"Uncle Frank" Potenza, a security guard and regular on Jimmy Kimmel Live (and most importantly Jimmy's uncle), passed away today at the age of 77.

Before joining the cast of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Uncle Frank spent twenty years as a New York City police officer, ten years as a private security officer in Las Vegas (including a stint as Frank Sinatra's personal security guard at Caesars Palace) and another seven as an usher in Manhattan's world-famous St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

We had the privilege of interviewing Uncle Frank for a What's In My Bag? episode back in 2008.

RIP Uncle Frank.

As recently reported by the BBC, the remaining members of the Sex Pistols (John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook) will reunite for a concert in London, England on November 8th this year to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their punk rock classic and modern music history-changing 1977 album Never Mind The Bollocks....Here's the Sex Pistols. This will not be the first time the band has reformed since its abrupt break up in January 1978 in San Francisco at the end of their one and only US tour, or since Sid Vicious died of a drug overdose in 1979.

Eleven years ago the Sex Pistols reformed for the 1996 Filthy Lucre Tour, which included dates in the States, Europe, Australia, Japan, and other countries. They also reformed and performed in 2002, which coincidentally was the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The makers of "God Save The Queen" performed that year at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London. And most recently, the Sex Pistols performed in 2003 when they did a brief 3-week tour of the US which they fondly titled the Piss Off Tour.

There are numerous books and chapters in books written about the Pistols. In terms of video footage, the best full-length piece is The Filth and the Fury, the Julien Temple 2000 documentary which you should find on DVD at Amoeba Music. It's really amazingly engaging and educational and well worth owning. Of the countless controversial interviews that the Sex Pistols, and in particular the brilliant John Lydon, have conducted, two are included below. These are the infamous British Thames TV interview with Bill Grundy back in Januray 1976 (that includes a very young Siouxse Sioux), and the more recent John Lydon interview from last year with Jimmy Kimmel in which he tells it like it is in reaction to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lydon and,the other two surviving members promptly turned the offer down, vocally dismissing it as an "obscene gesture." Check out both video clips. They're great!

The other night I went (blessed with the company of the amazing Ngoc em and her cousin, Bao -- and my co-worker Hiland) to see the filming of the pilot for a Chris Elliott vehicle called Chrissy Plain & Simple. I like the name and concept. Just pure, unadulterated Chris Elliot, without any bells and whistles and jangles and bangles and be-bops and re-rops and flee-flops... or something to that effect. If you're a fan, you know how he just stupidly starts rambling to that effect.

On the downside-- it's sketch comedy with pre-filmed satirical segments that we had to watch a couple of times and force some laughter for the second time around. At one point I looked up at a monitor and the entire frame was filled with my chin and some teeth laughing at nothing but the instructions of the episode's director, Bobcat Goldthwait.

The show takes place on a stage cluttered with Chris Elliot cut-outs of Chris in different poses, always wearing socks regardless of the character being portrayed and, I have to say, his stupid expressions forced me to smile over and over before filming whilst Jimmy Kimmel cracked jokes-- and talked about the fact that he, I and some other guys were all coincidentally wearing maroon shirts.

We certainly don't mind little plugs like this. Check him out at the 1:55 mark.