Deadliest Mob Hit in US History?

As part of the research for my 2011 oral history book Beyond Our Wildest Dreams I came across a startling discovery - possibly the most deadly mob hit in history, a crime so horrifying it made the St. Valentine's Day Massacre feel like a church picnic. Why don't we hear more about it?

My talk with Wayne Dammert on July 5, 2009 was a real eye opener. He was a longtime employee at the fabled Beverly Hills Supper Club in Newport, Ohio near Cincinnati, he was there for the mother of all modern nightclub fires in 1977.

He and others on the scene that night believe it was murder when the structure, loaded with thousands of patrons, exploded into flame in just a few minutes. If so, one of the nation's worst mass murderers got clean away, 163 people were killed.

Wayne also tells us about the wild days of the '50s and '60s when Newport, Kentucky was an "open town", known as "Sin City", with illegal gambling joints all over the place.




Wayne Dammert, employee of the Beverly Hills Supper Club: The night The Beverly Hills Supper Club burned down there were approximently 2,700 people in there. Gangsters wanted to take over, it was very lucrative, the Shillings were making money faster than they could count it. They were going to build a big convention center, they were going to build a hotel there. They were going to have a lake in the middle of all this with a bridge and white horses with carriages. They had already expanded it like crazy and if you wanted a banquet you had to book three years in advance.

They were getting all these threats and finally, on the busiest night we had, May 28th 1977, these guys torched it.

From Wikipedia: On October 28, 2008, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear appointed a panel to investigate claims that arson may have been the cause of the fire. In March 2009, the panel, in recommending that the investigation not be reopened, characterized the new accusations as "a very tiny shred of evidence of arson and a huge mountain of conjecture, unsupported speculation and personal opinion."



 The Beverly Hills Supper Club site sits relatively undisturbed these last 30 plus years, surely there's an enterprising TV producer with a Cold Case type show that could bring together a forensic team to go over the site and search for evidence. It doesn't appear that the Governor's panel did that.

You can read more about this tragic event in the book Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire by Ronald E. Elliott and based on an original story by survivor Wayne Dammert.

Celebrity Fried Chicken Restaurants of the 60s & 70s

Where were you during the great Fried Chicken explosion of the late-1960s? With the incredible success of Kentucky Fried Chicken, America's appetite for southern fried chicken became insatiable.

Hollywood stars like Roy Rogers, Mahalia Jackson, Minnie Pearl, Tex Ritter, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and even Popeye opened chicken restaurants that (mostly) quietly passed away after a few years. I never ate at a single one of them back in the day, they never got big enough to spread very far from their points of origin.

Minnie Pearl's never made it out of the early-1970s, only Popeye's operation continues to flourish on a worldwide scale... but what the heck did Popeye ever have to do with chicken, fried or otherwise?

I'm dying to know what Mahalia Jackson's "Glori-fried" chicken (It's Glorie-Fried and that's the gospel truth!") tasted like. Established in 1968 there was still one store left in Nashville until almost a decade ago.

Johnny Carson and Al Hirt both had failed restaurant ventures named after them but I doubt they were known for their fried chicken.


Roy Rogers Roast Beef

Roy Rogers became famous first for fried chicken when it was launched in 1968, it was only later that their roast beef sandwiches ended up dominating the menu. They still serve the bird in dozens of locations alongside highways in the northeast but I can't attest to how it compares with 30 years ago.

I do miss Roy Rogers' restaurants, they were very popular in the 1970s; it was the mid-eighties when I ate my last one. The secret to the Roy Rogers roast beef sandwich was that it was made WITH ACTUAL ROAST BEEF that they cooked in the store, served on a lightly toasted bun. Today's roast beef standard, Arby's, slices up some kind of molded gelatinous meat concoction that doesn't fit my definition of roast beef at all.



Imagine my surprise in 2004 when I was traveling to New York City to do TV and found the New Jersey landscape dotted with Roy Rogers restaurants beckoning from the rest stops all along the highways. I couldn't resist trying their roast beef again and it was a faint echo of the terrific sandwich they used to serve, not quite the real thing. Still, much better than Arby's.

 

1978 Roy Rogers Commercial

My life has been in the pursuit of fine tasting roast beef sandwiches and I will continue my journey - but I doubt if any fast food joints today will satisfy that craving.


Kenny Rogers Roasters

Well, it's not seventies fast food but Bob Huggins adds: Kenny Rogers Roasters is another celebrity restaurant that is pretty much gone from the U.S. landscape but is apparently doing well in the Philippines. Go figure. My recollection of the restaurant was that it was trying to compete along the lines of a Boston Market. It came and went pretty quickly in my area.

I ate at the Kenny Rogers in Hollywood before it closed and it was no big deal. After the fuss they made on Seinfeld I was expecting more. It was better than most fast food.

In this same vein you should head over to Groceteria, the online museum of former grocery stores from the early days.

Phil Spector & Cher in the 1970s?

In 1974 Phil Spector gathered some favorite vocalists from his 1960s hit recording sessions and laid down some amazing tracks. Dion, Darlene Love, Harry Nilsson and Cher were all enveloped in Spector's layered Wall of Sound, I believe this was the last time the volatile producer employed this technique in the classical sixties sense.

Here's Cher singing 'A Woman's Story' from those recording dates, this was shortly after breaking professionally (for a time, anyway) with Sonny Bono in 1974. The elaborate production was idiosyncratic compared to songs by The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac riding the top 40 charts at the time.



Another track Cher recorded during those dates was Ronnie Spector's 'Baby I Love You'; this time Phil simplified the arrangement and slowed the song down considerably for a glistening effect. These tunes were released as a 45 in 1975 but failed to chart.



Spector also produced a duet with Cher and Nilsson that went nowhere as a single.

While these sessions didn't deliver any hits, they represent some of the best work from both Cher and Darlene Love. Love's 'I Love Him Like I Love My Very Life' was released in 1977, hoping to capitalize on the Philadelphia Sound that was popular, but it failed to chart.

Before Designing Women There Was Filthy Rich

In the fall of 1981 Dallas was the biggest hit on television, JR had just been shot and the nation was in a thrall, so the networks scrambled to find the next big prime-time soap opera. Most were expensive flops but CBS scored a minor hit, albeit for a very brief period.

Filthy Rich was a comedy twist on the Dallas concept, with a broadly drawn assembly of tacky Southern hick characters. It too often came across as a re-imagining of The Beverly Hillbillies but delivered some hearty low-brow laughs.

Here's the first half of the pilot:



From producer / creator Linda Bloodworth (who 5 years later brought the TV audience Designing Women) Filthy Rich centered around the refined but cash poor Beck and the low-life Westchester families, forced to live together in Toad Hall by the death of their ultra-wealthy patriarch 'Big Daddy'.

CBS originally ordered a one-hour Filthy Rich pilot in 1981 but passed on it as a mid-season replacement.  Here's part two of that pilot in 1981:


The network still had hopes for the series, what with ratings for Dallas reaching meteoric levels, so they ordered a second half-hour pilot in 1982 and again declined to pick the series up for fall.

The show itself was uneven but there were plenty of clever zingers and one liners to make it worthwhile. Let's face it, this wasn't exactly the golden age of the sitcom, so by default Filthy Rich was one of the funniest of the 1980s.

The superb cast included Delta Burke, Dixie Carter (at her cattiest best), Ann Wedgeworth, and Nedra Volz. Motion picture western great Slim Pickens was cast as Big Daddy, seen posthumously in videos left behind detailing his wishes for how the family fortune should be spent. Slim Pickens died not long after this sitcom debuted so from that point on Big Daddy was played by Forest Tucker.

The second, very funny pilot is below. Watch how the premise is reset under the premise of a magazine article being written about the family... the exposition super-highway for sitcom writers.



