Remember Mama Mia? No, not the song, or the Broadway musical, or the movie. I'm referring to this commercial...
If you were over the age of five in the early '70's, you probably have some memory of that commercial.
To this day, when my siblings gather for a meal that includes my mom's delicious but hard-to-digest meatballs, someone will invariably say, "that was a speecy-a-spicy meat-a-ball!"
Nevermind that our memory of the commerical's wording is a bit off, or that our sense of humor remains at second grade level...the truly amazing thing to note is that after more than thirty years, we still remember it!
Sad to say that Howard Zieff, the man who directed that Alka Seltzer commercial, passed away this week at age 81 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. He's remembered also as the director of several Hollywood films, the most well known being Private Benjamin staring Goldie Hawn. You can read the full NYT obit here.
RIP Mr. Zieff. And thanks for the memories.

