Nancy Dussault in “Too Close for Comfort”

Nancy Dussault, at left, with co-star Ted Knight in the sitcom "Too Close for Comfort", which ran from 1980 to 1987.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/too_close_for_comfort/s01

(May be subject to copyright)

She is best known as the red-headed mother of two beautiful sisters. They live in a downstairs apartment in the same house and vex their over protective father all at the same time.

It is Nancy Dussault’s birthday today, offering a chance to look back at the sitcom “Too Close for Comfort”.

I recently re-visited the show on demand and have to say it stands up pretty well.

Sitcom success
“Too Close for Comfort” debuted in November of 1980, on CBC Channel 9 of the peasant vision dial. It aired at around 10 p.m., in the days when news didn’t start until 11 p.m. I recall trying to get to stay up to watch it, with varying amounts of success.

It was a neat show. Ted Knight played Henry Rush, a professional cartoonist who works from home, and Nancy Dussault played his wife Muriel who was a freelance photographer. They had two daughters, Sara, played by Lydia Cornell, and Jackie, played by Deborah Van Valknenburgh. The Rushes had a suite downstairs they rented to a mysterious man named Rafkin. When he dies, Jackie and Sarah convince their parents to let them move in. Part of the comedy early on is discovering, along with the Rushes, the life Rafkin left behind, starting with the realization he was a cross-dresser.

There were some interesting elements to the show. Henry Rush wore a different university’s sweat shirt every episode. When I went to the University of Alberta, I met a guy named Rob Lafreniere who was a few years ahead of me. He said his floor watched “Too Close for Comfort” religiously and, one day, Henry wore a University of Alberta sweatshirt. That was pretty cool

Another interesting element was that Henry drew his character Cosmic Cow with an actual Cosmic Cow puppet on his hand. He even talked to him and Cosmic Cow talked back.

Interestingly, Henry Rush was a departure for Ted Knight from his role as Ted Baxter in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Henry Rush was a little more like the Murray Slaughter character from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, played by Gavin McLeod

A lot of the conflict in “Too Close for Comfort” came from Jackie and Sara’s quest for independence against their father who was very over-protective.

Muriel often played the straight man for Henry’s comic flourishes, but Nancy Dussault had great comic timing too.

In one episode I recall, she was brilliant. Henry and Muriel were having trouble in the bedroom. They tried many different things, including Muriel dressing up in suggestive clothing and appearing half naked in the bed. When Henry came in, he was attracted to her perfume, and asked what it was called.

“Lust,” she said.

Nothing like getting right to the point.

In the second season, they had solved those issues in the bedroom because Muriel got pregnant and had the baby at season’s end.

Over time, as happened, I lost track of the show because it wasn’t always on at regular times on Channel 9. I also got busy doing other things. In addition, the show had been cancelled by ABC after its third season, and went into first-run syndication for its final three years.

Ted Knight also died in August of 1986, precipitating the end of the show

I did happen upon what looked like an episode of “Too Close for Comfort” on Channel 9, as it had Ted Knight and Nancy Dussault. However, the opening credits called it “The Ted Knight Show”. Wikipedia reveals the name was changed in late 1985 before the start of the sixth season. Henry also retired from drawing Cosmic Cow, bought a share in a local newspaper, and became its editor.

“Too Close for Comfort” would run six seasons, from 1980 to 1987, for a total of 129 episodes.

Nancy Dussault had been an integral part of the show throughout its run, but was also in a number of productions before and after.

Her story
Nancy Dussault appeared in a number of TV movies starting in 1968, but also had guest roles in “The New Dick Van Dyke Show”; “Love, American Style”; “Good Heavens”; “Flying High”; “Barney Miller”; “Sweepstakes”; and “The Love Boat”. She was part of the first anchor team of “Good Morning America” with David Hartman when the show debuted in 1975 as well.

She also appeared in the movie “The In-Laws” in 1979, with Alan Arkin and Peter Falk.

After “Too Close for Comfort” ended in 1987, Dussault had guest roles in the rest of the decade in “Murder, She Wrote”; “Matlock”; “Hotel”; “The Oldest Rookie”; “The Munsters Today”; and “Full House”.

The years after
Dussault keeps on acting. She appeared in guest roles in a number of 1990s shows such as “Walter and Emily”; “Hearts Are Wild”; and “Capitol Critters”; and was the first actor to play the mother of Jamie Buchman, Helen Hunt’s character on “Mad About You”. Dussault was also in “Heaven Help Us”; “Dream On”; “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”; “Family Law”; “Judging Amy”; “Providence”; and “Alias”; before taking a long break. Her last appearance was in a short called “The Final Show” in 2016.

However, she has done a lot of work on stage and Broadway, and received Tony nominations in 1961 and 1965.

Parting thoughts
For fans of pop culture, there are certain names you can hear, and instantly associate a show or a character with.

Nancy Dussault is an excellent example of that, not only because she played Muriel Rush in 129 episodes of “Too Close for Comfort”, but because much of the other work she did was on stage, not in front of a camera.

Interestingly, she did occasionally sing and dance in “Too Close for Comfort”, and it was obvious she was a pro.

It just added to the rich character she created on “Too Close for Comfort”.

Martin Mull: Remembering “Domestic Life” and more

Martin Mull in the 1984 sitcom "Domestic Life.".

Source: https://www.gettyimages.ca/

editorial-images/entertainment/event/martin-mull-dies-at-80/776166660

(May be subject to copyright)

It’s funny the things a person remembers. When I heard today that Martin Mull had died, I did not think of his time on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”, or as the boss in “Roseanne”, or even as Colonel Mustard in “Clue”.

No, when I think of Martin Mull, I go back to Grade 9, the early part of 1984, and doing my homework in front of the TV, and watching a show called “Domestic Life” on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial. It only lasted a handful of episodes, but it sticks out for me.

Yet, that was just one stop on Martin Mull’s journey through TV and movies.

The movies
Martin Mull got his first role in movies in 1978 in “FM”. As the 1980s dawned, he had a string of roles in “Serial”; “My Bodyguard”; “Take This Job and Shove it”; “Flicks”; “Mr. Mom”; “Private School”; “Bad Manners”; “Clue”; “O.C. and Stiggs”; “The Boss’ Wife”; “Rented Lips”; and “Cutting Class”.

Television
Mull’s first role on television was a 49-episode stint on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” in 1976-1977. He followed that on the show’s sequels “Fernwood 2 Night” in 1977 for 44 episodes; and “America 2-Night” in 1978 for another 65 episodes.

He also appeared in episodes of “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman” and “Taxi”.

Mull began the 1980s with a role opposite John Ritter in “Sunset Limousine” in 1983, then landed another role in network TV.

Domestic Life
Long before John Mahoney made the name Martin Crane famous for 11 seasons on “Frasier”, Martin Mull played a much different character with the same name. It was in a 1984 sitcom, also set in Seattle, called “Domestic Life”.

This Martin Crane was a commentator on the evening news with a segment called “Domestic Life”, which was based on the goings-on in his own home.

What really stuck out for me, and drew me to the show was something I saw in the first episode. Martin had a daughter named Didi. She looked familiar, but kind of out of context. After seeing her a couple times I realized exactly who she was.

It was Canadian actress Megan Follows. At first, I did not believe it. After all, I had only seen her on Canadian TV, the CBC in particular, and never thought she’d appear on American network television.

So, the next time “Domestic Life” was on, I paid particular attention to the credits.

Sure enough it was Megan Follows.

Even her talent could not save “Domestic Life”.

The show aired on Channel 7 of the peasant vision dial, lasting just 10 episodes from January to April of 1984, before it was cancelled.

The years after
Martin Mull closed out the ‘80s with a few TV movies, but got rolling again in the ‘90s and beyond.

He appeared in a lot of low-budget movies such as “Ski Patrol”; “Think Big”; “Far Out Man”; “Miracle Beach”; and “Dance with Death”.

Then he was in more successful films such as “Mrs. Doubtfire”; “Edie and Pen”; and “Jingle All the Way”; as well as more lesser-known movies.

On TV, he stayed busy. His most notable role was as Leon Carp, Roseanne’s boss in “Roseanne” for 46 episodes over six seasons. He was also in 13 episodes of “His and Hers”; “The Golden Girls”; “Get a Life”; “The Larry Sanders Show”; “Burke’s Law”; “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”; “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”; “The Simpsons”; “Family Guy”; “Just Shoot Me!”; “The Ellen Show”, for 18 episodes; “Reba”; “Arrested Development” for six episodes; “Gary Unmarried” for two episodes; “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”; “Two and a Half Men” for six episodes; “’Til Death”, for 12 episodes; “Psych”; “Dads”, for 19 episodes; “Community”, for two episodes; “Life in Pieces”, for four episodes; “Veep”, where he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series; “The Ranch”, for 13 episodes; “NCIS: Los Angeles”; “I’m Sorry”, for seven episodes; “The Cool Kids”, for 22 episodes; “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; “Grace and Frankie”; and much more.

