Name That Character

When I was writing this TV movie, it was my first assignment in many years.  I didn't know if it would ever get made, but I wanted to have as much fun as I could, and part of that was naming characters after loved ones and close friends.  I wanted to give a shout-out to my agent Lew Weitzman, who called me up one day a few years back, and said, "Come up with a 4th of July romantic comedy.  Something about declaring independence."  "Give me an hour," I said.  I threw an idea together, called it "Oh Say, Can You See?" and wrote up a page.  I figured it will never happen.  I never think anything is going to happen.  I like to leave the optimism to other people.

Months later, eight or nine maybe, I've lost track, Lew called me up.  It was the classic good news/bad news call.  The good news:  It looked like Hallmark Channel was going to "move forward" with that cute little one page idea of mine.  What "move forward" meant, neither one of us knew, but it was better than a kick in the head.  "Move forward" signaled progress in the right direction.  Thanks to Lew's persistent, often hilarious nagging of TV executives, "It'll never happen" had evolved into, "It might happen, stay tuned."  Then came the bad news: He had a little touch of brain cancer.  He was going into the hospital in a few days and wanted to make sure we had a chance to talk.  This would be our last conversation.  After the surgery and all the complications, he was only able to say a word or two when I visited him.  His final one:  "Pancakes."  He hadn't eaten real food in a while.

And so, I named a character after Lew.  At first he was the editor of a small-town newspaper.  But that character got cut out during development.  Eventually, Lew became the owner of a BBQ joint, a tastier gig, to be sure.  I couldn't believe Lew would never see the movie, but as we say in our family, Life is Life.  Things happen.  I thought my dad would see it.  But no.  He's gone, too.  Good thing I named a character after him.  There's a Ben in the movie, and a Gloria, too.  Lew and Ben and Gloria.  My three favorite cheerleaders get a nice shout-out in "When Sparks Fly" (formerly "Oh, Say Can you See?"). When you get a rare opportunity to honor the people you love, grab it.