If we had to lose Elizabeth Taylor…at least it was in a week when the Top Story! Weekly cast including the amazing Artemis Pebdani to do her incredible impersonation! When trying to figure out how best to pay comic homage to Dame Elizabeth, the idea of reuniting her in heaven with Richard Burton was appealing. Using her friendship with Michael Jackson as a bridge I fashioned a little mini-“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” with the help of a great rewrite from Phillip Wilburn (who came up with a spot-on Richard Burton impression), and the results were something I think is both respectful and pretty darn funny!
One of my all-time favorite recurring sketches in Top Story! Weekly is “El Alcalde de la Pasión,” where we depict L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the star of a telenovela who is consumed with….PASSION! We haven’t been able to do it in quite some time since Neil Garguilo – who indelibly plays El Alcalde (and is one of my favorite people to write for in the world – in fact, who just plain is one of my favorite people in the world) – hasn’t been available on Sunday in a while. Fortunately, he was available this past Sunday – and with the layoffs hitting the LAUSD, the opportunity to make El Alcalde hot for teacher was too good to pass up!
Let’s say you run a comedy show based on the news. Right after you read all the sketches submitted for the week and you’re putting together a running order, you learn about a huge tragedy striking. It’s a big story – you can’t ignore it. But you have to be funny without being disrespectful. What do you do?
If you’re me, and you’re trying to address the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, you ask your friends Matt Blitz and Phillip Wilburn to help write a sketch that uses the event to make fun of celebrities who are deserving of the ridicule. All in all, it turned out pretty well.
Yes, Newt Gingrich actually blamed the fact that he cheated on his wife on the fact that he loved America too much. So that proved a perfect topic for comedy with our guest star, Deanna Russo from “Knight Rider!”
Mike Hughes' blog 
Watch Elizabeth Taylor Reunited in Heaven with Richard Burton and Michael Jackson – from Top Story! Weekly Episode 95: “White Diamonds Aren’t Forever”
March 29, 2011If we had to lose Elizabeth Taylor…at least it was in a week when the Top Story! Weekly cast including the amazing Artemis Pebdani to do her incredible impersonation! When trying to figure out how best to pay comic homage to Dame Elizabeth, the idea of reuniting her in heaven with Richard Burton was appealing. Using her friendship with Michael Jackson as a bridge I fashioned a little mini-“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” with the help of a great rewrite from Phillip Wilburn (who came up with a spot-on Richard Burton impression), and the results were something I think is both respectful and pretty darn funny!
CAT ON A HOT TIN HEAVEN by Michael Hughes
Starring Artemis Pebdani (Elizabeth Taylor), Amy Paffrath (Michael Jackson) and Phillip Wilburn (Richard Burton)
Directed by Michael Hughes
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Tags:Academy Awards, Amy Paffrath, Artemis Pebdani, Betty Ford Clinic, Burt Bacharach, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Gladiator, heaven, Jesus Juice, Larry Fortensky, Liz Taylor, Louis B. Mayer, Macaulay Culkin, Michael Hughes, Michael Jackson, Mike Hughes, Mr. T, Nancy Reagan, Oscars, Pearl Slaghoople, Phillip Wilburn, Richard Burton, The Flintstones, Top Story! Weekly, Twitter, White Diamonds, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Wilma Flintstone, Wolfgang Puck
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