The Late, Great, Mike “McBeardo” McPadden
“Skidoo” is a movie that many consider “wrong”, “an embarrassment”, and much worse. I actually love it, much in the same way that I love Richard Harris’ “MacArthur Park”. I love it because I love it. Not ironically, and not because it’s “so bad it’s good”. It’s actually one of my favorite movies.
In the late 90s, when I met Mike McPadden, “Skidoo” was not available on VHS or DVD, and streaming hadn’t been invented yet. Apparently Otto Preminger was embarrassed by it and did his best to bury the film. I first became aware of it while preparing for the Nilsson Loser’s Lounge in 1996. A friend had made a cassette of the soundtrack, which was composed by Nilsson. There are some great songs, and Nilsson sings the credits! I’m pretty sure “Skidoo” is one of the things that bonded Mike McPadden and I when we first met. Back in the olden days when you couldn’t watch everything at any time, Skidoo was near impossible to find. And Mike had a copy, and was screening it for one of his “movie nights”. Mike wanted everyone to love the movies that he loved, so he would host “movie nights” at his Brooklyn apartment for his friends. I have to credit Mike and his movie nights for introducing me to Mae West’s “Sextette”, “Forbidden Zone” and “Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains” (which was also unavailable at the time). Other movies that bonded us: “Phantom Of The Paradise”, “Get Crazy”, “Marjoe”, “Head” and “Cotton Candy”.
“Skidoo” sums up Mike and his passion (and genuine love) for movies that many consider to be worthy of the trash heap of modern cinema. His books “Heavy Metal Movies” and “Teen Movie Hell” have reviews of hundreds of films, some well known and some that you’ve never heard of. His enthusiasm and writing prowess makes you want to check out every single one of them. And writing about movies wasn’t enough. He had recently started two podcasts, “Crackpot Cinema” and “70 Movies We Saw In The 70s”. He was very opinionated, and not a fan of most mainstream Hollywood fare. But if a movie got the McPadden seal of approval, it was always worth checking out.
Mike was equally passionate about music. He was an early fan of my tribute show, Loser’s Lounge, and one of the first champions of a Paul Williams Loser’s Lounge, sending me mp3s from Bugsy Malone back in the dial-up days. And his dream of a Barry Manilow Loser’s Lounge finally came true a few years ago. He and his wife Rachel made a special trip to NYC to attend.
Julian Velard and I recorded a version of “Can’t Smile Without You” to honor Rita Houston of WFUV (who had passed just a few days earlier). I was in the middle of recording the song when I found out the shocking news that Mike had left us. It was eerie but maybe it was somehow appropriate to be working on a Manilow song. Julian and I have decided to offer our version as a free download on our BandCamp pages to honor both of them: https://joemcginty.bandcamp.com/track/cant-smile-without-you
Mike is part of the reason that I’m part of the extended family for “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast”. My piano bar, Sid Gold’s Request Room, had just recently opened and it was a slow night. When a request came in from Dara Gottfried for “Delta Dawn”, I asked if she was related to Gilbert, and she replied that Gilbert was her husband. I mentioned that my friend Mike does social media for Gilbert’s podcast and that he would be in town the next day. So the following night Dara returned with Mike and Gilbert’s co-host Frank Santopadre. Ben Easton was playing piano that night, and Mike sang “Tips For Teens” by Sparks. We had so many musical obsessions in common: Sparks, Paul Williams, The Monkees, Alice Cooper, The Carpenters, 70s bubblegum music, and on and on. And to show the other side of the spectrum, our 2010/2011 New Year’s Eve was spent watching the Butthole Surfers at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.
After Mike moved to Chicago to work for Mr. Skin in the early 00s, I would see him whenever I passed through for a gig. When he came to NYC, we would make an effort to meet up. I am honored that he asked Amy and I to attend his wedding at a small gallery in Brooklyn. December 23 would have been his and Rachel’s ten year anniversary. The music was awesome, of course, so I requested a CD-R of the wedding mix, recreated here in a YouTube playlist. Mike met his perfect match in Rachel, a strong woman and also a talented writer. Two amazing and unique people that were really meant for each other. My heart breaks for her.
Our last text exchanges were about “Tunnelvision” (music by Dennis Lambert!), “H.O.T.S.” and guesting on his “Crackpot Cinema” podcast. Ideas were bantered about: “All This And World War II”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, but we settled on “Skidoo” (of course). I’m sorry that this episode won’t come to fruition.
We also texted about his complete collection of Slurpee “Rock And Roll” cups. Because of Mike, I became aware of the Rick Wakeman Slurpee cup. This initiated an eBay search for me, and I finally found one about a month ago. He then texted back that I needed Leon Russel and Paul Williams. And maybe Alice Cooper. Great.
He also shared the news that he and Rachel were becoming foster parents. He was so excited, and you can see it in this photo:
I will miss his wit, his perspective, his writing, his enthusiasm and his friendship. When I recorded some John Carpenter-inspired synthesizer pieces, he came up with an imaginary film and titles (“Devil’s Deuce” about a slasher in gritty 70s Times Square). We had occasionally talked about someday writing a musical. I know he was in the process of writing his next book. There are a few stories that he shared with me that I hope will see the light of day: “Madonna Boots”, about losing his virginity, and another about randomly ending up in Todd Rundgren’s loft as a teenager. But in the meantime, I think Rachel sums it up best in this Facebook post.
Rest in peace, Mike McPadden, you one of a kind lovable weirdo. I am lucky to have known you. Condolences to Rachel and his family. Your legacy will rock on!
Links:
There is a GoFundMe to support Mike’s Family: https://gofund.me/9bd70663
Podcasts:
Crackpot Cinema
70 Movies We Saw In The 70s
Books:
Heavy Metal Movies
Teen Movie Hell
Here I am, possibly grabbing Mike’s ass at a party at his apartment back in 2000:
