Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 108

This week in TV Guide: October 16, 1953

One of these days I ought to start a feature called "You Can't Do That Anymore," and if I did, you can bet that almost every issue of TV Guide from this era would have a story that qualifies. Of course, the way things are going in this country, before long everything will belong in that category, but I digress. This week's entrant is the cover story on the winners of something called the "1953 T-Venus contest." Now, I had to study that headline* several times to figure out just what this meant; is a T-Venus some kind of female equivalent of a T-Rex? As it turns out, and you may have been quicker to figure this out than I was, the joke is that it's a combination of TV and Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Ergo, TVenus! 
*Not the pictures, though. I didn't pay any attention to them.
Anyway, the purpose of the contest is to select six winners who will appear during the season on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour, interacting with the hosts, holding title cards, and so on. The judges, including Jimmy Durante, Sam Fuller, and Groucho and Harpo Marx, had the arduous task of paring down 300 young lovelies to the final six over a period of two-and-one-half hours. Hardly seems like enough time to properly devote to the deliberations, but again I digress. The judges did their job, and the six winners were chosen. 
As you know from past experience, one of the questions we like to ask of stories like this is whether or not any of these young ladies amounted to anything. Not surprisingly, since the prize was appearing on the Colgate Comedy Hour, they all had careers of one sort or another. Suzanne Ames (far right on the cover) appeared in several movies, including Bells Are Ringing; Dona Cole (center) was in The Beast With a Million Eyes; Mary Ann Edwards was in Cowboy G-Men and Giant. And theAsn there's the young woman on the left. Recognize her? If not, try to imagine her with blond hair. Need more clues? She's from Kulm, North Dakota, hung out with the Rat Pack, was married to Burt Bacharach, and just celebrated her 89th birthday. That's right: Angie Dickinson. I'd say she had a pretty successful career, wouldn't you?

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Here's another entrant for that "You Can't Do That Anymore" category, from the New York TV Teletype:

I've not heard this story before. It's true that the NCAA ruled the television deal with an iron fist, not only to protect the live gate at local games, but to prevent any team from becoming a national power through multiple yearly appearances on TV. (Yes, Notre Dame, we're looking at you.) And it's also true that the United States Olympic Committee was very tough on amateurism back then; one athlete lost his eligibility because he appeared on a quiz show, and several Olympic athletes played college football. But this? As this article reminds us, college football was ruled by what was known as the "gentleman's agreement," in which "northern schools tacitly understood they would not use black players in games with southern schools." And Avery Brundage, longtime Olympic major domo, has long been linked to racial prejudices. So what do we make of this? Although I'm usually loathe to read ulterior motives into stories, I think that in this case, if you want to do just that, it's perfectly fine with me.
Staying on the college football beat for just a moment longer, here's something else you won't see nowadays, although there's nothing offensive in the least about it. Since televised college football is so controlled, "columnist" Wm. A. Que* writes that WMAQ radio (670 on your AM dial) plans a full season of Saturday afternoon college football games guaranteed to appeal to Midwesterners, featuring Notre Dame and teams from the Big Ten. It's a pretty good lineup; every one of these games would be on TV today. But it tells a lot about the power and sweep of radio that it's promoted in TV Guide.
*Wm. A. Que—WMAQ. Get it? I tell you, this issue is a laugh riot, isn't it?
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Rather than looking at the highlights throughout the week, let's stop and take a look at what's on Sunday, since it's a really interesting TV day. It begins Sunday afternoon as Alistair Cooke's Omnibus presents a monumental live adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear (4:00 p.m. CT, CBS), with Orson Welles (in his television debut!) starring as Lear, Alan Badel as the Fool, and, in the role of Goneril, future Academy Award-winner Beatrice Straight. Welles was living in England at the time, and returned to America to do the broadcast. It was a difficult time in Welles's life; according to the always-reliable Wikipedia , "He was guarded by IRS agents, prohibited to leave his hotel room when not at the studio, prevented from making any purchases, and the entire sum (less expenses) he earned went to his tax bill." The performance survives today on video , something we should be grateful for. By the way, I've commented in the past on how thorough TV Guide's listings used to be; well, the description of Lear runs a column-and-a-half, and presents a synopsis of each of the play's four acts. 
Opposite Omnibus in the Sunday cultural ghetto is NBC's Hallmark Hall of Fame, presenting McCoy of Abilene, the story of Joe McCoy, the man who almost single-handedly built the great stockyards of the Midwest. The production is directed by Albert McCleery, one of the pioneers in early television, and a great innovator. One of his trademarks was a theater-in-the-round style of production, in which the stage was surrounded by black backgrounds, allowing him to position cameras for shots from any angle while they remained unseen by viewers. Very impressionistic, that. He did a lot of work on Hall of Fame, including the first two-hour American television production of Hamlet, shown earlier in 1953. 
Moving to latenight, here's something that would, I believe, have been a big deal in 1953: a movie that had been in theaters only last year! It's the British movie Wings of Danger, starring Zachary Scott, airing Sunday at 10:00 p.m. on WGN. Sabotage in the sky! Who could ask for anything more?
As we know, the movie industry wasn't exactly excited by the appearance of television; despite some whistling-in-the-dark talk about how TV was a fad, the studios knew that the new medium was a threat; all they had to do was look at how movie attendance plummeted on those nights when popular programs were on, such as Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater. As early as 1948, though, a number of British films were sold to television, and I suspect Wings of Danger would have been part of a similar package. Why, one might argue, should studios be eagar to sell product to their competitors, when those competitors would promptly use said product against them? (Another, less commented-upon reason for studio reluctance probably had to do with the low price that networks were willing to offer, another reason why British movies might have been more prevalent.) Eventually that attitude would change, but TV Guides of the era are replete with moves from the 1930s, such as X Marks the Spot (1931), and Flying Fists (1937), which has the added appeal of being both old and British.
At any rate, with this as the standard, it's not hard to see why WGN would make such a point of showing a movie that was only a year old, whether it was any good or not. (I haven't seen it myself; any of you out there?) But times will change. By the fall of 1955, ABC will premiere Famous Film Festival, featuring British films from the 1940s and early 1950s, and in 1961 NBC debuts Saturday Night at the Movies, with post-1950 movies from Fox, many in color. That will issue in an era of movie dominance on TV for decades to come.
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Some quick looks at other items of note: Bill Cullen, known in game show circles as the host's host, is the subject of a warm profile this week, which seems appropriate since he's one of the warmest personalities on television. He's also refreshingly candid about his fame; talking about his spot as a permanent panel member on I've Got a Secret, he says, "Not for a minute will I deny that being a panel member is a soft job." Although there are certain things to keep in mind (like showing up at the studio on the right night, or paying attention to what questions the other panelists ask so he doesn't duplicate them), he concludes that "It's nice work."  
◄ Steve Allen is the hipster's hipster, a man who writes, composes music, and still has time to appear on What's My Line? as well as his own late-night talk show on New York's NBC affiliate. Right now, his hipness rests on a retelling of "The Three Little Pigs" recorded by Al "Jazzbo" Collins. "Once in the land of Nitty Grittyville lived three little pigs . . . One was very cool, the other one was more on the commercial side and the third one was, beyond a shadow of doubt, as square as they come. One day as the three pigs were taking five, one of them chanced to pick up a copy of downbeat. 'Say, boys, I see where the Big Bad Wolf is playing a one-nighter in this area next week.' 'Oh-oh,' said the second little pig, 'that wolf is bad. That means it's panic time in Porky Park.' 'Oh,' said the square little pig, 'this is the most depressing news since Ronnie Reagan got out of show business.'" Although Allen's talents are still relatively untapped by television, don't worry: that local late-night show of his is about to morph into The Tonight Show.
And speaking of Tonight, CBS is working on a daytime musical show for their young comic, Jack Paar. It winds up as The Morning Show, CBS's answer to Today, which also spawned Dick Van Dyke and Walter Cronkite as hosts. He only worked the mornings for a year, but he'll wind up working nights before too long.
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Finally, since we started with Colgate Comedy Hour, it's approprite that we finish there as well. It seems that none of the rotating hosts on that show really get along very well with each other, and so you can imagine the fireworks that ensued when someone got the big idea to have them all on at the same time to celebrate the show's anniversary.
Staged or real? Only their agents know for sure.
The sparks started during the rehearsal. Since the time had to be divided evenly among the various parties, and given that it was unthinkable that any two of the acts could appear in the same skit, that meant each one was allocated exactly eight minutes. Before you knew it, Eddie Cantor was complaining that Bob Hope was taking too much time for his monologue. He'd been up on stage for eleven minutes already! Furthermore, Hope was just mumbling his lines, intent on keeping any of his colleagues from hearing (and stealing) his jokes. Next, it was time for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello; they, too, mimed their way through their act. This didn't sit too well with their bitter rivals, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis*, who sat in the otherwise empty theater carrying on a loud whispered conversation with some friends. Soon enough, someone asked—loud enough for the performers on stage to hear—"What's the matter with those two? They afraid you're going to steal their material?" After waiting a beat, Jerry replied, "What material?" When their turn came, Dean and Jerry threw their script out and proceeded to do a devastating take-off on the typical Abbott & Costello routines.
*Just think, if we included the intramural feuds between Abbott and Costello, and Martin and Lewis—you'd have more factions than the United Nations.
Like most good entertainers, the battling hosts saved their best performances for the live show. First, Hope ran over (again) with his monologue, forcing one of the other acts to bear the burdon. That fell to Martin & Lewis, who were in the closing slot. If that wasn't bad enough, Hope also spilled the beans that Dean and Jerry—whose appearance hadn't been publicized and was supposed to be a surprise—were actually backstage. The two were so furious that, according to our anonymous correspondent, they haven't spoken to Hope since. For his part, when asked where Lewis' dressing room was, Hope replied, "He doesn't have one. They keep him in a cage." In case you were wondering, Hope isn't back on Colgate this season, having been replaced by Jimmy Durante, whom everyone seems to like. And Donald O'Connor, the fourth host, "is still too young to stay mad at anyone."
Somehow or other, the show, which doesn't sound much like a comedy, managed to come off without any homicides on stage. That doesn't mean the bullets didn't keep flying, though. During a recent tour through London, both Abbott & Costello and Martin & Lewis played the Palladium within two weeks of each other. The reviews of Dean and Jerry were, by all accounts, pretty harsh. Bud and Lou, on the other hand, met with raves from critics and audiences alike, and took the opportunity to sprinkle their act with several "uncomplementary" references to their rivals.
The whole thing reminds me of a joke from an old Academy Awards broadcast: "Tonight we set aside petty differences, forget old feuds and start new ones." The man who said that was none other than Bob Hope himself. I guess knew what he was talking about, didn't he? TV  

