The Anni Souvenir Album redux

Madrid, October 8, 2019

Since there are ever fewer and fewer postings on the Simesite as the months and years slip by, in order to show that the Site is not utterly comatose, we have decided to post excerpts from Variety’s Souvenir Album once a month which we feel former muggs might appreciate re-reading.

The Album was printed back in 2005 on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary celebration of the founding of Variety in 1905 by Sime Silverman and was held during a gala dinner in Sardi’s restaurant in New York.

Sadly, most of those who contributed articles to the Album have now passed away, so it is a fitting tribute to their memory to “rescue” these articles and reminiscences from the past which were included in the Album.

We have previously posted four contributions sent for the Souvenir Album by muggs Keith Keller, Larry Michie, Hy Hollinger and one on Jimmy Durante and Sime. You can read all these by scrolling down the
pages.

For the fifth installment, here is one penned by Besa concerning his recollection of an encounter with LA sales supremo, Hal Scott.

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Simesite’s year-end wrap

Madrid, Dec. 31, 2018

As promised, here are the contributions received by Simesite for this year’s wrap. Unfortunately, the number of muggs showing signs of life has decreased somewhat from a year ago. We suppose that some may have changed their e-mail addresses and thus no longer receive our urgings, while the silence of a few others may perhaps be due to illness or  death.

Missing this year are entries from Pete Pryor, Edna and Dan Fainaru, Doug Galloway, Tom Gilbert, Steve Klain, Steve Knoll, Fred Lombardi, Mike Malak, Mike Evans, Arlene Rosenstein, Lee Simkins – to mention just a few we heard from over the past few years. Maybe a few entries will come dribbling in after deadline, in which case we will add them to the list.

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MATTHEW SILVERMAN REMINISCES ABOUT HIS FORMER BOSS LARRY MICHIE

By Matthew Silverman

I stopped in to see Larry and Virginia in western Massachusetts in 1988, just after graduating with a B.A. in English. I was having trouble not just finding a job, but finding someone to provide an interview. Larry and Virginia did so, even though there was no job available at the Shelburne Falls & West County News, a 3,000-circ weekly tucked in the northern Berskhires between Springfield and the Vermont border. Shelburne Falls was a small town but a nice town. Still, I wondered why anyone would move there after living in Washington and New York City. When the newspaper’s one-person editorial staff quit and they unexpectedly offered me a job, I got to answer the question myself.

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