The New York Post covers Richard Grayson and WNYC's "The John Hour"

The New York Post today (October 25, 1979) covers Richard Grayson and his involvement with WNYC's "The John Hour."

The National Enquirer reports on Richard Grayson's Candidacy for Vice President

The National Enquirer this week (October 20, 1979) has a feature story on Richard Grayson, candidate for Vice President, photographed campaigning on Ninth Avenue at West 19th Street in Manhattan and promising to appoint Charo as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Federal Election Commisson issues advisory opinion on Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President

The Federal Election Commission has issued an advisory opinion to Richard Grayson regarding his candidacy for the Vice Presidential nomination in the 1980 New Hampshire Democratic primary:

October 5, 1979

CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
ADVISORY OPINION 1979-43

Mr. Richard Grayson
1607 East 56th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11234

Dear Mr. Grayson:

This is in response to your letters of July 21 and 31, 1979, requesting an advisory opinion on the applicability of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended, ("the Act") to your candidacy in the New Hampshire Presidential Preference Primary.

Your letter states that you are a candidate for thenomination of the Democratic Party for the office of Vice President of the United States. You add that you are planning to circulate petitions to have your name on the ballot in "the 1980 New Hampshire Vice Presidential Preference Primary on the Democratic side." Since you are a candidate for Vice President, and since SS 100.6(b) (1) (ii) of Commission regulations speaks only of presidential preference primaries, you ask whether the "New Hampshire Vice Presidential Preference Primary" would be considered an "election" under the Act.

An "election" is defined in the Act to include a "general, special, primary, or runoff election". 2 U.S.C. SS 431(a) (1). Commission regulations go on to state that a primary election is an election held prior to a general election" as a direct result of which" candidates are nominated for election to Federal office, or which "is held to elect delegates to a national nominating convention." See 11 CFR 100.6(b) (1) (i), and (iii).

Under New Hampshire law, its presidential primary shall be held "for the purpose of determining the preferred candidates for president and vice president to be selected at the national conventions of the various political parties."1/ While New Hampshire law permits the separate designation of presidential and vice presidential candidates, the allocation of delegates among candidates is based upon the percentage of vote received by presidential candidates only, and only presidential candidates may designate delegates to be certified.

2/
The candidate of the Democratic Party for the office of Vice President is nominated at the Democratic National Convention, and not "as a direct result" of the New Hampshire Vice Presidential Primary. Furthermore, because the New Hampshire Vice Presidential primary does not elect delegates to a national nominating convention, the Commission concludes that such Vice Presidential primary is not an "election" under the Act or Commission regulations.

In the circumstances presented here, the "primary election" for candidates for the Democratic nomination for the office of Vice President is considered to be the Democratic National Convention since that convention has the authority to select a nominee. See 11 CFR 100.6(d) See also Advisory Opinions 1976-58, and 1978-30 copies enclosed. Therefore, limitations on contributions to Democratic Vice Presidential candidates apply separately with respect to two "elections", the Democratic National Convention and the general election.

See 2 U.S.C. SS 441a. Similarly reporting requirements relating to the filing of 10 Day Pre-Election and 30 Day Post-Election Reports would be met with the timely filing of such reports before and after the two "elections" noted above. 2 U.S.C. SS 434(b). See also Commission regulations at 11 CFR 104.4.

This response constitutes an advisory opinion concerning the application of a general rule of law stated in the Act, or prescribed as a Commission regulation, to the specific factual situation set forth in your request. See 2 U.S.C. SS 437f.

1/ N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. SS 58:1
2/ See N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. SS 57:5, SS 57:8

SMALL PRESS REVIEW reports on Richard Grayson's "How to Flatten Your Wallet"

In its October 1979 issue, Small Press Review has a page 7 feature reporting on Richard Grayson's "How to Flatten Your Wallet" in connection with his book With Hitler in New York.

Mechanix Illustrated publishes Richard Grayson article, "Now It's the Running Machine"

The October 1979 issue of Mechanix Illustrated features Richard Grayson's "Now It's the Running Machine" on pages 114-115.

The article explains Burt Shulman's mechanical device to boost joggers' running speed.

Penn State Daily Collegian reviews Richard Grayson’s WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK

The Penn State Daily Collegian reviews Richard Grayson’s With Hitler in New York on page 15 in its September 19, 1979 issue: Rapid-fire style ‘Hitler in New York’: Notes from the front By MARK VANDINE Daily Collegian Staff Writer “With Hitler in New York” and other stories by Richard Grayson, Taplinger, $7.95, 190 pages. Richard Grayson teaches at a college I’ve never heard of. The slipcover for this book boasts that his stories have appeared in more than 125 literary publications, none of which I’ve ever heard of, either. And, unfortunately, he writes stories that, for the most part, I won’t ever remember. Grayson uses a rather set reserve of subjects to write about: old people (mostly grandparents), death, sex and being a very unspecial person. Nothing wrong with that list of subjects, except they’ve all been given the literary work-over several times. Nothing wrong with that either, but you’d think that if a writer was going to try a used subject he’d try a new angle. That is what’s wrong here. Grayson has an interesting rapid-fire style, but he doesn’t say much worth reading. He’s mastered the basic points of prose only to discover that he hasn’t got anything to say. This problem is further frustrated by what seems to be a conflict of motives. Grayson will have his moments as a successful comic (for example, in a piece called, “Chief Justice Burger, Teen Idol”) or as an analytical observer of people and events, but sometimes he doesn’t seem to know what he wants the story to do. Should it be funny? Should it have a message? He seems confused or, what may be worse, he may be trying to do both, a job for writers of higher caliber. Grayson’s efforts are further hampered by his tendency to present as stories what seem to be more like plot outlines for what will eventually be stories. He will introduce a situation, sprinkle in a few quickly introduced characters and proceed to have them interact. There is no meat here. Whey do they do what they do? Why do they say what they say? Certainly some degree of this can be implied, but Grayson brings the reader in too close too fast. If he wants us to note the quirks in a character’s behavior his attitudes, we simply need to know more. Without the background, the reader is left with a blank check for the story’s message. These flaws (or perceived flaws, if you want to be fair) are characteristic of fully two-thirds of the stories contained in this book. The remaining third does work, and they work well. They may not completely justify the cost of the book, but they do go some of the way toward indicating a promising new American writer.

Publishers Weekly covers Richard Grayson's WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK's innovative review copies policy

In its September 17, 1979 issue, Publishers Weekly featured a news item covering the innovative review copies policy for Richard Grayson's book With Hitler in New York:

NOTICE SENT TO PW'S STRAIGHT-FACED EDITOR:

The Taplinger Publishing Company has announced that it will pursue an innovative policy in regard to review copies of "With Hitler in New York," the book of short stories by Richard Grayson ("Grayson pokes fun at American life . . ." PW, April 23). Review copies will bypass critics and be sent directly to the Strand Book Store in New York City.

"This efficient system," observed the author, who originated the plan, "will save postage and bothersome packaging for literary critics."

Reviewers may now contact Taplinger and request that copies of "With Hitler in New York" be sent directly to the Strand rather than to their homes or offices. The book will be credited to each reviewer's account by the bookstore.

New York Daily News reports on Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President

In "Hats in the Ring: A Soap Box Derby," an article by White House correspondent Frank Van Riper, the New York Daily News today (September 9, 1979) discussed the Vice Presidential candidacy of Richard Grayson.

Newsday reviews Richard Grayson's WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK

Today, Sunday, September 9, 1979, Long Island's Newsday reviews Richard Grayson's short story collection With Hitler in New York in Section C on page 23. The back cover of the paper has a teaser for the review: "Best Seller for a Newcomer?":

Book Review


Saturday-Night Hitler


"WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK AND OTHER STORIES," by Richard Grayson

(Taplinger, 190 pp., $7.95)


Reviewed by Ethel Shapiro Sarrett


How would the Jewish residents of Brooklyn react if Hitler came to visit them today? This is the premise of the title story of a book that marks the debut of a promising Jewish comic author. At 27, Richard Grayson has the wild sense of humor of a "Saturday Night Live" regular. Some may find his gags offensive; others will be laughing all the way to the analyst's couch.

