Meet the Press: The First News Show

December 13, 2021December 13, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 5 Comments

We are in the midst of our “It’s the First” blog series, and today we are talking about a show that debuted in 1947 to bring us the news: Meet the Press (although the show actually began on radio in 1945). Although we hear a lot about Gunsmoke and The Simpsons being on air for so many years, rarely do people talk about the fact that Meet the Press was one of the first television shows and is still going strong. Of course, it looks a bit different than it did when it first began.

The show, which will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary next year, features interviews with national leaders about politics, economics, foreign policy and other critical global topics. Noted journalists and experts provide analysis, discussion, and reviews of the past week’s events. The show began during the second official television season. It was the first live network news show, and was the first live news show that a sitting president appeared on; in this case it was Gerald Ford.

The program has had twelve different hosts during its history beginning with Martha Rountree. The first guest was James Farley who had served as postmaster general, Democratic National Committee chairman, and campaign manager for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

See the source image — *Martha Rountree and Gov. Thomas Dewey* Photo: flowersforsocrates.com

Meet the Press is on the air in most markets on Sunday morning on NBC. It is also on Sirius/XM and syndicated on Westwood One, and is often replayed on C-Span.

For the first forty-five years of its airing, it was a 30-minute program but was extended to an hour in 1992. General Foods was the sponsor for the first television seasons. Rountree, the only female, hosted until 1953 when Ned Brooks took over for 12 years. Lawrence Spivak, who had hosted the radio version was the moderator until 1975. Bill Monroe stepped up to the plate next, hosting until 1984. The next seven years had a revolving door of hosts including Roger Mudd and Marvin Kalb, cohosts; Chris Wallace; and Garrick Utley.

Tim Russert, network bureau chief in Washington DC took over in 1991 and remained with the show until his death in 2008. After his death, Tom Brokaw had a special edition of the show dedicated to Russert, leaving his chair empty on the set.

NBC news anchor Brian Williams hosted the next regularly scheduled show following Russert’s death and Brokaw became interim host through the 2008 general elections. Following the elections, Brokaw continued the first half hour with David Gregory taking over the second half hour. Gregory became the sole host in December of 2008.

In an attempt to gain viewers, a new set and theme song were introduced in 2010. Ratings continued to decline, and in 2013 the show, which had typically been the number one Sunday news program, dropped to third place.

In 2014, Chuck Todd, NBC’s chief White House correspondent took over the reins of the show. The show never regained its former numbers, but its Facebook ratings have skyrocketed.

Some of the most-watched episodes included Elizabeth Bentley, a courier with a Community spy ring, in 1948; Fidel Castro in 1959; and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963.

Every US president since JFK has appeared on the show, although most after their presidencies.

Todd, who is still running the show, shared some of his thoughts about why Meet the Press has been so influential. About the Sunday time slot, he said that “I think that the reason it has survived is because the idea of using Sunday as a day of reflection is sort of ingrained in the news business, too,” Todd said. “We continue to believe that Sunday mornings are when we’re going to sit down and try to figure out what the heck’s going on in the country.”

Todd also discussed Russert’s relevance on the show when he said, “Every moderator leaves an imprint. Tim has two giant imprints. He took Meet the Press to an hour. And he made the round table a vital and regular part of the show. Tim also made it seem less like an insider show. He realized it was at its best when explaining Washington to America but also bringing America to Washington.”

It’s hard to fault the show too much for its decline in ratings. When you consider, how many news choices there currently are, I think it is amazing that any news show has been able to remain on the air for almost 75 years.

The combination of Trump as president and the Covid pandemic has helped the show’s ratings a bit. In March of 2020 Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on the show. According to Nielsen data, 4.657 million views tuned in making the show the most-watched one on that day. An additional 952,000 people watched rebroadcasts on NBC and MSNBC, the highest-rated show since January 2009.

It will be interesting to learn what celebrations are planned for 2022. If you have not checked in to see what Meet the Press is all about, take a listen this month.

Martin Kane, Private Eye: The First Crime Drama

December 6, 2021November 29, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking at “It Was the First” in the golden age of television. We start off with the first television crime drama: Martin Kane, Private Eye.

Martin Kane, like so many other early television shows, started life as a radio show. Sponsored by the United States Tobacco Company, it was on the radio from 1949-1952 and aired on television from 1949-1954, resulting in 75 episodes.

The show was directed and produced by Frank Burns. A variety of writers provided scripts, but Alvin Boretz and Donald Sanford wrote the most. Boretz would go on to write scripts for many shows during the sixties, seventies, and eighties. Sanford was also a prolific writer during those decades; he is best known for writing all 194 episodes of The Plainclothesman which aired the same years as Kane, 1949-1954.

Considering it was only on for five years, four different actors played the title role: William Gargan, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Tracy, and Mark Stevens. Gargan played the role till 1951 when Nolan took over. Nolan would have a long, acting career, best known for his starring role on Julia as Dr. Chegley. Tracy accepted the role in 1953 and Stevens became the star for the last year. After this show ended, Stevens went right into another crime series, Big Town which was written from the perspective of the press. He would make appearances in movies and television through the late eighties.

Martin Kane works in New York. Originally, Kane was a sweet-talking detective who called women “doll face.” Depending on which actor was playing the detective, his personality could be smooth and suave or gruff and aggressive. Kane seemed to become tougher as the series continued. Sometimes he received full cooperation from the police; other seasons, they were more difficult to work with.

Rounding out the cast were Frank M. Thomas playing Captain Burke, King Calder was Lieutenant Gray, Nicholas Saunders portrayed Sergeant Ross, Loring Smith was Captain Evans, and Sergeant Strong was played by Michael Garrett.

The early years of television had their share of mishaps. Watching these early shows you can see botched cues, falling scenery, missed lines, and other bloopers.

It was immensely popular both on the radio and television; in its second season, it was 12^th in the ratings and would go on to the top ten.