When CBS aired the two pilots over three nights following episodes of M*A*S*H in the summer of '82 the network realized they had a ready-made hit.

The series was rushed into production for the fall, missing the first weeks of the season due to delays. Critics lambasted the crude insult humor and ratings were lousy thanks to a combination of network interference (making the show sillier, as if that was possible) and being slotted against a new smash hit on NBC, Family Ties.

Filthy Rich was yanked after 6 weeks but returned in January of 1983 only to be cancelled quickly again. The remaining episodes were burned off during the summer of 1983.

Fabulous Vegas Legend Eydie Gorme

Eydie Gorme turns 85 later this summer. She's a petite singer who could belt out a torch song and build to a rousing finish with the best of them, on par with Judy Garland or Ethel Merman. You build chops like that working the nightclubs night after night - she and her husband Steve Lawrence, together and separately, probably played more lounges and casinos than anyone else in history.

Eydie was a popular guest on the talk shows of the 1960s & 1970s but her old style of belting fell out of favor as the decades passed and she retired almost 20 years ago.

'I Want To Be Around' from 1966 Tonight Show appearance:



Eydie with Trio Lo Panchos singing 'Piel Canela,' 'Sabor A Mi' and 'Granada' from The Hollywood Palace.



Most singing duets are mismatched in terms of talent, one is usually the more talented. Steve Lawrence was no Sonny Bono, he and Eydie produced spectacular music together, becoming Las Vegas legends in the bombastic, over the top Liberace era.



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What Corporate Execs 'Knew' About the Internet in 1998

A 1998 survey of Fortune 1000 senior executives found a general lack of knowledge when it came to computers and the Internet. 43% thought Fiona Apple was a computer brand - and that was when the singer was on the pop charts. 53% of the corporate titans thought an Arch Deluxe was a PC part, while 98% of sixth graders surveyed knew that was actually a burger from McDonalds.

Less than a quarter of the executives could explain what a modem did, 93% of sixth graders surveyed could. 68% of the guys in ties thought the Net was owned by a corporation, 23% believed it was Microsoft's property. A decade and a half later the Internet goes on but when was the last time you saw an Arch Deluxe?

The Magnificent Marble Machine

The Magnificent Marble Machine Pinball was all the rage in the mid-1970s, exploding in popularity when new solid-state, electronic machines from Bali and Atari attracted a new generation of enthusiasts beginning in 1976. It was a boon for ailing bowling lanes who were surprised to find their arcade machines raking in more money than the ball and shoe rentals.

NBC sought to cash in on the phenomenon with The Magnificent Marble Machine, debuting in the summer of 1975 when kids were home from school. TMMM was a typical 1970s game show in most ways, with contestants and stars competing in a silly word game. What set it apart was the big money round played on an enormous pinball machine where a contestant could win up to $50,000 ($250,000 in today's dough). The contraption was a clumsy device, being so large meant the most exciting part of the competition happened at a snail's pace. It was also prone to breaking down a lot, leading to long taping days and the show's reputation as one of the most disastrous game shows of all time.

After strong initial ratings the audience quickly grew bored and moved on.



Partly to reconfigure the machine, the program was retooled in January of 1976 so that only the stars played the final round but the production was scrapped in the summer of '76.



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Crazy 1970s Romance Comics Covers

I was a comic collector back in the day. I didn't read the so-called romance comics but they did have some wild covers - check out these gems from the 1970s.

This poor hippy chick is literally a doormat... but lying in the front lawn comes in handy when you want to know what's going on in the neighborhood. Cover artist: Nick Cardy.	This cover would have worked even better as a horror comic, why is the Bride of Chuckie ambushing this nice young couple? Cover artists: Bob Oskner & Vince Colletta.
Pity the poor fashionably dressed blonde with the perfect body and the Merle Norman makeup job - she's shy. Really?!? That's a first. Cover artists: Bob Oskner & Dick Giordano.	This guy's rounding second base - on a comic book cover! Not surprisingly, it was one of the last in DC's romance line. Cover artists: John Rosenberger & Vince Colletta (Okay, I'm guessing at these).

The Days of Wine & Porno

In the summer of 1975 a teacher took myself and six other high school aged teens to New York City to see Broadway shows, we stayed for 4 or 5 days and saw the most amazing theater - the productions I remember were Candide, Raisin, The Wiz, A Chorus Line, and Pippin (which had been running for a while, Irene Ryan had passed away a year earlier but Ben Vereen was still going strong in the role of the Leading Player.




We even caught Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue for which we got the very last tickets to the closing performance. The seats were lousy but the show blew us all away... and jazz immortal Lionel Hampton came out of retirement to be her intermission act.



Fortunate we were to see the original cast of 'Chicago including Jerry Orbach, Barney Martin, Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon.



I didn't realize how lucky we were to have seen so many legendary performers at their peak, I even talked to Lily Tomlin on the street dressed as Edith Beasley handing out coffee and doughnuts for the folks lining up to buy tickets for her upcoming Broadway show.

This field trip to the big city 12 hours away had nothing to do with the school. This band teacher, who directed our school musicals, used to have those of us he liked over for beers even though most - hell, all - of us were underage. Granted, by just a few months, he never let someone 16 have alcohol (18 was the drinking age then). I didn't drink and my friends that did didn't get crazy so it was no big deal.

With him chaperoning, we all caravanned to the beach a few times, made a trek to the mountains of Georgia, and he even took us to see an X-rated movie. Our parents were thrilled that a responsible adult was taking a positive interest in their kids.

Today if all of that happened - well, I'd hate to think about it. Which would have been the worst possible outcome, this guy's home and his musical productions were a safe haven for dozens of restless kids over the years. Kids who would have otherwise would have gotten into who knows what mischief.

This guy was an amazing friend to all of us, an older gay man in a relationship - but I don't think most of us put two and two together because they always maintained they were straight. I assumed they were, despite the ornate sculptures in their apartment depicting naked gladiators wrestling around in homoerotic poses. I was very naive, what can I tell you. (We all were, there was virtually no such thing as an openly gay man in the South in the mid-1970s.)

I never heard of anything untoward happening to anyone in that circle of friends that expanded with each school year; eventually I and most of my friends moved away and we lost touch with our teacher friend. He was one person that made a positive contribution to my life at a time when I couldn't have been more confused and frustrated.

Sad thing is, in our sexed up society, one can't help but conjure up perverted thoughts when you think about High School students getting involved in parties at a teacher's home on the weekends. But the way it was then, even going to an X-Rated movie could be a wholesome night out, at least from our perspective.

Then again, I never found pornography particularly fascinating. I'd been exposed to the most disgusting hard core porn you could imagine on a weekly basis since middle school.

Guess I better explain that.

Being a young comic book collector in the early-1970s in a not-so-big city meant going anywhere and everywhere to get the latest comics, distribution was very spotty. There was a magazine shop downtown that stocked every periodical, literally everything, including comics. They did so to justify their real cash crop - selling the thousands of hard core mags displayed all over the cramped store.

So you had The Ladies Home Journal and The Reader's Digest sitting beside a stack of magazines with big wet sloppy - you know what's - happening on the covers. Walking up to the counter to pay meant passing depictions of every possible sex act (except gay, naturally). When the guy gave you your change he did so atop a stack of more porno mags. There was also something going on behind a curtain in the back, I'll let you use your imagination. I didn't.

Of course, there was sign out front that said 'No one under 18 allowed' but we managed to talk our way in around the 8th grade. My friend who collected comics and I were talking at school about this amazing store that had all of the comics in one place, awash in a sea of porn, when one of our classmates confessed his dad owned the joint.