In the title story, the narrator picks up a German chap named Hitler at Kennedy Airport and brings him back to Brooklyn to the general apathy of everyone concerned. ("Ellen's mother does not talk to Hitler except to say, 'Pass me the salt bagel.'") Hitler gets stoned over the Belt Parkway, translates a Yiddish song on the Brighton Beach boardwalk, and comforts the narrator when his grandfather dies. What is the reader to make of this? Is Grayson saying that the post-Holocaust generation is so jaded in 1979 that they would not care very much if another Hitler appeared? Or is he, since his Hitler is not a Nazi leader but a college student and brewery worker, trying to rid Jewish-Americans of their irrational (if understandable) antipathy to things and persons German? Grayson seems to want to have it both ways.

In the section titled "Family," Grayson gives us portraits of normal Jewish life – with a lot of mishigass thrown in. Great-Grandma Chaikah can't understand why no Jews ever make strikes on "Bowling for Dollars." Grandma, forced to rely on Social Security, shops for groceries by removing price stickers until she gets to a price that she likes. Grandpa spends most of his time watching "Eyewitness News " and wondering whether Farrah Fawcett has a foreign accent.

But there is poignancy here as well. In "Wednesday Night at Our House," Grayson employs a question-and-answer format to schematize the dreary, immobilized lives of a Brooklyn family of five, each member to weak to help the others.

Grayson takes risks. Sometimes his jokes fall flat. But more often than not, the reader is dazzled by the swift, witty goings-on.


Ethel Shapiro Sarrett is a free-lance reviewer.

Baltimore City Paper reviews Richard Grayson's WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK

This week's Baltimore City Paper has a review of Richard Grayson's With Hitler in New York:

Friday, September 7, 1979

BOOK REVIEW

by Rick Peabody, Jr.


WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK

By Richard Grayson

190 pp. Taplinger, $7.95


If you like Steve Martin, you'll love this book!

Richard Grayson is a 28-year-old word wizard from Brooklyn who packs more laughs into these 27 stories than Martin managed in all of Cruel Shoes. While both men possess wild imaginations, Martin's prose is stiff and semi-literate by comparison.

In Grayson's world, Hitler is resurrected and visiting modern New York; Abe Lincoln hates flapjacks and lies around doing nothing while Stephen Douglas sleeps with Mary Todd; Justice Burger is deluged with fan mail; stories come to live and go to the hospital or bit novelist John Gardner on the leg at a writer's conference. Famous people litter his stories, dropping in and out of outrageous situations. It is the kind of humor that has made Flann O'Brien a cult figure and which has enabled Gilbert Sorrentino's Mulligan Stew to be the literary hit of the summer.

The "Families" section of the book deals with the stereotypical Jewish family and these stories are the most real, seemingly autobiographical. Grayson weaves the landscape of tradition, and the heartfelt characters together with the absurdities of human relationships, to tell some hard truths in these highly charged tales.

Other standouts in a book of standouts are: a story told through a series of "Classified Personal" ads; "A Note On The Type," which parodies such notes; a story that disintegrates as it progresses; a soap opera starring the author; his notes on the flyleaf; and a fantastic cover.

Very few writers under the age of 30 have had anything published in the New York publishing world. Grayson is the beginning of a whole new wave. He deserves your attention. Steve Martin's book may be at the top of the charts, but if there is any justice in this post-Monty Python world, Richard Grayson will be the next Vice President.

Rolling Stone reviews Richard Grayson's WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK

This week's issue (August 23, 1979) of Rolling Stone features a short review of Richard Grayson's With Hitler in New York in Greil Marcus's "Undercover" column:

¶WITH HITLER IN NEW YORK AND OTHER STORIES, by Richard Grayson (Taplinger, 160 pp., $7.95). Where avant-garde fiction goes when it turns into stand-up comedy. Great parody of Knopf's "A Note on the Type" page.

Sarasota Herald Tribune Editorial on Richard Grayson's Candidacy for Vice President

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune published an editorial on Friday, August 10, 1979, on Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President.

Asbury Park Press features news article on Richard Grayson's campaign for Vice President: "He'll Be No. 2 on Anybody's Ticket"

Today, August 6, 1979, the Asbury Park Press features a story, "He'll Be No. 2 on Anybody's Ticket," about Richard Grayson's candidacy for the 1980 Democratic nomination for President.

Washington Star covers Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President

The Washington Star today (August 3, 1979) covered Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President in a short article.

New York Times & New York Post cover Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President

The New York Times and New York Post cover Richard Grayson's candidacy for Vice President today (Friday, August 3, 1979).