His final appearances were in 2023 in “Not Dead Yet” for three episodes, and “The Afterparty” for two episodes.

Martin Mull died on June 27, 2024.

He was 80 years old.

Parting thoughts
Martin Mull was one of those actors who just kept on working, pretty much right up until his death. He showed a lot of talent, even earning an Emmy nomination, but he also appeared in a lot of stuff that wasn’t that good.

The funny thing is, as I went through all these different shows he was in, from “Clue” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” to “Roseanne” and his award-nominated turn in “Veep”, whenever I hear his name I am always taken back to that little-known sitcom.

To me, he will always be the original Martin Crane in “Domestic Life”.

Glenn Medeiros’ “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You”: Remembering the Spring of ‘87

His song came on the scene at a time of transition for me. I was in Grade 12, and so much was happening as I was meeting new people, finishing up high school and looking ahead to university.

All of that meant I had not been listening to as much new music as I had been the last few years.

One day I was talking to my friend Dave Perlich and I heard this beautiful song that, if I were to describe it today, sounded like the grandfather of boy bands. Dave and I used to talk about music a lot. He was the one who had alerted me to “Take on Me” by A-ha a year or so earlier when I experienced another hiatus from music.

I told him I’d never heard the song before.

He replied it was “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You”. It was by Glenn Medeiros, who I had never heard of. Dave said the song had been on the radio for weeks.

It was Glenn Medeiros’ birthday a few days ago and it took my back to that Spring of 1987.

Things change
Grade 12 was an amazing year of fun, adventure and drama. I had liked this girl for a long time, got close to her, then had a falling out. It made me sad, but also wonder what was next. I had spent so much energy on her, I didn’t know what to do.

Soon, though, I met some new people from Grade 11 and one Grade 10, hung out with them during my spares, and actually got up the courage to ask two girls out. One said no, while the other said yes. She would ultimately be my escort to grad too.

In the meantime, I was working at a greenhouse after school and Saturdays, and finishing up my last two high school classes – Math 30 and Math 31.

I had already been accepted to the University of Alberta in the Fall, and was busy figuring out how to take classes, get into residence, and apply for a student loan.

There was a lot going on.

It seemed whenever I was driving from our farm to Coaldale, or from Coaldale to the greenhouse, “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” was playing.

The song
As it turns out, “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” is a cover song originally written by George Benson. The version by Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros came out in February of 1987 and went all the way to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

However, it topped the charts in Canada, which makes sense because I heard it all the time. It was all on “Days Of Our Lives”, which I would tape and watch with my Mom.

Parting thoughts
Just thinking about “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” takes me back to sunny Spring then Summer days in 1987. It reminds of the girl I had pursued for so long, the one I started to date, and how glad I am that I am not 17 anymore going through that range of emotions.

Something that surprised me in reading up on Glenn Medeiros is that he was born in 1970. That means when I was 17 and listening to him on the radio, he was 17 and singing to me.

I always thought singers were much older, and by extension, more worldly. Instead, Glenn Medeiros was a kid like me, probably going through at least some of the same emotions I was.

Maybe that’s why his voice resonates with me.

Georg Stanford Brown: Tom Harvey on “Roots” and much more

Georg Stanford Brown, at right, as Tom Harvey in the acclaimed miniseries "Roots".

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075572/mediaviewer/rm486878977/

(May be subject to copyright)

He was a freed slave and blacksmith who stood up to the Ku Klux Klan. Although Georg Stanford Brown is perhaps best known for his role as a young police man in the 1970s crime drama “The Rookies”, to me he will always be Tom Harvey in the acclaimed miniseries “Roots”.

Brown kept on acting, but has been most prolific behind the camera as a director of dozens of television movies and series.

It was Georg Stanford Brown’s birthday a few days ago, and it reminded of that role as a courageous blacksmith, and more.

The Rookies
My earliest recollection of Georg Stanford Brown is on the very edge of my memory. He played a police officer on a drama called “The Rookies” that ran from 1972 to 1976 for 93 episodes. What I mainly remember was the cover of an issue of “TV Guide”. It had in profile, the head of Brown and his co-stars Sam Melville and Michael Ontkean, who is Canadian. The show also had Gerald S. O’Laughlin, who would go on to play in “Our House” in the ‘80s opposite Wilford Brimley and Deirdre Hall; and Kate Jackson who went on to title roles in “Charlie’s Angels” and “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”.

I was too young to remember specific episodes.However, when “The Rookies” ended, and Georg Stanford Brown went on to his next significant role, I remember that one well.

Roots
It opened with a picture of a Black woman screaming. It was a Saturday night, 9 p.m., and peasant vision was tuned to Channel 13. At the sight of that scene, my Mom suggested I go to bed. So I did.

That was the opening scene of “Roots”, a landmark miniseries in 1977 that brought light to the history of slavery in the United States. It also spurred on a new interest in geneology and family history.

As it turns out, my Mom ended up watching that first episode of “Roots” and the entire miniseries.

The following Wednesday, I saw red spots on my stomach at school. That was a sign of Red Measles. I showed my teacher who said, to be safe, I shouldn’t come to school the next day. When I got home, my Mom agreed, and thought it best since I would miss Thursday, it was best if I stayed home Friday too. That way, I could be rested up and better for the start of a new school week the following Monday.

That night, my Mom tuned in to the next episode of “Roots”. By now, she knew what it was all about, and figured there was no reason I could not watch it too.

The next two nights, I believe, were the final two installments.

At this point in the series, the main focus was “Chicken George”, played by Ben Vereen. He was a slave who was the grandson of Kunta Kinte, the original slave from Africa, and the great-grandfather of Alex Haley, the author of the book on which the miniseries was based. “Chicken George” gained some measure of independence, although not freedom, because he had a skill at raising chickens for cock fighting.

He had a son named Tom Harvey, who was played by Georg Stanford Brown. Tom became a blacksmith, and a leader in his community.

Then along came Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, thus freeing the slaves. Tom Harvey remained in his village as a blacksmith, which was a vital role in the community. Soon, marauders came at night, hiding their faces with bandanas, and terrorizing the freed slaves.

Tom Harvey set to find out who was responsible. As people came to his shop to have their horses shoed, he scratched a distinctive mark on each one, kind of like a finger print. As the marauders came, he scoured the hoof prints and was able to identify all the marauders.

He took that information to the sheriff who seemed receptive, but was actually in league with the marauders. Consequently, Tom Harvey gets roughed up and I think even whipped. They don’t even bother to cover their faces any more, having been discovered.

Soon after, Chicken George returns to the village, and discovers what happened. Having learned a lot in his travels, he constructs a plan with his son Tom. They confront the leader of the bandits, who by this time have joined the Ku Klux Klan. When he tries to escape, Chicken George pulls a gun. They take this man, who by now is beginning to sweat and quiver with fear, to the tree where slaves were whipped. They tie him to the tree, strip off his shirt, and start to point out the error in his ways. He closes his eyes, bracing for what is coming – and Chicken George and Tom stop. They don’t whip their adversary. They let him sweat, cry and cower for a bit. Then they let him go.

After that, the marauding stops and life gets progressively better for the freed slaves.

Georg Stanford Brown was absolutely incredible as Tom Harvey. Even now as I write this, it brings a tear to my eye.

That was the epitome of Georg Stanford Brown’s acting career, although he did keep acting. He would soon turn his sights in a slightly different direction though.

Acting
Brown reprised his role as Tom Harvey in “Roots: The Next Generation”; and had several guest appearances in TV shows such as “Paris”; “Police Squad!”; the TV movies “The Kid With the Broken Halo” and “The Jesse Owens Story”; the miniseries “North and South, Book I”; “Matlock”; and some other TV movies.

He also appeared in the movie “Stir Crazy”.

In the succeeding years he was in TV shows such as “Jake and the Fatman”; “Martin”; “Malcolm and Eddie”; “Team Knight Rider”; “Linc’s”, for 25 episodes; “Family Law”; “The District”; “Strong Medicine”; “The Lyon’s Den”; “Nip/Tuck”; “Judging Amy”; and more.

His final role was in 2012, voicing two episodes of the animated web series “Electric City”.

Directing
When Georg Stanford Brown was still doing “The Rookies”, he also started directing TV shows. He did four episoes of “The Rookies”; three episodes of “Starsky and Hutch”; eight episodes of “Charlie’s Angels”; and single episodes of “The Fitzpatricks”, “Family”, “Lucan”, “Fantasy Island”, and “Roots: The Next Generation”.