It turned out that our classmate worked the register on Saturdays and he let us come by on his shift. Before long the big, gruff guys behind the counter got to know us and realized we really weren't interested in the porn - only the comics that they had probably never sold any of before. They must have thought we were weird.

Like I said, things were different then. Thank God!

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Cher Live in Monte Carlo in 1980!

You simply won't believe how this concert opens so I won't spoil it. This was Cher's triumphant 'Take Me Home Tour' - with the first top 40 hit since her days with Sonny, she had a concert act that was relevant again.




Cher performs a lot of covers but then she had a way of making any song her own, with rich arrangements that occasionally went against the grain of the original, as you'll hear in the Three Dog Night tune 'Easy to Be Hard'. This being the tail end of the disco era you'll experience lots of brassy syncopated rhythms and dancers in black rayon pants.

And Cher doesn't cover any of her earlier hits at all!

SUPERSTAR CAT FIGHTS, 1950s EDITION

Tallulah Bankhead was not only a legendary stage and film actress she was also one of the hardest partying dames around who was prone to do - or say - anything to anybody.

If there was a fellow entertainer Tallulah despised it was Bette Davis. Bette was hot again in 1950 with All About Eve and Tallulah felt her performance was a ripoff of her acting style... and it was. It was only natural Tallu would take a few shots at Miss Davis from the bully pulpit of her NBC radio extravaganza, 'The Big Show'.

Marlene Dietrich guest starred on Tallulah's show and the two quickly bared their claws. This is a hilariously funny routine... just as clever today. Plus you get to hear Marlene singing her signature tune, 'Falling in Love Again.'

What happened when Martha Raye ('The Big Mouth') and Tallulah Bankhead got together - rat-a-tat-tat humor from The Big Show in 1951. Those were the days! (I guess - I hadn't been born yet.)

Long Gone 1970s Fast Food Joints

Those long-lost fast food palaces of the seventies...

and where you can still taste their junk food awesomeness again.

I have fond memories of the fast food chains that were around when I was coming of age, I'm still upset about McDonald's fries today being nothing like the limp, greasy goodness of my youth. You were lucky to make it home with any, made so irresistible because they were deep fried in beef fat. That's a tasty treat not likely to return. (Darn all those health nuts that ruined it for the rest of us!)

Are there places you get that retro 1970's fast food taste experience today without programming the Time Tunnel? (A risky proposition considering the Tunnel exploded into a shower of sparks every time someone moved a dial.)

They are few and far between but it's possible, depending on where you live, to travel back in time gastronomically speaking.



Biff Burger

Anyone remember Biff Burger? When I was a kid growing up in the seventies there were several around town, they were found all along the East Coast with a few lone outposts not much further west.

In the quality pecking order of burger chains in the 1960s-'70s there was McDonald's at the top, Burger King just below, with Hardees, Burger Chef, and Biff Burger taking up the rear.

The Biff Burger itself was different from the rest, with their own tangy sauce that the meat patty was dipped in after cooking on a special rotating broiler.

In the days of 20 cent hamburgers at McDonald's and Burger King, Biff Burger (which stood for "Best in Fast Food") was a penny less, only 19 cents. I would eat there in high school, if that penny made a difference in my getting a burger for lunch or not. Being less expensive than the other chains led to the impression (in my mind, anyway) that the burgers weren't as good - indeed, they had a slightly gamey taste.

The chain was founded in the 1950s but went under in the mid-1970s with a few profitable independent franchises holding on. Biff Burger disappeared almost completely by the mid-1980s but two stores still survive using the same burger recipes, with the same basic decor. One is in St. Petersburg, Florida - the other Biff Burger was renamed Beef Burger (the owner changed the name in the 1980s in case the franchise was revived and he should get hit with back franchise fees).

Beef Burger remains a 50 year institution in Greensboro, NC with the 1970's chairs and tables intact (yellow and attached as one unit, naturally) and 1980's arcade games. They still use the classic "Biff" character, one of the worst designed mascots in history. That's what makes him so cool.

The menu is not limited to the original, you'll find probably the widest variety of food in any fast food diner, from zucchini sticks to fried shrimp and a dozen or more flavors of soda. They also have milkshakes made from an old 1970's machine, now that's authentic!

And the food is greasy-liscious, I say that as a compliment. Besides the delicious original Biff Burger itself, they have the best Ribeye steak sandwich I've had in a long while, I'm hooked. The Super Burger is tasty too, a nice combo of today (with fresh vegetables) and yesterday.

UNC-G students flock to chow down on cheap but good quality eats that really soak up the alcohol - although the front door sports a sign on the door that says, "If you're drunk eat somewhere else." Regulars for decades have come for miles around to enjoy the retro taste of Beef Burger.

By all means, if you're in Greensboro on business, stop by Beef Burger at 1040 West Lee Street. Sadly, expansion plans by the university has put the restaurant in danger of being plowed under. You can read the entire history of Biff Burger at this wonderful site.

The St. Petersburg, Florida Biff Burger:




Burger Chef 

Another forgotten burger chain selling down-market burgers that I confess I liked just fine. This 1970 commercial was attempting to tap into the teen market with groovy hippy music, tender but offbeat family images, and a lame catch-phrase, "Incrediburgable!" This chain was known for the vaguely Googie design of the franchises, note the extreme slanted roof and top ornament, you can still recognize that architecture in places that have been repurposed - like Mexican restaurants, Chinese buffets, even a Wienerschnitzel in Antioch, California.



Burger Chef started disappearing in the mid-eighties after the big two - McDonald's and Burger King - pretty much locked up the nationwide fast food hamburger market with regionals like Jack In The Box, Carl's Jr, and Hardees continuing to thrive around the fringes. At one time Burger Chef was second only to McDonald's in the number of locations nationwide. If I recall, they had a great dry but tasty Roast Beef sandwich that Hardees continued to sell well into the late-1980s.

Another death blow to Burger Chef... Wendy's went nationwide in the early-seventies, moving the goalposts with their innovative drive-thru window, salad bar and fresh not frozen meat. That was a real game changer, Burger Chef and Biff Burger seemed dated in comparison... old-fashioned but not in a good way.

Hardees took over the Burger Chef franchise in the mid-eighties and began slowly assimilating them until the last one closed in 1996. Want to taste it again? Schroeder's Drive-In in Danville, Illinois, in business for more than a quarter century, still serves up the original Burger Chef menu items.


Gino's Restaurants

Bob Huggins follows up: I enjoyed reading about "Biff Burger." I guess that there were probably a number of regional fast food restaurants in various parts of the country that are no longer around so I’m happy to see one that still exists.





Here's an amazing thing - take a look at this ad on the other side of the page: You could actually get a full lunch for 99 cents in 1975! A rib eye lunch for $1.29? Talk about inflation... and as I recall, the food was pretty good at the Ponderosa.

Growing up in the Philadelphia, Pa area we had “Gino’s” which had, for its time, the memorable slogan “Everybody goes to Gino’s, ‘cause Gino’s is the place to go.” As best as I can recall, Gino’s pretty much went head-to-head with McDonald’s. Anyhow, there’s a tribute site to the restaurant (complete with message board)which readers from the Middle Atlantic States might be interested in seeing.

The first of a chain of brand new Gino's Restaurants opened at 611 West DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia, Pa in 2010 with several more in Baltimore (the chain started in Baltimore). Whether it compares to the original I have no idea - tell us your experience.





BONUS:  Krystal Burger 

Speaking of regional fast food chains, it was more than 10 years ago when the Krystal Burger joints were upgraded, reviving the slumbering fast food chain that began back in 1932. Those mini-burgers (they'd be called sliders today) were pretty tasty, as I remember.

