Week of Feb. 19: Hail Betty White

It's nice to see Betty White received deserved accolades for almost a lifetime of television work.

White is one of the rare people who has performed in a television program of some sort each decade since the medium became a national touchstone.

Her first series was a brief one, called "Life With Elizabeth:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miPyaWgrn2w


She appeared in a number of guest-starring roles from the 1950s through the early 1970s.

Her first truly successful chapter came during the 1960s and 70s, as a game show panelist. She could be seen on "To Tell the Truth," "Match Game" and, in particular, "Password." That's where she met the love of her life, host Alan Ludden, whom she married:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDjeaChO7YE&feature=PlayList&p=6F1A15CEE23D19B9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=20

Sadly, he died in 1981.

Then came 1973 - and White's turn in "The Lars Affair," an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The snarky "Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens, played so well by White, has an affair with Lars Lindstrom, the unseen husband of Phyllis (Cloris Leachman):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_YrLfvraEw

White would become a series regular and play Sue Ann through the rest of its run.

She would continue the guest-starring roles, including a significant part on NBC's "Mama's Family," and game shows until 1984. Then came a second transformational role.

Originally, the producers of "The Golden Girls" sought to have White play Blanche, the widow with a very active (to say the least) social life. They had planned for Rue McClanahan to play the sweet, naive Rose. White asked for a reversal, playing Rose while McClanahan played Blanche. The result was magic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHz8mn3mm_o&feature=related

Long may you work, Ms. White.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week Of Feb. 12: Greatest TV Winter Olympic Moments and Inspiration For Garry Marshall

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver begin tonight, and it's a good time to review those heart-stopping great televised moments in Winter Olympics history:

-Grenoble, France, 1968: The first Winter Olympics to be televised in color had two made-for-television heroes. The first was French skier Jean-Claude Killy, who won three golds. The second was figure skater Peggy Fleming, who won the United States' only gold and many hearts.

-Innsbruck, 1976: Another American figure skater captured the imagination: This time it was Dorothy Hamill, with her camel spin and her wedge haircut that sent a lot of young women and girls (including me) to the beauty salon.

-Lake Placid, 1980: No contest for the greatest Winter Olympics moment ever, called on ABC by the great Al Michaels: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" as hockey Team USA defeated the Soviets.

-Sarajevo, 1984: Queen Elizabeth may have been the only Brit to receive more respect than ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who received perfect scores for their exquisite routine to Ravel's "Bolero." Perfection, indeed.

-Calgary, 1988: The last Winter Olympics that took place in Canada was a feast for figure skating fans, highlighted by the "Battle of the Brians," in which the USA's Brian Boitano took gold and Canada's Brian Orser took silver in a marvelous duel of athleticism and artistry. British ski jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards won hearts, if not medals. So did the Jamaican bobsled team, mon.

-Lillehammer, 1994: Hello Daehlie......Bjorn Daehlie, the cross-country skier and hometown hero in these Norwegian Olympics, showed what a true sportsman was in this Tonya-and-Nancy saturated event. So did American speed skater Dan Jansen, who finally won gold after three heartbreaking Olympics.

-Nagano, 1998: The Czechs made me a hockey fan with their amazing win over powerhouse Russia for the gold.




-Salt Lake City, 2002: The somber moment during the opening ceremony when the American flag that flew at the devestated World Trade Center in New York was carried into the stadium was a fitting tribute to 9/11. A much happier moment occurred almost two weeks later, when a joyous Sarah Hughes learned she had won gold in women's figure skating.

What will make the list at these Olympics? Stay tuned.......


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The release of the Garry Marshall-directed movie "Valentine's Day" generates recollections of "Love, American Style." The ABC show, which ran from 1969-74, seems to have had a similar, vignette-style form of storytelling - as well as a cool theme song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNHuI0Pw0m8

Marshall wrote two of the vignettes for "Love, American Style." One of them, of course, was "Love and the Happy Days," which featured Ron (still known as Ronny) Howard and Anson Williams. Of course, it went on to become the long-running series "Happy Days."

Only Season 1 has been released on DVD so far (in that annoying multi-volume method).

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Viewing!

Week of Feb. 5: The Most Super Ad Of Them All

There was nothing high-tech about it. It was an injured football player, a little boy and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

It didn't even make its debut during the Super Bowl.

But the commercial featuring Pittsburgh Steeler star "Mean" Joe Greene being offered the soda by little Tommy Okon and then throwing the boy his jersey is normally cited among the top Super Bowl commercials of all time. (It was shown during the Super Bowl in 1980, after having made its debut the previous fall.)

The commercial was honored with a Clio award in 1980. Greene, who is now a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Okon, who is married and the father of four, were honored before last year's Super Bowl.

Here's a link to the classic ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Jan. 29: Tributes and Questions

Sadly, three more wonderful performers have left us:

*James Mitchell: He had two careers. The first one was in dance, including the beautiful dream ballet in the 1954 film version of "Oklahoma." The second one was on television - particularly in the 30 years he spent on "All My Children" as the schemer-with-a-heart-of-well, some gold Palmer. Here he is with his original family - Gillian Spencer as first wife Daisy and Taylor Miller as daughter Nina:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN4xBDz5sCY


*Jean Simmons: The main part of her career was in films, but she appeared on television from time to time, including a very entertaining episode from Season 10 of "Hawaii Five-O," "The Cop On the Cover."

*Pernell Roberts: He bookended a long and lucrative television career between two plum roles - Adam Cartwright on NBC's "Bonanza" (from 1958-65) and Trapper John McIntyre on "Trapper John, M.D." (CBS, 1979-86). Here's a look at the first moments of the pilot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ0zZP77aUU

Assorted curiosities (including current Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell as young Dr. Jackson).....And the biggest curiosity is the difference between the portrayal of the lead character by Roberts, as compared to Wayne Rogers on "M*A*S*H." Rogers played him as a tough-talking New Yorker, while Roberts played him as a far more urbane character.

They all leave behind wonderful performances for viewers to continue to enjoy.

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Besides Jean Simmons, Pernell Roberts also guest-starred on "Hawaii Five-O," in an excellent Season 3 two-parter called "The Grandstand Play."

"Five-O" is worth mentioning because CBS may put a new version on.

Movie writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote last year's "Star Trek" movie, have been working on a pilot episode. If what's described here is the actual premise, let's hope this never sees air:

http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/01/hawaii-five-o-cbs-pilot-plotline-and.html

The worst season of the original Five-O was the last, Season 12, when James MacArthur (the original "Danno") left and William Smith played the much-reviled "Kimo" Carew. This plot premise (Kono as a WOMAN?) is worse than that.

Ah, well, we do have some good Five-O to look forward to.....Season 8, which includes the delightful "Retire In Sunny Hawaii....Forever" with the legendary Helen Hayes (MacArthur's mom), will be released in March. Later this year, Season 9, which includes one of the finest series episodes, "Nine Dragons," will also be released.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Jan. 22: David Gerber's Legacy

Producer David Gerber died a couple of weeks ago. His legacy includes two very successful series, a number of well-done mini-series and some entertaining television.

Here is some of what he produced:

*"Nanny and the Professor," (ABC, 1970-71): This series, done in a "Mary Poppins"-vein, starred Juliet Mills (oldest daughter of Sir John and Hayley's big sister) as the always cheerful and somewhat mysterious Nanny, serving the household of Professor Everett, played by "The Big Valley's" Richard Long, who died much too young of a heart attack. That house included children Hal, Butch and Prudence (who was played by Kim Richards, Paris Hilton's aunt). The show is enjoyable; I love the name of Nanny's antique car - Arabella. Early episodes are available at Hulu.com.

*"Police Story," (NBC, 1973-78): Created by Joseph Wambaugh, this show took "ripped from the headlines" stories long before "Law & Order." It's one of the police series that were bridges between "just the facts" programs like "Dragnet" and more introspective shows like "Hill Street Blues." Inexplicably, this series has never been released on DVD.

*"Police Woman," (NBC, 1974-78): Spun off from "Police Story," this program was the first successful show to focus on a female police officer, Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson, played by Angie Dickinson, with Earl Holliman as her boss. It was also a cool show, starting with the theme, which was written by the legendary Henry Mancini. Only the first season is available on DVD.

*"George Washington," (miniseries, CBS, 1984) and "George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation," (miniseries, CBS, 1986): A great high-school aid for me, and two excellent miniseries, anchored by Barry Bostwick's portrayal of the nation's first president. In an all-star cast, Patty Duke also shined as Martha Washington. Both miniseries are available on DVD.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Jan. 15: Leno and Letterman: A Look Back

With all the furor over NBC's late night, here's a chance to look back at a far different time: Jay Leno on "Late Night With David Letterman" (and a picture of Letterman's bandleader, Paul Shaffer, with hair):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coacWEhWT50&feature=related

Leno and Letterman took slightly different routes to success; though Letterman did standup, his role on television through his early career was primarily as a host or announcer. He did become a supporting player on Mary Tyler Moore's ill-advised variety show for CBS during the late 1970s.

NBC gave Letterman his own talk show in 1980 - at 10 in the morning. Letterman began to develop the comedy routines, such as "Small Town News," that are still part of his "Late Show" on CBS.

Letterman's daytime show was cancelled three months after its debut. Fortunately, Brandon Tartikoff, who soon came in as NBC's programming chief, figured out that late nighttime was the right time for Dave.

Meanwhile, Leno was becoming prominent in comedy clubs and for his standup routines on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. After Joan Rivers, the original permanent guest host for Carson, went to host her own talk show on the then-new Fox network, Leno was named the permanent guest host.

The rest, for both comedians, is history - not always pleasant, but definitely successful.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of January 8: Some Leftover Tributes From 2009

Here's wishing Paul Kangas the best of good-byes (and buys).



Kangas stepped down after 30 years at PBS' Nightly Business Report. Kangas, whose status as a broadcaster of business news preceded that show's creation, was a steady presence on a program that avoids the hype of the cable business channels. He was also known for his rapid-fire reports on stock movements.



As Kangas wrapped up his last broadcast last week, he received a round of applause from those at Miami's NBR studios who are usually behind the camera. He certainly deserves it.



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Sad news in the obituaries of 2009, included two who really got lost in the hype.



One was Lou Jacobi, who died in October at the age of 95. Jacobi established a career on the stage, screen and in recordings.


His television career included the brief 1976 CBS comedy "Ivan the Terrible," in which Jacobi played the patriarch of a family of nine (including a Cuban exchange student) living in a very small apartment in Soviet Moscow. Though critics and audiences seemed to like it, international politics may have played a role in its quick cancellation.

The series is best remembered today for its trivia aspects. It was produced by comedian Alan King; its cast included Maria Karnilova (the original Goldie in Broadway's "Fiddler On the Roof"), Phil Leeds, who would later be on "Archie Bunker's Place," and Christopher Hewitt, who would later star in "Mr. Belvedere." Harvey Korman of "The Carol Burnett Show" also appeared.

"Ivan the Terrible" may fall into the "Brilliant, But Cancelled" category.

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Another television star who died last year was Mollie Sugden, best known as Mrs. Slocombe in the great British comedy "Are You Being Served?"

Here's a link to Mrs. Slocombe in all her glory - multicolored hair, pussy and all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19AQgpsIMVY

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See you next week. Happy New Year - and Happy Viewing!