This Week in Television History: February 2017 PART II

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.

February 12, 2008

Writers’ strike ends after 100 days. 

Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends on this day in 2008, when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) vote by a margin of more than 90 percent to go back to work after a walkout that began the previous November 5.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: Telemundo Winter Olympics - SNL

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" 

A little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those

things that leave a bad taste in our mouths

Telemundo announcers (Jennifer Lopez, Fred Armisen) are baffled by the kind of ridiculous sports played at the Winter Olympics.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

This Week in Television History: February 2017 PART I

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.

February 8, 1928

Jack Edward Larson is born.

Actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the TV series The Adventures of Superman.

February 8, 1953

Walt Disney is featured in a one-hour special broadcast of Ed Sullivan's hit show The Toast of the Town. 

The following year, Disney launched his own show, which ultimately broke Ed Sullivan's record as longest-running prime-time network program. Ed Sullivan's show ran from 1948 to 1971, but Walt Disney's show, which ran under several names, including Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, and The Wonderful World of Disney, was on the air from 1954 to 1990, more than 10 years longer than Ed Sullivan.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: Beetle Bailey - 1989 Unaired TV Special

Addison Morton "Mort" Walker
September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" 

A little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those

things that leave a bad taste in our mouths

When a group of generals from the Pentagon notify General Halftrack that they want to inspect a model of the modern soldier, Beetle Bailey probably wasn't what they had in mind.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

This Week in Television History: January 2017 PART V

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.

January 31, 1988

The first episode of The Wonder Years aired on ABC.

A coming-of-age comedy-drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from 1988 until 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988, following ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII. It stars Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold, a boy growing up in a middle class family, and takes place from 1968–1973.

The show earned a spot in the Nielsen Top 30 during its first four seasons. TV Guide named it one of the 20 best shows of the 1980s. After six episodes, The Wonder Years won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1988. In addition, at age 13, Fred Savage became the youngest actor ever nominated as Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series. The show was also awarded a Peabody Award in 1989 for "pushing the boundaries of the sitcom format and using new modes of storytelling". In total, the series won 22 awards and was nominated for 54 more. In 1997, "My Father's Office" was ranked #29 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and in the 2009 revised list the pilot episode was ranked #43. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked The Wonder Years #63 on its list of 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the show's opening sequence #14 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time. As of recent years many critics and fans consider The Wonder Years to be a classic and that it has had tremendous impact on the industry over the years and has inspired many other shows and how they are structured.

February 1, 1953

CBS-TV debuted Private Secretary. 

(also known as Susie) is an American sitcom that aired from February 1, 1953, to September 10, 1957, on CBS, alternating with The Jack Benny Program on Sundays at 7:30pm EST. The series stars Ann Sothern as Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara, devoted secretary to handsome talent agent Peter Sands, played by Don Porter.

February 2, 1973

NBC-TV debuted Midnight Special hosted by Helen Reddy.

The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series originally broadcast on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981.^[2]The 90-minute program followed the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Like its syndicated late-night cousin Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, the show typically featured guest hosts, except for a period from July 1975 through March 1976 when singer Helen Reddy served as the regular host. Wolfman Jack served as the announcer and frequent guest host. The program's theme song, a traditional folk song called "Midnight Special", was performed by Johnny Rivers.

The Midnight Special was noted for featuring musical acts performing live, which was unusual since most television appearances during the era showed performers lip-synching to prerecorded music. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts, such as Bill Haley & His Comets. As the program neared the end of its run in the early 1980s, it began to frequently use lip-synched performances rather than live ones.^{[citation needed]} The program also featured occasional performances of comedians such as Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, and George Carlin.

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Tribute to Rose Marie: Next on TVC

Join us this weekend on TV CONFIDENTIAL for a special two-hour program honoring actress, singer and comedienne Rose Marie, airing Jan. 26-29 at the following times and venues:

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 1/26
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 1/27
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 1/28
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 1/27
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 1/28
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 1/28
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 1/28
9pm PT
Monday 1/29
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at KHMBRadio.com

RadioSlot.com
San Francisco, CA
Monday 1/29
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 show will be dedicated to the memory to Rose Marie, the legendary singer, actress and comedienne who passed away on Dec. 28, 2017 at the age of ninety-four. Rose Marie’s career not only spanned an amazing nine decades, but in many respects chronicled the history of entertainment in the 20th century.

You might recall that we had a chance to talk to Rose Marie in September 2012 back in 2012 here on TV CONFIDENTIAL. She was in great form that night and we covered many of the highlights of her stage, film, radio and television career, including her start on radio as Baby Rose Marie; her co-starring role opposite Phil Silvers in the Broadway production of Top Banana; her wildly successful musical stage show 4 Girls 4; the pivotal role she played early on in the career of Tim Conway; and the ground she broke while playing Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show, We will replay our conversation with Rose Marie in its entirety beginning in our second hour.

Also joining us this week we will be documentary filmmaker Jason Wise. Jason is the director, co-writer and co-producer of Wait for Your Laugh, the critically acclaimed feature length motion picture documentaryabout Rose Marie that was released just a few weeks before she died. We’ll ask Jason about the active role that Rose Marie played in the making of Wait for Your Laugh, plus we’ll let you know about a major announcement pertaining to the film. Jason Wise will join us in our first hour.

 

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
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Your Mental Sorbet: Cocktail Party 1 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Gary Owens as the announcer on NBC's “Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In”

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" 

A little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those

things that leave a bad taste in our mouths

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In first aired 50 years ago.

It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and featured, at various times, Chelsea Brown,Johnny Brown, Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Richard Dawson, Henry Gibson, Arte Johnson, Goldie Hawn,Larry Hovis, Jeremy Lloyd, Dave Madden, Pigmeat Markham, Gary Owens, Pamela Rodgers, Barbara Sharma, Alan Sues, Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley.

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa