My dad and I went to see “Old Hats” the Bill Irwin David Shiner clown vehicle, which deserves it’s own post, but instead I am doing a quickie about shooting James Lipton walking past me going to the Saint Francis Hotel for a reception in honor of Robin Williams, after a gathering of friends and family at the Curran Theatre. I stepped into the street for some air and immediately started shooting a short video of the people exiting past me, without realizing what it was. I merely noted they were well-dressed for theatre-goers or theatre-exiters, as the case may be. I did not spot any celebrities. I actually started singing for some reason, in imitation of the doo wop group that often gathers on that block of Geary. But something told me to cool it, and I turned off the camera and stopped singing. Something else might have made me think “Robin Williams” and I respectfully stepped back into the lobby.

But I spied James Lipton thru the door and snapped one quick photo.

When I look at the 30 second video, I actually don’t recognize any of the faces.

Research says that Lipton is 86 himself, and footage of he and the comedian were used in some of the tributes. When Lipton asks Williams about Heaven he jokes that God will tell a joke about “two Jews go into a bar…”.

I heard from staff of ACT that Bill Irwin was part of the mourners directly before his matinee hit. Paul and I attended a lunch beforehand that featured the Foley guy. I told people that I caught an earlier version of “Fool Moon” in Los Angeles because I had met the drummer Rob Ladd from Red Clay Ramblers in Chapel Hill, in 1992. Further research there and about this topic say that Williams and Irwin have cameos together in drag in Bobby McFerrin “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” video.

The day I heard about Robin’s demise, I posted a quick tribute that was an indirect Actor’s Studio reference: the Ork swear-word “Shazbot“.

2. backed with: Yahoo directed me to Slate with directed me to whoever dot come Anastasia Browning and her exemplary tattoos, including one that says “Can’t Touch This’
And I comment on the site “I can’t touch this but can I cut and paste?”

photo by Duggan and LAUREN PERLSTEIN.

edit to add, hour or so later: on the other hand, I am only so sure that is James Lipton.