Columnists Find Doubletalk a Payne

MACON, Ga. — Georgia-based entertainer Durwood “Mr. Doubletalk” Fincher punk’d participants at the 36th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists on the event’s first day, Friday, May 4, 2012.

Posing as his character Dr. Robert Payne, a vaguely credentialed academic/Washington consultant, Fincher stationed himself and a videographer in a room near the conference’s hall. Delinda Grisamore assisted by corralling writers to participate in what she called a filmed survey. That was in the morning. By the time lunch ended, a tightly edited video was ready for Fincher to show the conferees, after he revealed himself as a humorist prankster in the tradition of Allen Funt’s Candid Camera.

Here is the video:

“Participants,” in order of appearance, included Joani Foster of Illinois, Aaron Taylor of New Mexico, Terry Ketcham and Diane Ketcham of Florida, Jesse Rifkin of Connecticut, Mike Farley of Massachusetts, Dedra Grizzard of Georgia and Dick Lechman of Colorado.

Fincher’s biography, Once You Step in Elephant Manure, You’re in the Circus Forever: The Life and Sometimes of Durwood “Mr. Doubletalk” Fincher, was written by Ed Grisamore, host of the 2012 conference and himself a columnist for The Macon Telegraph. He is married to Delinda Grisamore.

The above is from YouTube. The identical Vimeo version is vimeo.com/41569313 .