Never a moment's peace...

not_on_display — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:51:34 -0800

Tonight in the MetaFilter Lecture Series, "Health through Nutrition: Its Prevention and Cure" by Brother Theodore Gottlieb (1906-2001), stand-up tragedian. His gravestone reads: Known as Brother Theodore / Solo Performer, Comedian, Metaphysician / "As Long As There is Death, There Is Hope" Earlier in his long life, he lived through Dachau (while much of his family didn't), and was sent off to the US courtesy of his mom's purported boyfriend, Albert Einstein. For much more: Wikipedia Bio | A fan page bio | The NYTimes obit also linked to above. He gained his moniker from Merv Griffin, on whose show he appeared 30+ times. He also was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman; the unlikely pairing made for some comedy that will make you squirm uncomfortably in your seat: ein • zwei • drei • vier • funf • sechs • ...And some topics that could make you a bit queasy, but is interesting in a time-capsule-ish way as to how "safe topics" in comedy can change over time: "You are asking dangerous questions, and you provoke dangerous answers." (Also, this, from the disco-vampire movie "Nocturna".) Yes, aside from working theaters and talk shows, he would appear in movies every once in a while: • The Burbs: Go and see it, or Brother Theodore will "come to your home one of these nights, and you won't enjoy it." • He was the voice of Gollum in the animated version of The Hobbit. • There's a documentary about him, too: here's the trailer. • And here's a bit of Brother Theodore with Sammy Davis, Jr. (Billy Crystal) doing "Who's on First?". • He was on the Radio, too: He provides a voice in this episode of Julius Knipl [real audio]. I originally decided to post this after listening to some of this hour-long interview with Bob Claster, from Kattullus' great post. As I poked into more links, I found that BoingBoing had the same thought as me, so here's their post which contains a few more links. And hey, a WNYC No Show dedicated to Brother Theodore from the same date! Huh!! Did I miss Brother Theodore Day or something? Odds and Ends: • Previously • A Fairy Tale

Concentration Camp Tarot Cards

jonson — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:01:42 -0800

Hand drawn Tarot Cards created by a Boris Kobe, a prisoner at Allach Concentration Camp, a sub-camp of Dachau. Each card depcits an aspect of life in the camp - click each image for high-res versions.

MetaFilter posts tagged with dachau

Never a moment's peace...

Concentration Camp Tarot Cards