Krystal Burgers were found down South whereas White Castle (the oldest hamburger chain in the United States) was more of a Northern, Midwest and West Coast thing. The Krystal burger was a straight up ripoff of White Castle's product, if you liked one you'd probably enjoy the other. Now the chain is limited to one location in Georgia with about a dozen stores in Tennessee and some in Florida.

Did you see the scenes in the Borat movie shot at Krystals?

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Foster Brooks Roasts Lucille Ball

OJ Simpson Wants To Sell You Something

With OJ back on trial (or is it over already?) some of us are old enough to remember when the football great was a respected advertising pitchman, his most famous TV ads were for Hertz Rent-A-Car ("Hertz puts you in the driver's seat"). This is the most memorable spot where OJ is seen running down the airport concourse (to catch that flight to Chicago?) and jumping in line.



He also appeared in print ads for Dingo Boots found in comic books of the late-1970s, the ad is pretty funny all by itself.



I don't know where this parody came from, I got years ago - it's hilarious but don't read it if you're easily offended!

David Letterman, 1970's Game Show Host? It Almost Happened...

David Letterman was on track to be one of the great game show hosts of all time if The Riddlers had been picked up in 1977. The proposed NBC daytime series was a lot like Match Game (the #1 daytime TV show in 1977) in that it had a celebrity panel answering questions.



Letterman shines in this loose format, he's hilarious, especially when you consider the many lackluster emcees on television at the time. This was just a couple of years after he left Indiana local television and before his brilliant but short-lived 1980 daytime talk show on NBC. That's where Carson took notice of Letterman and bumped the comic up to late night.





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How the 'N' Word Reappeared in the Media

Watching D'Jango Unchained was a reminder of how the 'N' word went from forbidden to ubiquitous, and it began in the 1970s. It was likely inevitable, being the only truly forbidden word in the English language the inherent shock value was too much to resist from a comedy standpoint.

NBC banned the epithet from the airwaves in the 1950s, when radio was the dominant entertainment medium, although I can't find a single example of "nigger" being used on any radio or TV network program before that point. If a white person said it in a TV drama in the 1950s or '60s there had to be retribution, he would seriously renounce his racist ways or die at the end of the story.

Mark Nemeth of Greensboro, NC writes about a rare instance on TV: In the feature-length version of "Dragnet" (filmed in 1967, but airing in 1969 on the NBC Monday Night at The Movies) A thug calls a black detective the "N" word, which gives Jack Webb's Sgt. Friday an excuse to rip into him.
"If the department doesn't judge the color of his skin, you damn well see that you don't."

It was all too common to hear that word in 1960s and early-'70s westerns, you couldn't have a black person in a horse opera that didn't get called "nigger" at some point. It was, more often than not,  completely gratuitous. You could hear the word in racially-charged sixties' dramas like In the Heat of the Night and They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! but television was another matter, networks wanted their programs to be G-rated fare for the entire family. That is, before the 1970s.

Just weeks after All In The Family debuted in 1971, Sammy Davis Jr. was the first to re-introduce the 'N' word to the mass media when he quipped, "If you were prejudiced, Archie, when I came into your home, you would have called me a coon or a nigger. But you didn't say that, I heard you clear as a bell. You came right out and called me colored."



Surprisingly, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) never used the "N" word, it was a bridge too far for a white guy, although antiquated colloquialisms like "coon," "colored," and "black beauties" fell out of his mouth in abundance.

The word "nigger" was heard next on NBC, in a first season Sanford & Son episode 'Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride' airing January 28, 1972. The storyline centered around Lamont (Demond Wilson) getting married when Fred (Redd Foxx), looking at the bride's family with contempt mutters "Buncha jive niggas" under his breath to scattered audience applause.

It was a January 4, 1974 broadcast of Sanford & Son ("Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe") that thrust the 'N' word back on to network TV in a big way when  'Big Money' Grip Murdoch confronted Aunt Ester (LaWanda Page) with his theory that he is Lamont's father. When Ester shouted her reply there was a huge audience response...



 Click over for more examples of the "N" word on network TV.

Walker Edmiston on Hal Smith

TV and movie actor Walker Edmiston died in 2007. He was a much beloved figure in the business best known for his many cartoon voices, like Ernie the Keebler Elf and Inferno in Transformers, for instance. Anyone who ever saw the TV-movie Trilogy of Terror (1975) will remember him as the voice of the Zuni fetish doll. Oh yeah, I know you remember that creepy little doll with a knife chasing poor Karen Black around the apartment.



Kevin Butler paid tribute to Walker Edmiston here. I stumbled upon an interview with Edmiston talking about the wonderful Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show). In the interview, Edmiston speaks about Smith's LA local kid show The Pancake Man and his role as Hollywood's Santa.

40 Years Ago - Billie Jean King Beat Bobby Riggs

People may forget how huge the September 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King was, the game that became a game-changer.

55 year old former tennis champ Bobby Riggs put up $100,000 of his own money that no woman could beat him at tennis. On May 13, 1973 Riggs vanquished Margaret Court, the top female champion, in a best of three set. Billie Jean King, who had originally declined to participate, stepped up to challenge Riggs.



The hype was overwhelming. Promoting the "Battle of the Sexes," Riggs taunted King in the media, emphasising how inferior women were to men. It made for great TV but he hit a nerve. Just as Archie Bunker appealed to racists despite being a parody, chauvinists rallied behind Bobby Riggs, convinced that a woman could never beat a man at any sport.



Worldwide 90 million people watched as King crushed Riggs on the Houston Astrodome court, to this day the largest audience ever for a US tennis match. Odd that something so trivial as a game of tennis could move the needle on women's rights but it did, shoving male chauvinism from the norm to the fringes.

Not long after the historic match-up Billie Jean King was a guest on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Notice they're making gay jokes as they introduced the (closeted at that time) gay athlete; it went right over everyone's heads back then. At the end of this clip Billie Jean King looks very uncomfortable wearing a dress, but then the networks liked females to be properly attired in prime-time.

Fernwood 2Night & The Life and Times of Tony Roletti

Fernwood 2nite was one of those rare summer replacements that was better than the show it replaced - in this case Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. A send-up of local talk shows that were so pervasive on TV in 1977, this series had a spectacular writing staff that included Harry Shearer and two hosts that became a dream improv pairing, Martin Mull and Fred Willard.

While Fernwood 2nite has yet to get a DVD release it's widely available on You Tube. One of the recurring guests that always cracked me up was Bill Kirchenbauer as pathetic lounge singer Tony Rolletti. Kirchenbauer's performances got broader as he explored the character - He, Mull and Willard had a remarkable rapport.



Although the show lasted but one brief summer season (5 nights a week for 13 weeks plus reruns) fans waited for word on whether Fernwood 2Night would return. It didn't seem likely, ratings were lousy, but the people who did watch loved it. The improvisational humor and the hip attitude stood in stark contrast to anything one would normally find on TV at 11:00pm in 1977.

The production did return the next spring, upgraded to America 2nite with a big name guest star each week. Probably the best episode of America 2Night was the wedding of Tony Rolletti, it's actually a two-parter, a spoof of the Tonight show nuptials between Tiny Tim & Miss Vickie. The guest star was Tom Waits who was his ice cold best singing 'The Piano Has Been Drinking' on part one and 'Better Off Without a Wife' in the show below from May 26, 1978:



Audience numbers for America 2Night weren't much better than the year before so this ground-breaking comedy disappeared in the fall of 1978. There have been a number of reunions with Martin Mull and Fred Willard, most notably they played boyfriends for several seasons on Roseanne.

Super Soul Brother Timmie Rogers!

One of the more gratifying aspects of doing a site like TVparty! is re-discovering stars I enjoyed from television who weren't all that well known. The great, pioneering black comic Timmie Rogers is an example. Rogers came up through vaudeville and released several best-selling comedy LPs like 'Super Soul Brother' in the sixties.



