In Pop Culture
Known for his outsized personality, Heller was often referred to by his nickname, the Shagman. In a 1989 feature in Details, writer Allee Willis describes him as “Seymour or Shagman or simply the Shag, a beacon of light in the long annals of Hollywood history. In the world of management, where heads are made of concrete and life is seen through a roll of dollar bills, Shag is a prince, a saint and a true believer. He is as happening today as he was fifty years ago, the first to arrive at the party and the last to leave.”
He appeared as himself on a 1983 episode of the television series Hotel, and was credited as a special guest in a 1990 television movie, Mother Goose’s Rock N Rhyme. In addition, Heller made frequent appearances in music videos, most notably as a weather man in Breakfast Club's "Right On Track" clip in 1987, and as a caricature of himself in Jimmy Buffet’s "Homemade Music" in 1988.
Heller figured prominently into two 1988 television films documenting Liberace’s life, Liberace and Liberace: Behind the Music. In 2013 a third film, Behind the Candelabra, will air on HBO. The movie stars Michael Douglas as Liberace and Dan Aykroyd as Heller.
Heller was also the subject of A Tribute To Seymour Heller, a 2008 short, honoring his career.
Read more about this topic: Seymour Heller
Famous quotes containing the words pop culture, pop and/or culture:
“There is no comparing the brutality and cynicism of today’s pop culture with that of forty years ago: from High Noon to Robocop is a long descent.”
—Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950)
“The children [on TV] are too well behaved and are reasonable beyond their years. All the children pop in with exceptional insights. On many of the shows the children’s insights are apt to be unexpectedly philosophical. The lesson seems to be, “Listen to little children carefully and you will learn great truths.””
—G. Weinberg. originally quoted in “What Is Television’s World of the Single Parent Doing to Your Family?” TV Guide (August 1970)
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)