(Getting off-topic of obits, but…)
I had a supervisor who was seemingly getting involved in one of these outfits or another. I had another co-worker who called me at 11pm one night trying to recruit me. Another guy approached me in the airport and gave me the same website address that my supervisor had already given me. Flash-forward a couple of years, and the call center where I was a sysadmin started taking one contract after another for ISPs that were sold via the MLM model (Excel Communications was a big one; BWW is another name I recall.) And now I recall having gone on about that in another thread…
But all that was 18 or more years ago and it seems to have peaked (for me) around then (i.e. in terms of people trying to personally get me involved). I think 6 or 8 years ago, when a guy in a sandwich shop asked if I was interested in a new business opportunity, I said “naw I’m pretty much set in my ways.”
Also, National Review, had this to say:
A bit more here:
Will they be watching this from wherever they are now?
ETA:
I’ve seen that “Mark Twain” clip and… it’s… something else.
I remember being in awe of ability to give life to clay on film. His talent, like a lot of other practical effects artists, was totally eclipsed by cgi. it’s understandable that he sold out to make those dancing raisin commercials.