Director Mike Nichols is remembered for many more prestigious projects during his long career in film, theater and television, but in New Orleans, you could say it's all about the beer.
Nichols, who died overnight at the age of 83, and his former comedic partner Elaine May, are remembered fondly by New Orleanians for the series of animated commercials they wrote and voiced for the now-defunct Jax Beer.
The commercials, their punchlines and memorable quotes (everything from "Bartender, are you making fun of me?" to "Pwemium-brewed with 100% natural ingwedients" and "Never mind Hank, I'm driving anyway") are well-remembered by early television viewers of the 1950s and 60s.
During their partnership as comedy writers and performers, Nichols and May wrote and voiced similar commercials for breweries across the country. The New Orleans spots were produced by the Fitzgerald advertising agency for the Jackson Brewing Company, which went out of business in the 1970s.
"While they're funny, there's only one problem with them - they appeal to the cocktail drinker and not to the beer drinker," reflected local ad legend Peter Mayer. "It's artistic advertising. They didn't sell beer, which is the name of the game," he said in a 2005 interview for the WYES-TV documentary "Stay Tuned: New Orleans' Classic TV Commercials."
