A few months ago, I introduced you to Your 45's Are 50, a weekly syndicated Top 40 countdown program featuring the hit songs and news headlines from 50 years ago. each week! I've corresponded with Hugh Holesome from time to time about TV information included in the program, and Hugh is now investing in some classic TV Guides of his own! He asked me if I'd be interested in this writeup from the issue of March 29, 1975, and it didn't take me long to say yes; it's always fun to read someone else's take on an issue, especially when it's one we haven't covered here. So without delay, here's Hugh's summary of this issue. Enjoy, and be sure to check out the show each week!
Barris, who sends his 12 year old daughter to private boarding school in Switzerland and is torn
between collecting Mercedes and Rolls-Royce vehicles, is estimated to be worth between $20
and $40 million at this time. The book he is currently trying to write, The Game Show
Man, which he claims is due to the publisher "this month" won’t actually be published until 1993, as, coined in this article, The Game Show King.
Gregor Ziemer, famous for his novel Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi, gets two
pages to describe and experience in 1934 Nazi Germany, where he, and another newspaper
colleague, were introduced to Fern - Sprech- Sehen - Elektrischer - Wellen - Apparat: “Long Distance Talking Seeing Electric Wave Apparatus.” The Nazis called this two way video
phone “Fernsehen” for short. They were able to kind of see, kind of hear, and kind of
understand each other wirelessly across a distance of 100 miles that August 1934. The Nazis
were proud of this technological achievement that would put the face of the Fuhrer into living
rooms across Germany, and soon perhaps, the world.
British actress Hermione Baddeley, profiled by Leslie Radditz on page 10. as early as 12 years
old her performances were capturing the attention of the likes of George Bernard Shaw. Later
she received praise from Noel Coward, HG Wells, Tennessee Williams, and even earned the
nickname “Pussycat” from Lawrence Olivier before it was chic. Her marriage at the age of 19 is
discussed as she met the honorable David Tennant at a party for the Prince of Wales thrown by
Somerset Maugham's wife. Her 50 years of acting, mostly on the British stage, had brought her
to America in 1964 as the Banks’ maid in Mary Poppins but her long-term contract with Disney
fizzled with the death of Walt himself in 1966. She met Norman Lear around 1973 before
heading back to England but that encounter left an indelible mark. When Maude needed a new
foil upon the departure of Florida Evans (S2:Ep20) for the spin-off series “Good Times” which
debuted 3 days later, February 8, 1974, Lear knew just who to call, ahem, ring up. Mrs Naugatuck
arrived September 30, 1974 (S3:Ep4). Season 3 concludes this week, March 31.
After the crossword, Dr. Karl Meninger gets two pages to discuss recognizing mental illness and
what to do about it. It coincides with the PBS five-part series on emotional problems called The
Thin Edge, which begins Monday, March 31st. Producer and host David Prowitt claims
depression affects some 19 million Americans young and old, twice as many women as men.
Antidepressant drugs and shock therapy will be discussed.
Feeling free begins with feeling comfortable, and James Daly of Medical Center shows off his
caftan collection in a picture feature on page 24, saying, “Don't Knock It Till You've Tried It." Mr. Daly picked up this Turkish "habit" while on vacation in, of course, Mexico.
Cleveland Amory wraps up the issue with a review of Baretta, which began airing January 17th as a mid-season replacement. He gives high praise to the pilot episode, called "He'll Never See Daylight" written by Stephen J. Cannell, where our title character's girlfriend is shot and killed soon after his marriage proposal,which sets the tone for Robert Blakes Tony Baretta versus the Toma character played by Tony Musante who walked away after one season of that series. Rather than try to recast Toma, who had great chemistry with TV wife Susan Strasburg, the bones of the show were kept to build upon with the fighting mad Tony Baretta instead of the milder-tempered David Toma. Without a wife or girlfriend, he gets to keep his eyes on the sparrow, or in this case, a white Cockatoo, Freddy. This week Baretta moves from Friday to Wednesday April 2, 1975.
Highlights in this week of TV:
March 30th 1975 was, of course, Easter Sunday. ABC aired a two-part encore presentation of
Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments for the Saturday and Sunday Night movies.
The two-hour Waltons Easter story was on CBS, followed by American Parade: Sojourner, on the
life of Sojourner Truth, and finally “Remembrances & Rock” starring Kate Smith with Florence
Henderson, The Supremes, Dom DeLuise and more in a rousing salute to the best songs of
past and present.
Carol Burnett welcomed Jean Stapleton and Phil Silvers for this week's program.
Dinah!, the syndicated daily daytimer from Dinah Shore (which ran six seasons), was still new and
had just crossed the 100th show milestone.
The Midnight Special (S3:Ep27) featured International acts like The Guess Who, Golden
Earring and P.F.M. hosted by Wolfman Jack
American Bandstand (S18:Ep25)
Polly Brown, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
Soul Train (S4:Ep28)
B.B. King 3 songs, The Younghearts back as a trio and People's Choice from Philly
Thanks, Hugh! A great look back at the well-known and the little-known. Feel free to share what else you're finding! TV
One has to wonder if sending Della off to Switzerland and making her stay there would have changed the course of her horribly tragic life.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that the preceding article was about mental illness as James Daly was convinced by society and doctors at the time that his sexual orientation was a symptom of the disease. He reportedly even limited contact with his children for fear that they would catch it, too.