Week of April 30: The Long Reach of "Bosom Buddies"

It limped through two seasons and 37 episodes. In this corner, at least, the program was silly and juvenile. The best thing about it was its use of the Billy Joel hit song "My Life" (though not sung by Joel).

But "Bosom Buddies," which ABC featured from 1980-82, has a long reach.

To recall: The program was "Some Like It Hot" meets semi-real life. Kip Wilson and Henry Desmond needed to find a place to live that was affordable. The only place they could find was a building for women only. Voila! Kip and Henry got women's clothing and became Buffy and Hildegarde.

The series was produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, who went on to much greater success with other ABC sitcoms, including "Full House," "Perfect Strangers" and "Family Matters."

Peter Scolari, who played Henry/Hildegarde, later co-starred on "Newhart" and received three Emmy nominations as Michael Harris, the stuffy boyfriend of the equally snooty Stephanie Vanderkellen, played by Julia Duffy.

Then there's the guy who played Kip/Buffy. Some fellow named Hanks.......I certainly wouldn't have predicted stardom for him based on that show.

But he impressed a few people, including "Happy Days" star and budding director Ron Howard, who cast Hanks in a mermaid film called "Splash." You know the rest.

And Tom Hanks is the primary reason "Bosom Buddies" has received a second look....and honors at last week's TV Land Awards.

Go figure.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of April 23: Best Television Theme Songs

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences plans to remove the category of Main Title Theme Music from the Emmy Awards. Let's face it, there's not a lot of theme music to be judged these days - in quantity, quality or length.

So here's an ode to Rabbit Ears' best odes in television history:

10. The Beverly Hillbillies: "Come listen to my story 'bout a man named Jed....." Paul Henning, who created the show, wrote "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs backed singer Jerry Scoggins. Y'all come back now, y'hear?

9. Peter Gunn: Henry Mancini wrote the theme, which is remembered far more than the series. The young piano player who performed those opening notes - John Williams - would later go on to his own greatness.

8. All In the Family: The simplicity of Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton, as Archie and Edith Bunker, singing "Those Were the Days" by Charles Stouse and Lee Adams won those days - especially when Edith hit that high note.

7. Cheers: Gary Portnoy sang the song he co-wrote with Judy Hart Angelo, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." The title drawings were an elegant match with the song.

6. The Brady Bunch: Another fine story song, written by series creator Sherwood Schwartz. Frankly, it was the most tolerable thing the Bradys ever sang.

5. The Addams Family: Vic Mizzy, who wrote the music to "Green Acres" and many other series, wrote this show's catchy theme song. Snap, snap.

4. Gilligan's Island: Probably the best of the story theme songs, written again by Sherwood Schwartz with George Wyle. Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale.....

3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Who can turn the world on with her smile? Writer and singer Sonny Curtis showed us that "Love Is All Around" in a great merger of lead character, scenes, music and lyrics. Mary's joyous hat throw is the exclamation point.

2. Hawaii Five-O: Morton Stevens' song combined with Reza Badiyi's combination of images (including Jack Lord on that Ilikai porch) to show Hawaii as it had never been shown before.

1. Mission: Impossible: Lalo Schifrin, quite simply, has written the best television theme song ever. Perfect display of the show's action and mystery.

Anyone out there have their choices for top theme songs?

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of April 16: The Best of Julia Sugarbaker

In tribute to Dixie Carter, here is the "Designing Women" scene that truly represents the best of Julia Sugarbaker. It came in the episode "Killing All the Right People," whose title came from this scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCR-5XnHyyE

Rest in peace, Ms. Carter.

Week of April 9: The Other Carol Burnett Shows (Including The Garry Moore Show)

Carol Burnett has published a new book, "This Time Together." Much of it is about her extraordinary television career.

The crowning achievement, of course, was "The Carol Burnett Show," which came into our homes via CBS at 10 p.m. on Saturday nights from 1967-78. Burnett has also had a rich television presence in variety series and specials beyond that.

Burnett speaks fondly of "The Garry Moore Show," which aired on CBS 1958-64. She was a member of the cast from 1959-62 and won an Emmy during her last season. At about 3 minutes into this clip, there is a great sketch spoofing game shows featuring Burnett, Moore, George Gobel and Marion Lorne (who would memorably go on to play Aunt Clara on "Bewitched"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxNith1q4Nc

Burnett would win another Emmy in 1963 for the first of three specials she's done with good friend Julie Andrews. Here's the intro to their second special, in 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7nn9t952Do

During the run of her variety series, Burnett also made time for a CBS special with another good friend, legendary soprano Beverly Sills. "Sills and Burnett at the Met" got plenty of raves and laughs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evnf7T-nIPI

She also had another variety series, this one for NBC in 1990-91, called "Carol & Company." The young cast she worked with included Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), Peter Krause ("SportsNight," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Parenthood") and Richard Kind, who later co-starred in NBC's "Mad About You," in which Burnett played the mother of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt).

While variety is her forte, Burnett has also guest-starred on plenty of comedy and dramatic series, including "The Lucy Show," "Magnum, P.I." and her favorite soap opera, "All My Children," which also has another famous fan/guest star:

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

We say "So Long" to this tribute by going back to the centerpiece, from the end of the 1969-70 season, which features the full version of the song that inspired the book title - "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgbYZ3F4DjM&feature=related

So are we, Carol. So are we.

"This Time Together" is on sale online and at bookstores.

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Reluctantly, we say goodbye to another television icon: John Forsythe.

Obviously, most tributes mentioned his work on "Charlie's Angels" and "Dynasty," but he had another hit: "Bachelor Father," from 1957-62. Forsythe played Bentley Gregg, who raised his niece, Kelly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb_1A5Dzukc

Some trivia: Linda Evans, who would be Forsythe's co-star on "Dynasty," also guest-starred on "Bachelor Father," which hopped through all three main networks during its run.

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of March 26: Remembering Robert Culp; Scarecrow and Mr. Jones; A Gift of "GE Theater"

The risk of doing a blog about classic television shows is that it will include a lot of obituaries.

Sadly, there's another one this week: Robert Culp, possibly one of the most unselfish men to ever star in a television series. He was the star of "I Spy," but didn't complain when his co-star won three Emmys and became a television icon. That co-star, of course, is Bill Cosby, who said this week that Culp was like a brother.

Culp was also featured in "The Greatest American Hero," which starred William Katt (son of Barbara Hale, who played Perry Mason's loyal secretary, Della Street) and Connie Sellecca, and ran on ABC from 1981-83. He also played the father of Debra Barone (Pamela Heaton) in "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS, 1996-2005).

Here's a link to an interview by Culp about "Greatest American Hero," which would make a superb film (And please, not a re-made TV series):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRSEKj1cU8c

And to watch the treat of the Culp-Cosby partnership and chemistry, the final episode of "I Spy":

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/i-spy-last-episode-pinwheel-13751



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A couple of great DVD releases in recent weeks:

*Season 1 of "Barnaby Jones," which ran on CBS 1973-80. The title character, played so well by Buddy Ebsen, spun off into his own series from "Cannon," which starred William Conrad.

Also starring was Lee Merriwether, Miss America 1955, as Jones daughter-in-law, Betty. In later seasons, Mark Shera would play a cousin, J.R. (or Jedidiah, as Barnaby called him).

The show was, as the announcer intoned each week, "A Quinn Martin Production.":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATUILf51B3c

*Also newly released is Season 1 of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," which ran on CBS from 1983-87.

Kate Jackson underwent quite an image transformation from the cool agent Sabrina Duncan of "Charlie's Angels" to domestic divorcee Amanda King in this series. She discovered the dangers of taking a package from a stranger in the first episode - especially when the stranger turned out to be handsome agent Lee Stetson, played by Bruce Boxleitner. Amanda kept her life secret from mother Dotty (Beverly Garland, who had been in "My Three Sons") and her two sons. Lee and Amanda were overseen by Billy Melrose (Mel Stuart, who had played Henry Jefferson in "All in the Family") and aided by agent Francine Desmond (Martha Smith).

The show was fun, if increasingly implausible as time passed (While fans cheered Lee and Amanda's eventual romance and marriage, they did not cheer the pair keeping it a secret from Amanda's family.).

Eventually, real life intervened: Kate Jackson contracted breast cancer, and struggled to complete the last season of the show.

Today, she continues to work in television, and has survived both cancer and a hole in her heart, which was repaired by surgery. Boxleitner has continued in various TV roles as well.

Here's the beginning of that first episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJBucQp-fws&feature=PlayList&p=2BEF207731FC5F9D&index=0&playnext=1

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NBC's present doesn't look very good, but it recently had a great find from its past: All of the episodes of General Electric Theater that were hosted by an actor named Ronald Reagan.

The 208 episodes have been sent to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as part of the library's celebration of Reagan's 100th birthday:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jRNYUmlrFBmq-_NOS_dfgR2aWwSAD9EGP6IO0

Reagan began his hosting duties for the program, which ran on CBS on Sunday nights after "The Ed Sullivan Show," during the third season.

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=generalelect

Most of the productions were drama; Reagan himself starred with his wife and future First Lady Nancy Reagan in one production. Occasionally, the program would draw a different kind of entertainment, like the legendary Judy Garland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYCFtWzz3gw

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Rabbit Ears will return in two weeks.

Until then, Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Spring and Happy Viewing!

Week of March 19: How Peter Graves Became Mr. Phelps; Fess Parker Tribute

Until the DVD of the first season of "Mission Impossible" came out a few years ago, a lot of people had forgotten that Peter Graves did not play the iconic role of Jim Phelps throughout the entire series.

Steven Hill, who would later play the district attorney modeled after real-life New York DA Henry Morgenthau on "Law & Order," played Dan Briggs, the man who received those strange missions via reel-to-reel tape recorder, during "MI's" first season.

Hill is an Orthodox Jew, and thus could not film from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, or on major holidays. Under today's standards, accomodations might be made, but Hill had struggles with the show's producers over that and other issues. He was then replaced by Graves.

The show did not achieve high ratings during that first season, despite Lalo Schifrin's memorable opening theme song, possibly the best in television history. But it did win an Emmy for best dramatic series. That and Graves' entry opened the door to "Mission's" glory years.

Here's a link to America Online for "Mission's" 3 most memorable moments:

http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/03/16/peter-graves-on-mission-impossible-3-most-memorable-moments/

Good night, Mr. Phelps.

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Late word, sorry to say, of the death of Fess Parker, who was great at playing two 19th century men: Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Appropriately, Parker had a history degree.

Parker had a second life, as a successful developer and vintner. He was most successful in family life, being married for 50 years. Sadly, he died on his wife's birthday.

The legacies of all his lives remain, including an inn in California. Here's a link to the best-known one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Tu8NskR-E

Hail to the King of the Wild Frontier.

See you next week.

Week of March 12: So Long, Father Murphy

Yesterday came the sad news of the death of Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame football player during the 1960s, a stellar football announcer and actor afterwards, and a class act always.

Olsen teamed up first with the legendary Curt Gowdy, then with Dick Enberg, on NBC's Sunday National Football League telecasts. In 1988, when Enberg was headed to Seoul to co-host the network's coverage of the Summer Olympics with Bryant Gumbel, Olsen and Gowdy reunited in the broadcast booth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X91l6IuTJLs

And Gowdy was sure right about Olsen: "He's never missed at any effort in his life."

Those efforts included television drama. Olsen was a Mormon, and that influenced his choice of roles. Michael Landon tapped him to play Jonathan Garvey, Charles Ingells' friend, on NBC's "Little House On the Prairie" in 1977:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzB8rVCNrjA&NR=1

This scene also included a young Patrick Labyorteaux (later Lt. Bud Roberts on the CBS program "JAG") as Jonathan's son, Andy.

In 1981, Landon would produce, and Olsen would star in "Father Murphy," in which he played a prospector who pretended to be a priest in order to protect a group of orphans. The show lasted two seasons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf2LTOlaKc4

Moses Gunn and Katherine Cannon were also part of the cast.

So long to Merlin Olsen, gentle giant.