Not the last time this sort of situation will arise. There's something vaguely unethical about this. Come to think of it, he would have made a great vampire. This is what makes Hawkeye and Trapper heroes: They care about the lives of enemy soldiers and Frank Burns. And there's his chance to finally get rid of them for good. A rare moment of competence for Major Burns. Another nice moment portending what the show would become. This whole episode is, really. "Don't hold your breath." Their politically correct sitcom-of-the-future hit the nail on the head. I'd be interested in the story behind that. Was it the show or just Gary Owens? Maybe Owens had a friend at DC. Well, that was sick. Is Reed not from the LA area? Do we know his background? The one and only. Well, "Get off my lawn" certainly led the boys down some unexpected roads. Some unexpected roads indeed! "Hey, Pete, I recognize this guy! He's one of the writers!" This shirt subplot is weird and strangely amusing. That signature Jack Webb irony. Good thought. Kind of like the old studio system. Now I know how you feel when I bring up quantum chromodynamics or something. I never really thought about it, but, yeah, no gray areas in Mission: Impossible. Aside from their tactics. Well, that was an odd little ditty. I don't think I've ever heard it on the air.
50 Years Ago This Week December 24 U.S. bombing of North Vietnam was temporarily halted for 36 hours at 8:00 am local time on Christmas Eve, although Radio Hanoi reported that raids had continued as late as 7:30 pm. Died: Charles Atlas (Angelo Sicilano), 80, American bodybuilder and developer of dynamic tension program sold by mail. December 25 An unpublished decree took effect in the U.S.S.R., making it illegal for Soviet residents to meet with foreigners "for the purpose of disseminating false or slanderous information about the Soviet Union", a definition that covered most dissidents. Confirmation of the decree's existence would not be made until more than five months later. Yuri Andropov, the Director of the KGB, recommended that the Soviet Politburo allocate $100,000 in U.S. currency to influence the March parliamentary elections in Chile. The Politburo approved the transfer on February 7, 1973. December 26 In what has been described as the airstrike that "decided the entire air war over North Vietnam", Operation Linebacker II saw 220 American aircraft strike targets over a fifteen-minute period, destroying a missile assembly facility, and crippling radar stations and airbases. The North Vietnamese agreed to resume peace talks after three more days of bombing. The bombings on the day after Christmas also destroyed residences and businesses on Hanoi's Kham Tien Street, killing 215 civilians. The Santiago, Chile, newspaper El Mercurio broke the story that the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan plane crash in the Andes mountains had turned to cannibalism to avoid starvation. Died: Harry S. Truman, 88, the 33rd President of the United States, died at 7:50 am in Kansas City. December 27 New constitutions took effect, independently of each other, in both South Korea and North Korea. The Environmental Protection Agency issued new regulations requiring unleaded gasoline to be available in all American stations no later than July 1, 1974, with a limit of 0.05 grams (0.0018 oz) of lead per gallon. December 28 Kim Il-sung, who was already (since 1948) the Prime Minister of North Korea and General Secretary of its Workers' Party, became the nation's first President, when the office was created as part of a new Constitution. December 29 At 11:42 p.m., Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed into the Everglades in Florida, killing 101 of 176 on board. The cockpit crew had been preoccupied with checking the L-1011's landing gear when a light on the instrument panel had failed to come on. Distracted, nobody realized that the autopilot had become disengaged, and that they were slowly losing altitude. The last recorded words were the co-pilot saying "We did something to the altitude. We're still at 2000, right?" and the pilot responding, "Hey, what's happening here?" Ghosts of the dead are said to have been seen by others, as described in John G. Fuller's bestseller Ghost of Flight 401. Edward Lorenz proposed the now-famous butterfly effect in a paper delivered to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, entitled "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" Life magazine's final weekly issue carried the December 29, 1972, date, though it was on newsstands the week before, the first issue having been on November 23, 1936. The U.S. Army received its last draftees. After the close of the Vietnam War conscription of Americans into the service ceased, and all services were composed of volunteers. The takeover of Israel's embassy in Thailand, by Palestinian terrorists, ended peacefully after intervention by Egypt's ambassador and Thai officials. The four Arab gunmen, granted safe passage to Cairo, released their Israeli hostages, including the ambassador. Before everyone departed, the Egyptian and Israeli ambassadors, the four gunmen and five diplomats all ate dinner together inside the embassy. December 30 The "Christmas Bombing" of North Vietnam halted by order of U.S. President Nixon, after the North Vietnamese agreed to resume negotiations with Henry Kissinger beginning on January 8. A total of 20,370 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam over eleven days. The North Vietnamese government reported later that 1,318 civilians had been killed in Hanoi during the air raids, including 28 at the Bach Mai Hospital. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "I'd Love You to Want Me," Lobo (14 weeks) "I'll Be Around," The Spinners (15 weeks) Re-entering the chart: "Lucky Man," Emerson, Lake & Palmer (originally charted in 1971, reaching #48 US; #51 US this run) New on the chart: "Peaceful Easy Feeling," Eagles (#22 US; #20 AC) "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend," Lobo (#8 US; #1 AC) "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," The Spinners (#4 US; #14 AC; #1 R&B; #11 UK) And new on the boob tube: M*A*S*H, "Edwina" _______ I've only got one odd item from '73, so it's all yours next year. You got me. It was said like he was an L.A. area native, though. I'll be switching to the vintage Christmas-only list tonight, though. I should add that because I'd recently dramatically expanded the album list, I ended up discontinuing the 55th anniversary lists and am now more solidly immersed in the 50th anniversary timeframe. It's good that they recognized the potential issue, as that was a problem I initially had with the show from casual exposure on MeTV...back in the day when the IMF's plans would go off more or less flawlessly, I was inclined to root for the bad guys because of how they were being so thoroughly suckered.
