B E S T / /O F
Sit back and enjoy tales of television long ago -
this blog covers current and classic TV shows
and reviews of upcoming television programs
along with the latest TV on DVD releases!
STYMIE
I've been watching The Little Rascals Complete Collection and it is so much fun! I'd almost forgotten how funny these shorts are, especially the early ones. Stymie, Spanky, Dickie Moore and Scotty Beckett were such amazing performers, did you know Stan Laurel gave Stymie the bowler hat he wore in the series? He was also the highest paid Rascal.
Matthew 'Stymie' Beard was retired from the Little Rascals in 1935 at age 10 and developed drug and alcohol problems at age 20 so the 1950s and 1960s were a wash for him but he turned up again in the mid-1970s on shows like Sanford & Son, Maude and Good Times where he was seen as "Monty." A natural as a kid, the adult Stymie always seemed to be trying a little too hard to be funny but was a delight none the less.
I'm really sorry I never visited Roscoe's House of Chicken' n Waffles on Sunset when I lived in LA. I'd loved to have met Stymie before he died in 1981 at age 56. He hung out there but I had no idea at the time.
Here's Stymie in the Sanford & Son episode 'A Little Extra Security,' he appeared 3 times on that show and 5 times on Good Times. Stymie as "Otis" comes in with Grady (I never did like Grady much):
There are also some interesting commentaries on this Little Rascals DVD collection and new introductions by the surviving Rascals, none of whom were particularly popular back in the day but it's fun to see them.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 10:32am
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YET ANOTHER BAD TV REMAKE BUT...
On October 30th, 1977 there was an attempt - a lame one but an attempt none the less - to resurrect The Addams Family with a TV movie, Halloween with The (New) Addams Family, that featured all of the original cast except Blossom Rock who played Grandmama (she was ill).
This telefilm is not to be confused with the 1972 ABC pilot The Addams Family Fun-House which was a musical-variety hour starring Jack Riley as Gomez and Liz Torres as Morticia, Stubby Kaye as Uncle Fester, Pat McCormack as Lurch and Butch Patrick as Pugsley. I didn't see it but I'm guessing it was really weird.
Halloween with The (New) Addams Family is also not to be confused with the 1998-99 syndicated series The New Addams Family that occasionally had John Astin pop in but was otherwise a ho hum affair. No, Halloween with The (New) Addams Family was our first and only shot at seeing the original TV Addams' in color, 11 years after the show left the air.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 7:23am
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WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION
Here's something to while the time away - visit Just My Show, a terrific place where Eric interviews stars from the shows you love. His latest is a chat with William Katt, star of The Greatest American Hero. You'll also find talks with Beverly D'Angelo, Barry Williams, Billy Vera, along with Mike Farrell, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher from M*A*S*H.
Paul Reiser, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Rapaport, Will Estes, Bridget Moynahan, Sissy Spacek, Christian Slater, and Tom Selleck are all working on pilots for possible series this fall.
I loved the three Mr. Belvedere movies (1948-1951) starring Clifton Webb, well the first two anyway. The TV show doesn't do them justice, trust me (you'll have to, they're not on DVD). I found a clip of one of the funnier moments from the first film, Sitting Pretty, where Mr. Belvedere goes to work as a nanny for a middle class family in order to write a book about the experience. In each film (Sitting Pretty, Mr. Belvedere Goes To College and Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell) old Belvy has a nemesis - in this case the persnickety, gossipy neighbor played by Richard Haydn.
I'm really enjoying Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, you can see it free on hulu through that link.
Carol Burnett talked to USA Today about why we don't have variety shows on TV anymore and she names three people who could host such a show today. One of them tried and failed a few years ago, in fact. She has a book out, mostly dealing with The Carol Burnett Show days, called This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 11:36am
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ONE OF THE GREATS
I've been watching the third season of Mannix on DVD. I liked this show as a kid, I was especially fond of Mannix' secretary Peggy played by Gail Fisher. Some of the episodes are quite effective, many are boiler plate TV drama of the era, but one thing that struck me was the superb cinematography with unusual camera angles and inventive setups.
Funny how Gail Fisher virtually disappeared from TV after Mannix was cancelled in 1975. She won an Emmy for the role and was nominated four times, she was nominated for a Golden Globe four times and won twice, all for that one show, and she couldn't get another TV gig?
She had a troubled personal life and problems with drugs, no doubt fueled by the industry's rejection. She made headlines in 1978 when she was busted for possession of pot and coke and for using an illegal phone device. She was an actress with grace and style at a time when you could count on one hand the number of black women who had ever been regulars on a network TV show. Gail Fisher died in 2000 of kidney failure.
Monday, April 5, 2010 11:24am
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TV STUFF
You prolly heard that television icon John Forsythe (Dynasty, To Rome With Love) has died; he showed American TV viewers what style and class looked like.
I've been Netflixing Better Off Ted and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Funny stuff.
Remakes of Rockford Files and Hawaii Five-0 could be coming this fall, pilots are in the works now.
Sunday, April 4, 2010 10:32am
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This Television Blog is hosted by Billy Ingram, one of the nation's top Pop Culture Gurus and expert on classic TV. Seen on VH1, These TV Blog entries are from the TVparty! website. (I'm not normally this smug - this photo was shot for a film where I played a villain.) |
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Actors in North Carolina
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