"Today I take pride in my brother Charlie, whom in WW2 fought in 11 major battles among them, the landing in Africa, the invasion of Normandy &, the Battle of the Bulge. For his efforts, at Arlington, he received a 21 gun salute & his name enshrined in their marble wall!" - Carl Reiner
A statement from our co-founder Carl Reiner:
I was so sad to learn of the passing of Rose Marie. There's never been a more engaging & multi-talented performer. In a span of 90 years, since she was four, dear Rosie performed on radio, in vaudeville, night clubs, films, TV, & Vegas & always had audiences clamoring for "more!!"
Rose Marie
August 15, 1923 - December 28, 2017
“It’s all about creating a lasting and worthy legacy,” says Lawrence O’Flahavan, Co-Founder and Executive Producer at Random Content Ink of the mission of the Los Angeles-based organization. “While we are far from the finishing line in our work with Mr. Reiner, we have discovered a lot about the need for artists to continue to create, the needed protection their work deserves, as well as solidifying and shaping their relevance.”
All too often, after hearing a song, watching a movie, or seeing a TV show, someone will research an actor, a writer, an artist only to find a frustratingly out-of-date website, next to no active social media and worst of all, a labyrinth of out-of-date website links. Sadly, all too often, an admirer’s best source of information about the artist is in the hands of user-generated content like Wikipedia.
Random Content Ink was specifically created out of necessity by Carl Reiner and his creative partner, to be the publishing home for himself and his creative endeavors. After the 2013 release of the groundbreaking, ‘I Remember Me’ iBook, Mr. Reiner has continued his prolific writing career. An accomplished and best-selling author, Carl Reiner is now recruiting other creative legends to publish their works, share their stories, and to preserve and solidify their legacy through print, video, and other media content.
Artists such as Peter Cetera, Vicki Lawrence, Johnny Rivers, Bertie Higgins, Donald Fagen, and Rupert Holmes, are just a few of the tens of dozens of artists whom are still active, touring and in some cases making new music and creatively engaged in new endeavors. Each of them have sold millions of hit albums and given happiness and joy to generations of fans and they remain relevant touring musicians and performers. However, they have limited social media presence, and websites unworthy of their success and stature. Random Content believes that they deserve their rightful place in entertainment history for their achievements! Moreover, they deserve their legacy to be overseen and protected. Random Content Ink is an organization that not only works with artists to help them create new work, we help protect and enrich their life’s work.
Random Content Ink welcomes the opportunity to serve all artists whom wish to continue to create, solidify their legacy, and continue their relevance, through our diverse portfolio of services from print and digital publishing, web design, digital storytelling, and social media strategy and execution as well as many other media solutions.
Carl Reiner was recently a guest on Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air’s podcast. Wilmore is an Emmy Award-winning producer, actor and comedian. He currently hosts a podcast where he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond. Larry sat down with acclaimed comedian, producer, and director Carl Reiner to discuss his early time in showbiz, his new book ‘Too Busy To Die,’ and his thoughts on President Trump. They also discussed current book in progress, "Alive At Ninety-Five" and gave Larry a sneak peek. Listen to their conversation below!
The Dick Van Dyke Show, created by Carl Reiner debuted on October 3, 1961 on CBS. Starring Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Larry Mathews, and Mary Tyler Moore, the show went on to win an impressive total of 15 Emmy awards.
In the below chapter from "Why & When The Dick Van Dyke Show Was Born,” Carl Reiner explains the beginnings of the Dick Van Dyke show.
Ruinously Rotten Ratings
In 1962, for reasons not too difficult to fathom, the ratings for the first season of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” were much lower than our competitor Perry Como and his very popular variety show. The word ‘cancellation,” hung over heads like the sword of Damocles.
The network executives, requiring shows to fill their summer schedule, offered us six thousand dollars per episode to re-run our shows.
Sheldon Leonard, after discussions with the accounting department, decided that, financially, their deal was not worth considering.
Here, Sheldon and I had our first disagreement- a major one that provoked me to come very close to shouting.
“Sheldon,” I argued, “the only reason our ratings were bad was that were competing with ‘The Perry Como Show,” the highest rated program on television.”
Perry Como was a very handsome Italian gent who sang ballads in a silky smooth, baritone-tenor voice that melted the hearts of both men and women.
“And as for the six thousand dollar offer,” I said, “I’d be willing to give the network the shows for nothing! I’m sure that during the summer when ‘The Perry Como Show,’ is on hiatus, the public will at least give our show a look- I know that whoever sees it will be hooked and tell their friends about it!”
Sheldon Leonard, gent that he was, graciously let me have my way- and the rest, as they say is history.
To read more about the creation and behind-the-scenes stories of the Dick Van Dyke Show, order your personalized copy today
Today at the London Book Fair, Carl Reiner, American actor and comedian, working with Random Content Publishing announced his new book "The Secret Treasure of Tahka Paka." He also has announced a partnership with Zappar, a leader in augmented reality experiences. The new book will contain Zappable augmented reality content throughout, bringing the story to life. The book, which launches on April 22.
By using Zappar’s free smartphone and tablet app, children and parents are able to zap pages, jumping into the tale alongside key characters Cark and Carla on their adventure through the magical island of Tahka Paka. Readers will experience battling pirates and ancient curses whilst journeying through hidden caves and tunnels to find the secret treasure buried deep in island.
As part of a wider initiative to encourage more traditional industries to consider technology which can improve consumer experiences, Max Dawes, Partnerships Director at Zappar, presented at the London Book Fair on how augmented reality can truly add value and compliment the printed product for publishers. ‘The Secret Treasure of Tahka Paka’ was at the heart of this.
Max Dawes commented: “We’re so pleased to be working alongside Carl and Random Content on their latest story. Augmented reality is brilliant way to add a new dimension to storytelling. We hope the book will encourage shared time with families to help children bond and engage through reading.”
Carl Reiner added: “This book has a little extra goodie with addition of Zappar and its clever technology, offering you the chance to not only read the book, but be in the book as well.”