FAREWELL DON KIRSHNER

18 Jan

Rock impresario Don Kirshner died of heart failure yesterday, January 17, in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 76.

Although many will think of Kirshner as strictly a music legend, some forget that his reach extended to television. His best-known series was “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” which ran in syndication from 1973 to 1981 and featured performances by some of rock & roll’s top acts. Kirshner’s wooden and nasally on-camera introductions were almost as entertaining as the bands. But did you know that Kirshner was also involved with the NBC series “The Monkees”?

“The Monkees” which ran from 1966-1968 on NBC.

He served as the original Music Supervisor for “The Monkees” and was responsible for several of their early hit records. But as the show grew in popularity the four actors who played the fake band pushed for songs that were more to their own liking. Eventually Kirshner stepped aside.

Another series that Kirshner produced, with Norman Lear, was the 1977 CBS sitcom “A Year at the Top” which starred Paul Shaffer (yes, THAT Paul Shaffer) and Greg Evigan. They played a music duo who sells their souls to the son of the devil (Gabriel Dell) in exchange for “a year at the top” of the charts. The show ran for 5 weeks, but both Shaffer and Evigan would find better partners to work with. Shaffer as musical director for David Letterman since 1982, and Evigan as the straight man to a chimp named Bear on NBC’s “B.J. and the Bear” from 1979 to 1981.

Don Kirshner was a New York City native born in the Bronx on April 17, 1934.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HAPPY DAYS & HAPPY NIGHTS

15 Jan

 

“Happy Days” marquee at Paramount studios, 1979.

37 years ago tonight, on Tuesday, January 15, 1974 the 1950s came to life on TV screens across America when “Happy Days” premiered on ABC.          

The main characters from “Happy Days”

What many don’t realize is that “Happy Days” was first introduced almost two years earlier in a segment of the anthology series “Love, American Style.” I remember seeing the episode and the segment, called “Love and the Happy Days,” when it first aired in February 1972. Actors Ron Howard, Marion Ross, and Anson Williams were in both the segment and the series. One notable difference was the casting of Harold Gould as Howard Cunningham.

The original cast of “Happy Days”

It’s easy to tell that this is a very early publicity shot from “Happy Days.” Aside from the young age of Erin Moran as Joanie, we see the Cunningham’s oldest child, Chuck. Originally portrayed by Gavan O’Herlihy, the character of Chuck was never given much to say or do and by 1975 he was unceremoniously dumped into the TV trash bin, never to be heard from again. It was like he never existed.

The other clue that this is an early publicity shot is that Fonzie is wearing a cloth jacket. ABC feared that if the character wore a leather jacket he might come across as a hoodlum. But as the show grew in popularity Fonzie wore that leather jacket and Henry Winkler became a star of the show.

Henry Winkler as the Fonz.

I previously discussed a conversation I had with Winkler in 1977, so I won’t rehash it here. But he told me that ABC Entertainment President Fred Silverman actually wanted to change the name of the show to “Fonzie’s Happy Days.”

Notice the foreshadowing in this Henry Winkler Fact Sheet. Near the bottom Winkler notes that he “can teach water-skiing.” Can you say “jump the shark?”

By the way, one of the writers of that first episode of “Happy Days” was Rob Reiner. In 1974 he was best known as an actor on “All in the Family” but at the time he was also the brother-in-law of “Happy Days” producer Garry Marshall.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SAY UNCLE

15 Jan

 

Membership card sent to young fans of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” so they too could be Secret Agents.

43 years ago tonight, on Monday, January 15, 1968 America said goodbye to two of its favorite spies when the last episode of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” aired on NBC.  

Trading card featuring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo. The reverse side is part of a puzzle.

For four seasons Robert Vaughn and David McCallum starred as American spy Napoleon Solo and Russian spy Illya Kuryakin; both secret agents from the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.).

Part of the same card series featuring David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin.

Together, they battled the forces of evil – especially their counterparts at THRUSH. The show also starred Leo G. Carroll as their boss Alexander Waverly.

Trading card featuring Leo G. Carroll as Alexander Waverly.

Return to RaisedByTV.com next week, on January 22, to find out which wacky program replaced “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” on NBC’s schedule.

