40 Comments

I just started watching Happyish again, after hearing you on Fresh Air, and would love to see the pilot with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Life is hilarious. For example, because I need a hip replacement at 61, I recently got a Rollator. Now my 84-year old mother, for whom I'm a caregiver, and I play dueling Rollators in the locker room at the Jewish Community Center while we get changed to use the pool. When I can get my ego out of the way, I laugh my ass off. Totally a scene in my novel. You can't make it up.

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Jewish Olympics.

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So good - this post and the clips. Thank you so much for sharing them. Everyone with a brain misses PSH, even those of us who didn't know him

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Never saw the show but will track it down. Hoffman was one of those actors whose name alone in a cast had we looking for that movie, and in it, him.

No doubt others were as honest as he was in the interviews that coincided with my drive home from work in the 90s, but his stood out when he responded to the interviewer on NPR who’d ridiculously asked him how his psychotherapy was going, not unkindly, “Why would I tell you??”

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This is wonderful! I'm a (heartbroken) fan of PSH, especially of Synecdoche: New York, which I've watched 15 or 16 times and would happily do again right now. Wrote about it here. https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/synecdoche-new-york-lonely-fucked/

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When my wife and I, who had both worked in advertising, first saw Happyish all those years ago, we instantly loved how much it nailed the insanity of the industry. Thank you for showing these clips from the pilot.

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No one. Absolutely no actor had his ability to hold an audience in the palm of his mind. I saw him in TRU. One man show years ago. He was more Truman than … his demons swallowed him. Tragic too simple a word.

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Thank you - your humanity could cure a lot of what ails us. Perhaps one of those gain-of-function labs could merge your humanity gene with a virus and infect us all!

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Briefly met PSH at a ritzy arts gala in NY that I volunteered to work at back in 2009. He was so down to earth. Showed up in jeans and a white tshirt slightly stained with mustard and just talked to those of us working the event like we were fellow humans instead of whatever most of the people who attended thought we were. He was brilliant. Love these clips.

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How did I miss this show? Brilliant. You made a wonderful team. Phil’s work is something I can watch over and over and see something new each time. RIP. His memory IS a blessing.

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founding

The loss of a brilliant and inspiring friend is excruciating… the dagger remains in the heart forever.

I mourn with you, and for those of my own

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Laughing and crying.

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Best pilot ever

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Loving the book, is that ok?

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I'll manage.

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🙏

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This might be my favorite edition of FP yet. What a legend PSH was. He'd have loved Feh.

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I like to think so.

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This ripped my heart out by its roots.

Damn.

Soooo good to see the footage, him doing it, saying your words.

Thank you.

Thanks PSH.

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Where can we readily find more of the video?

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author

Can't - Showtime has it blocked. Don't ask me why.

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