Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 48
August 7, 2023
What's on TV? Tuesday, August 10, 1954
On Tuesday, Herbert Hoover becomes only the fifth former president of the United States—and the first since John Quincy Adams—to reach 80 years of age, and NBC is making a day of it with remote broadcasts from Hoover's home in West Branch, Iowa. It begins with an interview with the former president on Today at 7:00 a.m., and continues on Home at 10:00 a.m. Then, the day-long celebration climaxes at 4:30 p.m. as Hoover makes a live address to the nation. Short of a state funeral, I can't recall too many times a former POTUS will get that much attention, but as we know, it isn't every day that one turns 80. You can see that, and more of today's highlights, in this Chicagoland edition.
❷ WBBM (CBS) MORNING 6:55 Today’s Thoughts 7:00 The Morning Show—Variety (Five minutes of local news at 7:25, 7:55, 8:25, 8:55 A.M.) 9:00 Garry Moore—Variety 9:30 Godfrey And Friends 10:30 Strike It Rich—Quiz 11:00 Valiant Lady—Serial 11:15 Love Of Life—Serial 11:30 Search For Tomorrow 11:45 Guiding Light—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 Portia Faces Life—Serial 12:15 The Seeking Heart—Serial 12:30 Welcome Travelers 1:00 Robert Q. Lewis—Variety 1:30 Linkletter’s House Party 2:00 Big Payoff—Quiz Game 2:30 Bob Crosby—Musical 3:00 Brighter Day—Serial 3:15 Secret Storm—Serial 3:30 On Your Account—Quiz 4:00 Shopping With Miss Lee 4:20 Buster Crabbe—Western 5:00 Range Riders—Adventures 5:30 Gene Autry—Western EVENING 6:00 Sports—Bob Elson 6:15 News—Julian Bentley 6:30 News—Douglas Edwards 6:45 Grove And Griffin—Songs 7:00 GENE AUTRY—Western 7:30 JUVENILE JURY 8:00 MEET MILLIE—Comedy 8:30 SUSPENSE—Drama “The Iron Cop” 9:00 DANGER—Mystery 9:30 TUESDAY THEATER—Drama “A Quarter For Your Trouble” 10:00 NEWS—Fahey Flynn 10:15 IN TOWN TONIGHT—Variety 10:30 NEWS—John Harrington 10:45 IRV KUPCINET—Comments 11:00 Playhouse—Horror “House of Death” 11:30 Late News 11:35 MOVIE—Drama “I’ll Walk Beside You”
4 WTMJ (MILWAUKEE) (NBC) MORNING 7:00 Today—News, Interviews Guest: Herbert Hoover (Five minutes of local news with Len O’Connor at 7:25, 7:55, 8:25, 8:55 A.M.) 9:00 Ding Dong School—Kids 9:30 A Time To Live—Serial 9:45 Three Steps To Heaven 10:00 Home—Women’s News 11:00 Gordon Thomas—Interviews AFTERNOON 12:00 What’s New In The Kitchen 12:45 Let’s Look At The News 1:00 Grenediers—Musical 1:30 Bob Heiss—Interviews 1:55 Weather—Bill Carlsen 2:00 One Man’s Family—Serial 2:15 Golden Windows—Serial 2:30 First Love—Serial 2:45 Concerning Miss Marlowe—Serial 3:00 Hawkins Falls 3:15 Bride And Groom 3:30 Betty White Show 4:00 Beulah Donohue—Women 5:00 Gretchen Colnik—Tips 5:15 Museum Explorer—Exhibits COLOR 5:30 Foreman Tom—Western EVENING 6:00 Hot Shot Revue—Music 6:15 News—Paul Skinner 6:25 Weather—Bill Carlsen 6:30 Sports Picture 6:45 News—John Cameron Swayze 7:00 MIDWESTERN HAYRIDE 7:30 ARTHUR MURRAY PARTY Guest: Lew Parker, Martha Stewart, Georgie Kaye 8:00 SUMMER PLAYHOUSE “We’ll Never Have a Nickel” 8:30 TOP PLAYS OF 1954 “Wonderful Day For a Wedding” 9:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Quiz Show 9:30 TRIANGLE THEATER—Drama “Work of Art” 10:00 THE WORLD WE LIVE IN 10:15 NEWS—Paul Skinner 10:25 WEATHER—Bill Carlsen 10:30 MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY 11:00 Paragon Playhouse “Dialogue For Two Faces” 11:30 MOVIE—MYSTERY “Bombay Waterfront” 1:00 News—Tom Mercein
❺ WNBQ (NBC) MORNING 6:45 Everett Mitchell—Talks 7:00 Today—News, Interviews Guest: Herbert Hoover (Five minutes of local news with Len O’Connor at 7:25, 7:55, 8:25, 8:55 A.M.) 9:00 Ding Dong School—Kids 9:30 A Time To Live—Serial 9:45 Three Steps To Heaven 10:00 Home—Women’s News 11:00 Bob Smith Show—Variety 11:30 Melody Magazine—Music AFTERNOON 12:00 Noontime Comics—Kids 12:30 Bob & Kay Show—Chats 1:00 Creative Cookery—Recipes 2:00 One Man’s Family—Serial 2:15 Golden Windows—Serial 2:30 First Love—Serial 2:45 Concerning Miss Marlowe—Serial 3:00 Hawkins Falls 3:15 Bride And Groom 3:30 Betty White Show 4:00 Pinky Lee—Comedy, Games 4:30 Observance Herbert Hoover’s 80th Birthday SPECIAL 5:00 Elmer The Elephant—Kids 5:30 Close-Up—Musical EVENING 6:00 Weather—Clint Youle 6:05 News—Jack Angell 6:10 Sports—Joe Wilson 6:15 Dorsey Connors—Travel 6:20 Alex Dreier—Features 6:25 Tony Weitzel—Comments 6:30 The World Of Mr. Sweeney 6:45 News—John Cameron Swayze 7:30 ARTHUR MURRAY PARTY Guest: Lew Parker, Martha Stewart, Georgie Kaye 8:00 SUMMER PLAYHOUSE “We’ll Never Have a Nickel” 8:30 TOP PLAYS OF 1954 “Wonderful Day For a Wedding” 9:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Quiz Show 9:30 BIG PICTURE—Army Films 10:00 WEATHER—Clint Youle 10:15 NEWS—Jack Angell 10:30 SPORTS—Norman Barry 10:45 HERBIE MINTZ—Musical 11:00 Championship Golf—Sport
❼ WBKB (ABC) MORNING 7:00 Chicago Parade—Variety 8:00 Breakfast Club—Don McNeill 9:00 Cookery Magic—Recipes 9:30 Pied Piper Show—Kids 10:00 Play House—Kiddies 10:30 Time For Uncle Win 10:55 News—Ulmer Turner 11:00 Danny O’Neil-_Variety 11:55 News—Ullmer Turner AFTERNOON 12:00 Happy Pirates—Kids Fun 12:55 News—Ulmer Turner 1:00 Ruth Crowley—Baby Care 1:15 The Doctor Answers—Talks 1:30 Claude Kirchner—Variety 2:00 Stuart Brent—Discussion 2:15 Swingalong—Musical 3:00 Home Theater—Intrigue “The Thief” 3:30 Studio B For Bartlett 3:55 News—Ulmer Turner 4:00 Jungle Adventure—Film 4:30 Garfield Goose and Friend 5:00 Jolly Seven Gang—Kids 5:30 Tom Duggan—Sports 5:45 News—Austin Kiplinger EVENING 6:00 Sports—Jack Drees 6:10 Weather—Wayne Griffin 6:15 News—John Daly 6:30 Men Of Tomorrow—Sports 7:00 To Be Announced 7:30 TWENTY QUESTIONS—Quiz 8:00 DANNY THOMAS—Variety Sponsored by Pall Mall 8:30 CENTER STAGE—Drama “The Desdemona Murder Case” 9:30 NAME’S THE SAME—Panel 10:00 LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy 10:30 THE VISITOR—Drama 11:00 News—Ulmer Turner 11:05 Tom Duggan—Comments 12:00 MOVIE—Mystery “The Monster Maker”
❾ WGN (Du Mont) MORNING 9:00 Paul Fogarty—Exercises 9:30 Time For Stories 10:00 A To Z Of Cookery—Tips 10:55 News—Steve Fentress 11:00 King’s Crossroads—Film 11:30 Earl Nightingale—Chats 11:55 News—Steve Fentress AFTERNOON 12:00 Hi Ladies—Interviews 12:45 Travelers Sketchbook 12:55 News—Steve Fentress 1:00 MOVIE—Drama “Penal Code” 2:00 Paul Dixon—Musical 3:00 MOVIE—Western “Ghost Town Law” 4:00 Bandstand—Musical 4:55 News—Les Nichols 5:00 Bob Atcher Show—Kids 5:30 News—Leslie Monypenny 5:45 Curbstone Cut Ups—Chats EVENING 6:00 Captain Video—Adventures 6:15 Sports Final—Vince Lloyd 6:30 News—Spencer Allen 6:45 Chicagoland Newsreel 7:00 THE GOLDBERGS—Comedy 8:00 BADGE 714—Drama Sponsored by Chicago Motor Club 8:30 HOLLYWOOD SHOWCASE 9:00 48TH STREET THEATER “On Four Wheels” 9:30 I LED 3 LIVES—Film 10:00 MOVIE—Drama “Enemy of Women” 11:30 News—Les Nichols 11:45 Weather—Carl Greyson
TV
August 5, 2023
This week in TV Guide: August 7, 1954
Some years ago, an author whose work I otherwise respect—which is why I'm not naming him here—tossed off what I'm sure he considered an amusing bon mot about Orson Bean, to wit that he was a game show panelist known primarily for being known. It was an ignorant statement, which just goes to show the dangers involved in stepping outside your field of expertise without adequate preparation, but, as is often the case, it also offers the opportunity for correction, to write a wrong. Not that he's likely to be reading this, but it might be helpful in any event to set the record straight on Orson Bean.Bean is hosting Blue Angel, the summer replacement series for Edward R. Murrow's See It Now, and to give things an authentic feel, the set is a recreation of the famed Blue Angel nightclub, where Bean made his breakthrough three years ago as a 21-year-old purveyor of sophisticated stand-up comedy. Originally from Vermont (and named Dallas Burrows), Bean took his first crack at show business in 1948 after leaving the Army. He started out as a magician, but transitioned into comedy, living "on peanut butter and crackers between jobs" before walking into the Blue Angel and convincing the owner that he was funny enough to be hired.
Since then, he's appeared in several television shows, and made his Broadway debut in "Almanac." He feels that his greatest success, though, "has been in winning recognition from the folks Down East who never had much faith in my theatrical ambition." He's hoping for his own sitcom someday, and in the meantime he's taking lessons in singing, dancing, and acting, and teaching himself to juggle, a skill that will come in handy in future years.
For this isn't the end of Orson Bean's story, not by a long shot. He continued to appear on Broadway, starring in the original cast of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and later receiving a Tony nomination for Subways Are for Sleeping. He guested frequently on television, was a regular on Dr. Quinn, and became a mainstay on, yes, game shows, including I've Got a Secret and To Tell the Truth. He was a gifted storyteller, graceful and self-effacing, which won him a chair on all the talk shows of the day. He voiced Bilbo Baggins in the animated The Hobbit, and Frodo in the sequel Return of the King. And he remained an active actor until his untimely death in 2020 at age 91 after being hit by a car.What bemused him in his last years of life was, he said, his status as one of the few celebrities to be blacklisted not once but twice, first by the right and then by the left. He was blacklisted in the mid-1950s "because I had a cute communist girlfriend," and went a year without appearing on television, before Ed Sullivan welcomed him back to his show. Later in life, he found hmself on the outs with the Hollywood left after he became an outspoken conservative; Bean's daughter married pundit Andrew Breitbart, and Bean converted Breitbart from liberalism to conservatism.
Orson Bean was known for being an actor, a comedian, a voice artist, a raconteur, an a writer. The idea of being famous for being famous wouldn't have bothered him (he himself used the line, and said he was a "neocelebrity"), but if you only knew of him because you recognized his name, it was your loss.
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Back before Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, before message boards, even before the Internet, there were things called "fan clubs." You'd generally join these clubs by sending your name and address through something called the "U.S. Mail," and in return you'd get a membership card, perhaps an autographed picture, and an occasional newsletter, all done by enthusiastic volunteers, often teens. And for all that, you became part of a following, one designed to "help fan an entertainer’s career to a flame so white-hot that he and his whole family can bask in its glow for years."
