tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post9012398330913157799..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: December 5, 1964Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-31331435315191167052015-12-06T14:59:23.112-05:002015-12-06T14:59:23.112-05:00Quick follow-up to last night's post:
- ABC&...Quick follow-up to last night's post:<br /><br /> -<i> ABC's Nightlife</i>, which replaced Les Crane, had week-at-a-time guest hosts for a couple of months: standup comics mostly, with the notable exception of Dave Garroway for a two-week stretch in early spring.<br />Finally, in late March or early April (I forget exactly), ABC picked a permanent host - Les Crane. <br />This time Crane got a full production: band, stage set, sidekick in the person of Nipsey Russell, music and comedy support (I think I told you about Cully Richards & Co. a while back), and guests who were even more contentious than before. <br />One fairly frequent guest was Dorothy Kilgallen, who at that time was deeply involved in Dr. Sam Shepperd's appeal trial in Cleveland. Kilgallen had covered the original trial a decade before, and was convinced that Dr. Sam had gotten a raw deal; she took on a number of "experts" who felt otherwise, and showed that the old "newshen" hadn't lost her teeth.<br />This was not too long before her own unexpected death, when she was at a career high point - Bennett Cerf had signed her to do a book about the murder trials she'd covered over the years (they were waiting for a finish to the Shepperd retrial as the climax), and Dolly Mae was already dropping hints about her interview with Jack Ruby, which she said was going to blow the whole JFK story sky-high.<br />But the lady died before Shepperd's acquittal; the book got done (finished by her father, legendary reporter Jim Kilgallen), but the Ruby story "disappeared" ...<br /><br />As for Les Crane and <i>Nightlife</i>, both barely made it to fall. <br />ABC's short station lineup was the main cause, and the network didn't even try again until Joey Bishop became available in '67.<br /><br /> - You'll note that I didn't mention your last paragraph.<br />I can't stand the pseudo-crossover type of column - they always strike me as just dumb "humor" that never works for me.<br />There are only so many names to go around; you have to reuse eventually.<br />Ever see a TV show or movie where a character was named "Mitchell Hadley"?<br />I'd be greatly surprised if you hadn't.<br />Once, when I was younger, I saw a late-night drama which had a DA named "Mike Doran".<br />I found it more amusing than anything else.<br /><br />'Til tomorrow ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-6273059804681626382015-12-06T04:24:23.069-05:002015-12-06T04:24:23.069-05:00Here And There And (almost) Everywhere:
- There ...Here And There And (almost) Everywhere:<br /><br /> - There were quite a few other variety shows around that season.<br />On Saturday, Jackie Gleason attempted a revival of the old radio show <i>It Pays to Be Ignorant</i>.<br />This was a "quiz" in which a panel of comics would be totally unable to answer questions such as "Which member of a baseball team wears a catcher's mitt?"<br />Jackie cast himself as the long-suffering quizmaster; his panel consisted of Frank Fontaine as 'Crazy Guggenham', Jayne Mansfield as 'dumb blonde', and Professor Irwin Corey.<br />I'm guessing that Gleason wanted to make this a regular feature of the show, but for whatever reason that didn't happen.<br /><br /> - This was the season that ABC tried to mount a late-night talk show with Les Crane.<br />Crane attracted some notice early on with his stage layout: the seats in the studio were set up as an arena, with Crane and his guests on a small stage in the center.<br />Occasionally Crane would take questions from the audience, using a long microphone mounted on a shotgun grip; many critics found this a bit unnerving.<br />In his time, Les Crane became known as the host who "brought on the kooks"; many nights, the full hour-and-a-half would be give over to 'discussions' of topics serious (political controversies), lighthearted ( showbiz nostalgia), and outrageous (UFOs, ghosts, and the like).<br />That first category would often as not turn into screaming contests that anticipated cable news by a half-century.<br />The Crane show had the lowest budget possible: no set other than the arena, no band (meaning no musical guests except under special circumstances), no sidekick (Fred Foy stayed off-camera).<br />Toward the end of his brief run, Crane eventually got a band of sorts - Cy Coleman's jazz trio - but it was too little, too late.<br />By midseason, Crane was gone, and <i>ABC's Nightlife</i>, with revolving hosts, a sidekick (NY DJ William B. Williams), a stage set, and a full band sprung up in his stead - but that's <i>another</i> story ...<br /><br /> - Didn't you notice who played the Clampett's new butler on <i>The Beverly Hillbillies</i>?<br />Arthur Treacher was a year away from his new job as Merv Griffin's sidekick ('64 was Merv's gap year between NBC and Westinghouse).<br /><br /> - ABC's Sunday night movie this week was <i>The Last Time I Saw Archie</i>, starring the boffo comedy team of Robert Mitchum and Jack Webb.<br />The movie was based on the wartime memories of screenwriter Bill Bowers, whom Webb played herein; Mitchum was Archie Hall, a real-life character who (it says here) actually scammed his way through his Army service as the movie shows.<br />Bowers brought Hall onto the set, where Webb, Mitchum, et al., treated him as a full VIP - and when the movie came out, Hall sued for invasion of privacy.<br />Stranger Than Truth!<br /><br />Way too much in this issue - and I haven't got the other three you're going to do ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.com