Fonz statue.

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

Any of you lot live in Milwaukee? Is this new statue of the Fonz as scarcely horrible as it seem?

[Larry Mudd]

It looks like a proof of concept demonstration for a CGI mimetic poly-alloy Christopher Walken for Terminator IV.

...and there's nothing scarce about the "horrible" there.

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

...and there's nothing scarce about the "horrible" there.

I was setting you up for that pun. No way I'd misspell scarily and then choose the wrong option from the spell checker. No, not I.

[jayjay]

Is this another TVLand tribute? We saw the Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis last summer and yes, it's a terrible likeness. I can't imagine that TVLand payed all that much to have it made. If this is the same kind of thing, then yes, I can imagine how scarily horrible it is.

[CalMeacham]

Is this another TVLand tribute? We saw the Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis last summer and yes, it's a terrible likeness.

The statue of Elizabeth Montgomery in Salem, MA isn't bad. But that Fonz looks terrible. According to the TV Land website, they just dedicated the Fonz statue yesterday, so it does indeed appear to be their handiwork:

http://www.tvland.com/landmarks/the_fonzie_statue.jhtml

http://www.twincities.com/stage/ci_10235984

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Dear og, I don't know which is scarier: that statue or what Henry Winkler looks like today. Okay, it's the stautue. It looks like Bizarro-Fonz.

[h.sapiens]

The Bob Newhart one by Navy Pier in Chicago is cute. He's sitting in an armchair with a pad and pencil, and there's a bronze couch next to the chair so you can get your picture taken having a session with Dr. Bob Hartley. And it's a decent likeness.

[Skywatcher]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Is this another TVLand tribute? We saw the Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis last summer and yes, it's a terrible likeness.

At least it's not her current insectoid look.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Lute Skywatcher

At least it's not her current insectoid look.

Eek! She's creeping up on Joan Rivers in the "Excessive and Unnecessary Plastic Surgery" category.

[Slithy Tove]

TV Land fully sponsored six other statues, but has since ended the program. Those are Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis, Bob Newhart in Chicago, Elvis Presley in Honolulu, Ralph Kramden in New York City, Samantha from "Bewitched" in Salem, Mass., and Andy Griffith in Raleigh, N.C.

Perhaps they realized that once they'd put a tool-belted statue of Pat Harrington in Indianapolis the obscurity point would have been passed

[cmkeller]

Somewhere in Phoenix, there's a diner waiting for its Linda Lavin statue to arrive.

[Walloon]

Milwaukee native here. I'm surprised and happy to see how many of the Happy Days / Laverne and Shirley casts (and producer Gary Marshall) came for the dedication. They were all guests for a Brewer game at Miller Park, where Henry Winkler threw the first pitch. I would have loved an episode of L&S where the gals get jobs as two of the Klement's Racing Sausages.

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

But do you like the statue?

Be honest . . .

[Walloon]

Seen from the wrong angle, it doesn't look like Fonzie at all. And the jeans look teal, not indigo. After seeing the Mary Tyler Moore statue, I'm starting to think that bronze isn't the best medium for celebrity likenesses.

[SaharaTea]

I live in Milwaukee and I think the statue is pretty awful-looking. I really don't see the point of it either, beyond a few whimsical photo ops for visiting tourists. It's a fictional character on a tv series that never even filmed here. Are we so devoid of notable locals we couldn't come up with anything better than this??

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by SaharaTea

I live in Milwaukee and I think the statue is pretty awful-looking. I really don't see the point of it either, beyond a few whimsical photo ops for visiting tourists. It's a fictional character on a tv series that never even filmed here. Are we so devoid of notable locals we couldn't come up with anything better than this??

You kind of have to plug into the whole TVLand winking irony-free/irony-full campiness to "get" these statues. In the beginning, the whole thing (the aforementioned TVLand winking campiness) was kind of fun and amusing, if you could get yourself looking at it at the right angle. The conceit is getting old now, though.

[sciurophobic]

I'd rather see a statue of Barry Zuckercorn jumping over a shark.

