Place

Paul Mazursky's table at Farmers Market (video)

mazursky-table.jpg

Freelance videojournalist Abraham Riesman was sent in 2012 to do a story for Punch on Paul Mazursky's morning gathering of old Hollywood hands (and a few younger ones) at Farmers Market. The table regulars include actor-comedian Fred Stoller, acgtor Ronnie Schell and Allan Havey, the actor who recently has played Lou Avery (Don Draper's replacement) on "Mad Men." Riesman posts at Vulture:

After some confused wandering, I found the fabled table and its denizens: about a dozen men sitting around and bullshitting over coffee and pastries in the harsh Southern California sun. The median age seemed to be 70 or so, with a few middle-aged gents and one very incongruous 30-something in a black beret. Mazursky hadn't arrived yet that morning, and the men were making jokes about him finally going senile and forgetting where Farmers Market was.


And then he arrived. He slowly ambled through a gateway and toward the table, clad in a baggy coat, a purple ascot, and a Curb Your Enthusiasm porkpie hat. Accompanying him was none other than the hulking veteran character actor Richard Kind. They sat down at the table, and the morning truly began. I was a fly on the wall, trying to do as little as possible to get in the way of their routine, but most of these guys were more than happy to have the camera pointed at them. (Well, except Richard Kind, who repeatedly got mad at me for being there and "ruining" their nice time. Whatever, Richard.) They were mostly actors, directors, screenwriters, and various other kinds of show-business vets.

For decades, Mazursky had convened this informal group, and they met up there most mornings for eating, drinking, and kvetching. While I watched and taped, they mocked each other, did impressions, swapped sex stories, argued about Obamacare, told dick jokes (lots and lots of dick jokes), and just generally had a good time on a gorgeous May morning.

Mazursky died Monday at Cedars-Sinai, at age 84. Mazursky and Schell get into a "fight" below:



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