He was brilliant on the variety shows of the 1960s & 1970s, he had an original delivery that other comedians flat out ripped-off.



Timmie Rogers was a regular on The Melba Moore Clifton Davis Show, a summer replacement for Carol Burnett's weekly series in 1972. The set for the variety program resembled a colorful ghetto boarding house (think Sesame Street only grittier) with the skits and musical numbers taking place in various exposed units, the lobby, on the steps, and up on the roof.

As was the style of the day, there was lots of Sonny and Cher style squabbling between the couple but what I loved about the short-run series was old-school nightclub comedian Timmie Rogers ("Oh Yeeaaah!") gained a forum for his hilarious bits.



The Melba Moore Clifton Davis Show was a summer hit, a great deal of that success was due to Timmie Rogers' hilarious bits. It was widely reported that CBS was going bring the show back as a mid-season replacement in 1973, but it was not to be.

Here's another of Roger's routines that he did variations on for years - 'Everything's Going Up' from the same show. This is timeless comedy, it works perfectly today.



More on the life of the great Timmie Rogers here.

Watch Redd Foxx & Timmie Rogers from one of the better episodes of Sanford & Son:

Epic Wedding Fails!

There's nothing funnier than people falling on their asses... even more so when it happens at a wedding  (as long as it's not on your big day!).  And who first had the bright idea to include little kids in the ceremony, anyway?



Wardrome malfunction? More like a Wardrobe Complete Disaster! And everyone keeps on shooting pictures...



Your stoned best man dunks the bride and the preacher? That's a fail...

Yes, it's all fun and games until that one person gets too drunk and shows everyone how to have a good time. Watch the bride's reaction, her perfect day unravelling before her beady little eyes. No sweetheart, that's not a stripper pole. You just know that drunken tart wore a blood red dress to try to upstage the bride. Speaking of blood red...

Speaking of bad ideas, what happens when your jealous ex-lover shows up to wreck the wedding? Brawl!



Start this one in at minute 5:00. This union has disaster written all over it. Notice how clean cut and formal all the guys are, right down to military blues... but the minister is a long-haired hippy. Wait until you see the ring bearer, Eddie Munster lives. Who knows what the DJ was smoking... wrong march dummy, it's not Captain Picard's wedding!



Grandma wants to make an announcement... and it's not to present a check so nothing good can come of that! Thanks to her speech 20 people walked out on the wedding minutes before the ceremony got underway. (And granny called the other family a "clan," that's some passive-aggressiveness there.)

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Michael Jackson on The Dating Game in 1972?!?

In the 1970s The Dating Game would book celebrities and pop stars for their bachelors and bachelorettes, after all they looked good on TV and could deliver a media savvy performance. Did they actually go out on the dates? Who knows.

Believe it or don't, 13-year old Michael Jackson was a contestant on a 'very special' 1972 episode of The Dating Game. This was when he first attempted to escape his sick family with a top ten solo album, singing sweet chart-toppers like 'Ben' and 'Rockin' Robin' - years before he turned weird and white.

Just think if The Dating Game had set Michael up with 3 boys his own age he might have had the first appropriate relationship of his life.



BONUS: The Dating Game in '73 - won't the bachelorettes be pumped up to accompany Arnold Schwarzenegger on that romantic trip to Tijuana, Mexico?

On the Road with an Eccentric Tiny Tim

While composing an oral history a couple of years ago I talked with musical director Tim Fowlar, he reminisced about his time in the 1970s with the Roy Radin Vaudeville Review... or as Tiny Tim called it, "the cavalcade of has-beens."

Roy Radin was a notorious promoter (and soon to be the victim in the notorious Cotton Club Murder) who cobbled together stars like Milton Berle, Donald O'Connor, The Drifters, Frank Fontaine (aka Crazy Guggenheim, who had a heart attack on the bus), Ronnie Spector, and Georgie Jessel, then poured their drunken carcasses on to a bus for shows in VFW halls and school auditoriums all over the northeast. It was a grueling pace but it gave folks in the hinterlands an opportunity to see the stars they loved.

Tim was just getting started in the business when he joined the Radin cavalcade and he would go on to great heights in Las Vegas and television. Here he tells us about being on the road with Jackie Vernon and Tiny Tim, two rather eccentric performers. Vernon is best known to modern audiences as the voice of Frosty the Snowman in the first TV holiday special. Tiny Tim... I wouldn't know where to start, but he was weird bird with a hang-up about venereal disease... and crossing the street. He was also a musical genius I invite you to explore.



The late, great Tiny Tim:

40 Years Ago Comic Book Collecting Changed Forever With the First Big Action Comics # 1 Sale

I think I'm going to play the lottery today, my odds of winning have to be infinitely greater than finding a copy of Action Comics #1 stuffed in the wall. But that's just what happened to David Gonzalez who discovered the 10 cent gem was serving as part of his newly purchased fixer-upper's insulation.

As you may know, this is the most valuable comic book on earth, the very first appearance of Superman. Unfortunately Gonzalez' aunt-in-law grabbed at the comic, causing what an auction expert called a "$75,000 tear." The book was already in poor condition, now a 1.5 out of 10, but is still expected to bring in over $110,000. The guy only paid $10,000 for the house!

Back in May of 1973, 18-year old Mitchell Mehdy made national news when he bought Action Comics # 1 for a little over $1,800. He was the laughing stock of the nation, what kind of idiot would pay that much money for a comic book?!? He was joke fodder for morning radio jocks and late night TV shows (Carson made a crack about him). The generation that lived through the tough times of 1938, when that comic was published, were not amused that a teenager had that kind of cash to spend on something so frivolous.

But seeing this item in the newspapers sparked families into searching their attics in hopes of turning up unexpected gold; many did. Suddenly the neighborhood kids who were amassing comic book collections didn't seem so dumb after all.

The publicity that followed was swift and pervasive, Mehdy even made it on 'Tomorrow' with Tom Snyder. That summer the New York Comic Art Convention run by Phil Seuling really took off in popularity.

So here's to Mitchell Mehdy, he brought respectability to comic book collecting by monetizing the hobby. For better or worse, it would never again be the same.

40 Years Ago NYC TVs Tuned to Toddler's Birthday Parties in the Mornings

Birthday House

It might be hard to believe but forty years ago New Yorkers tuned in every morning to watch children's birthday parties complete with sing-a-longs, animals and staring into a tropical fish tank. For the 1960s, this was big city daytime TV at it's finest - and it was surprisingly entertaining.

 Birthday House starred Paul Tripp, TV's first child educator. As the producer and star of the critically celebrated Mr. I. Magination program on the CBS network from 1949 until 1952, he influenced and predated Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street and every children's program that followed.

Birthday House aired live on WNBC 4 Monday through Saturday mornings from April 1, 1963 until September 8, 1967; it was nationally syndicated for a while and two best-selling soundtrack albums were released with songs from the show.

Similar in tone to Romper Room, the broadcast was a smash hit with kids and parents alike thanks to the exemploray talents of Tripp and his spouse, co-host Ruth Enders Tripp. A creative team since the pioneer days of television, they were masters of the intimate, seat-of-your-pants nature of live broadcasting.



Each day one, two or three lucky youngsters were selected from the New York / New Jersey viewing area to attend a birthday celebration with their friends on television. The WNBC studio could only accommodate a dozen or so children at a time, naturally tickets were highly coveted.

Tom Tichenor designed, manipulated and voiced the many cheerful puppet characters and portrayed Strawtop the silent scarecrow doll; Jan Lara and Kay Lande also appeared in character roles. In 1964, WNBC Channel 4 received a special citation for Birthday House at the NYC Emmy Awards.

The underlying focus of Birthday House was on learning, however simple the lesson. This was accomplished with segments like Buzzy the spelling bee, kids drawing together at a chalk board and a milk drinking game to encourage good nutrition.

