds" and the late Karl from "Lost."

And who knew they could sing?!

Actor: Hunter Parrish (Silas)
Previous work: "Weeds" and "Freedom Writers"

Actor: Blake Bashoff (Karl)
Previous work: "Lost" and "One Tree Hill"

Nike Footballers Galore

OK, so these guys aren't actors, but there are a ton of soccer players in this new Nike Football/Soccer "Take it to the Next Level" commercial. This is actually one of the best Nike Football/Soccer commercials they have produced since the World Cup, and not only because you (the camera) play for the Dutch national team.

The players and actresses are listed below in order of appearance. Note that some players, like Cristiano Ronaldo, appear in the commercial twice, but are listed only once.



See a higher-quality, slightly different version here.

Manager: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (on sidelines at first club game)
Player: William Gallas (faux-hawk)
Player: Wayne Rooney (volley off chest)
Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (also volleys, then blows kiss to camera)
Player: Cesc Fàbregas (kisses camera after goal)
*Actress: Kat Dennings (in the car)
*Previous work: "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "The House Bunny"
** Actress: Not sure, but looks like Rachel Hunter (poolside)
Player: Marco Materazzi (giving the stiff arm)
Player: Zlatan Ibrahimović (long hair, scores goal)
Player: Rafael Márquez Álvarez (first player to shake hands)
Player: Ronaldinho (third player to shake hands, No. 10)
Player: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (No. 19)
Player: Nani (No. 32)
Player: Ruud van Nistelrooy (juggling at midfield, shooting)
Player: Wesley Sneijder (No. 8, hands over the ball)
Director: Guy Ritchie (does not appear)

Band: Eagles of Death Metal
Song: "Don't Speak (I Came to Make a Bang)" [Get this song, opens in new window]
Album: Death By Sexy

* Not 100 percent on this one, but close

Doctor-cop Extraordinaire

He generally plays some kind of medical professional (law enforcement-related or otherwise).

He has been on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" three times, and has played a different detective each time.

Actor: C.S. Lee
Monk episode: "Mr. Monk is on the Run, Part 1"
Previous work: "Dexter" and "The Sopranos"

Hacking Into Lowe's

Admittedly, this one is a guess, although I have a strong feeling I am on the right track. Let's say 90 percent. But again, call me on it if it's incorrect.

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UPDATE: This is no longer a guess; it's him. And to make it that much better, he is a recent movie called "Sex and the City"--you may have heard of it. He plays the Business Guy applicant that meets with Carrie, only to reveal he is wearing pink heels.
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There is a Lowe's commercial where a dad is telling his son that he told the store they would deliver and remove the family's appliances for free; the back of Lowe's the truck then reveals that these things are already free. The commercial then cuts to an in-store view where a salesperson is helping a woman with the washers/dryers. The salesperson looks a heck of a lot like Razor or Blade from "Hackers," but you only get a split-second glance at him.

Note: I am still looking for a video of it so you all can see. No luck yet, but I will update when it is available. In the meantime, here is an image of the actor.

Actor: Peter Y. Kim (Blade from "Hackers")
Commercial(s): Lowe's (same-day delivery)
Previous work: "Hackers" and "Boston Legal" and now "Sex and the City" (the movie)
Fun(ny) Fact: For the first couple days after "SATC" (the movie) was released, the character of Business Guy was listed by IMDb as being played by Pedro Kim. Pedro and Peter are not the same person. The error has since been corrected.

Go, Rilla...It's Yo Birfday

Craziness and head scratching abound with this commercial for Cadbury. I mean, a gorilla playing the drums for Phil Collins? I'm still baffled. Anyone with some insight as to why, please enlighten us all.



So, the reason this is posted is that the guy playing the gorilla here has also played a gorilla in the film "Instinct" with Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Actor: Garon Michael
Commercial(s): Cadbury (see above)
Previous work: "Instinct" and "Congo"
Bonus material: The G-Unit version (Guerilla/Gorilla Unit, get it?)

I cannot take credit for this connection. That goes to Firebrand. But damn if this wasn't worth posting here. Who doesn't love that song?

Chester Cheetah Gone Bad

Chester Cheetah received a makeover (he's now a puppet) and became a troublemaker. Not that he wasn't a little crazy in the first place, but now he's encouraging Cheeto-related catastrophes. Case in point: the handful of Cheetos in the dryer.



The Felicia in this commercial is actually named Felicia. Felicia Day, to be exact.

Actress: Felicia Day
Commercial(s): Cheetos Orange Underground - Laundromat (see above)
Monk episode: "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk"
Previous work: "The Guild" (appears online) and "Bring It On Again"
Fun(ny) Fact: Felicia's show, "The Guild," gets a short write-up in the most recent issue of Script magazine.