Over 70 Years Ago This Holiday Season I recall the 1949 release of Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" coming up when I was first starting the 70 Years Ago posts; and Jimmy Boyd's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" was featured in the most recent one. Here are some all-time classics that were already out and about by this point in 1952: Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays all!
Their live debut on the BBC 'In Concert' series. I can't think of many bands that arrive fully formed right out of the gate as Eagles. Frey and Henley knew what they were doing.
Merrry Christmas, everyone! Ho Ho Ho! The guy behind the sand-in-the-face comic book ads. I always just wanted to know how the scrawny kid got the babe to begin with-- I would have been smart enough to take her somewhere besides the beach. I have a funny feeling this type of activity would have been hazardous to your health even before the decree. I hope he had a nice Christmas. Ironically, the paper set off a storm of controversy. One aspect of which, of course, is whether Ray Bradbury should get credit for the term. Classic Art Rock. Classic Whatever Category. It was well into the 80s before I realized he was singing about a girl with a tan. I didn't recognize it by the title, but I remember it. Not bad. This is a goodie. Weird how they had more trouble dealing with organized crime than with international intrigue. Every one's a winner, to quote a future 70s hit. Yeah, they could do no wrong for a while. Ironically, I think their last really great song might have been "New Kid In Town."
Wouldn't you know that I would have a song dedicated to Charles Atlas and Dynamic Tension? This is 10cc. They won't be sniffing the American charts until next year's listening, but they've already had one #1 and a top ten hit on the British charts. This is the second track from their debut album. Like the Eagles, they're one of the few bands I can think of that arrived fully formed.
That's hilarious. The "9-stone weakling" line reminds me of that Kinks song, which I think came about ten years later. Also, I think they're homaging the sound of the Beach Boys in there. Yeah, the "Make You A Man In 7 Days" was part of the ads, or some of them at least. We're getting fairly close to Rocky Horror in the timeline, I think. I remember it from 79, but I think it came out a few years earlier.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2) _______ All in the Family "Archie and the Bowling Team" Originally aired December 16, 1972 Archie comes home in an unusually good mood, because a man he knew died...which opens up a spot on the exclusive Cannonballers bowling team. Mike's disagreement here seems warranted, as is his skepticism about team leader Moose Hanson, whom Archie hero-worships but describes as a brainless brute. Archie sets up the situation by noting that the team is discriminatory about the type of people they'll let in. Also authentic is Archie's reaction when Gloria brings home a man-bag for Mike. Archie: Ohhh, that's just gorgeous there. Did you buy him matching pantyhose? More commentary follows, including repeated usage of a three-letter slur. Then Moose comes over (Brad Logan) to pick up Archie, and also makes a comment about the bag. Archie comes back from the tryouts in a more typically foul mood and expecting a call, having left early because he couldn't bear to watch the last competitor for the spot. Archie gets his call, finding out that Charlie Green only managed to tie him...making Archie confident that he won the spot, as Green is black. Archie subsequently turns down continuing to bowl with Barney, thinking that he's too big-league for that now. Moose drops by to break the news that he was pressured by various influential parties to choose Green because he's black...leaving Archie to wait for another death on the team. _______ Emergency! "Helpful" Originally aired December 16, 1972 Johnny pesters Roy about what's bothering him and learns that he had a fight with his wife, but before Roy can explain what it was about, the station is called to a man trapped in a pickup truck that's dangling at an awkward angle between an overpass and the adjacent hillside. Roy gets to the man, who's suffering head and leg injuries, with the help of a ladder, while the other fireman try to hold the car steady; and they manage to get him out. Brackett's busy, so Dix hunts down a Dr. Varner (Alicia Bond), who's engaged in a fretful phone call. Dix intervenes when Varner gives the paramedics a bad instruction, then she goes to the break room to pop a pill. Later she explains to Dix that she's moonlighting at another hospital. On the way back from Rampart, Roy reveals that the fight was about comparing Joanne's spaghetti to fireman Mike Stoker's. Back at Rampart, Early, Brackett, and Varner examine a Mrs. Hale (Abigail Shelton), who's suffering aches and pains and shortness of breath. Varner takes a particular interest, though exhibiting lousy bedside manner, and hears a rumble that could indicate atrial myxoma. Brackett confirms this using an echocardiogram, which, he explains to the audience via the patient, works like sonar. Afterward Dix takes Early aside to ask him about Varner's tendency to get short-tempered. At the station, while Johnny tries to play armchair psychologist with Roy, we find that Boot's back with no fanfare. The station is called to a home where a man (Paul Ryan, I presume) fell from a ladder while trying to get his dog off the roof, dislocating his shoulder. Johnny, who still can't get Boot to obey him, has to climb up and carry Sheba down. Sheba then sees the cat she was chasing before, and makes her way back up onto the roof via some objects piled beside the tool shed. Back at Rampart, during a series-titular situation, Varner can't be found for hours. Outside after their shift is over, a nurse named Gail (Molli Benson) takes Dix to where Varner is sleeping in her car. Varner tells Dix that she's actually been working three jobs, and explains how she escaped from behind the Iron Curtain with several others, and is trying to earn enough money to bring them all to America. Dix goes back in to talk to Brackett about the situation, who's now sporting conspicuously groovy street duds: The next morning, Roy's mad at Johnny because he called Joanne to give her Stoker's recipe. The station is called to find two missing boys who are believed to have gone through a manhole into an underground channel. Roy and Johnny climb down, wearing breathing equipment for gas and needing to find the boys before a storm gets going, which threatens to flood the channels. They hear the boys, calling distantly through the noise of lots of water pouring in. When they've located the boys, Chet and Marco, having been following the paramedics topside in the squad, open the nearest manhole. The boys are carried up, but Johnny, the last one out, has trouble with the water rushing in before he manages to get a firm hold on the ladder. When Varner's showing up for her next shift, Dixie informs her that she'll need to quit her other two jobs, in exchange for which Brackett has arranged a loan for her, which he's backing. When the paramedics are leaving Rampart, Roy informs Johnny that Joanne's no longer mad because she tried Stoker's spaghetti and preferred it. Something that caught my attention on IMDb--Jamie Farr has a credit in the episode, for a role that apparently got cut entirely. There was an effort here to give Vince Howard's recurring character a name, Deputy Jenkins, though it won't stick. IMDb says that he's later comes to be billed as Officer Vince. _______ The Mary Tyler Moore Show "Rhoda Morgenstern: Minneapolis to New York" Originally aired December 16, 1972 You'd think from the description that this would be Rhoda's spin-off point, but it's not...Valerie Harper still has a season and a half left on MTM. Maybe they got the notion here, though. Rhoda's returning from a visit to her family, but she talks about the visit like she was a tourist rather than a native. She drops the bomb on Mary that she accepted a job offer from Bloomingdale's, though Mary's skeptical that she'll actually move. Rhoda needs Mary to take care of a goldfish that she she just got for the purpose of this episode. A prospective tenant, swinger / shoe salesman Barry Barlow (Jack Riley), shows up to scope out the apartment while Rhoda's packing, and tries to pick up Mary, who tells him that she's getting married the next day. It finally hits Mary the day before the move that Rhoda really means it. At a farewell dinner with Mary, in which the two get into how much they'll miss each other, the situation starts to hit Rhoda, and she decides on the spot not to go through with it...which puts Mary in a bind, as she reveals that she's got a surprise party set up at her apartment. Georgette is one of the guests, introduced as the other window dresser at Hempel's. Rhoda not only puts on a show of acting surprised when she gets there, but pretends that the party itself has made her decide not to move. Barlow pops in during the party and Mary tries to pass Lou off as her groom. Rhoda decides to open her gifts anyway, and it comes out that Georgette is a fawning fan of Ted's when he reads the cards...including a personal one from Mary explaining why she didn't get Rhoda a gift. After the party, Ted's under the impression that he's leaving with Georgette, but while he's making sure Mary knows that he'll be in late the next day and why, Georgette drives off. _______ The Bob Newhart Show "I Owe It All to You...But Not That Much" Originally aired December 16, 1972 After Carol agrees to a date and then promptly has to cancel, Jerry goes into Bob's office to see him about a larger disatisfaction in his life. After having Jerry as a patient for a month, Bob frets over how much to bill his friend, but ends up charging him the full amount when a patio cookout is ruined by an impromptu business call from Jerry. (Jerry actually speaks the titular line when he sees the bill.) Further, unseen incidents establish that Jerry's not respecting boundaries between Bob's work and social life, which makes Bob leery about going to a party that Jerry's throwing for the Hartleys to meet his new girlfriend, and Bob finds himself missing his old relationship with Jerry. Emily gets a cold, so Bob invites Howard--whose flight is grounded by a fog--to go to the party with him. Jerry also seems less familiar with Howard than he should be at this point, and it turns out that Debbie stood him up, so it's just the three of them...to Howard's surprise, as he was expecting to have the opportunity to pick up dental assistants. The party turns out so awkward that Howard's happy when he gets called in because the fog has lifted. Once they're alone, Jerry starts getting into session mode with Bob, who tries unsuccessfully to steer him into talking about...DA BEARS. Bob asks Jerry to fire him so they can talk casually like they used to. In the coda, Bob brings Jerry to the Hartley bedroom to visit a perplexed Emily, because both of the guys are now under the influence. _______ LBJ will be following inside of a month...giving us one of a few periods in American history, I read--until Nixon's resignation--when there are no living ex-presidents. It wasn't until recently that it occurred to me that it might not be about a girl with a tan! Anyway, this is perhaps my favorite Eagles song...it has strong associational memories with a trip to California with the ex. The nighttime sky in Death Valley is spectacular. This is only familiar to me from having already been in my shuffle for a bit. It's got a good sound but doesn't really grab me. Distinctive oldies radio classic. Interesting...sounds like it would be right at home years later in the new wave era. And won't be doing their business until '75. Also '75.
I see you've been looking into your crystal ball. Shame we have to wait two years to get to the song.
Pretty sick for 72. I think I can guess that one in context. Mike should get an imitation Glock or something. "I use it to carry this!" People march on Washington, but society changes in the neighborhood bowling leagues of the world. This is kind of a weird episode, where everything is told instead of shown-- we never even meet the Green character, as far as I can tell. Roy's marriage is doomed. Technobabble! It's just an ultrasound, although recent advances made it seem like new again. "Tell me, Dix, why is every doctor short tempered but me?" Boot's frequent absences indicates a pattern of substance abuse. Why re-introduce boot and not use him to rescue Sheba? There's a nice sign-of-the-times plot element that you don't see too often. And those sideburns are about to go full Asimov. "One Adam-12, One Adam-12, altercation at Station 51...." This seems a little off mission to me. Wouldn't they be called in to save the kids once they're found, rather than do the actual looking? There's a skin-of-the-teeth moment. Such a sweetheart under that gruff exterior. Too bad we'll probably never see Varner again. Too bad. Must have been a cameo, because I don't see how he could have fit in with the other plots. I think they always emphasized Rhoda's New Yawk background, but I can't recall if they ever said how she ended up in Minneapolis. Played by the same actor who played Dr Varner, and also never to be seen again. Escaped mental patient. I don't remember that aspect of the character. Was she introduced to be a regular, or did she just make such an impression that they brought her back? Smooth one, Rhoda. Although it also makes me wonder if she pulled the same trick on Mary, because Bloomingdale's called and withdrew the offer. Be patient, Ted. It's kind of character defining that Bob is a professional psychologist, yet has difficulty talking to Jerry about this either personally or professionally. The guy knows a million stewardesses. Emily's a trooper. Interesting, I never realized that. And I think we recently (as in the here and now) had the most living ex-presidents. Now I want to know who it was. Aww, nice. I've been to SoCal and Nevada, and the night sky was incredible. Weird that it was around for four years before we ever heard of it. That's the one. Good song.
50th Anniversary Cinematic Special Deliverance Directed by John Boorman Starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox Premiered July 30, 1972 1973 Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing Now we get to see what Reynolds--still sans his signature '70s Smokey 'stache--can do with his clothes on (and I have to wonder if my mom saw this film...). This would be the latest in the category of films that I'd long been exposed to references of without having actually seen. I recorded this off the Outdoor Channel via Frndly, and as I anticipated, it's been edited to hell. As one of the two most referenced elements of the film, it's disappointing that Fandango doesn't have a clip of this scene. When the vacationers seek to hire a couple of brothers, the Griners (Seamon Glass and Randall Deal), to follow them from the ramshackle outpost to the river and take their cars ahead to the remote town of Aintry, we're given some foreshadowing that the party is getting in over their heads despite Lewis's bravado. In a camping scene that also occurs in the middle of this sentence, we get another bit of foreshadowing, with Bobby boasting about using his air mattress as an "instant broad". Drew observes that Lewis learned the woods, "but he doesn't feel them....He wants to be one with nature, and he can't hack it." We get a hint of this the next morning, when Ed nudges Lewis, who continues sleeping like a baby. Ed takes the bow to try a bit of deer hunting, and his wide eyes and shaky hand betray his squeamishness and foreshadow a later sequence of the film. Anyway, back to the sentence... And worse than I expected, the entire rape sequence--the other most (in)famous element of the film--is edited out. There's a Fandango clip, but it requires a sign-in. I had to watch it there just so I'd feel like I'd actually seen the film. The Outdoor Channel even cut the famous "He got a real pretty mouth, ain't he?" line out of the scene in the clip below. Arrow Through the Heart The titular part of the following clip is also edited out: And a good part of the argument, as well as the voting, isn't shown in the Fandango clips here. Lewis makes the case that the body will be unfindable, as the spot where it's buried will soon be at the bottom of a lake. Bobby votes to bury it for obvious reasons, and Ed seems to cast the deciding vote out of deference to Lewis. In another example of the strange dichotomy between acceptable sex and acceptable violence, the Outdoor Channel is fine with showing Lewis pulling the arrow through the dead man's body. The Burial Prior to this, Drew acts like he's in shock, and makes a point of not donning his life jacket, so he may have committed suicide by rapids. He may also have fainted from (nervous?) exhaustion, as he seemed to be quickly overexerting himself in the burial scene. Play the Game Symbolically, he loses his wallet while looking at a picture of his wife and son. Shot for Shot It is the same man, but if he shot Drew, there's no clear indication in the Outdoor edit or the theatrical trailer. When Ed discovers the dentures, he lies his head on the body in relief. Ed lowers the toothless man's body on a rope to use as a counterweight in his climb down to where Bobby and Lewis are. He loses his grip and finds himself embraced by the body in the water. When the party happen upon Drew's broken body caught in some rocks, they find no conclusive sign of a gunshot wound, just a head wound that could have been made by hitting a rock. Before disposing of the body, Ed says some words for Drew and promises to take care of his sons. When the men find a couple of wrecked cars on the shoreline indicating that they're nearing their destination, Ed establishes an alibi tied to that location that will keep the authorities from looking further upriver. Notably, Lewis--who's in and out of consciousness--now defers to Ed. Upon reaching another ramshackle gas station, Ed finds their cars waiting for them as promised. Part of one of their broken canoes is found upriver, endangering their story, and the sheriff has men try to dredge up more evidence. Notably, one of the deputies is said to have a brother-in-law who came up missing while hunting...implied to be one of the mountain men, and to be a friend of the Griners, lending credence to Lewis's skepticism about the vacationers' prospects with local justice. Ed visits Lewis at his bedside to inform him of their modified alibi. In another symbolic moment, Ed sees a cemetery being excavated as part of the preparation for the town's flooding. It's hard to properly assess the film without knowing how much else I missed in the Outdoor edit, but what I was able to watch was pretty compelling. _______ I think I recall a story from first-run exposure of Mike and Gloria objecting to Archie buying Joey a toy gun. We don't, it's all in the Bunker house...but that's not unusual for the show. He's not a stunt dog, and was too small to replicate Sheba's climbing. 415, and dispatch would say "the fire station" and give an address. Then who would do the actual looking? They're the rescue crew. Maybe one subplot / minor incident too many. who thought he was LBJ. You got me--read on! They actually addressed this...he's not their type. I had to do a bit of Googling and Wiki-ing to support what I was able to piece together from memory about the occurrences in my lifetime, and to find the earliest example. There have been multiple periods during which we had five living ex-presidents--and we're currently in one of them. Most of these are from within the last thirty years, but the first instance is much older. Between Lincoln taking office and Tyler's death (1861-1862): Van Buren Tyler Fillmore Pierce Buchanan Between Clinton taking office and Nixon's death (1993-1994): Nixon Ford Carter Reagan Bush 41 Between Bush 43 taking office and Reagan's death (2001-2004; the last time that the all surviving presidents were consecutive office holders): Ford Carter Reagan Bush 41 Clinton Between Trump taking office and Bush 41's death (2017-2018): Carter Bush 41 Clinton Bush 43 Obama Since Biden took office (2021-present; current ages included): Carter (98) Clinton (76) Bush 43 (76) Obama (61) Trump (76) It was a cult phenomenon that picked up steam.
Now there's a movie I have absolutely no desire to see. It kind of reminds me of a movie I did see, though, called Southern Comfort-- another creepy tale of conflict with creepy backwoods people. Why even bother to show a movie like this if you're not going to do it right? There's a few people who thought that about Lake Mead. They don't seem to have taken that into account when working out their alibi. Although the sheriff's behavior in the clip seems ambiguous. Setting up the sequel: Deliverance II: Poltergeist. Yes, I remember that as well. The normal conceit is that the story plays out in the Bunker's living room, but this seems a step removed from that-- mainly because of the conspicuous absence of an important character. Perhaps it was done deliberately to remove the complication of what kind of a guy Green might be, and how that might flavor the message. That's okay, I was just kidding. Damn. The police? Detectives? The... uh... search party? I dunno, it just seems that these guys are more "stop the bleeding" than "maybe we should look over there." You mean the guy who's never been rejected? Wow, good research. I'm surprised to see such an old example, given that people were elected later and died younger in past centuries. Now I'm wondering when we'll get to the point of six living ex presidents. Probably not soon, given the age of the current office holder and the fact that Carter is nearing the century mark. True, but we were kind of immersed in that world at the time.
I knew it! In most ways, it wasn't as bad as I expected, but did manage to be more grotesque/squalid in its depiction of the locals than I would have thought. The wallet was more likely to never be found than three bodies. Yeah...on one hand, he's letting them know that he doesn't believe them and doesn't like being lied to; on the other, he signals that he's willing to let it go. He probably had a good idea what the vacationers were dealing with. Or they just figured that they couldn't hold a bowling competition in the Bunkers' living room... But this is the type of work that we saw Johnny in before he became a paramedic--search and rescue. Firefighters were saving people and getting them to ambulances before they were qualified to treat them on the spot. Yep. Carter's longevity is the cornerstone of there being so many recent occurrences--he's the only one on each of the four lists from the last 30 years!
George Washington and Richard Nixon may be the only two Presidents who existed as the only living President at certain times.....Washington being the only one until 1797, and Nixon being the sole survivor after the deaths of Eisenhower, Truman and Johnson.
Pretty sure I read in The Presidents Club that there had a been a couple other instances of there being no surviving ex-presidents. ETA: Six periods with no living ex-presidents | Washington Examiner
Years ago, when I was a delivery driver dropping off pharmaceutical medicine to nursing and retirement homes, I would have to sit and wait while the nurses checked the shipment. At one such nursing home, I chanced upon the book, "Miracle at Philadelphia", about the Constitutional Convention of 1787. I thumbed through the first chapter and was surprised to discover that the average age of the delegates attending the conference was 37 years and that the average life expectancy for a white male in 1700-1800s was 40 years; which is part of the reason that the framers of the Constitution set the age limit to run for office at such a young age. You were considered middle aged in your twenties and old in your forties. I think if the framers had known about how much our life expectancy would grow in coming decades, they would have set the age limit higher.
It's so very nihilistic, really. That's what makes it so disturbing. But it was there hanging over their heads. When the canoe fragment was found and the sheriff said to look for more evidence, I thought sure it would turn up. That's what I was thinking. He knows the mountain folk, but he's not quite like them. People have a habit of stopping by the Bunkers' house to deliver plot developments. But this is true of most sitcoms. Yeah, I suppose that's true. Amazing. Not only the best ex president, but the most ex president. I hope he makes it to a century, at least. Very interesting. That's something I never really thought about. It's thought provoking that they mention Nixon had no one's advice to seek. I wonder if that really made any difference. Indeed. Most people don't really think about what living conditions were like in past centuries. Sometime if you feel like being really horrified, look up what infant and child, and maternal, mortality rates were like up until the early 20th century. I've thought about this too. And since it seems that longer lifespans seem to also result in longer childhoods, I've been thinking it might be a really good idea to raise that limit.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1) _______ M*A*S*H "Dear Dad" Originally aired December 17, 1972 After three straight days of surgery, and with the holiday imminent, Hawkeye sits down to write his father in Vermont. He makes a casual reference to the option of putting on earrings and lipstick for discharge in what turns out to be Jamie Farr's second appearance as Klinger, though the character isn't in drag this time. Hawkeye shares how Radar's been shipping a Jeep home piece by piece (which is likely to get Radar in trouble with whoever's reading the letters for sensitive info), and describes Blake giving the men a characteristically bumbling lecture about sex, which he's so uncomfortable about that he cuts it short. Trapper is described as being popular with the locals for his sundry services to both them and their livestock. Mulcahy's decorating the ward when Klinger decks Burns over a nonregulation lucky bandana that Klinger refuses to take off. Mulcahy covers for Klinger with an M.P., and when Klinger afterward threatens to return to Burns with a grenade, Mulcahy talks him down. (They clearly haven't nailed down Klinger's role on the show yet.) Hawkeye describes how he and Trapper sabotaged Houlihan's tent for a date with Frank. We get our first real sexual tension between Hawkeye and Hot Lips when he later gives her a surprise romantic kiss and she seems to have gotten something out of it. Hawkeye's dressed as Santa for the local Korean children when he gets urgently flown to the front lines to tend to a badly wounded corporal. A private (Bill Katt) at the corporal's side is left to believe it or not when a guy in a bright red suit is lowered from the chopper. Hawkeye signs off by narrating a series of MTM-style closing cast credit shots, saying the character names in the letter while the actor names are displayed onscreen. _______ Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Season 6, episode 14 Originally aired December 18, 1972 A couple of the Adam-12 cameo bits from the episode appear at 0:46 and 1:15 in this MeTV compilation video: Patti Deutsch does a skit as Howard Cosell's mother. Cosell in the cocktail party: A salute to--What else?--sports: Gladys as a stripper: There's a bit of Christmas business in the Irish portion of the news segment: There's an (unsuccessful, IMO) attempt to revive the old Robot Theater bit with Ruth Buzzi and Dennis Allen. Howard Cosell: They wanted me to pose in Cosmopolitan nude with my hands over my mouth, so no one would recognize me! _______ Hawaii Five-O "I'm a Family Crook--Don't Shoot!" Originally aired December 19, 1972 The episode opens with husband/wife con team Arnold and Rhoda Lovejoy (yes, that Andy Griffith...and Joyce Van Patten) engaged in their latest swindle, which involves Arnold posing as a lawyer to collect legal fees over money that Rhoda "found" while accompanied by their unsuspecting mark. For their next job, however, they unknowingly pick the wrong mark--Frank Butrell (Bryan Da Silva), the bagman of mobster Charlie Walters (Bob Basso)--both of whom Five-O are planning to bust that day when Walters arrives at Butrell's home with the weekly take. What's more, a rival mobster, Shibata (Seth Sakai), is also about to have his men move in on Butrell for Walters's list of extortion victims when the Lovejoys pull their scam, which involves Arnold posing as a cop while their daughter, Melissa (Kimberly Louis)--also in the family business--approaches Butrell so that Rhoda can cry molestation as a distraction for Melissa to get away with his wallet. She takes his briefcase instead, and the Lovejoys are shocked to discover that it contains over $98,000 in cash, and evidence of what the money was being collected for. Rhoda convinces Arnold not to give in to his instinct to fly out, as that's exactly what the mob would expect. Five-O is perplexed when Butrell arrives at his destination without the case; and Walters shoots Butrell for what he thinks was Walters letting Shibata get the better of him. McGarrett confronts Walters after Butrell's body is found. The Lovejoys arrange to have their money kept in the hotel safe, then make preparations to skip the islands via chartered boat when they read about Butrell's death in the paper. But they're nabbed by Shibata's men (including definitive Bond villain henchman Harold Sakata). As the Lovejoys are brought to Shibata's warehouse hideout, Walters and company move in. Shibata and goons attempt to split, only to blow up real good via car bomb. The Lovejoys hide while Walters and goons bust in looking for the money and list, only to find evidence that Butrell was telling the truth about the Lovejoys' involvement. The Lovejoys listen as Walters puts a price on them. Five-O inspects Shibata's lair in the aftermath, also turning up the Lovejoys' name, and show up at their hotel room, taking them in. McGarrett confronts the Lovejoys with the record that he's dug up on them, and offers them protection if they'll help him reel in Walters. But they fall back on the unwritten rules of their trade, which include that people like them are only allowed to operate by the grace of people like Walters, and that it's understood that they can't go to the cops. But the Lovejoys find Walters staking out the hotel desk for them, so they engage in another scam to get the money for their charter--involving Arnold posing as a recently released con who needs to borrow a car from a minister (Grady Sutton), which they use as collateral for a couple of loans and then sell. However, Walters calls them at the shady drinkside dive where they're securing passage, informing them that he's got Melissa. The Lovejoys return to McGarrett, who wants them to deliver the case with marked money to Walters while wearing a transmitter. Five-O stakes out Walters's place while the Lovejoys return the case. Walters brings in his "doctor" (George Herman, I presume--a quick Google mainly turns up images of Babe Ruth), whose own briefcase contains a mobile lab for testing the bills. Chemical and radiological results are negative, but then the money is counted and found to be $10,000 short. Arnold turns over the stack that he was holding back on Walters, then hits his transmitter. Five-O and hordes of conventional law enforcement swoop in, and Walters has the list incinerated. Che goes over the bills with his own Geiger counter, turning up a positive result on the stack that wasn't tested. McGarrett takes the Lovejoys' boat money and offers to see that charges aren't pressed against them if they leave Hawaii and never return. As the family is being taken to the airport, they try to pull their "found money" scam on the driver...but Ben turns around and flashes his badge. _______ Adam-12 "Gifts and Long Letters" Originally aired December 20, 1972 The officers are called to an attempted suicide at an apartment. The victim, Sharon Blake (Leslie Parrish), tried using gas in what they're informed is her second attempt. She asks if the man she wrote a note for, Tom Dunbar, is there. They pay Dunbar (Mark Miller) a visit at his apartment in the same complex, but he doesn't want to see her. Malloy calls in to report that he recognizes Dunbar as Tom Dunne, who served time for murder--to the surprise of the apartment manager, Phil Peters (Leonard Stone), who doesn't want Dunne there. Mac informs them on the radio that Dunne's current address and alias check out with his parole officer. Back on patrol, the officers drive by a man (Sammy Jackson, I think) changing the tire of a car with a badly banged up rear driver's side. At the station, Mac further elaborates that Dunne doesn't like to leave his apartment and works remotely way ahead of his time, for an addressing firm via typewriter and delivery. The officers subsequently get called for a 415 at Dunne's apartment, to find him in an argument with Peters, who's threatening to evict him. When it's pointed out that Peters doesn't have cause, he tries to use Dunne's typing at late hours as one, and also threatens to throw Sharon out, which upsets Dunne more. He explains that Sharon wrote to him while he was serving time, though he didn't know her; and hints that he's not safe outside his apartment, and is afraid of getting her involved. On patrol again, Reed only has to mention the idea of taking a code seven to see Blake at her job as a waitress for a call about a liquor store robbery to divert them. The vehicle used matches the one they drove past with the tire being changed, so Reed radios in a description of the man. Mac emphasizes that the robber's face wasn't seen, so Reed and Malloy are the only ones who could identify him. The officers make it to the groovy bistro where Sharon works, and find her in better spirits. She explains her interest in Tom, which included sending him the titular items while he was on the inside. They ask about Tom's safety concerns, and she dismisses the idea that his old accomplices would care about him now. The officers are then called to meet a detective unit to identify the 211 suspect. Outside they positively identify the car to Detective Ruben Sanchez (Carlos Romero, who character will recur twice this season). When the man comes out and approaches the car, Sanchez intercepts him and the suspect denies that the vehicle is his, but gives in when he sees Malloy and Reed. Sanchez takes the man's keys, and finds a gun and bag of money in the trunk. At the station, Mac relays info from Dunne's PO again, confirming that Dunne has delusions of grandeur about his importance to the gang he used to work for. Then Reed gets a call from Sharon Blake, who tells him that Dunne took a shot at Peters and has barricaded himself in his apartment. When the officers arrive and announce themselves, Dunne shoots through the door, then when it comes open, he jumps out through a window into an alley. He takes more shots, and is apprehended after he runs out of ammo. He rants about how everyone's afraid of him as he's being strapped into a stretcher to be taken away in an ambulance. Sharon expresses her intention to go back to her old routine with the titular items. _______ The Brady Bunch "Everyone Can't Be George Washington" Originally aired December 22, 1972 Peter annoys the siblings by practicing for his desired part via acting in character. Jan's placed in charge of scenery and special effects, and asks Mike for help with that. Peter comes home from the audition downtrodden. He reveals that Miss Bailey was so impressed with him that she picked him for Benedict Arnold, which she considers to be the harder part. Carol tries to get Peter invested in the role, in part with the titular advice. Jan has Mike and her siblings helping to build the scenery, including a boat facade on roller skates. Peter practices with Bobby reading the part of Major Andre, filling the audience in a bit on the nature of the historical persona Peter is playing. Peter's taking pride in his role when his classmates start treating him differently based on it, routinely referring to him as a traitor. At rehearsal, Peter tries to improv a kinder, gentler version of Arnold, though Miss Bailey (Sara Seegar) doesn't approve, and Peter gets in a fight with the student who's playing Major Andre. Feeling like he can't just quit, Peter decides to get himself thrown out of the play by botching his lines, but that doesn't work when Miss Bailey proves too helpful. Then Peter pretends to get a sprained ankle at home and shows up for rehearsal with a fake limp, But Miss Bailey doesn't consider this a disqualification because Arnold had a limp in the same leg. Finally, Pete fakes laryngitis, but the parents don't buy it. Jan informs them that Bailey's considering canceling the play because she can't find a replacement for Peter on such short notice, so the parents have a talk with him, arguing that letting down his classmates would make him a traitor to them. Peter goes through with the part, which includes a death scene as a repentant Arnold, 21 years after his betrayal, which suffers some mishaps in dress rehearsal. _______ I guess I don't have as big of a problem with that; the dilemma the men were in seemed authentic. They had Cox's character attempting to provide some moral compass, though he was overruled and ultimately passed away before he might have contradicted the alibi. It's not hard to imagine that he has some experience covering up local incidents, and his primary motivation was not wanting this one to open the can of worms in the town's eleventh hour. I'd put money on it at this point. In that, the list compiler was parroting a point that was emphasized in The Presidents Club, which is all about the role of ex-presidents, including their politically unlikely alliances (e.g., Clinton eagerly taking foreign policy advice from Nixon, and later practically being adopted as a surrogate son by the president he beat in '92). Thus far, the electorate hasn't threatened to get particularly close to that limit.