In 1976, I attended the Governor's Honors Drama Program for High School Students in Dahlonega, Georgia. (It was a slow year, and they were taking anybody.) I had the privelege of acting under Durwood Fincher, the inventor of toefloss, and master double-talker. I once overslept through a required activity, and Durwood took me aside to explain the consequences. How can I convey the creeping terror of a high school student desperately trying to parse nonsense that sounded so much like actual words, maybe even important words? (After asking him several times to repeat himself, I realized Durwood was pulling my leg, and there were no consequences except to be the target of his practical joke.) If you've never caught Durwood's act - he has since appeared on Good Morning America and Regis and Kathy Lee - it's impossible to describe. He is now a sought-after performer on the corporate lecture circuit, inimicably deflating pomposity and stuffed-shirtism. Here's a video of him in action. First comes a speech and then some of his hilarious interview clips.