In this found episode, Paul and his puppet pal Felicia the mouse play around with a couple of gerbils before Paul strolls to a fish tank where he ad-libs as the camera lingers on the exotic fish swimming about.



This is representative of what the NBC flagship station offered for the morning hours in the nation's number one television market, part of a steady diet of quality kidvid available around the dial - all day long - with top talent that included Chuck McCann, Sandy Becker, Officer Joe Bolton and a legion of other versatile performers who instilled in their viewers a sense of fair play, virtue and a love for education.

We've gone from watching children at play on TV to performing DNA tests to determine who the kid belongs to.

Cast Discusses Weird Death of TV's Superman

In 1976 Tom Snyder interviewed the cast of The Adventures of Superman, this was in conjunction with Gary Grossman's fantastic book on the series, 'Superman Serial to Cereal' - in my mind one of the best ever written about any TV show. Gary is seen here with Noel Neill, Robert Shayne and Jack Larson as they discuss the Superman production and the weird circumstances surrounding the death of George Reeves.

I met Noel Neill in 2004, I was appearing at the Hollywood Celebrity Show in Burbank. On Sunday morning, as everyone was setting up, I visited her table to give her a copy of my book, 'TVparty! Television's Untold Tales'. There was an essay about George Reeves, when I showed it to her she sighed and said wistfully, "Oh, George..." She was so sweet, and signed a photo for me. Classy lady. She was the only thing I liked about 'Superman Returns'.

If You're a Furry, Best TV Ad Ever! (If Not - Worst. Commercial. Ever.)

Is this the worst TV ad of all time? It's certainly a contender, truly icky. But then, I've never been a furry fan. This Gravy Train spot encapsulated all that was wrong about TV pitches of the 1970s - tired premise, shoddy production values and condescending to women. Don't miss how grotesque the 'husband' looks at the end. Where's the PETA when you need them?!?

Dom Deluise' Funniest Joke I Ever Heard!

Whatever Happened to Stymie from The Little Rascals?

I've been watching The Our Gang / Little Rascals Complete Collection and it is so much fun. I'd almost forgotten how funny those short Hal Roach comedies were, especially the early ones with Matthew 'Stymie' Beard, baby Spanky McFarland, Dickie Moore and Scotty Beckett, all amazingly unpretentious young actors.



A Los Angeles native, Matthew Beard was the highest paid Rascal and with good reason. There wasn't anything forced or false about his performances, he was adorably enthusiastic. The camera loved him, so did film audiences and his peers. Stan Laurel, one of the child actor's comedy influences, gave Stymie the bowler hat he wore in the series out of admiration for his work.



After 5 years and 36 shorts subjects, Matthew 'Stymie' Beard was retired from the Little Rascals in 1935 at age 10. Before the next decade was over he had developed a heroin addiction. Prison time followed for dealing, as a result the 1950s and 1960s were a wash for him professionally. When 'The Little Rascals' films were sold to TV syndication, he looked on from the sidelines in disgust as others got enormously wealthy off of his past performances.

A story about his recovery from drugs went over the AP in 1973, helping Stymie achieve his "secret ambition" of performing again. He was hired as a supporting player on Hawkins,  Sanford & Son, Starsky & Hutch, Maude, and Good Times along with some small film roles and other TV productions.

Here's Stymie in the Sanford & Son episode 'A Little Extra Security,' he appeared 3 times on that show, twice on Maude, and 5 times on Good Times where he was seen as Monty. Stymie as Otis enters with Grady at 9:37. He was just as engaging and naturally funny as ever, though he was pushing a bit too hard. He might have had an illustrious television career if he had been given the opportunity to work more often and regain his confidence.



In January, 1981, Stymie suffered a stroke; he lay for 2 days unconscious on his apartment floor before being discovered. He died a few days later at age 57. Redd Foxx stated, "It's a shame that Stymie and so many people like him could be in show business all their lives and be basically unknown. He never made any money to speak of in the 'Our Gang' comedies even though people are enjoying them 50 years later and will continue to forever."



Norman Lear, who produced many of the sitcoms Matthew Beard appeared on, tried to revive 'The Little Rascals' in the mid-1970s with Gary Coleman playing Stymie. Four pilots were reportedly filmed, we can be thankful that never got off the ground.

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When Icons Show Up to Work Drunk

Orson Welles was a mammoth talent that never really flourished under the Hollywood structure of his era. He was forced to whore himself out for commercials, he spent decades hawking food and drink, both of which he consumed copious amounts of. Maybe that's why he made such a trusted spokesperson.

 It wasn't uncommon for the great director to show up for a session high on spirits and drunk on his own ego. Like this session from the golden age of radio where Welles tried to improve the script he'd been asked to read for a frozen peas commercial. He was notoriously prickly, impossibly eriudite when he was irritated, insulting the sponsor of his program and lambasting the guys in the booth.

 

 Thirty years later, Orson was off-the-charts drunk taping this spot for Paul Masson Wine ("We will serve no wine until its time"). Did they resort to a sound-alike for the finished spot?

 

 That was nothing compared to Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain. He sold the company in 1964 but still fronted their commercials until he died in 1980. In the seventies he would wander inebriated into a KFC in his neighborhood causing a scene, dressing down the employees because they weren't making the chicken correctly. And there was little they could do when the Colonel showed up for his commercial tapings a bit 'extra crispy'.

 

Star of a Classic Saturday Morning TV Show Passes

Kevin Butler writes: Virginia Gibson, the co-host/performer/interviewer and narrator of ABC TV's and Jules Power's/Danny Wilson's highly acclaimed, award-winning children's news magazine and travelogue "Discovery" passed away on Thursday April 25, 2013 in Newton, Pa. She was 88 years old. 

Born in St. Louis, Mo., Virginia Gibson made her Broadway debut in the stage revival of Rodgers and Hart's "A Conneticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court" (1943). She also appeared in "Laughing Room Only" with Olsen & Johnson, "High Button Shoes" with Phil Silvers, and "Along Fifth Ave". 

Ms. Gibson made her film debut in 1950 at Warner Bros. where she appeared with Doris Day in "Tea For Two" and with Joan Crawford in the dramatic movie "Goodbye My Fancy". She was also seen in "Painting The Clouds with Sunshine". Virginia Gibson worked in two movie musicals for two different studios - "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" with Howard Keel and Russ Tamblyn at MGM in 1954 and, in 1957, she was at Fox Studios appearing in "Funny Face" with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. 

In 1955, Ms. Gibson made her TV debut in the forgotten sitcom "This Is Hollywood" with Mitzi Green and Gordon Jones. She also appeared on "The Johnny Carson Show". 

In 1962 Ms. Gibson joined forces with Frank Buxton to star in "Discovery," a weekday afternoon educational kids TV series on ABC. Most of the segments were filmed at NYC's Ritz Theater and others were done on location.

   

The show moved to Saturday mornings, eventually the studio segments were dropped and "Discovery" was filmed on location for the rest of the run. When Mr. Buxton left in 1966 Gibson co-hosted the series with Bill Owen. The series moved to a Sunday morning timeslot in 1968.

   

"Discovery" went off the air in 1971, Virginia Gibson left TV altogether for other venues. I was lucky enough to do a phone interview with her in the 1990's and she was kind enough to share information about her career in kid's TV with a young writer and researcher.

 

'All in the Family' Cast Re-creates Their Theme Song for Modern Day Values

This clip was never broadcast, only the folks at the taping that night got to see this. The cast of All In The Family, in response to the 1975 'family hour' rule that forced the series to move to another night and a later hour, performed their signature theme song with pointed new lyrics that would never have met the stricter broadcast standards of the time. They were exaggerating about how depraved TV had become in 1975 but the tune could have easily been written about today's broadcast television...

