"A Year with Frog and Toad. We hope the production doesn't run in real time, but this jazzy stage adaptation of Arnold Lobel's children's books aims to charm the sox off (don't say it) children of all ages. '80s sitcom cutie pie Mark Linn-Baker (Perfect Strangers--the one who wasn't Bronson Pinchot) stars as Toad. Runs through Nov. 2. Children's Theatre Company, 2400 3rd Ave. S., Mpls. (612) 874-0400."
From: http://www.lavendermagazine.com/191/go_lavender_calendar.html
"saturday, march 25
Okay, so I totally scared the shit out of Mark Linn-Baker today. Who? What? I'll explain.
I hate theater. The acting is frequently too broad and the characters tend not to speak *to* each other so much as *at* each other, out of the corners of their mouths, et cetera. It's not my thing. I never go to plays. (And musicals deserve a separate concentric circle of hell, but don't get me started.)
Having said all that, a friend had tickets to Tom Stoppard's latest production, The Invention of Love, and needed someone to go with her. I'm willing to test (if sometimes inadvertently reinforce) my prejudices, so I accepted her invitation.
The play itself is actually a not-bad (of course I'm making allowances) fantasia about ... er ... the poet A.E. Housman's unrequited love for his friend and Oxford classmate, Moses Jackson ... and ... er ... Oscar Wilde is in it somehow and there's a scene where everyone plays croquet ... and ... um ... I wasn't really paying attention. But, like I said, the play wasn't bad. There were some clever, thought-provoking exchanges mixed in among Stoppard's highfalutin intellectualist frippery, and the performances were actually fairly dignified. (Usually, watching a play fills me with a sort of humiliated dread for humanity. All those non-sequiturs and one-liners ... groan. Suffice it to say, I don't particularly care for television sitcoms either. Same shortcomings, in many cases.)
But what I'm leading up to is this: Mark Linn-Baker was in the audience. Once again, you probably have to ask (if you didn't click on the hyperlink earlier) -- Who? Well, I didn't know his name off the top of my head either. My friend and I arrived early and were killing time in the lobby when I saw this almost subconsciously familiar face and reflexively blurted: "Cousin Larry!" Yes, Mark Linn-Baker was "Cousin" Larry Appleton on the terrible '80s sitcom Perfect Strangers. (The one with Balki and the two flight attendant girlfriends and assorted other inanities contrived to screw up small children's conceptions of the world.) I'm not ordinarily prone to public eruptions, and I don't care enough about famous people to make a big deal when I see one. (Actually, I don't even think Mr. Linn-Baker is very famous, although I'm told he has a presence on Broadway. Whatever.) But this wasn't a brush with fame. This was just bizarre. Basically, I would have had the same reaction had I seen Alf or, say, Mr. Sun Fizz. It was just a random pop cultural confluence and my lower brain reacted before the rest of me knew what was going on.
So after I collected myself (I had to step outside and let the waves of laughter subside), Cousin Larry just looked really nervous. My friend, who hadn't immediately picked up on our proximity to the sub-lebrity, informed me that I had "totally freaked him out." And indeed, during intermission, I caught Mr. Linn-Baker staring at me with what appeared to be apprehension, no doubt worried that I was gonna harass him or something. With some good cause, I guess. I mean, ya gotta figure, if you were Balki Bartokomous' foil on a terrible show probably running in endless repetition in various sectors of the Third World, you probably have to contend with some level of daily embarrassment. Poor Cousin Larry. He was probably saying to himself, Here I am in Philadelphia, and no one's recognized/laughed at me today. Today's a good day.
And then I went and compromised it. My bad. Yeah!
(Incidentally, how did I know for sure that it was Mark Linn-Baker and not some uncanny look-alike/unfortunate soul? Well, the play's director introduced herself to him just before the play began and I saw a bunch of admin types chatting him up during the intermission. They totally had his number. 'Nuff said.) 9:09 PM +"
From: http://www.highindustrial.com/2000_03_01_archive.html
The UnOfficial Bronson Pinchot Homepage
And *this* site is the reason I have the Disclaimer at the top... though I *did* bust a gut roaming through this site *falls over*
TeeVee Archive - I Want My MTV... Paycheck
The sad thing is, I'd love to see most *any* of those shows suggested *wink*
PAChY Course Catalog
Anyone else note the irony?
"'Perfect Strangers' originally starred Mark Linn-Baker and Louie Anderson."
From: http://www.lgoldberg.com/Clipbooks%20Pages/newsday_.htm
http://www.theoinquirer.com/tbu.html
I have no idea what this site actually is, but the bios are pretty neat... wait, allow me to ammend, looks like noticeable weight changes *glares*
Famous Birthdays: "Larry Appleton"