The Judge Report - RIP Tom Poston

You youngsters probably remember Tom Poston as the perennial sidekick of Bob Newhart in his various shows ("Climb upon my knee, sonny boy . . ). Maybe if you're a little older you know him as a favorite panelist on the old game shows, where he now joins Kitty Carlisle. (Which raises an interesting philosophical question: Would To Tell the Truth be allowed in heaven?)

Me, I think of him as the star of ZOTZ!

Now this is probably one of the worst movies ever made, though having seen it contemporaneously with The Three Stooges in Orbit I didn't think so at the time. As I haven't seen it since it first played at the Mohawk Theater lo these many years ago, I'm a little hazy on the plot. As I recall, Tom gets ahold of this magic coin. If he says "Zotz!" while holding it, people start moving in slow motion. If he points his finger at someone, I guess they get zapped, and if he points his finger and says "ZOTZ!" simultaneously, why, he can kill people. Didn't your mother always tell you not to point your finger, someone might get hurt?

The first zillion kids got plastic ZOTZ coins to take home with us.

Wish I still had mine.

Heh heh.

Anyway, Tom seemed like a real warm human being and he certainly delighted me through most of my lifetime. God rest him.