Saturday, April 26, 2025

When Icons Meet: Mickey Rooney on The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (1970)

 If there was one thing Mickey Rooney & Tim Conway had in common, it was the fact that neither was able to sustain their own TV shows. Rooney had two come & go before he guested on The Tim Conway Comedy Hour in December 1970, as the series was nearing the end of its run. Fellow screen legend Dorothy Lamour also guests, along with primary musical guest Bobby Bloom ("Montego Bay"). The repertory company includes:

Art Metrano, who'd move on to The Chicago Teddy Bears the following season.

John Amos, who otherwise was recurring on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

McLean Stevenson, who came over from The Doris Day Show.

Sally Struthers, who moved on to All in The Family a month later.

Announcer-actor Ernie Anderson, Conway's best friend from Cleveland.

The first sketch has Rooney as a judge in a case where Lamour is the defendant, and Conway & Stevenson are prosecuting attorneys, and Metrano is a defense attorney.


Rooney would get one more crack at sitcom glory a few years later (One of The Boys), but that, too, would flop.

Rating: B.

Notes from around town

 Sports agent John "JR" Rickert's tenure as principal at Niskayuna High is coming to an end at the end of the season.

The district, which recently announced they would retire the "Silver Warriors" team nickname in favor of plain "Nisky" in the fall, announced Friday that Anthony Malizia will succeed Rickert as principal beginning in September.
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WROW (Magic 100.5/AM590) has added more classics to their playlist as of this morning, including artists like Duran Duran, Human League, and Whitney Houston, and Club Nouveau's cover of Bill Withers' legendary "Lean on Me".


In addition, the station has given real estate expert John Bevilacqua the boot, as of today. Bevilacqua's last show was April 19. Also, Madison Wealth Managers' experiment with replaying their Saturday hour on Sundays has officially come to an end, as the updated schedule reflects what everyone had assumed, that morning co-host Jaime Roberts is working a full 5 hour shift on Sundays, 7 am-Noon.

The current lineup:

Saturdays:

6-8 am, 8:30-10 am, 11 am-Noon: John Gabriel.

8 am: Herzog Law Firm.

10 am: Madison Wealth Managers.

Noon-6 pm: Ben Patten.

6 pm-Midnight: "Brother" Lou Roberts.

Sundays:

6 am: News, Views, & Interviews.

6:20: Albany Street.

7 am-Noon: Jaime Roberts.

Noon-5 pm: Bill Williams.

5-10 pm: Candace Curby.

Weekdays:

5-10 am: Jaime Roberts & Ben Patten.

10 am-2 pm: Ben Patten.

2-7 pm: John Gabriel.

7 pm-Midnight: John Tesh (syndicated).

The automated "Good Times, Great Oldies" format runs from Midnight-5 am Tuesday-Friday mornings, Midnight-6 Saturday & Sunday mornings, and 10 pm-5 am Sunday night into Monday morning.

Friday, April 25, 2025

On The Air: People Puzzler (2021)

 People Puzzler spent three "seasons" across two years on Game Show Network (2021-3), after which the series went into syndication, and is out of production.

Spun from a popular feature in People, now a monthly publication after Meredith Publishing acquired it and the rest of WarnerMedia's family of magazines, the game invokes memories of classic word games like the Cross-Wits in the 70's. Actress Leah Remini (ex-The King of Queens, Saved by The Bell) serves as series host.

Let's check a sample episode.


It seems a little too easy, but then again, so is the puzzle in the magazine.....

Rating: A-.

Sounds of Praise: One Day at a Time (1975)

 After returning to Hee Haw following a hiatus in which she dealt with drug addiction, Lulu Roman turned over a new leaf, by adding gospel music to her repertoire.

In 1975, Roman performed the gospel standard, "One Day at a Time", co-written by Kris Kristofferson, on Hee Haw. Intro by co-host Buck Owens, who discovered Roman at a comedy club a few years earlier.


Four years later, Christy Lane took "One Day" to the top of the country charts. Roman would later win a Dove Award for a separate project.

In memory of Roman, who passed away Wednesday at 78. Rest in peace.

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Musical Interlude: Slit Skirts (1982)

 "Slit Skirts" was the 1st single off Pete Townshend's 1982 album, "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes" (don't ask).. Bassist Tony Butler would later join Big Country.


Other copies of this clip have the harmonica part edited out. Don't know why.

Sports this 'n' that

 "Make a mistake, and we own you."---Kevin Kernan on the Mets, April 2015.

It's still true now, 10 years later.

As the Mets prep for a weekend wraparound road trip to Washington, they sit in first place in the NL East, 5 games clear of the Philadelphia Phillies after sweeping the Phils Wednesday afternoon in 10 innings, 4-3, finishing a 7-0 homestand. Carlos Mendoza's club is 12-1 at home, Citi Field is packed at night, maybe not so much for mid-week matinees for now, and they've got reinforcements coming, with reports that injured regulars Jeff McNeil & Francisco Alvarez could be activated in time for Friday night's game at Washington.

Brett Baty, learning how to play 2nd base as he goes, slammed a 2 run homer off Zack Wheeler early, but Philadelphia came back to tie the game, forcing extra innings. Baty could end up heading to Syracuse to make room for McNeil, but we'll know in 24 hours time.

Check the video of that epic bottom of the 10th....


The teams will meet in Philadelphia in June, but while things could be different then, the Mets have to be wary of the 4th place Nationals. New York sports a 7-2 record in the NL East, but.....

It's still early.
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Two passings to report.

Sportscaster Mike Patrick, the original play by play voice of Sunday Night Football when it aired on ESPN, passed away at 80. Patrick also called college basketball & football for the network, and was a beloved announcer.

Other than Phil Rizzuto and Harry Caray, no one got more mileage out of "Holy cow!" than Patrick.

Just hours after being placed in hospice care, NFL Hall of Famer Steve "Mongo" McMichael, a vital part of Buddy Ryan's "46" defense with the 1985 Chicago Bears, passed away after a 4 year battle with ALS.

McMichael carved out a 2nd chapter in his career when he swapped his shoulder pads for wrestling boots in the 90's, signing with World Championship Wrestling as a commentator and, later, a member of the infamous Four Horsemen faction. McMichael was a US champion with WCW, nearly a decade after making his in-ring debut, along with a number of other NFL players in a battle royal at Wrestlemania 2 in Chicago in 1986. Once his playing career was over, McMichael got back in the ring for a few years before leaving WCW and wrestling behind.

Back in Chicago, McMichael was one of several celebrities who led Cubs fans in "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, and even got into a row from the broadcast booth with infamous umpire Angel Hernandez, who retired last year.

Rest in peace, Mike & Steve.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

What Might've Been: Laughs For Sale (1963)

 In the early 60's, CBS owned the 10-11 pm (ET) hour on Sundays with What's My Line? & Candid Camera. In the fall of 1963, ABC tried to do something about it, and slotted the game show, 100 Grand, at 10, followed by Laughs For Sale at 10:30.

Hal March hosted Laughs, which featured three comedians performing skits and sharing jokes with March. I was but an infant when this came out, so I never saw the show. After taking a look at this, however, I wish they could release it on DVD for the sheer inventiveness alone.

This installment features Shecky Greene, Cliff Arquette (sans his alter-ego of Charley Weaver), and Paul Winchell, who brings along Jerry Mahoney.


After the show was cancelled, along with 100 Grand, ABC gave the hour to affiliates, only to reclaim it when launching The ABC Sunday Night Movie a year or two later. We'll see about 100 Grand another time.

Rating: B.