Characters who are a mystery to me, part 1

I never understood Eddie Mekka's character in "Laverne & Shirley." Carmine Ragusa was supposed to be Shirley's boyfriend, yet, he wasn't her boyfriend. He was supposed to be a tough guy but he was also a song and dance man.

Jimmy Cagney was a tough guy who was also a song and dance man, but never in the same movie!

What were the writers thinking? They initially thought Shirley needed a boyfriend, but then almost immediately decided she didn't need a boyfriend. They initially wanted a Fonzie character because, heck Fonzie was the hottest character on TV at the time, but for some reason they gave him song and dance numbers because ... why did they give him song and dance numbers? He was a good singer and dancer, but they always seemed tacked-on in the context of the episode.


(A sidenote: Later, when Penny Marshall directed "A League of Their Own," she cast Mekka as the guy who dances with Madonna when the girls go nightclubbing.)

A pop culture thanksgiving

Here's two of the things I'm grateful for in the world of pop culture:

Jimmy Cagney coming out of retirement after 20 years to be in "Ragtime." He didn't have to do it, but he did. And as I sat in the theater, watching Jimmy Cagney for the first time on the big screen, all I could think of was, "This guy's a movie star!" Thanks Jimmy.

Can you imagine if Cary Grant did the same thing? It would have been amazing.

Also, though I watched "E/R" and enjoyed it, I wouldn't describe myself as a fan. I taped the other Thursday night NBC comedies, but only watched "E/R" when my then-girlfriend was watching it.

That being said, how cool was it that George Clooney came back for Julianna Margulies' final appearance? Think about it, at this time, his contractual obligations were up, he was/is a massive movie star. Massive movie stars simply don't return to the TV series that launched them. Just like Cagney, he didn't have to do it, I'm sure they paid him one-hundredth of what he would have gotten making a movie. The only two reasons I could think of he would do this would be a sense of loyalty to his colleagues on "E/R" and/or a sense of loyalty to his fans. Thanks George.