One of the Funniest Stand Up Routines Ever

Jim Longworth writes: I was watching Cinemax earlier today, and suddenly there appeared an animated short, titled Eli's Dirty Jokes, with a "created by" credit going to James and Tyler McFadden. The entire short was a word for word rip off of the late Flip Wilson's 'woman with ugly baby' routine. If the McFaddens don't have permission from Flip's estate, then they should be sued. Even if they did have permission, the credit for "created by" is misleading. Have you seen it?"

No I haven't, but here's Flip's classic ugly baby routine, considered one of the funniest bits of standup ever...

Shocking 1950s Commercial!

This oldie but goodie from the TVparty vault deserves a crack at the title of worst TV commercial ever. If you haven't seen this 1950's cold cream ad, you simply won't believe what they do to this model's face... this video has almost 3 million views on You Tube!

Three of the Greatest Comic Book Artists of the 20th Century

Watch this WFMY news segment by Brad Jones covering attendees at a comic book convention in Greensboro back in 1990. Interviewed briefly are legendary EC Comics artists Al Williamson and George Evans along with the late Dave Stevens. Williamson especially was a fave of mine growing up. All of these titanic talents have left this mortal coil for adventures in other worlds.

Kid with a Gun on Romper Room!

Watch this Romper Room teacher from New York in 1977 react in horror at the idea of kindergarten aged kids with firearms, something we're told is common today. Future little wise guy, no doubt.

 

1960s Version of 5 Hour Energy Drinks

Around 1968 there was this new snack called Space Food Sticks, packaged like a Slim Jim with a texture like sturdier peanut butter, they purported to be like the stuff astronauts ate in outer space. (There was even a knock-off, Space Energy Sticks.) It wasn't candy exactly, I remember it had a slightly yucky taste, but we still gobbled up the junk for whatever reason. They didn't last long in the stores but here's the commercial that hooked us.



Did you love Space Food Sticks and want to taste them again? You can order them at spacefoodsticks.com.

Tragic Death of Our Gang's Alfalfa

Teresa Bain writes: "My mother, who now lives in Brandon, FL., was Alfalfa's cousin. She told me how Alfalfa died. This is the story, according to the family... someone OWED money to Alfalfa and he went to get it. Alfalfa was drunk at the time. Alfalfa confronted the guy and the guy pulled out a gun. Alfalfa only had a knife. According to the family, Alfalfa was shot over a debt of only $50.00. My mother told me she hated Alfalfa because he was so mean to her."

That's close to what happened, the official story at the time. Decades later a witness came forward and established that Alfalfa was murdered in cold blood.

Here's the part of the story that no one disputes - M.S. (Bud) Stiltz shot Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer to death in the Mission Hills home of famous cowboy star "Crash" Corrigan's ex-wife. Stiltz claimed self-defense, that Alfalfa threatened him with a knife, he wanted $50 for a hunting dog Stiltz borrowed and lost. What really happened that night remained clouded in mystery - until an unexpected witness came forward recently.

Tom Corrigan, son of cowboy star Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was only 14 years old on January 21, 1959 when the deadly confrontation between his step-father and Carl Switzer broke out. Tom was friends with Carl Switzer, they had known each other for years. He spoke to the press about the case in 2000.

Corrigan's story differs greatly from Stiltz' self-serving alibi. In his story to the press, Corrigan says it looked like murder to him, "He didn't have to kill him." True, Alfalfa was drunk when his mother Rita Corrigan opened the door, but Stiltz was waving a .38-caliber revolver when entered the living room - during a struggle, the gun went off and Tom was grazed by a plaster fragment or bullet. The fighting stopped when everyone realized the kid was hurt.

Young Tom Corrigan stepped outside as things got quiet. He didn't see the exact moment of impact but heard the unexpected shot, turning in time to witness Alfie with a shocked look, his face sliding down the wall. It was then that Corrigan saw the small penknife, which apparently fell closed from Switzer's pocket.

Only by begging for his life was Alfie's companion, 37 year old bit player Jack Piott not killed also (he had cracked a glass dome over Stiltz's head in the initial struggle).

A statement detailing these events was taken from the teenager, though fearful of his abusive stepfather, the youngster agreed to testify but he was never called. Stiltz was exonerated.

The kicker to Tom's story: every Christmas (until his 1984 death) Bud Stiltz received a holiday card signed "Alfie". You can read here all about the mystery surrounding the death of Alfalfa.

Ugliest Girl in Town

In 1968, 'gimmick' shows were hot... think Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and Batman. Most of the out-there shows like Mr. Terrific and The New People never caught on. But the networks reasoned that the masses wanted mindless entertainment and, by God, they were going to get it. That's how The Ugliest Girl in Town made it to ABC's fall line-up, a series where the main character was running around in really bad drag.



You see, Timothy Blair (Peter Kastner) had a photographer brother named Gene (played by Garry Marshall, creator of Lavern & Shirley and regular on Murphy Brown). Gene lost some important photo shoot pics so he dressed Timothy up in Hippie chick garb and submitted those shots to his London publisher who think they've found the next 'Twiggy'... so 'Timmie' becomes the newest hot fashion model. As a girl, of course.

This works out great for Timothy, he gets to fly back and forth to London where his girlfriend Julie Renfield (Patricia Brake) lives and prance around go-go London in all the latest mod fashions. Today this show wouldn't seem so extreme, but in the uptight sixties this kind of thing was an anathema, not something middle America was about to turn on for fear of catching Teh Gay.



TVparty-er Laura writes: "A couple of episodes that stand out in my mind are one where s/he was ordered to pose as a nude model (he covered up his lack of feminine allure by posing in a bubble bath) and one where he had to sing in falsetto, but because he couldn't sing in key, a male janitor sang for him. The clothes were at their silliest Austin Powers-ish best. Very 60's airline stewardess-style clothing, puffy hats, go-go boots, big round sunglasses."


Linda Gillies alerts us to an inflamatory obituary of Peter Kastner, The Toronto Star obit states:

But after starring in a disastrous ABC sitcom, The Ugliest Girl in Town, in which he played a young man disguised as a young woman, his career tanked, and his life story turned into a bizarre twist on Sunset Boulevard, with Kastner turning into an updated Canadian male incarnation of Norma Desmond, the deluded former star of silent movies. After moving back to Toronto from the U.S. a few years ago, Kastner played coffee houses (including Free Times Café) and comedy clubs (including Yuk Yuks) with a one-man show. He not only milked the irony of his own career crash but attacked his mother, the late Rose Kastner, resulting in a bitter estrangement from his three siblings and other members of the family.

It goes on to quote family members about how troubled the actor was.

But Kastner's wife is crying fowl and tells another story. She states in part, "After he left acting he became a high school English teacher. He became a maker of quirky and interesting videos on a wide range of subjects. He mentored many teenagers, helped raise his step-daughter and was the constant delight of his grandchildren.

"Not only is the article inaccurate on a factual basis, it is also a gross misrepresentation of Peter's life after he left acting. The Peter I knew was actively engaged in the world, through his video work, his songwriting, his political activism and his many friendships. It would have been nice if Knelman had mentioned his first wife Wendy Miller, who also mourns him. The incomplete view presented by Knelman fails to capture the sweetness and soul of the good man who died in his parked car on September 18th, 2008."

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The NBC Big Show

More from the TVparty! Blog archives: For one brief, shining moment a radio program became a hit in the era of television, a time when nearly everyone reasoned (rightly) that radio was finished as the predominant form of home entertainment .