Hannibal Loves Frankie

There are four films* in which Hannibal Lecter appears. However, only one actor has been cast in all of them: Frankie Faison. He played Barney Matthews in "The Silence of the Lambs," "Hannibal" and "Red Dragon." But in "Manhunter," he played Lt. Fisk. We won't hold that against him, though, considering that Hannibal Lecter was played by Brian Cox in that installment.

In his other roles, he generally plays a teddy-bear father figure or some variation on a police officer.

Actor: Frankie Faison
Previous work: "Coming to America" and "Do the Right Thing"

*Technically, there are five films. However, we won't count "Hannibal Rising" because it was set when Hannibal was a child. Frankie's characters wouldn't have been born yet.

Dazed and…Kind of Tipsy

My college roommates and I once played a drinking game where every time Mitch from "Dazed and Confused" touched the bridge of his nose, we would take a drink or shot. Significant time to devote to a hangover was necessary.

WARNING/DISCLAIMER--I am not recommending this game; it is only a story. Playing this game is done at your own risk. I'm not responsible for you. I cannot control what you do. I'm just a Web site, after all.

Actor: Wiley Wiggins
Previous work: "The Faculty" and "Waking Life"

A Very Brady Mermaid

With "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway, my lady friend started to listen to snippets of the live recordings on iTunes. That, of course, lead to pulling out the old VHS version of the film. For me, watching this was difficult. Trying to identify voices from a film that came out in 1989 was hard. The only ones really noticeable was Buddy Hackett and Edie McClurg (the redhead who generally plays a nanny or demure teacher).

Anyway, long story short, Eric's voice was bothering me. It and the actor's name sounded very familiar. Then it hit me: Eric is Greg Brady (from the films).

Actor: Christopher Daniel Barnes
Previous work: Both "The Brady Bunch" films

Election Crasher

Given that he just clinched the Republican nomination, it seems fitting to acknowldge John McCain. However, we're acknowledging him for his role in "Wedding Crashers." He and James Carville greet Sect. Cleary (ne Christopher Walken) at the beginning of the film, just before Cleary's oldest daughter gets married. Also, the film was on three times this past weekend on TBS, so it was fresh in my mind.

No. 2 on Pop Candy

This What's His Face? is the one that finally kicked me in to gear to start doing this blog.

While watching "Lost" last week, the guy playing Kate's attorney was bothering me. I knew him from somewhere, so I checked IMDb. Turns out, the guy was in the film "Frequency" and played a character named--wait for it--Jack Shepard. (For those who don't watch "Lost," Matthew Fox also plays Jack Shephard). Granted, the spellings are different, and the names might not mean anything in the long run, but surely this wasn't just a happy accident. There's no such thing on this show.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/02/lost-in-a-fla-2.html

For the record...

Actor: Shawn Doyle
Previous work: "Frequency" and "Big Love"

Note: I altered the image above to save space and get everything on the same page. Also, I blurred my username for safety's sake, although you can view it if you go to the blog itself.

Gus' Nicknames

Burton Guster (Gus) is the sidekick to Shawn on "Psych." This is a list of his nicknames, as given to him by Shawn.

Lavender Gooms
Ovaltine Jenkins (my personal favorite)
Nick Knack
Silly Pants Jackson
The SuperSniffer
Magic Head
Spellmaster
Weepy Boy Santos
Schoonie "U-Turn" Singleton
Gus T.T. Showbiz
Chocolate Columbo
Burton "Oil Can" Guster
Big Head Burton
Dr. Mc[click][cluck][click]Toock
Tan (of Black & Tan)
Schmuyel Cohen
Francois
Vernus Lambert Watkins
Shutterfly Simmons
Galileo Humpkins
Convertible LeBaron (it was more of an adjective, not a nickname, but I liked it)

... more to come as the show continues.

Woodstock (Ill.) Represent!

For those of you who don't know, "Groundhog Day," starring Bill Murray, was filmed primarily in Woodstock, Ill., not Punxsutawney, Pa. When watching "Groundhog Day," look in the background when Ned Ryerson (Bing!) first appears. You'll see Woodstock Jewelers.

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THIS JUST IN: "Groundhog Day" was recently named to AFI's 10 Top 10. The film placed No. 8 all time in the Fantasy category.
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Jake 'Gill'-en-hall

We know that isn't how it is pronounced, but the voiceover artist of the trailers for "Donnie Darko" didn't. The trailers are on the DVD. You'd think they would have caught on before they released it. It's just interesting that even then, no one could decide how to pronounce his last name.

For the record, it’s "Jill-en-hall."

On a personal note, I must say that I feel for the guy. My last name is mispronounced all the time. Only after knowing me do people get it right. Well, most of the time.