This Week in Television History: November 2017 PART IV

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history,
the more that fact and legend become intertwined.
It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

November 28, 1962

Talk-show host and comedian Jon Stewart born. Stewart’s irreverent take on national and world events has been a huge hit with audiences and has even led some viewers to cite The Daily Show as their primary source of news.

Raised in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz attended the College of William and Mary and after graduation began performing stand-up comedy at clubs in New York City. In 1991, he became host of Short Attention Span Theater on Comedy Central, which was followed in 1992 by You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV. In 1993, he hosted a half-hour program, The Jon Stewart Show, also on MTV. A late-night, nationally syndicated version of the program launched the following year but was cancelled in 1995.

In January 1999, Stewart took over hosting duties of The Daily Show from Craig Kilborn, who had hosted the show since its 1996 debut on Comedy Central and left to replace Tom Snyder as host of The Late Late Show. With Stewart in the anchor seat, The Daily Show typically opens with a monologue about the day’s news stories, followed by a satirical report from one of the program’s “fake news” correspondents. (Previous correspondents have included Steve Carrell, who was a Daily Show regular from 1999 to 2004 and went on to star in such movies as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine and Get Smart and the NBC sitcom The Office. Another Daily Show correspondent, Stephen Colbert, left the program in 2005 to launch his own spin-off, The Colbert Report.) During the final segment of the half-hour Daily Show, Stewart conducts interviews with politicians, authors, Hollywood celebrities or other newsmakers. The Daily Show has won multiple Emmy Awards, and in 2004 Stewart and his writing staff released a best-selling mock-history textbook titled America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction.

In addition to hosting The Daily Show, Stewart served as master of ceremonies for Hollywood’s biggest annual event, the Academy Awards, in 2006 and 2008. His own movie career, which includes appearances in Playing by Heart (1998), The Faculty (1998) and Big Daddy (1999), has yet to win him any Oscars. On The Daily Show, Stewart has mocked his roles in such box-office bombs as 2001’s Death to Smoochy.

November 28, 1997                                                                      

The final episode of "Beavis and Butt-head" aired on MTV.

When Highland High's secretary calls Beavis and Butt-head's home to see why the boys aren't in school, Beavis falsely claims that he and Butt-head are dead. Principal McVicker is pleasantly surprised and even stops his typical nervous shaking. Mr. Van Driessen mourns the loss and tries to get the class to remember something good about the obnoxious duo, though Daria echoes most of the class's sentiments by saying "it's not like they had bright futures ahead of them". The school faculty mostly agree (except Van Driessen) that although they never liked Beavis and Butt-head, they should exploit their apparent deaths to make their trouble worthwhile. Beavis and Butt-head see news that someone died at school, and decide to show up anyway. Just as Principal McVicker is on camera, holding a jar full of the memorial charity's change saying he would (hypothetically) trade it to have Beavis and Butt-head back, they greet him to his shock and end up in possession of the jar. Beavis and Butt-head walk off into the sunset, believing that they are rich and have no need to attend school anymore. This episode was the original series finale, up until the 2011 revival.

November 30, 1927

Robert Guillaume is born Robert Peter Williams. 

The stage and television actor, known for his role as Benson on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years he has worked extensively on stage (including a Tony Award nomination), television (including winning two Emmy Awards), and film.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Shop Local Saturday "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY": Mr. Hoopers Egg Cream

Here is your Shop Local Saturday 

"HOLIDAY SOR-BAY"

a little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Telly and Gordon want a "Mr. Hooper Egg Cream."

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Black Friday HOLIDAY SOR-BAY: The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Not a Christmas Story

Here is your BLACK FRIDAY 

"HOLIDAY SOR-BAY"

a little spark of madness that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show S05E09 Not a Christmas Story Everyone is getting on each others nerves when they are trapped in the newsroom by a snowstorm.

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

Your Holiday Sor-Bay: Thanksgiving 2017

Here is a Thanksgiving "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY" tradition.

This is a little brain candy to snack on while dinner is cooking.

May we all be thankful for what we are about to view... 

