Monday, May 16, 2022

This Week in Television History: May 2022 PART III

May 19, 1992
Vice President Dan Quayle criticized the Murphy Brown character for "ignoring the importance of fathers by birthing a child alone".

In the show's 1991–1992 season, Murphy became pregnant. When her baby's father (ex-husband and current underground radical Jake Lowenstein) expressed his unwillingness to give up his own lifestyle to be a parent, Murphy chose to have the child and raise it alone. Another major fiction-reality blending came at Murphy's baby shower: the invited guests were journalists Katie Couric, Joan Lunden, Paula Zahn, Mary Alice Williams and Faith Daniels, who treated the fictional Murphy and Corky as friends and peers.

At the point where she was about to give birth, she had stated that "several people do not want me to have the baby. Pat Robertson; Phyllis Schlafly; half of Utah!" Right after giving birth to her son, Avery, Murphy sang the song "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. This storyline made the show a subject of political controversy during the 1992 American presidential campaign. On May 19, 1992, then Vice President Dan Quayle spoke at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. During his speech,^[5] he criticized the Murphy Brown character for "ignoring the importance of fathers by birthing a child alone".

Quayle's remarks caused a public discussion on family values, culminating in the 1992–93 season premiere, "You Say Potatoe, I Say Potato", where the television characters reacted to Quayle's comments and produced a special episode of FYI showcasing and celebrating the diversity of the modern American family. Because Quayle's actual speech made little reference to Murphy Brown's fictional nature (other than the use of the word character), the show was able to use actual footage from his speech to make it appear that, within the fictional world of the show, Quayle was referring to Murphy Brown personally, rather than to the fictional character. At the end, Brown helps organize a special edition of FYI focusing on different kinds of families then arranges a retaliatory prank in which a truckload of potatoes is dumped in front of Quayle's residence, while a disc jockey commenting on the incident notes the Vice President should be glad people were not making fun of him for misspelling "fertilizer", (On June 15, 1992, at a spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey, Quayle had erroneously corrected an elementary school student's spelling of "potato" to "potatoe".) When Candice Bergen won another Emmy that year, she thanked Dan Quayle. The feud was cited by E! as #81 on its list of "101 Reasons the '90s Ruled."

In 2002, Bergen said in an interview that she personally agreed with much of Quayle's speech, calling it "a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable" and adding that "nobody agreed with that more than I did."

Quayle would eventually display a sense of humor about the incident—after the controversy died down, he appeared for an interview on an independent Los Angeles TV station and for his final question was asked what his favorite TV show was. He responded with "Murphy Brown—Not!" The station would later use the clip of Quayle's response to promote its showing of Murphy Brown re-runs in syndication.

May 20, 2007

The Simpsons airs 400th episode.

The Simpsons was created by Matt Groenig, whose comic strip Life Is Hell caught the attention of the Hollywood producer James L. Brooks. Brooks enlisted Groenig to create a cartoon short that would run during the Fox sketch comedy series The Tracey Ullmann Show. Two of the show’s regulars, Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner, provided the voices for Homer and Marge Simpson, while Nancy Cartwright (who had originally auditioned for the role of their daughter, Lisa) landed the role of their troublemaking adolescent son, Bart. Lisa (voiced by Yeardley Smith) rounded out the speaking parts for the dysfunctional Simpson family, who made their debut on The Tracey Ullmann Show in April 1987. Brooks later convinced Barry Diller, Fox’s then-chief executive, to turn the shorts into a half-hour weekly series, to be developed by Brooks, Groenig and Sam Simon. The Simpsons debuted on Fox in December 1989 with a special Christmas episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”

The first animated prime-time sitcom since The Flinstones in the 1960s, The Simpsons burst onto the scene during a period when most of the successful comedy series on television were family-friendly offerings such as The Cosby Show, Full House, Growing Pains and Family Matters. Offbeat and dysfunctional, The Simpsons offered a far different view of family life. Critics raved about the show and its edgy, pop-culture savvy humor from the beginning, and it became a huge ratings hit.

In 2005, The Simpsons became the longest-running sitcom ever, passing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran for 14 seasons (1952-66). Over the years, the series racked up no fewer than 23 Emmy Awards, and was named by TIME magazine as the best show of all time in 1999 and as No. 1 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of New Classic TV Shows in 2008. Its incredible success paved the way for other adult-oriented animated series, notably Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, The Family Guy and South Park.

May 22, 1992

The Final

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

As his retirement approached, Johnny Carson tried to avoid too much sentimentality, but would periodically show clips of some of his favorite moments and revisit with some of his favorite guests.

However, no one was quite prepared for Carson's next-to-last night, where his final guests his guests were Robin Williams and Bette Midler. Midler found the emotional vein of the farewell. After the topic of their conversation turned to Johnny's favorite songs ("I'll Be Seeing You" and "Here's That Rainy Day"), Midler mentioned she knew a chorus of the latter. She began singing the song, and after the first line, Carson joined in and turned it into a touching impromptu duet. Midler finished her appearance when, from center stage, she slowly sang the pop standard "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)." This penultimate show was immediately recognized as a television classic, and Midler would win an Emmy Award for her role in it.

Carson did not have guests on his final episode of The Tonight Show. An estimated 50 million people watched this retrospective show, which ended with him sitting on a stool alone on the stage, curiously similar to Jack Paar's last show. He gave these final words of goodbye,

“And so it has come to this: I, uh... am one of the lucky people in the world; I found something I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. I want to thank the gentlemen who've shared this stage with me for thirty years. Mr. Ed McMahon, Mr. Doc Severinsen, and you people watching. I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. And I hope when I find something that I want to do and I think you would like and come back that you'll be as gracious in inviting me into your home as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt good night”.

During his final speech, Carson told the audience that he hoped to return to television with another project and that hopefully "will meet with your approval". A few weeks after the final show aired, it was announced that NBC and Carson had struck a deal to develop a new series, but ultimately he chose never to return to television with another show of his own.

Johnny Carson died of complications from emphysema on January 23, 2005 at age 79.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Monday, May 09, 2022

This Week in Television History: May 2022 PART II

May 9, 1992

The final episode of "The Golden Girls" aired on NBC.

After six consecutive seasons in the top 10, and the seventh season at number 30, The Golden Girls came to an end when Bea Arthur chose to leave the series. In the hour-long series finale, which aired in May 1992, Dorothy meets and marries Blanche's Uncle Lucas (Leslie Nielsen), and moves to Hollingsworth Manor in Atlanta, Georgia. Sophia was to join her, but in the end, Sophia stays behind with the other women in Miami, leading into the spin-off series, The Golden Palace. The series finale was watched by 27.2 million viewers. As of 2016, it was the 17th-most watched television finale.

May 9, 2002

The pilot episode of "CSI: Miami" aired.

Starring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detective Calleigh Duquesne, and Kim Delaney as Lieutenant Megan Donner, the series is the first direct spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "transplanting the same template and trickery — gory crimes, procedural plot and dazzling graphics — into [a new city] while retaining the essence of the original idea".

May 12, 1992

Robert Reed dies. An only child, Reed was born John Robert Rietz, Jr., in the northeast Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois. His parents were Helen (born Teaverbaugh) and John Robert Rietz,

Sr. His parents, high school sweethearts, were married since they were 18. The family lived in Des Plaines, Illinois at 621 Parsons Street, and Reed attended the West Division School in Community Consolidated School District 62 until 1939. His father worked in the government, and his mother was a housewife. Reed spent his later childhood years in Muskogee, Oklahoma, as well as Navasota, Texas, and later studied Shakespeare in college. In Oklahoma his father, John Sr., worked as a turkey farmer, raising 200 turkeys annually. Reed seems not to have taken in interest in his father's farm work.

In his youth, he joined the 4-H agricultural club, and showed calves. But he was more interested in acting and music. While attending Central High School in Muskogee, he participated in both activities. He was a handsome, popular student in high school, hanging out with classmates at the nearby ice cream parlor. John Jr. also took to the stage, where he performed and sang. During breaks, he also put on plays himself, practicing all night long.

John Jr. knew he was going to make it and was very serious about becoming an actor. He appeared in every school play and landed the majority of lead roles. He was a consummate professional, who demanded the same of his teen peers. In his junior year, he took a radio and speech class. His charming delivery led him to a job as the city's radio disc jockey, reading news and commercials. John Jr. graduated from Muskogee Central in 1950. His drama teacher told him the next step in his theatrical training should be at Northwestern University. John also wanted to attend the university, with a major in theater; however, his parents had other plans for him. They wanted him to study law or any other profession in college. But he took acting classes anyway, choosing to be an actor.