The United States Tobacco Company also sponsored the television version. Martin Kane could be seen entering his favorite tobacco shop in the middle of the show where he discussed his pipe and cigarette tobacco with store owner Happy McMann played by Walter Kinsella. The sponsor’s products were prominently on display in the shop and Kane paid $.15 a pouch for his tobacco.

Charles Paul provided the music for the show. After this show went off the air, Paul spent the rest of his career composing music for soap operas, contributing to almost 2500 different episodes through the eighties.

NBC aired the show on Thursday nights at 10 ET. It was a half-hour show for the first four seasons, switching to a 60-minute format for the final year.

The show was nominated for Best Mystery, Action, or Adventure Program in 1953, but it was beat out by Dragnet.

A 1950 comic book was based on the show; it was illustrated by Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, and Martin Rosenthal. (Wood became one of Mad’s first cartoonists, and Orlando also worked on Mad and was the VP of DC Comics and his career spanned six decades in the business.)

In his biography, Why Me, William Gargan talks about working on this show:

“Very soon in the game, I realized our stories were nothing to rave about. How much well plotted story line and genuine character development can you accomplish in a half-hour? So, I made the program a showcase for me. After all, that was what we were selling – Martin Kane. I developed a tongue-in-cheek style, a spoof of the hard-boiled detective, a way of silently saying, Don’t blame me for the lousy stories, I didn’t write them. And anyway, what’s the difference?

It was nothing staggering, my decision. It only made sense. Bogart’s movie version of Sam Spade applied the same ground rules. We gave the audience a good time, and if all the threads were not tightly tied in a half-hour, we swept them under the bed. Have fun. And the show, for whatever reason, took hold. . . . The show had charm, and its charm held together the lunacy, the feeble character development, the limited camera work.

It also had a producer I could not abide. . . . He used the show for a flesh parade. The result was we had pretty, empty-headed girls on the show. blowing lines all over the lot.

The show began to slide downhill. In desperation, I began to mug a little more, to cover up the new holes, and the script writers began to write more blatantly. You get into a terrible rut this way. Everybody works harder to undo the damage, and the result is more screeching, more overacting, overwriting, which starts to drive the viewers away and to get them back you come up with more and more desperate gimmickery.”

A new show was created in 1957 with Kane working in London, starring Gargan, but it never was popular and was cancelled after a year.

The show might not have been the best crime detective show ever written, but it was popular, nominated for an Emmy by its peers, and set the tone for future dramas.

Columbo: The Disheveled Detective

November 29, 2021November 24, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are winding up the blog series, “One-Named Detectives,” and I think we saved the most interesting private eye for today: Columbo.

How Peter Falk made detective TV show 'Columbo' work - Click Americana — Photo: americana.com

Columbo was on the air from 1971-2003, the longest of the five detectives we looked at in this series (Cannon, Kojak, Mannix, Matlock, and Columbo), but oddly had the fewest episodes with 68 (Cannon had 120, Kojak had 117, Matlock with 181, and Mannix had the most with 194).

Richard Levinson and William Link created Columbo (they also were the force behind Mannix). Levinson and Link met in junior high and they were a writing team until 1987 when Levinson passed away. This show was a bit different; it actually had two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971. It originally aired from 1971-1978 in The NBC Mystery Movie series. It alternated with McMillan and Wife, McCloud and Hec Ramsey. ABC revived the show from 1989-2003, but it was not a weekly show then either. Falk didn’t want a weekly show, so the series was scheduled for one Wednesday a month. For season two, the series was moved to Sunday nights where it continued until 1978.

Columbo Hassan Salah — Falk with Hector Elizondo–Photo: columbophile.com

In the original concept for the show, Columbo was described as smooth-talking and cultured. The first choice for an actor to play the role was Bing Crosby who declined. When Falk showed up for his audition, he came in wrinkled clothing, aimlessly chattered, and seemed a bit scatter brained so the producers changed the character.

The show had some interesting directors. One of the directors on the show was Steven Spielberg who directed “Murder by the Book.” Falk himself directed the final episode of season one, “Blueprint for Murder.” Nicholas Colasanto who played Coach on Cheers directed two of the shows, “Etude in Black” and “Swan Song.” Patrick McGoohan directed five episodes (including three he guest starred in), as well as producing and writing two others. Falk’s friend actor Ben Gazzara directed “A Friend in Deed” and “Troubled Waters.”

On Columbo, we see the crime being committed long before we meet Lt Columbo (Peter Falk), so we know who committed the crime from the beginning. The fun of the episode is in watching Columbo investigate the crime and how he solves it. Columbo never introduces himself with his first name and no other character in the show uses it either. In season four, Colonel Rumford asks Columbo if he has a first name, and his response is “I do, but usually only my wife uses it.” Apparently, in one episode, a badge is scanned and lists his name as Frank, but William Link stated that Columbo was written without a first name.

Columbo | Columbo, Peter falk, Columbo peter falk — Photo: pinterest.com

Columbo was a very disheveled detective who always showed up in a rumpled raincoat, smoking a cigar and appearing as if he was not quite all there. Falk used his own wardrobe for the character. The infamous raincoat was one he bought for $15 in 1967 when he got caught in a New York City rainstorm.

However, behind the façade of an inept policeman was a brilliant mind. He asked a lot of seemingly non-essential questions and paid attention to every detail. After interviewing a suspect, he always said, “Just one more thing.” Falk improvised during filming. He might ask for a pencil, search for something or throw in an unscripted line and did it to create a genuine confusion on the part of the other actor so it appeared more realistic.

This was definitely a one-man show, but there were a few characters who had recurring roles: Mike Lally played a bartender in 25 episodes, John Finnegan was Barney on 13 shows, and Bruce Kirby as Sgt George Kramer was seen nine times.

Car history: The Peugeot and the TYV show "Columbo." — Photo: recordonline.com

Columbo’s car is a 1959 Peugeot 403. Apparently, only 504 convertibles with two doors were made that year. When NBC cancelled the series, the car was sold. ABC had to locate a replacement when they picked the show up later. You can tell the difference because the license plate from NBC seasons was 044-APD and the plate from ABC shows was 448-DBZ.

Most of the suspects on the show were clever, wealthy people who think they have covered their tracks and have a solid alibi.

For only 68 episodes, there were a lot of famous guest stars on the show. Some stars even portrayed two different criminals including Jack Cassidy, Robert Culp, George Hamilton, Patrick McGoohan, and William Shatner. Other guest stars showing up were Anne Baxter, Johnny Cash, Faye Dunaway, Jose Ferrer, Ruth Gordon, Lee Grant, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Ray Milland, Leonard Nimoy, Donald Pleasence, Dick Van Dyke, and Robert Vaughn.

Peter Falk Dick Van Dyke Color Poster Columbo Rare at Amazon's Entertainment Collectibles Store — *Falk with Dick Van Dyke*–Photo: amazon.com

There was a variety of music written for each episode of the show. The Mystery Movie Theme was written by Henry Mancini and was used for the NBC shows. Both Quincy Jones and Mike Post also wrote versions of The Mystery Movie theme. One song uniquely belonging to Columbo was “This Old Man.” Falk can be heard humming or whistling it in various episodes after it was introduced in a 1973 show.

The show received thirteen Emmys during its run. Falk won the Emmy the first season and again in 1976. He was nominated in 1973, 1977 and 1978 but lost to Richard Thomas, James Garner and Ed Asner respectively. The series was nominated in 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, and 1978 (winners were Elizabeth R Masterpiece Theater; The Waltons; Police Story; Upstairs, Downstairs; and The Rockford Files).

Columbo Wallpapers Wallpapers - All Superior Columbo Wallpapers Backgrounds - WallpapersPlanet.net — Photo: wallpapersplanet.net

The show was very popular and was broadcast in 44 countries. There is a statue of Columbo in his coat in Budapest, Hungary on Falk Miksa Street. The story behind it is that according to then-mayor Antal Rogan, Falk is a relative of Falk Miksa who was a Hungarian writer and politician, but I could not verify if that was true or not. What is true is that it was put up in 2014 at a cost of $63,000.

When he is questioning witnesses, Columbo often throws in random references to his wife and or something the couple liked to do, but we never see her in the series. However, later a show was created, Mrs. Columbo starring Kate Mulgrew. Falk’s real-life wife Shera Danese was cast in six of the Columbo episodes, always appearing as a different character.

A group of novels was adapted from the Columbo tv series by MCA written by Alfred Lawrence, Henry Clements, and Lee Hays.

Columbo has been a popular show in syndication and can currently be seen on ME TV Sunday nights. The shows run from 70-98 minutes which probably makes syndication interesting. The entire set is available on DVD for about $50.

Unfortunately, Peter Falk was diagnosed with dementia in 2007, and by 2009 he could not recognize photos of himself and did not remember playing Columbo. He passed away in 2011.

Best 45+ Columbo Wallpaper on HipWallpaper | Columbo Wallpaper, Columbo TV Wallpaper and Peter Falk Columbo Wallpaper — Columbo

It’s been fun looking at these five detectives for this series. When I put this together, I chose five private eyes I thought would make good articles. What I didn’t realize, is that four of them were all from the same era. In fact, in 1973, Columbo was on Sunday nights followed by Mannix and both were in the top twenty and on Wednesday nights Cannon was on followed by Kojak and both were in the top ten. The following year, Sunday nights featured Kojak before Mannix which was still in the top 20 and they were on at the same time as Columbo. Cannon eventually moved to Sunday night but also spent part of the year on Wednesdays where it was also in the top twenty. Matlock debuted in the late eighties, after the other shows except Columbo had all gone off the air.

Cannon, Kojak, Mannix, Matlock, and Columbo—five very different types of detectives who had one thing in common: good writing. Check them all out and I’d love to hear which one is your favorite.

Matlock: Charming but Cantankerous

November 22, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 3 Comments

We are winding down our blog series, One-Named Detectives, and today we have Matlock on the hot seat. In the mid-1980s, Andy Griffith returned to television, starring in Matlock, a legal drama created by Dean Hargrove. The show’s concept was similar to Perry Mason which was also created by Hargrove. During its run from 1986-1995, the show was produced by a variety of companies including Intermedia Entertainment Co., The Fred Silverman Co., Dean Hargrove Productions (which was named Strathmore Productions during the first two seasons), and Viacom Productions.

The show began its life on NBC before moving to ABC from 1992-1995. In 1997, Matlock was featured on a two-part episode of Diagnosis Murder which aired on CBS. During this episode, we learned that early in his career, Dr. Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) had convinced Matlock to invest his life savings in the 8-track tape company and he lost it all. He was forced to buy cheap suits and survive on hot dogs and both things became habits that continued even after he had money again.

Ben Matlock was a folksy and well-liked, but grumpy, attorney. Ben attended Harvard Law School, followed by a few years as a public defender before opening up his own practice in Atlanta. He lives in a contemporary farmhouse and only drives Ford Crown Victorias.

Matlock was apparently based on Georgia lawyer Bobby Lee Cook who was also known for his legal skill and down-home charm. One of his most famous cases was defending former running back Bobby Hoppe. Hoppe was on the Auburn 1957 championship team and three decades later was charged for murder of a bootlegger in 1957; the case ended with a hung jury. Hoppe played for a short time with the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers. After his football career he returned to school and obtained his BS and Masters in Education. In 2010, his wife wrote that Bobby had indeed killed the bootlegger, Don Hudson.

Matlock - The Thief (1989) - Coins on Television — Photo: BrianRxm.com

Matlock, a widower, is also known for being a bit cheap despite his $100,000 standard fee, the equivalent of about $240,000 in 2021. However, he has been known to waive a fee or let a client pay in by installments. During most episodes, he finds an overlooked clue at the crime site a la Columbo.

Best Matlock Episodes | Episode Ninja — Matlock from Season 1 with Linda Purl and Kene Holliday Photo: episodeninja.com

The cast changed during the run of the show. In season one, his daughter Charlene (Linda Purl) is a partner before moving to Philadelphia to set up her own practice. Tyler Hudson (Kene Holliday) is his private investigator for the first three seasons. Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard Jr.) takes over that job for seasons 4-7, followed by Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck). Season 2 features Cassie Phillips (Kari Lizer), Ben’s file clerk. Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford) is an American lawyer living in London, an equal partner of Matlock’s for seasons 2-6. Ben’s daughter Leanne MacIntyre (Brynn Thayer) comes on board for seasons 7-8 as Thomas’s replacement. Finally, Julie March (Julie Sommars) is a district attorney, Matlock’s rival in court, and his good friend of Ben’s from season 3-6. Those are a lot of cast changes to keep straight!

There were also a variety of recurring characters, primarily from the police department. Don Knotts, who worked with Griffith on The Andy Griffith Show, was Les Calhoun, Ben’s next-door neighbor from seasons 3-6.

27 Matlock ideas | matlock, andy griffith, favorite tv shows — Together Again: Knotts and Griffith Photo: pinterest.com

In addition to Knotts, other cast members of the old show who appeared on Matlock included Aneta Corsaut, Jack Dodson, Betty Lynn, and Arlene Golonka.

Daniel de Vise wrote the book Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show in 2015. He relayed that “Andy harbored enormous ambitions for Matlock. He envisioned Ben Matlock as a sort of antihero, more complex than Andy Taylor, vain, uncultured, cheap, and vaguely unlikable.”

Dean Hargrove didn’t like that vision of the character. He felt the character’s darker characteristics were being exposed and wanted Griffith to “humanize” him.

However, de Vise said it was “Andy who imbued Matlock with humor. Over its nine-year run, Matlock became an increasingly whimsical series, with the formality of the early episodes giving way to a looser, warmer more Southern style.” He said Griffith knew his new show was a drama but also understood how to lighten things up just enough. As de Vise explained–“The humor was often subtle: a raised eyebrow or gentle groan when Matlock heard something he didn’t like or a drawn-out ‘Nooo,’ just like Barney Fife used to do it.”

Matlock’s theme song was written by Dick De Benedictis specifically for the show. De Benedictis had more than 90 composing credits and produced music for a variety of genres of shows. He composed music for Perry Mason, Columbo and Diagnosis Murder as well.

The show began life on Tuesdays at 8 pm EST and continued for five years until it moved to Fridays at 8 pm EST. In season one, the show was in the top 20 and up against Who’s the Boss and Growing Pains on ABC which were both in the top 10. In 1991 it dropped out of the top-rated shows and moved to Thursday nights. In 1992 it beat out several shows throughout the year in those time slots and jumped back into the top 30. It stayed in that schedule for the remainder of its run, never cracking the top 30 again and its last year faced the tough competition of Friends.

After nine years on the air, the show ended because Andy wanted to spend more time with his family.

Grandpa Simpson mentions the show on The Simpsons. In “Whacking Day,” he relates “I’m an old man. I hate everything but Matlock.”

The show’s seasons were released on DVD from 2008-2015.

Matlock has been popular in reruns, showing up at various times on TBS, Hallmark, CBS Drama, WGN, FETV, and MeTV.

Andy Griffith | Biography, TV Shows, Movies, & Facts | Britannica — Photo: brittanica.com

With 181 episodes, Matlock had a long and successful run. After playing Andy Taylor for so many years and having the show available in syndication after it went off the air, it would be tough to create a more popular character. Between the two shows, Griffith had three unsuccessful shows in The New Andy Griffith Show, Headmaster, and Salvage 1.

Andy Griffith dies at 86 | MPR News — Photo: mprnews.com

But with Matlock, Griffith was once again able to play a southern character who he made the show his own. You can’t compare the two shows, but on its own evaluation, Matlock is a well-written and well-acted show and deserves to be watched on its own merits.

Mannix: “The Old-Fashioned” Detective

November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are three-quarters through our new blog series, “One-Named Detectives,” and today we are looking at a show that began in 1967 and aired until 1975, producing 194 episodes.

Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and produced by Bruce Geller, Mannix was one of the most violent television shows during the sixties. Private investigator Joe Mannix (Mike Connors) began working at Intertect which relied on computers and a large network of operatives to help them solve crimes.

CBS was planning on cancelling the show after its debut year, but somehow Lucille Ball convinced them to renew it for another season. (Desilu produced the show.) In season two, Mannix decides to leave and open his own agency. He prefers to solve crimes the old-fashioned way, with his own brain, or as he described it, “A private eye—in the classical tradition.” Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher), a widow whose policeman husband was killed in action, became his secretary. Joe was also a father figure for her son Toby. The role of Peggy was planned for Nichelle Nichols but she had to decline due to receiving her role on Star Trek.

The cast was rounded out by Lt Art Malcolm (Ward Wood), Sergeant Charley (Ron Nyman), and Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella), and police contact Tobias (Robert Reed). Every episode was filled with violent fistfights, car chases, and shoot-outs. During the course of the series, Mannix was knocked unconscious 55 times, drugged about 38 times, and shot 17 times. Connors actually broke his collar bone filming the pilot. The character of Mannix survived many of these situations because he was an expert fighter. He was said to have been a POW during the Korean war. Mannix was also a race car driver and a pilot. He sailed, skied, golfed and was an accomplished pool player. He was said to have grown up in Summer Grove where he excelled in football and basketball.

Like Cannon, Joe Mannix relied on a car phone during his investigations. Many viewers felt the scripts were well written and the endings were not easy to predict. The plots relied more on crime-solving techniques but several tackled relevant social topics including compulsive gambling, racism, returning Vietnam War veterans issue, and professionals with physical disabilities such as deafness or blindness working to solve crimes.

The scripts were written by some of the best writers in the business. There were more than 85 writers credited with stories, one of them being Mel Tormé, yep that Mel Tormé. Other writers were John Meredyth Lucas who wrote for fifty shows including Harry O, Kojak, Ben Casey, and Star Trek; Stephen Kandel who wrote for many shows including Hart to Hart, MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, and Cannon; and Donn Mullally who also wrote for fifty shows including Ironside, The Virginian, Bonanza, and The Wild Wild West.

There were a lot of creative shows using visual effects in the sixties and Mannix was one of them. It employed many cutting-edge gimmicks to appeal to fans. Technical filming skills included zooms (moving in for a close-up or out to show something the viewer did not realize was in the scene), rack focuses (a rack focus is the filmmaking technique of changing the focus of the lens during a continuous shot. When a shot “racks,” it moves the focal plane from one object in the frame to another), lens flares (a lens flares adds a sense of drama and a touch of realism to a shot), Dutch angles (which produce a viewpoint of tilting one’s head to the side), both low and high angles, and cameras that could move 360 degrees during filming.

For you car afficiandos, Mannix had a lot of cool automobiles during the series. For season one, he primarily drove a 1967 Oldsmobile Toronado customized by George Barris who built the Batmobile. For season two, Barris worked on a 1968 Dodge Dart for him.

Season three found him driving another Barris car, a 1969 Dodge Dart. Seasons four through six he drove Plymouth Cudas (a 1970 for four, a 1971 for five, and a 1973 for six). For season seven, he was given a 1974 Dodge Challenger and for the final season, he drove a Chevrolet Camaro LT.

An interesting story about his season two car is that it was sold to a secretary at Paramount Studios and then disappeared for a few decades when it was located near a ranger station in California. It was restored to the Barris condition it had on the show. It was featured in Muscle Machines in December of 2009 and on the show Drive on Discovery HD Theater in 2010. The car is currently owned by C. Van Tune, former editor of Motor Trend magazine.

In addition to special cars in the shows, a lot of celebrities guest starred including Hugh Beaumont, Robert Conrad, Yvonne Craig, Sally Kellerman, Burgess Meredith, Lee Merriwether, Vera Miles, and Diana Muldaur. Some of the more unusual guest spots were filled by musicians Neil Diamond, Buffalo Springfield, and Lou Rawls; comedians Rich Little and Milton Berle; and journalists Art Buchwald, and Rona Barrett.

The theme song was composed by Lalo Schifrin. Titled, “Mannix,” it was released as a single in 1969 with “End Game” on the B side.

Connors was nominated for an Emmy four times, Fisher was nominated for four as well, and the series was nominated twice. In 1970, Connors was beat by Robert Young in Marcus Welby, in 1971 Hal Holbrook won for The Bold Ones, Peter Falk won for Columbo in 1972, and in 1973 Richard Thomas won for The Waltons. Fisher lost to Margaret Leighton for Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1971, Ellen Corby for The Waltons in 1973, and Jenny Agutter in The Snow Goose Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1972. The show lost out as best drama to Elizabeth R Masterpiece Theater in 1972 and The Waltons in 1973.

I do remember watching and enjoying the show when I was in grade school. I’m guessing I watched it because it was something my parents watched. I think the show has held up well and, considering it was in the midst of the sixties, is not too dated. It would definitely be fun to check out a season or two of the show to see if you can figure out just “who done it.”

Kojak: The Cool Detective

November 8, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

As we continue with a new blog series, “One-Named Detectives,” we find ourselves in New York City on the search for a bald man with a lollipop in each pocket on Kojak.

From 1973-78, Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) fought crime in the city with an amazingly upbeat personality. The first choice to play Kojak was Marlon Brando; he was willing to do it, but I never could find out why the network would not approve him. Kojak is known for his catch phrase, “Who loves ya baby.” And that lollipop fetish? Kojak was trying to cut back on his smoking habit and used suckers as a way to do so.

The show was created by Abby Mann, a television writer. The series had an interesting back story. Universal Television asked Mann to write a story based on a 1963 murder/rape case of Wylie and Hoffert, two women from Manhattan. Because of the attitude of many police about African Americans, after a shoddy investigation, the murders were blamed on George Whitmore Jr. A second investigation proved he was innocent and identified the real killer, Richard Robles who was then sentenced to life in prison. The story Mann created was titled the Marcus-Nelson Murders and Telly Savalas starred in the movie as “Kojack,” and the movie became the pilot for the television show.

32 Kojack ideas | actors, actors & actresses, hollywood — The cast of Kojak. Photo: pinterest

There were several other cast members on the show including Telly’s real-life brother George who played Detective Stavros. Other regulars were Captain Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), Detective Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), Detective Saperstein (Mark Russell), and Detective Rizzo (Vince Conti).

It has a little bit of 1940s noirish feel mixed with seventies details. Plots frequently deal with the Mob. There were also several jewel heists, bad cops who were murderers, and serial killers.

A lot of guest stars appeared on the show and so did many of Telly’s friends including Tige Andrews, Jackie Cooper, Michael Constantine, Vincent Gardenia, Daniel J. Travanti, Bernie Kopell, Shelley Winters and Danny Thomas.

Two different theme songs were used for the show. Seasons one through four used “We’ll Make It This Time” composed by Billy Goldenberg with lyrics written by Bill Dyer. The last season’s theme was composed by John Cacavas.

In season one, Kojak was in the top ten. The show aired Wednesday nights on CBS following Cannon, the show we learned about last week. In season two, the show moved to Sunday nights after Cher and before Mannix (which we’ll discover next week). Seasons two and three the show was in the top twenty. The show had decent ratings the fourth season, but it declined for the fifth season which is when it was canceled.

Two CBS movies were made later–Kojak: The Belarus File in 1985 and Kojak: The Price of Justice in 1987. In 1989 ABC tried to revive the series again with five more movies.

Savalas was won an Emmy in 1974. The show was nominated for best drama series that year as well but lost to Upstairs Downstairs. That exact scenario also occurred in 1975.

I learned a few fun facts researching the show. One was that Savalas was typically cast as the villain before getting the role of Kojak. Savalas was also a singer who had released five albums between 1972-1980.

For all you vintage automobile fans, Kojak drove two cars during the series: a 1970 Ambassador and a 1972 Alfa Romeo.

One fact that really surprised me was that Queen Elizabeth was said to be an avid fan of the show.

Telly Savalas seemed destined to play Kojak. Film producer Howard Koch said, “Telly was great in everything. But he was born for ‘Kojak’—those snappy remarks, they were really him.”

At his memorial service, friends remembered how kind he was. A “little old lady” wanted an autograph from him at the exact moment he needed to pay attention to a blackjack game in Vegas. She got the autograph, and he didn’t get the hundreds of dollars he lost that round. They also told a story about one cold day in New York while they were filming and the only thing available for warmth was a lady’s mink coat which Telly proudly wore.

So, when you hear Kojak ask, “Who loves ya baby?,” you can confidently answer “We all love you.”

Cannon: The Cultured Detective

November 1, 2021October 31, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we have a new series, “One-Name Detectives.” Today we are looking at a show that was on for five years in the early seventies: Cannon.

Cannon (TV series) - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia — Photo: alchetron.com

Cannon was produced by Quinn Martin and aired from 1971-1976 on CBS. Edward Hume developed the show and was also known for his creation of Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, and Toma. Unlike most detective shows, Frank Cannon (William Conrad) was the only member of the cast. There were a few recurring characters including policeman Jerry Warton (Martin Sheen), Lt Paul Tarcher (Charles Bateman), and Officer Bill Murray (Arthur Adams).

Cannon is a detective in Los Angeles. His backstory is that he was a veteran of the Korean War and a former policeman for the Los Angeles Police Department. He quit the force after his wife and young son were killed in a bomb attack meant for him. He was a man of many talents. Not only was he street-smart, but he had at least one other college degree, knew several languages and studied science, art, and history.

random thoughts for thursday november 10th, 2011 – COUNTRY LEGENDS JUKEBOX — Photo: wordpress.com

Cannon was overweight and often made jokes about his size, but when he couldn’t get out of a bad situation with his quick wit, he could hold his own fighting the bad guys. Cannon was also a gourmet cook and wine expert and often entertained friends.

Most of the plots involved Cannon solving crimes for private clients, insurance companies or former police colleagues. Cannon was known for his mobile phone in his Lincoln Continental. Car phones were not very common then, but I do remember an episode of That Girl from the early seventies that also featured a Motorola car phone. Cannon usually asked an operator to dial his call while he was driving.

TV Det. Frank Cannon and his Mark IV are Still Thrilling Fans | Lincoln and Continental Owner's Club - Western Region — Photo: https://lcocwestern.org/

The show debuted in a two-hour movie. The series was picked up and placed on the Tuesday night schedule, following Hawaii Five-0. Season two found the show on Wednesday nights at 10 ET and then at 9 ET for season three where it remained. The first three seasons the show was in the top 20 but in season five, it came in at 39 and was canceled.

Season one featured a short scene before the opening credits giving a preview of the show. For the remaining seasons, the preview was not included.

A lot of famous people stopped by Cannon’s office during this five-year people. Guest stars included Willie Aames, Whitney Blake, Johnny Cash, Micky Dolenz, Shelley Duvall, Mike Farrell, Joan Fontaine, Dabbs Greer, Mark Hamill, Kim Hunter, David Janssen, Tina Louise, Robert Mandan, Vera Miles, Donna Mills, Leslie Nielsen, Nick Nolte, Stefanie Powers, Denver Pyle, Wayne Rogers, Roy Scheider, Peter Strauss, Vic Tayback, Jessica Walter, Cindy Williams, and William Windom.

The show received three Emmy nominations. The show was nominated in 1973 and Conrad was nominated in 1973 and 1974 (losing to Richard Thomas for The Waltons in 1973 and Telly Savala for Kojak in 1974).

William Conrad Cannon 24x36 Poster on Sailboat Smoking Pipe - Walmart.com - Walmart.com — Photo: walmart.com

Nine novels were published based on the show in the 1970s, the first being Murder by Gemini by Richard Gallagher and the last one being Shoot-Out! by Douglas Enefe.

The show is out on DVD and very reasonable. The entire five-season set can be bought for $32 on amazon. Definitely worth the time to watch a season or two on a week-end.

Allan Melvin: What a Character!

October 25, 2021October 11, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 6 Comments

We are winding down our blog series, “What A Character.” If you watched television between 1959 and 1989, you will definitely recognize this week’s character actor: Allan Melvin.

Category:Characters voiced and/or played by Allan Melvin | Legends of the Multi Universe Wiki | Fandom — Photo: wikipedia.com

Melvin was born in 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri, but he always said he grew up in New York City where his parents moved to not long after his birth. After high school, he attended Columbia University, studying journalism before joining the US Navy in WWII.

He married Amalia Sestero in 1944 and they were together for his entire life and had two children. Amalia was also an actress and Melvin met her when he attended an actor’s group that she helped start.

All in the Family Star Allan Melvin Dies at 84 | PEOPLE.com — Photo: people.com

After being discharged from the Navy, Allan worked in the sound effects department of NBC Radio. He also had a nightclub act. He was on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts radio show which he won. His first television role was that of Corporal Steve Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show. Melvin’s wife remembered that time fondly: “I think the camaraderie of all those guys made it such a pleasant way to work. They were so relaxed.”

After the show ended, Melvin was often typecast as a military character or the abrasive, but happy-go-lucky guy. Even when he was not a recurring character, he often had multiple appearances on a series.

Allan and Amalia moved their family to California, hoping for more television roles in the early sixties.

Throughout the sixties, Melvin was kept busy with television work, appearing on The Danny Thomas Show, The Bill Dana Show, Perry Mason, Lost in Space, Love American Style, and The Andy Griffith Show. He had two recurring roles: Art Miller on The Joey Bishop Show and Sol Pomerantz on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

He was often cast as the tough guy on The Andy Griffith Show, with eight appearances in all. Melvin discussed his time on the show and said “I always enjoyed doing the show. We had a lot of fun doing it, and they were a great bunch.”

From 1965-1969 you could find him on Gomer Pyle USMC as Sergeant Charlie Hacker.

As early as 1963, Melvin was doing voice work on The Flintstones. His animation work would continue throughout his career and after about 1974, cartoon voices were his only gigs. One of his best-known roles is Magilla Gorilla.

Magilla Gorilla. | Cartoon photo, Classic cartoon characters, Vintage cartoon

I’m not sure why, but Melvin only appeared in one movie, although it was a good one. He was the desk sergeant at the end of the Doris Day-Brian Keith film, With Six You Get Eggroll. A couple of Andy Griffith writers wrote the screenplay, and Howard Morris, known as Ernest T Bass, directed the film.

In the 1970s he was cast in his two most memorable roles.

The Brady Bunch - Alice Nelson (Ann B. Davis) and her boyfriend Sam "The Butcher" Franklin (Allan Melvin) pose … | The brady bunch, Old tv shows, Classic television — Photo: pinterest.com

He was Sam Franklin, Alice’s boyfriend on The Brady Bunch. Sam owned a butcher shop and was an avid bowler. In a later movie, we learned that he finally made an honest woman of Alice. Ann B Davis said “Allan Melvin, neat guy, very tall. He was just a nice, open, big guy, and it was fun to play with him.”

He was also neighbor and friend of Archie Bunker as Barney Hefner on All in the Family and Archie Bunker’s Place. Allan said it was a good experience and everyone’s input was welcome. Jason Wingreen, who played Harry the bartender on the show talked about Melvin in anther wordpress blog, classictvhistory (https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/tag/allan-melvin/). When asked if he was the same in person as he was in character, Wingreen said, “He was more intelligent than that. Allan wrote little poems, little couplets of sorts, and they were very funny. Like limericks, but not quite limericks. Some of them were very intelligent and very, very funny. Never published. Allan and I became very close friends.”

Actor who summered in TC dies at 84 | Local News | record-eagle.com — With Carroll O’Connor on Archie’s Place Photo: record-eagle.coom

Melvin also did a lot of commercial work. You could see him pitching products from Sugar Frosted Flakes to Remington razors to Liquid Plumr. He was the plumber for Liquid Plumr for fifteen years.

Liquid-Plumr ad w/Allan Melvin, 1981 - YouTube

In 2008, Melvin died from cancer.

Melvin certainly had a career to be proud of. One thing I never learned was when he decided that acting was the career he wanted. He became one of the most beloved and most-recognized character actors in the sixties and seventies–definitely a character worth celebrating.

Mary Jane Croft: What a Character!

October 18, 2021October 11, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

In October we are having fun with the “What a Character” series. Although this actress spent less than two decades on television, she had a memorable career. Today let’s learn more about Mary Jane Croft.

Mary Jane Croft - Rotten Tomatoes — Photo: rottentomatoes.com

Mary Jane Croft was born in 1916 in Muncie, Indiana. She described herself as a “stage-struck 17-year-old just out of high school,” when she began working at the Muncie Civic Theatre. Moving on to the Guild Theatre Company in Cincinnati led her to radio station work at WLW.

In the thirties, she received a lot of experience and she described her work there: “from 1935-1939, I played parts with every kind of voice and accent: children, babies, old women, society belles, main street floozies—everything.” She appeared in Life with Luigi, Blondie, The Adventures of Sam Spade, The Mel Blanc Show, and Our Miss Brooks, among other shows. She was a frequent guest star on My Favorite Husband, Lucille Ball’s radio show which would become very important to her television career.

Croft had married Jack Zoller, another actor earlier in her life. The marriage did not last long but produced a son, Eric. After her divorce, she moved to Hollywood in 1939.

I Love Lucy' Star Mary Jane Croft: Lucille Ball's Frequent TV Sidekick — On the radio Photo: closerweekly.com

While Croft appeared in three big-screen films, most of her professional career was spent on television. Her first role was in Eve Arden’s show, Our Miss Brooks from 1953-1955 once it moved from radio to television. She portrayed Daisy Enright whom she had also voiced on the radio show. Daisy and Connie Brooks competed for the head English teacher position and for the attention of Mr. Boynton. During that time, she also was cast in The Lineup, The Life of Riley, I Married Joan, and Dragnet.

From 1954-1957, she was on I Love Lucy seven times. She and Lucy continued both their professional and personal relationships. In the final season of Lucy’s show, she played Betty Ramsey, a neighbor of the Ricardos and Mertzs when they moved to Connecticut.

In the mid-fifties, she showed up on A Date with Angels, The Eve Arden Show, and The Court of Last Resort.

In 1959, she married Elliott Lewis and they were married until he died in 1990. She met Lewis while appearing on Lucy’s show; he was the producer. Sadly, her son Eric was killed in action in Vietnam.

1956 TV ARTICLE~CLEO WANDA BASSET HOUND PEOPLES CHOICE MARY JANE CROFT HOUND DOG | eBay — Photo: ebay.com

From 1955-1958 she was the voice of Cleo on The People’s Choice for 99 episodes. This is another one of those quirky shows from the fifties. The premise is that Socrates Miller, known as “Sock,” joins the city council and clashes with the mayor, John Peoples. Sock then dates and marries John’s daughter Mandy. Sock has a basset hound named Cleo, and Cleo shares her thoughts with the audience about what is going on.

Pin on Classic TV — Croft with Lyle Talbot and the Randolphs on *Ozzie and Harriet*–Photo: pinterest.com

From 1955-1966 she appeared as Clara Randolph on the Ozzie and Harriet Show for a total of 75 episodes. Joe and Clara Randolph were the Nelsons’ neighbors and good friends.

Although Croft did accept roles on Vacation Playhouse in 1966 and The Mothers-in-Law (another Arden show) in 1969, her career from 1962-1974 was with Lucille Ball. She was on The Lucy Show from 1962-1968 as Mary Jane Lewis when Lucy’s original sidekick Vivian Vance left the show. She continued that same role into Here’s Lucy from 1969-1974 for an additional 34 episodes.

Her last acting credit was a TV Movie with Lucille Ball titled Lucy Calls the President.

Croft died of natural causes in 1999.

Geoffrey Mark who wrote The Lucy Book: A Complete Guide to Her Five Decades on Television, got to spend time with Croft. He said she was “nothing like the characters she played,” in an exclusive interview with Closer Weekly. “She was intelligent, thoughtful in her speech and prettier than you would think. I found her to be very honest in that there was no nonsense about what she said. If she said it, she meant it. She was aware that she had become this icon mostly because of her association with Lucille Ball, but also because of other things that she did.”

When he asked her how she was able to assume so many character voices, she said that she thought about what the backstory of the character might be and invented a voice that would serve that character. It was something she learned when she worked in radio.

Papermoon Loves Lucy — MARY JANE CROFT — Photo: tumblr.com

Although Croft only appeared on 26 different shows, she had a busy and lucrative career. She is remembered for three major roles: Daisy Enright on Our Miss Brooks, Clara Randolph on Ozzie and Harriet, and Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. And even if her television career was not long, she was in the entertainment business for her entire life after graduation. She created many memorable radio voices as well. With her numerous roles, she truly was quite a character.

Leon Ames: What a Character!

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are part way through our October blog series, “What a Character.” Today we look at someone we all remember from the golden days of television: Leon Ames.

Leon Ames Photo Print (8 x 10) - Walmart.com - Walmart.com — Photo: walmart.com

Ames was born Harry Wycoff in Portland, Indiana and was raised on a farm. He said he changed his name because it was often misspelled which I can understand because some sources say “Wykoff,” and some say “Waycoff” in addition to “Wycoff.” Ames was his mother’s maiden name.

After graduation, he enrolled in Indiana University at Bloomington. He then served in the field artillery for WWI and later transferred to the flying corps.

After his discharge, at some point, he began working as the stage manager for the Charles K. Champlin Theatre Company. He had always wanted to be an actor and soon began acting with the group, eventually gettng the lead in a Los Angeles production of “Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” For three years he was with the Stuart Walker Stock Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Broadway would be a big part of his early career as he debuted in 1933 in “It Pays to Sin” and went on to perform in another eleven shows.

In 1937, Ames decided to make the move to Hollywood. At that time, he met Christine Gossett, and the couple married in 1938. Leon and Christine appeared in several films together including Eighth Wife and Suez, but after having two children, Christine retired from acting to raise the children. The couple was together for the rest of Ames’ life.

Ames accumulated 158 acting credits; 125 of those were on the big screen. His debut came in 1931 in Quick Millions and his last role was as the grandfather in Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986.

Even though 5/6 of his career was spent in films, I am including him in our television character series because the 1/6 of his career in television made quite an impact. From 1951 until 1979, he would appear in 29 different shows, and five of those would be as a regular cast member.

Life With Father | Nostalgia Central — *Life with Father* cast–Photo: nostalgiacentral.com

Not surprisingly, given his depth of film work, he began his television career in a variety of drama shows such as Screen Directors Playhouse and Studio One. In 1953 he was cast as Clarence Day in Life with Father, adapted from the film. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for a limited number of episodes. I’m not sure how this show fit into the television schedule because it was on for three seasons; a few sources listed 8 episodes, imdb.com lists 10 episodes, and tvseriesfinale.com mentions 27 episodes; even then, it would mean 9/year which doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Fun fact, this was the first show in Hollywood to be filmed in color.

After the cancellation of Life with Father, he continued to guest in dramas, but was once again offered a recurring role in a comedy on Father of the Bride in 1950, another television show that was adapted from the big screen.

Pin on Mayberry — Ames with Aneta Corsaut on *The Andy Griffith Show*–Photo: pinterest.com

In the sixties, he gravitated toward sitcoms, showing up in The Lucy Show, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Andy Griffith Show.

DVD Talk — With Alan Young on *Mister Ed*–Photo: pinterest.com

It was during this time, that Leon probably became best known to television fans. From 1963-1965, he portrayed Gordon Kirkwood on Mister Ed. During the early seasons of the show Roger (Larry Keating) and Kay Addison (Edna Skinner) lived next to Wilbur Post (Alan Young) who owns Mister Ed. They become good friends with Wilber and his wife Carol (Connie Hines). Keating died in 1963 and Ames and his wife Winnie (Florence MacMichael) buy the Addison home. We also learn that Kirkwood was Wilbur’s former commanding officer when they were in the US Air Force.

In a frightening experience, in February of 1964, an intruder entered the Ames household and held Leon and Christine hostage, demanding $50,000. Ames phoned his business manager and asked him to go to the bank and then bring the money to the house. Once he got the money, the intruder left Ames tied up in the house and forced Christine to drive him in their car. Before leaving, he forced both the business manager and a guest at the home into the car trunk. Luckily, before Ames’ manager brought the money to the house, he had called police who eventually caught up with the car, surrounded it, and freed the hostages.

His next regular role was that of Dr. Roy Osborne on My Three Sons. I enjoyed his performances on this show. At first, Robbie thinks he is too old-fashioned to be Katie’s Ob/Gyn because he delivered her, but Robbie soon learns his caring ways and wealth of experience is invaluable.

Leon Ames — Life and Death of the Notable 'Mister Ed' Actor — Ames and Elizabeth Montgomery on *Bewitched*–Photo: amomama.com

The remainder of his television career was spent in a variety of genres including Bewitched, The Virginian. Apple’s Way, and Emergency, among others.

Ames was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933 and became president of SAG in 1957. In 1980, Ames was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

In addition to his acting duties, in the sixties, Ames opened several Ford dealerships in California.

Leon died in October of 1993 after having a stroke.

DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS 1944 — Meet Me in St. Louis Photo: pinterest

One of my favorite roles of Ames was as the father in Meet Me in St. Louis. He had that perfect gruffness for a paternalistic role but made it obvious that there was a giant teddy bear just below the surface. What a character he was.

thewritelife61

How pop culture influences us

Uncategorized