  Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn Post Number: 193 Registered: 10-2003 |
 When I first saw a comic strip by Seth in the NY Times Sunday Magazine(10/8), I was actually disappointed that maybe George Sprott was an actual person and that George Pierrot was only one of many TV travelogue shows on television and not the unique TV personality I always thought he was. However, after a bit of research it turns out that George Sprott is a fictional character and the cartoonist, Seth, is a Clinton, Ontario native born in 1962, which would place him in the right timeframe and possibly close enough to have seen the wonderful George Pierrot and his World Adventure Series TV show. Though I haven't found anything yet saying Seth's George Sprott is in fact based on George Pierrot the similarities between the two are so strong the reference would be hard to deny. Like Seth, George Sprott is based in Canada and Sprott's TV show is shown on the fictional CKCK television station. At first, I found it upsetting that a local Detroit personality would be appropriated like this, but Seth in an interview said he was planning to extend his George Sprott story to twenty cartoon panels. That's impressive, because there is so little material in print on George Pierrot. So if Seth has to personalize this fiction to bring his George Pierrot-like figure to comic book length, so be it. Though I have a letter to Seth's publisher enquiring about his George Pierrot connection, I wanted to post these links on the Detroit forum, so folks here could enjoy this comic strip series that appears to be based on a beloved figure of local Detroit television. The cartoon series has appeared in the past four issues of the New York Times Sunday Magazine. The first panel is the Prologue, and the latest section, Chapter Three, was printed in last Sunday's magazine. It would be great if the New York Times Magazine continues to print the following sections of Seth's cartoon if he takes it to twenty panels like he said. The George Sprott Series to date: The Prologue: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/magazine/20060917_FUNNY.pdf Chapter One: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/magazine/20060924_FUNNY.pdf Chapter Two: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/magazine/20061001_FUNNY.pdf Chapter Three: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/magazine/20061008_FUNNY.pdf Seth George Sprott Interview: http://sequential.spiltink.org/2006/08/seth-in-new-york-times.html George Pierrot photo source: http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=25&category=life | ||
Kenp Member Username: Kenp Post Number: 117 Registered: 03-2006 |
Many memories of George Pierrot, both on TV and in person. My dad would takes us downtown or where ever he was doing shows. As a kid the travel shows were boring with the exception of Stan Midgley or one of the Cooper brothers. But the blue hairs loved it. I often remember George getting into one of his coughing fits live. He was an expert in Detroit area resturaunts and attractions and was a nice man. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 850 Registered: 01-2005 |
George's Travel Series was at the DIA auditorium, as I recall, tho his TV show was at the WWJ-TV studios. I fondly remember one show where he was sound asleep in his chair when the film stopped and the live camera was on him. Now that I'm George's "then" age, I find myself doing that all the time...........  | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1675 Registered: 04-2005 |
If I remember correctly, they kept a broomstick handy to poke him awake when the camera came back to the set. | ||
Ed_golick Member Username: Ed_golick Post Number: 456 Registered: 10-2003 |
Pierrot started his TV career at WXYZ on October 10, 1948, on the station's second day of broadcasting. At WWJ they used to poke ol' George with a stick off-camera to wake him up. It didn't always work. I used to print the brochures for his World Adventure Series at the DIA and would see him every Saturday morning at his office in the Farwell Building, where he sat behind the largest desk I've ever seen. | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1235 Registered: 04-2005 |
There is a story told of George, when he was tossing to a break, actually falling asleep in mid-sentence. "We will be bac....zzzzzzzz" of course that noble tradition was passed on to Bob Bennett.(rest his soul) Bob could fall asleep while eating a paczki in his beloved Hamtramack | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 2923 Registered: 08-2004 |
Sounds like a case of mild Narcolepsy (sp?). Also, doesn't that cartoon look like the "rich uncle" in the Monopoly games "Chance" or "Community Chest" cards?? |
