How did I manage to disappear from here for over a month? Well, my recent post linking back to all my Law & Order write-ups became pretty popular. That might have triggered my well-documented fear of success. It sure hasn’t been summer fun keeping me away. Still, I am about to attempt some kind of vacation, so I might as well just shut down for the rest of June. At least I’ll have some articles published that I can link back to at the start of July.

Meanwhile, since I’m writing this on Father’s Day, I’ll also note that Chuck Barris has just published a very sad memoir entitled Della . It’s the story of his doomed daughter, whom folks of my age might remember as a cute kid introducing her father on The Gong Show. I also remember People doing an article that noted how Della had chosen to stay with her father after Barris’ divorce. The book reveals the lie behind that story, and is a torturous look at progressive parenting gone wrong—culminating with Della’s overdose at the age of 36.

Della is a touching work that is both unbearably honest and creepy. That won’t be a surprise to anyone who’s seen how much Barris exposed of himself in 1980’s underrated The Gong Show Movie. Now the guy deserves to dwell on happier times. I’m hoping for a book about his long and lasting friendship with fellow good guy Dick Clark .

 

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