![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
TV
on DVD/ / / / / / / 2009-2010
TV Show Reviews / /
/ / / / / Movies on Blu Ray/ / / / TV Shows on Blu-Ray/ / / / / Holiday
Specials on DVD / /
/ / / / Classic
Commercials / / / / / / Classic
TV Blog |
||||||
'TVparty
is hands down the best site on the Web for classic TV.' 'TVParty.com,
a TV history website... its links to Amazon.com help sell TV DVDs." "All
the coolest, strangest, most absurd shows and peculiar tube trends ever
-- they're all part of the wallow that is TVparty!" 'A
twisted walk 'Top
Five Sites! Interviews and articles... are must reads.' 'It's
too good to be true. Put together by Billy Ingram, TVparty.com has gossip,
scandal, sex, singing, dancing, action, drama and celebrities with their
'original parts'' 'An ingenious tribute that elevates the TV past to artlike proportions.
Site guru Billy Ingram has compiled features both over-the-top and museum
worthy, blissful nostalgia for those born in the '40s or the '80s. A+ 'Every decade expresses its kooky collective unconscious on the tube,
celebrated affectionately at Billy Ingram's TVparty. Ingram provides a
hilarious glimpse into the American pop psyche.' 'Get the
inside scoop on all your favorite classic TV shows at TVParty.' "...revisits
trends and traumas of TV's past." Latest
TVparty TV BLOG - 144 TV BLOG - 139 TV BLOG - 135 TV BLOG - 130 TV BLOG - 125 TV BLOG - 120 TV BLOG - 114 TV
BLOG - 109 TV
BLOG - 104 TV
BLOG - 99 TV BLOG - 94 TV BLOG - 88 TV BLOG - 82 TV
BLOG - 77 TV
BLOG - 72 TV
BLOG - 67 TV
BLOG - 62 TV
BLOG - 57 TV
BLOG - 50 TV
BLOG - 42 TV
BLOG - 34 TV
BLOG - 29 TV
BLOG - 24 TV
BLOG - 19 TV
BLOG - 14 |
TELEVISION'S GREATEST YEAR? There is definitely a consensus on 1939 being the greatest year for motion pictures. The fact that it's entirely accidental and completely against all odds only reinforces the notion. As for a greatest year in TV history, I'm not sure that's so easy to pin down. It would depend on when a person was born, I suspect, as people tend to define their favorite shows as the ones they enjoyed as children. In terms of sheer quality the 1951-52 season might be my pick—I Love Lucy, Amos 'n' Andy, Red Skelton Show, The Jack Benny Program, Your Show of Shows and You Bet Your Life, would be hard to beat. Add to that the occasional flash of brilliance on Studio One, Kraft Television Theater and Philco Playhouse and you have a banner year. Here you had all of radio's brightest talents scrambling to make some sense out of a new medium and every one of those almost 60 year old shows hold up extremely well. 1965-66 would rank high on my list with Batman, Lost In Space, The Lucy Show, Get Smart, Man From UNCLE, Green Acres, Dick Van Dyke Sow, The Munsters, Hank, Hogan's Heroes, Gilligan's Island, F Troop, and at least another dozen other classics. These are shows that are (mostly) familiar and loved by the modern generation thanks to years of repeats on Nick at Nite and other cable networks. It was also the golden age of the variety show. If I was one a desert island and could only receive TV shows from one particular year it would have to be 1972-73. I could live happily ever after watching Mary Tyler Moore, Sonny & Cher, M*A*S*H, Dean Martin, Bob Newhart, All In The Family, Laugh-In, Carol Burnett, Room 222, Sanford & Son, Maude, Odd Couple and a handful of others; they would keep me blissfully entertained as I bashed coconuts against the rocks. Monday, November 16, 2009 5:43am
Some may ask - is Super Dave too old for this type of thing? Those fears will be put to rest when you see how agile the guy is on a motorbike, he does high flying twists and turns in midair so deftly you'd swear - if you didn't know better - that it was a teenager up there. With Bob Einstein's renewed popularity on Curb Your Enthusiasm (where he really is in his element) it's only natural that his Super Dave Osborne character would be resurrected. Still, I can't help but wish the show was centered around Einstein's natural goofy nature rather than the more overblown Super Dave persona. Jillian Barbieri guest stars, I actually like this gal and she does well with her challenging role as a Hollywood bimbo. Amazing acting chops. No, actually she is good. Super Dave's Spike-Tacular premieres Tuesday, November 17th on Spike TV at 9:00pm. Sunday, November 15, 2009 7:35am
OVERHEARD CONVERSATION Here's an excerpt from our talk about his variety shows of the 1970s: Bob Einstein: We did some great stuff. We did Van Dyke & Company and Redd. I started as head writer of The Smothers Brothers when I was 22. I've been around a while, I'm still alive but barely, I think. Bob goes on to talk about Bizarre, writing with Steve Martin, why Dick Van Dyke's variety show ended, and then tells me a story about Redd Foxx that I had to clip out per Mr. Einstein's request. He even gets around to talking about his brand new show, Super Dave's Spike-tacular which debuts on November 17th on Spike TV. Listen to the 8 1/2 minute interview here. Wednesday, November 11, 2009 8:00am
FIRST RUDOLPH SIGHTING Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:30pm
50 YEARS AGO Featured on that first broadcast: The Gimbel's Thanksgiving Day Parade from Philadelphia; The J. L. Hudson Parade from Detroit; The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from NYC; and The Eaton's Santa Claus Parade from Toronto, Canada. (Eaton's Parade was always pre-taped in advance for later broadcast).
