Join me as I demonstrate the limits of my memory by telling tales of why my first Worldcon was supposed to have been my second Worldcon, the question I never got around to asking my cousin, the actor Herb Edelman, which song I sang while dancing across a Manhattan rooftop with Larry Lieber, what Fantastic Four moment motivated the first letter I ever wrote to a comic book company, the string of serendipities which led to one of my DC horror stories being adapted as an episode of Tales from the Darkside, how the Washington Post got me a job editing Science Fiction Age magazine, and more.

And to illustrate a few of the topics touched on during this episode —

My membership card in the Merry Marvel Marching Society

My appearance in Tales of Suspense #69 (September 1965)

Carl Gafford, Paul Levitz, Steve Gilary, and me during the 1974 D.C. Worldcon

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I learned of Mike Nichols’ death yesterday, which set me to thinking of my second cousin, the actor Herb Edelman. (At least I think he’s my second cousin. Perhaps he’s my first cousin once removed. I’m not entirely sure how genealogists parse these relationships. He was my father’s father’s brother’s son, if that makes things any clearer. Probably not.)

The reason thinking of Nichols had me thinking of Herb is because it was their accidental meeting that got my cousin into the acting business. Per Wikipedia, after getting out of the Army, Herb “enrolled in Brooklyn College as a Theater student, but eventually dropped out. He later worked as a hotel manager and as a taxicab driver. One of his fares was director Mike Nichols, who in 1963 cast Edelman in his breakthrough Broadway role, as the bewildered telephone repairman in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park.”

An interesting factoid. But you might ask, where’s the serendipity?

Here’s the serendipity. (more…)

I dreamt last night that I wandered a theater lobby, and through open doors I could see a rehearsal was taking place. Then, looking at the cast up on the stage, I saw my cousin Herb Edelman* was running lines, and realized that somehow, I’d gone back in time!

It was 1996, and Herb was still alive.

So I walked toward the stage, and when Herb spotted me, he smiled. I told him I’d come from the future, which didn’t seem to bother him. Hey, it was a dream, so we both accepted that as fact, and didn’t worry about the how. We sat on the floor behind the last row of empty seats, and chatted. Eventually, I asked him a question which has always puzzled me in real life. (more…)

People ask me from time to time whether I’m related to Ric Edelman, the financial guru who writes books and hosts a radio show. But no, I’m not.

They also occasionally ask whether I’m related to Daniel J. Edelman, founder of the PR firm that bears his name. Nope, no relationship there either.

When I’m in the UK, I sometimes get asked whether I’m related to Keith Edelman, formerly General Manager and currently President of Arsenal Football. Though we’ve met, and have joked about being cousins, we’re not.

And then a couple of times I’ve been asked whether I’m related to Randy Edelman, film composer for Dragonheart and the current 27 Dresses, but whose true claim to fame as far as I’m concerned is that he wrote the theme to MacGyver. No blood there either.

This is the Edelman to whom I’m related. And strangely, he’s also the one famous Edelman about whom no one’s ever asked.