Hollywood is apoplectic today with the news that 111-year-old talent agency William Morris is merging with the fourteen-year-old agency Endeavor. Endeavor was started in the mid-nineties by Ari Emanuel (the inspiration for Entourage character Ari Gold and brother to Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel). As the trades are reporting today, it’s a well-suited match: William Morris has cash from its lucrative music ventures and decades of  TV packaging fees (The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Cosby Show) while Endeavor has the more impressive client roaster of Hollywood’s elite actors, writers, directors, and producers. Together they’ll give current talent industry giant, CAA, a formidable competitor.

Meanwhile, while all this is going down in Hollywood, a few thousand miles away in Plymouth, Minnesota, there's more exhilarating news: It's Grandpa Anderson's ninetieth birthday today. And, incidentally, I was in town last week for his ninetieth birthday party blowout. (We celebrated early because our coupon for a Cub Food’s sheet cake expired on the 26th of the month.)

It was a splendid event with little Swedish flags, delicious food from The Good Earth, and lots of walkers. Grandpa even put on a tie.

The highlight for me, and most of us grandkids, was watching the old codger work the Plymouth condo rec room full of his friends—some of whom are even my age (his swimming buddies at his condo pool).

Stories were swapped about the good ol' State Farm insurance days, the Shrine Club, and the trials and tribulations of septic tanks and docks “up at the cabin.” Grandpa, the soft-selling salesman, showed off his endearing ability to woo people with his own brand of Scandinavian hospitality: a firm handshake, a sincere smile, and an ability to let the other party talk ad nauseum while not losing interest or eye contact . . . . then he adds his signature line, “Is that right?” He does it all with the sincerity of a Lutheran minister hearing the good word.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Bert. Ari Gold could learn a few things about sincerity by watching you work a room.