Around the dial

Well, let's see what we have this week. I never played video games on our TV when I was growing up; we didn't have them yet, for one thing, and by the time they did come along, it was cooler to go to an arcade and play them. We still don't have anything like a Playstation; nowadays, it's easier to just use your phone. Perhaps I just don't have the imagination for it.
At Comfort TV, David gets in the Halloween spirit with a look back at the 1970 ABC telemovie Crowhaven Farm . What kind of movie is it? The plot involves Hope Lange and Paul Burke and an old farmhome they've inherited, and discover that the creepy handyman is played by John Carradine. As David says, "That is sign number two that this may not be a great place to relocate," and truer words have seldom been spoken.
Keeping in that Holloween spirit, Shadow & Substance delves into the famed first episode of The Twilight Zone, "Where Is Everybody?" which aired in October 1958, and a small scene which never made the final script.
Speaking of spooky holidays, Realweegiemidget reviews the 1972 TV movie Home for the Holidays , in which "The Morgan sisters return to the family home for Christmas, as their estranged father is worried his new wife is trying to kill him." And you think your family gatherings are bad.
Let's find something a little more relaxing. Ah yes, at Garroway at Large, Jodie tells the story of what at the time was the world's largest Venetian blind , 18 by 88 feet and weighing 248 pounds. It was used by NBC for the front window of the Garroway-era Today window to the world. Suddenly, our vertical blinds don't look so bad.
At The Lucky Strike Papers, Andrew talks about the evolution of the show from radio , where it had started in 1935, to television: a move which started with four experimental broadcasts, and led to the premiere, 70 years ago this month, of the television series.
Finally, one of the great baseball players of my youth, Whitey Ford , died last week, and Inner Toob commemorates the life of the Yankee giant as only that site can, looking at his television apperances in which he played himself. TV  

TV Jibe: True fandom

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The politics of commercials

If you're like me, you've spent the last couple of months watching television with the remote close by your side, all the better to mute those interminable political commercials polluting the airwaves. It's not just that they're negative and ham-fisted; they lack style, panache, whatever that je ne sais quoi is that makes a moment memorable. . .
(Pauses to mute television.) 
Sorry about that; I can't even get away from them long enough to write this. Of course, if we're being honest, most commercials are like that nowadays. But, like other forms of advertising, it wasn't always this way. If political commercials weren't necessarily memorable, they were at least watchable, even to people who don't agree with the candidate in question. A few years ago I did a more extensive rundown of such commercials, but I thought I'd look back at some of my favorites, the ones that I admire for the way they were done. Whether or not I go along with them, or support the candidate, is not the point. In fact, I hope you'll appreciate that I'm not trying to be political here at all. . .
(Pauses to mute television, more angrily this time.) 
Now, where was I? Oh yes—watchable political commercials. As I said, this is a non-partisan issue, so much so that I'm not insuring both parties are represented equally. In fact, let's start off with one of the most innocuous commercials of all, a 1960 ad for John F. Kennedy. It's upbeat, just like the candidate.

Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, ran this ad in 1964. It's not so upbeat; in fact, it's perhaps one of the most devastating commercials of any kind ever shown. As far as being influential, it's right up there with the "1984" commercial by Apple , and like that one, it was only shown once. It is, of course, the "Daisy" commercial.

Richard Nixon's commercials in 1968 utilized voiceovers from his 1968 convention speech combined with an artful montage of images designed to drive home the point. They conclude with a brilliant slogan, "This time vote like your whole world depended on it." It not only conveys the importance of the election, it's a subtle reminder of 1960—and a chance to make amends.

Jimmy Carter was a virtual unknown prior to his 1976 campaign, even stumping the panel as the Mystery Guest on What's My Line? It was important for him not only to build name recognition, but to convince voters that his Democratic party wouldn't be like George McGovern's, and his leadership wouldn't be like Gerald Ford's.
 The 1984 reelection campaign of Ronald Reagan had two of the most famous—and most effective—commercials: "The Bear in the Woods" and "Morning in America." Both present a convincing case for reelecting the man who'd brought America back, and kept America safe.


I'll end with what may be—no, why pussyfoot around—what is my favorite political commercial of all time. It's from the Israeli elections of five years ago, featuring PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Now this is a commercial. It doesn't matter what you think of Bibi Netanyahu or his politics. It's original, it humanizes him, it has the potential to make undecided voters smile. Why in the world American candidates don't try something like this I'll never know.
(Pauses to mute television, very irritated.) 
As politics becomes ever more virtual and politicians ever more remote, it would behoove candidates today to create commercials that try to connect with voters in a human way. Of course, with politics also becoming ever more polarized, the odds of that may be somewhat remote. Which leaves our campaigns nasty and brutish, but, unfortunately, not short enough.
(Starts to mute television, then decides "The hell with it" and turns it off.) TV  

What's on TV? Tuesday, October 16, 1973

In case you were tuning in early today to find out whether or not I've solved the Blogger problem, you can see for yourself the results. A little extra work, but we spare no expense here for our readers, even if it's only the precious gift of time. Anyway, I suppose tonight's World Series game is the highlight for sports fans, but as I mentioned on Saturday, you might find two movies worth your while: Kim Novak and Tony Curtis in The Third Girl on the Left, and Peter Ustinov in Viva Max! Still, I'm sure you'll be able to find your favorites; today's listings are from the Philadelphia-New York metro area.
   2  WCBS (NYC) (CBS)   MORNING       6:20 NEWS       6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER The World of Islam       7:00 CBS NEWS—Rudd/Quinn       8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO       9:00 ANYTHING YOU CAN DO       9:30 PAT COLLINS     10:00 JOKER’S WILD—Game     10:30 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game     11:00 GAMBIT—Game     11:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial   AFTERNOON     12:00 YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial     12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial       1:00 WHAT’S MY LINE?       1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial       2:00 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial       2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial       3:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game       3:30 MATCH GAME Bert Convy, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers Klugman, Nipsey Russell, Mary Ann Mobley, Ann Elder       4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial       4:30 MIKE DOUGLAS Guests: Wayne Newton, Mr. and Mrs. George Hamilton, Ricky Segall, Bumpy Family acrobats   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       7:00 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite       7:30 NEW TREASURE HUNT       8:00 MAUDE       8:30 HAWAII FIVE-O       9:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Viva Max!” (1970)     11:00 NEWS     11:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Penelope” (1966)       1:30 MOVIE—Biography “The McConnell Story” (1955)       3:40 MOVIE—Western BW  “I Shot Jesse James” (1949)        3  KYW (PHILA) (NBC)   MORNING       6:00 FARM MARKET REPORT       6:10 NEWS BW        6:15 SPEAK FOR YOURSELF       6:45 FARM, HOME AND GARDEN       7:00 TODAY—McGee/Walters Salute to Walt Disney       9:00 SOMERSET       9:30 JEOPARDY     10:00 DINAH SHORE Guest: Kirk Douglas     10:30 BAFFLE—Game John Davidson, Nanette Fabray, Vincent Price, Jackie Joseph. Dick Enberg is the host     11:00 WIZARD OF ODDS—Game     11:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES Pearl Bailey, Wilt Chamberlain, John Davidson, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Vincent Price, Sally Struthers, Charley Weaver, Paul Lynde. Peter Marshall is the host.   AFTERNOON     12:00 NEWS     12:30 MARCIAROSE       1:30 THREE ON A MATCH—Game       2:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial       2:30 DOCTORS—Serial       3:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial       3:30 RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE—Serial       4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS Guests: Bill Cosby, Paul Anka, Donald O’Connor, Car Ballantine       5:30 NEWS   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       6:30 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor       7:00 WHAT’S MY LINE? Gene Rayburn, Anita Gillette, Leonard Harris, Arlene Francis. Larry Blyden is the host       7:30 NEW TREASURE HUNT       8:00 WORLD SERIES PRE-GAME SHOW       8:15 WORLD SERIES Special: Oakland A’s vs. New York Mets, Game 3     11:00 NEWS     11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Guests: George Burns, Carol Channing, Ronnie Graham       1:00 TOMORROW—Discussion Debut: Guests: Billy James Hargis, Reverend Ike       2:00 NEWS        4  WNBC (NYC) (NBC)   MORNING       6:30 MEMORANDUM       7:00 TODAY—McGee/Walters Salute to Walt Disney       9:00 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY       9:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES     10:00 DINAH SHORE Guest: Kirk Douglas     10:30 BAFFLE—Game John Davidson, Nanette Fabray, Vincent Price, Jackie Joseph. Dick Enberg is the host     11:00 WIZARD OF ODDS—Game     11:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES Pearl Bailey, Wilt Chamberlain, John Davidson, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Vincent Price, Sally Struthers, Charley Weaver, Paul Lynde. Peter Marshall is the host.   AFTERNOON     12:00 JEOPARDY—Game     12:30 WHO, WHAT OR WHERE—Game     12:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman       1:00 CONCENTRATION       1:30 THREE ON A MATCH—Game       2:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial       2:30 DOCTORS—Serial       3:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial       3:30 RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE—Serial       4:00 SOMERSET—Serial       4:30 MOVIE—Drama “Crawlspace” (1972)   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       7:00 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor       7:30 TRIBUTE TO WILLIE MAYS Special       8:00 WORLD SERIES PRE-GAME SHOW       8:15 WORLD SERIES Special: Oakland A’s vs. New York Mets, Game 3     11:00 NEWS     11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Guests: George Burns, Carol Channing, Ronnie Graham       1:00 TOMORROW—Discussion Debut: Guests: Billy James Hargis, Reverend Ike       2:00 MOVIE—Adventure “The Cat” (1966)        5  WNEW (NYC) (Ind.)   MORNING       6:30 YOUR FUTURE IS NOW       7:00 UNDERDOG       7:30 FLINTSTONES       8:00 BUGS BUNNY       8:30 FLYING NUN       9:00 HAZEL—Comedy       9:30 MOTHERS-IN-LAW—Comedy     10:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW      10:30 GREEN ACRES     11:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW      11:30 MIDDAY LIVE Guests: Thomas Boslooper, Judy Smithdeal. Lee Leonard is the host.   AFTERNOON       1:00 MOVIE—Drama BW  “Arise, My Love” (1940)       3:00 CASPER       3:30 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND       4:00 BUGS BUNNY       4:30 LOST IN SPACE—Adventure       5:30 FLINTSTONES   EVENING       6:30 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy       7:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW        7:30 BEWITCHED—Comedy       8:00 THAT GIRL—Comedy       8:30 MERV GRIFFIN     10:00 NEWS     11:00 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy     11:30 MOVIE—Adventure BW  “Captain Blood” (1935)       1:30 COMBAT—Drama BW         6  WPVI (PHILA) (ABC)   MORNING       6:00 OPERATION ALPHABET       6:30 PERSPECTIVE       7:00 TENNESSEE TUXEDO       7:30 CAPTAIN NOAH       8:55 DIALING FOR DOLLARS     10:00 EXERCISE WITH GLORIA     10:30 LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE     11:00 PASSWORD—Game Greg Morris, Martin Milner. Allen Ludden is the host of the series.     11:30 BRADY BUNCH   AFTERNOON     12:00 NEWS     12:30 SPLIT SECOND—Game       1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial       1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game       2:00 NEWLYWED GAME       2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE       3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial       3:30 RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE—Serial       4:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW        4:30 BIG VALLEY—Western       5:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       6:30 ABC NEWS—Smith/Reasoner       7:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Bill Cullen, Peggy Cass, Gene Rayburn, Kitty Carlisle. Garry Moore is the series host.       7:30 WILD KINGDOM       8:00 TEMPERATURES RISING—Comedy       8:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Third Girl from the Left” (Made-for-TV; 1973)     10:00 MARCUS WELBY, M.D.     11:00 NEWS     11:30 JACK PAAR TONITE Guests: Alistair Cooke, Lester Maddox, Dickie Henderson       1:00 PERSPECTIVE        7  WABC (NYC) (ABC)   MORNING       6:30 LISTEN AND LEARN—Report BW        7:00 A.M. NEW YORK Guests: Gale Garnett, Erma Bombeck       9:00 MOVIE—Drama “Esther and the King” (Italian; 1960)     11:00 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy     11:30 BRADY BUNCH   AFTERNOON     12:00 PASSWORD—Game Greg Morris, Martin Milner. Allen Ludden is the host of the series.     12:30 SPLIT SECOND—Game       1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial       1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game       2:00 NEWLYWED GAME       2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE       3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial       3:30 RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE—Serial       4:00 LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE       4:30 MOVIE—Comedy “The Grass is Greener” (English; 1960)   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       7:00 ABC NEWS—Smith/Reasoner       7:30 WILD WILD WORLD OF ANIMALS       8:00 TEMPERATURES RISING—Comedy       8:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Third Girl from the Left” (Made-for-TV; 1973)     10:00 MARCUS WELBY, M.D.     11:00 NEWS     11:30 JACK PAAR TONITE Guests: Alistair Cooke, Lester Maddox, Dickie Henderson       1:00 MOVIE—Mystery BW  “The Green Archer” (German: 1961)        9  WOR (NYC) (NBC)   MORNING       7:30 NEWS BW        8:00 GARNER TED ARMSTRONG       8:30 JOE FRANKLIN       9:30 JOURNEY TO ADVENTURE     10:00 ROMPER ROOM     11:00 STRAIGHT TALK   AFTERNOON     12:00 MI DULCE ENAMORADA BW      12:30 NOTICIAS       1:00 MOVIE—Mystery BW  “Having Wonderful Crime” (1945)       2:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES BW        3:00 MOVIE—Drama BW  “The Power and the Prize” (1956)       5:00 UFO   EVENING       6:00 IT TAKES A THIEF—Adventure       7:00 LUCY SHOW—Comedy       7:30 BOWLING FOR DOLLARS       8:00 MOVIE—Drama “Secret Ceremony” (1968)     10:00 CELEBRITY BOWLING Dan Rowan and Pat Henry vs. James Farention and James MacArthur. Jed Allen is the series host.     10:30 NEWS—Tom Dunn     11:00 AVENGERS—Adventure     12:00 MOVIE—Comedy BW  “Love Happy” (1949)       1:40 JOE FRANKLIN       2:40 NEWS       10 WCAU (PHILA) (CBS)   MORNING       6:00 SUNRISE SEMESTER The World of Islam       6:30 WAKE UP!       7:00 CBS NEWS—Rudd/Quinn       8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO       9:00 BETTY HUGHES       9:30 SAFARI TO ADVENTURE     10:00 JOKER’S WILD—Game     10:30 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game     11:00 GAMBIT—Game     11:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial   AFTERNOON     12:00 YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial     12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial       1:00 WHAT’S HAPPENING Guest: Jackie Vernon       1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial       2:00 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial       2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial       3:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game       3:30 MATCH GAME Bert Convy, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers Klugman, Nipsey Russell, Mary Ann Mobley, Ann Elder       4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial       4:30 MOVIE—Western “White Feather” (1955)   EVENING       6:00 NEWS       7:00 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite       7:30 JOHNNY MANN’S STAND UP AND CHEER       8:00 MAUDE       8:30 HAWAII FIVE-O       9:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Viva Max!” (1970)k     11:00 NEWS     11:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Penelope” (1966)       1:30 MOVIE—Drama BW  “Only the Best” (1951)       3:20 GIVE US THIS DAY       3:25 MOVIE—Adventure BW  “Tarzan Escapes” (1936)       5:15 SEA HUNT BW        11 WPIX (NYC) (Ind.)   MORNING       7:00 NEWS—Roy Whitfield       7:30 LITTLE RASCALS BW        8:00 FELIX THE CAT       8:30 LIVING EASY WITH DR. JOYCE BROTHERS       9:00 PUERTO RICAN NEW YORKER       9:30 EQUAL TIME     10:00 MOVIE—Musical BW  “Lillian Russell” (1940)     11:30 ABBOTT AND COSTELLO BW    AFTERNOON     12:00 NEW ZOO REVUE     12:30 MAGIC GARDEN       1:00 GALLOPING GOURMET       1:30 GET SMART—Comedy       2:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST BW        2:30 NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR       3:00 POPEYE       3:30 BULWINKLE       4:00 MUNSTERS—Comedy BW        4:30 BATMAN—Adventure Guest Villain: Julie Newmar (Catworman)       5:00 BATMAN—Adventure Part 2       5:30 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND—Comedy   EVENING       6:00 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy       6:30 BEAT THE CLOCK Guest: Henry Morgan. Gene Wood is the series host.       7:00 MOD SQUAD—Crime Drama       8:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Bill Cullen, Nipsey Russell, Peggy Cass, Kitty Carlisle. Garry Moore is the series host.       8:30 DRAGNET—Crime Drama       9:00 BONANZA—Western     10:00 NEWS     11:00 PERRY MASON BW      12:00 TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama BW      12:30 NEWS     12:50 EDGAR WALLACE—Crime Drama BW        13 WNET (NYC) (PBS)   MORNING       9:00 SESAME STREET   AFTERNOON       1:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY       3:00 DESIGNING WOMEN       3:30 FRENCH CHEF       4:00 SESAME STREET       5:00 MISTER ROGERS       5:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children   EVENING       6:00 HODGEPODGE LODGE       6:30 ZOOM       7:00 ANTIQUES       7:30 CHAN-ESE WAY—Cooking       8:00 DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM Special       9:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED       9:30 SONNY ROLLINS Special     10:00 FIRING LINE     11:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED       17 WPHL (PHILA) (Ind.)   AFTERNOON     12:00 CARTOON CLUB     12:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy       1:00 MOVIE—Drama BW  “Dragon’s Gold” (1954)       2:30 PATTY DUKE—Comedy BW        3:00 BULWINKLE       3:30 ASTRO BOY       4:00 MARINE BOY       4:30 POPEYE       5:00 SPIDERMAN       5:30 JOHNNY SOKKO   EVENING       6:00 UNTOUCHABLES—Crime Drama BW        7:00 BONANZA—Western       8:00 OF LANDS AND SEAS—Travel       9:00 MOVIE—Drama “633 Squadron” (English; 1964)     11:00 ALFRED HITCHCOCK—Drama BW      11:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Island Affair” (Italian; 1965)       1:30 BULLETIN BOARD       29 WTAF (PHILA) (Ind.)   MORNING       9:00 JACK LaLANNE       9:30 GALLOPING GOURMET     10:00 ROMPER ROOM     10:30 FLYING NUN—Comedy     11:00 MOTHERS-IN-LAW—Comedy     11:30 DENNIS THE MENACE—Comedy BW    AFTERNOON     12:00 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy     12:30 WHO, WHAT OR WHERE—Game     12:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman       1:00 NEWSPROBE MS.       1:30 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY       2:00 LIVING EASY WITH DR. JOYCE BROTHERS       2:30 GREEN ACRES—Comedy       3:00 LONE RANGER       3:30 THREE STOOGES       4:30 SUPERMAN—Adventure BW        5:00 BATMAN—Adventure Guest Villain: Vincent Price (Egghead)       5:30 BATMAN—Adventure Part 2   EVENING       6:00 BEWITCHED—Comedy       6:30 COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER—Comedy-Drama       7:00 THAT GIRL—Comedy       7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy       8:00 BOWLING FOR DOLLARS       8:30 AMERICAN LIFESTYLE       9:00 SAFARI     10:00 PHIL DONAHUE Guests: Richard Petty, Jim McKay, Salt Walther     11:00 BOWLING     12:00 LAREDO—Western       48 WKBS (PHILA) (Ind.)   MORNING     10:45 DELAWARE VALLEY TODAY     11:30 NEW ZOO REVUE—Children   AFTERNOON     12:00 BANANA SPLITS     12:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW        1:00 MOVIE—Drama BW  “The Hard Way” (1942)       3:00 HUCK AND YOGI       3:30 SPEED RACER       4:00 LITTLE RASCALS       4:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon       5:30 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND--Comedy   EVENING       6:00 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—Adventure       7:00 STAR TREK—Adventure       8:00 LUCY SHOW—Comedy       8:30 MERV GRIFFIN     10:00 PERRY MASON BW      11:00 NIGHT GALLERY     11:30 MOVIE—Drama “Captains of the Clouds” (1942) TV  

This week in TV Guide: October 13, 1973

When we ask the question "Does TV Go Too Far," keep in mind that we're looking at this from the perspective of 1973, Today, society has become so libertine that I'm not sure you can go too far on TV (or anywhere else for that matter), but despite Watergate, Vietnam, inflation, drugs, and disco, the 1970s are a more innocent time, and so we ask the question. 
The poll, commissioned by TV Guide and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation of Princeton, NJ and documented by Neil Hickey, tells us that Americans have definite opinions regarding what is called the "new permissiveness" on television. Among the conclusions suggested by the poll:
Almost 40 percent think TV is "a lot more open and frank than it should be."Forty-one percent think there's too much sex, while nearly two-thirds think there's too much violence.More than half are in favor of a review board "to screen TV shows for the purpose of keeping programs of 'questionable taste' off the air." Not surprisingly, as we've seen with similar TV Guide polls, the Northeast is more liberal than other parts of the country. People 60 and older were the most conservative on questions of sex, while 73 percent of those 18-29 saw no problem with it. Protestants were more concerned about it than Catholics, as were rural Americans vs. those in the city. Despite the fact that television nudity in the 1970s is pretty tame compared to today (when you can see actual nudity), 60 percent agree with the proposition that there's too much of it. A popular refrain you hear is that if you don't like what you see on TV, just turn it off; 40 percent said they'd done just that at one time or another, due to violence (35%), sex (27%), bad language (22%), offensive ethnic jokes (15%), or nudity (11%). 
The most troubling news for television executives, Hickey says, is 51 percent favor creation of a review board to keep certain programs off the air. (Now there's a propositon made for mischief if ever there was one.) Lest one think television is being singled out, a majority believe that such a board "ought to apply equally to newspapers, movies, books, radio and magazines." Frankly, this is troubling news period. There's no word here as to who they think should comprise this board, who selects the members, how long they serve, who decides what constitutes "questionable taste," or anything else. And if you don't think this could cause problems, ask yourself what's going on with Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media today.
The biggest takeway from this, aside from the apparent quaintness of American society back then, is that the divide everyone talks about today has pretty much always existed: urban vs rural, young vs. old, white-collar vs. blue-collar, and so on. And as we've seen during other times of high dudgeon, such as the revulsion against violence following the King and Kennedy assassinations, things don't seem to change much in the long term; if anything, they simply seem to continue their inexorable advancement. Perhaps the question isn't, after all, where one should draw the line. The real question is this: can one even be drawn?
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Throughout the 60s and early 70s, TV Guide's weekly reviews were written by the witty and acerbic Cleveland Amory. Whenever we get the chance, we'll look at Cleve's latest take on the series of the era. 

On first reading this week's review of the NBC sitcom Lotsa Luck, it's hard to tell what Cleveland Amory thinks of it. After repeated viewings, I've come to the conclusion that Amory likes it in spite of himself, or at least more than he'd want to admit. 
Lotsa Luck stars Dom DeLuise as Stanley Belmont, who works in the lost-and-found department at the bus depot and lives at home with his sister Olive, brother-in-law Arthur, and mother. As the latest Britcom to make the leap across the ocean (in the footsteps of All in the Family and Sanford & Son), Lotsa Luck, executive produced by Bill Persky and Sam Denhoff (whose other credits include the original Dick Van Dyke Show and That Girl) is, writes Cleve, long on humor but "short on taste. Any time they can work in deodorant humor or unattractive sex jokes, they will." Amory somewhat quaintly refers to this as "blue" humor*, and if you want an idea of what blue humor looks like in 1973, there's this storyline involving Olive that is "one long toilet joke" when Olive gets her foot stuck in the flush tank of the family toilet. (I don't want to even speculate on that.) 
*I wonder if the editors saved this review for this particular issue? 
It gets better, though, and Amory means this sincerely. By the time we get to an episode in which Stanley's mother tries to fix him up with a single librarian, the show is generating genuine laughs (despite some tastless jokes about death at the start of the episode). Dom DeLuise, says Amory, "can be hysterically funny, and without always being hysterical, either." (As anyone who's seen him on old Dean Martin shows can attest.) Despite this, Lotsa Luck pulls out of the depot after only 22 episodes, never to be seen again (until DVD). Perhaps, says Cleve, the producers [need] to get themselves a new taster."
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This week we get another three-way showdown between the premier music shows of the day: NBC's The Midnight Special, ABC's In Concert, and the syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Who's better, who's best?
Kirshner: The Allman Brothers Band joins Wet Willie, the Marshall Tucker Band and Martin Mull.
Special: Rock music from War (hosts), Mott the Hoople, the New York Dolls, the Climax Blues Band and the Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and pop singer Danny O'Keefe.
In Concert: Rock, blues and a little bit of soul with Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Persuasions, savoy Brown, Roy Buchanan and Bobby Womack.
Perhaps Special would have been in the battle if Eric Burdon had been with them, but such is not the case, which means we're basically talking about a showdown between the Allman Brothers and Blood, Sweat & Tears. And in that case, we'll have to go with the Allmans, which means Kirshner rocks this week's lineup.

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The sporting highlight of the week has to be the World Series, which starts Saturday at 3:45 p.m. on NBC, as the defending champion Oakland A's take on the Cinderella New York Mets. The Mets barely finished over .500 during the regular season, but upset Cincinnati in a tempestuous National League Championship Series. It's the final World Series appearance by the great Willie Mays, and one of the most memorable images, not to mention one of the saddest, is that of the aging Say Hey Kid, one of the most graceful outfielders ever to play the game, tripping and falling in the outfield while trying to track down a fly ball by Deron Johnson in the ninth inning of Game Two. I could have pulled up a picture of that, but I don't have the heart; I'd much rather remember Willie for his 1954 catch of that line drive by Vic Wertz. Oh, by the way, the A's win the Series in seven games.
The Series may be the biggest event of the week, but it's by no means the only one. The annual showdown between Oklahoma and Texas, played at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas, is ABC's college football game of the week (Saturday, 12:45 p.m.). This game usually has implications for the national championship, and this season is no exception. Oklahoma, undefeated and ranked #6, destroys #13 Texas 52-13 en route to a 10-0-1 record and a share of the national title. There's also the usual assortment of professional football on Sunday afternoon and Monday night.
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With the demise of Jerry Lewis's Labor Day telethon, the once-ubiquitous television fundraiser has pretty much been reduced to the occasional two- or three-hour special, usually following some kind of natural disaster. It wasn't always that way, though, and this week we see an example I wasn't aware of, for an organization I've never heard of. It's a New York City organization called the Association for the Help of Retarded Children (still existing today under the acronym AHRC ), and their 1973 telethon, a star-studded affair airing on WOR in New York, runs for 19 hours, from 10:00 p.m. ET Saturday to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Your hosts are Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, and in addition to numerous appearances by Broadway stars, you'll see TV talent such as William Conrad, Buddy Ebsen, Carol Burnett, Sonny and Cher and more. 
Slotted against the start of the telethon is Griff (Saturday, 10:00 p.m., ABC), Lorne Greene's new dramatic vehicle, in whch he plays a former police officer turned private detective. Apparently viewers preferred that Greene do his travelling on horseback, as Griff lasts only 13 weeks, illustrating the difficulty a star faces when trying a change-of-pace after a long-running success. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the series, at least for me, is that the pilot didn't air until June of 1975, a year-and-a-half after the series itself was cancelled. (I wonder what they would have done had the movie been a hit?) According to the always-reliable Wikipedia , the pilot, which involves Griff going after criminals who killed his son, a plot identical to that of the Barnaby Jones pilot. Oh well; as Cleveland Amory could tell us (and has, frequently), a surplus of originality is not something one normally sees in the television business.
On Sunday, ABC's centerpiece movie is John and Mary (8:30 p.m.), a 1969 movie which Judith Crist calls an attempt "to cash in on Dustin Hoffman's hit in Midnight Cowboy and Mia Farrow's in Rosemary's Baby, and looks it." It's directed by Peter Yates, who was coming off his big hit in Bullitt. Would that the results were even partially as successful as any of those three movies; says Crist, it's so earnest in its attempt to connect with the "now" generation, it comes off as square. Enjoy the scenery and Hoffman's charm, and you might be able to make it all the way through. You might be better off taking a nap and staying up late for the debut of The Burt Reynolds Late Show (NBC, Saturday or Sunday following your late local news). the first of six scheduled late-night shows taking the place of the weekend Johnny Carson reruns. For the premiere episode, Burt goes to Leavenworth Penitentiary to bring some entertainment to the mostly forgotten men who inhabit a prison that makes Alcatraz look like "a seaside resort." In addition to a guest lineup that includes Dinah Shore, Jonathan Winters and Merle Haggard (himself a former resident of San Quenten), 33 of the prisoners will be chosen to perform on the program. (You can read more about Reynolds' show in this article at Television Obscurities .)
Monday has a little something for everyone, beginning at 8:00 p.m. on CBS with a cartoon doubleheader. First it's a newish Peanuts cartoon, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, which sees Linus running for student body president. Perfect fodder for this time of year, as it was when it debuted nine days before last year's presidential election. Like so many of the newer Peanuts cartoons, though, it never becomes an institution. That's followed by a brand-new Dr. Seuss cartoon, Dr. Seuss on the Loose, three rhyming stories introduced by the Cat in the Hat. At 10:00 p.m., it's the Country Music Association Awards, also on CBS, live from Nashville and hosted by Johnny Cash. Imagine that: an awards show lasting only one hour. And at 1:00 a.m. on NBC, it's the debut of what TV Guide calls "a new-style talk show" called Tomorrow, hosted by Los Angeles newsman Tom Snyder. It's a show that truly wants to be different: "no monologue, no band, no studio audience, no big names for the most part," according to producer Rudy Tellez. I only got to see Tomorrow during the summer when I could stay up late; it's a pity we don't have any talk shows like this today.
Kim Novak makes her television debut Tuesday in the made-for-TV movie The Third Girl From the Left (8:30 p.m, ABC), co-starring Tony Curtis. That's up against the CBS movie Viva Max! (9:30 p.m, CBS), a very funny farce with Peter Ustinov as a modern-day Mexican general trying to retake the Alamo and being opposed by Jonathan Winters, Keenan Wynn and Harry Morgan. Wednesday features a rerun of Burt Reynolds' short-lived detective series Dan August (10:00 p.m., CBS), which originally ran in the 1970-71 season, before Reynolds shot to fame in Deliverance. The network's been running reruns this summer, capitalizing on his higher profile, as they will again in 1975, but for now this is the end of the rerun line; next week is the debut of a new cop series, Kojak. At the same time on ABC, Eric Braeden plays a man accused of the rape and murder of his fiancee's daughter, and only Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law can save him. His fiancee: Vera Miles. And a lackluster Thursday presents only one cant-miss show: Celebrity Bowling (Midnight, WTAF). Who could possibly pass up Dan Rowan and Michele Lee vs. John Astin and Ruth Buzzi?
On Friday night it's a special hour-long episode of Adam's Rib (9:00 p.m., ABC), the sitcom based on the 1949 movie starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, with Ken Howard and Blythe Danner taking over the roles. This could well have been the most memorable episode of the series: it's the same case that was tried in the 1949 movie. Meanwhile, Dean Martin's Comedy Hour (10:00 p.m, NBC) roasts Bette Davis as the celebrity of the week, with a cast of roasters including Henry Fonda, Howard Cosell, Vincent Price, Nipsey Russell and Tom T. Hall. 
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One of these days, we really ought to take all these TV Guide reviews and run them in chronological order, where we could put events in context and let them build up naturally, rather than just dealing with them at random. Take Watergate, for example. We've read debates about whether or not an impeachment trial should be televised, we've seen how the hearings have disrupted daytime viewing, and now we've worked our way backward to the infamous White House tapes, and whether or not President Nixon should release them. That's the topic on this week's episode of PBS's The Advocates (Sunday, 6:00 p.m.). Of course, we know how it turns out, because we've already skipped ahead to the end of the book, as it were. The same could be said for the coming of cable television, the evolution of technology, and the growth of sports. Yeah, maybe I'll get around to that someday after I run out of issues, since we know that by definition we're dealing with a finite supply. I've always sort of counted on running out of time (or interest) before that happens, though. In the meantime, I'll count on you to flip back and forth; after all, you're under no obligation to read them in the order I write them. The links are all there—just think of it as on-demand reading. TV  