MERV TO SAJAK TO LETTERMAN

9 Jan

22 years ago, on Monday, January 9, 1989 Pat Sajak’s self-titled late night talk show premiered on CBS. It was yet another try by the network to put a dent into Johnny Carson’s ratings.

Billboard in Los Angeles promoting "The Pat Sajak Show" circa 1989.

“The Pat Sajak Show” was a traditional late night talk show with bandleader Tom Scott and announcer/sidekick Dan Miller, who Sajak had worked with on news broadcasts in Memphis in the 1970s.

Besides competition from “The King of Late Night,” Johnny Carson, Sajak also had to contend with Arsenio Hall, whose own late night talk show had debuted just six days earlier. With Carson holding on to his older, loyal audience and Hall pulling in a younger, hipper audience, there just weren’t enough viewers tuning in to Sajak.

“The Pat Sajak Show” ran for only 15 months and went off the air in April 1990.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

IT’S A LATE NIGHT DAY

9 Jan

16 years ago tonight, on Monday, January 9, 1995 “The Late Late Show” with host Tom Snyder premiered after David Letterman’s “Late Show” on CBS’s late night lineup.  It would make Snyder the first and only person ever to follow both Johnny Carson and David Letterman on the late night schedule.               

1970s bumper sticker for "Tomorrow" (Between Tonight and Today).

Tom Snyder previously hosted “Tomorrow” (aka “The Tomorrow Show”) on NBC from October 1973 until January 1982. It aired right after Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” Both “Tomorrow” and Snyder’s version of “The Late Late Show” were unlike today’s post-11:30 talk shows. They had no audience and no band.  They were talk shows, with the emphasis on TALK, although “Tomorrow” expanded its format in its later years. But let’s not talk about that disaster.

“Tomorrow” went off the air in 1982 partly to make room for “Late Night with David Letterman.” Perhaps that’s why Letterman selected Snyder to host the new program slated to run after his “Late Show” in 1995. “The Late Late Show” was, and still is, produced by Letterman’s company Worldwide Pants.

Snyder would host “The Late Late Show” until March 1999, when he was replaced by Craig Kilborn. Kilborn left the show in August 2004 and current host Craig Ferguson took over in January 2005.

CBS must have picked January 8th to premiere “The Late Late Show” because the network had had such good luck with the date 6 years earlier. That was when “The Pat Sajak Show” hit TV screens across America.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

< AWESOME DAY AT 30 ROCK

8 Jan

34 years ago today, on Saturday, January 8, 1977 I had an awesome day at 30 Rock. Not the show… the building. As I did on most Saturdays during high school I went to the RCA Building (now the G.E. Building) in Manhattan, home of NBC. On this Saturday there was no live edition of “Saturday Night Live,” so I was there for a taping of the new game show “Shoot for the Stars,” with host Geoff Edwards.

Unused ticket for “Shoot for the Stars” from January 8, 1977.

 The show had just premiered on NBC five days earlier and I already had tickets. “Shoot for the Stars” would not last long however; it ran for only nine months.

Before the taping I took the NBC Studio Tour – a tour I had taken many times before, and could probably have led that day. While hanging out in the NBC lobby, between the tour and the taping, I managed to meet two of the decade’s biggest TV stars and get their autographs.

My tickets to “Shoot for the Stars” arrived inside this card, which I then used to collect my celebrity autographs.

First I spotted Dan Aykroyd looking in the windows of the stores in the RCA Building lobby. He was sloppily dressed and wore a cap pulled down over his eyes, but I could always spot a celebrity from a mile away.

Dan Aykroyd autograph signed at 30 Rock on January 8, 1977.

When I asked for his autograph I only had a pencil handy, so Aykroyd’s signature has faded a bit over the years. What I love is that he wrote “SAT NITE” beneath his name… perhaps so that years later I would be reminded who this “Dan Aykroyd” person was. But even if his career had ended that day, I could never have forgotten this incredibly talented man.

Mike Farrell autograph signed at 30 Rock on January 8, 1977.

A short time later I saw Mike Farrell from “M*A*S*H” exit the studio elevators. “M*A*S*H” was the # 4 primetime series that season, so Farrell was very well-known. He was also nice enough to sign an autograph, adding his own message of “Peace!”