Perry Como with some of his adoring fans The times may have changed, and the methods adapted to current technology, but the importance of fans hasn't changed. For as this week's article says, "[T]he fans are the ones who buy most of their favorite’s recordings; come out in droves for any personal appearance; build TV ratings by tuning in faithfully to the star’s program; deluge their local disc jockeys with requests for his records and generally promote the wealth and welfare of the stars." Most fan clubs are not national organizations, but are local or regional; there are more than 2,000 devoted to Perry Como, for instance, not only in this country but around the world. Singer Eddie Fisher has a similar number (I wonder if Elizabeth Taylor belonged to any of them?), and even writer Paddy Chayefsky has one. And while stars may "pretend dismay," they know that their fans are what help keep them in the bread and butter. A group of Jimmy Durante's fans collared him at the track one day; he was hoping they had some hot tips, but they were only there to pitch some gags. Jerry Lewis "once embarked on an hour-long tirade against his sponsor and ad agency executives because they weren’t alloting him enough tickets for his fans. Lewis’ position: they lead the studio laughter." Como offers some of his fans haircuts on their birthdays; Como, as you may remember, was a barber before he hit stardom.
Although the means change, fandom, and its importance, remains the same today, and it's a foolish celebrity that risks antagonizing them, don't you think?
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It's called "The Dream Mile," and it may well be the sporting event of the year. On Saturday afternoon, the only two human beings ever to have run a mile in less than four minutes will meet, along with several other runners, in the British Empire Games, from Vancouver, B.C. The CBC is covering the race live, with the signal traveling from Vancouver to Seattle, where it will then be picked up by NBC and relayed throughout the United States, starting at 4:00 p.m. CT.It's difficult to really explain just how big this is; for decades, the four-minute mile (from an era when the metric system hasn't completely taken hold) has been the holy grail of sports; a barrier which seemed as impenetrable as the sound barrier once was. Studies have been conducted, techniques have been discussed, and tactics have been employed, all in an effort to break a barrier that some scientists thought was a human impossibility. When it became clear that it could, and would, be done, runners engaged in a battle to see who would be first. Roger Bannister ensured hs name would go down in history by becoming the first, with a 3:59.4 mile on May 6; that was then broken by John "Jack" Landy, who broke Bannister's record with a 3:57.9 less than two months later, on June 21.
The world's media is focused on the outcome; as Landy would say in 2015, "The four-minute mile was something that even people who weren’t interested in athletics could understand and this fascination had built up." And now, with 35,000, including Prince Philip in attendence, the two will meet head-to-head, with several other runners, to settle the score. And while you might think that nothing could ever live up to that buildup, you'd be wrong. Landy leads throughout most of the race, but Bannister begins to reel him in during the final lap; in the final turn, Landy looks to the left to see where Bannister is, while Bannister passes him on the right, winning the race in a non-record but second-fastest-ever time of 3:58.8; Landy finishs in 3:59.6, the first time two runners have ever broken four minutes in the same race; a statue is later erected in Vancouver to mark the occasion of the race. You can see exactly how the sporting event of the year unfolded here .
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Today, the cover headline might read, "Godfrey Snaps Back at Fake News." Seems like people are always complaining about that, aren't they? As to the source of Godfrey's ire, well, when you spend as much of your life in the public eye as he does, you're bound to run into controversy, and as is so often the case, once it does, things just begin to snowball.
For the Old Redhead, his downfall probably began with his on-air sacking of Julius LaRosa last October, and since then things have gone downhill: rumors that he was disappointed in singer Marion Marlowe over several issues including her "choice of dating partners" and refusal to take orders; rumors that he was unhappy with Lu Ann Simms because of her recent marriage possibly disrupting the show's schedule; an on-air announcement that he'd fired a member of his crew for drunkeness; and the fall of both of his primetime programs out of the top 10 in the ratings. Because of this, he's agreed to an exclusive interview with TV Guide's Bob Stahl to try and set the record straight.Asked by Stahl why the press seems to be out to get him, Godfrey blames it on "a dearth of any good news, so they turn to me. That’s why all this stuff starts. But none of it is true in any way and I’m hanged if I’ll get caught in the middle of it." He's denied he's planning on firing any of his cast members, but refuses to comment on whether or not he plans on hiring any new ones, including the young singer Grace Bumbry, who'd wowed audiences on Talent Scounts a few months ago. "But I talked with her then and we agreed she should finish her college courses before we do anything. I told her to come to see me as soon as she finishes school." (Bumbry goes on to a legendary career in the opera house, winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, becoming the first black singer to appear at the legendary Bayreuth Festival in Germany, performing at the Met for decades, singing at several presidental inaugurations, and eventually retiring as one of the greatest singers of her time.)
He dismisses the idea that he was angered by Simms's marriage; "I don’t give a hoot who they (meaning all the girls on his show) are in love with, who they marry, who they divorce . . ." And he's adamant that he has no plans to retire, and will be on all next season, "the Good Lord willing." Stahl notes, though, that amidst the declining ratings for he show, it may well be that he'll require a change of format, as stars such as Milton Berle have had to do, in an attempt to recover. In any case, Godfrey does wind up firing Marlowe and Simms in 1955; Talent Scouts leaves the air in 1958, while Arthur Godfrey and His Friends hangs on for another season; his daily radio program lasts until 1972, but he never completely regains the hold he once had on America.
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We've already seen the sports event of the week, but what else is on?
Ed Sullivan is on vacation this week, so Victor Borge stands in for him on Toast of the Town (Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET, CBS), with guests Audrey Meadows, Jack Whiting, singer Mary Small, and acrobat-muicians Les Charlivels.. Sullivan will have several guest hosts over the years (including Charles Laughton, who subs on September 9, 1956 after Sullivan's near-fatal automobile accident—the night Elvis makes his Sullivan debut) but since Borge himself is a performer, you have to imagine he does a couple of pieces; it probably gives the show a feel more like the Colgate Comedy Hour, where the host is also the star. And speaking of that, the Summer Comedy Hour (7:00 p.m., NBC) has the Will Mastin Trio featuring Sammy Davis Jr. as the headliner, with the Gaylords vocal trio and pantomime comic Gene Sheldon. I'll have to go with the Comedy Hour on this one. Top Plays of 1954 presents a grim story; "Wonderful Day for a Wedding" (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., NBC), and I wonder just how top a play it is, since I can find very little about it online. After a bride changes her mind at the last minute, a "sultry next-door neighbor" consoles the jilted groom-to-be. Joan Leslie, Scott Brady, and Rita Moreno star; what do you want to bet that Rita is the sultry neighbor? Sounds like a nice day for a white wedding, doesn't it?
Celebrities were not always the stars of This Is Your Life (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., NBC); in the early years of the show, the lives were often those of ordinary people who'd experienced extraordinary situations. Case in point is this week, when the honoree is Emma-Jo Wengert, a woman who was freed from Nevada State Prison as a result of Erle Stanley Gardner's Court of Last Resort , which proved she had been convicted of a crime she didn't commit. Some of the cases of the Court were dramatized in a series on NBC in 1957-58, but here we get an example of the real thing.
While this may not have the impact of the Dream Mile, the other major event in sports this week is Wednesday's world lightheavyweight championship fight between the ageless one, champion Archie Moore, and challenger Harold Johnson, live from Madison Square Garden (9:00 p.m., CBS). Moore, who admits to 37 but was actually 41, wins in a 14th round knockout; he's nowhere near done, though, as he still has two heavyweight title challenges in front of him, and remains lightheavyweight champion until 1962. Ah, longetivity.
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The popular duo sing "Love Is the Reason"No wonder people are so confused!The Quiz Show Scandal has often been pointed to as when television lost its innocence. Now, I don't know whether or not that's true, but contemporary minds look back at it and frequently wonder how Americans could have been so naive as to buy into what they were seeing on TV. If you had any questions about that, though, this might help dispell them. A letter-writer from Waukeegan—I'm not naming this person either, although I can assure you it's not the same person in the Orson Bean story—says, "I watch the Garry Moore show frequently and would like to know if Ken Carson and Denise Lor are married. They always act like it when they sing together."
Well, it's called acting. Just like James Garner and Mariette Hartley were acting all those years when they were doing those Polaroid commercials together, and everyone wondered if they were married. Now, it's true that some actors are more natural than others, and some pairings have a chemistry that just works. But I'm reminded of an exchange from Doctor Who, when Romana expresses surprise that Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor doesn't believe someone's story. "But he had such an honest face," she says, to which The Doctor replies, "Romana, you can't be a successful crook with a dishonest face, can you?" So maybe none of these things surprise me after all.
Oh, and by the way, Ken Carson and Denise Lor are not married, at least not to each other. Says the editor, it's just good acting.
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MST3K alert: Rocketship X-M (1950) Scientists prepare for a trip to Mars via rocketship. Lloyd Bridges and Osa Massen. (Wednesday, 10:00 p.m., WGN) The brief description doesn't really do this movie justice; the crew is supposed to be making the first trip to the moon, but due to an engine malfunction, they wind up on Mars instead. (Don't ask.) It also marks the debut of TV's Frank (Conniff) and Kevin Murphy as the new voice of Tom Servo, so for that we should always be grateful. The rest of it will leave your lungs aching for air. TV
August 4, 2023
Around the dial
Once again we begin the week with a shameless bit of self-promotion: my latest appearance on the Dan Schneider Video Interview. This week, Dan and I discuss
television in the 1950s
, in all its various ramifications. It's a far-ranging conversation that covers a lot of area, so take some time and give it a watch.We're into August now, in case you hadn't noticed, which means that the Christmas in July festival at Christmas TV History has wrapped up for another year. This year's theme revolved around adaptations of A Christmas Carol, literal and figurative, and Joanna thoughtfully provides this recap where you can catch your favorites from last month.
At Cult TV Blog, John continues his look at The X-Files and its portrayal of the American Dream, this week concentrating on the episode "Fresh Bones," the military-industrial complex, immigration, slavery, and how they come together. Good stuff, as always.
David continues his odyssey through 1970s TV at Comfort TV, and his week he arrives at Thursday, 1972 . That fall marked the beginning of my time in the World's Worst Town™ so I didn't see a lot of them, but it's an eventful year; while NBC still has a killer lineup, it's the year CBS introduces The Waltons.
Is The Avengers a better show with Mrs. Gale or Mrs. Peel? Interesting question; I'd guess that in the United States, where the Diana Rigg episodes were the first ones shown, the answer would be the latter, but at The View from the Junkyard, Roger uses that question as the jumping-off point for a look at the episode " What the Butler Saw ." What do you think?
This week Butch Patrick turns 70 . (In other news, I'm being reminded again that I'm old, and getting older.) We know him from The Munsters, of course, but there's more to his career than that, and we're reminded of that in this brief summary at Travalanche.
I'm not sure you could take a trip around the dial in the 1960s and 1970s without coming across Susan Oliver somewhere; she was always appearing as a guest star on the most popular programs of the day, and Those Were the Days takes a spin around her credits.
One of the things you seldom see anymore is the appendage "The New" to a show's title. I suppose it's mostly because most shows aren't named after their stars anymore, but off the top of my head I can think of second shows by Bob Cummings, Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, Phil Silvers, and, as Television's New Frontier: the 1960s reminds us, Loretta Young . Read about her episodes from 1962.
Paul Reubens , aka Pee-Wee Herman, died this week of cancer, aged 70, and social media has been flooded with tributes from friends, colleagues, and fans alike. At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence takes a look back at the life and career of the beloved comedian.
When my fandom of classic Doctor Who began in the 1980s, I began frequenting sci-fi bookstores in earnest, and one of my most pleasing discoveries was a series of novels based on The Prisioner, a show I'd discovered a decade earlier. Martin Grams ran across them recently, and he writes about it here .
I remember The Man from Atlantis , Patrick Duffy's sci-fi series before he became a Ewing and became famous, because it was a forced watch on the one channel in the World's Worst Town™. However, Cult TV Lounge doesn't have that same baggage to deal with, so you can get a fair assessment of the TV-movie that started it all. TV
August 2, 2023
What I've been watching: summer edition
Shows I’ve Watched:Shows I've Added:Sam BenedictCaptains and the KingsHarry OTinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpySmiley's PeopleBurke's LawTwin Peaks: The Return
True story: in 1963, the family of Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby was looking for a lawyer to represent him. Jack, you see, had gotten himself in a bit of trouble: he'd just murdered Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy, in front of millions of stunned viewers on television, and now he was in jail. The family had already approached high-powered Texas attorney Percy Foreman, "The biggest, brashest, brightest criminal lawyer in America," but he'd turned down the case. And then a strange player became involved in the discussion. NBC—ironically, the only network to actually air the Oswald murder live—encouraged Jake Ehrlich, one of the nation's best-known defense attorneys (his clientele included Errol Flynn, Billie Holiday, Howard Hughes and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti) to take the case. The family ultimately chose another celebrity attorney, Melvin Belli, supposedly because "they didn’t want to bring a Jewish lawyer into the case to defend this Jewish defendant" in Texas. But why did the network get involved in the first place? As it happened, NBC had a relationship with Ehrlich, going back to a weekly one-hour legal drama whose main character was based on him. That series was Sam Benedict.
I'm not quite sure what NBC had to gain from this move, considering they'd cancelled Sam Benedict earlier that year, after one season of 28 episodes. Of course, the publicity for the network would have been massive had the show still been on—"Based on the life of Jack Ruby's lawyer!"—but, unless they were hoping to bring the series back, they don't seem to have had much to gain from the whole thing. Maybe they were just trying to do a friend a favor.
If the idea was, in fact, to create interest in bringing back the series, it's too bad the ploy didn't pan out, because Sam Benedict is an excellent series, one not afraid to tackle difficult issues, and, I suspect, one that's slightly more realistic when it comes to life as a big-time lawyer than, say, Perry Mason. (Ehrlich was also rumored to be the model for Mason, but Erle Stanley Gardner always denied it.)
The star of Sam Benedict is the excellent Edmund O'Brien, an actor with succes both in movies (he won a Best Supporting Oscar in 1954 for The Barefoot Contessa, was nominated for a second Oscar in 1964 for Seven Days in May, and starred in one of the most famous of noir movies, D.O.A. in 1950) and on television (many guest appearance, and a starring role in the 1959-60 detective series Johnny Midnight). O'Brien plays Benedict at full-throttle, tossing off one-word answers to phone messages, dictating letters, appearing in court, and defending a featured client each week. He can be brusque, gruff, impatient, and downright rude; he is also eloquent, intuitive, compassionate, and. once on board, totally dedicated to justice for his client. (One biography written about him was called Never Plead Guilty.) In other words, he's precisely the kind of lawyer you'd want representing you.
Sam's assisted in his efforts by his loyal and efficient secretary, Trudy (Joan Tompkins), and Hank Tabor (Richard Rust), a young lawyer who, in the first episode, convinces Sam to take him on as an assistant and mentor him in the art of trial law. The relationship between Sam and Hank is a natural one; Hank is a bit wet behind the ears, but he's sharp and eager to learn, and Sam sees something of himself in the young man. The arrangement works out nicely in dramatic terms as well; while the two sometimes collaborate on a single case, they usually work separately, with Sam taking on the main case while Hank is involved in the secondary story. (As the young lawyer gains experience, he occasionally becomes the featured character.) Sam Benedict, like most legal dramas, is occasionally given to speechifying (Ehrlich himself was known as an impassioned and eloquent speaker and writer, authoring a dozen books on the law). Nonetheless, the show more than makes up for it with solid directing and writing that is always very good and occasionally excellent. Sam's clientele is a rich mixture of the wealthy and the unfortunate, complex individuals rather than the the broad and often irritating eccentrics seen too frequently in Perry Mason, and they're well-served by an outstanding lineup of guest stars, including Claude Raines (who gave a sensitive performance as Sam's own mentor, now an old man whose life is crumbling following the death of his daughter), Joseph Schildkraut (a wise and shrewd old rabbi), Diana Hyland (an old flame of Hank's who may be trying to escape her past), Gloria Grahame (in a whimsical secondary role) and more.
I'm sorry Sam Benedict didn't get more than a one-season tryout. Like Judd, for the Defense, it's a show with a harder edge and less formulaic than the always-enjoyable Mason, and a reminder that the law can be a noble and honorable profession, and that justice, now more than ever, is an elusive quality that should be cherished rather than scorned or trodden upon.
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When Alec Guinness took on the role of John le Carré's famous Cold War spy George Smiley in 1979's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and its 1982 sequel, Smiley's People, it was as if, after the success of Star Wars, he'd decided to remind everyone that the old man could still act. Sure, he'd been nominated for an Oscar for Star Wars, but he'd also referred to it as "fairy-tale rubbish," and said that he "shrivelled up" every time the movie was mentioned to him. No such concerns with le Carré, though, and Guinness's dominant performances in the two miniseries raise them far above what we usually see in the standard spy story.
You might recall George Smiley as a supporting, though consequential, character in the 1965 movie The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, obscured by the overpowering performance of Richard Burton in the title role, and he occupies similar smaller roles in several other le Carré novels. He's the central figure in several others, though, including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a co-production of the BBC and Paramount (one gets the idea that it might have been just a bit too good for Masterpiece Theatre, not to mention too expensive).
It's a new era for British intelligence (referred to colloquially as the Circus), and after a series of disasters, the dusty old guard has been swept out in favor of a new, more streamlined and progressive leadership. Smiley was part of that old guard, but after being retired to pasture, he's now been called back on the QT: compelling evidence has come to light that a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest ranks of the Circus. Smiley's assignment is to identify the mole from a quartet of suspects, code-named Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, and Spy (Sailor being deemed too smiliar in sound to Tailor). Along the way, his investigation—aided by a small number of trusted agents who owe their livelihoods to Smiley, as well as those who, like George, were seen as obsolete by the new regime—digs up skeletons both figurative and literal, on the way to finding out some uncomfortable truths about the Circus and those who run it.
Smiley's People, set a few years later, once again finds Smiley called out of retirement to investigate a case, this time involving an old Russian, one of Smiley's contacts from the past, who was murdered trying to get vital information to Smiley. Unlike Tinker, Tailor, which allowed much of its story to unfold via flashbacks not involving Smiley, Smiley's People tells a story which is more linear, with Smiley as the propellant moving the investigation forward.
Le Carré's stories are shrouded in a bleak, ambiguous landscape of suspicion and betrayal, one that assumes a kind of moral equivalence between East and West, in tactics if not in ideology. Smiley has come to a cynical acceptance of way things are; he has every reason, considering the way he was put to pasture, to tell them all to go to hell, but despite the indifference and politicalization—and naivety—of the men running the Circus, he believes there's still a job to do, and someone has to take responsibility for doing it.
The casts for both series are uniformely good: Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Ian Richardson, and Hywel Bennett in Tinker, Taylor and Hepton, Patrick Stewart, Michael Byrne, and Curd Jürgens. However, it is unquestionably Guinness, who superbly inhabits le Carré's's "breathtakingly ordinary" spymaster, moving forward despite any inner conflicts, who provides the moral center of the stories; while they tend to drag at times (especially the more obtuse Smiley's People), the screen crackles every time Guinness appears. Le Carré himself was so impressed with Guinness's work that he began to tailor his descriptions of Smiley in future books to more resemble Guinness's performance.
I've used the word cynical to describe le Carré's work, and that applies to the spy business as well. It is both ironic and disturbing, this business in which the "good" guys constantly adopt the tactics of the "bad" guys in an effort to defeat them. To what end, one is prompted to wonder.
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If George Smiley had somehow been American, an agent of the CIA rather than MI-6, one might have imagined David Janssen in the role, and you could certainly have done worse than that. Cynical, disenchanted, world-weary, but determined nonetheless to finish the job: that would have been Janssen as Smiley, just as it is Janssen as Harry Orwell, the irascible private detective of Harry O, which ran on ABC for 44 episodes between 1974 and 1976. The premise for Harry O provides something of a variation on the typical private eye series: Orwell, a former police detective forced to retire after taking a bullet in the back, runs a low-budget agency out of his San Diego beach house. He's a loner, forever seen working on restoring his boat, and were it not for his female next-door neighbors taking care of him, it's doubtful he'd pay much attention to anything around him. His car is often in the repair shop, with the result that he's usually found taking the bus to appointments. Much like Sam Benedict, he can be rude and abrasive even with his clients, but unless you're the target of his investigation, his bark is usually worse than his bite.
Janssen's charisma, along with a typical PI-style voiceover that combines wryness and self-awareness in an elegant mix, works with the show's serious, often downbeat tone to provide a detective story that's refreshingly different. Ah, if only ABC had left their hands off of it. In an effort to boost ratings, the locale is changed from San Diego to Los Angeles, more action and gunplay is added, and he's given a proto-girlfriend in Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Still, these changes improved the ratings, and had it not been for Fred Silverman and his thirst for jiggle TV, it might have continued. But, alas, Hary O was out and Charlie's Angels (complete with Farrah) was in.
I prefer the earlier episodes, as I think most fans do, but after the success of his previous Richard Diamond, it's just a kick seeing Janssen in private detective-mode again. It's a comfortable Thursday-night fit in the schedule, following Hawaii Five-O, N.Y.P.D., Felony Squad, Johnny Staccato, The Lineup, and—yes—Richard Diamond. And then there's Burke's Law to round things out—but I just finished telling you about that. TV
July 31, 2023
What's on TV? Sunday, July 30, 1967
Soccer on television has come a long way from the match between Atlanta and Philadelphia on CBS today. Back then, U.S. networks routinely took commercial breaks during play, risking the chance they might miss something important. One way to ensure this didn't happen was to have players fake injuries or referees call "phantom" fouls, causing a stoppage in play that would allow a commercial to be slipped in without missing anything. It's nice to see the spirit of the Quiz Show Scandals hadn't completely gone from television by then. On of today's prestige movies is KTVU's The Naked and the Dead, an adaptation of Norman Mailer's epic war novel, and the source of
one of my favorite stories
, which I doubt showed up in the movie version. The listings are from the Northern California edition.-2- KTVU (BAY AREA) (IND.) Morning 8:30 LIVING WORD—Religion 8:45 SACRED HEART—Religion 9:00 EDITOR’S FORUM—Discussion 9:30 PUBLIC SERVICE FILM 10:00 FIREBALL XL-5—Children 10:30 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Riding Shotgun” (1955) Afternoon 12:00 ALL-STAR BOWLING 2:00 MOVIE—Drama “Suez” (1938) 4:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Ramar and the Hidden Terrors” (1959) 5:30 TOMBSTONE TERRITORY Evening 6:00 GREATEST SHOW—Drama COLOR 7:00 CHARLIE CHAPLIN—Comedy “The Pawnshop” (1926) 7:30 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “The Naked and the Dead” (1958) 9:30 ROLLER DERBY—Bombers Northwest Cardinals vs. Bay Bombers 11:00 HUMAN JUNGLE—Drama
-3- KCRA (SACRAMENTO) (NBC) Morning 7:30 CHRISTOPHER PROGRAM COLOR 8:00 THIS IS THE LIFE—Religion 8:30 IT IS WRITTEN—Talk COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Melodrama “Invisible Agent” (1942) 10:30 FAITH AND THE BIBLE SPECIAL COLOR “Frontiers of Faith” is pre-empted 11:00 INSIGHT—Religion 11:30 HEART OF THE PROBLEM COLOR Afternoon 12:00 CALIFORNIA U.S.A. COLOR 12:30 CAPITOL AND THE CLERGY COLOR 1:00 MEET THE PRESS COLOR 1:30 FILM FEATURE COLOR 2:00 SPORTSMAN’S HOLIDAY COLOR 2:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Good Morning, Judge” (1943) 4:00 MOVIE—Drama “Another Part of the Forest” (1948) Evening 6:00 NEWS—Frank McGee COLOR 6:30 SMITHSONIAN—Children COLOR “The Secret of Life” 7:00 ANIMAL SECRETS—Children COLOR 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR 8:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 THE SAINT—Mystery COLOR 11:00 SUNDAY ADVENTURES COLOR 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.), Tony Randall, Paul Anka
-4- KRON (BAY AREA) (NBC) Morning 6:30 PROFILE—San Diego State “Anatomy of Prejudice” 7:00 CARTOON TIME 8:00 ROBIN HOOD—Adventure 8:30 NATIONAL VELVET—Drama 9:00 HERITAGE—Discussion 9:30 PROBLEMS PLEASE—Panel 10:00 GREEN THUMB—Gillespie 10:30 FAITH AND THE BIBLE SPECIAL COLOR “Frontiers of Faith” is pre-empted 11:00 AGRICULTURE U.S.A. 11:30 DRESSING BY DESIGN COLOR Afternoon 12:00 COMMUNITY CIRCLE 12:30 FILM FEATURE 1:00 MEET THE PRESS COLOR 1:30 SPEAK OUT—Panel 2:00 MOVIE—Drama “City That Never Sleeps” (1953) 3:30 SMITHSONIAN—Children 4:00 ANIMAL SECRETS—Children 4:30 STAGECOAST WEST—Western 5:30 SPORTSMAN’S HOLICAY COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS—Frank McGee COLOR 6:30 RICHARD BOONE—Drama “All the Comforts of Home” 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR 8:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 THE SAINT—Mystery COLOR 11:00 NEWS—Jerry Jensen 11:15 GIDEON, C.I.D.—Mystery 12:15 CAIN’S HUNDRED—Drama
-5- KPIX (BAY AREA) (CBS) Morning 6:30 THE ANSWER—Religion 7:00 ARMY IN ACTION 7:30 INTERNATIONAL ZONE 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE COLOR 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION COLOR Guest: Secretary of State Dean Rusk 10:00 ENCOUNTER—Discussion 10:30 POTPOURRI—Jack Hanson 11:00 CHINA—Education 11:30 NEXT QUESTION—Interview Afternoon 12:00 AMATEUR HOUR—Variety COLOR 12:30 POW!—Rolfe Peterson 1:30 KPIX SPORTS SPECIAL—Golf COLOR Peter Thomson vs. Frank Stranahan 2:30 SOCCER—Chiefs vs. Spartans COLOR Atlanta Chiefs at Philadelphia Spartans 4:30 21ST CENTURY—Documentary COLOR 5:00 PERRY MASON—Mystery Evening 6:00 TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Birgit Nilsson, Alan King, Petula Clark, the Seekers, Peter Gennaro, Ronald Turini, Claude Leveillee, Les Feux Follets, the Montreal Symphony 9:00 OUR PLACE—Variety COLOR Guest: Nipsey Russell. Host: Burns and Schreiber 10:00 CANDID CAMERA COLOR 10:30 WHAT’S MY LINE? COLOR Guests: Joel Grey, Phyllis Newman. Panelists: Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf 11:00 NEWS C 11:20 NEWS—Harry Reasoner COLOR 11:35 MOVIE—Drama “Lonelyhearts” (1958)
-6- KVIE (SACRAMENTO) (EDUC.) Afternoon 2:30 BOOK BEAT—Interview Guest: Philip Stern, “The Shame of a Nation” 3:00 MUSEUM OPEN HOUSE—Art 3:30 NET JOURNAL—Report 4:30 SPECULATION—Discussion Guest: Peter Ustinov 5:30 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking “Hot Turkey Ballottine” Evening 6:00 BOSTON SYMPHONY—Music 7:00 YOUR DOLLAR’S WORTH 7:30 IN MY OPINION—Commentary 8:00 SUNDAY NIGHT
-7- KGO (BAY AREA) (ABC) Morning 7:00 VOICE OF AGRICULTURE COLOR 7:30 LET’S LIP-READ 8:00 HIGH-SPEED READING COLOR 8:30 ADVENTUROUS MISSION 9:00 WONDER WINDOW COLOR 9:30 BEANY AND CECIL COLOR 10:00 LINUS—Cartoons COLOR 10:30 PETER POTAMUS COLOR 11:00 BULLWINKLE COLOR 11:30 DISCOVERY ’67—Children COLOR Afternoon 12:00 GARDENING—Albert Wilson COLOR 12:30 GOLDEN GATE STORY COLOR 1:00 DIRECTIONS—Religion 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS COLOR Guest: Dwight D. Eisenhower 2:00 CHEYENNE—Western 3:00 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report COLOR 3:30 PAGE ONE—Interview COLOR 4:00 NAKED CITY—Drama 5:00 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “Night People” (1954) Evening 7:00 VOYAGE—Drama COLOR 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Jumbo” (1962) 11:30 NEWS COLOR 11:45 NEWS—Gary Bentley COLOR 12:00 MOVIE—Mystery “The Hand” (English; 1960)
-7- KRCR (REDDING) (ABC, NBC) Morning 9:00 FAITH FOR TODAY COLOR 9:30 BEANY AND CECIL COLOR 10:00 LINUS—Cartoons COLOR 10:30 PETER POTAMUS COLOR 11:00 BULLWINKLE COLOR 11:30 DISCOVERY ’67—Children COLOR Afternoon 12:00 HOPPITY HOOPER—Cartoons 12:30 VOICE OF AGRICULTURE 1:00 DIRECTIONS—Religion 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS COLOR Guest: Dwight D. Eisenhower 2:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 4:00 FILM FEATURE 4:30 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report COLOR 5:00 VOYAGE—Adventure COLOR Evening 6:00 TALL MAN—Western 6:30 INVADERS—Adventure COLOR 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR 8:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Jumbo” (1962) 12:30 NEWS—Keith McBee COLOR
-8- KSBW (SALINAS) (CBS, NBC) Morning 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE COLOR 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION COLOR Guest: Secretary of State Dean Rusk 10:00 FAITH FOR TODAY—Religion COLOR 10:30 THIS IS THE LIFE—Religion COLOR 11:00 MOVIE—Double Feature 1. Hidden Guns (Western; 1956) 2. “Samson and the Slave Queen” (Adventure; Italian; 1963) Afternoon 2:00 FILM FEATURE 2:30 SOCCER—Chiefs vs. Spartans COLOR Atlanta Chiefs at Philadelphia Spartans 4:30 FILM FEATURE 5:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 5:30 AMATEUR HOUR COLOR Evening 6:00 21ST CENTURY COLOR 6:30 MR. TERRIFIC—Comedy COLOR 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Birgit Nilsson, Alan King, Petula Clark, the Seekers, Peter Gennaro, Ronald Turini, Claude Leveillee, Les Feux Follets, the Montreal Symphony 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 THE SAINT—Mystery COLOR 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 SACRED HEART—Religion
-9- KQED (BAY AREA) (EDUC.) Afternoon 4:30 OBSERVING EYE—Science 5:00 MEDICATED SOCIETY—Talk Evening 6:00 BRIDGE—Jean Cox 6:30 IN MY OPINION—Commentary Guest: Alf Landon 7:00 YOUR DOLLAR’S WORTH 7:30 SWEDISH SCENE—Documentary 8:00 STANDWELLS—Puppets 8:30 TOY THAT GREW UP—Movie “Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1925) 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 9:30 CREATIVE PERSON—Marx 10:00 WRITER’S WORLD—Discussion Guests: Arthur M. Schlessinger Jr., Cornelius Ryan, David E. Lilienthal. Moderator: Russell Lynes
-9- KIXE (REDDING) (EDUC.) Afternoon 2:30 BOOK BEAT—Interview Guest: Philip Stern, “The Shame of a Nation” 3:00 MUSEUM OPEN HOUSE—Art 3:30 NET JOURNAL—Report 4:30 SPECULATION—Discussion Guest: Peter Ustinov 5:30 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking “Hot Turkey Ballottine” Evening 6:00 BOSTON SYMPHONY—Music 7:00 YOUR DOLLAR’S WORTH 7:30 IN MY OPINION—Commentary 8:00 SUNDAY NIGHT
10 KXTV (SACRAMENTO) (CBS) Morning 6:30 HERALD OF TRUTH COLOR 7:00 THE ANSWER—Religion COLOR 7:30 SACRED HEART—Religion 7:45 MEETING TIME—Hymns 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE COLOR 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION COLOR Guest: Secretary of State Dean Rusk 10:00 CALENDAR—Sacramento COLOR 10:30 BIG PICTURE—Army 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “Night After Night” (1932) Afternoon 12:15 AT YOUR SERVICE 12:30 WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. Guest: Sir Arnold Lunn 1:30 ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 2:30 SOCCER—Chiefs vs. Spartans COLOR Atlanta Chiefs at Philadelphia Spartans 4:30 MOVIE—Adventure COLOR “East of Kilimanjaro” (1962) Evening 6:00 21ST CENTURY COLOR 6:30 DEATH VALLEY DAYS—Drama COLOR 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Birgit Nilsson, Alan King, Petula Clark, the Seekers, Peter Gennaro, Ronald Turini, Claude Leveillee, Les Feux Follets, the Montreal Symphony 9:00 OUR PLACE—Variety COLOR Guest: Nipsey Russell. Host: Burns and Schreiber 10:00 CANDID CAMERA COLOR 10:30 WHAT’S MY LINE? COLOR Guests: Joel Grey, Phyllis Newman. Panelists: Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 MOVIE—Drama “So Big” (1953)
11 KNTV (SAN JOSE) (ABC) Morning 7:30 BIBLE ANSWERS—Religion 8:00 SOCIAL SECURITY IN ACTION Guest: Ruta Lee 8:15 ALABEMOS AL SENOR 8:30 KNTV INFORMA—Ed Grigg 9:00 COMICOS Y CANCIONES 9:30 LAS ESTRELLAS Y ESTED 10:00 PEDRO VARGAS—Variety 10:30 UN CANTO DE MEXICO 11:00 JOAQUIN ESTEVES—Variety 11:30 BOSTON SYMPHONY—Music Afternoon 12:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Down Among the Sheltering Palms” (1953) 2:00 KENNY FOREMAN—Religion 2:30 DAN SMOOT—Commentary 2:45 CHINCHILLA RAISING COLOR 3:00 GREATEST SHOW—Drama COLOR 4:00 CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD RACES COLOR 4:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Stop, You’re Killing Me” (1953) Evening 6:00 HAVE GUN—WILL TRAVEL 6:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL COLOR 7:00 VOYAGE—Drama COLOR 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Jumbo” (1962) 11:30 NEWS COLOR 12:00 LARAMIE—Western
12 KHSL (CHICO) (CBS) Morning 8:15 CARTOONS 8:30 ALLEN REVIVAL HOUR 9:00 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion 9:30 FACE THE NATION COLOR Guest: Secretary of State Dean Rusk 10:00 LOOK UP AND LIVE—Religion 10:30 CAMERA THREE 11:00 STINGRAY—Children COLOR 11:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy Afternoon 12:00 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Apache Territory” (1958) 1:30 NAKED CITY—Drama 2:30 SOCCER—Chiefs vs. Spartans COLOR Atlanta Chiefs at Philadelphia Spartans 4:30 MR. LUCKY—Adventure 5:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 5:30 AMATEUR HOUR COLOR Evening 6:00 21ST CENTURY COLOR 6:30 NEWLYWED GAME 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Birgit Nilsson, Alan King, Petula Clark, the Seekers, Peter Gennaro, Ronald Turini, Claude Leveillee, Les Feux Follets, the Montreal Symphony 9:00 OUR PLACE—Variety COLOR Guest: Nipsey Russell. Host: Burns and Schreiber 10:00 CANDID CAMERA COLOR 10:30 WHAT’S MY LINE? COLOR Guests: Joel Grey, Phyllis Newman. Panelists: Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 PETER GUNN—Mystery
13 KOVR (SAC) (ABC) Morning 6:40 NEWS 6:45 SACRED HEART—Religion 7:00 FAITH FOR TODAY—Religion COLOR 7:30 THIS IS THE LIFE—Religion 8:00 CAP’N DELTA—Cartoons COLOR 8:30 MISS PAT’S PLAYROOM COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Western “Cow Country (1953) 10:30 CISCO KID—Western COLOR 11:00 EXISTENCE—UC, Davis 11:30 DISCOVERY ’67—Children COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report COLOR 12:30 STATE CAPITOL—Interview COLOR 1:00 FILM FEATURE COLOR 1:30 FOCUS ON EDUCATION 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME 2:30 MOVIE—Comedy-Drama “Andy Hardy Comes Home” (1958) 4:00 SUMMER FOCUS—Report COLOR 5:00 VOYAGE—Adventure COLOR Evening 6:00 MOVIE—Drama “On the Waterfront” (1954) 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Jumbo” (1962) 11:30 NEWS COLOR 11:45 JOEY BISHOP—Variety COLOR Guests: Tony Martin, Hermione Badderly
19 KLOC (MODESTO) (IND.) Afternoon 1:00 VOICE OF MEXICO 1:30 BIG PICTURE—Army 2:00 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion 2:30 NORTH SIDE ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH—Religion 3:00 GOD’S POINT OF VIEW 3:30 TRAVEL SHOW 4:00 VOICE OF BETHEL—Religion 4:30 NAKED CITY—Drama 5:30 RIFLEMAN—Western Evening 6:00 DICK POWELL—Drama 7:00 MOVIE—Mystery “Tension” (1949)
TV
July 29, 2023
This week in TV Guide: July 29, 1967
This week we've got yet another article telling us how cable television is going to change the industry forever, and we'll get to that in a bit, but this must be the umpteenth time TV Guide has featured one of these stories, and to tell you the truth, there are only so many ways one can go through them and say, yes, this one came true, and no, this one didn't, and this one did but on your phone instead of your TV. And, seeing how I just read something about how more Americans now get their programs from streaming services than cable, it seems as if we're talking more about what was and what will never be.So instead we're starting off with a look at a man who's always interesting, Steve Allen.