[mobo85]

New York City has a TV Land statue of Ralph Kramden outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. When the New York Rangers made the NHL playoffs a few years ago, they put a Rangers jersey on Ralph...#39. I thought that was pretty clever. (For those not in the know, The Honeymooners ran for 39 episodes, referred to by fans as "the classic 39." The so-called "lost episodes" which are part of the Viacom syndication package were actually routines from the original Jackie Gleason Show.)

I'd have to see The Fonz in person to give an opinion, but according to Winkler himself, there is one clever bit done on the statue: the initials of Winkler and his wife were placed in the veins of The Fonz's hands, which Winkler claims Michelangelo did with his own initials on David.

(Is the "The" in "The Fonz" capitalized, like The Cheat? I would assume someone as cool as The Fonz would have the "The" as part of his name.)

[lieu]

Originally Posted by SaharaTea

Are we so devoid of notable locals we couldn't come up with anything better than this??

From what I've read, that is the point sticking in the craw of most, that and "Do we not have an appreciation of better art?"

The likeness is godawful though. A lot of people will cuss themselves for ever making eye contact with it.

[Walloon]

Originally Posted by lieu

From what I've read, that is the point sticking in the craw of most

Donny Most?

Originally Posted by lieu

that and "Do we not have an appreciation of better art?"

Think of The Fonz as a counterweight to Santiago Calatrava's Burke Brise Soleil or the Bradley Sculpture Garden.

[Paul in Qatar]

I wonder how much it would cost to get a bronze statue made of (say) me? With or without parrots.

[The Shroud]

My hometown of Sacramento can only hope for a Dick Van Patten statue.

[hekk]

Milwaukeean here. I think it's dumb and campy, but who cares?

[Skald the Rhymer]

Originally Posted by Petrobey Mavromihalis

Any of you lot live in Milwaukee? Is this new statue of the Fonz as scarcely horrible as it seem?

:: looks at picture and recoils ::

Okay. Clearly I have to take a road trip to Milwaukee. I'll need three of you to meet me there: one with a flame-thrower, one with a bazooka, one with a few sticks of dynamite.

[Indistinguishable]

Originally Posted by Paul in Saudi

With or without parrots.

Huh?

(Is there a general "with or without parrots" meme I'm unaware of?)

[Joey P]

While were on the subject of odd Milwaukee art, WTF is that orange thing downtown near the lake, made out of a bunch of I-beams. I'll give you that it slightly resembles the art museam, but it's been there for at least 20 years. I don't have a freaken clue how to google it, maybe I can find it on google street view.

Here it is

[Joey P]

Let's try this

[TWDuke]

Originally Posted by Paul in Saudi

I wonder how much it would cost to get a bronze statue made of (say) me? With or without parrots.

In Britain in 2007, £112,000 was apparently "about right" for a slightly larger than lifesize bronze statue, including the plinth. As is.

Sorry, that's the best I could do before losing interest.

http://www.sculpture.net/community/a...hp/t-5035.html

[Terrifel]

I'm torn. On the one hand, it's a vast improvement over the typical downtown corporate-sponsored abstractoid sculpture. On the other hand, it is undeniably horrible.

I suppose if any city is going to host a monument to a greasy fictional motorcycle hoodlum, it might as well be Milwaukee.

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by Indistinguishable

Huh?

(Is there a general "with or without parrots" meme I'm unaware of?)

No, it's just that he has parrots.

[Paul in Qatar]

Originally Posted by mobo85

No, it's just that he has parrots.

Me with parrots.

[TV time]

I heard that they were planning a Robin Williams as Mork from Ork standing next to a large opened egg on the mall outside the supposed music store in Bolder, Colorado, but Williams said no. But I do not know how valid the story is. I heard it in a bar in Fort Collins, Colorado.

[Zebra]

Originally Posted by TV time

I heard that they were planning a Robin Williams as Mork from Ork standing next to a large opened egg on the mall outside the supposed music store in Bolder, Colorado, but Williams said no. But I do not know how valid the story is. I heard it in a bar in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Now do one of Pam Dawber and I'll approve.


