Trial lawyer television advertising has hit a new, and hilarious, low. This AM as I dressed, I witnessed an actress washing pots and pans on a commercial for the Fernandez Firm. She said, ““I’m not a lawyer; I’m a regular spokesperson, just like you.”

knottsWe are all reeling, of course, from the weekend deaths of two giants of American cinema: Don Knotts and Darren McGavin. I’ll leave aside the loss of Kolchak to turn my attention, instead, to Knotts. Now, of course, it is widely known that only Hollywood elitism and snobbery cost him an Oscar nomination in 1966 for his nuanced performance as Luther in “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” And would it have hurt to give him a Supporting Actor nod for his limited on-screen time in “The Incredible Mr. Limpet?” Seriously.

Finally, just loved the breathless Tampa Tribune story exposing how St. Petersburg’s police are falling down on the job by not checking the oil pressure each time they gas up their cruisers. And I thought it was the history of racism and high murder rate in that city that was the problem.

This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2006.