Station manager Arthur Carlson comes up with a big idea for a unique holiday promotion involving live turkeys and a helicopter. First aired on October 30th 1978 (Season 1, Episode 7) 
In 1997 TV Guide ranked this episode number 40 on its '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Tony Figueroa

Tommy Hawkins and the Sounds of Lost Thanksgiving: Next on TVC

We’ll replay our conversation and television pioneer and former NBA star Tommy Hawkins on this weekend’s edition on TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Nov. 24-27 at the following times and venues:

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 11/24
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org
Use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in KSAV
Hear us on the KSAV channel on CX Radio Brazil
Hear us on your cell phone or landline number by dialing 712-432-4235

Indiana Talks
Marion, IN
Saturday 11/25
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 11/26
10am ET, 7am PT
Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in Indiana Talks

WON 920 The Apple
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday 11/25
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Streaming at www.920won.caster.fm

KSCO AM-1080 and FM-104.1
San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA
KOMY AM-1340
La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA
Sunday 11/26
9am ET, 6am PT
Also streaming at KSCO.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in KSCO

CROC Radio
Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada
Sunday 11/26
1pm ET, 10am PT
Streaming at CROCRadio.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in CROC

KHMB AM-1710
KHMV-LP 100.9 FM
Half Moon Bay, CA
Sunday 11/26
9pm PT
Monday 11/27
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at KHMBRadio.com

RadioSlot.com
San Francisco, CA
Monday 11/27
10pm ET, 7pm PT
with replays Tuesday thru Friday at 10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com

PWRNetwork
A member of the Truli Media Group
Ann Arbor, MI ~ Boston, MA ~ Chicago, IL ~ Melrose, FL ~ Los Angeles, CA
Various times throughout the week
on the Entertainment Channel on PWRNetwork.com
and the PWR channel on TuneIn

This week’s program will include an encore presentation of our conversation with Tommy Hawkins, the Emmy Award-nominated broadcaster, renaissance man and former NBA star who passed away on Aug. 16, 2017 at the age of 80. Tommy Hawkinsenjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA for both the Minneapolis Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers and the old Cincinnati Royals, playing alongside such Hall of Famers as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robertson. When his basketball career ended, he embarked on new challenges, first in radio and television (including co-hosting Mid-Morning Los Angeles with Stephanie Edwards and Meredith MacRae, as well as broadcasting for NBC Sports), then as a baseball executive for 18 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

At the time we spoke to Tommy in February 2012, he had just published a coffee table book, Life’s Reflections: Poetry for the People, that reflects his many interests, which include such subjects as sports, jazz, art, poetry, travel, life, love, family, and the turbulent decade known as the 1960s. We talked about his playing career, his passion for poetry, and how Regis Philbin played a key role in one of his first breaks as a broadcaster. We’ll replay our conversation with Tommy Hawkins in our second hour. 

Our first hour this week will feature an encore presentation of our special holiday-themed edition of The Sounds of Lost Television. Phil Gries will play rare audio highlights of some of the earliest surviving network TV coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, including clips from broadcasts hosted by Lorne Greene, Betty White, Martin Milner, Kent McCord and June Lockhart, as well as highlights from vintage network Thanksgiving TV specials, including programs hosted by Dean Martin and Bob and Ray. 

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television 
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org and CX Radio Brazil
Sat 8pm ET, 5pm PT and Sun 6pm ET, 3pm PT on Indiana Talks (Marion, IN)
Sat 10pm ET, 7pm PT on WON 920 The Apple (Brooklyn, NY)
Sun 9am ET, 6am PT KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA)
Sun 9am ET, 6am PT KOMY-AM 1340 (La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA)
Sun 1pm ET, 10am PT CROC Radio (British Columbia, Canada)
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM and FM (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Mon 10pm ET, 7pm PT on The Radio Slot Network (San Francisco, CA)
Replays various times throughout the week on the Entertainment Channel at PWRNetwork
Tape us now, listen to us later, using DAR.fm/tvconfidential 
Also available as a podcast via iTunes, FeedBurner, SoundCloud
and now on your mobile phone via Stitcher.com
Follow us online at www.tvconfidential.net
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If you listen to TV CONFIDENTIAL, and like what you’ve heard, please consider supporting our efforts by becoming a patron of our show through Patreon. It’s easy to do, it does not cost much, plus you can receive some cool rewards (such as coupons that will allow you to download up to six free programs every month from the TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives store). For more information, please visit www.Patreon.com/tvconfidential... and thanks!

Your Pre-Thanksgiving Holiday Sorbet PSA: William Shatner & State Farm® present "Eat, Fry, Love," a turkey fryer fire cautionary tale

Here is another "HOLIDAY SOR-BAY"

that we could use to artificially stimulate our Holiday spirit. 

We start with a Pre-Thanksgiving P.S.A.

William Shatner loves deep-fried turkey, but over many Thanksgivings and Christmases he's made mistakes, burned himself, and nearly burned down his house. In this dramatic retelling, Bill shows us how dangerous turkey fryers can be.

Stay Tuned and have a SAFE Thanksgiving

Tony Figueroa

David Cassidy

My life has flourished in so many ways both personally and professionally that I can't ask for a better life.

David Cassidy

David Bruce Cassidy
April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017

David Cassidy died today at the age of 67.

David Cassidy was born at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City, the son of singer and actor Jack Cassidy and actress Evelyn Ward.

In 1956, Cassidy's father married singer and actress Shirley Jones. They had three children: David's half-brothers Shaun (1958), Patrick (1962), and Ryan (1966). In 1968, after completing one final session of summer school to obtain credits necessary to get a high-school diploma, David moved into the rental home of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones in Irvington, New York, where his half-brothers also resided. David remained there seeking fame as an actor/musician while simultaneously working half-days in the mailroom of a textile firm. He moved out when his career began to flourish.

Cassidy's father, Jack, is credited with setting his son up with his first manager. After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Jack introduced him to former table tennis champion and close friend Ruth Aarons, who later found her niche as a talent manager, given her theater background. Aarons had represented Jack and Shirley Jones for several years prior, and later represented Cassidy's half-brother Shaun. Aarons became an authority figure and close friend to Cassidy, and was the driving force behind his on-screen success. After making small wages from Screen Gems for his work on The Partridge Family during season one, Aarons discovered a loophole in his contract and renegotiated it with far superior terms, and a four-year duration, a rare stipulation at the time.

On January 2, 1969, Cassidy made his professional debut in the Broadway musical The Fig Leaves Are Falling. It closed after four performances, but a casting director saw the show and asked Cassidy to make a screen test. In 1969, he moved to Los Angeles. After signing with Universal Studios in 1969, Cassidy was featured in episodes of the television series Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12 and Bonanza.

In 1970, Cassidy took the role of Keith Partridge, son of Shirley Partridge, who was played by Cassidy's real stepmother and series lead Shirley Jones. The Partridge Family series creator Bernard Slade and producers Paul Junger Witt and Bob Claver did not care whether Cassidy could sing, knowing only that his androgynous good looks would guarantee success. Shortly after production began, though, Cassidy convinced music producer Wes Farrell that he was good enough, and he was promoted to lead singer for the series' recordings.

Once "I Think I Love You" became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums, as well. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, "Cherish" (from the album of the same title), which reached number nine in the United States, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one in Australia and New Zealand. He began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits. Though he wanted to become a respected rock musician along the lines of Mick Jagger, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks of teen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life, when he managed to come to terms with his bubblegum pop beginnings.

Ten albums by The Partridge Family and five solo albums were produced during the series, with most selling more than a million copies each. Internationally, Cassidy's solo career eclipsed the already phenomenal success of The Partridge Family. He became an instant drawcard, with sellout concert successes in major arenas around the world. These concerts produced mass hysteria, resulting in the media coining the term "Cassidymania". By way of example, he played to two sellout crowds of 56,000 each at the Houston Astrodome in Texas over one weekend in 1972. His concert in New York's Madison Square Garden sold out in one day and resulted in riots after the show. His concert tours of the United Kingdom included sellout concerts at Wembley Stadium in 1973. In Australia in 1974, the mass hysteria was such that calls were made to have him deported from the country, especially after the madness at his 33,000-person audience concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

In 1978, Cassidy starred in an episode of Police Story titled "A Chance to Live", for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. NBC created a series based on it, called David Cassidy: Man Undercover, but it was cancelled after one season. A decade later, the successful Fox series 21 Jump Street used the same plot, with different youthful-looking police officers infiltrating a high school.

On February 20, 2017, Cassidy announced that he was living with non-Alzheimer's dementia, the condition that his mother suffered from at the end of her life. He retired from performing in early 2017 when the condition became noticeable during a performance in which he forgot lyrics and otherwise struggled.

On November 18, 2017, it was announced that Cassidy had been hospitalized suffering from liver and kidney failure, and was critically ill in a medically induced coma. He was out of the coma two days later, but remained in critical but stable condition, with doctors hoping to keep him stable until a liver became available for transplant.

Good Night Mr. Cassidy

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa