William Asher

            On Friday morning I entered in a search engine the titles of the next Boris Vian songs on my list from 1950 to see if any lyrics would be posted since I checked a year or so ago. I couldn’t find “Saint Germaine des Prés”, “Si vous désirez avoir du succès”, “T'en souvient'il?”, “Un pauvre petit garçon”, “La extraordinaire ou "confidences"”, or “Westminster ballade”. But I did find the lyrics for “D’où reviens-tu Billy Boy?” (a translation by Vian of “Where Have You Been Billy Boy?). So tomorrow I can start learning that one. 

            I memorized the second verse of “Un amour peut en cacher un autre” (One Love Can Serve to Cover Another) and adjusted my translation. There is only one verse left to nail down and so I should have it in my head tomorrow. 

            I weighed 87.45 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I brought the stepladder back in and finished sanding the upper left half of the eastern wall of my bathroom. Next I have to do the lower quarter of the upper right half. That might be a little more difficult because the paint is cracked around the light. 

            I weighed 87.95 kilos before lunch. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. 

            I weighed 87.65 at 18:00. I was caught up on my journal at 18:30. 

            I took my camera and tripod out to look for people to put on video. I twice made the round to Sorauren and back to Elm Grove. I saw Sal at Queen and West Lodge and asked if he’d seen Whispering Ghost, but he hadn’t seen him since last week. I ran into my ex yoga student Betina. I described Whispering Ghost to her and she said she saw him buy a bunch of stuff at the Salvation Army thrift store a couple of weeks ago. 

            I reviewed the videos of my song practice performances of “Dance and Sing to Baby Pop” and “Baby Pop” from August 20 to 22. On August 20 I played “Dance and Sing to Baby Pop” on my Kramer electric guitar and the take at 12:45 in part B was one of the best electric versions and the project of that date is already in Movie Maker. On August 22 I played it on my Martin acoustic guitar and the take at 12:15 in part B was not bad. On August 21 I played “Baby Pop” on the Martin and the take at 7:45 in part B was not bad but there was washed out light. 

            For dinner I had a potato with gravy and two chicken drumsticks while watching season 5, episodes 25 and 26 of Bewitched. 

            In the first story the Witches Counsel give Samantha an ultimatum to give up her marriage to a mortal but she refuses. This is the first time they’ve made it an issue in five years. If they’d really wanted to stop her from marrying Darrin they would have tried five years ago. They take away her powers and those of her daughter. Uncle Arthur and Cousin Serena come to show they are behind Samantha but they lose their powers too. Arthur and Serena are forced to get jobs and so they apply at an ice cream place where they are put on an assembly line. Serna dips bananas in chocolate, then Arthur rolls them in nuts and puts them in the freezer. The belt keeps going faster and the result is disaster followed by a food fight with their manager. This gag is lifted from the old I Love Lucy story that had Lucy and Ethel on an assembly line of chocolates. Samantha appeals to the counsel but she refuses to give in. She warns the counsel they are risking their own integrity and their right to sit in judgement. They don’t seem to listen but that night at dinner everyone gets their powers back. 

            In the second story Mrs. Wehmeyer comes to see Samantha about donating to UNICEF. Samantha thinks she is asking her to donate money but when she says yes Wehmeyer says for her to be at the meeting in the morning. Samantha made an impression with her leadership at saving the park a few episodes ago. But when she shows up for the meeting she finds all the ladies leaving because E. J. Haskell, who pledged $10,000 has reneged on his promise. Samantha goes to see him but he only lets her in because he thinks she’s the decorator. He kicks her out and says he doesn’t want to see her face again. Samantha decides to haunt him with her face. She momentarily replaces his chauffeur, his secretary, the moose on his office wall, and his psychiatrist. This is not helping. She finds out that Haskell is engaged to a much younger woman named Lila Layton who is a nightclub performer. But it turns out that she’s the one who convinced Haskell to not give the money to UNICEF. Samantha and Endora go to a restaurant where Haskell and Lila are dining and Endora lends Samantha her truth salt, with which she spikes Lila’s soup. Every spoonful she puts in her mouth causes her to reveal her true intentions. She tells him she adores his money. He asks if she’d like to go somewhere tonight when she’s finished at the club. But she takes a sip and says she has a date with her boyfriend. Haskell gives Lila cab fare and she leaves. Then Samantha sits down at his table. He says he knows she’s his conscience and so he’ll make good on the pledge so he doesn’t see her again. 

            Both of these episodes were directed by William Asher, who started out in the mail room at Universal Studios. His film directing debut was for Leather Gloves in 1948. He began directing on television with episodes of I Love Lucy (for which he was nominated for a Directors Guild Award). In total he directed 110 episodes of the series. He directed several episodes of Bewitched (for which he won an Emmy) and from the fourth season on was the producer of the series. He also directed episodes of Make Room for Daddy, The Twilight Zone, The Patty Duke Show, Gidget, The Dukes of Hazard and Alice. He directed and co-wrote the movies Fireball 500, Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Bikini Beach and Beach Blanket Bingo. He directed some episodes of Short Short Dramas. He was married to Elizabeth Montgomery for eleven years.