At Northwestern he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and later transferred to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in London.

During his years at Northwestern, he appeared in several plays under the direction of Alvine Krause, a celebrated Northwestern drama coach. He also appeared in Summer Stock in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. John performed in more than 8 plays in college all with leading roles and mastered Shakespeare as well. He practiced his skills for a camera while revealing a rarely seen, comical side. While he was working hard in college, he was keeping a private secret. He would not reveal that he was gay, especially to his best friend, Tam Spiva. Despite his sexual orientation, he was dating a woman.

When he became an actor, he adopted the stage name Robert Reed.

Reed made his first guest-starring appearance in an episode of Father Knows Best, a role which led him to co-star in The Defenders. The part also led to other roles such as: Men into Space, Family Affair, Ironside, The Mod Squad, Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre, Lawman, 4 episodes of Love, American Style, Chase, Harry O, McCloud, Jigsaw John, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Crazy Like a Fox, The Paper Chase, among many others.

He first gained fame in the early 1960s for starring along with E. G. Marshall in the television drama series The Defenders from 1961 to 1965. He also appeared in the 1968 film Star!

Appearing in the Neil Simon play, Barefoot in the Park led him to two new contracts, at Paramount Studios and ABC, both in 1968. The minute that studio decided to turn the television version of Barefoot in the Park into an African-American show, they planned for Reed to star in something else. Originally titled, The Bradey Bunch, the show featured a widowed man, who had 3 kids from a previous marriage, marrying a divorcee, also with 3 kids, from a previous marriage. According to former Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz, he said about the show's plan for 6 kids (meaning 3 boys/3 girls) to create a well-blended family: "I read a small item in the Los Angeles Times. It said that that year, 29% of all marriages had a previous spouse with a child or children from that other marriage. It was a social phenomenon that was occurring, and I said, 'I could take advantage of that.'

Reed was actually the producers' second choice for the role of Mike Brady, after Gene Hackman was rejected because he was too unfamiliar at the time. Also starring on The Brady Bunch was a popular singer/unknown actress Florence Henderson, who played the role of Mike's wife Carol Brady; after her best friend Shirley Jones turned down that role, in favor of another sitcom, The Partridge Family, which debuted the year later, also on ABC. Also cast on the show was the only familiar actress Ann B. Davis, as the maid, Alice Nelson, along with a half-dozen unknown stars: Maureen McCormick as the oldest girl in the family, Marcia Brady, Eve Plumb as the middle girl in the family, Jan Brady, Susan Olsen as the youngest girl in the family, Cindy Brady, Barry Williams as the oldest boy in the family, Greg Brady, Christopher Knight as the middle boy in the family, Peter Brady and Mike Lookinland as the youngest boy in the family, Bobby Brady. Reed was notoriously difficult to work with both on and off the set; despite that, the cast got along well with him. Olsen became friends with Reed's real-life daughter, who in turn made a guest appearance on the show.

However, unlike The Defenders, The Brady Bunch was a lighthearted comedy. Despite not being a Top 30 show during its five season run, which competed against two highly-rated TV series, The High Chaparral for 2 seasons (1969–1971) and Sanford and Son for 3 1/2 seasons (1972–1974), The Brady Bunch was an audience favorite of the 1970s, and appeared on dozens of magazines. It was one of five series to be canceled in 1974 (along with other ABC shows such as Room 222, The F.B.I., The Partridge Family and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law), after 5 seasons, and 117 episodes, due to low ratings, however, the show had continued to enjoy its success in strong syndication, including TV Land.

From the beginning of The Brady Bunch, Reed was unhappy with his role of Mike Brady. He felt that acting in the often silly sitcom was beneath his serious Shakespearean training. Despite his discontent with the show, by most accounts, he genuinely liked his co-stars and was a beloved father figure to the younger cast members. In his efforts to bring more realism to the show, Reed often locked horns with the show's creator and executive producer, Sherwood Schwartz. Reed presented Schwartz with frequent, usually hand-written memorandums detailing why a certain character's motivation did not make sense, and/or why it was wrong for a certain episode to combine elements of different styles, such as farce and satire.

Reed was particularly appalled by The Brady Bunch's fifth season finale, "The Hair-Brained Scheme". He sent Schwartz a memo picking apart the episode, but Schwartz did not receive the memo promptly enough to change the show as Reed wanted. As a result, the disgusted Reed told Schwartz they'd have to do the episode without him, which they did, changing the shooting schedule and giving Mike Brady's lines to other characters. As a result Schwartz fired him from the series — which turned out not to make a difference because The Brady Bunch was canceled after that.

Reed reprised the role of Mike Brady in the variety show The Brady Bunch Hour, as well as The Brady Brides, several made-for-TV Brady movies, and another series that followed, The Bradys.

During the run of The Brady Bunch, Reed also had a recurring role as Lieutenant Adam Tobias on the television drama Mannix from 1967 to 1975.

After the end of The Brady Bunch in 1974, Reed acted on the stage and made many guest star appearances on other television shows and television movies, including Pray for the Wildcats and SST: Death Flight. He won critical acclaim for his portrayal of a doctor who wants to undergo a sex change operation in a two-part episode of Medical Center in 1975. Reed also appeared in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. He also guest starred on Wonder Woman, playing the Falcon. Other notable guest appearances include: Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, Galactica 1980, Vega$, and Murder, She Wrote for at least three appearances. Reed played the regular role of Dr. Adam Rose on the critically acclaimed (though short-lived) hospital drama Nurse during the 1981–1982 television season. In 1986, he played the role of Lloyd Kendall on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow. He also made multiple appeances in Hunter (U.S. TV series) and Jake and the Fatman as well as The Love Boat.

In 1971, Reed was the defendant in Anglia TV v. Reed, an important case in English contract common law. Reed lost the lawsuit for £2,750.

Reed was married to Marilyn Rosenberg (1954–1959). The couple had one daughter, Karen Rietz, who was born in 1956. Karen had a small role in an episode of The Brady Bunch entitled "The Slumber Caper." Her character's name was Karen and she is credited as "Carolyn Reed." This episode also reunited Reed with his co-star from The Defenders, E. G. Marshall.

Reed felt his career required him to be secretive about his homosexuality. Nonetheless, most of the Brady Bunch cast members—most notably Barry Williams and Florence Henderson—knew of his sexual orientation, and expressed outrage at the media's exploitation of it after his death.

In 1972, at the end of the third year of The Brady Bunch, Reed took his own family, his parents, along with his on-screen Brady Bunch family on vacation to New York City and London, England. In New York, he introduced the young actors to Broadway, then they headed on a crossing aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 to England. Reed enjoyed spending time with his on-screen kids, as he rarely had time to spend with his own daughter, Karen. Years after the divorce, his former wife, Marilyn, moved back to Chicago, where she remarried. Reed allowed Karen to be adopted by her stepfather.

He purchased a home in South Pasadena, California, with the money he made from The Brady Bunch, and invited his parents to live with him.

His father, John Rietz, Sr., died in 1975; his mother continued to live with her son after her husband's death, while she served as a hostess. The two got along well. Just before Reed's death, when his relationship with his mother diminished, she moved back to Oklahoma.

Reed was very close friends with actress Anne Haney. It was she who informed his daughter of his homosexuality and his having contracted HIV. She often got his HIV medication for him under a pseudonym to protect his private life.

Reed died on May 12, 1992, at his home in South Pasadena, California, after a six month battle with colon cancer and lymphoma; he tested HIV positive the previous year but did not have AIDS at the time of his death, as has been reported in the media. He was cremated and his ashes are interred in Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois next to his grandparents, Harvey and Elizabeth Rietz, and an uncle who died in childhood. Joined by many mourners at a private memorial were the cast of The Brady Bunch, and his best friends Anne Haney and E. G. Marshall. Both his mother, Helen, and daughter, Karen, declined to attend his memorial.

May 13th, in 1922

Bea Arthur is born Bernice Frankel

She was an American actress, comedian, singer, and animal rights activist. Her career spanned seven decades.

Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family (1971–72) and Maude (1972–78), and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–92), winning Emmy Awards for both roles. A stage actress both before and after her television success, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Vera Charles in the original cast of Mame (1966).