On the last broadcast of the parades that he would MC in November of 1965, Captain Kangaroo's co-host was ventriloquist and entertainer Shari Lewis.
With the exception of Kuklapolitans, Mr. Barker and The Bil Baird Puppets, the other main hosts / narrators worked against the backdrop of a living room in a private house. This was done to give the viewers at home the feeling that they were sharing their holidays with warm and caring friends. Many well-known performers and personalities served as the on location commentators for the parade broadcasts: CBS TV newsmen Jack Whitaker and Gene Crane (who also hosted two CBS kid's talent shows in the 1950s - "Grand Chance Round Up" and "M&M Candy Carnival"/"Contest Carnival"), Valerie Bertinelli ("One Day At A Time"), Danielle Brisebois ("All In The Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place"), Sorrell Booke ("The Dukes Of Hazard"), The Hudson Brothers, Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley, and Kevin Frasier ("Kojak") commented on The Gimbel's Thanksgiving Day Parades from Philly.
When the Eaton's Santa Claus Parades were dropped from the broadcasts, CBS TV acquired the rights to telecast "The Hawaiian Floral Parades" from the city of Honolulu. Loretta Swit ("M*A*S*H") and Gregory Harrison ("Trapper John, MD") hosted one parade telecast with the intros pre-filmed by actor Jack Lord (who was still playing Police Lt. Steve McGarrett on "Hawaii Five O"). Many well known performers and personalities served as The Grand Marshals for The J. l. Hudson, Gimbel's and Macy's Parades - actor Van Williams (ABC/20 Century Fox TV's "Green Hornet") and children's book author and artist Teddy Geisel ("Dr. Seuss) appeared in The J. l. Hudson Parades; American Bandstand's Dick Clark, actress and singer Andrea McArdell (who was appearing on Broadway as "Annie"), musician and television MC Ted Mack (the second host of CBS TV's "Original Amateur Hour") and Captain Kangaroo were the Grand Marshals for The Gimbels Parades; Captain Kangaroo was the Grand Marshall for The Macy's Parade. The late Soupy Sales appeared in The Macy's Parades in NYC in November,1964, November,1965 and again in November,1966. 'Captain Bob' Cottle (the second and last host/performer and instructor of NBC TV's and Hanna/Barbera's "Ruff & Reddy Show"), Gene London (who played "Tinker Tom The Toymaker" on WJZ/WABC 7's "Tinker's Workshop"), Shari Lewis, and Herb Sheldon (the MC of many popular NYC based kid's TV shows) played a lion tamer in the NYC Macy's Parades. Gene London and Mark Ritts' puppet Flam Flamingo (both appearing on Mr. London's last kid's show "The Gene London Show" on WCAU TV 10 in Philly) appeared on the Gimbel's Parade from The City Of Brotherly Love. Gene London also appeared as Tinker Tom the Toymaker at the NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade back in the late-1950s. CBS TV even broadcast "The Mummers Parade" one year. Eventually, the Gimbel's, J. L. Hudson and Hawaiian Floral Parades were dropped and CBS began broadcasting the NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in its entirety with the hosts/interviewers of "The CBS TV Early Show" serving as the commentators. Here's a Thanksgiving Day Parade moment from the past - a commercial break from 1989.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:38am
INTERESTING Here's another just uploaded - "We Have Liz and Dick! Who Needs Cleopatra?" Saturday, November 7, 2009 11:38am
YOU TUBING
Less serious but just as riveting is the scene in The Star - another mediocre film with lots of wow moments - like when Bette Davis goes off on her leeching relatives. That one always makes me laugh. That's not on You Tube, darn it, but these scenes with Natalie Wood and Miriam Hopkins are a treat - watch as Bette explains why she's still as star despite being washed up. That scene comes about 5 minutes in.
Because my character is somewhat of a charlatan I've been re-watching the best W. C. Fields and Mae West movies, I think they're my very favorite of all. Klondike Annie is one of my faves, again the best scenes are AWOL on You Tube but there is this nicely rendered version of 'Deep Blue Sea' by Mae West.
Which reminds me of the Rock Hudson / Mae West pairing from a 1957 awards show.
Now you've had you daily dose of divas. Saturday, November 7, 2009 10:46am
|
TV
Blog / Classic TV Blog / 2009
TV Shows / Classic
TV / I
Love Lucy / Television Shows / TV
on DVD / TV Shows on DVD / Prime
Time TV / Television
Blog/ TV Show
Reviews / TV
Shows on DVD Reviews / TV
DVD Reviews
DC
Comics on DVD
Hit Shows of the Seventies: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Gene Roddenberry in the 1970s / Star Trek Animated / Fall Previews of the 70s / Lance Link, Secret Chimp / Star Wars Holiday Special / Alias Smith and Jones / 1977 Year in Review / Top Ten 1970-76 / The Rockford Files / All in the Family / Sam Hall (Dark Shadows) Interview / Battlestar Galactica / Wonder Woman / Network Jingles / Class of '74 / Happy Days / Good Times / Mr. Bill / Dinah! / Maude / Doris Day Show / Pamelyn Ferdin Interview / The Bicentennial Minute / Jingles & Catch Phrases of the 1970s / Early Cable TV 1970s / TV commercials for Women / TV Moms / Bette Midler in the 1970s / Biff Burger |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
||||||||||||||