Coming To America – Sketch Lottery

What’s up with him?

Eddie Murphy’s eyes….on Sketch Lottery. Character of the week was Prince Akeem from the 80s film “Coming To America.” Sketch by Michele Witchipoo Nov. 2014

A week late, but the Sketch Lottery character was Prince Akeem from the 1988 film ‘Coming To America.’ For those who don’t know, comedian Eddie Murphy portrays Prince Akeem, a rich African prince in search of a bride. He goes to America to find the woman of his dreams, which lands him right in NYC boro of Queens.

As a side note. The scenes where Prince Akeem was working in McDowell’s were filmed on location at a local fast food restaurant. It was Wendy’s, located on Queens Boulevard, in Elmhurst, Queens. My mother used to pass by this Wendy’s during her work commute.

Years later, I moved to an area which wasn’t that far from Elmhurst. The Wendy’s location was still there. Unfortunately, that Wendy’s was known as one of the worse Wendy’s ever. In 2013, it was torn down. Below are a few online articles relating to the former business.

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2013/05/coming-to-america-landmark-in-process.html

http://queens.brownstoner.com/2013/06/closing-bell-what-will-happen-to-elmhursts-old-wendys/

http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/what-s-in-store-for-former-wendy-s-lot/article_a814c458-4711-5dfb-9f45-7d6745ea9352.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/06/14/queens-boulevard-loses-a-movie-icon-disguised-as-a-fast-food-joint/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/wendys-elmhurst

The sketch I did was based on the scene where Akeem and his personal assistant/best friend Sammi hit the club in search of a bride.

Not the best work I’ve done, but regardless. Enjoy my contribution on Sketch Lottery. Don’t forget to check out work by the other artists as well.

FYI – The film poster for ‘Coming To America’ was drawn by Drew Struzan.  

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday To Me (Movie Trailer Of The Week, April 5th, 2010)

Today’s my birthday. So I wondered if there was a Horror film with a birthday theme to it. Looked up movie trailers on YouTube and sure enough, it did not disappoint.

This cinematic nasty, Happy Birthday To Me was released in the year 1981. Pope John Paul II had bad luck that year, with two attempted assignations. Anwar Sadat got the hit instead. US president Ronald Reagan got in on the act as well, getting wounded by a gunshot. This was capped off by Buckwheat, as he said O-tay for the very last time.

Actually that last statement was not true. ‘Buckwheat Buys The Farm’ was one of the best known skits from Saturday Night Live that year. Buckwheat was a regular character from the ’81 season. One of Eddie Murphy’s best television sketches before he went off and made a whole bunch of crappy movies.

Apparently some people can never get enough of bloodshed. The year of 1981 saw the release of the Horror flick, Happy Birthday To Me. Here’s the trailer:

He Was Once A Little Green Slab Of Clay

Yesterday claymation/animator Art Clokey died. I loved Clokey’s shows; even Davey and Goliath.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/01/art-clokey-the-creator-of-the-whimsical-clay-figure-gumby-died-in-his-sleep-friday-at-his-home-in-los-osos-calif-after-b.html

Immediately after hearing the news, I thought about the Eddie Murphy skit from Saturday Night Live. The one where Murphy played a bitter cigar chomping character…”I’m Gumby dammit!” So of course I hit YouTube for clip, but no avail. So I found this:

After Art and Ruth Clokey found success with Gumby, the Lutheran Church in America came a-calling. Somehow this religious organization had $1 million to fund Christian propaganda aimed at America’s youth. Each episode had Davey and his talking dog Goliath involved in a series of dilemmas. However, as long as these two put their faith in God, a happy ending would be bestowed upon them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_and_Goliath

Still it would be strange that such a nice Christian boy wouldn’t question on how or why his pet dog had the ability to talk. Davey wasn’t the only one with a talking dog. Didn’t David Berkowitz have the same problem? Supposedly serial killer Son of Sam dealt with a similar situation. Someone should introduce these two; imagine the conversations they would have together, about canines, mass media and the bible. (Berkowitz became a born-again Christian after he was incarcerated.) Check that Moral Orel!

Seriously though…despite the Christian overtones, it managed to be entertaining without prophesizing too much. I remember fondly watching reruns on syndication during my wee kiddie years on a local NYC television station. Within the past ten years I’ve even considered getting Davey and Goliath action figures. Quite sure these collector items would make a great addition to my home.

So before this post ends, I will leave you with the original opening credits to the Gumby show: