I've uncovered a Fun Find that was part of a batch I purchased almost two years ago at Ohio's largest antique extravaganza. (Because I was working from home without a scanner at that time, it took until July of 2021 for me to share any of them!) This issue is from smack dab in the middle of my childhood (I was 9), though many of the people featured in it weren't necessarily my own big favorites. I think you'll find it nostalgic and interesting nonetheless. Cover girl Carol Burnett caused me to go off on a wild goose chase in order to figure out what in the hell her necklace said on it! I will reveal that a bit later. Now on we go...
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I tried so hard to find out about Kathleen Rigler and her supposed appearance on Happy Days, but came up empty-handed. How about those mother-daughter 3-piece suits on Henry Winkler's sister and niece!?
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After Sarah Davis left Mac for Glen Campbell and the two were wed, they had a child and then were divorced by 1980. Campbell was always "busy." Marrying four times almost back-to-back except for his interlude with Tanya Tucker and siring 9 children along the way! Gregg Allman, whose marriage to Cher was in trouble practically out of the gate, was also busy, marrying seven times and fathering 5 kids in all.
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Roz Kelly did land a short-lived spin-off called Blansky's Beauties which was strange in that Happy Days was then set in the early-1960s while Beauties was present day mid-'70s! I never in my life heard of The Lorenzo and Henrietta Music Show, but no wonder. It was only seen in limited syndicated markets and some further parts around, depending on the strength of one's TV antennae...! And it was canned after 3 weeks. It was a daytime comedy-variety show with questionable comedy at that, starring the man who voiced "Carlton your doorman" on Rhoda.
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I didn't know that Pat Morita had endured such a torturesome childhood. Snip, starring David Brenner and Lesley Ann Warren, never did hit U.S airwaves. It was shelved because of an outcry over what would have been the first regular gay TV character on a series (a hair salon owner.) Five fully completed and edited episodes later popped up on Australian television. It's considered a "Phantom series" due to it never having been shown (yet featured in TV Guide's Fall Preview issue!) The other James Komack series referred to was likely Mr. T. and Tina, which only went 5 episodes itself.
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The article goes on (in the final unscanned part) to describe how she doesn't want to seem a hypocrite by proclaiming herself a Christian when she devotes so much time to her performing career. It also notes her "early-waitress" wigs and how she's living out the fantasy of clothes and lipstick which was denied her in her poverty-stricken early years. She was 30 at the time of this interview and still amazes now.
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This ad fascinated me. First of all, the couples are all intertwined like snakes on the boxes. Secondly, THREE different times, I misread the third fragrance as "Embarassing!" Ha ha ha! The fine print notes that these sold for $5.00/2 oz bottle and were from the makers of English Leather. ("All my men wear English Leather... or they wear nothin' at all!")
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It took me a moment to recognize this gal...! Shouldn't have, but it did.
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Model-turned-actress Susan Blakely had a prominent part in one of my all-time faves, The Towering Inferno (1974.) I can report that in her Pioneers of Television interview on YouTube, she looked sensational. The remainder of the article (unscanned) goes on (and on) with ruminations of teen and college-era love, including unrequited love.
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I must confess that almost never watched One Day at a Time when it aired. I have seen a few eps in recent years on the treadmill, but I have always been allergic, from my earliest years, to Bonnie Franklin! LOL Sorry in advance to her legions of fans.
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Maybe this portrait will help make up for it.
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This continuation of the article was scanned mainly because of the arresting ad on the page. The drink line (owned by Heublein) was only popular for a brief while before drifting away.
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The Captain & Tenille show holds a special place in many hearts of a certain age. It was always dotted with popular guests and had a heck of a lot going on in each hour installment. And most people are amazed to find that it only ran one season. Seeing it more recently, it was often awkward, had some atrocious writing and the format was constantly being jiggered around with in order to try to align with the participants talents and comfort levels. Still, there were some really entertaining (and delightfully cheesy) musical numbers to be found along the way!
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Note the way this ad tries to ape Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers. I hope there was no methane down in that manhole!
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I fell in love with the films of Alfred Hitchcock around 1983 and they led me into a lifelong appreciation of old movies of practically every kind. Helen Reddy seemed to be a superstar and then one day - poof! She was later discovered back in Australia living quite a simple life until staging a concert comeback in the wake of singing at her sister's 80th birthday party! She passed away in 2020 of Alzheimer's at age 78.
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A 1970s television power couple. Penny Marshall and Rob Reiner co-starred on two huge hits of the era, Laverne & Shirley and All in the Family. Later divorced, they both embarked on careers as movie directors.
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The (unscanned) article concludes with her going to school in New Mexico and her mother not realizing that it was farther away from The Bronx than Ohio was! She also notes how supportive Reiner was with her newfound success. The couple divorced in 1981.
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Next is Cindy Williams' turn in the spotlight.
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Williams initially refused to take part in the Happy Days spin-off and the test for it was initially done with Liberty Williams (the voice of Jayna on The Super Friends!), but Michael Eisner finally convinced Williams to take part. A fair number of headaches followed, despite the series' success and by the 8th season, there was no Shirley in Laverne & Shirley! The article goes on to describe her earlier, hungry years and how she preferred the roomies on the show to bicker versus always get along.
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Never in my life saw Barney Miller until a couple of years ago (wherein I did enjoy it) and didn't see the spin-off Fish at any time.
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| Abe Vigoda was continually remarked upon as being
deceased long before the actual fact! It became a running gag, which he
also took part in at times. He passed away for real in 2016 of natural
causes at age 94. |
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Here's a nice candid of Carol Burnett and that elusive necklace I mentioned at the start.
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As a card-carrying member of Townsend Investigations, I discovered that she wore it at least once while playing Eunice, but I still couldn't figure out what it said!
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Finally finding it on her neck at The Peoples Choice Awards, I was able to ascertain that it says "PERFECT" with the T hanging off to the side imperfectly...
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Versions of it are still sold today. Case closed!
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They make have spoken too soon... Sadly Burnett and Joe Hamilton's marriage broke apart in 1984 in the wake of their struggles over their eldest daughter's substance abuse.
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And then, hysterically, I'm reading this (for the first time) and find that the description of the necklace (which she must have adored at that time) is fully given within the article!! It was a gift from Beverly Sills. Burnett was one very loyal friend it seems. She remained close to all the people she clicked with from Lucille Ball to Betty White to Jim Nabors and, of course, to Julie Andrews. I just watched the AFI tribute to Andrews and Burnett was seated next to her and presented the award itself.
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Barbara Rucker had been wed to Robert Urich from 1968-1974 and missed a chance at prime-time fame when The New Temperatures Rising Show failed. She later scored a daytime hit, briefly, with Texas. You just KNOW that "Farfel" Granger was loving the father-son gig with Jameson Parker on One Life to Live.
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Upper-right corner is actress Gail Brown. You may notice a resemblance. She is the older sister of Karen Black. Interesting that Brown and Black were their married (and professional) names! They were born Ziegler. In case the suspense is killing you, it was Chandler Hill Harben who won the role on Love of Life. The character went to prison for bigamy and was nearly raped in what was an unpopular story line.
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I can recall this daytime actress being VERY popular when I was a kid. I don't think I was sophisticated enough as a tyke to grasp her unique appeal.
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I never really watched any of Ryan's Hope. Later Kristen landed on One Life to Live for a long run, playing Roxy Balsom. Still later, she reprised her Ryan's Hope role on General Hospital.
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More of the earlier Captain & Tenille interview is on this page as well as Kristen's story. She was Emmy nominated for her work on One Life to Live. (You'd be hard pressed to recognize her these days as she's made a lot of changes to her looks!)
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I had no clue that All My Children was a 30-minute show up until 1977! My only recollections of it are as a one-hour soap.
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Rosemary Forsyth belongs to the Disaster Movie Club thanks to Gray Lady Down (1978), but she barely appears in it at all!
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Forsyth was replacing Susan Oliver in the role of Laura Horton, who was the one-year replacement for Susan Flannery before her. Forsyth (who, if I'm being honest, often came off rather woodenly for me) played the part until 1980. 13 years later, Jamie Lyn Bauer inherited the part.
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Jamie Lyn Bauer isn't really sneaking a photo-bombish peek in the background! The trio is posed in front of a portrait of her. LOL
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Regarding the movie section, I have always avoided Bugsy Malone for the very reason the reviewer cites. Actually, right or wrong, I've never seen the other mentioned films either! Anyway, I know you're wanting to get to the part where Tom Hallick's clothes are ripped off...
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...perhaps a little exciting, but not the spectacle we may have wished for. (And if there are no pictures, it didn't happen! Ha ha!)
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I certainly recall lantern-jawed Nick Benedict making me tingle as a kid.
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Richard Benedict was from Palermo, Italy and began as an actor before segueing into direction. He did episodes of many of the 1960s and '70s popular shows. Nick basically retired around 2001 and is currently 75 years of age.
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Donald May is someone I am totally unfamiliar with. He'd been a Warner Brothers contract player, appearing in many of their cookie-cutter TV shows and costarring in The Roaring 20's.
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A fixture on The Edge of Night from 1967-1977, when his character was shot to death, May did lots of theatre on the side, including, as seen here Plaza Suite. I've done that play and, while it was written for 1 man and 1 woman to play three leading parts, it's more often broken up the way it was here. (He did perform the wackiest and often funniest segment - Act III. The time I did it, I was in Act II as a seductive - yes! - movie director.) May worked until the early-1990s and passed away of larynx cancer in 2022 at age 94.
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Actor-singer-host Peter Marshall embarked on a Sunday evening variety series in 1976.
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The show only ran one season and was over by 1977. He married Sally Ihnat that year, but they were divorced by 1983. Mr. Marshall was very nearly taken by Covid-19 (and his 68 year-old son died of it!), but he's still amongst us at age 96, having fended off the disease.
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Lastly, we have a rather in-depth feature on what is one of my favorite TV miniseries, The Moneychangers. I watched this when it first aired and some of it was over my 7 year-old head.
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However, it was my very first exposure to Miss Joan Collins and that I absorbed permanently! The program had an amazing cast of actors. Among those not even mentioned here were Timothy Bottoms, Helen Hayes, Marisa Pavan, Robert Loggia and James Shigeta.
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I was pleased to find this on DVD several years ago and loved seeing all the stars and listening to the terrific theme music by Henry Mancini. A Ross Hunter production, there was no mystery as to why it appealed to me!
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That's it till next time! Stay well and take care.
This was a period where I was watching very little TV, and other than DARK SHADOWS, I've never watched soaps, but I always enjoy your finds and the analysis you give the items!
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone in your distaste for Bonnie Franklin-- I could never understand it, but my ex absolutely LOATHED the woman for some reason. I thought she was a little "meh" but not particularly bad compared to other sitcom performers.
And believe it or not, I immediately went "Susan Blakely!" when I saw that photo, but your caption made me think it was really perhaps Carol Lynley or even Yvette Mimieux, both of whom have gotten coverage and fond obituaries here.
I've never been sure if this story is true, but years ago I read that Louis Malle had originally wanted to cast Blakely as Brooke Shields' mother in PRETTY BABY, but things got confused and Susan *Sarandon's* agent was called instead. Fortunately, Malle liked what he saw when "the wrong Susan" showed up and gave her the role.
That story about Tom Hallick getting his shirt ripped off cracks me up because I grew up just north of Greensboro, NC and always heard about the annual Greensboro Greater Open (GGO) golf tournament, which was a BIG deal in those parts. Celebs would usually turn up on the local CBS affiliate, WFMY Channel 2, in connection with the event (there was still a lot of local programming in those days).
Unfortunately, by 1976 I was largely away in college, and must have missed that incident, because I don't recall even reading about it until today. Actually, I don't even recall Tom Hallick, since I didn't follow soaps. I guess that name became a real curse just a couple of years later... "NO! Not Tom SEllick-- HAllick! H-A- Hello? Hello?" (Hallick was a good-looking guy, though.)
And your reaction to BUGSY MALONE is the right one-- it's one of those movies that you have to wonder who the hell they were making it for, and how it got past an elevator pitch in the first place.
Having endured much of it on a TV viewing once, the only thing I can compare it to is that cult exploitation film THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN (the first, and mercifully *only* "all-midget Western")-- though it's not nearly as good.
At least Jodie Foster and Scott Baio managed to have careers after this, and director Alan Parker manged to redeem himself with MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, FAME and MISSISSIPPI BURNING, among others.
Anyway, another great find, Poseidon! Keep up the great work! Love to all, and be safe and well, everyone!
This post and that mag are goldmines, as they all are — Funny thing is, I have flashbacks to some of these, and I know they were probably magazine issues my mother had that we read cover to cover.
ReplyDeleteOh, Timothy Bottoms as Miles in The Moneychangers! I was 13 and the prison assault scene stayed with me . . . a long while. I think it made me get the book at the local library, hoping the scene was even more explicit. Sexual violence was not my preference, but you had to take what you could find in Indiana in 1976. Thanks, Poseidon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat: 70s sitcoms! Daytime dramas! Susan Blakely! Abe Vigoda! Dolly! and Carol Burnett! Such a lovely trip down Memory Lane. I could write scores on any one of these subjects, but I’ll limit to one.
ReplyDeleteI was lukewarm about One Day at a Time, but enjoyed the Schneider character’s hijinks. Even at a young age, I also appreciated the more realistic representation of a family of divorce, more and more common those days. Years later, a family crisis required that I drop out of college. I was young and a bit dim, not knowing how one drops out, but ended up at the college dean’s office where his assistant - a dead ringer for Bonnie Franklin - quite literally held my hand as we visited office after office to get the necessary paperwork completed. I’d never experienced that level of kindness and compassion in any eduaction setting. Ever since, I have been a fan of Bonnie Franklin. I would learn over the years that Bonnie Franklin was pretty awesome and seemingly just as kind as her doppleganger.
Thanks again for the warm feels.
Timothy Bottoms' prison rape scene in "The Moneychangers" has stayed with me for ages! Just as the prisoners decsend on Bottoms (what a fitting name!) inmate Steven Keats whips off his towel and says "Welcome to (name of prison), lover boy!" Some guys have all the luck, like Lee Tergesen on OZ who had it from Christopher Meloni all the time!
ReplyDeleteHi, Poseidon. Thank you for another entertaining post. I loved the article on Ilene Kristen! I've been a Ryan's Hope fan since I was a young teen having watched the show with my Grandmother on occasion. Ilene's character was unique. Ilene played Delia Reid Ryan Coleridge on the show and was one of my favorite performers. I guess because she was the "comic relief' on this very serious soap drama. Delia always got herself into the most ridiculous of situations. She was a standout and Ilene played her phenomenally! I stayed with the show into my adult years and developed a mad crush on the super sexy David Sederholm who played Officer Bill Hyde on the soap. Lots of shirtless scenes of this handsome, chiseled hunk with the sensuous, kissable lips! The rest of the articles were fun as well and gave me a "Retro High". Again, thanks for a marvelously entertaining post, Poseidon. You've outdone yourself once more! Stayed well and blessed.
ReplyDeleteWell this seems to have awakened many memories! I was reading it and thinking about all of the shows I recognized. I must have been watching tv around the clock in 1976. I even remember the name "Blansky's Beauties" but not the show. I know Roz from the Paul Lynde Halloween special, Happy Days, and the hilarious slasher movie covered here a few years ago.
ReplyDelete"Fish" was really a dismal show and lit like the inside of a refrigerator, you missed nothing.
I watched Julie on AFI too and was thinking that she and Carol looked pretty great!
Hi everyone. So happy that many of you enjoy these old TV rags! The dealer I found at that huge antique extravaganza had a stack of about 25, but mama's on a budget so I had to pick out ones that caught my eye the most and make do... Wish I could have scooped them all up!
ReplyDeletehsc, that is pretty fascinating about Louis Malle and the Susans...! Brooke's coloring makes it seem more fitting that it be Sarandon, but in truth I have never seen that movie. And it is amusing about someone playing GOLF to have his shirt ripped asunder. LOL Never thought about the Hallick/Selleck thing. Interesting! Hallick had a couple of stabs at prime-time series fame, but they didn't take off at all. I think I would just be in agony if I ever sat down to watch "Bugsy Malone," especially when there are still many key films I have yet to commit to! Thanks!!
Chogsie, thank you!! I like this particular magazine because of its use of color and its paper, which seems sturdy. Some others are far more black & white and seem flimsier to me. But my personal favorite, which for some reason I only come across rarely, is Rona Barrett's Hollywood. They always seem to have great rare color photos and, of course, fun tidbits on the stars.
IndyAdam, you and me, both. I was 9 years-old and don't think I really "got" what was happening, but it was a bizarre combination of terror and sleaze and carnality. I never, ever forgot Steven Keats' gap-toothed snarl. (And his "Welcome to Drummondburg,... loverboy!") The book definitely went further because Hutton's character wound up in a full-on sexual relationship with a black fellow prisoner! Such a thing is only vaguely implied in the miniseries.
SonofaBuck, I'm happy you enjoyed this post/mag so much. I wish I could be more specific about my lack of enthusiasm for Ms. Franklin. Sometimes a person comes along who just doesn't click with me. There are other celebrities who I just outright DO NOT enjoy watching, but rather than dwell on them, they just tend to be absent around here. I did do a post once, eons ago, about some actresses that I hated to see on screen as a child, but who later became ones I loved watching! This:
https://neptsdepths.blogspot.com/2010/06/now-you-hate-em-now-you-dont.html
vinboy, I presume that if I watched Ilene/Delia NOW I would appreciate what she was doing. I was always into the traditional heroines way back when (and then grew to enjoy the grand villainesses/troublemakers like Iris of "Another World" or Lucinda of "As the World Turns.") I hadn't ever heard of David and looked him up. He has, as one site liked to say, BDF (Big Dick Face!) LOL I appreciate how much you enjoyed this (and other posts!) Thanks.
Thanks for another great post, Poseidon! Love these "Fun Finds"--the photos, the articles about the "stars" of yesteryear, your funny commentary, and even those awesome, outrageous ads! I hadn't even THOUGHT about some of these celebrities in years (Rosemary Forsyth, Nick Benedict, etc.) but am old enough to remember when they were familiar faces. And apparently, I'm not the only one who found "The Moneychangers" to be unforgettable! (Yes, the rape scene was strong stuff for 70s TV--but the show had a brilliant cast and, as I recall, a gripping storyline, too. Maybe consider a future "Poseidon's Underworld" essay on this beloved miniseries??) Your blog is the BEST--every post is a gem, and I adore revisiting these fan magazines of the 70s!
ReplyDeletePosiedon, I'm a little older than you so my frame of reference is more "vintage," so to speak. I remember as a young gayling being down in my grandparents' basement looking for something to do and finding a treasure trove of old movie magazines and poring over them with laser-like intensity. These would have been from the early '60s, with the likes of Liz and Dick, Audrey, Sophia, etc. From then on, I never complained about having to spend time at that house again!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Never knew Robert Urich had been married before Heather Menzies. Have to wonder whether that poor woman ever got over him!
ReplyDeleteBeef, I thank you very kindly for your compliments! (I still marvel at times that anyone out there could care about the same things I do! Lord know my "real life" friends - and family - scarcely give a hoot!) I have long wanted to do a post about the whole phenomenon of the TV miniseries, but it's just so beyond me to get a handle on it. It would take forever. And even "The Moneychangers" is a 6+ hour telefilm. I'm lucky to cover a 90-minute flick these days if I use my normal microscopic methods! I can never seem to pull back and apply a "less is more" approach. I do very much appreciate your words nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteDeets, it was fun to unearth all sorts of unusual treats and treasures at our grandparents' right? I recall finding an old game called "Go to the Head of the Class" that I found captivating. Then there was the day I found out that MY version of "Clue" wasn't the first....!!! I had the highly popular one with a large photo on the box of Prof. Plum, Miss Scarlet, etc... but my grandparents had a vintage one with drawings of the characters! Blew my little mind. What's fascinating - and sad - is that both Robert and Heather are now gone! His first wife is still with us. And to your point, she didn't ever re-wed as far as I can tell. Thanks! ;-)