Allen, "the well-known producer, director, actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, sculptor, poet, political theorist, lecturer, biographer and novelist" (in Dick Hobson's words), is being wooed (along with Jackie Gleason and Jack Paar) to return to the late-night wars as host of a new CBS show. He's not enthusiastic about the idea, though, telling Hobson that "(1) I can make a lot more money doing an early-evening show, and (2) it would take too much of my time." Instead, he's content to host the summer replacement Steve Allen Comedy Hour, which gives him the chance to "do satire and social commentary on current events."
In fact, Allen's focus now is on the bigger picture. Asked if he worries about his show's rating, he replies, "I am worried about mankind's rating." He likes the format of his show because it gives him the chance to touch on those issues; "My sketches almost always have a point of view; they're not just silly jokes. We've taken on political extremism, for example, and air and water pollution." He still remembers with distain the time back in 1960, when NBC's Broadcast Standards department "axed as 'too controversial' a serious roundtable discussion of crime and punishment with actors portraying St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Darrow, Dostoyevsky, Freud, Hegel, Montaigne and Socrates. 'NBC would have preferred that I function in an intellectual vacuum, restricting myself to making audiences laugh rather than think.'" Allen does eventually find someone to take on that idea, though; he's describing Meeting of Minds, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981 and rarely failed to fascinate.
Despite his unwillingness to go back to late-night, he does offer a few ideas on what makes a good host. "There may be only four or five guys in the world who can do it," he says (apparently in contrast to the current television fad of thinking that anyone can host a late-night show, and then going on to prove that Allen was right all along). He says there are five keys to success: first, the host has to appear as if he's a non-show-biz type. "The viewer thinks we're just plain folks, just like himself." Second, the audience needs to see you as a good guy. "They should feel toward you as toward a friend. Fast wit and repartee is less important than being likable." Third, "You have to be good at interviewing others and develop the ability to be interested in the person interviewed." Fourth, the host should "be at ease." Bishop, he thinks, isn't there yet. Paar never was, but he was never boring; "his keyed-up-emotionalism made him interesting." Finally (the lesson today's hosts seem to have the most trouble learning), "We shouldn't compete with our guests. I never try to top anybody, especially another comedian."In the end, Allen successfully wards off CBS's interest in him as a late-night host; they wind up going with Merv Griffin. He does return to the talk wars with a syndicated series in 1968, which ran for three years and was shown at various times of the day in different markets. He writes a successful series of mystery novels in which he and wife Jayne star as fictional versions of themselves, and becomes a vocal opponent of obscenity on television. As I say, always interesting.
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While The Hollywood Palace is on summer break, ABC fills the Saturday night time slot with Piccadilly Palace, a London-based variety show starring the iconic British comedy duo of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. We'll stop in from time to time during the summer months to see who has the best lineup..Sullivan: In this rerun from Expo 67, Ed welcomes operatic soprano Birgit Nilsson; comic Alan King; singer Petula Clark; the Seekers, vocal group; and choreographer Peter Gennaro, who leads a dance-tour of the fair. Canadian artists: pianist Ronald Turini; singer Claude Leveillee; Les Feux Follets, dance group; and the Montreal Symphony.
Piccadilly: The rockin’ Kinks and singer Engelbert Humperdinck storm the Palace tonight. Hosts Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise take to the air in scale model planes, and perform a slapstick ventriloquist act. Millicent Martin, Michael Sammes singers.
To be honest, I was seriously considering dropping the Sullivan/Piccadilly segment, or at least putting it on pause. Piccadilly Palace is much more like, say, The Dean Martin Show than it is The Hollywood Palace, which makes it difficult to get a true matchup with Sullivan. And then I looked at this week's lineup, and decided I owed it to everyone to include a show that has the unlikely combination of Engelbert Humperdinck and Ray Davies and the Kinks! For that reason alone, even though Ed has some big name talent, I'm calling the week a Push.
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I'm not sure we've ever had a Eugene Burdick week here at the blog, but it just goes to show you there's a first time for everything. And before the puzzled expressions you usually have when reading the material here become permanently frozen like some character on The Twilight Zone, I'll explain it all to you.
The feature on Saturday Night at the Movies (9:00 p.m., NBC) is The Ugly American, an adaptation of the novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer outlining what they saw as failed U.S. policy in Southeast Asia (remember, this was written in 1958); the movie stars Marlon Brando as an American ambassador who fails to understand the complexity of the situation in the region until it's too late.
Skip ahead to the end of the week, and the CBS Friday Night Movie (9:00 p.m.) is based on yet another Eugene Burdick novel, Fail-Safe, this one written with Harvey Wheeler. The story of an accidental nuclear war stars Henry Fonda as the president, Walter Matthau (in a very nasty performmance) as a neocon political scientists, and Dan O'Herlihy (in a very sensitive performance) as the Air Force Chief of Staff.
Judith Crist calls the pairing "serious melodramas, topical in theme and honorable in intent," but adds that they "give unconventional themes purely conventional treatment." Despite that (and I haven't seen The Ugly American, but I think Fail-Safe is very good), what I wouldn't give to have more theatrical films of a serious bent like these, rather than a steady diet of action adventure and superhero movies.
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Since we've gotten a head start on the week's activities, let's just keep on going.
Remember a couple of weeks ago TV Guide featured the cast of the ABC series The Big Valley on the cover? Well, on Saturday, the seventh annual Captain Weber Days Parade (held in honor of Captain Charles Maria Weber, the founder of Stockton, California) has a trio of stars from the show serving as grand marshals: Lee Majors, Richard Long, and Peter Breck. (6:30 p.m. PT, KOVR in Sacramento) KOVR, by the way, happens to be an ABC affiliate. Coincidence?
And speaking of coincidence, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Sunday, 7:00 p.m., ABC) has a plot that sounds familiar, at least if you read
my recent piece
on The Outer Limits episode "A Feasibility Study": "An army of rock men attacks the Seaview. The lumbering creatures are commanded by a half-human, half-fossilized madman bent on conquering the world." Frankly, had I seen this earlier, it might have changed my entire understanding of "Feasibility Study." Hmm. . .On Monday, we have a most interesting cast of guests this week on The Match Game (2:30 p.m., NBC): sportscasters Sandy Koufax, Mel Allen, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote and Paul Christman; and former football great Y. A. Tittle. Recognize all of them, and I enjoyed listening to them all. Later in the evening, the same network presents an encore showing of the NBC News Special "Khrushchev in Exile—His Opinions and Revelations" (8:00 p.m.), as host Edwin Newman talks with the former Soviet premier about world events during his time as leader, and the "loneliness and boredom of being banished to oblivion." The documentary was originally shown on July 11, but was pushed out of prime time due to the length of the baseball All-Star Game, a 15-inning affair that ran for more than three-and-a-half hours. By the way, two of the announcers on that game were Curt Gowdy and Sandy Koufax.
Also on Monday, Coronet Blue continues on CBS (10:00 p.m.), which reminds me of a Letter to the Editor this week from Eileen S. Macdonald of New York City, who complains about the network's cancellation of the show without a concluding episode. Her letter, which begins, "I'm so annoyed I can hardly type this letter fast enough," says, in part, "All I can say is that I think it’s a good show, and so does my teen-age son. In fact, we seldom agree on programs and I consider that most of what he watches is junk—that’s why we're a two-set family. Isn’t it time that advertisers woke up and stopped letting the networks push the audiences around?" To that I would say two things: 1) I agree; and 2) Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren't real, either. Of course, the story is more complicated than what Ms. Macdonald suggests, but it's certainly unfortunate all-around.
Peter Graves did a lot of B-movie sci-fi before Fury, Court-Martial, and Mission: Impossible, and Tuesday's episode of The Invaders (8:30 p.m., ABC) sounds like it could have been right out of one of them: "The murder of two astronauts prompts David and an Air Force security officer (Graves) to investigate the invaders' interest in the manned lunar program." Joanne Linville and Anthony Eisley guest-star; I'm just sorry we don't get a chance to see Graves's character, wild-eyed, shouting, "You've got to believe me!"
Hands-down, Wednesday's highlight is the KOVR 9:00 p.m. movie, The Third Man, starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Ailda Valli, Trevor Howard, and Bernard Lee. It's a terrific movie, which spawned both a radio series, also starring Welles, and a television series, with Michael Rennie playing as a reformed Harry Lime after the war. This means that Lime survived that shootout in the sewer at the end of the movie, which might be a stretch, but on the other hand, we never did see Lime actually get shot, did we? And as Welles himself once said, "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."
Continuing on to Thursday, it's a good night for comedy. At 7:30 p.m., the only regularly-scheduled black-and-white program left on television, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (repeats of the 1957-58 series of specials) airs an episode featuring Lucy's new neighbors, Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams, and immediately starts wooing Edie to get a spot for Dezi on Ernie's TV show. If you're not a fan of Lucy, then I'd recommend an F Troop repeat (8:00 p.m., ABC) in which Larry Storch plays a dual role: Corporal Agarn and his visiting Russing cousin Demtri Agarnoff. I can imagine just how over-the-top Storch was in this episode, which is why I think it's worth watching. I wonder what Hal Horn thinks of this one?
One of the things I really miss from my youthful sports fandom is the College All-Star Game, the football game that matched the defending NFL champions against a group of college all-stars, played at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Friday, 6:30 p.m., ABC) This game, along with the Coaches All-America all-star game earlier in the month, signaled the unofficial start of the football season. I've written about it before so I won't bore you with the details, but as the Green Bay Packers were my team, you know I was rooting for them here. They'd beaten the Stars 38-0 the year before, and even though this year's All-Star team features Steve Spurrier, Bob Griese, Floyd Little, Bubba Smith, Alan Page, and others, the Packers crush them again, this time 27-0.l l l
And now that story about cable TV.
CATV, according to Albert Warren, represents "the four letters that have rocked broadcasting." Until recently, cable has mainly brought TV to rural and isolated areas not able to otherwise get a decent signal. (Average cable bill: $5 per month.) But now, it's being rolled out in more metropolitan areas as a kind of test—New York City, for example—where skyscrapers can interfere with clear signals. "The facts are that scarcely anyone in New York can get all nine with the consistently high technical quality CATV [especially color broadcasts] would provide."
One of the beauties of CATV is that there's no technical limit to the number of channels you can transmit through the cable. Most have space currently for 12, but "engineers are working on systems providing 20, 30 or more." The growth of cable is limited for now by the FCC, which narrowly voted to maintain severe restrictions, such as not bringing in stations from distant cities, and not originating its own programming. The rationale is that since local stations require both large viewing audiences and sponsor advertising in order to maintain free program, it would be unfair for them to have to compete with cable. There are also questions about copyrighted material, for which CATV operators say they're willing to pay a "fair rate," but a couple of recent conflicting court cases have suggested Congress will probably have to get involved eventually.There's plenty of speculation as to what the CATV system of the future will look like: "electronic newspapers, shopping, teaching, voting, surveying, gas and electric meter reading, library research, mail delivery, emergency warnings—you name it. Even now, CATV provides news, weather services and even stock quotations on channels not occupied by local TV stations." (I noticed there was nothing about 24-hour sports networks, but then who could possibly be interested in that?)
There's more, but I think you get the gist of it. One of the intriguing footnotes is that all three broadcast networks have "dipped their toes" in the cable pool; "ABC was hot about CATV for a while, but it marked time while the FCC considered its merger with ITT. CBS has been quietly buying systems—but all in Canada, to gain operating experience while avoiding the complications of U.S. ownership. NBC has bought a couple of small systems, also for toe-dipping purposes." Today, of course, NBC is owned by a cable system, Comcast, and each network is involved, in one way or another, with streaming services. We've already passed throught the expansion of cable and now we're seeing its contraction. As for what comes next, I think one would be a fool to even try and predict what even the next few months have in store. But it's safe to say that those four letters rocking broadcasting have been replaced with three words: Cut the Cord.
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Some assorted notes to round out the week: this week's "As We See It" concerns CBS's recent inquiry into the Warren Report on the assassination of President Kennedy. Running for an hour each night for four consecutive nights, June 25 through June 28, the editors call it "a major journalistic achievement," revolutionizing the way such information is presented by spreading it out over multiple evenings rather than telling it all in a three- or four-hour documentary. The content was "supurb" as well, "a masterful compilation of facts, interviews, experiments and opinions—a job of journalism that will be difficult to surpass." Most important, the shows were a ratings hit, beating almost every show that was scheduled opposite it, and proving that "[w]hen serious programs that interest them are scheduled during prime time, viewers will tune in." Would they do so today? Well, it depends on whether or not you think we're still a serious people. I remember my seven-year-old self being fascinated by this, but then I always was precocious.
