THE O.B.E. MAIL BAG

This portion of the O.B.E is dedicated to those of you who are among the living. During the course of the year, feel free to e-mail the O.B.E. with thoughts, opinions, and general fun stuff.

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GRABBERLIME:
This pertains to 2009 & am just looking for a quick rational if you will. In your email attached, you make reference to "You too Maurice Sendak (What a great friggin' pick!)" for 2012.

Well I'd never heard of him so checked him out on Wikipedia & see that he is a writer of children's books, one of which was made into a movie & has won a few literary awards. Fair enough. However, in 2009, I selected Budd Schulberg (who died that year). My pick was disallowed as not being a celebrity.

If you check out Wikipedia you'll find Schulberg was a collaborator of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an Academy Award winning screenwriter for 1954's "On The Waterfront" starring Marlon Brando, was inducted into The Boxing Hall of Fame for his sports writing in 2002, and also testified as a friendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activates, which blacklisted many writers & actors. In other words, pretty well known figure in literary, film, & sports circles.

Comments?

Love the pool.

ONE GUY:
Here's a time and name that all just comes from perspective. Any time a new pick comes across the desk here at the OBE that name goes on a list for discussion. No matter who; could be Maurice Sendak could be Brad Pitt. Then the guys caucus about each and every new entry. When we got to Maurice; both guys immediately said YES. No question about who he was, or what he did. So he did have the immediate name, face or character recognition that we seek for celebrity. With no question asked, we moved onto the next name.

Now we can't you why, per se; except that he's a celeb in our eyes. Sendak had much much more than the career highlight you mention. He also had a huge presence in our lives growing up in the New York area in the 70's. He was name that was forever tied to PBS and the Children's Television Workshop and I can remember way back to grade school when kids lined up in the library to get their mitts on Hector Protector and his other illustrated works. His illustrations were so apart of growing up in that place at that time, that there left no question; to us at least, and that was what mattered.

Budd had none of that, shall we say, je ne sais quoi, that Maurice had. Writers are a tough area. One either knows them or doesn't . But here's one for ya. We call this the Simpson's test: you know someone is a celeb if they are pariodied on the Simposon's. The Simpsons made allusion to Sendak's book in the season 17 episode "The Girl Who Slept Too Little". In the episode, the take on the book was titled The Land of Wild Beasts.

Budd was perhaps famous, but not a celeb; no way. We still stand by that. Hope this makes sense to you.

THE OTHER GUY:
...In addition, Maurice Sendak's work "Where The Wild Things Area" is still read in elementary schools today, 40+ years after it was written. That means a very large number of kids every year hear and see this work, making it known across generations. My 12 year old knows this book (and not because of my wife or me, because of hearing/seeing it for several years in the lower grades). There are still, to this day, doll sets, pajama sets, etc. based on this book. The artwork in this book has been parodied and paid homage in several instances over the last 40+ years also. It is immediately recognizable.

Bottom line, the dude wrote a book that has become a cornerstone of youth (really young youth) culture. Not to mention his other works. That's all it takes in this case. We'd make the same type of argument for JD Salinger (though he's dead). Catcher in the Rye, seminal work securing his (JD'S) celebrity status. Where the Wild Things Are, seminal work securing Maurice's celebrity status.

In my opinion, as half of The Guys at the OBE, this one was an absolutely correct decision and, as the other Guy said, was made without hesitation. Maurice's name on a list this year was, as I stated in the OBE News email, a "great friggin' pick.



GRABBERLIME:
Appreciate the detailed response