What we need is a statue of Phobe Cates in Ridgemont.

[MovieMogul]

Originally Posted by jayjay

You kind of have to plug into the whole TVLand winking irony-free/irony-full campiness to "get" these statues. In the beginning, the whole thing (the aforementioned TVLand winking campiness) was kind of fun and amusing, if you could get yourself looking at it at the right angle. The conceit is getting old now, though.

:sniff: Does that mean no Full House/Olsen twins statue here in SF.

[TV time]

How about one of Geraldo Rivera in a basement in Chicago.





Better yet, just put Geraldo in a basement in Chicago.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by ArchiveGuy

:sniff: Does that mean no Full House/Olsen twins statue here in SF.

Ugh. I think Cloris Leachman as Phyllis would better fit the TVLand aesthetic.

[Troy McClure SF]

Originally Posted by sciurophobic

I'd rather see a statue of Barry Zuckercorn jumping over a shark.

Oh, COME ON!

[hekk]

Originally Posted by Joey P

While were on the subject of odd Milwaukee art, WTF is that orange thing downtown near the lake, made out of a bunch of I-beams. I'll give you that it slightly resembles the art museam, but it's been there for at least 20 years. I don't have a freaken clue how to google it, maybe I can find it on google street view.

Here it is

Here is a Journal Sentinel article about that ugly "sunburst" thing.

[SpoilerVirgin]

Originally Posted by Paul in Saudi

I wonder how much it would cost to get a bronze statue made of (say) me? With or without parrots.

Definitely with parrots.

And the only San Francisco statue I will accept is one of Karl Malden and Michael Douglas.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by SpoilerVirgin

Definitely with parrots.

And the only San Francisco statue I will accept is one of Karl Malden and Michael Douglas.

I thought of that, but dramas aren't TVLand's thing, really. They're more into the sitcoms.

[Cluricaun]

Originally Posted by Lute Skywatcher

At least it's not her current insectoid look.

Man, Stephen Tyler is really letting himself go.

[Meeko]

At this point, I think it is safe to say, that Henry Winkler has jummped the shark.

I would also like to add " Jumpped the shark " has jumpped the shark.

[phungi]

Speaking of statues, there is a statue of William Penn atop City Hall in Philadelphia, which has an "interesting" protrusion if you view it from the correct angle

Note: questionably safe for work... suggestive, but nothing involving nudity.

[Guinastasia]

Ha-I'm glad I live in Pittsburgh. I BELIEVE there might be a plan to erect a statue of Fred Rogers.

[mobo85]

Originally Posted by phungi

Speaking of statues, there is a statue of William Penn atop City Hall in Philadelphia, which has an "interesting" protrusion if you view it from the correct angle

Note: questionably safe for work... suggestive, but nothing involving nudity.

I've heard of The Curse of William Penn- that must be The Blessing.

[ASAKMOTSD]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Ha-I'm glad I live in Pittsburgh. I BELIEVE there might be a plan to erect a statue of Fred Rogers.

Now won't that be a beautiful day, boys & girls?

[Cluricaun]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Ha-I'm glad I live in Pittsburgh. I BELIEVE there might be a plan to erect a statue of Fred Rogers.

A statue of an erect Fred Rogers?

[mobo85]

This photo doesn't look as robotic as some of the others.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Ha-I'm glad I live in Pittsburgh. I BELIEVE there might be a plan to erect a statue of Fred Rogers.

No way.

Bob Uecker and Christopher Hewett FTW!

[Terrifel]

Originally Posted by mobo85

This photo doesn't look as robotic as some of the others.

Looks like someone stole the meat cleavers out of his hands.

"In other news, the Milwaukee Nightmare Fuel Sculpture Garden was vandalized yesterday. Officials estimate the cost of repairing the Grinning Hellspawn Winkler at $55,000. Meanwhile, parents are advised to remind their children that there's no reason why the Hell-Winkler can't strangle them in their sleep with its bare hands."