A sign that cooler heads have prevailed is evident in the Hollywood Teletype, which reports that "the idea of having a girl for Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek has been abandoned." It's also a sign that there was some level of insanity in the NBC executive offices to even consider such a thing. I guess not everyone back then was "serious."
Finally, there's that cover picture on the stars of The Rat Patrol. As you may recall, that show was a favorite of mine when I was growing up, but took a severe dive upon rewatching last year, enough so that it's now on the resell pile. But it's worth a mention that the feature is a profile of Gary Raymond, the English actor who plays Sergeant Moffitt, the most likeable of the four members of the team. And, according to Leslie Raddatz's story, he seems like a pretty good guy. Glad to hear it!
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MST3K alert: Night of the Blood Beast (1958) An alien entity takes control of an astronaut’s body. Is he friend or foe? Michael Emmet, Angela Greene, Ed Nelson, Tyler McVey, Ross Sturlin. (Saturday, 2:00 p.m., KGO in San Francisco) Yet another science fiction movie involving aliens and self-sacrifice, but not quite as good as "A Feasibility Study." In other words, the kind of movie Ed Nelson did before he wound up on Peyton Place. The MST3K version is combined with a really bad short, "Once Upon a Honeymoon," which features Virginia Gibson before she wound up on ABC's Discovery. Well, I guess everybody has to start somewhere. TV
July 28, 2023
Around the dial
We'll start the week, as we often do, at bare•bones e-zone, where Jack's Hitchcock Project has moved on to the teleplays of Frank Gabrielson, starting with the third-season episode "
Reward to Finder
," a terrific story starring Oscar Homola and Jo Van Fleet. It's another example of the importance of the writer—in this case, Gabrielson turns a good short story into an exceptional half-hour program.I hope you've been reading John's series on The X-Files and the American Dream over at Cult TV Blog. I probably say that, or some variation of it, every week, but this is the kind of thoughtful analysis of a program's content that I really appreciate. This week it's a look at episodes that deal with PTSD, government actions that belie what America is supposed to stand for, and more. Whether you agree with it or not, it's great stuff.
We're almost to the end of July (can you believe it? With the heat we've been getting here in Indiana, I certainly can), and that means Joanna is winding down to the end of "Christmas in July." There are several stories to choose from, as this is a daily feature throughout the month, but I'm going to single out a personal favorite, " Blackadder's Christmas Carol ," which is a useful, cynical antidote to the sometimes syrupy Yuletide stories we can get.
At The Last Drive In, it's part three of Science Fiction Cinema of the 1950s, and the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Now, I know this isn't a television post per se, but I think we can all agree that many of these movies became classics through late-night TV viewing. And, for those that aren't true artistic classics, we can thank them for becoming riffing fodder on MST3K!
At Garroway at Large, Jodie talks about the added benefits that came from writing her biography of Dave Garroway, including the people you meet and the friends you make. She mentions your humble scribe and my wife (the feeling goes double from us!), and focuses on her recent time together with Dave's daughter Paris, who sounds like a wonderful person. I'll second what she says; it's easy to say this because I won't be winning awards, but I wouldn't trade a fistful of them for all the friends I've made along the "It's About TV" way.
David's latest at Comfort TV is on how you can't lose em all, or how some of our favorite episodes come from times when the perennial loser finally wins one. This week's example comes from the " Farmer Ted and the News " episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which our erstwhile newscaster Ted Baxter (and who'd have thought we'd have more confidence in him than in the news readers we have today) pulls one over on Lou Grant. (And I would have enjoyed Dick Dasterdly winning once, too!)
Speaking of movies, at Classic Film & TV Cafe, Rick looks at Strange Confession , one of the six "Inner Sanctum" movies starring Lon Chaney Jr. You OTR buffs will remember Inner Sanctum from the radio, where it ran from 1941 to 1952; it also was a syndicated television series in 1954. Besides Chaney, Strange Confession stars Brenda Joyce and J. Carrol Naish, and in supporting roles, future stars Lloyd Bridges and Milburn Stone.
At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence has a fun feature on DC comic books based on TV sitcoms . In addition to such well-known series as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Honeymooners, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and Sgt. Bilko, the list also includes the radio series A Date with Judy. Read about these and more shows that made it on the comic pages.
The latest Avengers episode at The View from the Junkyard is also one of its most popular (and controversial): " A Touch of Brimstone ," which features everything from Satanism to whips and bondage, and wasn't even shown in the United States in first-run. Roger and Mike are split in their opinions on this episode; what do you think? TV
July 26, 2023
Read anything interesting lately?
Remember those ads in the middle of TV Guide where the issue was stapled together, ads for the book of the month club or the record of the month club or a plastic model of the Apollo spacecraft, printed in color on heavier stock with a perforated reply card? Sure, we all do! If you're like me (and, once again, I hope you aren't), you probably found it hard to resist tearing out the card, folding it back and forth along the perforation until it came off without tearing the rest of the ad, even if you didn't have any intention of sending it in. (I used to use them as bookmarks.)It's always fun to find one of these intact and unmarked in an old issue. It's another of those time capsule deals; it's fascinating to look at an ad for a book club and see what kind of books people read: how novels weren't all action or adventure or romance but actually dealt with ideas; and how nonfiction books were about history or biography or the works of Shakespeare. And people actually read them! (Or at least impressed their friends, who would think they had read them, which is interesting in and of itself.)
The issue of July 20, 1968, which we looked at last Saturday, has one such ad, and I thought it would be interesting to take a look at it. How many of these books do you remember?
Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls was a big best-seller back then; there was something scandalous and forbidden about it, even though Truman Capote supposedly called it "typing, not writing." E.M. Nathanson's The Dirty Dozen had just been turned into a movie the month before, so a lot of people would be interested in the book. There are classics like Gone With the Wind and Of Human Bondage, authors like John O'Hara, Catherine Marshall, Chaim Potok, and James Jones; favorites from TV like Art Linkletter and Alfred Hitchcock, and Bruce Catton's Civil War trilogy. There's true crime: books about high-profile accused murderers like Carl Coppolino and the Boston Strangler. And you can't beat five for 99 cents!
My mother belonged to a book club, so I recognize many of these books. Back then I read everything I could find about World War I flying aces, and Eddie Rickenbacker was an early hero of mine, so she got the Rickenbacker autobiography you see on page one. (I still have it, too; it's a fascinating book.) She also had Michel, Michel; I never read that, but it's the kind of story you don't see much in novels today, about a Jewish boy raised as a Catholic in World War II, who now has to decide which faith he will follow. I don't recognize any others, but I know we had many; several of the JFK biographies that were written in the aftermath of his death (my mother knew I'd be interested in them someday), and novels like Paradise Falls and Five Smooth Stones. I don't know what they were about, but I remember the spines. Again, a look at a time long past.
So what about you? Did your family belong to a book club? Did you read any of these? TV
July 24, 2023
What's on TV? Monday, July 22, 1968
The 6:00 p.m. movie on KOVR, Cell 2455, Death Row, is an adaptation of the 1954 book by Caryl Chessman, who at the time was on death row in California for kidnapping and raping two women in separate incidents. No murder was involved, but the law provided for death if the accused was guilty of forcible abduction, and since Chessman dragged both of his rape victims from their cars, he was sentenced to death in 1948. Chessman became a jailhouse lawyer, filing countless appeals, writing four books protesting his innocence while on death row, and getting eight stays of execution, before finally dying in the gas chamber in 1960. He was still alive at the time of this movie, which featured William Campbell as Chessman; he became a cause celebe during the course of his 12 years on death row. A later TV-movie, which is how I learned about Chessman, starred Alan Alda, and that was probably good casting; if your goal is for the audience to sympathize with Chessman, William Campbell is not the actor you want. This week's listings are from the Northern California edition.-2- KTVU (BAY AREA) (IND.)Morning 8:15 RELIGION—Protestant 8:30 JACK LA LANNE COLOR 9:00 POPEYE—Cartoons COLOR 9:30 ROMPER ROOM—Children COLOR 10:30 DR. KILDARE—Drama 11:30 NEWS—Mann, Anderson COLOR Afternoon 12:00 SCIENCE FICTION THEATER 12:30 PASSWORD—Game COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Louden 1:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Great Flamarion” (1945) 3:00 SUPERMAN—Adventure COLOR 3:30 CAPTAIN SATELLITE COLOR 4:30 CISCO KID—Western COLOR 5:00 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy 5:30 DENNIS THE MENACE—Comedy Evening 6:00 PATTY DUKE—Comedy 6:30 McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy 7:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 7:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Little Nuns” (Italian; 1966) 9:30 PASSPORT TO TRAVEL COLOR 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 PAT MICHAELS—Discussion COLOR 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “As If It Were Raining” (French; 1963)
-3- KCRA (SACRAMENTO) (NBC) Morning 6:00 RHYME AND REASON 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: James Brown, Ben Grauer 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT—Game COLOR Guests: Barry Nelson, Janis Paige. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS—Nancy Dickerson COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY—Game COLOR Celebrities: Nipsey Russell, Dick Shawn, Joanne Worley. On-flim: Woody Allen 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Players: Morey Amsterdam, Kaye Ballard, Wally Cox, June Lockhart, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Ross Martin, Jan Murray, Charley Weaver 11:00 JEOPARDY COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS COLOR 12:30 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: Totie Fields, Carire and McMahon, Meredith MacRae, Frank D’Rone, Monti Rock III 1:30 ANOTHER WORLD COLOR 2:00 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Jonathan Harris, Ruta Lee 2:30 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: George Hamilton, Barbara McNair 2:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber COLOR 3:00 SIKKIM—Documentary SPECIAL COLOR “Sikkim and Its Yankee Queen” 4:00 BASEBALL—Phillies vs. Cardinals SPECIAL COLOR Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals Alternate game: Indians vs. Orioles. Regular programming is pre-empted Evening 7:00 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR 7:30 NEWS COLOR 8:30 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “The Quiet Man” (1952) 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR Guest host: Alan King
-4- KRON (BAY AREA) (NBC) Morning 6:25 FARM NEWS COLOR 6:30 MICHIGAN—Education COLOR 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: James Brown, Ben Grauer 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT—Game COLOR Guests: Barry Nelson, Janis Paige. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS—Nancy Dickerson COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY—Game COLOR Celebrities: Nipsey Russell, Dick Shawn, Joanne Worley. On-flim: Woody Allen 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Players: Morey Amsterdam, Kaye Ballard, Wally Cox, June Lockhart, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Ross Martin, Jan Murray, Charley Weaver 11:00 JEOPARDY COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman COLOR Afternoon 12:00 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:30 DAYS OF OUR LIVES COLOR 1:00 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 1:30 ANOTHER WORLD COLOR 2:00 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Jonathan Harris, Ruta Lee 2:30 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: George Hamilton, Barbara McNair 2:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber COLOR 3:00 ROUTE 66—Drama 4:00 BASEBALL—Phillies vs. Cardinals SPECIAL COLOR Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals Alternate game: Indians vs. Orioles. Regular programming is pre-empted Evening 7:00 NEWS—Hart, Richard COLOR 7:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Damn Yankees” (1958) 10:00 I SPY—Drama COLOR 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR Guest host: Alan King