Around the dial

Perhaps out there somewhere is someone as smooth, as suave and sophisticated, than Cary Grant. Perhaps as smooth, but no smoother. This week at Classic Film & TV Café, Rick has a terrific interview with Scott Eyman , author of the forthcoming Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise, which tells the story of how Archie Leach became that personification of elegance.
What happens when you find a "Body in the Barn" ? Well, if it turns up on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, you can be sure that nothing good will come of it. That's the verdict from Jack at bare•bones e-zine, as he continues to look at the Hitchcock scripts of Harold Swanton.
At The Horn Section, Hal's latest foray into the world of Love That Bob! is the 1955 episode "Bob Meets Fonda's Sister."  No, not that Fonda; it has to do with Bob's latest attempt to interfere in his sister Margaret's love life, and hilarity ensues.
Right now, I'm asking myself if it's true that you can't go home again (even though I've already done it once successfully). I suppose it's a question everyone asks themselves from time to time. It happened to Dave Garroway , as Jodie recounts in Garroway at Large, and as is often the case, the results were bittersweet.
It's the 60th anniversary of Route 66 , one of the great inadvertent documentaries of America in the 1960s, and Terence takes time out to look at the history of the landmark series at A Shroud of Thoughts. And that's a good note on which to end the week. TV  

PBL: The Whole World is Watching, 1968

One of the issues that keeps returning frequently over the years is the question of media bias on television . I don't know precisely when this debate first started; certainly Spiro Agnew brought it to the fore during his vice presidency, but while accusations of a liberal bias had been around since the beginning of television, I think middle America may have first become conscious of it during the Vietnam War, particularly with the 1968 Democratic Convntion riots in Chicago. As protestors and police clashed, the crowd chanted over and over, "The whole world is watching."
Appropriately, NET's live Sunday night newsmagazine PBL  takes that warning for the title of its in-depth look at the question of media bias and its implications. Thanks to the excellent YouTube channel btm0815ma , we can now see this rare documentary as it aired on December 22, 1968. The host is Robert MacNeil, formerly of NBC and later to be host of The MacNeil Report, which morphed into the long-running MacNeil/Lehrer Report. 

TV  

What's on TV? Monday, October 9, 1961

As I've said many times before, you don't come here to listen to my problems, and yet you're going to listen to them, for a few minutes at least. If you're a regular reader, you've come to expect this feature around 7:00 CT every Monday. The explanation for the lateness of this post can be summed up in one word: Blogger. 
Those of you in the blogging business may be aware that the Blogger platform changed over the last month or so, and it's finally caught up here. The fonts, the graphics, everything I've come to depend on when doing this feature—none of them came over when I imported this week's listings. Between my daytime job and our recent move, I haven't exactly been rolling in free time, and to find out that a quick cut-and-paste job was no longer possible, at least at present, was tanamount to when I found out Santa Claus wasn't real. Well, maybe not that crushing, but let's concede that it's an inconvenient time to be battling with the new system. So when you tune in here next week at this time, you might find that I'm running behind again. Or you may discover that this blog is now being powered by WordPress, or something similar. But just because this little pleasure has been delayed, it's not denied, so enjoy this week's programming guide from Philadelphia.
 3  WRCV (NBC)
 MORNING
   5:50 FARM AND MARKET NEWS
   5:55 NEWS
   6:00 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM   COLOR Modern Algebra
   6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM   COLOR American Government
   7:00 TODAY—John ChancellorGuest: Paul Hoffman, Head of UN Special Fund
   9:00 LEE DEXTER—Children
   9:30 EXERCISE WITH GLORIA
   9:50 WHAT’S DOING—Bob Bradley
   9:55 NEWS—Bob Bradley
 10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James
 10:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Griffin   COLOR 
 11:00 THE PRICE IS RIGHT   COLOR 
 11:30 CONCENTRATION—Downs
 AFTERNOON
 12:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
 12:30 IT COULD BE YOU   COLOR 
 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer
  1:00 AWARD THEATER
  1:30 WORLD SERIES SPOTLIGHT   COLOR 
  1:45 WORLD SERIES   SPECIAL   COLOR Game 5: New York Yankees at Cincinnati Reds
  4:30 HERE’S HOLLYWOOD
  4:55 NEWS—Sander Vanocur
  5:00 KUKLA AND OLLIE—Tillstrom
  5:05 MOVIE—DramaFive O'clock Show: "The Little Rebels" (French; 1955)
EVENING

  6:25 SPORTS—Jim Leaming   COLOR 
  6:30 LOCAL NEWS—Leonard   COLOR 
  6:40 WEATHER—Kinnan   COLOR 
  6:45 NEWS—Huntley, Brinkley
  7:00 DEATH VALLEY DAYS—Drama
  7:30 PROFILE ‘61—Documentary
  8:00 NATIONAL VELVET—Drama
  8:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Cullen   COLOR 
  9:00 87TH PRECINCT—Police
10:00 WESTINGHOUSE PRESENTS--Variety   SPECIAL  Host: John Daly. Guests: Art Carney, Vic Damone, Gogi Grant, Pat Harrington, Mahalia Jackson, Andre Previn, Tony Randall, Dore Schary
11:00 NEWS—Vince Leonard   COLOR 
11:10 WEATHER—Kinnan   COLOR 
11:15 JACK PAAR—Variety   COLOR 
  1:00 FBI MOST WANTED
  1:05 UNION PACIFIC—Adventure
  1:35 SPEAK UP—Discussion   COLOR  
  2:05 NEWS 
  2:10 THOUGHT FOR TODAY


 6  WFIL (ABC)
 MORNING
  6:30 R.F.D.—Agriculture
  7:00 BREAKFAST TIME—Webber   COLOR Cartoons only will be in color
  7:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS
  7:45 MORGAN IN THE MORNING
  9:00 HAPPY THE CLOWN--Children
  9:30 TEXAN—-Western
10:00 LOVE THAT BOB!—Comedy
10:30 TRIANGLE THEATER—Drama
11:00 STUDIO SCHOOLHOUSE
11:15 UNIVERSITY OF THE AIR
AFTERNOON
12:00 CAMOUFLAGE
12:30 MAKE A FACE
  1:00 DAY IN COURT
  1:25 NEWS—Alex Dreier
  1:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST?
  2:00 NUMBER PLEASE
  2:30 SEVEN KEYS
  3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY
  3:30 AMERICAN BANDSTAND
  4:50 AMERICAN NEWSSTAND—Roger Sharp
  5:00 POPEYE THEATER   COLOR 
  5:30EVENING  6:00
  6:55  7:00  7:10  7:15  7:30  8:30  9:0010:0011:0011:1011:2011:2511:30 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons
POPEYE THEATER--Starr   COLOR Cartoons only will be in color. CLUTCH CARGO   COLOR NEWS--Gunnar Back   COLOR WEATHER--Davis   COLOR NEWS--Bill ShadelCHEYENNERIFLEMAN--WesternSURFSIDE 6BEN CASEYNEWSNEWS--Gunnar Back   COLOR WEATHER--Davis   COLOR SPORTS   COLOR MOVIE--AdventureWorld's Best Movies: "All Through the Night" (1941)




 8  WGAL (LANCASTER) (CBS, NBC)
MORNING
  5:55 NEWS 
  6:00 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM   COLOR Modern Algebra
  6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM   COLOR American Government 
  7:00 TODAY--John ChancellorGuest: Paul Hoffman, Head of UN Special Fund
  9:00 EXPLORING WITH SCIENCE
  9:15 CONCEPTS IN SCIENCE
  9:30 FUNNY MANNS—Cliff Norton
  9:40 KUKLA AND OLLIE—Tillstrom
  9:45 DEBBIE DRAKE—Exercises
10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James
10:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Griffin   COLOR 
11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT   COLOR 
11:30 CONCENTRATION—-Downs
AFTERNOON
12:00 NEWS—Nelson Sears
12:05 PERSONALITIES AND EVENTS
12:10 WEATHER—Anne Herr
12:15 TV FARMER
12:30 IT COULD BE YOU   COLOR 
12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer
  1:00 CRUSADER—Drama
  1:30 WORLD SERIES SPOTLIGHT   COLOR 
  1:45 WORLD SERIES   SPECIAL    COLOR Game 5: New York Yankees at Cincinnati Reds
  4:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial
  5:00 MIGHTY MOUSE—Cartoons
  5:30 LOONEY TUNES
  5:45 TEXAS RANGERS—Adventure
EVENING

  6:15 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS
  6:45 NEWS—Huntley, Brinkley
  7:00  7:30  8:00  8:30  9:00  9:3010:0011:00 11:30  1:00       KING OF DIAMONDSTO TELL THE TRUTHPETE AND GLADYSPRICE IS RIGHT—Cullen   COLOR DANNY THOMASANDY GRIFFITHWESTINGHOUSE PRESENTSNEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER   COLOR JACK PAAR—Variety   COLOR NEWS 
 


10 WCAU (CBS)
MORNING
  6:00 COLLEGE OF THE AIRNew Biology
  6:30 TELEVISION SEMINAR
  7:00 BILL BENNETT SHOW
  7:30 NEWS—Crane, Hart, Leslie
  7:45 PIXANNE—Children
  8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO--Children
  9:00 GENE LONDON—Children
  9:50 NEWS—Bob Collier
10:00 CALENDAR—Harry Reasoner
10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy
11:00 VIDEO VILLAGE—Hall
11:30 YOUR SURPRISE PACKAGE
11:55 NEWS—Harry Reasoner
AFTERNOON
12:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial
12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW
12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial
  1:00 NEWS—Jack Whitaker
  1:05 BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy
  1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS
  2:00 PASSWORD—Allen LuddenGuests: Chuck Conners, Arlene Francis
  2:30 HOUSE PARTY—Linkletter
  3:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama
  3:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama
  3:55 NEWS—Charles Collingwood
  4:00 BRIGHTER DAY—Serial
  4:15 SECRET STORM—Serial
  4:30 EDGE OF NIGHT
  5:00 HIGHWAY PATROL—Police
  5:30 MOVIE—DramaEarly Show: "Where Danger Lives" (1950)
EVENING

  7:00 NEWS—John Facenda
  7:05 COMMENTARY—Charles Shaw
  7:10 WEATHER—Herb Clarke
  7:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH
  8:00 PETE AND GLADYS
  8:30 WINDOW ON MAIN STREET—Drama
  9:00 DANNY THOMAS
  9:30 ANDY GRIFFITH
10:00 HENNESEY—Comedy
10:30 I’VE GOT A SECRET
11:00 NEWS—John Facenda
11:10 WEATHER—Jack Whitaker
11:15 MOVIE—MysteryLate Show: "The Mad Doctor" (1941)
  1:00 MOVIE—ComedyTime approximate. Late, Late Show: "Madame Racketeer" (1932) 
  2:25 NEWS
  2:30 GIVE US THIS DAY—Religion
TV  

This week in TV Guide: October 7, 1961

It's true that John Kennedy was the first TV president, but Dwight Eisenhower was the president of television's Golden Age; and unlike JFK, Ike didn't need television to introduce him to the public. This week, as we approach the one-year anniversary of his successor being chosen, the former president sits down to spend some significant time with CBS' Walter Cronkite on Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Tonight's show, the first of three, focuses on Eisenhower's views on the Presidency: what constitutional powers the president has and how he can use them, the qualities of leadership required in the men who would presume to hold the office, and his own adjustment from being Supreme NATO Commander and President of Columbia University to President of the United States.

The CBS crew that arrived at Eisenhower's farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, found the four days spent with the former president a special occasion. "It was like a nice, warm visit with your grandfather," according to Cronkite, who would one day inspire the same feelings from his viewers. Executive Producer Fred Friendly, who had instructed the crew "against bothering Mr. Eisenhower* for autographs for 'telling him how you fought alongside him during the war'," said that Eisenhower "was wonderful. He wrote me several letters after we completed the job and returned to New York. He also wrote generous letters to Mr. [William] Paley [head of CBS] about Walter, about the crew and me." Cronkite abstained from what he called "Mike Wallace" questions, and Eisenhower was frank in many of his answers. It's perhaps not surprising then that when Ike returned to Normandy for a television special on the 20th anniversary of D-Day, it was on CBS—with Cronkite.

*Throughtout the article, the former president is referred to as "Mr. Eisenhower." A bit of decorum that we don't often see anymore. 

All in all, it sounds like a very interesting show, with a man who is obviously still revered by the American people. I wonder how it did in the ratings, up against Sing Along With Mitch and The Untouchables?

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At 1:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon on NBC, it's Game Three of the World Series, which really was a classic back in those days when only one team from each league made it to the postseason. (They had fans in the stands as well.) This year, the Fall Classic pits the heavily favored New York Yankees, led by new home run king Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and the rest, against the surprise National League champion Cincinnati Reds, led by Frank Robinson and Joey Jay.* The teams unexpectedly split the opening two games in New York, which means the Reds can capture the title by winning their three games at home. Alas for the Redlegs, it's the Yankees who sweep the three games, and the Series, which concludes on Monday afternoon. Here's a brief clip from the original broadcast of that Game Three.

*Fun fact: In the long history of organized baseball, Joey Jay was the first Little League player to make it to the major leagues.
Following the Series, ABC's college football game of the week takes us to Los Angeles, where #1 ranked Iowa takes on USC. In a spectacular game, the Hawkeyes edge the Trojans 35-34; it is, alas, the last hurrah for Iowa, which finishes the season a disappointing 5-4. USC's season ends dismally as well, at 4-5-1. Neither team will be seen in the New Year's games.

Saturday night, it's the 1953 movie Titanic on NBC's new Saturday Night at the Movies (9:00 p.m.), starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Wagner*. This was the first movie I'd ever seen about the Titanic (though I saw it several years later on local TV), and though I was initially frightened by the upcoming collision between the ship and the iceberg, I was nonetheless hooked for life on the great tragedy.

*Fun fact: In the movie, Stanwyck plays an unhappy wife who's left Webb, taking her two children with her. Wagner plays a college student who romances Stanwyck's eldest daughter during the trip. In reality, Wagner and Stanwyck (whe was 23 years his elder) were in the midst of a torrid four-year affair.

If the sinking of the Titanic doesn't float your boat, you might be more interested in ABC's Fight of the Week, featuring journeyman heavyweight Alex Miteff taking on the unranked but up-and-coming fighter Cassius Clay. We're told that Clay "didn't look too impressive in his last bout" and "is up against a strong, aggressive puncher tonight." Clay, of course, comes out on top; a little less than two-and-a-half years later, he would be heavyweight champion. If you're curious, here's how it looks, brought to you by El Producto:


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The World Series continues on Sunday, as does professional football. The defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles are at home this week, which according to the archaic NFL blackout rules, means there's no televised NFL football in Philadelphia, home of this week's issue. On the other hand, the AFL has no such restrictions, and it's the ABC (and later NBC) telecasts of AFL games into blacked-out NFL markets that helps the new league gain a foothold in the nation. This week, the Buffalo Bills take on the defending AFL champion Houston Oilers in Houston; the Bills take an upset victory, 22-12.

Sunday also brings us a little Cold War news, in the person of Ed Sullivan, who's taken his show to West Berlin to entertain 6000 Allied military personnel and their families. (8:00 p.m., CBS) Tonight, Ed gives us a highlights show, featuring Louis Armstrong, Sid Caesar, Shari Lewis, Maureen O'Hara, Rowan and Martin, opera star Roberta Peters (Ed's favorite guest), and more.

Later still on Sunday (10:00 p.m.), CBS presents Candid Camera, and there's an accompanying article in the national section that tells about the show's own Cold War moment: how creator Allen Funt successfully smuggled 90,000 feet of film (and two cameramen) in and out of the Soviet Union. Funt tells writer Martin Cohen how he had feared bureaucratic red tape would prevent him from ever getting there legally, so he and his crew simply went there on their own, registering as tourists, and spending over a week doing some of their most famous bits before unsuspecting Russian citizens, all with hidden cameras that would likely get them arrested if they were ever discovered. Fortunately for them they weren't, and Funt emerges with, he says, enough footage for an hour's program, which will be seen sometime in the future.

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Some leftovers for the rest of the week, but as is often the case, leftovers can be pretty good.
John Daly, the longtime anchor of ABC's evening news (as well as its news director), has left the network, which leaves him free to concentrate on What's My Line?, as well as make guest appearances on other shows. This Monday, he's hosting NBC's Westinghouse Presents variety special "The Sound of the Sixties" (10:00 p.m.), starring Art Carney, Vic Damone, Gogi Grant, Pat Harrington, Mahalia Jackson, Andre Previn and Tony Randall. Too bad they couldn't get any stars.

On Tuesday, Lee Marvin and Arthur Kennedy star in the initial presentation of ABC's new anthology series Alcoa Premiere (10:00 p.m.), with Fred Astaire as host and occasional star. He's not on tonight's program, "People Need People," starring Arthur Kennedy as a psychiatrist who's given ten days to prove the value of his new treatment for mentally ill former soldiers—what we'd call PTSD. Lee Marvin plays the afflicted vet, and I wonder how quaint, or how insightful, the discussion of treatment would look to us today, given what we now know about the syndrome.


Now, you might be wondering, after seeing the ad above for The New Bob Newhart Show (Wednesday 10:00 p.m., NBC), what the old one was like. It's kind of hard to say, because the evidence points to this being his first series. Perhaps they mean it's a new series, as opposed to whatever old ones it replaced; this is, after all, its debut episode. One thing's for sure: history will show that more people were interested in Bob Newhart's really new series—The Bob Newhart Show that featured him as a psychologist in Chicago, with Suzanne Pleshette as his wife.

In any event, the buttons on the ad refer to Newhart's celebrated comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which won the Grammy as Album of the Year in 1961 (before that award was specified for musical performances). The album features most of Newhart's greatest bits, including the imaginary telephone conversations, and NBC must have felt this made him a natural for a variety show. As it turns out, it was not the variety format that suited him best (he also featured in The Entertainers, a failed variety show with rotating hosts, one of whom was Carol Burnett), but the sitcom. Admittedly, that might not have been so obvious back in 1961, but as we've seen since, Newhart was one of the first of many stand-up comedians to have a successful sitcom shaped around his act, or shtick. In Newhart's case, it happened successfully not once, but twice.  Not bad at all.

Also on Wednesday, a couple of things: a great animation block, with The Alvin Show on CBS at 7:30 p.m., and Top Cat on ABC at 8:30 p.m. Loved them both. And then, on Armstrong Circle Theatre (10:00 p.m., CBS), host Ron Cochran—soon to move to ABC as anchor of its nightly news, thanks to Daly's resignation—presents "Legend of Murder: The Untold Story of Lizzie Borden." The legend of Lizzie Borden has always been a storied part of American history; I wonder if it's ever taught in school nowadays.

On Friday, it's one of the very best episodes of The Twilight Zone, featuring Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters in "A Game of Pool." (10:00 p.m., CBS) It's an example of Klugman's one-note intensity used to its best effect, in a powerful performance as a man trying to prove that there's one thing he can do better than anyone else: play pool. He's countered by an equally good Winters, in a rare dramatic role as Fats, the long-dead legendary pool great, come back to force Klugman to prove that his game is more than just talk—that he has the guts to be the best.

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"For the Record" was TV Guide's precursor to The Doan Report—have I mentioned that before? I've done so many of these I can't remember anymore, and it couldn't have anything to do with old age. Anyway, Henry Harding reports that The Bell Telephone Hour barely made it through its season opener September 29 on NBC. Harry Belafonte, who'd been heavily advertised as host of the live broadcast, instead wound up in the hospital with a respiratory ailment. No worries; the show improvised by substituting a Belafonte performance from a couple of years back. That was easy, though, compared to the problems with the show's other star, Rosemary Clooney. The telephone people, who spend a lot of money every year to sponsor the program, wanted Clooney to cut a couple of her love songs; they thought they were inappropriate for a woman about to divorce José Ferrer (for the first time). Rosie promptly took a hike, and I can't really say I blame her. The producers recruited some substitute talent: opera stars Anna Moffo and Richard Tucker, plus Dorothy Collins and Eddie Condon. Well, you know what they say—the show must go on. Meanwhile, one of television's most popular programs may be in trouble; thanks to the aforementioned Saturday Night at the Movies, NBC was able to mop up on CBS's top-rated Gunsmoke, along with Have Gun—Will Travel and the last half-hour of The Defenders. Is this the end of the trail for Matt Dillon and the good people of Dodge City? Eventually, fourteen seasons from now. 
COURTESY: STARS AND STRIPES     
And then there's the story behind that photo of Jack Paar at left. It was taken during Paar's recent trip to West Berlin, at a checkpoint between East and West. Paar, in the process of filming three shows, talked the Army into appeairng with him; he appeared with, according to Stars and Stripes , "two colonels, one lieutenant colonel, a major, a captain, two lieutenants and about 50 enlisted men, some in bulletproof vests." Well, when word got back to the VIPs in Washington, you'd think Paar had provided aid and comfort to the enemy instead of talking with American troops. "Sen. Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., majority leader, asserted that what is happening in Berlin is a world tragedy and 'not a TV spectacular,' with military personnel used as background for a comedian. Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, D-Minn., assistant majority leader, said this 'is intolerable and should not be done.' He said Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev can use 'this kind of incident' for propaganda around the world 'and beat us over the head with it.' Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, R-Mass., said the use of armed troops for such an occasion might lead to 'a shooting scene.' A number of the officers were disciplined for cooperating with Paar. 
The story doesn't end there, though, as we see in this week's Letters to the Editor. Jacqueline Ferguson, of Clinton, Kentucky, is not impressed with the opinions of those men in Washington, nor with the editors of TV Guide who viewed the whole thing as a publicity stunt. (For television? Imagine that.) TV Guide's editorial, Ms. Ferguson writes, "did not mention the tears of joy that must have been shed by the families of the few armed forces men we saw. They could not have understood the situation in any other way than to see the streets, the buildings as they were. mr. Paar did not have any intention of having a news broadcast, but all the same he brought us the news." She reminds us that "[t]here were jokes at Valley Forge [and] Abraham Lincoln's humor was not dampened by the Civil War," and that it is "typical of us to ralize completely the seriousness of a situation and still be able to find the humor in it." I have to wonder how many letters like this the Secretary of the Army received, because Harding now reports that—low and behold—the Army has reversed its decision. "A military investigation, which included a viewing of the controversial Paar film, concluded with a decision to cancel the disciplinary action 'in order to right an injustice.'" Maybe you can fight City Hall, at least some of the time.
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Finally, I'll leave you with some more ads. Here's one for Broderick Crawford's new series King of Diamonds, in which he's looking very much like Chief Dan Matthews in Highway Patrol.

Before Mike Connors was a star in Mannix, he played an undercover agent in the tense drama Tightrope! His character was so undercover, he didn't even have a regular name. Speaking of which, I'm surprised to see him referred to here as "Mike"—although that's how we know him today, back then he was usually billed as "Michael." Better than Touch , anyway.


This "Special Offer to Roger Maris Fans" reminds us that Maris had just completed one of the greatest season any baseball player ever had, breaking Babe Ruth's famed single-season home run record.*

*With the help of an *, of course. Perhaps he did need some extra games, but he didn't need PEDs.


And Richard Burton isn't on television this week, at least not in his own program—but just because you can't watch the "star of stage, screen and TV" doesn't mean you can't drink the wine he does. And it's imported from Denmark!


But is it as exciting as Liz? TV