From Laugh-In producer George Schlatter comes The Great American Laugh-Off, taped in San Francisco. The lineup includes Laugh-In cast members Wayland Flowers & Madame, Lenny Schultz, Ben Powers, Bill Rafferty, and Robin Williams, but Nancy Bleiweiss was close to stealing the show. Whatever happened to her, anyway......
WROW morning host Ben Patten has been flying solo since co-host/traffic reporter Monica Velez left the station nearly 2 years ago. That's about to change.
On January 6, Patten is finally getting a new on-air partner, but now, his workload between 5-10 am (ET) is about to be cut in half. Albany Broadcasting, WROW's parent, signed veteran DJ Jaime Roberts, who had been cut by WTRY's parent, iHeart Radio, a few weeks back. Roberts will take over as host of Magic in The Morning, while Patten continues to read the news, sports, and lottery results. JAMZ 96.3 personality Miles Reed and Albany Street host/weekend DJ Bill Williams are sharing duties with the traffic reports after Flounder left a couple of weeks back. Flounder had also been a DJ at Alt 104.9, which has undergone another format change in recent months.
The headlines this morning were dominated by news of the passing of former President Jimmy Carter at 100.
Carter served in the Navy, spent some time in the 518 studying sciences in the 50's, served two terms as a State Senator in his native Georgia before moving to the Governor's mansion there, and, finally, winning a tight election over Gerald Ford to become President in 1976.
It can be argued that the Iran hostage crisis and the Russian invastion of Afghanistan in 1979-80 played roles in Carter losing his re-election bid to former California Governor Ronald Reagan in 1980, but Carter, who earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his humanitarian work, also fashioned the Camp David Accords with Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat in 1978. Post-Presidency, Carter continued to work in Georgia, and worked with Habitat For Humanity in building homes in the Peach State.
Even president-elect Donald Trump offered his condolences, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott fouled up, and accidentally offered condolences to Carter's wife, Rosalynn, who'd passed away 13 months ago, before correcting his gaffe.
Earlier in the weekend, veteran CBS sportscaster and anchor Greg Gumbel passed away. Gumbel called NCAA basketball and NFL football for the network for several years. A few years ago, CBS thought enough of Gumbel to give him a shot as a game show host, with an unsold pilot for a revival of The $64,000 Question, produced by Dick Clark's production company.
Earlier this morning came news that actress-singer Linda Lavin had also passed.
Lavin starred on Broadway and on television in the 70's. She made 5 appearances during the first 2 seasons of Barney Miller before leaving to take the title role in Alice, a small screen version of the movie, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore".
In this excerpt from the series, 50's icon Desi Arnaz stops by.....
Elton John indulges himself, with help from director Russell Mulcahy, with 1985's "Wrap Her Up", the 2nd single off "Ice on Fire".
The video is loaded with archival footage of Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Joan Collins, and even Ronald & Nancy Reagan and Elvis & Priscilla Presley, with Elton inserted into the footage, usually as a fan or photographer. Kiki Dee pops up on backing vocals, and so does Wham! frontman George Michael.
Poor Kiki. 9 years after "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", Elton hits her with a pie in the face at the end. Michael name-checks Samantha Fox, who'd make her chart debut in the US 2 years later.
The Odd Couple wasn't the only adaptation of a Neil Simon play to hit television in 1970.
ABC also picked up Barefoot in The Park from Paramount and the same production team of Garry Marshall & Jerry Belson. The difference? Barefoot was cancelled after 1 season. Why? I'd have to guess it was because someone decided to make this built around an African-American cast. Tracy Reed came over from Love, American Style, paired with Scoey Mitchlll. Nipsey Russell (ex-Car 54, Where Are You?) co-starred.
Let's check a sample episode.
It seems that Donald Trump is tired of reading and hearing that he doesn't go to church.
So, in order to silence the doubters, he's decided he'll attend a service somewhere next month, right around the time of his inauguration, which, oh, by the way, is also Martin Luther King Day, but, there's a catch.
If you want to sit with the incoming president and wife Melania, it's going to cost you.
Farron Cousins explains this latest scam.
Diamond Comic Distributors (DCD) has infuriated retailers and customers for years with their lack of priorities with comics releases.
It's more evident now as independent publishers such as Mad Cave are seeing books arriving at selected retailers 1-2 weeks or more late. Oh, but DCD will get their monthly Previews catalog out virtually on time, or no more than a week late, every month without fail.
The latest crisis has to do with DCD closing a distribution center in Plattsburgh in an effort to consolidate operations. Unfortunately, it seems DCD's business model was designed, apparently, by someone with a low IQ, which explains all their problems.
For example, ye scribe is waiting on the conclusion of Mad Cave's Gatchaman: Galactor miniseries, which was due earlier this month. A trade paperback collecting Gatchaman 0-5 (0 being the Free Comic Book Day issue) finally arrived yesterday, three weeks late.
Eminem got into some hot water over "Just Lose It", the first single from 2004's "Encore". Seems Eminem ruffled the feathers of one Michael Jackson, one of the stars he impersonates in the video, along with MC Hammer and Pee-Wee Herman, making mockery of Jackson's legal troubles and the infamous Pepsi commercial shoot 20 years earlier.
Dr. Dre, Paris Hilton, and Erik Estrada are among the guest stars.
From season 2 of The Monkees:
The guys go a capella for a reading of the Spanish song, "Riu Riu Chiu" (the official title), at the end of their Christmas episode.
Imagine if Merlin, the court magician of Camelot, existed in the 20th century.
Such was the premise behind Mr. Merlin, which lasted one season for CBS (1981-2), with Barnard Hughes in the title role. In the 20th century, Merlin adopts the guise of mechanic Max Merlin, who takes on an apprentice (Clark Brandon), but also needs assistance from a fellow magician (Elaine Joyce).
This was the year where Mork & Mindy was on its final lap, a sign that this era of fantasy-coms was coming to an end, but it really wouldn't until NBC's Jennifer Slept Here several months later.
In this sampler, apprentice Zack (Brandon) learns to how "clone" money. Directed by Bill Bixby (The Incredible Hulk).
Andy Williams had fallen victim to the networks' "rural purge" in the 1970-1 season, with his show cancelled before the season was over, replaced by Emergency!.
The final Christmas show of his 1969-71 run is, as per normal, a family affair, with three generations of the Williams family, including Andy's then-wife, singer-actress Claudine Longet, appearing with Charlie Callas, John Astin (ex-The Addams Family), and Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo). Astin & Keeshan figure into a lengthy fantasy sequence narrated by Longet.
Mind the bar on the left side of the screen, placed there by the poster to block a time stamp.
It was a tradition for decades at NBC, with Bob Hope hosting a Christmas special, and staying as contemporary as possible.
Take, for example, this 1985 entry. Bob is joined by William "The Refrigerator" Perry, then a rookie with the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, Emmanuel Lewis (Webster), Barbara Eden, Brooke Shields, and the AP All-American football team, featuring a few future NFL stars, including Bo Jackson.
This show comes complete with commercials, including Joan Collins (Dynasty) shilling for Canada Dry. John Harlan is our announcer, while Danny Dark leads us in.
SheDAISY's 3 part harmonies put a new spin on a holiday traditional. Here's "Deck The Halls":
If you thought the Jests had already hit rock bottom this season, eliminated from the playoffs even after dismissing coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas, it's even worse.
Owner Woody Johnson, it is being reported, is getting bad advice at home from his teenage sons, who suggested that dear old dad not trade for receiver Jerry Jeudy, just because of some stats from a Madden football video game.
Like, seriously?
At least Dallas' Jerry Jones has his adult sons on his front office staff. The younger Johnsons are still in school----we think-----and they have their dad's ear on personnel decisions they have no business getting involved in.
One of the kids made a potty-mouthed proclamation after giving receiver Garrett Wilson a game ball recently, then posted it on his social media account. Kids today.
Richie Rich could probably do a better job running the Jests. It couldn't be any worse.
Broadway star Sandy Duncan made her TV series debut with 1971's Funny Face. While reviews were mixed, the network had enough faith in Duncan, such that when the series ended prematurely due to Duncan needing eye surgery, the show was brought back as The Sandy Duncan Show a year later.
In Funny Face, Sandy is a student teacher doing some acting on the side. The latter gig gets her a role on Mission: Impossible in the episode, "A Star is Born on a Stretcher". Mission star Peter Graves guest stars, along with Avery Schreiber.
The Killers released "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" as a digital single for charity in 2011. It's based on an early 20th century poem, with new lyrics added.
The song was also recorded by country singer Michael Martin Murphey around the same time.
Some of those actors in this video look kinda familiar, though......
If you're a programmer at NBC, you convince producer Glen A. Larson to bring in Dean Martin to appear on the premiere of The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.
Andy Williams actually had two variety series on NBC. The one I remember was the 2nd one, ending in 1970-1.
The first series was about a decade prior, and, as demonstrated in this Christmas episode from 1962, was one of the first series to be produced by the late Norman Lear and his business partner, Bud Yorkin. Andy is joined by the New Christy Minstrels, Bette Davis, and the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill, & Jay), and series regulars R. G. Brown & Marian Mercer.
Texize, for those that don't know, was the original manufacturer of products like Spray & Wash and Jaiitor in a Drum.
Back in 1973, the company introduced Prolong, a Christmas tree preserver. Bionic Disco offers this ad:
Veteran comedy writers Dick Clair & Jenna McMahon, who'd been working on The Carol Burnett Show, among other things, created a whimsical adaptation of Clement Moore's 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, which, informally, was also The Paul Lynde Christmas Special, the last of two primetime specials from Lynde (Hollywood Squares, ex-Bewitched, who was recurring on Donny & Marie at the time).
Our cast also includes Alice Ghostley, Howard Morris, Anne Meara, George Gobel, Anson Williams (Happy Days), and Foster Brooks.
We've previously reviewed both TV iterations of Irving Brecher's The Life of Riley, so it's way past time to visit the radio series that started it all.
Film star William Bendix had the lead as Chester Riley, family man. Riley lasted a few years, shuttling between networks, leading to a feature film spin-off, followed by the first TV series with Jackie Gleason filling in for Bendix, who returned four years later.
Let's take a look at a Christmas Eve episode from season 1 in 1944. Bendix breaks character to address the audience at the end of the show.
Narcissism isn't a disease that spreads. Most of the time.
However, today's GOP is more than willing to follow the lead of the Oldest Narcissist, Donald Trump.
Take, for example, Nancy Mace.
You've probably heard by now that the veteran lawmaker fabricated an assault to get attention, as if she's trying to usurp Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene's role as the Queen of Narcissism. A mere handshake from a foster care activist leads to a wrist injury and the activist's arrest?
Farron Cousins breaks it down:
Vince McMahon's national expansion of the then-World Wrestling Federation had hit some bumps in the road.
His brazen usurping of WTBS' coveted Saturday night wrestling program was met with apathy from NWA fans, and in general, after Wrestlemania was in the books at the end of March 1985, two things happened.
First, McMahon gave up the TBS berth. Then, he, with help from NBC, launched Saturday Night's Main Event, which would fill Saturday Night Live's berth a few times a year. In its initial run, the series aired on NBC from 1985-91, then moved to Fox for 2 episodes in 1992. NBC brought it back in 2006 for a series of specials until 2009.
Ahead of the series' 2nd revival on Saturday, we'll take you back to October 1985 and a literal theatre of the absurd, overseen by McMahon & Jesse Ventura.
From season 4 of Webster:
George (Alex Karras) has his heart set on playing Santa at a local department store, but plans change.
Bill Belichick's television career is going on hold after football season is over.
That's because Belichick has agreed to his first collegiate coaching job.
Time to get personal.
After last year's Victorian Stroll was, for the most part, a washout because of rain killing the vibe, it was back to the streets on Sunday.
As was the case in 2022, the first stop was St. Paul's Church on 3rd Street, where we were treated to some carolers, and we even sang along in some cases. "We" being ye scribe and a pair of classmates from Troy High, whom you'll see in a bit.
Juan Soto is staying in New York. He's simply changing boroughs.
Today, the Mets signed Soto to a 15 year contract worth $765 million, but with an opt-out after 5 years (because Scott Boras Badenov can't help himself), something the Mets can negate by adding some extra money per year past the 5th season.
Soto with Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and possibly a returning Pete Alonso? Scary.
If Archie Comics is so serious about making Amber Nightstone a nemesis for Sabrina, why not give the teenage witch her own series again?
As we've previously discussed, 5 page stories in one-shots, such as the Josie & The Pussycats Halloween Spectacular, released last month, and the just released Sabrina Holiday Spectacular, just won't cut it. Writer Ian Flynn spent many years writing Sonic The Hedgehog for Archie, and can do a book-length story, but Archie has gone el-scrimpo in recent years, hence these 1-offs with 5 pages of original story, and backed by reprints.
In the new book, Amber is taken aback by a show of compassion from Sabrina. What happens next will be a surprise.
Meanwhile, Archie's knuckleheads have decided to showcase Archie Andrews himself in the 4 part Archie is Mr. Justice, somehow giving the red-headed teen the abilities of the hero whose history goes as far back as Archie's own history, back to the Golden Age. Tim Seeley, another writer who should know better, has already told readers in this first issue that each issue will have different points of view. Where is Sabrina when you really need her?
Archie is Mr. Justice shouldn't stop at 4 issues. It should be 12, so that each POV is given room to breathe. Just like those 5 page shorties.
Rating:
Archie is Mr. Justice: B--.
Sabrina Holiday Spectacular: B.
In 1967, artist Alex Toth blessed Hanna-Barbera & CBS with The Herculoids, the tale of a bizarre team of heroes tasked with defending their homeworld. The original series had 1 season of episodes, but the open was changed the following year for reruns due to the meddling of media nanny Peggy Charren.
The series returned in 1981 as part of NBC's short-lived Space Stars, which also ran for 1 season.
Come February, Dynamite is taking readers to Amzot, or, Quasar, as it was known in 1981.
Tom Snegoski, a fan whose resume includes writing a number of diverse books, including Vampirella, is teaming with artist Craig Rousseau for the new series.
As a refresher, here's 1981's "The Firebird":
This Christmas episode of E. R. finds the staff having to work through a blizzard. Dr. Sheinfeld (Elliott Gould) learns that his daughter (Pamela Seagall) wants to move in with him instead of with her mom and a prospective stepdad.
George Clooney (ex-The Facts of Life) debuts as a new doctor, who's a bit of a ladies man. MTV doll Martha Quinn appears as herself, nursing an injury. Turns out Jenny (Seagall) is a huge fan. Jason Alexander appears briefly.
Unfortunately, while the full episode is available, it is in poor quality, so this excerpt will have to do.
From The Ed Sullivan Show:
Julius LaRosa made a number of appearances in 1953 alone on the program, and for the holidays, he serves up this rendition of "Jingle Bells":
Lucas Tanner (David Hartman) has an unexpected meeting with his former father-in-law (guest star Barry Sullivan) as the holidays approach, reminding Tanner of the family tragedy he had suffered. Here's "Merry Gentlemen":
Two brothers share a loft, and chaos ensues, especially when their mother gets involved.
Everything's Relative didn't even finish its lone season in 1987. Had it done so, and had it been a hit, then Jerry Seinfeld would've been looking for someone else to play George, since Jason Alexander wouldn't have been available.
Alexander toplines as Julian, the elder of the two brothers, and divorced. Our cast also includes Anne Jackson and Gina Hecht (ex-Mork & Mindy). Let's take a look at a sample episode.