It was 1950 and the NBC program was called The Big Show, a star-studded 90 minutes that attracted the biggest names in the entertainment industry and beyond. The star attraction was the outrageous hostess, a most unusual pick for a master of ceremonies, stage and screen actress (and the ultimate diva) Tallulah Bankhead. Known for her catty ways and pert put-downs, the writers created some absolutely hilarious exchanges between Tallulah and her female guests.

The program aired Sunday nights at 6:00pm but despite the network putting everything it had behind the program in an attempt to salvage the once dominant medium, The Big Show reportedly lost a million dollars (real money in the fifties) and was cancelled after a couple of years. It was then moved unsuccessfully over to television as the All-Star Revue with Tallulah as one of the rotating hosts. But then, a lot of radio hits fizzled on the small screen.

Here's an episode of The Big Show from December of 1950 with guests Fred Allen, Margaret Truman, Joan Davis, Phil Silvers, The Sons of The Pioneers and more. The highlight of every episode was Tallulah's madcap putdowns and acid tongued bouts with the guests. (I edited out a boring 13 minute dramatic presentation with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)

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Jerry Reed

5 years ago this summer Jerry Reed passed away from complications due to emphysema. He was 71. Reed was a great talent who had a short burst of hit songs in the early-1970s that were outasite, songs like 'Amos Moses,' 'She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft),' and 'When 'You're Hot You're Hot.' He was even animated on an episode of The New Scooby Doo Movies and hosted his own summer replacement variety show. Then he shot to movie stardom as the Snowman in Smokey & the Bandit and his biggest hit tune (I'm guessing) 'East Bound and Down.' He later went on to co-star in two short-lived primetime dramas, Nashville 99 in 1977 and Concrete Cowboys in 1981.

Here's Jerry with Chet Atkins with 'I'll Say She Does' on The Jerry Reed When You're Hot You're Hot Hour from 1972.

From a 1983 concert, 'When You're Hot You're Hot' - Jerry talks about being on Glen Campbell's variety program.

Finally, Jerry with Glen Campbell on Tom Jones' show doing 'In the Pines' and 'Muddy Water.'

Marion Williams singing 'Packin' Up'

I love all kinds of music and one of my favorite Gospel singers is the incredible Marion Williams who can be found in top form on the Hootenanny DVD set, one of the best music collections anywhere. See for yourself as Ms. Williams sings 'Packin' Up', the announcer is the late Jack Linkletter:

TV FORMULAS

A few years ago I did a show for VH1 called 'Super Secret TV Formulas' where we looked at different TV cliches. The show runner gave me a list of subjects and asked if I could come up with some not so obvious examples. I thought you might enjoy my notes back to the producer. I'll bet I missed a few that will come to your mind right away.

The first subject was: Flashback Episodes: 
The first ever was the I love Lucy Christmas episode - here's the story and a clip.
The flashback was the key to Kung Fu and the most interesting part.
Dark Shadows jumped from past to present for months at a time.
Dick Van Dyke Show had flashbacks to Rob's Army days.
Green Acres did it a lot.
Frazier and Niles flash back to their days as kids.
Star Trek did it to use footage from the pilot and save money.
'Who Killed JR' on Dallas was a mess of flashbacks.

Drag for a Day: 
Milton Berle probably was first, since he was there at the beginning of TV.
Steve Eurkel played his cousin Myrtle
Lucy did male drag as Superman.
There was a notorious flop - The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968 - ABC) - would be a great example but I have no idea if the series exists anymore.
Max Baer (Beverly Hillbillies) was both Jethro and his sister Jethrine in the first season.
Jonathan Winters did an old lady character, Maude Frickert, that was hilarious; he did the character on practically every variety show.
Barney on the Andy Griffith Show - there is a famous and readily available
still picture of Barney in Drag.
Johnny Carson
Benny Hill
The Robot from Lost in Space put on women's clothes once for a play.
Harvey Korman on Carol Burnett did a very funny fairy Godmother.
Jamie Foxx on In Living Color as Wanda
John Belushi as Liz Taylor on SNL
Will Farrell as Janet Reno on SNL
Dana Carvey as Church Lady on SNL.

Let's Get it On, Already: Aaah, sexual tension... 
Starsky and Hutch - They were always touching and saying "I love you, man."
Serena and Larry Tate on Bewitched.
Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor.
Gilligan and all the women on the island.
LaVern, Shirley, Lenny and Sqiggy.
Mr. Ed and Wilbur.
Hunter? Remington Steele?
Smithers and Mr Burns from Simpsons.
Fresh Prince - Will and his cousin.
Dean Martin and his Golddiggers.
Mork and Mindy.
Vivian and Lucy on The Lucy Show - CBS execs called it 'The Dykes Sans Dick Show.'
Jethro and Miss Hathaway.

All useless knowledge comes in handy one day, I suppose.

Hilariously Dirty Hollywood Squares Outtakes!

For some reason, when I think of summer I think of The Hollywood Squares. I guess that's when I had the opportunity to watch the daytime show growing up. Here are some uncensored outtakes from that star-studded game show.

The First (Awful) Lost In Space Revival

In 1973 Lost In Space was re-imagined by Hanna-Barbera as an animated pilot for a possible Saturday Morning series, it was broadcast on ABC's Saturday Superstar Movie. Jonathan Harris provided the voice of Dr. Smith, the only original cast member to be involved and the only recognizable character other that the 'robon' which looks kinda-sorta similar to the Robinson's pet robot. Why adapt a much loved TV series and eliminate almost every element of the original that made it so popular in the first place? Since 20th Century Fox and Irwin Allen owned the property they could have created likenesses of the rest of the cast without paying them (as they almost did with Uhura in the animated Star Trek) but why redesign the iconic space ship? It was a sloppy poorly produced effort that deserved to be passed over, with no redeeming qualities other than a few decent Jonathan Harris moments.

 

Lost Cher Recordings

Someone has posted (audio only) some TV performances by Cher and pointed out this odd fact - Cher sang the same song on the last (taped) episode of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour that she did on the debut of her own series. The tune is 'All in Love is Fair,' a Stevie Wonder cover. First the 1974 performance from her last show with Sonny (until they reunited on TV a year later).

This version from Cher in 1975 has pretty much the same arrangement but sports a slightly fuller orchestrations and Cher is toning down that ersatz southern accent she sings with.

I'm guessing there was about a 6 month period between these performances. Girl had pipes! Cher grew considerably as an artist in the first couple of years away from Sonny and actually recorded at least one fine album, Stars, which has never been released on CD.

This cover of a Velvet Underground tune is from Stars, her first album for Geffen in 1975. The first time I heard it I hated it, despised the entire album in fact, but it grew on me and became one of my favorites, at least for the time.

Of course, the song is a bit absurd, the idea of Cher sitting on cornerstones, "counting time in quarter tones" is a bit of a stretch.

Captain Kangaroo & Star Trek?

TRYING OUT A NEW BLOG FORMAT

You can still access the TVparty! Blog Archives here. I'll be posting some of the best of that blog, started back in 2006.

That same year this book was released, one that I think animation and comic book fans might be interested in... 'Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book.' It's a bit different than any other book you've ever seen before, a collection of correspondence and sketches from the master artist Alex Toth's last 25 years.


The original props and costumes from the original Captain Kangaroo show are being auctioned off. Mr. Green Jean's overalls, the Dancing Bear costume, Bunny Rabbit... now is your chance to own a bit of TV history. Sadly, there are almost no existing copies of the entire CBS run of Captain Kangaroo.

So far 'Star Trek Into Darkness' has taken in $84 million, probably would have been higher if they waited a week and gave Iron Man 3 a chance to wind down at the box office. Look at this perfect Wally Wood lighting effect from the film. I'll wait until the crowds peter out before going - I still haven't seen a 3-D movie, after a lifetime of being burned by ineffective 3-D techniques I had a hard time buying in again, so I guess this will be the one.