tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post94481867033276938..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: May 2, 1970Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-23188370817157069312018-05-10T18:06:12.348-04:002018-05-10T18:06:12.348-04:00I seem to recall that there were some network news...I seem to recall that there were some network news bulletins that afternoon (May 4th, 1970), interrupting soap operas.<br /><br />The first bulletins reported that there was a fatal shooting; I recall that an hour or two later, programs were interrupted again for some film footage of the scene, from what the networks were able to shoot.<br /><br />Many college graduations were cancelled; because there were so many college students in Boston, there was even brief talk that evening of moving the Boston Bruins' home games in that week's Stanley Cup Finals to another city (possibly even playing the entire series in St. Louis).<br /><br />But the decision was made to play Games 3 and 4 in Boston as scheduled.<br /><br />There were no problems with crowds or violence, either at the games or at the victory parade in downtown Boston the day after Boston wrapped-up the championship (Bobby Orr's now-legendary overtime goal won Game 4 and the Stanley Cup), nor at the few college graduations in the Boston area that did get held.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-73296745469693495992018-05-08T16:16:42.932-04:002018-05-08T16:16:42.932-04:00The Twin Cities were one of the few places where D...The Twin Cities were one of the few places where David Frost ran late at night.<br /><br />Some of the Metromedia independents ran him in prime-time, but most stations running his 1969-72 talk/variety show did so in late-afternoon, often leading into the early-evening local news.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-8477471532380388472018-05-08T16:06:43.984-04:002018-05-08T16:06:43.984-04:00Hockey's 1970 Stanley Cup Finals were also tha...Hockey's 1970 Stanley Cup Finals were also that week (with Game 1 in St. Louis Sunday afternoon, Game 2 in St. Louis Tuesday night, and Game 3 in Boston on Thursday night).<br /><br />CBS did carry Game 1 (and would carry Game 4 the following Sunday afternoon), but the only U.S. cities that would get to see Games 2 and 3 were Boston (since the Boston Bruins were playing; broadcast there by WSBK), St. Louis (since the St. Louis Blues were playing, and broadcast there by KLPR) and areas near the Canadian border like Buffalo and Detroit, which were within range of Canada's CBC Television, which carried all four games. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-48888024599081415762018-05-08T16:00:42.496-04:002018-05-08T16:00:42.496-04:00The actual play-by-play in the clip of Game 7 in t...The actual play-by-play in the clip of Game 7 in the 1970 NBA Finals was the local New York radio broadcast, called by Marv Albert.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-55035580893916631782018-05-06T13:43:54.737-04:002018-05-06T13:43:54.737-04:00I would have loved to see that Jackie Gleason inte...I would have loved to see that Jackie Gleason interview with Frost, hopefully they brought up his great performance in The Hustler.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04598321249896138287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-16549662833232699472018-05-05T20:06:34.061-04:002018-05-05T20:06:34.061-04:00Carson having Gary Powers on was likely tied to th...Carson having Gary Powers on was likely tied to the forthcoming publication of "Operation Overflight," Powers' memoir about the U-2 incident. By May 1970 he had given talks about the subject in various locales and it had been excerpted in a few publications, and his book apparently irked the CIA enough to cost Powers his job as a Lockheed test pilot. Powers ended up as a helicopter pilot for KNBC in Los Angeles, and it was in that role he was killed in a 1977 crash.<br /><br />One more factor in why Carson seems so different: In 1970 Carson was still originating from New York. The program forever changed when he moved to California, and it lost something in the move.<br /><br />The last network-level talk show host I can recall who would have guests on just to engage in conversation and talk about ideas was Tom Snyder on "The Late Late Show" in the mid-'90s. Any time he'd have somebody on like Ray Bradbury, it was a treat. If there was anything to plug, they'd do it quickly, and then they'd just settle in and talk, and it was...beautiful. No talking points, no agenda, nothing but ideas being explored for the enjoyment of exploring ideas. If that kind of thing is happening now, I sure can't find it, not in this era of "I'm on this show because I'm trying to sell this book/product/movie/album/TV show/case of Watkins liniments/you name it." And I think with that kind of loss, we're diminished somehow.Jodie Peelerhttp://www.garrowayatlarge.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-35307072014119201112018-05-05T14:26:16.278-04:002018-05-05T14:26:16.278-04:00Here and/or There:
- This being 1970, David Fros...Here and/or There:<br /><br /> - This being 1970, David Frost's show was on the bicycle: what you saw in Minn-StP had probably been recorded anywhere from one to three weeks (or more) ahead of time.<br />Also, David Frost was a full-time transatlantic commuter at this point; his habit was to tape many shows (on both sides of the Atlantic) and bank them for use over the long term.<br />Also also, KSTP's scheduling that you described means that the Frost show that aired on Sunday night would have aired under normal scheduling on the previous Friday; this in its turn would put the other Frost shows that week on a one-day delay - which means that Hugh Hefner's twofer with Cavett and Frost should have aired <i>the same night</i>.<br /> ... Which of course it didn't: Cavett's ABC show was 'day-and-date', which is the basic system used today with the current incumbents.<br /><br /> - But this was supposed to be about the guest bookings then and now, wasn't it?<br />Just back from a double-check at the reference shelf: Carson was still based in New York at this point, meaning that <i>all four</i> of the shows in question were taping 90 minutes a night, usually at the same hour (around 6pm Eastern Time), and sharply competitive for guests to fill all that time.<br />Loking over the lists, I note that Merv Griffin was sticking with his old Westinghouse family of 'regulars': Jack Douglas and his wife REiko, whom he'd inherited from Jack Paar; also singer Jane Morgan, who was an old friend fro his Big Band days; and especially Brother Theodore, who was what would nowadays be called a "performance artist" - his 'act' was pretty much beyond description; you have to see it for yourself (and I'm not sure if you can any more ...).<br />Of Frost's guests, the most interesting one (to me, anyway) would be Billy Barnes, who was far more than a 'singer'.<br />During this period, Billy Barnes was the 'special musical material' man on <i>Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In</i>: all the original songs sung by the cast were his compositions. Additionally, you saw Billy Barnes on camera, playing piano accompaniment for everything from JoAnne Worley's singing to Goldie Hawn's ballet turns - and everything else in between.<br />And when he wasn't doing all that, Billy Barnes was staging his Revues in Hollywood, wherein he made many 'discoveries' who enjoyed long careers in all media (oh, just look him up - why do I have to do everything?).<br /><br /> - Noting that Dick Cavett has John Davidson, who had done a summer replacement show for ABC the previous year; he'd gone to London to do the show for Sir Lew Grade, who was trying to sell the French chanteuse Mireille Mathieu and a daffy blonde comedienne named Aimi Macdonald in the USA (0 for 2). Apparently Davidson still had some contract left to burn off with ABC, which is why he was doing Cavett ...<br />Side note: next time you're at YouTube, check out what John Davidson's doing lately (no spoilers - this you have to see for yourself ...).<br /><br /> - Off-topic, sort of:<br />Yesterday, I took delivery of a book called <i>The Big Life Of A Little Man: Michael Dunn Remembered</i>, by Sherry Kelly.<br />Ms. Kelly was a cousin of Michael Dunn - or rather of Gary Miller, the name he was born with. Throughout the book, she refers to him as Gary (when talking about his family life) and as Michael (when talking about his career), going back and forth; it takes some getting used to ...<br />This book was a family project for Sherry Kelly, who got it published in 2009, by a small press in Oklahoma (Dunn's home state). Most likely, it was a short press run, and getting a copy would prove costly - as it did for me (sometimes, my curiosity gets the better of my fiscal sense).<br />Nonetheless, I'm glad I got the book, brief as it is (about 150 pages, plus notes), because Gary Miller/Michael Dunn was a fascinating character - in all senses of the word.<br />Well, there it is - and after all, <i>you</i> brought it up, however indirectly ...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-23392008095252925152018-05-05T11:31:43.694-04:002018-05-05T11:31:43.694-04:00Monday, May 4, 1970 will be forever remembered for...Monday, May 4, 1970 will be forever remembered for the Kent State shootings.JD Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882261865750361495noreply@blogger.com