The Genie Without a Naval

I suppose it's every man's fantasy, to find a bottle on the beach with a really sexy genie inside who will grant your every wish. When astronaut Anthony Nelson washed ashore on a deserted island, that's exactly what he found in 1965's I Dream of Jeannie.

This video is the very first few minutes of the first episode. It introduces the concept and the two principal actors, Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden.

This show was an attempt by NBC to duplicate the huge success of ABC's Bewitched the previous year. I suspect that it was not very popular with the feminists of the period, but Jeannie was not necessarily all that submissive. In fact, she could be downright rebellious at times, but then again, if you'd been inprisoned in a bottle for 2000 years, you'd be cranky, too.

There was a definite sexual tension between Tony and Genie, but the producers famously would not allow Jeannie to show her naval, apparently feeling that male viewers would lose all control at such a sight. After some debate among the show's producers, Tony and Jeannie were married in their fifth and final season.

The Other British Boys Band

Except for the Beatles, my favorite 60's rock band was the Dave Clark Five. From 1964-1967 they gave the Beatles a run for their money, cranking out 17 hits on Billboard's Top 40 charts. At one point in 1964, they knocked the Beatles out of the number one spot in the UK with their hit, Glad All Over.

They played to sold-out crowds on their U.S. tour, and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show 18 times, more than any other UK band. Their songs were heavy on the beat and were so infectious that you couldn't help cranking up the radio and dancing around the room.

Check out this very cool DC5 Jukebox with nearly 50 of their songs.

He's Popeye the Sailor Man!

Popeye has always been a mother's best friend. When faced with her child's refusal to eat spinach or other green veggies, she can always resort to saying, "Don't you want to grow up strong like Popeye?"

Funny thing is, when Popeye was first introduced to the world in 1929 as a minor character in the E. C. Segar comic strip Thimble Theater, he didn't get strong from eating spinach. His super-human strength came from "rubbing the head of the rare Wiffle Hen."

Popeye hit the big-time in 1933 when Max Fleischer at Fleisher Studios began to produce a series of Popeye theatrical cartoons, which rivaled Mickey Mouse in popularity.

This video is the historical first appearance of Popeye in a Fleisher cartoon. It's actually a Betty Boop cartoon, although the sexy star of the Fleischer Studios only makes a brief appearance. It established the basic Popeye storyline -- Arch-enemy Bluto attacks Olive Oyl, Popeye eats spinach and saves the day. What makes the cartoon noteworthy, however, are some of the hilarious Fleischer sight gags. The cartoons would later introduce some characters that had not been present in the comic strip, "notably Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye, and Poopeye, Popeye's look-alike nephews."

Popeye later successfully made the jump to television cartoons, and in 1980, Robert Altman made a popular film version, starring Robin Williams.

The ubiquitous sailor man is one of those cultural icons that has conquered just about every form of media available, including movies, comic strips, comic books, theatrical cartoons, television cartoons, radio, and even video games. Not to mention of course, the countless number of merchandise that has carried his image.

Ding Dong School is in Session

I'm going to go on a scary journey now, way back to my very earliest memories of sitting in front of our new TV, a 4-year-old boy mesmerized by the light and shadows. The object of my attention was named Miss Frances and she taught me the ways of the world on Ding Dong School. There she was, talking right to me and nobody else (well, maybe my little brother). It was like she could actually see me.

Her real name was Dr. Frances Horwich, and she was a pretty smart cookie. She actually pioneered the technique of talking directly to children, a technique later made popular by Fred Rogers and the folks at Sesame Street. She did hawk her wares (as in the video), but she was very careful about the sorts of things she endorsed, not wanting to push anything she considered harmful to children.

Ding Dong School opened its doors in Chicago, but soon began to be broadcast nationally by NBC starting in 1952. At one point, the show was said to have attracted 95% of the pre-school market. In 1954, Miss Frances moved to New York City, where she supervised all of NBC's children's shows. The show was cancelled by NBC in 1956 and a new game show called The Price is Right took its place - a show that hasn't done too badly.

Miss Frances also wrote a very successful series of Ding Dong School books. She died in Arizona in 2001 at the age of 94.

Long Live the King!

Hard to believe, but it really was 30 years ago today that Elvis Presley died. When he was found dead in his bathroom in Graceland, it send shock waves around the world. He was only 42 years old. His excessive use of prescription drugs and an enlarged heart were to blame.

Elvis really was the King of Rock and Roll. He brought the young musical form into the mainstream. His overt sexuality sent teenage girls swooning and sent their parents into a panic.

Before Elvis arrived, Americans were listening to possibly some of the most boring, white-bread music ever created from singers like Pat Boone and Perry Como. But Elvis came along and said to the world, Hey, loosen up! Have some fun! Let's rock!

One of best-selling artists of all time, the Elvis estate still makes millions of dollars every year from his music and image.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again!

If you've never been to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show, you've missed out on one of the truly unique movie-going experiences. The 1975 cult classic, still being shown in theatres more than 30 years later, is the ultimate in interactive movies.

Audiences recite the lines along with the characters, and act out the scenes in front of the screen, dressed in the costumes of their favorite characters. When glasses are raised to make a toast, a hundred pieces of actual toast are suddenly flying through the theatre. When it start to rain, and Brad and Janet cover their heads with newspapers, the audience does the same, while spraying water on their fellow moviegoers.

This horror-movie spoof is based on a British stage musical. The Library of Congress, in 2005, added the film to the National Film Registry, which only contains 450 titles.

(Check the related videos for more great scenes from RHPS.)

Obituary: Merv Griffin

The first memory I have of Merv Griffin is when he hosted a game show called "Play Your Hunch," which he hosted from 1958-1962.

Although he became known as a game-show and talk-show host, he started off as a singer, and in this video you'll see a very young Merv singing I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, which became a number one hit for him.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, he was quietly amassing a huge fortune in real estate, and with the creation of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, two of the most popular game shows ever, cemented his place in television history.

But perhaps one of his most overlooked accomplishments was when he gave an open-mouthed kiss to Kathryn Grayson in the 1953 film So This Is Love, the first time such a daring smooch had been seen on the silver screen.

When asked what his epitaph would read, he replied, "I WON'T be back after these messages."

Muhammad Ali: The Last Great Boxer

Quick - Who's the current heavyweight boxing champion?

Well, there are actually 4 of them, believe it or not, depending on which governing body you're talking about. They are:

Vladimir Klitschko (IBF), Oleg Maskaev (WBC), Ruslan Chagaev (WBA), Sultan Ibragimov(WBO).

Never heard of them? Neither have I. So my question is: Whatever happened to the great heavyweight boxers? Boxers like George Foreman, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, and of course, the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali brought a real excitement to the sport. A heavyweight championship fight was a grand event that people talked about for years. Ali, of course, is arguably the most popular athlete of all time, with a compelling life story that most people know about.

Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) met Sonny Liston in 2 historic fights. In the first one (February 1964), Ali was the young unknown fighter who was given virtually no chance to defeat Liston, a hulking monster of a man. But when Liston failed to answer the bell for the 7th round, Ali was the new champion.

This video is the second Ali-Liston fight, a very controversial bout from May 1965, held in Lewiston, Maine. In the first round, Liston went to the canvas from what became known as the "phantom punch," and, after some confusion, Ali was given the TKO because Liston had been on the canvas more than 10 seconds. Rumors have persisted that Liston had bet against himself and taken a dive, a rumor which Liston apparently confirmed in a book called Ghosts of Manila, by Mark Kram.

(Check related videos for more great Ali fight footage.)

Tom Waits Visits Barth Gimble

(Video from Fernwood 2Nite)

When Barth Gimble and Tom Waits get together, you can only imagine what wackiness might ensue.

This very funny video from 1977 is a clip from one of my all-time favorite shows, Fernwood 2Nite, a spinoff from the very popular Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman show. Both shows were created by Norman Lear. Barth Gimble was played by the brilliant Martin Mull, with his very funny announcer, Jerry Hubbard, played by Fred Willard.

Fernwood 2Nite was a talk show set in the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio. It looked like your basic community access cable channel, and was known for its parade of unusual guests. On this particular night, Tom Waits' van just happened to break down on the way to a gig in Toledo, so he dropped by the set to sing a song and chat with Barth and sidekick Jerry.

Tom Waits, of course, is not your typical singer, but he's always been one of my favorites. A critic once said that his voice sounds "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car." I think that's pretty accurate.

Sonny and Cher: The Beat Went On

(Video from Hullabaloo)

Cheryl LaPierre and Salvadore Bono met at an L.A. coffee shop in 1962. She was only 16, he was 27. Together they would go on to become one of the most popular singing duos in American pop music history.

For awhile, they called themselves Caesar and Cleo. When that didn't catch on, they changed their name to Sonny and Cher. They became an overnight sensation in 1965 with their megahit, I Got You Babe, and parlayed that success with several more hits.

By the late 60's, their softer pop music sound was crowded out by the emerging psychedelic rock scene. But in 1971, with the debut of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour on CBS, they found themselves on top again, sitting pretty in the Top 10.

Unfortunately, their marriage fell apart in 1974, and so did their hit show. But the show returned in 1976, even though they were no longer married. Low ratings, though, doomed the show by the end of the following year.

Sonny went on to do some acting, and then successfully ran for a seat in the US House of Representives in 1994, where he remained until he was tragically killed in a skiing accident in 1998. Cher went on to a very successful solo singing career.

In this video, Sonny and Cher make an early 1965 appearance on Hullabaloo. Check the related videos to watch their surprise appearance together on Letterman in 1987, reunited after many years.

John Belushi: What Might Have Been

When Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975, a daring new kind of comedy was introduced to Americans, and they ate it up. The star of those early SNL years turned out to be John Belushi, a wild, manic, comedic genius.

Belushi started out with the highly popular Second City comedy troupe in Chicago, and then landed a role in the stage production of National Lampoon's Lemmings. Lorne Michaels was putting SNL together and was encouraged to hire Belushi, even though Belushi made it clear that he thought television was "shit."

For me, watching Belushi create so many memorable characters on SNL ("The Samurai" was my favorite) was a revelation, in that it showed that comedy didn't have to be presented within narrow borders. It could be revolutionary. The fact that parents everywhere didn't get it made it even better.

Belushi's manic TV persona was matched by his manic personal life, and he burned out much too young at the age of 33. You have to wonder how far he would have gone had he lived; how many more characters were lurking inside his head.

(Check out the related videos for Part 2 of the above video.)

The Immortal Marilyn Monroe

I was only 12 when Marilyn Monroe died. It was one of those things that stick with you because of what it represents to you. For me, it was the first time the idea of death really became real in my mind. To see such a young, beautiful, and famous person die made me realize that you don't have to be really old to die. You could die at any age. You could even die when you're 12.

I had experienced something similar a couple of years before, when Lucy and Desi got divorced. I suddenly realized that divorce was real and could happen to anyone, even my own parents.

Marilyn Monroe, of course, turned out to be much more than just another movie star. She became an American icon, like Coca-Cola or Babe Ruth. Her image is everywhere, not just in her home country, but around the world. She represents America in the minds of many people.

The funny thing is that she wasn't what you would call a great actress, or a great singer. But she was a great presence. She lit up the screen just by being there. Watching her perform, you discover that you can't take your eyes off her. In this video from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in perhaps her most iconic role as a seductive golddigger, she's singing Bye Bye Baby. Go ahead, try to look away. I dare you.

Her death, of course, while ruled a suicide, remains wrapped in mystery. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence to suggest that she was either murdered or perhaps the victim of an accidental overdose, and conspiracy theories abound.

But Mariyn Monroe has become immortalized. She lives on through her movies and ubiquitous image. If she had not died 45 years ago today, at the age of 36, she'd be 81 now. It's kind of hard to imagine what she might look like, but I'm guessing she'd still be pretty damn hot.

Cheech and Chong Still Smokin'

For Cheech and Chong, it was a matter of good timing. It was the early 70's, and pretty much everybody under the age of 30 (even Republicans) was smokin' and tokin'. They pretty much invented stoner humor. Their very first comedy album (Cheech and Chong), took off like a rocket, with "Dave's Not Here" becoming a national catchphrase.

They went on in the late 70's and 80's to make a series of very popular stoner films, including Up In Smoke, Nice Dreams, and Still Smokin'. All told, they put together 10 comedy albums and 8 films. (Six of their comedy albums went gold, with one, Los Cochinos, winning a Grammy).

In the mid-80's, the partnership dissolved and the two pursued separate paths. Cheech Marin carved out a successful TV and film career for himself, while Tommy Chong's career was somewhat less prominent. He did, however, appear frequently on That 70's Show as Leo, becoming a hit with a new generation. He also writes a pretty funny blog on The C and C website.

Chong was busted by the government for the heinous crime of selling bongs on the Internet in 2003 and was sentenced to 9 months in prison. Chalk up another victory for the ever-glorious War on Drugs! Chong wrote a very interesting book about his time in prison called The I Chong. It was far out, man!

Joni Mitchell: The Soundtrack of My Life

Joni Mitchell got me through the 70's in one piece. Her music had the magic ability to transport me to whatever place I needed to be. Sometimes it uplifted me, sometimes it made me melancholic, and sometimes it just made me feel relaxed.

She started off as a folk singer, but has spent her career exploring and combining genres, with most of her success coming with her pop and jazz songs. Her unique voice and poetic lyrics were evidence of her artistry. She is also an accomplished painter and photographer.

She was sometimes called "the female Bob Dylan," although she took exception to that, wondering why Dylan was never referred to as "the male Joni Mitchell."

A few years ago, she was quoted as saying that she "hates music," and "would like to remember what she ever liked about it." She has stopped touring, but last year began work on an album of new songs, so apparently she has remembered what she liked about music.

In this rare 1965 video, made when she was only 22 and still going by her real name of Joni Anderson, she sings Born to Take the Highway on a Canadian folk music show called Let's Sing Out. Be sure to check out the related videos for more great Joni Mitchell songs.

Say The Secret Word and Win $100

Groucho Marx made a name for himself as the smart-ass brother in a series of wacky movies in the 30's, in which he starred with his 3 brothers, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo.

But starting in 1947, he introduced himself to a new generation with a radio show called You Bet Your Life. It was basically a quiz show, but listeners tuned in more to hear Groucho crack wise with the contestants than for the Q and A. The show became a TV show on NBC in 1950 and was broadcast on both radio and TV through 1960.

The pre-quiz conversation had the look of a completely improvised chat, but in fact much of it was scripted. Of course, Groucho was free to stray from the script and often did.

In one legendary ad-lib, Groucho is said to have asked a woman why she had so many children. She replied it was because she loved children, to which Groucho replied "And I like a good cigar, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while." Unfortunately, it appears that the story is just an urban legend. Groucho himself has denied that he ever said it. Too bad, because it's a pretty funny line.

The show had several later incarnations, but Groucho's show is the one people remember. Groucho Marx died in 1977 at the age of 87.

The Mysterious Death of Dorothy Kilgallen

Dorothy Kilgallen was well-known to Americans in the 50's and early 60's from her weekly Sunday night appearances on the What's My Line? panel. In this video, her colleagues on the panel say good-bye to her just days after her death on November 8, 1965.

Officially, her death was listed as "undetermined." However, New York City police were on record as saying that she died from an "ingestion of a lethal combination of alchohol and barbituates."

But Dorothy Kilgallen was more than just a panelist on a TV game show. She was also a respected New York journalist who had been investigating the JFK assassination and had written articles questioning the official accounts of the killing of the president.

Shortly before her death, she had interviewed Jack Ruby, the killer of Lee Harvey Oswald and had come back home telling friends that she "had discovered something that was going to break the whole JFK assassination mystery wide open." When she was found dead in her bed, the notes she had made on the JFK case were nowhere to be found.

Her death bore an eerie similarity to Marilyn Monroe's death 3 years earlier, and raised just as many questions. Whether she really did have some earth-shattering new evidence about the assassination, or was just engaging in a journalist's braggadocio, I guess we'll never know. But she was a fascinating figure.

Sam Kinison Was a Wild Thing!

The first time I saw Sam Kinison, I knew comedy had turned a corner and would never be the same again.

Kinison started out as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, but turned to comedy after being spurned by the church after getting a divorce. But he was not your garden-variety stand-up comedian. He was hardcore. And he was very, very funny. David Letterman introduced him to the world in 1985 with these words: "Brace yourselves. I'm not kidding. Please welcome Sam Kinison."

His comedy consisted mainly of angry ranting puntuated by primal screams, and reflected a pretty cynical attitude towards love. But in 1992, he seemed to have finally found his true love and got married to his girlfriend, Malika Souiri. Six days later, while driving his white Pontiac Trans Am near Needles, California, his car was hit by a drunk driver and he was killed. He was only 39 years old.

In this video, he's not doing his comedy thing. He's belting out a version of the classic hit, Wild Thing. It became a huge hit for him in 1988. The sultry sexpot in the video is none other than Jessica Hahn, Jim and Tammy Faye's homewrecker. You'll also see some cameos by some rock music legends, including Billy Idol, Steven Tyler, Tommy Lee, and Jimmy Page.

Be sure to check out the related videos for some classic Sam Kinison comedy, as well as some other versions of Wild Thing, including the 1966 original by The Troggs and the 1968 cover by Jimi Hendrix, as well as a wonderful live performance by the song's composer, Chip Taylor.

Obituary: Tom Snyder

Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air.

That's how Tom Snyder would start off every Tomorrow Show on NBC. He ruled late late night from 1973-1982 with his unique style of interviews and conversations. He died at 71 from complications of leukemia.

For me, Johnny Carson was great, but just the appetizer to Tom Snyder's entree. The success of his show was due, in great part, not only to the notable guests he booked (John Lennon, KISS, Ayn Rand, Johnny Rotten, Charles Manson), but to his willingness to talk about subjects that had been considered previously taboo - group marriage, suicide, male prostitution, rock-music groupies and film censorship, to name just a few.

I remember being pretty upset when NBC announced that his show had been cancelled to make room for a young new comedian named David Letterman, a guy who's done pretty well for himself. In fact, it was Letterman's production company who, in 1995, hired Tom Snyder to host The Late Late Show, following Letterman on CBS.

The 50's Quiz Show Scandals

Americans were shocked to discover, in the 1950's, that their favorite TV quiz shows were fixed. Producers of highly popular shows like The 64,000 Question and Twenty-One had conspired with sponsors to rig the shows by adjusting the difficulty of the questions or by actually giving the answers to the contestants they had decided should win. It was their attempt to make the show more "dramatic," thus ensuring that viewers would continue to watch.

It all hit the fan, though, when a handful of contestants spilled the beans. The shows were cancelled; grand jury and congressional investigations followed. No one was actually convicted of cheating, however, because oddly enough, it wasn't technically illegal to rig a quiz show at the time. Congress corrected that oversight after the scandals broke. Some participants were convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, though, and others had their professional reputations ruined.

The most notable case was that of Charles Van Doren and Herb Stempel. They competed against each other on Twenty-One. When Stempel was forced to lose, he became the first former contestant to blow the whistle. Van Doren, a respected professor at Columbia University, eventually confessed that he had been "deeply involved in a deception." The story was brilliantly told in the 1994 film Quiz Story.

After the scandals, quiz shows disappeared completely from television for about 10 years, and when they returned, there were strict limits imposed on how much money could be won.

Like I said, Americans were shocked to discover that they had been duped, but they soon changed the channel and started watching professional wrestling.

You Never Heard of a Talking Horse?

Mr. Ed was a talking horse. That's something you don't see every day. Except, of course, if you were a fan of the Francis movies in the 50's, which chronicled the adventures of a talking mule.

The hit show ran on CBS from 1961-1966. Mr. Ed lived on a farm with Wilbur Post (Alan Young) and his wife Carol (Connie Hines). Alan Young was chosen for the role on a very scientific basis, because the producer thought "he seemed like a guy a horse would talk to."

Unfortunately for Wilbur, Mr. Ed refused to talk to anyone except him, causing him to appear to be crazy on more than one occassion. My theory was always that Mr. Ed didn't really talk at all, and that his voice was only in Wilbur's head. In other words, Wilbur really was crazy. But I had a hard time convincing other people of my hypothesis.

There has always been a lot of speculation about how they made Mr. Ed's mouth move, in an age before computer simulation. Most people seem to think that peanut butter or a similar substance was placed in his mouth, causing it to move as he attempted to remove it. Others claim that at least on some occassions, a string can be seen moving his mouth (the "marionette theory"). Or it could just be that they were lucky enough to actually find a talking horse.

By the way, in case you're in need of a conversation starter at your next party, Mr. Ed's real name was Bamboo Harvester, and the man who did his voice was Allan Lane, who preferred to remain anonymous, his name never appearing in the credits.