After meeting those two stars I wanted to stand in the lobby of 30 Rock for the rest of the day, just to see who else might pass through. I didn’t though. I went home with the rich memory of my awesome day at 30 Rock.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

< JACKPOT!

7 Jan

37 years ago today, on Monday, January 7, 1974, the game show “Jackpot!” with host Geoff Edwards, premiered on NBC’s daytime lineup  at 12noon (11am Central Time). 

Unused ticket for “Jackpot!” from September 28, 1974.

Contestants stood on risers and would read riddles to another contestant who was the ‘king of the hill.” The “king” (or “queen”) would select a contestant and that person would reveal the value of their riddle before reading it. If the riddle was answered correctly, the dollar amount would be added to the show’s jackpot (get it?). One contestant was holding the JACKPOT riddle and that’s how you won the prize money. If you got that one right, the two contestants would split the jackpot.

Geoff Edwards autograph signed on September 28, 1974.

When the show failed to win a big audience, they replaced the riddles with regular questions. But that wasn’t enough, and “Jackpot!” was cancelled in September 1975, after less than two years.

Tags: , , , , ,

MAYBE "MONEY MAIZE" WOULD’VE WORKED BETTER

23 Dec

36 years ago today, on Monday, December 23, 1974 the game show “The Money Maze” premiered on ABC’s daytime schedule. The show was hosted by Cincinnati TV host, Nick Clooney, who would go on to become even more well-known when his son, George Clooney, became a TV and movie star. 

Unused ticket for the September 21, 1974 taping of "The Money Maze."

The show, featuring a giant maze, was taped at the ABC studio on West 66th Street in Manhattan. The set was huge and had the audience sitting above the maze. I seem to remember this show as a bit confusing to watch.

While the maze made this show unique, it may also have made it too cumbersome.  “The Money Maze” ran for just six months.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

THE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

18 Dec

54 years ago tonight, on Tuesday, December 18, 1956 the program “To Tell The Truth” premiered on CBS at 9:00pm. Hosted by Bud Collyer, the Goodson-Todman panel show ran in prime time for 11 seasons, before adding another 8 years in syndication. A daytime version also ran on CBS from 1962 until 1968.

Unused ticket for "To Tell The Truth" from November 5, 1974.

For the first 8 seasons in syndication, the show’s host was Garry Moore, even if they didn’t know how to spell his first name on the tickets (above). When Moore got ill he was replaced by Joe Garagiola for one final season. In my opinion, these three versions of the show are the only ones that really matter.

Another unused ticket for "To Tell The Truth" from November 5, 1974. (After all, they were free.)

“To Tell The Truth” brought three people before a celebrity panel, all claiming to be the same person – someone who had done something interesting or unique. Two of them were “imposters” but the third was the real person. The panel tried to determine which “contestant” was the actual subject by asking the guests questions. Once the celebrities had voted the host would say, “Will the real ______ please stand up.” Those words became a national catch phrase throughout the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, and they’re still vividly remembered by most Americans over the age of 45.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I, TINY TIM, TAKE THEE, MISS VICKI

17 Dec

41 years ago tonight on Wednesday, December 17, 1969 an unprecedented spectacle took place on television when novelty singer Tiny Tim married his teenage bride, Miss Vicki (Victoria Budinger), during a telecast of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

The show was taped at 6:30pm in New York City and broadcast in “The Tonight Show’s” regular 11:30pm timeslot. The non-denominational ceremony was performed by the Reverend William Glenesk of Spencer Memorial Church in Brooklyn Heights. Tiny Tim’s manager, Joseph Cappelluzzo, was the best man. The bride’s sister, Mrs. Gene Bramlett was Matron of Honor.

According to the December 29, 1969 issue of VARIETY, that episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” scored a 39.4 rating and an 84 share in New York City. Nationwide nearly 40-million people tuned in to see the “wedding of the century decade year.”

The marriage would produce a daughter, Tulip, now 39, but the couple split in 1972, and finally divorced in 1977. Tiny Tim died in November 1996. Miss Vicki now lives a simpler life in Tennessee, which you can follow on her blog; missvickinow.blogspot.com.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →