Rupert Holmes wrote the book that the movie “Where the Truth Lies” is the same geek who wrote the Pina Colada song. How do I know? I was a fan of The Buoys. You know, the guys who sang “Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you”.
I was more surprised years back when I realized he was the same geek who wrote the hit musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” After “Pina Colada,” I was sure the guy had no talent at all!
Something I learned from VH1 last night: One of the guys in the old punk band New York Dolls was the one who did “Hot, Hot, Hot”. The one that goes:
David Johanson. After the Dolls he had a solo career then turned himself into Buster Poindexter. He also acts. He was the ghost of Christmas past in Scrooged and Richard Dreyfuss’ sidekick in Let it Ride.
He also wrote “Timothy” - an early 70s hit about cannabalism for The Bouys AND “You Got It All” - a love ballad for The Jets in the 80s!
Holmes was also the creator/writer/producer of the TV series Remember WENN. It was a show about an old radio station that was on AMC for a couple of seasons. I only saw a couple of episodes but I thought it was OK.
OK? Remember WENN was grrrrrr-AAATTTT!
Seriously, it has a claim to be among the best all-time sitcoms on televisions. And Holmes wrote almost all the episodes - and music - himself.
“The Pina Colada Song” was one of those accidental hits off of his fifth album. It helped him along for a few years then became a millstone. He really should be known an award-winning Broadway writer/composer along with WENN, with the song mercifully forgotten. He’s a major, major talent.
I’ve read his two novels. They’re better described than his other work as merely OK. The attraction of Where the Truth Lies for me was in the diary entries in the “Jerry Lewis” character’s voice. Those worked very well, while the straight scenes lay there on the page. It’s hard to imagine either side coming alive on film.
He also wrote the stage play Accomplice, and is an all-around nice guy (I’ve met him). I think “geek” should be replaced by “incredibly talented individual”.
He also did a cover of “Hit the Road, Jack” that sounds remarkably like Ray Charles. Having Ray’s backup singers helps.