Big melon research, day 2

We have a breakthrough. Thanks to the all-encompassing memory banks of Bryce (see the comment on the 3/28 post) we now have a reference point. For those who did not read the 3/28 post, and have a strained index finger and can't scroll down, I have been looking for the basis of the belief I hold that people with unusually large heads are more successful in on-screen roles on TV and in movies. It's one of those "I know I heard it somewhere" things. So here's our definitive citation:

Well y’know, that’s why Merv Griffin hired Vanna White — her head is too big for her body. Apparently big-headed people are thought to “read well” on TV.

And yes, that is the only qualification to be a TV “journalist.

This is attributed to a person using the name "Cervantes" commenting on a blog here. (This blog also refers to Tony Snow and Brit Hume as examples of the big head phenomenon, and along with some crude language and general meanness, uses the term megacephalic, which may be useful going forward.) For those who don't think a single, anonymous blog comment qualifies as solid sourcing (what's the weather like back there in 2003?) I have something even better:

Overheard on the recent E! True Hollywood Story, Vanna White: Merv Griffin believes that people with slightly larger heads tend to be more successful. The game show creator says it was one reason he originally chose Vanna over a smaller-headed letter-turning competitor.

Attribution to E! should be enough for even the most skeptical, so we'll just stamp "fact" on this one.

So now we know - if you want to succeed in TV but you're not an idol, ballroom dancer, castaway or ex-jock, take a good hard look in the mirror as say, "Is my head - and I mean this literally, not figuratively - really big enough?" And after that, better stop talking to yourself in the mirror, that might be misinterpreted.




Comments

Anonymous said…
The comment was posted by bryce, Barry, not me, but I will ante up:
This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine's boyfriend is a "bad breaker-upper" and during a spat of anger he refers to her as "big head", because he feels her head is disproportionally large. This ruffles her feathers somewhat and she walks around being very self-conscious and worrying that she looks like a "walking candy apple". Hello, Newman...
March 29, 2007 at 8:21 AM
Barry Martin said…
Sorry about that. You are right, it was Bryce that got me going toward Vanna and her dome. Your Seinfeld reference leads me to add Julia Louis Dreyfus to my list of the megacephalic stars. I thank you, and all of America thanks you.
March 30, 2007 at 8:37 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How I have neglected my blog and the sadness that results

So jeez, I am feeling a little contrite because I have neglected this blog. Feeling a little like I have let an old friend fall by the wayside while I have been spending all my time with someone new.I even got needled by one of my (few) readers today - "Wow, no blog post since April 2!"  Feeling a little frivolous and superficial because my good old reliable Blogger blog here has fallen victim to my other time sucks - namely, Facebook, and of course, what I like to call "real life." Maintaining a blog is no simple task, my friend. Just mouse up there to the top of the screen, left of center, and start clicking on "Next blog." You will soon soon discover there are lots and lots people who start a blog, make two or three posts, and discover it's kind of demanding. (You'll also discover that about two-thirds of all the random blogs you'll see in the "next blog" mode are in Spanish, which I find strangely fascinating. ) Maybe those whose
Read more

"Mikey Angels" flies off in both directions at once

Image
The expression we've all heard is "you can't be too rich or too thin." I suppose that gets said a lot around the tennis court at the country club, the changing room at Sak's? I suppose it draws a wry smile every time. Or is it really said in the aisles at Target by people who are at no risk of being too much of either? The expression we've never heard is "you can't be too smart," because we all know it is possible to be too smart. Kind of ironic since we spend a lot of energy trying to force kids to be smart. We pound them with homework, make them take tests, tell them the kids in Mumbai are going to take your future job. We try to get them into the best schools, the ones for the smart people, but they are always at risk of becoming "too smart for their own good." Based on what I've heard about last weekend's Presidential candidate activity, Obama is running the risk of being too smart for his own good. He and McCain did these l
Read more

Burgers with daddy

Image
Sometimes on Sundays I am transported to a place that was called Gene and Darlene's. (OK, that sounded kind of Shirley MacLaine. I am not talking about out of body experiences here. It's a memory, ok?) Gene and Darlene's was a bar down on Shoal Creek south of Joplin. The building still stands (photo proof here, taken August 2008.) No telling how many other names the place has had since it was Gene and Darlene's, but that's the name it has in my mind. On Sundays sometimes, when I was a kid, daddy would come up with the notion that burgers from Gene and Darlene's would really hit the spot. Being always in favor of food in general, and carry-out food being really exotic to me, the idea was always a winner in my opinion. I would be eager to climb into the car with daddy and ride along. It was a short trip down to Redings Mill, around the infamous curve that topped a bluff over the creek, where all kinds of carloads of people had suffered hideous deaths in spectacula
Read more