November 2007 Archives

Laverne & Shirley was yet another spin-off of the hugely successful Happy Days. Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) were first introduced on an episode of Happy Days during the shows third season in 1975. Laverne & Shirley premiered as a midseason replacement on January 27, 1976 and finished the season at number 3 in the Neilsen ratings. By the end of the third season, Laverne & Shirley was the number one show on American television.

The Los Angeles Times has an interesting poll today asking, who was Oscars sorest loser? There are many to choose from, no doubt. I'd have to go with the legendary Lauren Bacall. When the grand dame was nominated for best supporting actress back in 1996 for The Mirror Has Two Faces, she was the odds on favorite to win. If looks could kill, the evening's winner, The English Patient's Juliette Binoche would be spinning in her grave.

Canadian born singer/songwriter Serena Ryder has been performing since the age of thirteen. Serena is already a major star in her native Canada. Her major label debut, If Your Memory Serves You Well, a set of twelve covers and three original songs was released in Canada in late 2006 and hit store shelves in the United States soon after.

Warner Brothers has released Leading Ladies Collection Volume 2. The set consists of A Big Hand for the Little Lady starring Joanne Woodward, Henry Fonda and Jason Robards, I'll Cry Tomorrow starring Susan Hayward, Rich and Famous starring Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset, Shoot the Moon starring Diane Keaton and Albert Finney and Up the Down Staircase starring Sandy Dennis.

Happy Thanksgiving from Mad TV!

In his New York Times Blog, Dick Cavett remembers the evening Gore Vidal, Janet Flanner and Norman Mailer all appeared on his show.

Mailer’s entrance was the tip-off. He came on from stage left doing that pugilist walk: his hands were fists and carried high, and he had the tousled look of having visited a favorite bar or two en route. His suit was disheveled, his bow to Miss Flanner courtly, and his refusal to shake Vidal’s extended hand caused a murmuring in the audience.

I recently read and reviewed Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King. Few would argue that the Academy award nominated director made some wonderful films in over fifty years in the movie business. However, As Otto grew older, he began to lose touch with his knack for understanding the American moviegoer's taste in films.

Dick Wilson, the actor who made the catchphrase, "“Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin,” a part of pop culture history, died Monday. He was 91. Wilson played George Whipple in over 500 commercials from 1964 to 1985.

I will readily admit that I was a huge fan of Mork & Mindy almost from the day it premiered on September 14, 1978. It seemed everyone at my elementary school was Mork crazy for awhile; there where Mork lunchboxes, thermos, and t-shirts. I even had a pair of Mork suspenders I wore almost everyday for almost six months (I swear, most kids didn't think it was too weird then.) Mork & Mindy was a spin-off from a February 1978 episode of Happy Days, where a wacky alien from the faraway planet of Ork arrived on earth in a dream and attempted to abduct Richie Cunningham. Robin Williams' frenetic, childlike characterization of Mork was so popular that ABC immediately built a whole show around him.

In the fall of 1969, the American landscape was changing. Earlier that year, “the summer of love” had changed how many of the youth and their elders discussed such previously taboo subjects as dating and sex. With the seventies upon us, there was a new openness associated with social issues that was being reflected in television series. Given the phenomenal success of sketch comedy shows like The Carol Burnett Show, and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Love American Style premiered on September 29, 1969 as part of the ABC Friday night line-up.

Paper Rival (formerly known as Keating) has recently released its first self titled EP. The band was formed in Tennessee in late 2005. The group is made up of Cody McCall on bass and vocals, Jacob Rolleston on lead vocals, Brent Coleman on guitars and cello and Patrick Damphier on guitars, keyboards, drums and vocals. Paper Rival was born out of the friendly relationship between two Tennessee bands. According to Patrick Damphier, “We were in the studio within two weeks of deciding to become a band. We took two songs from Jake’s band, two songs from my band, and co-wrote one song to get started."

The studio system that produced Hollywood movies from the 1930s through the 1950s was tightly controlled by those in charge to ensure that the American people only saw the stars they wanted them to see, how they wanted them to see them. In The Star Machine, noted film historian Jeanine Basinger examines how studios worked to create movie stars, first by finding them and then putting them through a rigorous process referred to as the star machine.

When most film historians and scholars discuss the great American directors of the mid-twentieth century, names such as Billy Wilder, John Ford, and Frank Capra are often bandied about. Otto Preminger, despite over half a century in the film and theatre business and two Oscar nominations for best director, is rarely if ever mentioned. History has not been kind to the talented but volatile director.

Kid Rock is always in the news for something; whether it’s getting arrested at a Waffle House, marrying Pam Anderson or going off about the lack of talent on American Idol, the man knows how to get attention. After selling over 20 million albums, Kid Rock has also proven he knows how to sell records. Rock, born Robert James Ritchie has released his seventh album boldly titled, Rock N Roll Jesus. On the heels of his quick marriage and divorce with Pam Anderson, Rock N Roll Jesus is easily Rock’s most introspective album to date.