12B - The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, S'eptember 19,;1996

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The Michigan Daily Weekend Maga

Former 'Family Ties' actor stops in next door at Mainstreet

ISound and Fury

Do you know someo)
Someone who does something or

Jon Petfinski
Daily Film Editor
Marc Price is right about his audience. Come on
down._
"Everyone always asks me,' 'We know you're
Skippy from 'Family Ties,' but what could you
possibly have to say in a live forum?"'
Of course we know you, Skippy. That's right.
Skippy - from the best of Hollywood's nerd chil-
dren of the '80s, the dorky best friend of Alex P.
Keaton, the annoying next-door neighbor, the kid
wto never could stop stalking Mallory.
Sure (shrug), we
know him; we watch Marc Price
the reruns, you know,
while we're sitting on V Where: Mainstreet
the couch doing our V When: Today at 8:
homework and all. So and Saturday. 8:30 a
what? What is this ~ Admission: $12 reg
Skippy fellow doing counts with ID at the
now anyway? Friday 10:30 show (b
Maybe the better Saturday 10:30 show
question might be:
What ISN'T he doing?
Meet Marc Price, and find out in two seconds flat
that he's a bundle of energy and enthusiasm.
Unbeknownst to many former "Family Ties"
junkies, Price, now 26, has always had the perfect
place to focus it - in his stand-up comedy act.
Marc Price ... come on down ... you're the next
comedian coming to Mainstreet Comedy
Showcase this weekend.
At the beginning of this week, Price focused his
energy into a telephone interview with The
Michigan Daily. He told us about himself and his
latest act. So what's his show all about anyway?
"I want the ultimate Barnum-like way to
describe it. I think it would be KILLER (here
comes that energy again) if I could come up with

a way," he said. "(He's deep in thought for a
moment) ... something with the word 'naked' in it,
where people are just like 'I'VE GOTTA SEE
THAT SHOW!"'
Sorry, no nudity, kiddies. "I used to focus on
Skippy a lot," he continued. "I would just come
back to it sort of for comedic effect. I started to
move into a former sit-coin kid type area.
"Lately, I've been moving away from that and
really sort of looking at myself as a 26-year-old in
1996 - a part of Generation X."
Price prides himself on being able to "look at
both sides of an issue and ... remain confused. I

.

like to look at both
sides and have fun with
it ... and leave people
with possibility and a

Comedy Showcase

30 p.m., tomorrow feeling of comedic
nd 10:30 p.m. hope," Price finished
gular, student dis- proudly.
Thursday show and He erupted into
oth $6), and laughter at his last two
($9). words.
"Was that Barnum
enough?" he asked.
When asked whether people who come to see
the show still think of him as Skippy, Price does
not hesitate to give a good-natured "yes." But
"that's okay," he continued. "It was a nickname.
But nobody's ever left there thinking of me as the
character from the TV show. Ever.
"And so I've always looked at it as: Hey - if
that's a way to get people into the theater, so be it.
Milk it. Moo. (Insert strange mooing noise here.)
Milk that Skippy."
Now, there's an attitude.
No doubt about it, Marc Price comes by his tal-
ent naturally. His father, Borscht Belt comedian Al
Bernie, was certainly an inspiration from the time
Marc was a young child. Price credits his father

with noticing changes in comedy over the years
and with exposing him to comedians of old, such
as Jackie Mason, and of new, such as Jim Carrey.
Price remembers his entrance into the comedy
scene of the '80s vividly. "It was very different
from my dad's world of comedy," he recalled.
So, yes. These were the pre-Skippy years for
Price. He did stand-up, appeared on "The Merv
Griffin Show" at the age of 13 and later was on
other television shows, such as "One Day at a Time"
and "Archie Bunker's Place." Price has also done his
share of movies, including "Killer.Tomatoes Eat
France," part IV of the Tomatoes Trilogy.
When asked about his "bad film festival" and
other past accomplishments, Price pleaded (in his
best Skippy voice): "But you don't have to men-
tion THOSE things. Talk more about my new
stuff."
Currently, Price just sold a show - one in
which he is the writer, producer and on-air talent
- to Dick Clark Productions. He has also been in
development companies on television shows. Even
now, Price continues to shuffle his time between
his comedy and his production company in L.A.
Marc Price is right again. He certainly does have
his share of new stuff.
"Now I look to people who are heroes of mine,
like Michael McKean, who I recently worked with
on a play," he said. (McKean moved from playing
Lenny on "Laverne & Shirley" to becoming
involved in "Saturday Night Live," "Spinal Tap"
and "Dream On.")
Price has no hesitations about relating this
example to his experience. "Skippy all the time"
he continued. "And what am I going to do about
that? I'm gonna invite them to my show. And try,
with my Hollywood projects, try to keep moving
forward in such a way where I can, like Michael
McKean, sort of grow out of it."
Marc Price is, in fact, coming into his own. And

If so,

why don 'tyou nomin

Marc Price, known for his role as Skippy on
"Family Ties," comes to Mainstreet Comedy
Showcase this weekend.
it is quite apparent that "Family Ties" is a distant,
but good memory for him.
Was his crush on Mallory (Justine Bateman)
also an off-screen thing? Price responded with a
heavy voice: "Oh God. I was absolutely in lust ...
I mean, in love with the very young and beautiful
Mallory, and I was younger and nerdy and there
was no chance for me"
Still, with so many new projects, Price seems
ready to move on. After all, he does have his act,
which he describes as always evolving. "It's a
breathing, living monster. It has a life unto itself"

______________________________________________ I. ______________________ I

Weekend, etc. Magazines
E-mail glparker@umich. edt

THE RIGHT REVOLUTION IS DEAD
BY DEAN BAKOPOULOS

Did Someone Say
Fall semesterjust started, but already it's time to think
about applying for winter term courses at the
School of Information at the University of Michigan.
Our deadline for applyingin Real Jobs, Real Futures
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Read the
"State of
the Arts"
column by
Daily Arts
editors
each week
in the
Weekend,
etc.
Magazine.

A lonely man in his mid-'70s shuffles
around the floor of an office that used to
be his. He looks at his shoes. He's invited
almost 50 of his former colleagues to chat
with him. They bolted.
This is Bob Dole and he is nearly alone.
Even Republicans don't want to be associ-
ated with him, for fear that the association
will ruin their re-election hopes.
Why this sorry sight last week?
Because the sands have shifted, and peo-
ple are sick of the so-called "Republican
Revolution." It's over.
People are sick of Rush Limbaugh and
his hate-radio imitators attacking everyone
who is unfortunate, in need or different.
People are sick of the Christian
Coalition's nonsensical moral crusade,
which has nothing to do with Christianity
and everything to do with money and pol-
itics.
People are sick of anti-everything
rhetoric, spewing from the lips of hateful
militia groups and racist right-wingers, as
well as from the lips of Republicans like
Pat Buchanan and Jesse Helms.
People are sick of self-centeredness and
greed, of folks driving Beamers up to their
summer cottages and complaining about
horrible tax burdens.
People are sick of men who are against
women who happen to be opinionated,
intelligent, talented, unafraid of the spot-
light and named Hillary. She's a fantastic
woman and people are sick of hearing all
the GOP's elaborate lies about her.
The Revolution is dead.
Al Franken's book "Rush Limbaugh is
a Big Fat Idiot" (Simon & Schuster) sold
millions of copies this summer, and land-
ed at No. I on the bestseller list.
Limbaugh's own books are now $1.98 at
fine discount stores. Franken brilliantly
and blissfully pointed out the hypocrasies
in the Limbaugh Legions. Among them,
documentation that Rush dodged the
draft, and that Rush was on welfare
because he was TOO FAT TO WORK. Al
Franken is a hero. He pointed out the
monstrous lies behind this monstrous ego.
Now, Rush hawks his TV show to cable
stations. Seems there are fewer and fewer
takers.
Michael Moore, the director of the film
"Roger & Me," kicked off a 50-day, 47-
city book tour in Ann Arbor last week, in a
standing-room-only Michigan Theater. His
book is called "Downsize This: Random
Threats from an Unarmed American"
(Random House). And while the major
networks don't want to touch Moore's
politically risque "TV Nation" show,
which made Newt Ciingrich look like a
complete idiot last season, the show will
air on cable's Comedy Central this winter.
Mass media outlets are focusing on the
Religious Left, a loose term for the grow-

ing number of spiritual persons, especial-
ly Christians, who do not believe that the
Religious Right has a single, solitary clue.
People are also joining groups like James
Carville's "The Creative Coalition," made
up of people who are striving to find solu-
tions, not cause more problems.
The Revolution is dead.
Although not everybody knows it.
There are still some die-hards around,
clinging desperately to Newt's proverbial
love handles.
A reader e-mailed me last week, telling
me I was wrong to attack the nation's
health care system, which he called, "the
best in the world" Ironically, that was right
about the time when my mother's health
care insurance was whisked away. Oh yes,
she must be one of those lazy, unmotivat-
ed slobs on welfare, right?
No, she is a woman who has taught for
more than 25 years. She holds a Master's
Degree. She is a single parent and will see
her two children graduate from college,
mostly thanks to her hard work and love.
Then why is she without health care?
Because our educational system sucks,
too. Republican Governor John Engler
thought he could trim some budgetary fat.
Of course, he trimmed education. My
mother, whose GED classes have helped
some people get off welfare and unem-
ployment, lost her job in the budget cuts.
When things like this hit home, you
have to consider the fact that without some
sort of social safety net, a lot of decent,
good people will find themselves royally
screwed. Will Dole's stinking tax cut solve
dear ol' Ma's problems? Hell no, it won't,
and everyone who says otherwise is living
in a secure, white-collar La La Land.
It's time for a new Moral Majority, a
new Moral Consciousness. One that real-
izes it is immoral for someone to be
deducting business lunches from their
taxes, while a second grader finds that his
free hot lunch is gone. One that realizes it
is immoral to have even the least of
Americans suffer, while our nation thrives
in opulence.
For a few years, I think Americans were
caught up in the Newt- and Rush-inspired
"Me First" attitude. But now it is becom-
ing evident that, as a nation, we do have a
sense of social justice. Harshness and
mean-spiritedness can only be effective
political tools for a brief, flashing period.
The Revolution is dead.
I must close with this personal aside to
the College Republicans who chalked up
the campus last week with their "Dole I
Kemp" campaigning: You'd be amazed at
how well a stream of urine washes away
chalk writings.
The Revolution is dead.
- Dean Bakopouos can be contacted
via e-mail at deanc@umich.edu

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