-5- KPIX (BAY AREA) (CBS) Morning 6:00 SUMMER SEMESTER—Education COLOR Health: Meeting the Cost of Personal Health Care 6:30 SEA POWER—History 7:00 NEWS—Ron Magers 7:05 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:30 NEWS—Ron Magers 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO COLOR 9:00 HOTLINE—Discussion COLOR 10:00 SECRET STORM—Serial COLOR 10:30 REMEDIAL READING—Education 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS COLOR 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING—Serial COLOR C 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Rossano Brazzi, Della Reese, Charlie Manna, Walter Wanderly Jazz Quartet, Joan Beck, Gene Leone 4:30 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: Totie Fields, Claire and McMahon, Meredith MacRae, Frank D. Rone, Monti Rock III Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR 7:00 NEWS—Weston, Tompkins COLOR 7:30 GUNSMOKE—Western COLOR 8:30 LUCILLE BALL COLOR 9:00 ANDY GRIFFITH COLOR 9:30 FAMILY AFFAIR COLOR 10:00 PREMIERE COLOR “Braddock” 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “The Blue Lagoon” (English; 1949)
-6- KVIE (SACREMENTO) (NET) Evening 6:00 MISTEROGERS—Children 6:30 MERLIN THE MAGICIAN 6:45 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children 7:00 WHAT’S NEW—Children 7:30 OREGON COUNTRY 8:00 WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. Guest: Seth Taft 9:00 NET JOURNAL—Fashion 10:00 NET PLAYHOUSE—Drama “The Widower”
-7- KGO (BAY AREA) (ABC) Morning 6:00 A.M.—Jim Dunbar COLOR 8:00 VIRGINIA GRAHAM—Interviews COLOR Guests: Joanna Pettet, Joanna Simon, Paula Stewart 8:30 MOVIE—Drama “Island in the Sky” (1953) 10:30 DICK CAVETT—Variety COLOR Guests: Stephen Birmingham, Roz Kelly Afternoon 12:00 BEWITCHED—Comedy 12:30 TREASURE ISLE COLOR 1:00 DREAM HOUSE COLOR 1:30 IT’S HAPPENING COLOR 1:55 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Dr. Lendon Smith COLOR 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 2:30 DATING GAME COLOR 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial COLOR 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial COLOR 4:00 DARK SHADOWS—Serial COLOR 4:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Strictly Dishonorable” (1951) Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 7:00 NEWS—Frank Reynolds COLOR 7:30 COWBOY IN AFRICA COLOR 8:30 RAT PATROL—Drama COLOR 9:00 FELONY SQUAD—Drama COLOR 9:30 PEYTON PLACE—Serial COLOR 10:00 BIG VALLEY—Western COLOR 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 JOEY BISHOP—Variety COLOR Guests: Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.), Connie Stevens, Ron Hussman 1:00 FAMOUS ARTISTS COLOR
-7- KRCR (REDDING) (ABC, NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: James Brown, Ben Grauer 9:00 JACK LA LANNE—Exercise 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY—Game COLOR Celebrities: Nipsey Russell, Dick Shawn, Joanne Worley. On-flim: Woody Allen 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Players: Morey Amsterdam, Kaye Ballard, Wally Cox, June Lockhart, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Ross Martin, Jan Murray, Charley Weaver 11:00 JEOPARDY COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman COLOR Afternoon 12:00 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:30 TREASURE ISLE COLOR 1:00 DREAM HOUSE COLOR 1:30 IT’S HAPPENING COLOR 1:55 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Dr. Lendon Smith COLOR 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 2:30 DATING GAME COLOR 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial COLOR 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial COLOR 4:00 BASEBALL—Phillies vs. Cardinals SPECIAL COLOR Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals Alternate game: Indians vs. Orioles. Regular programming is pre-empted Evening 7:00 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR 7:30 NEWS COLOR 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 TIME FOR AMERICANS SPECIAL COLOR “Prejudice and the Police” 10:00 BIG VALLEY—Western COLOR 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR Guest host: Alan King
-8- KSBW (SALINAS) (CBS, NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: James Brown, Ben Grauer 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT—Game COLOR Guests: Barry Nelson, Janis Paige. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS—Nancy Dickerson COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY—Game COLOR Celebrities: Nipsey Russell, Dick Shawn, Joanne Worley. On-flim: Woody Allen 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Players: Morey Amsterdam, Kaye Ballard, Wally Cox, June Lockhart, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Ross Martin, Jan Murray, Charley Weaver 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Jay Peterson COLOR Afternoon 12:00 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING—Serial COLOR 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM COLOR 3:30 MOVIE—Adventure “Secret of the Sphinx” (French; 1963) 5:30 MUNSTERS—Comedy Evening 6:00 NEWS—Frank Tracy 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR 7:00 ADVENTURE—Travel COLOR 7:30 GUNSMOKE—Western COLOR 8:30 LUCILLE BALL COLOR 9:00 ANDY GRIFFITH COLOR 9:30 FAMILY AFFAIR COLOR 10:00 PREMIERE COLOR “Braddock” 11:00 NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR Guest host: Alan King
-9- KQED (BAY AREA) (NET) Afternoon 4:35 YOGA FOR HEALTH 5:00 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking 5:30 PORTRAIT IN MUSIC 5:45 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children Evening 6:00 MISTEROGERS—Children 6:30 WHAT’S NEW—Children 7:00 ANTIQUES 7:30 GREAT WAR—Documentary Last show of the series 8:00 BLACKS, BLUES, BLACK! COLOR Host: Maya Angelou 9:00 NET JOURNAL—Fashion 10:00 WASHINGTON NEWS COLOR 10:30 ALCOHOLICS ARE PEOPLE 11:00 INDIAN MUSIC
-9- -9- KIXE (REDDING) (NET) Afternoon 5:45 UPHOLSTERY WORKSHOP Evening 6:00 MISTEROGERS—Children 6:30 MERLIN THE MAGICIAN 6:45 SING HI—SING LO—Music 7:00 WHAT’S NEW—Children 7:30 OREGON COUNTRY 8:00 WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. Guest: Seth Taft 9:00 NET JOURNAL—Fashion 10:00 NET PLAYHOUSE—Drama “The Widower”
10 KXTV (SACRAMENTO) (CBS) Morning 6:30 SUMMER SEMESTER—Education COLOR Health: Meeting the Cost of Personal Health Care 7:00 FOCUS ON FARMING COLOR 7:05 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:30 SUN-UP—Interviews COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO COLOR 9:00 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES COLOR 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS—Dave Brown COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS COLOR 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING—Serial COLOR 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM COLOR 3:30 PAT BOONE—Variety COLOR Guests: Allen and Rossi, Glynis Johns, Roy Clark, Rene Armand 4:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Rossano Brazzi, Della Reese, Charlie Manna, Walter Wanderly Jazz Quartet, Joan Beck, Gene Leone Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 7:00 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR 7:30 GUNSMOKE—Western COLOR 8:30 LUCILLE BALL COLOR 9:00 ANDY GRIFFITH COLOR 9:30 FAMILY AFFAIR COLOR 10:00 PREMIERE COLOR “Braddock” 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Path of Hope” (Italian; 1952)
11 KNTV (SAN JOSE) (ABC) Morning 7:30 MODERN ALMANAC 8:00 LADIES DAY 8:30 HOCUS POCUS—Cartoons COLOR 9:00 HOCUS POCUS CLUBHOUSE 9:30 JACK LA LANNE COLOR 10:00 TREASULRE ISLE—Game 10:30 DICK CAVETT—Variety COLOR Guests: Stephen Birmingham, Roz Kelly Afternoon 12:00 BEWITCHED—Comedy 12:30 LU RYDEN—Variety 1:00 DREAM HOUSE COLOR 1:30 IT’S HAPPENING COLOR 1:55 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Dr. Lendon Smith COLOR 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 2:30 DATING GAME COLOR 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial COLOR 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial COLOR 4:00 DARK SHADOWS—Serial COLOR 4:30 PERRY MASON—Mystery 5:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Rossano Brazzi, Della Reese, Charlie Manna, Walter Wanderly Jazz Quartet, Joan Beck, Gene Leone Evening 7:00 NEWS—Bob Ulrich 7:30 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “The Unguarded Moment” (1956) 9:30 PEYTON PLACE—Serial COLOR 10:00 BIG VALLEY—Western 11:00 NEWS 11:30 SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS COLOR 11:35 MOVIE—Drama “Perfect Strangers” (1950)
12 KHSL (CHICO) (ABC, CBS) Morning 7:00 CHRISTOPHERS—Religion COLOR Guest: Macdonald Carey 7:30 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:55 ROGER RAMJET COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO COLOR 9:00 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES COLOR 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT COLOR Afternoon 12:00 DIVORCE COURT—Drama COLOR 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING—Serial COLOR 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM COLOR 3:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Frank Gorshin, Barbara Walters, Tony Sandler and Ralph Young, E. Joseph Cossman 5:00 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: Red Buttons, Hans Conried, Renee Taylor, Chris Crosby Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR 7:00 DREAM HOUSE COLOR 7:30 GUNSMOKE—Western COLOR 8:30 LUCILLE BALL COLOR 9:00 ANDY GRIFFITH COLOR 9:30 FAMILY AFFAIR COLOR 10:00 PREMIERE COLOR “Braddock” 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:30 JOEY BISHOP—Variety COLOR Guests: Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.), Connie Stevens, Ron Hussman
19 KLOC (MODESTO) (IND.) Evening 6:00 ALMANAC 6:30 CARTOON FUN HOUSE 6:55 NEWS—Charles McEwen 7:00 FILM FEATURE 7:30 MOVIE—Adventure “China Clipper” (1936)
20 KEMO (BAY AREA) (IND.) Afternoon 2:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH 3:00 DESIGNING WOMAN COLOR 3:30 STAN WILSON—Children COLOR 4:00 JOHNNY CYPHER COLOR 4:30 SPEED RACER—Cartoon COLOR 5:00 EIGHTH MAN—Cartoon 5:30 ROCKET ROBIN HOOD COLOR Evening 6:00 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND—Comedy 6:30 COMBAT!—Drama 7:30 OF LANDS AND SEAS—Travel COLOR 8:30 JACK BENNY—Comedy 9:00 MOVIE—Mystery COLOR “Come Dance with Me” (French-Italian; 1959) 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:05 MOVIE—Mystery COLOR “Come Dance with Me” (French-Italian; 1959)
32 KNEW (BAY AREA) (IND.) Afternoon 3:30 DAPHNE’S CASTLE COLOR 5:00 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 5:30 WINCHELL-MAHONEY TIME—Children COLOR Evening 6:30 PERFECT MATCH—Game COLOR 7:00 PDQ—Game COLOR Celebrities: Dana Wynter, Dick Patterson, Joby Baker 7:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game COLOR 8:00 WOODY WOODBURY—Variety COLOR Guests: Jack Palance, Joby Baker, Larry Thor, Diana Trask, Michael Dees 9:30 LES CRANE—Discussion COLOR “Voluntary Sterilization”
36 KGSC (SAN JOSE) (IND.) Afternoon 3:00 FILM FEATURE 3:30 ADEL HALL—Interview 4:30 FACTS AND FUN 5:00 CISCO KID—Western COLOR 5:30 WELLS FARGO—Western Evening 6:00 REAL McCOYS—Comedy RETURN 6:30 PORTER WAGONER—Music 7:00 MOVIE—Adventure “The Black Lancers” (Italian; 1961) 8:30 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: Jack Douglas and his wife Reiko, Rodney Dangerfield, Moms Mabley, Robin Randall, Jimmy Piersall 10:00 MOVIE—Western “California” (1963)
44 KBHK (BAY AREA) (IND.) Afternoon 12:00 CARTOONS—Children COLOR 1:00 PAT BOONE—Variety COLOR Guests: Ethel Merman, Charley Weaver, Pat Henry, Don Cherry 2:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 3:00 MY FRIEND FLICKA—Drama COLOR 3:30 CAPT. SAN FRANCISCO COLOR 4:00 POPEYE—Cartoons COLOR 4:30 MARINE BOY—Cartoon COLOR 5:00 THREE STOOGES—Children 5:30 ASTROBOY—Cartoon Evening 6:00 LITTLE RASCALS—Comedy 6:30 MISTER ED—Comedy 7:00 DOBIE GILLIS—Comedy 7:30 HONEYMOONERS—Comedy 8:00 HAZEL—Comedy 8:30 STEVE ALLEN—Variety COLOR Guests: Inger Stevens, Matt Monro, Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill, Dave Miller 10:30 JOE DOLAN!—Discussion COLOR Guest: Herb Caen 11:15 MOVIE—Drama “Outpost in Malaya” (English; 1952) 12:45 FAMOUS WRITERS COLOR
TV
July 22, 2023
This week in TV Guide: July 20, 1968
You've probably seen the famous New Yorker illustration "
View of the World from 9th Avenue
," which depicts pretty much everything other than New York as a vast wasteland. Well, as Edith Efron points out, that's how network news tends to look at this country as well. And NBC's Bob Rogers wanted to correct that, so he conceived, produced, and wrote a documentary called "American Profile: Home Country USA," which presented a very different image of America than the one most people had been seeing. Aired on April 5, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and just weeks before the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the purpose of the program was to affirm that there was sanity in the midst of the insanity. "For the space of this program, let’s declare a cease-fire in the painful but necessary process of searching, scolding and scaring ourselves," began Chet Huntley's narration. "For a change, we will consider some of our virtues, instead of our faults."The documentary took viewers on a tour of America, "from a ship-building seaport in Maine, to a Kansas dairy farm, to the tobacco country of south Virginia, to a South Carolina steel plant, to a Texas ranch, to the game-filled Montana mountains, to a Mexican-American town in Southern California." The stars were "the black and white citizens who inhabit the vast geographical expanse of this Nation—those we call the 'grass-roots' Americans." And the result was a program that reminded Americans that this is a big country with a lot that's good about it, a portrayal of "what is enduringly beautiful about the American character."
