Pacifist Jew Bests Ozzy, Pockets Mel Gibson's Money

A few months ago, I wrote a short piece in the magazine about Howard Markman, a local singer/songwriter who'd placed a song in the 10-part, Mel Gibson-produced, PBS documentary Carrier. While working on episode nine—in which the aircraft carrier Nimitz is steaming towards home after a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf—the show's editors needed a tune to replace an Ozzy Osbourne song they'd been using in the segment. Apparently, they couldn't clear the song with Ozzy's people, so they searched iTunes for an alternate and chose "Almost Home," off Markman's latest CD. And last Thursday, a handful of friends gathered at Markman's Hampden rowhouse to watch the show and sip champagne. About 2/3 of the way through the episode, "Almost Home" came on and the group erupted in cheers. Not merely background music, the song was prominently featured, leading one guest to comment that it looked as though Markman had gotten the U.S. Navy to shoot a video especially for him. Markman himself seemed impressed. "A pacifist Jew replaces Ozzy in a military documentary and gets paid by Mel Gibson," he quipped. "Is this a great country, or what?"