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Westfield Auction (by Mary K) On April 7, 2002, Michael Ian Black ('Phil Stubbs') and Justin Long ('Warren Cheswick') were scheduled to appear at an auction in Westfield, NJ. The auction was to raise money for the Charles Addams Art Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to deserving Westfield High School students. The artist Charles Addams, who lived in Westfield, was the creator of The Addams Family cartoons, which inspired the later TV shows and movies. To be auctioned off were several Addams-related works, as well as three items related to "Ed". Westfield features prominently in the opening credits of "Ed" as we see Ed Stevens driving through the idyllic fictional Stuckeyville, Ohio. The auction was held in the lovely municipal building in Westfield, right next to Mindowaskin Park, which features the pond with the spraying fountain in the middle we see in the opening credits. I arrived a little late and was dismayed to see a sign on the door stating that Michael Ian Black would not be appearing. I slipped inside in time to hear Ron McCloskey, the man in charge of the auction, explaining Westfield's relations to "The Addams Family" and to "Ed", after which he played videotapes of each show's opening theme songs. He pointed out the Westfield landmarks on "Ed" and some of the local denizens nodded in recognition. (I noticed Justin playing air drums to the Foo Fighters' "Next Year", as, admit it, some of you do every time you hear it.) The large community room was filled with folding chairs, but there were only about 30 to 40 people there; it seemed like a nice little community event, with a few Edheads there from out of town. I sat behind fellow Edheads Phil and his beautiful wife and daughter, Ginnie and her boyfriend, and Larissa. Justin was introduced and immediately launched into an apologetic explanation of why MIB wasn't there. He was attending a weekend-long bachelor party in Las Vegas. Sounded a bit Stubbsian to me, but Justin assured us he was serious. He seemed to think we were all let down having just him and no MIB, so I loudly said "You'll do" and he said thanks and explained that I was his mother, which cracked me and everyone else up. The auctioneer took over and the first three things auctioned were the "Ed" memorabilia: an autographed script of the pilot; a large frame containing two B&W photos, a signed one of Tom Cavanagh, and a signed cast photo; and a red bowling shirt with the "Ed" logo in front and the Stuckeybowl logo on the back. The bidding for each of these items started at $100 and quickly spiraled upwards. Each item drew in excess of $300, and the bidding was mostly between two people. Two of the items went to one couple and the other went to another lucky gentleman, neither of whom seemed to be worrying about next month's mortgage. Justin was constantly bantering back and forth with the auctioneer, who eventually invited him to come up and take over, which he did. He was hilarious, starting out seriously, describing the item up for bid, then going off on many a tangent. At various times he recommended movies"The Royal Tennenbaums" is good, and please go see "Big Trouble" because his friend Ben Foster is in it and needs your support. Once the Addams-related items came up, interest waned and Justin ended up begging and pleading for bids in entertaining ways. In trying to drum up interest in a set of old records featuring Dick Powell (a 1930s crooner) singing patriotic songs, he tried to convince us that Powell was the father of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Then he tried to intrigue us with Bing Crosby records by claiming that Crosby had a popular sitcom in the 80s and used to do commercials for Jello Pudding Pops (Bill Cosby). I forget how it came up, but at one point Justin said he hated the new "Ed" theme song, calling it depressing. He did a funny version of the nasal, whiny opening of "Moment in the Sun." Then he seemed to feel bad and apologized to anyone who liked the song. All of this was spontaneous and very funny. The last items auctioned were four car models (the kits you put together). No one had the slightest interest in these cars, even when all four were offered for $5! In desperation Justin looked around and found the local newspaper with an article about the auction featuring his picture. He offered to throw that in, and said he'd draw a mustache on his picture and sign it. He wanted to throw in his empty Starbuck's cup (his drink of choice that day was chamomile tea), but had cut his lip and bled on it, so thought better of the idea. Then he threw in an offer to call Julie Bowen, who might not be home, as she and Jana Marie Hupp were going for acupuncture that day but the winning bidder could leave a message. So the same generous man who'd already spent hundreds offered $100 for all that, PLUS a picture of his wife and him with Justin. Justin readily agreed but then seemed to feel guilty that this man had already spent so much, so he said he'd take $50. There were some funny exchanges in which Mr.McCloskey had to remind Justin that the idea was to get the prices UP, not down. When, to Justin's great relief (and ours), the auction ended, he stayed around and chatted, signing autographs and posing for pictures. It was very gracious of him, since apparently he was behind schedule and had a driver waiting for him, who he was concerned would be getting impatient. Most of us were handed nametags when we came in and Justin called everyone by name as he spoke to us. Even those without nametags were addressed by name once they were introduced. He was as down-to-earth and friendly as you could imagine. He seemed genuinely appreciative of our compliments and of our interest in "Ed". He expressed appreciation for Stuckeyville.com and said everyone on the set talks about it. In showing that he could be a fan himself, he told us how he had a picture of himself grinning from ear to ear standing between Curtis Armstrong (his dad on "Ed") and Tim Busfield (director/producer on "Ed"), whom he had enjoyed as "Booger" and "Poindexter" in "Revenge of the Nerds". He also stated that Tim Busfield was his favorite director on the show and he loved working with him. Then he said he thought Busfield's recent performance ("Lloyd", ep. 39) was heartbreaking. He also mentioned Julie Bowen, saying that she was humble to a fault, and doesn't seem to know or believe how beautiful she is. Also that she is very nice and very smart. She joined him at his family home for Easter dinner and everyone just fell in love with her; he said it was the first time he ever saw his dad blush. Finally Ron McCloskey had to move things along and close up, but Justin made a point of making sure everyone waiting got the autographs or pictures they wanted. He was kind, generous, and funny; a pleasure all around. Justin also mentioned that filming for this season will wrap up around the third week of this month. Thanks to Mary K for the report and to Ginnie P & Phil G for the photos. |
