20 Years Ago on FITK

Mel Jass and Me

When I was young and impressionable the afternoon TV movie in my hometown was hosted by the pitchman extraordinaire Mel Jass.

One thing special about his show was that it was done on the cheap, with local sponsors, and had a very limited budget for feature films. The genius of Mel was that he found that he could get quality European films by Fellini and Antonionni, British Ealing comedies, etc. for next to nothing and, by being such a personable host, people would tune in to watch HIM and stay for the movie. The Coen brothers have been quoted about his influence on their film career.

My brush with Mel occurred in the late-seventies, at the Aquatennial (a summer festival) parade. Standing in his convertible Cadillac, he was surrounded by a phalanx of beauty princesses (the queens rode on a float) and he was obviously ‘in the moment’. I felt a need to reach out to my hero, but how? Just as he passed I shouted “WE LOVE YOU MEL!” He smiled and, with a twinkle in his eye, he turned and looked straight at me. He raised a bullhorn to his mouth and spoke those words I’ll never forget:

“The movies are great on WTCN!”

Yes, the movies were great on WTCN, but not as great as you Mel!