"The outstanding thing that unites them all is self-reliance," says Rogers. "Each is his own man. They all have strong convictions about what they want, and a willingness to do a fantastic amount of work to enable them to have the career they want and to live the way they want to live. They all have guts." Rogers calls them "The Forgotten Americans."
Why aren't these Forgotten Americans seen on TV? For too long, Efron feels, there's been a perception that "the self-reliant, productive American is 'extinct'—that this country is peopled largely by the dependent, the helpless, the hostile and the violent." TV has played its role in this perception. Rogers acidly notes that it's "Because everybody's covering urban problems," to which Huntly adds his agreement. "It’s true. Our attention has certainly been turned to the cities. That’s where the problems are." He adds, however, "But it is distorted. It doesn’t reflect the total country. We’re ignoring the rest of America."
The degree to which America is being ignored, Efron says, is "enormous." There are more than 200 million people in this country, but "With network news cameras focused on localized, if explosive, urban problems, often photographed in New York City, the mass of this Nation is invisible. TV’s domestic 'window on reality' is mainly showing us social 'evils.'""TV news isn't telling people the way life is," ABCs Howard K. Smith said recently. "Were giving the public a wholly negative picture on a medium so vivid that it damages morale with a bombardment of despair."
It also creates dissention, Efron finds, a view that America is "evil." Rogers says that "The imbalance in coverage is causing Americans to mistrust each other." President Johnson accused the news media of "bad-mouthing this country all day long," and said they have "a vested interest in catastrophe."
Rogers and cameramen Ken Resnick and Richard Norling film cattle in the Big Bend Country"Home Country USA" was a needed antidote, a reminder that while America does have real problems, it is also a good country. "It was like soothing balm," in the words of AP reporter Cynthia Lowry, while critic Percy Shain found it a reminder that "There's still a strong backbone running down our Nation's anatomy." People at NBC were moved as well; documentarian Lou Hazam said "It was so thrilling to see these people. They were so real. This show gave us the essence of the American character. The terrific integrity and self-reliance! I can’t tell you what it meant to me." And a viewer from Memphis, where King had been assassinated the day before, wrote to NBC that "With this sorrowful event in our city, most of us became depressed and almost defeated over today’s problems. Your program helped me to remember the rest of America."
Does this America, the real America, still exist? We could use our own "Home Country USA" today, to remind us that there is still goodness and decency in America. We need that reminder that what we see on television and what we read on social media is not the real world. There have been indications that the issues social media emphasizes, the conflicts that it inflames, are not those that consume the majority of Americans, that neither the far-left nor the far-right interest them that much. Now, it's true that this could be whistling in the dark, burying one's head in the sand, and that this equanimity simply allows evil to thrive and accelerates the disintegration of America and the world. When it comes to the future of this country, I'm among the most pessimistic.
But there's no doubt that this real America still exists as a home for most people, and we need to be reminded of that. As Efron says in conclusion, "The soothing 'balm' was the sight of American goodness. It is a vital necessity, in this troubled period of our history, to show it on the screen." It may be heartbreaking, but it may also be inspiring. It may suggest that it's not too late yet.
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During the 60s, the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace were the premiere variety shows on television. Whenever they appear in TV Guide together, we'll match them up and see who has the best lineup.Sullivan: Ed’s guests are singers Eddie Fisher, the McGuire Sisters, and Lulu; comedians Jackie Vernon, Norm Crosby, Stiller and Meara, and Tommy Cooper; the Ballet America; and Baby Opal, performing elephant.
Palace: Jimmy Durante is the ringmaster for the Palace circus show. Jimmy sings "Be a Clown," "Buffoons" and "When the Circus Leaves Town." Honorary ringmistress: young Anissa Jones of Family Affair. Acts include Roselle Troupe, ariel acrobats; Kay's Pets, animal act; Linon, slack-wire clown; Sensational Parker, swaypole performer; Great Rudos, performing elephants; Candy Cavaretta, trapeze artist; Hanneford Family, clowns on horseback.
Circus shows can be very dull or very entertaining, depending on the quality of the acts and how you feel about circuses (and clowns). Without seeing Palace, we really don't have any way of knowing which one this is, even though Jimmy Durante is always entertaining. However, Ed has a full lineup of acts, most of them well-known, and with both the McGuire Sisters and Lulu, he's appealing to all the age groups tonight. So let's go with Sullivan this week.
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As seen in Singer storesA preview of coming attractions in this week's Hollywood Teletype starts with the note that "Elvis Preseley won't have guest stars sharing the NBC spotlight with him December 3. It'll be just Elvis and a singing-dancing chorus for an hour." This is, of course, the legendary '68 Comeback Special, and we're getting the first glimpse of what the show, which was taped on June 29, will look like, presumably from someone who was present at the taping or privy to what went on. It's a low-key notice; no talk of the comeback, no mention of it being his first television special. Perhaps the noise was made when the deal was sealed, perhaps the buzz is yet to come.Continuing on this theme, Rod Serling is returning to televisison, "for at least one show. He's writing a script for NBC's Prudential's On Stage drama series. It'll be a political story tentatively entitled "Certain Honorable Men." That is, indeed, how it comes out when it's broadcast on September 12, with Van Heflin starring as a powerful but corrupt congressman, and Peter Fonda and Alexandra Isles as the staffers who discover the truth of his activities and turn on him. Although the soundtrack for this drama still exists , this is thought to be one of those "lost" broadcasts that so irritates historians like me. Having perhaps learned from his previous frustrations at with contemporary television writing, Serling here chooses not to focus on a specific issue, but on the values of the people who represent us in office. And of course we all know this won't be Serling's last go with television; he'll be back next year with Night Gallery.
There's also mention of Academy Award-winning actress Miyoshi Umeki joining the cast of The Courtship of Eddie's Father, a pilot for a proposed series on ABC starring Bill Bixby. That's one pilot that does indeed make the schedule, and it has a three-season run. One show that doesn't, apparently, come to fruition: the Singer Company is talking with the Beatles about an American TV apperance. As far as I know that never happens, but Singer does have a very successful series of music specials that they sponsor—including the Elvis Comeback Special.
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Along with our regular fare, we've got some excellent movies airing on network and local television this week, led by a repeat of The Best Man (Friday, 9:00 p.m., CBS), Gore Vidal's savage 1964 story of presidential candidates vying for the nomination at their party's national convention. Judith Crist says that the movie "achieves near-thriller status with the almost unbearable tension building from a man’s reconsideration of his own moral values and the suspense dependent on how far a demagogue’s passions can carry him." Henry Fonda stars as the moral man who may not have the inner strength to be a leader; Cliff Robertson is his opponent, unscrupulous but with the qualities to be a decisive president; and Lee Tracy as the former president whose endoresement everyone values, but who has his doubts. It's well-made, well-acted, and well-written, and no wonder it shows up on by quadrennial list of
favorite political movies
. Champagne for Caesar (Saturday, 9:00 p.m., KBHK in San Francisco) is a witty 1950 satire on television and quiz shows, featuring Ronald Colman as a polymath determined to break the bank on a quiz show; Vincent Price as the show's sponsor, whose refusal to give Colman a job spurs the revenge plot; and Art Linkletter as the show's smarmy host. Critics weren't all that high on it, but I've found it as a very funny take on an industry that deserves spoofing.
Sunday's movie classic is one of the most influential of horror films, 1941's The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the title creature (a character he'd reprise in four sequels), with Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William, and Bela Lugosi rounding out a top-notch cast. If you've already seen enough werewolves, you might prefer heading down to the Pecan Valley Country Club in San Antonio for the final round of golf's last major of the season, the 50th PGA Championship (2:00 p.m., ABC). At age 48, Julius Boros masters the sweltering heat for a one-shot victory over Arnold Palmer (who misses an eight-foot putt on 18 to tie) and Bob Charles; third-round leaders George Archer and Marty Fleckman finish another stroke back.
Also on Sunday: The 21st Century (4:30 p.m., CBS) looks at the medical and lifestyle advances that may make it possible to extend average life expectancy to age 100. It's a wistful hope, looking at it in retrospect; the latest statistics show that life expectancy in the United States has dropped for the second consecutive year. In 2019 it was nearly 79, but by last year it had fallen to just over 76; I wonder how much those supposed medical advances have had to do with it? And speaking of failed medical experiments, Jack Palance (right) stars in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (9:00 p.m., ABC), a Dan Curtis production that originally starred Jason Robards, but was interrupted by a strike (fancy that); when filming resumed, Robards was unavailable and Palance stepped in. Monday gives viewers some tough choices, including the classics Damn Yankees (8:00 p.m., KRON, San Francisco), with Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, and Ray Walston; and The Quiet Man (8:30 p.m., KCRA, Sacramento), starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Barry Fitzgerald. And if those don't provide enough star power, The Lucy Show (8:30 p.m., CBS) finds Lucy at a Hollywood premiere, with cameos from Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Durante, and Vince Edwards.
Remember how, when a network movie ran short, the network filled the remainng time with a short film? We've got some examples of that this week; on Tuesday, CBS follows the movie Mister Moses ("tastless idiocy," according to Crist) with "a preview of fall shows" that was probably an abbreviated version of this. (9:00 p.m.) Wednesday, ABC does something similar, following the 9:00 p.m. movie Ski Party (starring Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, and Yvonne Craig) with "highlights of 1967 college football games," including this showdown for #1 between USC and UCLA. What would they do nowadays to fill the time until the local news? Probably add more commercials—but I forgot; they don't show movies on network TV anymore.
On Thursday, Julie London and her husband, Bobby Troup, headline the monthly Something Special (9:00 p.m., KTVU in Oakland), with the Hi-Los and bandleader Jerry Fielding. That's up against the CBS Thursday movie Tickle Me (9:00 p.m.), with Elvis as an unemployed rodeo star. By the way, that doesn't fill up the entire hour and 55 minutes, so it's followed by "a behind-the-scenes look a the filming of Funny Girl, with Barbra Streisand.*" (Something like this .) And in case you're wondering why the movie slot was only 1:55, the final five minutes was filled by a political talk from presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller.
*Spelled "Barbara" in the listings, but I've taken the liberty of making the correction.
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Richard Long is the subject of Dwight Whitney's cover story, and he comes across not only as a successful actor, but a very nice man. He's known for his stints in the WB detective shows Bourbon Street Beat and 77 Sunset Strip, and he's now one of the stars of ABC's Western The Big Valley. Not only that, he's also honing his chops as a director, helming the first episode of the fourth season. He's described as "Cool, intelligent, bright!" by co-producer Arthur Gardner, who adds, "If we didn't need him so much as an actior, e'd make a fine director."Long is known on-set for being calm, cool, and collected. Steady and dependable are words used to describe him, and nothing, but nothing, seems to get to him. He concedes it's an "insane" business, but says, "I have a great deal of respect for it. I see it as a job, a craft. That part turns me on," and Whitney notes that his directing success is a good thing for a man who's always been uncomfortable with the idea of stardom, which he sees as "frightening."
Throughout a life that's had its ups and downs, he's maintained that steadiness. His first marriage, to actress Suzan Ball, ended when she died of cancer after 14 months. She was diagnosed shortly after they started going together, but they married anyway. "We all lose, and you have to be prepared for that," he says. "You learn from it. You have to allow it to happen. There is a suffering period and life goes on again. His second, to acress Mara Corday*, has been stormy, but despite threats and divorce filings on both sides, they remain together and the marriage maintains a kind of rocky stability that lasts for the remainder of his life.
*Who appeared in the MST3K classic The Black Scorpion .
The Big Valley runs for four seasons; after that, Long co-stars with Juliet Mills in the much-loved Nanny and the Professor for a couple of years, followed by the short-lived Thicker Than Water with Julie Harris. Having a history of heart trouble, he dies of a heart attack in 1974, at only 47. But the closing quote from a friend seems to sum up his career and his life very well: "It is the nobility of being content to be exactly what you are."
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MST3K alert: Eegah! (1962) A prehistorictype giant living in the desert falls in love with the teen-age girl who discovers him. Arch Hall Jr., Marilyn Manning, Richard Kiel. (Friday, 9:00 p.m., KMEO in San Francisco) Looking at the cast, you have three guesses as to who plays the prehistoric giant, and the first two guesses don't count. This movie was made the same year as Kiel's famous appearance in "To Serve Man" on The Twilight Zone; it's one of three appearances he makes on MST3K. Believe me, by the end of this one, you'll be rooting for him against the people he's supposed to be terrorizing. TV
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Insightful commentary on how classic TV shows mirrored and influenced American society, tracing the impact of iconic series on national identity, cultural change, and the challenges we face today.
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