_______ 55.5th-ish Anniversary Viewing _______ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 18, episode 13 Originally aired December 5, 1965 As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show I suspect that the broken mirror effect was meant for the closing note that he doesn't hold. I think the Best of edit picked up with the phone call. The duo perform "I Remember It Well" from Gigi, a romantic song about mixed memories; Followed by the upbeat "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life," which is introduced as a song from the film Royal Wedding, in which Powell co-starred with Fred Astaire; and another romantic song, "You Belong to Me," said to have been sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in an unspecified film. Their act includes spinning a plate while balancing a rod on two spinning daggers; balancing a plant on a stack of bricks while snatching one brick at a time from the bottom; and the lady of the duo balancing a stack of glasses and eggs on a pole from her chin; the clear tray in-between is removed so that the eggs fall into the glasses. Finally, the gentleman dives through triple flaming hoops with daggers sticking into them. I think this underwhelming performance indicates how much the group relied on studio production; they don't even sound like the same act. Other performances, as listed on Metacritic: Robert Goulet sings "The Moment Of Truth" and an "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"/"Come Back to Me" medley. Jane Powell sings "Quiet Nights." Bobby Ramsen - talks about current movies and TV programs. The Idla Girls (Swedish gymnasts). Burger's Animals (trained animal act) - dog performs various stunts. Audience bows: Lauritz Melchoir (singer), Connie Towers (singer), and Tore Tallroth (Swedish Consul General). _______ Branded "Romany Roundup: Part 1" Originally aired December 5, 1965 Jason sees a rancher named Aaron Shields (Gary Merrill) about doing a survey of his land on behalf of territorial governor Sorley. Shields suspects political motives, but reluctantly allows Jason to accompany him to the Chimney Butte ranch. Shields explains how he hires Gypsies for work while expressing a low opinion of them. Then he finds out that the Gypsy leader, Kolyan (Nico Minardos) has been caught romancing his daughter, Robin (Anna Capri), and starts to whip Kolyan before Jason intervenes, getting on Shields's bad side. Kolyan invites Jason to stay in his people's camp, to the chagrin of his sister Lisa (Joan Huntington), who challenges Jason to prove himself by breaking a bronc...in which he succeeds, leading to some sparks later igniting between them. Kolyan offers Jason a man named Lazar (Ben-Ari) as an assistant for his survey; while Shields saddles McCord with a foreman, Jud Foley (Don Collier), to go over all of his figures, though he's distracted by his ungentlemanly interest in Lisa. Shields brings the sheriff (Alan Baxter) to arrest Jason on false charges, including polluting his creek. Kolyan goes to the jail to offer bail for Jason's release, but the sheriff names a high price...almost everything Kolyan's making for breaking Shields's horses. The announcer tells us to come back next week. _______ 12 O'Clock High "The Jones Boys" Originally aired December 6, 1965 https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-classic-retro-pop-culture-thread.278375/page-83#post-12351316 Reynolds is playing the same character as in his previous appearance, so I think that solves the mystery of his disproportionately high billing in that one...it was likely part of a package deal with this episode, in which he factors more prominently. Lt. Jaydee Jones (Prine) sneaks into base from an AWOL date with Lt. Jean Warner (Susan Seaforth). Sgt. Vern Chapman (Reynolds) is pilfering guns when he catches the two of them talking about it inside the gates. On his next mission, Jaydee has trouble with the takeoff due to brake failure, and Chapman, his flight engineer, struggles with him over the controls, which results in the plane crashing on the runway, killing the bombardier and fatally wounding the co-pilot. Meanwhile, Gallagher is being given a hard time by Col. Kendal Hunter (Special Guest Star [Peter] Mark Richman) about his supply shortages. Both colonels are motivated for opposing reasons to get to the bottom of what happened to the plane. Jaydee approaches Chapman, who's been selling the stolen guns in Archbury, not to volunteer any more information than he has to, which is when Chapman starts making blackmail noises. The black market guns are brought back to base while Chapman is present, so he knows the heat's on him. Under questioning with both Joneses present, Chapman points the finger for the incident at the now-dead co-pilot. Afterward, Chapman squeezes Jaydee for an alibi for his visit to Archbury, but Frank overhears and confronts them. Chapman reveals that he knows about Jaydee having been AWOL that night and that he didn't get enough sleep to be flying the next day. In private, Jaydee asks Frank to butt out. Things smooth over between Gallagher and Hunter when the latter calls Joe to tell him that Lt. Jones is in the clear and the 918th will be getting a couple of replacement bombers. But Jaydee has to fly some training missions with Gallagher as his co-pilot/instructor. Frank approaches Gallagher for a transfer, and he agrees, thinking that it's just an overprotective brother trying to make up for meddling. The subject of Jaydee's lack of nerve for combat flying comes up. The Brit to whom Chapman sold the guns (Noel Drayton) is brought to the base to identify the culprit. Chapman twists Jaydee's arm to go along with him in faking a mechanical issue to land their bomber in Switzerland the next day, which will take them out of the war, giving Chapman time for the heat to clear. The Brit identifies Chapman from a photo as the bomber's getting ready to take off, Gallagher tries to stop it, and Frank boards to try to warn Jaydee; but Chapman pulls a gun, cold-cocks Frank, and forces Jaydee to take off...then goes back, knocks out the bombardier, and tosses him off the plane. The flight underway, Chapman changes the plan to landing in France, with the intent of offering the plane's bomb sight to the Germans as a tactic to negotiate not being imprisoned. Gallagher takes off in his personal P-51 to pursue the bomber. Frank, locked up in the radio compartment, answers Gallagher's hails and helps him find the bomber. Gallagher threatens to shoot them down, Frank tries to talk Jaydee into surrendering, and Chapman takes the top turret to try to take Gallagher out. Jaydee complies with Gallagher and changes course, telling the colonel that Frank is innocent. A squadron of German fighters appears and Gallagher takes them all on while Frank, having freed himself, struggles with Chapman in the cockpit and takes his gun. The Epilog has both planes returning safely to Archbury, and Jaydee being taken into custody. _______ A Charlie Brown Christmas Originally aired December 9, 1965 Just sayin'. _______ Gilligan's Island "Don't Bug the Mosquitoes" Originally aired December 9, 1965 The radio's back in business, so that Gilligan has something to listen to the Mosquitoes on. When the Skipper and Mr. Howell make Gilligan turn it off, they realize that the music they're still hearing is coming from the lagoon, where the band has just been dropped off via helicopter. (Their electric guitars, of course, aren't plugged into anything.) Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving (Les Brown Jr., George Patterson, Ed Wade, and Kirby Johnson--the latter three credited as the Wellingtons) agree to get the castaways off the island, but they find that their unexpected hosts are every bit as crazy as the Mosquitomania that they left behind, including the girls screaming over them and Mrs. Howell going after them with scissors. The band gives a concert for the castaways, then reveal that they won't be leaving the island for a month. Skipper gets the idea (indirectly from Gilligan, as so often) to make them want to leave earlier by harassing them--that couldn't possibly backfire on the castaways, could it? Bingo (who's the drummer, but appears to be the leader/spokesman) declares that they'll be leaving the next day. The castaways celebrate, but find the next day that the Mosquitoes seem to have left without them. But the band's mysteriously amplified music leads the castaways to them again, now on the other side of the island, and the Mosquitos declare that they'll be staying even longer until they can get the rest that they need. Afraid that the band will ultimately abandon them, the castaways come up with the idea of ingratiating themselves to the group by having the men form an opening act, the Gnats. The guys don their wigs (with the Skipper looking more like Harpo Marx), but their playing on crafted instruments drives the Mosquitoes away. Gilligan then indirectly gives Ginger the idea of having the ladies become the Honeybees. Mr. Howell does a blink-and-miss-it Sullivan impersonation while introducing them. Their act goes over much better with the band...aided, so IMDb says, by an uncredited Jackie DeShannon as Mary Ann's singing voice. The castaways pack up afterward only for the Professor to find a message that the Mosquitos have left, feeling that the Honeybees were too good to bring back to civilization. The band's parting gift is a copy of their latest album (an obviously empty sleeve). The coda has the Gnats back on stage, with the ladies covering their ears. _______ The Wild Wild West "The Night of the Torture Chamber" Originally aired December 10, 1965 With the help of Miss Piecemeal (Sigrid Valdis), Governor Bradford (Henry Beckman), while visiting a Professor Bolt, is switched with a lookalike posing as a statue of him. President Grant assigns the boys via telegraph to urgently meet with Bradford. When they call on the fake governor, Piecemeal, who's previously acquainted with West, briefs and instructs him on how to behave. The agents are told of a plot against the governor and invited to attend the unveiling of his statue. On the street they're attacked by men posing as vagrants and street performers. They question one of the assailants to find that he was paid with an exploding pocket watch, which kills him. Piecemeal reports the failure to Professor Horatio Bolt (Alfred Ryder), who destroys an expensive painting that doesn't live up to his artistic standards with the show's African throwing knife. Piecemeal arranges for a ballista to be used against West in the museum. In a conversation with the real governor in his cell, Prof. Bolt describes his plan to use the governorship to funnel great pieces into his museum, including the Mona Lisa. At the reception, West is introduced to Bolt's beautiful young "student," Angelique (Viviane Ventura). Fake Guv very nervously tries to lure West into the correct spot, behind a vase, but Jim doesn't get in place and the bolt misses. While turning her charms on Jim, Piecemeal tries to cover for the governor's odd behavior, but West confronts the impostor at gunpoint, noting how he'd been using his right hand to do things while nervous, though the real governor is left-handed. Fake Guv admits to being an actor named Sam Jameson who was hired by Piecemeal, who brings in the governor's guards, who take Jim into custody, thinking that he's threatening the governor. Jim busts loose and makes it to the train, where Artie informs him outside that it's been occupied by museum guards. (Bad guys taking over the train is a common plot point in Season 1.) Artie visits the museum posing as a representative of the French government who inspects Bolt's collection and fake-exposes many of the pieces as forgeries; while Jim breaks in, finds the cellar, and springs the governor, only to be end up being caught by chief henchman Durand (H. M. Wynant) and the guards. Artie overhears about Jim's capture, puts a gun on Bolt, and makes them take him to where Jim is being held, along with Piecemeal--being punished for her failures--in a wine press. Artie is knocked in with them and the baddies begin to crank the press down on the captives. Jim sets some thermite to burn an exit through one of the sides and overcomes the tending guards. Upstairs, Bolt aims the ballista at the door that Jim will be coming through, but Jim grabs a Rembrandt to use as a shield, which allows him to get close enough to tussle, the outcome being as expected. In the coda, the real governor is back in power, and is taking Angelique and another lady associate of Bolt's, Helva (Nadia Sanders), into his employ rather than press charges. _______ Hogan's Heroes "Hogan's Hofbrau" Originally aired December 10, 1965 Klink receives a visit from Captain Milheiser (Frank Marth) and Lieutenant Schmidt (Willard Sage; though onscreen it sounds like the character's name is Gurnitz), two SS officers from the passing-through Adolf Hitler Division, which the prisoners are trying to gather intel about. The officers twist Klink's arm for a "donation," threatening to put him on a black list. He ends up making one unintentionally via Schultz. Schultz: It is against the law for an officer to strike an enlisted man! Klink: Strike you? No. Shoot you? Yes... Hogan visits the local beer hall, Hilda's Hofbrau, disguised as a Luftwaffe officer to chat up the visiting officers, sussing out that they're likely headed for the Russian front and making a counterfeit donation. The other prisoners take up jobs at the beer hall, but Schultz walks in and sees them all. Hogan gives him a story about helping Hilda (Paula Stewart) feed her kids, and persuades him to see nothing with the usual premise--that he doesn't want Klink to find out how much is being done under his nose. Schultz subsequently learns that Klink plans to go to Hilda's to admit that he can't pay up, and the prisoners ask Schultz to stall him, but he's unsuccessful. (Hogan openly mentions the emergency tunnel in front of Schultz!) Hogan and the other prisoners try to slip out, but Milheiser calls Hogan over, and Klink sees them all. He's motivated to play along, though, when Hogan coughs up Klink's donation for him. In the coda, Hogan smooths things over with Klink using a story that the prisoners and Schultz were only trying to raise the money for his donation. Disss-missssed! _______ Get Smart "Aboard the Orient Express" Originally aired December 11, 1965 Four couriers have been killed riding the Express out of Paris. The episode opens with KAOS agent Demetrios (Theo Marcuse) giving the orders remotely for the murder of Agent 85 (Jack Donner) to an unseen assassin. The Chief, who uses the couriers to get pay to agents in the Balkans, decides to send 99, thinking that they might not expect a woman. But Max inadvertently locks the special briefcase to his wrist, effectively volunteering himself for the assignment, as only the agent he's meeting has the key, and the case is rigged to emit high voltage if any other key is used. Minelli (Del Close) assigns Max a bowler hat with a pull-down gas mask and strato-shoes. On the train, Max makes contact with Agent 44 (Victor French), who's hiding in the closet of his train compartment and complains about not being paid. A blind man named Ernst (Bill Glover) with a seeing eye dog enters to share the compartment; and a Romanian countess (Carol Ohmart) also boards. The Special Guest Conductor comes in to stamp the passports, and gets barked at by the dog. Finally, 99 boards in disguise. Max clicks his heels together and accidentally activates the shoes, jetting up to the ceiling. Max later comes across the Countess and Ernst in their own compartment; both and the porter (Maurice Marsac) know the courier's password, though somebody slips Max a warning written in a Dixie cup. Some train turbulence has Demetrios stumbling into the compartment and Max's briefcase being detached while the lights are out. In Max's compartment, Ernst reveals that he's a British spy, and has a knife in his back. It turns out that the agent, Krochanska, is the seeing eye dog, taking orders from Demetrios via radio...which Max interprets as "the old 'spy in dog suit' trick". Krochanska drops a pellet of the gas used to kill the other agents, but Max has trouble finding the right hat. He has, though, by the time Demetrios enters, who's overpowered by Max and 99. The Special Guest Conductor enters while the compartment is still filled with gas and acts unfazed. Special Guest Conductor: It happens all the time on the Orient Express. If you think this is bad, you should see compartment 13. In the coda, Max comes back from Austria with a copy of the Spy Guild Union Book, quoting pay regulations to the Chief. We get a "Would you believe...?" in this one; not sure if that's come up yet. _______ "This" as in it just happened? If so, then she's not my sister's age, as I previously inferred...she's younger than me! Green Lantern ain't got nothin' on him.
Thinking quickly, Ed tossed a Swedish gymnast at the mirror. It probably should have ended there. Sounds like a Jim Steinman song. That sounds like a neat trick. I'd still rather watch them than Jagger and Bowie getting drunk. They seem to do a lot of two-parters. They also tackle prejudice a lot. First he was branded, then he has to break a bronc-- brutal! Apparently the governor is orchestrating all this to get the land, and using Jason because who cares about the coward of the creek? I'm guessing the Gypsies will be instrumental in saving the land. That makes sense. I don't think the heat will ever clear, Chapman. Holy crap. What about Chapman, the stable genius who stole weapons from the US Air Force, sold them to the British (WTF), tried to desert, assaulted fellow servicemen, and threw a guy out of an airplane? Christmas in July. Except the anomalous magnetic energy of the island, which the Dharma Initiative is determined to exploit. See?! They're making fun of Ringo! Apology accepted. Patience is a virtue, Castaways. Reunion tours are not all they're cracked up to be. That's a very Bond-Girl name. Hilda! Apparently a deliberate homage. I like this plot. At stake is not the government or the world, but priceless works of art-- well, a few lives are also at stake to keep the tension high, but still. Yeah, I can see that not working. I remember that. As long as they meet the conditions of their parole, wink wink. The Schmidt is silent. Undoubtedly true. After the war, when Schultz was incarcerated, I wonder if he put all this experience to good use. Basically, Klink and Schultz are both in on it. They would probably both desert with Hogan if given half a chance. How will he call in? Let's see... Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, and Carter Country. Only one of which I ever watched. Fine time for Fang to go missing. Pretty much nothing fazes The Special Guest Conductor. Yeah, she just turned 50 about two weeks ago (Jim was a little late, but I did not refer to him as the late Jim Morrison), and you're about my other brother's age. I should have remembered that from all the vegetables.
There was a little egg breakage, but they landed in the cups. Seems like they wanted a full hour format. As did The Rifleman. The governor doesn't factor into the plot any more than already established...he's just Jason's reason for being there doing something that the ranch-owner doesn't like. I should clarify that he tossed the bombardier out while the plane was still taxiing! Chapman's last seen being taken away in cuffs on the field. A phenomenon of which I'm sure Charlie Brown wouldn't approve, and I'm with him. But as a nod to it, I was trying to get to at least the special while it was still July. The month has flown, and I've gotten sidetracked from my projected viewing schedule. Had to look that one up...didn't watch the show. As is intelligence... And she was the governor's secretary...I don't think I specified. It was a nifty moment. Alas, the quoteworthiness was all in Klemperer's delivery. Would he have been incarcerated? Was he guilty of war crimes? You are correct, sir! HI-YOOOOO! I've also been thinking while watching lately that Burke had a Superman-ish look...
Probably true. I think the half-hour adventure format was probably on its way out around that time. Both good guys, who looked remarkably similar. So much for my Perry Mason-like abilities. Oh, whew. That's a bit better. I can dig it. Started off strong, got better, then it became clear that they had no idea what they were doing, and it ended badly. Still, it was a fun ride and I'm thinking about working a Dharma pastiche into my Gilligan's Island meets It's About Time pastiche that I'll never do. More like virtually nonexistent. He did nail that character. Good question. I don't really know. I suppose just being a guard at a POW camp isn't a war crime, especially if you know NOTH-INK! He does have the build and the boyish smile in his Wiki photo.
55 Years Ago This Week August 1 Sniper Charles Whitman kills 14 people and wounds 32 from atop the University of Texas at Austin Main Building tower, after earlier killing his wife and mother. The British Colonial Office merges with the Commonwealth Relations Office to form a new Commonwealth Office. August 2 The station manager of WAQY-AM radio in Birmingham, Alabama, became the first to urge listeners to boycott record stores and bookstores that sold music and memorabilia of The Beatles, starting an American backlash against the British rock group that was preparing to make a tour of the United States. Manager Tommy Charles told reporters, "We just felt it was so absurd and sacrilegious that something ought to be done to show that they cannot get away with this sort of thing." On March 4, John Lennon had been quoted by a British interviewer as saying "We're more popular than Jesus now", and the statement had largely gone unnoticed until it was reprinted in the July issue of the American teen magazine Datebook. On July 28, Charles and disc jockey Doug Layton stopped playing the group's records and announced plans for a bonfire of records on July 30. Other radio stations joined in the boycott, including in South Africa and Spain, before Lennon made an apology when the group arrived in Chicago on August 11. The Spanish government forbids overflights by British military aircraft. August 3 – Died: Lenny Bruce, 40, American comedian, from an overdose of morphine. Bruce was found in the bathroom at his home on 8825 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, reportedly with the needle of his syringe still lodged in his arm. The day before, he had received a foreclosure notice on the house. August 5 Groundbreaking took place for the World Trade Center in New York City, as jackhammers began breaking pavement at the former site of Radio Row. The first placement of steel construction would begin two years later (August 1968), and the first of the 110 Story Twin Towers, WTC 1, would house its first tenants in December, 1970, followed by the opening of WTC 2 in January 1972. Formal dedication would take place on April 4, 1973. Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Chicago, during which he is struck by a rock thrown from an angry white mob. The Caesars Palace hotel and casino opened in Las Vegas and "set a new standard of luxury for the Nevada casino-resort industry"; owner Jay Sarno said that he was tired of "Wild West themes" in Nevada casinos and wanted to recreate the opulence of the Roman Empire during the "Age of the Caesars". In his last public appearance before his August 23 death, Francis X. Bushman was the official greeter and dressed in the outfit that he wore in the 1925 silent film version of Ben-Hur. The Beatles' album Revolver was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Studios. It would be released by Capitol Records in the United States three days later, on August 8, but without three songs that had already appeared on the U.S. album Yesterday and Today. First UK release of the 'Yellow Submarine'/'Eleanor Rigby' single. August 6 Braniff Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, Nebraska, killing all 42 on board. René Barrientos takes office as the President of Bolivia. The Salazar Bridge (later the 25 de Abril Bridge) opens in Lisbon, Portugal. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Cool Jerk," The Capitols (14 weeks) "Popsicle," Jan & Dean (9 weeks) "You Better Run," The Young Rascals (7 weeks) New on the chart: "The Dangling Conversation," Simon & Garfunkel (#25 US) "Say I Am (What I Am)," Tommy James & The Shondells (#21 US) "Respectable," The Outsiders (#15 US) "Sunny Afternoon," The Kinks (#14 US; #1 UK) _______ Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month or year and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed. _______ Or maybe they were just having their cake and eating it, too...when they didn't have a lot of story (e.g., the Alaska and Barnum & Bailey episodes), it was easier to fill a half-hour; when they had more story, they did a two-parter. That's the main thing that I know about the show. It tends to be used as a go-to example of unplanned serialized storytelling. He also has a good, Shusteresque chiseled profile.
So there's a reason it was silent... ETA: I've gotta hand it to Pat St. John, the 60s on 6 DJ whom I like to complain about for talking over entire song intros and playing audio clips during the hard break in "Good Lovin'"...today I caught him playing the full-length version of "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida"...and he didn't even talk over it!
Speaking of 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida'; I was in Fred Meyer not too long ago and they played the full-length version over the store's audio system. Strange experience listening while pushing a shopping cart. There must be someone on staff who's a fan of sixties music, because it's only on certain days that I hear it; the rest of the time it's seventies-eighties soft rock.
More interesting info from the MeTV email: Peter Mark Richman, our favorite character actor of evil, once starred as the Bondian hero in Agent From H.A.R.M., which was a theatrical movie made from an unsold TV pilot. In an alternate universe, our guy shed his sinister image and is up there with James West, Napoleon Solo, and Maxwell Smart. They sure could be depressing when they wanted to be. Not an Oldies Radio Classic. Neither is this. But this is, sorta. Kind of a slow week, though. True. The format is certainly more flexible. He probably had to go to the bank or had a girl in the studio or something.
50 Years Ago This Week August – Camden, New Jersey erupts in race riots following the beating death of a Puerto Rican motorist by city police. Looting and arson occurred. This is a turning point in Camden's decline to one of the poorest and highest-crime municipalities in the United States. Camden was, however, the site of a 1949 shooting rampage by Howard Unruh, considered by some to be the first mass murderer in the United States. The riots result in the demise of Camden's Sears and A&P branches. Also in 1971, Philadelphia International Records is established, with Camden native Leon Huff as co-founder. August 1 In New York City, 40,000 people attended the Concert for Bangladesh, a pair of fundraising concerts organized by former Beatle George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar in order to raise money for UNICEF to provide humanitarian relief to refugees of Bangladesh. Other musical performers for the concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden were Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and the band Badfinger. ["We actually just weren't thinking of ourselves for five minutes. We were doing something for a bigger issue. And we need that, y'know." Yeah, Eric, that's how some of us feel about mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccination...] The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, starring husband-and-wife singing duo Salvatore "Sonny" Bono and Cherilyn "Cher" Lapiere, premiered as a summer replacement series on the CBS network, to run for six consecutive summer nights. The variety show was popular enough that it would be added to the CBS regular schedule in December. [And the YouTube video that I'd pre-posted has been taken down!] The Fallen Astronaut sculpture and plaque, honoring American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had been killed, was placed on the surface of the Moon by the Apollo 15 astronauts. Mission commander Dave Scott disclosed on August 12, after the return of Apollo 15, that "In a small subtle crater, there is a simple plaque with 14 names — the names of all the astronauts and cosmonauts who have died in the pursuit of exploration of space." He added that the plaque had been left in a small crater 20 feet (6.1 m) north of the Rover lunar car that was left on the Moon. August 2 Hours before Apollo 15's lunar module Falcon lifted off from the Moon, U.S. astronaut David Scott gave a demonstration of Galileo Galilei's 1589 discovery regarding free fall, specifically that "in the absence of air resistance, all objects experience the same acceleration due to gravity". During a telecast back to Earth, Scott released a hammer and a feather simultaneously to show that both would fall at the same rate and strike the ground at the same time. The lunar module lifted off with astronauts Scott and Irwin at 17:11 GMT (12:11 p.m. EST), docked with the lunar orbiter two hours later at 19:10. J. C. Penney debuts its trademark Helvetica wordmark which has been used ever since. August 3 – Paul McCartney announces the formation of a new group, Wings. August 4 – Apollo 15 and its three astronauts left lunar orbit after having spent additional time, following the end of the manned landing on the lunar surface, to make detailed photographs of the Moon from orbit. August 5 The DC-10 jumbo jet went into commercial service, starting with an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. The 1971 Draft Lottery for the Vietnam War was held. The first 1952 birthday to be selected for priority on the draft was for 18-year-old men who had been born on December 4, 1952. The South Pacific Forum (SPF) is established. August 6 – A total lunar eclipse lasting 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 4 seconds is observed, was visible from South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and was the 38th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 128. August 7 Apollo 15 returned to Earth. On re-entry, one of the capsule's three main parachutes was found to have deflated; but the safety of astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Alfred Worden was not compromised. The splashdown point was 330 miles north of Honolulu. The astronauts brought back with them 400 stamped envelopes to be sold to stamp collectors by Herman Sieger of West Germany, based on an increased value for having been taken to the Moon. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "High Time We Went" / "Black-Eyed Blues", Joe Cocker (11 weeks) "Rainy Days and Mondays," Carpenters (12 weeks) "Walk Away," The James Gang (10 weeks) New on the chart: "The Story in Your Eyes," The Moody Blues (#23 US) "Stick-Up," Honey Cone (#11 US; #1 R&B) "Go Away Little Girl," Donny Osmond (#1 US the weeks of Sept. 11 through 25, 1971; #14 AC) _______ Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki pages for the month or year and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed. _______ Back when I went into grocery stores, there was one local store I liked to go to in part because they usually played a pretty groovy mix of '60s and '70s. He could've made a good IMFer, too...there's a resemblance between him and Martin Landau. And more than a wee bit pretentious. The album was released afterward, but it's odd that this one was a charting single in '66 and "Scarborough Fair" wasn't. Nope, but a decent number, if still a little earlier '60s in its sound. By this point, owing to the belated success of "Hanky Panky," Tommy had assembled a new Shondells. It's got a decent sound, but that's because it's a cover of an Isley Brothers song (which also appears in live form on the Yardbirds' recent album). Sorta!?! This song is pretty much the reason that I have a Summer! playlist! (Look at me, I burn so easily.)
D. D. Harriman meant to do just that in Heinlein’s “The Man Who Sold the Moon.” Because of weight and balance issues (in Future History, if not here), chicanery ensued.
Don't tell me Clapton objects to plague precautions. Very cool gesture, and doubly cool to include the cosmonauts. "We came in peace for all Mankind." I love this. My favorite Moody Blues song. This is what I would call a "hoot." I only remember it from Lost 45s, though, not the initial release. Go away, Donny Osmond. Good call. He would have been perfect for that show. It does tell a sad truth about how relationships can go. Sorry. It seems pretty minor by Kinks standards. Whenever I watch these billionaire-funded spaceflight successes, I always wish Heinlein was around to see them (others, too, of course, but especially Heinlein). I wouldn't be surprised. Art inspires people, and that's especially true of SF.
50th Anniversary Cinematic Special Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Directed by Mel Stuart Starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, and Peter Ostrum Released June 30, 1971 1972 Academy Award nominee for Best Music, Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score This film was event viewing for my sister and I when it came up on TV in the '70s, though I couldn't say that it was a favorite. I went into this viewing without a lot of enthusiasm, but trying to keep an open mind as always. The film gives us the original performance of "Candy Man," by Aubrey Woods, right up front: A cover of the song will be a chart-topper for Sammy Davis Jr. in the coming year, and that version was definitely out and about a lot in subsequent years. It and the recurring Oompa Loompa songs are the only musical numbers in the film that are at all memorable...the rest seem rather beside the point. I recall Wonka tie-in candy being around in the '70s, but upon searching online, I'm not clear if the real-life version of the Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar was of that vintage (the packaging looks more modern), and it's a different shape from the one in the film, which reminds me of an actual '70s candy bar, the Charlston Chew. Could a factory really be allowed to operate and sell its wares without anyone knowing who was working there? Wouldn't there be inspections and such? The film is also pretty vague about where it takes place. There are very American-style news broadcasts, but it was filmed in Germany and most of the local cast are openly English. I suppose that Grandpa Joe could be an American living abroad, though it's a bit silly that both sets of grandparents live in the same house and all are bedridden. I've also gotta feel sorry for the other grandpa, who seems relatively unappreciated. Mr. Salt being played by Roy Kinnear gives the film a Fab connection that I wouldn't have known or cared about as a kid. And am I supposed to hate Veruca? Because she's actually kind of cool in her rich-bitch-in-the-making way. The film plays up the absurdity of everyone's obsession over the tickets, but Charlie's just as guilty of it in his own humbler manner. Things get kind of trippy in the factory, though the "candy land" room seems a bit derivative of The Wizard of Oz. I don't recall how I felt about it as a kid, but the very idea of rivers and waterfalls of chocolate isn't very appealing to me as an adult, and the onscreen execution is mildly grotesque. It doesn't even really look like chocolate...just really nasty colored water. As for the visual of Augustus getting stuck in the tube with the chocolate backing up underneath...do I even need to go there? When I was a kid, I found the Oompa Loompas to be "look away from the set" scary, but as an adult, hearing how Wonka swooped them up from their hazardous native land to put them to work in his factory, I can't help seeing an exploitation angle. The film's most sign-o-the-times scene: "What is this, a freak-out!?!" Wonka went kinda Jim Morrison at the end of his song. And note the Neil Armstrong nod. That the man who claims to be Slugworth is actually a Wonka employee definitely lends itself to the theory that the ticket-finding was rigged, and thus the other four kids were effectively targeted by Wonka. If their respective fates at the factory were all planned, that seems mean and abusive to the point of disturbing. Furthermore, Grandpa Joe, whose side we're supposed to be on, demonstrates a "Serves them right!" attitude toward the children and their parents. I have to wonder how this element of the film plays to those raised with more modern sensibilities, because I'm thicker-skinned about such things, but it doesn't seem to have aged well to me. So overall, I wasn't wildly enthusiastic coming out of this viewing, either. Whatever appeal the movie may have held to me as a kid didn't carry over into adulthood. _______ I guess you haven't been keeping up with news about your god... https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-05-17/eric-clapton-astrazeneca-vaccine https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/eric-clapton-says-covid-19-theories-are-losing-him-friends.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...d-19-vaccination-is-required/?sh=39ee26c73635 Interesting. Almost makes up for having to post that compilation album photo of the band looking so very '80s/'90s. Our latest entry in the Forgotten Follow-Up Phenom. You beat me to "Go away, little boy!" With every release, I gain affirmation that I made the right choice in not digging any deeper into Osmonds territory than their debut hit. He did do a few guest appearances.
They were the safe version of the Jacksons. My sisters wouldnt be caught dead with an Osmonds record.
The Osmonds - Crazy Horses (1972) - YouTube The Osmonds - Hold Her Tight (1972) - YouTube I don't know about that. I felt the same way until I watched their performance on German 'Beat Club' and given a chance to cut loose I think they acquit themselves pretty well. And they can play their instruments.
I saw this movie with my cousin and some friends when it first came out. I enjoyed it, but I've never seen it all the way through since, I don't think, and I have no nostalgic feelings about it. Coincidentally, it was reviewed by Retro Nerd Girl, my favorite movie reviewer (who I think I've mentioned before), with her usual enthusiasm. I remember having a kit, which I think we had to send away for, that let you make your own Wonka candy. It had molds for the bars and a supply of Wonka wrappers (and the silvery inner wrapper, I'm pretty sure). So you melted your chocolate, poured it into the molds, let it harden, wrapped them up, admired your handiwork for a second, opened the candy, and ate it. I think it was fun the first time. I think it takes place in the same universe as Grimm's Fairy Tales, only in 1970 instead of 1470 or whatever. They were saving him for the unfilmed sequel, Willy Wonka versus OSHA. What a drag it is getting old. I think this was specifically designed on all levels to appeal to grade-school kids, and I think they felt a kind of glee in how repulsive it would be to adults. But he saved them! Actually, I get a more ominous impression than that-- it seems likely that Wonka made a deal with sinister forces and the Oompa Loompas are actually in charge. There's a bit of 2001 in there, too. I refer you back to the sinister forces at work. I think it falls into the same category as morality tales like Rudolph. It teaches one good lesson at the expense of a hundred bad ones. I'm pretty much the same on that. Sheesh. That's disappointing. I try to be tolerant of differing viewpoints, but some things are just inexplicable. They must have been popular with somebody somewhere, I suppose. Yeah, but imagine him on the team, using his bad-ass face on the side of truth and justice and interfering in the internal politics of sovereign nations.
According to Billboard - One #1 single, 7 top twenty, 13 in the top 100, between 1971-1975. 100 million records sold. So yeah, they were pretty popular.