Joel Brinkerhoff wrote a comment to my last post about Harvey Kurtzman, and thinking about the man reminded me of the one and only time that I actually met him. For what it's worth, here's the story.
It was at a comics convention. I stumbled on Harvey when he was alone behind a pillar with an outrageously beautiful fan girl. She was standing inches away from his face, telling him how great he was, and how she'd do anything to show her devotion.
The reason I know what they were saying is that I walked up close and stood beside them, hoping to get an autograph. I guess I must have looked impatient because when the girl noticed me the spell was broken, and she apologized and left.
I tried to get Harvey's attention but he was totally fixated on the girl. He had a cold sweat and turned his head slowly as he watched her leave the room. She looked pretty good, even from the back.
When he finally turned to me I cheerfully offered him a pen and a cocktail napkin to write on, and he gave me a crazed look like he wanted to kill me. He muttered something like "No autographs!" and lit a cigarette to calm his nerves.
That was my only up close encounter with Harvey Kurtzman.
You lucky. Harveys the man!
ReplyDeleteHaw! Talk about awkward.
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ReplyDeleteYou got something greater than a signed cocktail napkin, an embarrassing memory that won't be thrown out.
ReplyDeleteIf I knew he didn't do autographs I would have brought posterboard and an easel instead and asked him to draw a sunday page from a comic strip where me and Harvey are the best of friends, or if that's too personal one where he is my father and reads me a bedtime story and tells me he loves me and I am his whole world while holding back tears.
ReplyDeleteOf course he doesn't have to sign the comic!
So you saved a young lady's virtue! Nice work, Eddie!
ReplyDeleteNaw, sucks! Oh Well, at least you got to see him? Haha.
ReplyDeleteHappy Father's Day, Eddie, and thanks for another interesting story. It's amazing how you even got to spend a few minutes with the guy, and scared off a beautiful chick at the same time! I hope he had no harsh feelings towards you like Ray Bradbury (the post you did in 2006 comes to mind). What other MAD cartoonists have you met before or at least had autographs from?
ReplyDeleteYou c*ck-blocked an old man! For that you get NOTHING!, Do you hear? NOTHING!!
ReplyDeleteGEEZ, YOU COULDN'T HAVE WAITED A MINUTE???!!
ReplyDeleteRoberto: What other Mad cartoonists have I met? You mean from the Kurtzman era? None, unfortunately. From more recent times I met Sergio Argones at various events, and I used to work with Bill Wray and Steve D'Stephano. I think most artists have met more of the Mad crew than I have.
ReplyDeleteJohn, Zoran: I should be horsewhipped, I know.
I can't believe you robbed posterity of Kurtzman's seed!
ReplyDeletei can get you a kurtzman signature...
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