In the 1980s, he directed two episodes of “Paris”; single episodes of “Tenspeed and Brownshoe”, which starred Ben Vereen; “Lou Grant”, and “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”; the TV movie “Grambling’s White Tiger”; an episode of “The Greatest American Hero”; seven episodes of “Hill Street Blues”; five episodes of “Cagney and Lacey”, which starred his then wife Tyne Daly; single episodes of “Police Squad!”, “Fame”, “Trauma Center”, “The Mississippi”, “Hardcastle and McCormick”, “The Fall Guy”, and “Call to Glory”; two episodes of “Magnum P.I.”; two episodes of “Miami Vice”; four episodes of “Dynasty”; single episodes of “Finder of Lost Loves”, “Hotel”, “The Paper Chase”, and “Tough Cookies”; and some TV movies.

In the succeeding years he directed a lot of TV movies.

He won an Emmy in 1986 for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the “Parting Shots” episode of “Cagney and Lacey”. He was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 1981 for the “Up in Arms” episode of “Hill Street Blues”; and an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 1985 for the “El Capitan” episode of “Hill Street Blues”.

Parting thoughts
“Roots” was a groundbreaking show for so many reasons. Granted, I did not see the first few parts where LeVar Burton shone as Kunta Kinte. However, it is hard for me to imagine anyone doing a better job than Georg Stanford Brown did as Tom Harvey.

It is still one of the best performances I have ever seen.

He transferred that talent to his role behind the camera as a director. He worked on a lot of quality television shows, and was rewarded for his efforts with an Emmy and two more nominations.

It just shows how multi-talented Georg Stanford Brown is.

Michele Lee: Remembering “Knots Landing” and more

Michele Lee as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie in the night-time soap opera "Knots Landing."

Source: https://people.com/michele-lee-admits-she-still-gets-emotional-over-this-knots-landing-scene-11789812

(May be subject to copyright)

When I was really little, she was a big part of Disney movies, then she became a big part of one of the longest running primetime soap operas of all time.

It was Michele Lee’s birthday the other day. It reminded me of how surprised I was to see her in a serious role in “Knots Landing”, after seeing her in a campy role in a Disney movie.

The years before
As it turns out, there are quite a lot of really interesting productions I saw Michele Lee in before her defining role on “Knots Landing”.

She got her start in 1961, appearing in episodes of the television productions “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” and “The Red Skelton Show”.

Her first movie role was in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” in 1967. Around that time she also began making appearances on “The Carol Burnett Show”.

Then, in 1969, she played alongside Dean Jones in the Disney movie “The Love Bug”. It features Herbie, a Volkswagen Beatle who has a life and personality of his own. He embarks on a racing career, including a cross-country race where he is driven by Lee and Jones.

The year 1969 was a busy one for Michele Lee, as she also appeared in the TV production ”Roberta” and the movie “The Comic”.

“The Comic” is an excellent and sad movie about Billy Bright, a popular silent movie star, played by Dick Van Dyke, who struggles to adapt after sound comes to film. Michele Lee does a great job as Bright’s love interest.

She would continue on with appearances in “Night Gallery”; “Marcus Welby, M.D.”; “Alias Smith and Jones”; and “Love, American Style”; as well as some TV movies.

One of those television movies was “Bud and Lou”. Released in 1978, it featured Harvey Korman as Bud Abbott and Buddy Hackett as Lou Costello. It is a docudrama about the comedy duo most famous for their “Who’s on first?” routine. Michele Lee played Anne Costello, Lou’s wife. I recall watching the first half of this movie on Channel 13 of the peasant vision dial, before I had to go to bed. It was my introduction to Abbott and Costello, so much of it was lost on me. Even now though, when I see Abbott and Costello I think of Harvey Korman and Buddy Hackett.

Michele Lee would also have appearances in the ensemble series “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat”, before her career changed dramatically in 1979.

Off to the cul-de-sac
In 1979, CBS launched a mid-season replacement that was a spin-off of “Dallas”, the popular night-time drama. “Knots Landing” told the story of Gary Ewing, the third Ewing brother who, with wife Val, moved to a cul-de-sac in California.

Their neighbours were Sid Fairgate, played by Don Murray, and his wife Karen, played by Michele Lee. Gary would soon go to work for Sid at his used car dealership. Karen became Val’s best friend, a relationship that endured through all the trials and tribulations any soap opera can unleash.

Over time, Sid died and Karen met a federal prosecutor named Mack MacKenzie, played by Kevin Dobson. They would marry and become one of the cornerstones of the series.

The plot I will always remember is when Karen is diagnosed with cancer and, after treatment, must have surgery. However, she could be paralyzed in the process. I remember the climatic scene well. Karen is awake, but cannot speak. The doctor is going to test the feeling in her legs by scratching her foot. If she feels anything she is to open her eyes wide. He scratches, the camera zooms in on Karen’s face and, after a beat, she opens her eyes. It was awesome.

Over time, I lost track of “Knots Landing”, as I got into video games, computers, music and friends.

Ultimately, the show ran longer than “Dallas”. “Knots Landing” ran from 1979 to 1993 for a total of 14 seasons and 344 episodes.

Michele Lee sure had staying power. She was the only actor to appear in every episode of “Knots Landing”.

Her on-screen chemistry with Kevin Dobson and Joan Van Ark, who played Val Ewing, was just awesome.

For her efforts, Lee was nominated for an Emmy in 1982 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won Soap Opera Digest Awards for Favourite Super Couple on a Primetime Serial in 1986 and 1988; and Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role Prime Time in 1988, 1991, and 1992. She was also was nominated again in 1986.

The years after
Michele Lee rounded out the ‘80s with roles in the television movies “A Letter to Three Wives” in 1985 and “Single Women Married Men” in 1989.

She would continue on acting in television movies including “Broadway Bound”, a sequel to “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Biloxi Blues”; “When No One Would Listen”, about domestic abuse starring opposite James Farentino; “Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story” as Dottie West; “Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-sac”, a sequel released in 1997; “Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story”, as Jacqueline Susann; and much more.

Lee reunited with her “Knots Landing” cast mates in 2005 for “Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again”, to look back on the series.

She also appeared in guest spots in shows such as “Miss Match”, opposite Alicia Silverstone; “Married to the Kellys”; “Will and Grace”; “Family Guy”; and movies such as “Along Came Polly”.

Lee’s last appearances on TV were in 2013 with guest spots in “See Dad Run” and “How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)”. She also appeared on stage in a production of “Wicked” in 2015 .

Michele Lee was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.

Parting thoughts
Karen MacKenzie is one of the few roles that spanned the entire decade of the ‘80s, starting in the '70s and running into the early ‘90s.

Michel Lee’s run as Karen MacKenzie was long and distinguished, and career defining. Her on-screen chemistry with her co-stars such as Kevin Dobson and Joan Van Ark was very strong, which is a tribute to her talent as an actor as well.

When I first saw Michele Lee on “Knots Landing”, all I could think was “The Love Bug”. Now, when I see her all I can think is “Knots Landing”.

Legislature fountains: Cruising the Summer of ‘89

The fountain on the grounds of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton.

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/new-river-water-feature-open-at-alberta-legislature/

(May be subject to copyright)

Edmonton has a lot of interesting things to see. As I spent more time in the city, I got off campus more and more and saw some of those things, that wasn’t always that well known.

In the summer of 1989, I had a really neat night. It took me to the grounds of the Alberta legislature and into the fountains where everyone could take a dip.

A news release crossed my inbox today, announcing the fountains at the legislature were opening soon. It took me back to that night in the summer of 1989 that still brings a smile to my face when I think about it.

Summer of ‘89
After my first year of university, I went home, back to the farm in the summer of 1988. It was not a bad summer per se, as I did spend the first part re-connecting with my high school friends, going to the bar because I was now of legal age, and just de-compressing from a full year of school and student life.

In fact, I used to joke that, a month after my final exams, I still hadn’t finished all my reading.

However, the overriding feeling was that I no longer wanted to be on the farm. I loved university and residence life, and was itching to get back there.

I recall walking on a path, between graineries at the west end of this greenhouse property I worked at. I told myself I was not coming back to the farm the next summer.

So, as my second year of school wound down, and the summer of 1989 approached, I determined to stay in Edmonton. I ended up living in res for the summer, going to both spring and summer sessions of school and, most importantly, hanging out with my friends.

It ended up, to this day, being one of the best summers I have ever had.

Res in the summer
One of the cool parts I discovered about living in res in the summer was it was the place people went, when they came to university in the summer time. Because res rented rooms by the night, week and month, some just stayed there for a few days. Some extended that to a month or the rest of the summer. Others just stopped by to see what was going on.

That went not only for people coming from out of town, but also people who lived in Edmonton in the summer.

One day, two people came by who would give me a night to remember.

Visitors
In my second year of university, I had moved into student leadership as floor coordinator for the fifth floor in Kelsey Hall. There are 10 floors in Kelsey Hall, and the 10 coordinators made up hall council, which was chaired by the hall vice-president. The hall vice-president was elected by the students in the hall at the end of the previous school year. Joselynne Scoble had been the hall vice-president when I was a floor coordinator, and had become a good friend. At the end of the year, I ran for hall vice-president and won. So, during that summer of 1989, I also had this added layer, where people sometimes came by to talk to me about the upcoming school year.

One of the requirements of being vice president of Kelsey Hall was living in the “VP room”. It was in its own wing with its own bathroom, including a shower, and there was an office across the hall. It was located on the first floor of the building, called Main Kelsey. Consequently, that was the floor the hall vice president hung out on.

Stephanie Gillis was a first year on Main Kelsry in that 1988-1989 school year. I came to know her because I had a class with her, and she liked one of the guys on my floor. As the year progressed, I actually got to know some of the people on Main K and spent more time down there. It actually made moving there when I was elected Hall VP a much easier transition.

Anyway, I got to know Steph better, and watched as she actually ran for the crown of Miss Edmonton Eskimo.

One summer night, Joselynne and Stephanie came to visit.

Cruising
Joselynne had a car, which was surprisingly rare back then for students, and we ended up going for a drive. I recall Jos driving and Steph running the stereo. As we cruised through the streets all around Edmonton, I remember Steph saying, “We’ve got a lot of music to get through.”

It may have been the first time, I really got to see a lot of that part of Edmonton, as we drove down through the river valley, saw parks, and various neighbourhoods.

Suddenly, looming before us, was the Alberta legislature. I had seen it in the distance, and passed it by, but never had a chance to stop, much less pay a visit to it.

I asked if we could stop and have a look.

Jos and Steph were all in. We got a parking spot and approached it from the rear. There was this wide open space with a fountain and kind of a wading pond that was no more than a foot, or maybe two high.

And there were people everywhere. Many were jumping through the streams of water in the air flying from the fountain.

“Let’s go,” Jos said, as she grabbed my hand.

We went running into the fountain, through the water streaming down, and out the other side. It was surprisingly warm, but Edmonton did get pretty hot some days in the summer.

I recall at one point wading in the water, and Jos grabbing my hand to get up.

We ended up walking around, and really just enjoying the night. Edmonton is far enough further north from where I grew up in Southern Alberta that summer nights are noticeably longer and it stays light much later.

This was one of those nights.

It was really cool.

We wandered around, I think just as much to dry out as anything, before we got back in the car.

Then, just as soon as the night began it was over.

Parting thoughts
That was one of the coolest experiences of that period of my life. The legislature had been more of an idea to me than anything, something I saw on TV. I never imagined I could actually visit it in person.

Although I never actually went inside, that was my first visit to the grounds.

Yet, that was a minor part of the whole experience. What really sticks out is going on a bit of an adventure with some friends.

It was spontaneous, and fun, and something I really should do more of as an adult.

Joe Penny: Remembering “Riptide”

Joe Penny played private investigator Nick Ryder in "Riptide" from 1984 to 1986.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/mkswa/joe-penny/

(May be subject to copyright)

There was a point in my life where one of my favourite shows centred on two private investigators who share a house boat, a beaten up old helicopter and the friendship of a nerd, decades before “The Big Bang Theory” made that cool.

When I was in junior high, I used to look forward to watching “Riptide” every week, and sharing the adventures of Nick, Cody and Murray.

Nick was played by Joe Penny, who was actually in a few shows I really liked back in the ‘80s.

It’s his birthday today, and a good chance to look back on his career.

Familiar face
As it turns out, I had seen Joe Penny before “Riptide”. Back in 1981, I stumbled on this show on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial called “The Gangster Chronicles”. It was about three gangsters Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, played by Michael Nouri; Michael Lasker, played by Brian Benben; and Benny Siegel, played Joe Penny. It was strange because these three gangsters were the good guys. This show also spurred my curiosity in gangsters. Only later did I discover the criminal activity Luciano, Siegel and Meyer Lansky, who Michael Lasker was based on, were really involved in.

It was still a cool show, that made me want to learn more about gangsters.

Initially, I thought it was cancelled after one season and 13 episodes. That belief was reinforced by the fact I recall reading in “TV Guide” a list of cancelled television shows for a particular season, and “The Gangster Chronicles” was among them. However, upon further reading it seems “The Gangster Chronicles” was actually a 13-part miniseries.

In any event, Joe Penny was excellent as Benny Siegel.

The early years
In those early years, Penny appeared in feature films such as “Our Winning Season”, “Bloody Birthday”, and “S.O.B.”, opposite Julie Andrews, Richard Mulligan, Robert Vaughn and others.

He was in a number of TV movies, and had guest spots on shows such as “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries”; “CHiPs”; “Mother, Juggs and Speed”; “Lou Grant”; “Paris”; “Flamingo Road”; “Vega$”; “Tucker’s Witch”; “Archie Bunker’s Place”; “Lottery!”; “Matt Houston“; and “T.J. Hooker”.

In 1983, he got his big break on network TV.

Riptide
It was Grade 9, early January of 1984, when some guys at school were talking about this movie they had seen on TV. Unlike many shows that would appear on cable and not air on peasant vision until weeks later, “Riptide” was on later in the week, on Channel 13, so I got a chance to see it.

“Riptide” started as a two-hour movie that became a mid-season replacement in the 1983-1984 season.

It was the kind of show I absolutely loved, especially that first season. Joe Penny plays Nick Ryder and Perry King plays Cody Allen, two Vietnam veterans who team up as private investigators, and live on a boat called “The Riptide”. They take on a third partner, Murray Bozinski, who is a computer programmer, expert on technology and supreme nerd. Nick and Cody served with him in Vietnam and, initially, they help him out. He then joins them as a third partner, offering all kinds of help cracking cases using technology, including this weird robot he created. They also ran afoul of the police on a regular basis and Lieutenant Quinlan in particular, played by Jack Ging.

The first season was just 14 episodes long, but I watched it regularly. There were some neat things about the show. Cody had a speed boat called the “Ebb Tide”. In the pilot, it gets stolen and Murray actually has to use a high-powered rifle to disable it. I remember Cody watching and wincing as Murray kept shooting. That scene also sticks out to me because, although Murray came off as a nerd, he was also a trained soldier.

Nick had this old helicopter called “The Screaming Mimi” that took some time to fire up, but proved useful.

Another funny bit from that first season was a joke. Murray asks Nick, “What do you call 1.7? A piece of pie.” Nick didn’t get it. A waitress comes up, and Nick tells her the joke, not expecting her to get it either, but she laughs too. It was kind of a reversal of roles because Nick and Cody were always trying to make Murray more “cool” and less nerdy.

Our Grade 9 science teacher, Mr. Matson, actually saw the episode on cable before it came on peasant vision and told us the joke in class. A few days later I saw it for myself.

The show also had these on-going inside jokes. One was that Murray always punched with his thumb inside his fist, and always broke it. Another was that Nick and Cody kept score of the number of broken noses each one had. Murray soon joins in with one of his own.

The show was written by Stephen J. Cannell, who is another one of my heroes like John Hughes. What inspiried me about Cannell’s projects was the number of shows he created, and the characters all battled crime in some manner. In addition to “Riptide”, there was “Greatest American Hero”; “The A-Team”; “Hunter”; “Hardcastle and McCormick”; “Stingray”; “21 Jump Street”; and a few other minor ones. Many also had connections to the Vietnam War which is another interest of mine.

Sadly, over time Channel 13 sporadically aired “Riptide” and, by its third season, I was going out more and just lost touch with the show. I do have all three seasons on DVD though.

“Riptide” lasted three seasons, airing from 1984 to 1986 for a total of 58 episodes. It initially benefitted from being on the same night as “The A-Team”, which was very popular initially. But, when it began to sag, so did “Riptide”.

However, Joe Penny would not be out of work very long.

Jake and the Fatman
Penny had guest spots in “Matlock” and “The Twilight Zone” as well as three TV movies including “Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star”, before he landed another starring role in a TV series.

This time he starred with William Conrad in “Jake and the Fatman”. Conrad played J.L. “Fatman” McCabe, a district attorney, while Penny played Jake Styles, a special investigator.

“Jake and the Fatman” ran for five seasons from 1987 to 1992 for a total of 106 episodes.

For whatever reason, I never saw an episode of this show and, like “Riptide”, it's in my wheelhouse.

The years after
Joe Penny kept working until 2016. He appeared in TV shows such as “Touched by an Angel”; “Diagnosis: Murder”; “Twice in a Lifetime”; “Walker, Texas Ranger”; “Chicken Soup for the Soul”; “The Sopranos”; “Boomtown”; “7th Heaven”; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”; “Days Of Our Lives”; “CSI: Miami”; and “Cold Case”. He also appeared in some feature films and a lot of TV movies, including the “Jane Doe” films with Lea Thompson.

Parting thoughts
Whenever I think of Joe Penny, I will always think of “Riptide”. That first season was just really good television, and something I aspired to writing. I still do. It had all the elements I find interesting – humour; the connection to the Vietnam War; team building; and detective work.

And Joe Penny was a big part of that.

Remembering Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland as the evil warden in "Lock Up" in 1989.
Source: https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Warden_Drumgoole
(May be subject to copyright)

When I heard Donald Sutherland had died a few days ago, what immediately came to mind were things like “M*A*S*H”, “Animal House”, his narration of “Heart of Gold”, “A Time to Kill”, and him sitting in the same seat rooting on the Montreal Expos during their playoff run in 1981.

Then my spouse said, “So President Snow died.”

She recently introduced me to “The Hunger Games” and the chilling performance of Donald Sutherland as the president of a dystopic, futuristic society.

It just made me think how prolific, and well known, Donald Sutherland truly was.

The years before
Donald Sutherland’s first credited role in a motion picture was “Castle of the Living Dead” in 1964. He would appear in a number of movies in the 1960s and 1970s including “The Dirty Dozen”; and “M*A*S*H”, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role as Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce. Sutherland was also in “Start the Revolution Without Me”; “”Kelly’s Heroes”; “Klute”; “S*P*Y*S”: “The Day of the Locust”; “The Eagle Has Landed”; “The Kentucky Fried Movie”; “Animal House”; “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”; “The First Great Train Robbery”; “Murder by Decree”; and much more.

He appeared in a number of TV movies and series as well, including “The Saint”; “Court Martial”; “The Avengers”; and the TV movie “Bethune” in 1977.

Dawn of the decade
He continued on in the ‘80s with “Ordinary People” in 1980, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.

Sutherland was also in “Eye of the Needle” in 1981; “Max Dugan Returns” in 1983; “Crackers” in 1984; “Revolution” in 1985; “The Trouble With Spies”and “The Rosary Murders” in 1987; “Apprentice to Murder” in 1988; “A Dry White Season” and “Lock Up”, both in 1989; and much more.

The years after
Donald Sutherland just kept chugging right along, and had a bit of a renaissance in the 1990s and beyond.

He was in movies such as “Bethune: The Making of a Hero”; “JFK”; “Backdraft”; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”; “Six Degrees of Separation”; “Disclosure”; “Outbreak”; “Hollow Point”; “A Time to Kill”; “Without Limits”, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture; “The Assignment”; “Virus”; “”Instinct”; “Space Cowboys”; “The Art of War”; “Cold Mountain”; “Pride and Prejudice”; “Fool’s Gold”; “Astro Boy”; “The Con Artist”; “The Hunger Games”; “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”; “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”; “Forsaken”; “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” and many more.

His last movie was in 2023.

Sutherland was also in a lot of television productions including the TV movie “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All”; and “Citizen X”, for which he won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special, and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Television.

He was in “Path to War”, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Television; “Commander in Chief”, for 19 episodes, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Television; and “Human Trafficking”, for four episodes, for which he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, and for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.

Sutherland also appeared in “Dirty Sexy Money” for 23 episodes, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Television; “The Undoing”, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Television; and much more.

He was made an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1978 and raised to Companion in 2019; inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2000; received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011; and received an Honourary Academy Award in 2017.

Donald Sutherland died on June 20.

He was 88 years old.

Parting thoughts
Donald Sutherland was a talented, prolific, Canadian actor. From “The Dirty Dozen”, to “M*A*S*H”, “Animal House”, “Backdraft”, “JFK”, “A Time to Kill”, and “The Hunger Games” movies, he was a versatile actor who could be serious to the point of chilling, or just funny.

Canada lost a national treasure with the passing of Donald Sutherland.

Remembering Willie Mays

Willie Mays with the New York Giants in 1955.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays

(May be subject to copyright)

It sounds a little bit like a Tragically Hip song, but I first got to know about Willie Mays from a baseball card. It was an issue of “Inside Sports”, and George Vecsey wrote this amazing article on baseball cards, their value, and what role they played in his own life, especially as a child. This was back in the early 1980s, before the big sports card craze.

In that article, Vecsey talked about some of the most valuable cards, such as the 1910 Honus Wagner card and – Willie Mays’ rookie card.

That was when I began to learn about someone who, although I never saw him play the game other than in highlights, I consider to be the greatest player of all time.

Willie Mays passed away a few days ago, and my mind went back to the beginning, when I was just starting out as a baseball fan and student of the game.

His story
That magazine article George Vecsey wrote also had an interesting anecdote. A collector was willing to buy that Willie Mays rookie card even though it had been folded at one point and had a crease down the middle. I get that the collector was paying for the card, because of its value. Yet, that card would have no value if it weren’t for the prestige of Willie Mays and the career he had.

Over time I came to learn more about Willie Mays. He was called the “Say Hey Kid”, and he started his career in the Negro Baseball Leagues, so we don’t know what his actual stats would have been, had he played all his time in Major League Baseball.

I also read several articles in sports magazines about him. He played the bulk of his career with the New York Giants, accompanying them on their move west to San Francisco. He ended his career in New York, but with the relatively recent expansion team the New York Mets.

There are a few things that I read that stood out in defining why I think he is the greatest baseball player of all time. Essentially, he could do it all, excelling with the glove and the bat.

Perhaps his greatest defensive play occurred in the 1954 World Series. Cleveland’s Vic Wertz hit a deep fly ball to straight away centre field, in the direction of Mays. The outfielder got a bead on the ball and made a spectacular over the shoulder catch. What is less celebrated is the fact Mays doubled off the base runner, as well, for a double play.

Offensively, the statistic that stands out is his career total of 660 home runs. At the time he retired, they were third all time in the ‘80s, behind only Hank Aaron and his 755 home runs, and Babe Ruth with his 714 home runs.

The stats
His numbers are legendary. He had a career batting average of .301; he had 3,293 hits; 1,909 runs batted in; 339 stolen bases; and the aforementioned 660 home runs.

He was a 24-time all-star; was the 1951 National League rookie of the year; the National League most valuable player in 1954 and 1965; a 12-time Gold Glove award winner; National League batting champion in 1954; led the National League in home runs in 1955, 1962, 1964, and 1965; led the National League in stolen bases in 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1959; and led the Giants to a World Series championship in 1954 and another appearance in 1962 where they lost to the New York Yankees.

He was the classic five-tool player – hit for power; hit for average; glove; arm; and steal bases.

He retired after the New York Mets’ appearance in the 1973 World Series, where they lost to Oakland.

Willie Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1979.

Silver screen
There is one last reference to Willie Mays in the ‘80s that sticks with me.

In 1989, I went to see a movie that instantly became one of my favourite movies of all time and has remained that way. It was called “Major League” and followed the exploits of the Cleveland Indians whose owner wants to make them so bad, their attendance will drop to the point she can move the team to Miami. In the process, the coaches and players have ideas of their own.

One of those players, played by a very young Wesley Snipes, was Willie Mays Hayes. He was so named because he played like Mays but ran like Hayes.

Parting thoughts
I used to get into these discussions with a couple friends of mine about who is the greatest player of all time. I always asserted it was Willie Mays because he was the consummate five tool player, and he could do it all.

He hit for average, hit for power, could throw out runners, had exceptional range in the outfield, and could steal bases.

In my mind, the Say Hey Kid is the greatest player of all time, precisely because he is so good offensively and defensively.

John Taylor: Duran Duran Days

Junior high can be a strange time, and being a young teen can make you do strange things. I immediately disliked Duran Duran for two simple reasons – some of the girls in my class worshipped the ground they walked on to the point of nausea – well mine anyway – and because my cousin liked them. See same reason.

Yet, as I actually listened to their music, it grew me on me. They were pretty prolific and definitely form a part of the tapestry of music in the ‘80s for me.

It was band member John Taylor’s birthday yesterday, offering a good chance to look back on the career of Duran Duran.

In the beginning
John Taylor and his buddy Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in 1978, and slowly assembled the band that would include Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and lead singer Simon Le Bon.

Their debut album “Duran Duran” came out in 1981. They released four singles, but none charted in North America, although “Girls on Film” peaked at number five in the United Kingdom,

It was their second album where I first encountered the music of Duran Duran.

Rio
I always liked the titles of Duran Duran’s albums and songs. They just seemed really neat, creative and provocative. I also heard they thought up the videos first then wrote the songs to go with them. At first I thought that was kind of selling out. Yet as I thought more about it, an artist gets their inspiration wherever they want. It is my choice to listen or not to listen.

So, first in my cousin’s bedroom, then the radio and video shows on television, I chose to listen to Duran Duran.

Their second album, “Rio”, came out in 1982. The first single was “Hungry Like the Wolf”, which was their breakout song. “Hungry Like the Wolf” had a really good accompanying video – which was not a surprise. It went all the way to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and peaked at number one in Canada.

“Save a Prayer”, which is one of my favourite Duran Duran songs, came out next, but did not chart in either Canada or the United States, which I found surprising.

Their final single from “Rio” was the title track, which also seemed to get a lot of air play and peaked at number three in Canada, and got as high as number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Looking back, with all the air play I thought Duran Duran was getting, I thought they would have had more chart success in the States. However, it did seem to translate to that in Canada.

The band released another album entitled “Duran Duran” in the United States in 1983. It produced one single, “Is There Something I Should Know?” which peaked at number three in Canada and at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

That set the stage for their next albums, which were big hits.

Chart topping
In 1983, Duran Duran released “Seven and the Ragged Tiger”, an album with one of the coolest names I have ever heard. The first single had the equally cool title “Union of The Snake”. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number two in Canada.

The second single was “New Moon on Monday”, another favourite of mine, that went all the way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 14 in Canada.

“The Reflex” was the final single released off “Seven and the Ragged Tiger”, and became their biggest hit to that point, going all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three in Canada. I still like the opening line, with Simon LeBon singing “The Reflex” and the word just seems to echo for a beat.

Live in concert
In 1984, I really started getting into music, when I was transitioning from Grade 9 and junior high to high school. That is why I associate all the Duran Duran songs up to this point with junior high and the drama it can entail.

When I started getting into music, and listening to the radio regularly, Duran Duran had a new song come out. “The Wild Boys” peaked at number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian charts. I heard it was from the album “Arena”, and just discovered that was not a studio album, but a live album. “The Wild Boys” was the only new release, and it was a good one.

Between albums
Duran Duran released a couple singles between albums in 1985.

They re-released “Save a Prayer”, which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 17 in Canada. That explains why I thought it did a lot better, because I was hearing it on its second release.

The band also wrote “A View to a Kill”, the theme song for the latest James Bond movie of the same name. “A View to a Kill” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and in Canada, making it the only theme song from a James Bond movie to hit number one.

Notorious
Duran Duran released “Notorious”, their next studio album, in 1986. The title track and debut single went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 10 in Canada.

They did not have another top 20 single from that album, and I pretty much lost track of them after that.

They did have two more singles “Skin Trade”, which went to number 39, and “Meet El Presidente”, which went to number 70.

Duran Duran would put out two more albums in the 1980s, but I didn’t hear either of them. They also had one more hit, “I Don’t Want Your Love”, which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

The years after
Duran Duran kept on writing, recording and performing into the 90s and beyond. The one song I remember is “Ordinary World”, from 1992, which peaked at number one in Canada and number three on the Billboard Hot 100. They would have one more top 10 single to date, “Come Undone”, which peaked at number two in Canada and number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

John Taylor left Duran Duran in 1997, to pursue a solo career and acting, while the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

You got the power
After recording “A View to a Kill” in 1985, Duran Duran took a break. John Taylor and Andy Taylor went off to form the Power Station, but that’s another story.

Parting thoughts
Teenage life makes you do strange things. I didn’t like Duran Durn for a long time, strictly because of the people who listened to them. It had nothing to do with their music.

Not that Duran Duran knew, or cared about a teenager in Coaldale, because they kept putting out music that kept getting solid air play on the radio.

That music is another part of the tapestry of the sound track of the ‘80s.

And John Taylor was there the whole time playing bass.

Martin Landau: Like fine wine, getting better with age

Martin Landau in his Oscar-nominated role in "Tucker: Th Man and His Dream" in 1988.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/characters/nm0001445/

(May be subject to copyright)

When the calendar flipped to 1999, for the briefest of moments I had the thought, “I sure hope the moon doesn’t break its orbit and go hurtling into space.”

After all, during the early part of the 1980s, I used to tune in to CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial to watch the latest adventures of Commander John Koenig on “Space:1999”. It was set in the near future on Moon Base Alpha, where the moon had been used to dump radioactive waste. Ultimately, it reached a critical mass and exploded with such force it dislodged the moon from its orbit around Earth and sent it reeling into space.

Martin Landau played Commander John Koenig, but he had an interesting and prolific career beyond his time on Moon Base Alpha.

It is the late actor’s birthday today, and a good time to look back at his career.

The years before
Martin Landau had a prolific career before “Space: 1999”, with roles in both film and television.

He appeared in motion pictures such as “North by Northwest”; “Cleopatra”; “The Greatest Story Ever Told”; “They Call me Mr. Tibbs!”; “Meteor”; and many more.

On television, he was in two separate episodes of “Gunsmoke”; two separate episodes of “The Twilight Zone”; “Wagon Train”; “Bonanza”; “The Rifleman”; two separate episodes of “The Outer Limits; “The Defenders”; “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour”; “I Spy’; “The Wild Wild West”; “The Big Valley”; “Branded”; “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”; “Get Smart”; “Columbo”; and much more

He made his deepest mark with a stint on “Mission: Impossible” from 1966 to 1969 for 76 episodes. He played Rollin Hand, a master of disguise. Playing alongside him was Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter, a model and actress. They would also co-star in “Space: 1999”, and were married in real life. For his efforts in “Mission: Impossible”, Landau was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series all three years he was on the show. He also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama in 1967.

“Space: 1999” was actually on for two seasons and 48 episodes, from 1975 to 1977. I always thought it butted up against the ‘80s, but that is probably because CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial aired reruns for years and years.

Dawn of the decade
Landau would find a lot of work on television in the ‘80s and find success on the big screen as well. On television he would appear in TV movies such as “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” in 1981; and guest spots in series such as “Matt Houston”; “Hotel”; “Buffalo Bill”; “Murder, She Wrote”; “The Twilight Zone”; “Kung Fu: The Movie”; “Blacke’s Magic”; “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”; “The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman”; and more.

On the big screen, he appeared in a variety of movies, most not commercially successful, but hit it big with two to end the decade.

Dreamer
It was a movie that shone a light on an interesting character in the history of the automotive industry in the United States. “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”, released in 1988, looks at the life of Preston Tucker, played by Jeff Bridges, who tried to take on the Big Three auto makers in the 1950s with an innovative car of his own.

Landau played financier Abe Karatz. There is one scene that really sticks out. Tucker is being put through the wringer, and Karatz tells him, “I caught your dreams.” At one point he thought he said he’d caught his germs, but in fact being around the charismatic, idealistic, visionary Tucker he had caught his dreams. It was powerful and touching.

A few years later, I went to a leadership presentation put on by my friend Wayne Messner, and he used that exact clip to illustrate a point about leaders having vision.

For his efforts, Martin Landau was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”, and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

Criminal behaviour
Landau concluded the decade with another outstanding performance in the Woody Allen film “Crimes and Misdemeanors”. It received a lot of critical acclaim, and Landau received his second Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor.

Sadly, this movie came out when I was so involved with school and student leadership, I never did see it to this date.

The years after
Martin Landau just kept on acting in the ‘90s and beyond in film and television.

He was in a variety of movies before his career culminated with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He won for his role as Bela Lugosi in “Ed Wood” in 1994, a film about the legendary “B” movie director. He also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for the role.

In addition, Landau was in movies such as “Sliver”; “City Hall”; “The X-Files”; “Rounders”; “EDtv”; “The Majestic”; and much more. One of his last great roles was in “Remember” opposite Christopher Plummer. It is a Canadian movie about a Holocaust survivor who sets out to kill a Nazi war criminal in retaliation for the death of his family.

He did quite a lot of TV as well, including “Without a Trace”, for which he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2004 and 2005; “Entourage”, where he was nominated for an Emmy fot Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series; “In Plain Sight”; “The Simpsons”; and the TV movies “Have a Little Faith”; The Anna Nicole Story”; and “Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs”.

Martin Landau received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well.

He died in 2017 at the age of 89.

Parting thoughts
It’s funny. I was introduced to Martin Landau as the stern and serious John Koenig, commander of Moon Base Alpha in “Space: 1999”. Every time I saw him after that, it was what I thought of.

That all really changed with his role as Abe Karatz in “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”, and went from there.

Martin Landau really was like fine wine – he just got better with age.

Kevin Bacon: Dancing in the hallway

Kevin Bacon dancing in the 1984 movie "Footloose".

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/22/kevin-bacon-i-turned-down-

dancing-to-footloose-dressed-as-an-mm-my-wife-doesnt-like-it-when-food-talks

(May be subject to copyright)

It was something I had wanted to do for awhile. I had seen Kevin Bacon dance down this hallway from one end to another in clips from “Footloose”. He looked so cool.

So, one day in my first year of university in the Fall of 1987, I came back from class and there was no one around. I looked around to make sure.

My room was at one end of the hall, so I started humming “Footloose” and started dancing down the hall, banging off the walls, and doing leg kicks in the air until I hit the fire escape door at the other end of the hall. Then I did the same thing back to my room.

No one ever saw me.

Before the “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon”, there was just Kevin Bacon. It was during the 1980s that he began to make all those movies that connect him to the entire world.

His name came across my news feed the other day. It got me thinking back to when it all really started, and that iconic movie with him dancing in the hallway.

Prelude to a hit
For Kevin Bacon in the ‘80s, it all really begins and ends  with “Footloose”.

He had built himself a resumé by the time he got that role though. He made his big screen debut as Chip Diller in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” in 1978; then had roles in “Starting Over”; “Hero at Large”; “Friday the 13th”; “Only When I Laugh”; “Diner”; “Forty Deuce”; and “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute”.

He was also on television quite a bit with roles in “Search for Tomorrow”; “The Gift”; “Guiding Light”; “The Demon Murder Case”; and “Mister Roberts”.

Dancing in the hallway
Everything changed for Kevin Bacon in 1984 when he played Ren McCormack in “Footloose”. It tells the story of a town that has dancing banned, through the efforts of an overzealous minister, played by John Lithgow. McCormack comes along to lead the charge against that.

The movie was just as well-known for its soundtrack which produced hit after hit after hit. It started with “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins; “Let’s Hear it for the Boy”, by Deniece Williams; “Holding Out for a Hero”, by Bonnie Tyler; “Almost Paradise” by Ann Wilson and Mike Reno; and “Dancing in the Sheets” by Shalamar.

My first exposure to the movie was clips from the music videos, and shows that reviewed the movie.

I didn’t see it until later, but it did not disappoint.

Bicycle built for Bacon
Kevin Bacon’s next movie, “Quicksilver”, came out in 1986. I had seen a brief clip on “Entertainment Tonight” at the end of the year. It focused as much on the song “Quicksilver Lightning”, recorded by Roger Daltry for the movie, as the movie itself.

I ended up renting it one Friday night with my best friend Chris Vining after we finished a shift at the greenhouse we both worked at. Bacon plays a stockbroker who quits his job to become a bike messenger.

It had some moments I distinctly remember. At one point, he is explaining his job and the new sense of freedom it gives him. He said, “If someone tells me to go west, I go east.”

At another point, he is having a disagreement with his dad, played by Gerald S. O’Laughlin. He tells his dad that when he was stressed out and didn’t know what to do with his life, his dad offered to make him a sandwich. Maybe he was something other than hungry at the time?

Rest of the decade
Bacon finished out the 1980s with the movies “White Water Summer” and “End of the Line” in 1987; a part as a taxi racer in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, also in 1987; “She’s Having a Baby” in 1988; and “The Big Picture” in 1989.

I haven’t seen any of these movies, but I did see his final movie of the decade – “Criminal Law” in 1989.

It is a legal thriller that features Bacon and Gary Oldman. Oldman plays a win-at-all-costs defence attorney who gets a rich kid, played by Bacon, acquitted of murder, only to have the rich kid kill again. he retains the lawyer to defend him, even before he is charged.

I recall going to this movie in the theatre, likely with my friend Roy, who lived across the hall from me in my first year of university. Thankfully he didn’t see me dance in the hallway, because I blew right past his room. I distinctly recall “Criminal Law” had a lot of scenes at night that I found hard to follow.

The years after
Kevin Bacon really made a name for himself in the years after the close of the ‘80s appearing in a lot of great movies. They included “Tremors”; “Flatliners”; “He Said, She Said”; “A Few Good Men”; “The Air Up There”; “The River Wild”, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture; “Murder in the First”; “Apollo 13”; “Sleepers”; “Picture Perfect”; “Mystic River”; “Frost/Nixon”; “X-Men: First Class”; “Crazy, Stupid Love”; “R.I.P.D.”; “The Toxic Avenger”; “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”; and many, many more.

He was also in a television movie called “Taking a Chance”. He played a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marines, who accompanies the remains of a Marine killed in the Iraq War back to his hometown. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

Bacon received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Comedy or Musical for his role in the TV series “I Love Dick”.

In 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Parting thoughts
The whole game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” stems from the fact Kevin Bacon has been such a prolific actor in so many roles in movies and television.

I have enjoyed him in many of those roles yet, for me, it all started with “Footloose”, and Kevin Bacon dancing down a hallway.

Ron LeFlore: Making the most of a second chance

Ron FeFlorre in his one year with the Montreal Expos in 1980.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/danny7413/montreal-expos-tribute/

(May be subject to copyright)

There was a lot of excitement when Ron LeFlore joined the Montreal Expos for the 1980 season. He had been playing for the Detroit Tigers where he showed his speed in the field and on the base paths. That speed would make a team that was already fast, even faster.

The funny thing is, you haven’t really made it until a movie is made about you. After LeFlore joined the Expos, I discovered there was a movie about his life.

It starred LeVar Burton as LeFlore. He was best known to that point for his role in the blockbuster miniseries “Roots”.

It was then that I truly discovered what an interesting life Ron LeFlore had.

It was LeFlore’s birthday a couple days ago, providing the perfect opportunity to re-visit his story.

From jail to the big leagues
One of my favourite movies of all time is “Major League”. One of the characters, Ricky Vaughn, played by Charlie Sheen, joins the Cleveland Indians from jail, where he had pitched in the California Penal League.

It was treated like a joke, but that is exactly what happened to Ron LeFlore.

LeFlore got into trouble with the law from an early age. He started doing heroin, dropped out of high school and, ultimately, was arrested at the age of 15.

In 1970, he was convicted and sentenced to five to 15 years in jail for armed robbery.

The first organized baseball league he ever played was at the State Prison of Southern Michigan, also called Jackson State Penitentiary.

That’s where things changed for Ron LeFlore. A fellow inmate, had a friend who owned a sports bar that a lot of Detroit sports celebrities went to. He convinced his friend to talk to Detroit Tiger Manager Billy Martin about coming to watch LeFlore play.

Wikipedia reveals Martin visited Jackson State Prison on May 23, 1973. He liked what he saw, helping LeFlore get a day-pass to try out for the Tigers in June. In July of 1973, the Tigers signed LeFlore to a contract that also allowed him to meet the conditions of his parole.

He was assigned to the minors, playing for the Clinton Pilots of the Class A Midwest League. In 1974, he was assigned initially to the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A Florida State League, where he hit .331 and stole 45 bases in 102 games. He was promoted to the Evansville Triplets of the Triple A American Association, playing in nine games. LeFlore then got his call to “The Show”, from the Detroit Tigers. He finished the year playing 59 games for them, stealing 23 bases, and batting .260 with two home runs, 13 runs batted in, one triple and eight doubles.

For the next year, the 1975 season, he made the Tigers straight out of spring training.

Tiger by the tail
Ron LeFlore would play five seasons with the Detroit Tigers, establishing himself as one of the premiere base stealers of the time, setting marks that are still on the Tiger record books.

In 1975, he appeared in 136 games, stealing 28 bases, while batting .258 with 142 hits, including eight home runs, six triples, 13 doubles and 37 runs batted in.

The 1976 season saw LeFlore begin to assert himself on the base paths. In 135 games, he stole 58 bases, while batting .316 with 172 hits, including four home runs, eight triples, 23 doubles, and 39 RBIs. He also made the American League All-Star Team.

In 1977, LeFlore stole 39 bases, while batting .325 with 212 hits, including 16 home runs, 10 triples, 30 doubles and 57 RBIs.

LeFlore led the American League in stolen bases in 1978 with 68 in 155 games. He batted .297 with 198 hits, including 12 home runs, three triples, 30 doubles and a career-high 62 RBIs. He also led the American League with 126 runs scored.

He played his final season in Detroit in 1979, appearing in 148 games, stealing 78 bases, while batting .300 with 180 hits, including nine home runs, 10 triples, 22 doubles and 57 RBIs.

Going north
Ron LeFlore went north in 1980, joining Montreal, where he played his one and only season in the National League. The Tigers traded him to the Expos for pitcher Dan Schatzeder.

It was a career year for LeFlore, as he led the National League with a career-high 97 stolen bases in 139 games. He batted .257 with 134 hits, including four home runs, 11 triples, 21 doubles and 39 RBIs.

Wikipedia reveals those 97 stolen bases made him the fourth player in the National League since 1900 to have 95 or more stolen bases in a season. He joined Maury Wills, Lou Brock and Omar Moreno, who stole 96 bases that same year. LeFlore also finished third in the league in triples.

LeFlore would test the free agent market after the season, and headed back to the American League to finish his career.

The Windy City
LeFlore joined the Chicago White Sox to start the 1981 season, where his stats fell off dramatically. He suffered some injuries, appearing in just 82 games where he stole 36 bases, while batting .246 with 83 hits, including four triples and 10 doubles, but no home runs, and 24 RBIs.

He closed out his career after the 1982 season, where he played in 91 games, stealing 28 bases, and batting .287 with 96 hits, including four home runs, four triples, 15 doubles, and 25 RBIs.

Ron LeFlore failed to make the White Sox in the Spring of 1983, was released, and retired soon after. 

Interestingly, soon after it was discovered LeFlore was actually four years older than he previously said. Maybe that explained his rapid decline with the White Sox.

He finished his career playing in 1,099 games, stealing 455 bases, batting .288 overall, with 1,283 hits, including 59 home runs, 57 triples, 172 doubles, 353 RBIs, and 731 runs scored. Keep in mind, he batted lead-off or high in the order so he was expected to score runs, not drive them in.

TV movie
Ron LeFlore’s story is pretty amazing. In 1978, it was made into a TV movie called “One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story”. LeVar Burton, long before he donned the visor to play Geordi LaForge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, played Ron LeFlore, while Billy Martin played himself. It chronicled LeFlore’s rise from inmate at Jackson State Penitentiary to major league baseball player. The movie was based on LeFlore’s autobiography “Breakout: From Prison to the Big Leagues”.

Parting thoughts
There are so many inspiring stories in sports. So many are about overcoming adversity, whether it is circumstance, injury, or death. Others are about perseverance, sticking it out and achieving their goals.

Ron LeFlore’s story is a bit different. Quite frankly, he was a dirt bag. Battling heroin and alcohol addiction is one thing, but he carried a rifle to rob a bar. In this case, there was no wrongful conviction, racial profiling, or innocent man sent to jail. He committed a serious crime.

Here is where the story gets inspiring.

Not only did Ron LeFlore do his time, but he was offered the rarest of gifts – a second chance.

He took it, not only making the major leagues, but excelling at a high level.

Quite simply, for a six-year period, he was one of the best base stealers in the game.

Now that’s making the most of a second chance.

Joan Van Ark: Remembering Val Ewing

Joan Van ark, at left, with longtime co-star Ted Shackelford in "Knots Landing".

Source: https://people.com/joan-van-ark-didnt-want-ted-schakelford-knots-landing-11712100

(May be subject to copyright)

She was the loyal wife to the black sheep of a rich family. She stuck with him as he battled alcohol addiction, only to have him not only cheat on her, but marry his mistress.

Still, she soldiered on through other trials and tribulations for more than a decade. Through it all, Valene Ewing was always a character to watch.

It was Joan Van Ark’s birthday yesterday. She played Val Ewing for years on “Knot’s Landing”, and it was a wild ride, but not the only thing she did.

My three sons
We picked up watching “Dallas” in its second season, every Friday night at 9 p.m. on CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial.

It focused on the Ewing family, led by Jock Ewing who made his money in oil, and his wife Miss Ellie. At the outset of the show, he had two sons – J.R., the villain of the piece, doing whatever he had to, to get what he wanted, and Bobby, the good son who always was on the side of right. They were both married, and would have children. The other member of the Ewing family living at their massive Southfork Ranch, was Lucy Ewing. She was Jock and Miss Ellie’s granddaughter, and the niece of Bobby and J.R.

One thing we missed by not seeing the first season was that, in fact, there was a third Ewing son. Gary Ewing had been played by David Ackroyd, and his wife Val, was played by Joan Van Ark. They were Lucy’s mythical parents. I did eventually see that, in reruns that Channel 9 aired a few years later.

Gary reappeared on “Dallas” in the third season, this time played by Ted Shackleford. He was essentially the black sheep, loved by Bobby, loathed by J.R. and Miss Ellie’s favourite son. Ted Shackleford, who was fair haired and fair skinned, actually looked like he could be Miss Ellie’s son, unlike Ackroyd who looked more like his brothers.

In their first appearance, Gary and Val left because they could not be around the Ewing family. In their second appearance, when they left, it wasn’t to parts unknown.

It was to California and a cul-de-sac called Knot’s Landing.

Spin-off success
“Knot’s Landing”, a true spin-off of “Dallas”, debuted as a mid-season replacement in December of 1979, in the 1979-1980 season.

Early on “Knot’s Landing” was on channel 7 on the peasant vision dial, and I tried to watch every episode. Back then, things were not always as easy to find, especially with shows on Channel 7. Still, Gary and Val moved into that cul-de-sac and quickly made friends with their neighbours the Fairgates, played by Don Murray, and Michele Lee. She was best known at the time for appearing in a string of Disney movies. Gary also worked at a car dealership with Sid Fairgate.

I discovered I had missed an episode or two when I was staying over night at my Uncle Ed and Aunt Johanna’s place. Through a little recap at the start of the show, I learned the episode we were watching was a two-parter. I discovered Gary Ewing had relapsed into alcohol and Val put him in detox. In a heartbreaking scene, Val watches through a two-way mirror as the counselors asked him to choose between a bottle and a dime to call Val. He chose the bottle, took a gulp and cried out, “It’s tea.” That’s when Val committed him.

Again, I lost track of the show after that.

The trials and tribulations of Val Ewing
When I re-connected with “Knot’s Landing”, it was no longer on Channel 7 but moved to Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. I would watch it consistently after that until I went off to university in the Fall of 1987.

Through it, Val would be put through the ringer many times. Gary would stray in the cul-de-sac, cheating on Val with Sid’s divorced sister Abby Cunningham. She was played by the seductive Donna Mills, in all her thick make-up and shoulder pad glory. Gary and Val would ultimately divorce, and Gary would marry Abby. Gary and Val would get back together, long enough to produce twins, and Val too would re-marry a couple times. Her mother would come live with her, and a crazed brother, played by a very young Alec Baldwin. Val would also have an emotional breakdown at one point, losing her memory, wandering away from home, and becoming a vixen like Abby.

Through all these plot twists, I always remember Val riding an emotional roller coaster. One minute she would be frothing at the mouth mad, the next crying uncontrollably, then distant and depressed, then just hang-dog, then jumping for joy.

Joan Van Ark did a fantastic job bring depth and richness to Val Ewing.

She played Val Ewing for 13 of the 14 seasons “Knot’s Landing” was on the air, from 1979 to 1992. She appeared in the final two episodes of the series in 1993, and reprised her role in the miniseries “Knot’s Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac” in 1997. She was also in an episode of the reboot of “Dallas” in 2013.

For her efforts, she won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Actress in 1986 and 1989, and was nominated six other times.

The years before
Joan Van Ark built up quite a resumé by the time she landed the role of Val Ewing.

She appeared in “Peyton Place”; “The Mod Squad”; “Bonanza”; “Gun Smoke”; “Hawaii Five-O”; “Days Of Our Lives”; two separate episodes of “The F.B.I.”; “Dan August”; “The Bold Ones: The New Doctors”; “Love, American Style”; “Night Gallery”; “Temperatures Rising”, for 26 episodes; “Mannix”; “Barnaby Jones”; “The Six Million Dollar Man”; “Petrocelli”; two separate episodes of “The Rockford Files”; “Cannon”; “Great Performances”; “Rhoda”; “Kojak”; “McMillan”, which had been “McMillan and Wife”; “We’ve Got Each Other”, for 13 episodes; “Quincy”; “Wonder Woman”; a special episode of “M*A*S*H”, where she played a nurse Hawkeye wanted to marry; four separate episodes of “The Love Boat”; and much more.

The years after
She also kept working after “Knot’s Landing”, appearing in a number of television movies, as well as episodes of “Touched by an Angel”; “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”; “The Nanny”; “Twice in a Lifetime”; 54 episodes of “The Young and the Restless”; “My Name is Earl”; “Nip/Tuck”; and more.

Her last appearance was in an episode of “Doom Patrol” in 2019.

Parting thoughts
Joan Van Ark’s signature role was Val Ewing in “Knot’s Landing”. It is one of those rare cases where a character, and a show spanned the entire decade of the ‘80s, and beyond.

In that time, Joan Van Ark not only brought Val Ewing to life, but explored every corner of her character and personality. There was one particular plot that showcased her talents. Her twins are abducted, and Val has an emotional break. She wrote novels and, after the loss of her twins, she evolves into the character of one of those novels. I recall one particular moment where she dressed to kill, went to a bar, and was flirting with the local men. It reminded me of Abby Cunningham. Ultimately, in that episode, Val runs afoul of the girlfriends of those men and gets in a cat fight. However, at season’s end, her twins are found and she returns to being herself.

Wikipedia reveals the climax of that plot was the only time “Knot’s Landing” hit number one in the weekly Nielsen’s ratings.

That demonstrates the talent of Joan Van Ark.