Jerry Van Dyke: Remembering "Coach's" assistant

Jerry Van Dyke in his iconic role as Luther Van Dam
in the sitcom "Coach".
Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/
ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES VIA GETTY IMAGES
(May be subject to copyright)

One minute he could be the bumbling incompetent assistant football coach, putting his team’s championship hopes in jeopardy. The next minute he’s the savvy analyst, spying something to help his team win.

Such was the life and times of Luther Van Dam, assistant coach to Hayden Fox, head coach of the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles then the Orlando Breakers in the durable sitcom “Coach”.

Luther was played by Jerry Van Dyke, by far his signature role, and one he played from 1989 to 1997.

When he died awhile back, I was reminded of how good an actor he was – much more than just Dick Van Dyke’s younger brother.

The dawn of the decade
As the 1980s opened, Jerry Van Dyke was firmly entrenched as a supporting actor. His most notable role was as Rob Petrie’s brother Stacey in “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. So real life brother played character’s brother.

He continued in guest roles throughout the decade, appearing in, “House Calls”, “Fantasy Island”, “The Love Boat”, “Newhart”, and the miniseries, “Fresno”.

Then on Feb. 28, 1989, Jerry Van Dyke played Luther Van Dam opposite Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox in the first episode of "Coach".

The show would go on to a long, healthy run, wrapping up with its 200th and final episode on May 14, 1997.

Assistant to “Coach”
Luther Van Dam was a lifelong bachelor who struggled with self-confidence off the field but was a defensive genius on the field. He loved food, with a seemingly bottomless stomach, and he had a dog, a loveable schlep named “Quincy”.

He could be bumbling and seemingly incompetent, always getting Coach Fox into strange situations, but he always found a way out.

The best example was when the Screaming Eagles were preparing for the Pioneer Bowl and a chance at the national championship. Absent-mindedly Luther leaves the team’s playbook for the other team to find. They then expose it on national TV. Yet, after suffering a concussion, and missing most of the game, he is watching the game on TV and spots something. It is a tendency the other team has that will help the Screaming Eagles win. He madly scrambles to get the information to Hayden and does in the nick of time. It helps the Screaming Eagles go on to win the national championship.

That epitomizes Luther Van Dam to a tee.

As seen on TV
I have to admit, I did not see one episode of “Coach” in the ‘80s. Instead, it was after I returned home from university in the spring of 1991 that I got hooked on “Coach” watching re-runs. It was the first time my parents had cable TV. Since then, I caught up on much of it five or six years ago when City-TV aired re-runs two at a time on weeknights. I filled in a lot of the blanks for the first three seasons watching “Coach” on DVD. After that, I bought the entire DVD collection, which sits in my office now, waiting for me to fill in the rest of the blanks.

Parting thoughts
Jerry Van Dyke had a prolific career that just touched the 1980s.

It is interesting that he was able to appear in a variety of different shows with his more famous brother Dick Van Dyke including “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, “The New Dick Van Dyke Show”, and “Diagnosis: Murder”. Dick even made an uncredited appearance in “Coach”.

Jerry Van Dyke would go on to have a chance to star in TV shows such as, “My Mother the Car”, but none were successful. Instead, he became a great supporting actor, all through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st Century. He would guest star in everything from “Teen Angel” and “Yes, Dear” to “My Name is Earl”, “The Millers”, and “The Middle”.

Jerry Van Dyke was able to carve out a place and a name in television history of his own.

It would have been easy to be over the top playing Luther as a bumbler and idiot, but Jerry Van Dyke gave a layered performance. Just when Luther appeared to be clued out, he would do something to help out Hayden or one of the other characters. He was often the voice of reason when Hayden freaked out.

Luther Van Dam was a memorable character, one that Jerry Van Dyke got to explore for 200 episodes. For his efforts, Van Dyke was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Luther Van Dam in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.

That is quite a run.

David Ogden Stiers: Better than Burns, friend and foil

David Ogden Stiers in his signature role
as Charles Emerson Winchester III in "M*A*S*H".
Source: https://www.advocate.com/
(May be subject to copyright)

What started out as a role to replace the bad guy on "M*A*S*H" turned into a multi-layered character, who was as much friend as foil to Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Honneycutt.

But there was much more to the career of David Ogden Stiers.

I was reminded of him recently when we watched “Doc Hollywood” and he played Mayor Nick Nicholson.

Pre-history
Although I only discovered it in re-runs, David Ogden Stiers had a continuing role in the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” as the manager of the TV station Mary worked at. He was Lou Grant’s boss. He also had a stutter when he was under pressure.

My outstanding memory was how different he sounded on that show, compared to "M*A*S*H" where he spoke with almost an English accent. Only later did I discover it was an upper class Boston twang.

Charles Emerson Winchester III
The career of David Ogden Stiers changed forever when he joined the cast of “M*A*S*H” as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, a Boston bred, graduate of Harvard medical school who was railroaded into being stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.

Initially, he was cast as a new foil for the barbs and jokes of the show’s protagonists Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Honeycutt.

However that would change.

More than the butt of jokes
I have several memories of Winchester, but a few stand out that illustrate how different his relationship was with the surgeons he shared a tent with.

Nothing stupid
One involved a soldier who came to the 4077th with an injury and a stutter. He was the butt of jokes from his fellow soldiers who mocked his stutter and called him Porky Pig. Even his commanding officer blamed him for getting everyone shot. They all made it clear they thought he was stupid.

Winchester overheard all this and lashed out at them all, saving the bulk of his wrath for the commanding officer, who was lower in rank than Winchester. He even threatened to put him on report.

Later he approaches the soldier and tells him stuttering has nothing to do with intelligence. The soldier doesn’t believe Winchester. That’s why he reads nothing but comic books. Later, Winchester gives him some books, including “Moby Dick”. The soldier admits, to Winchester’s surprise, he knows “Moby Dick”. How? He had read the classic comic book. Both of them laugh.

One of the on-going parts of Winchester’s life is the tapes he records and sends to his sister Onoria. At the end of this episode, we hear him listen to a tape from her for the first time.

She has a stutter.

The music is the thing
In another episode, Winchester recognizes a patient as a world-class pianst. He is horrified to see the soldier has his arm amputated, destroying his musical career.

Winchester does some research and discovers music written for one hand. He shows this to the pianist who rejects it outright, saying he cannot play a few gimmick pieces written for a freak.

Winchester tells him he has two good hands and will never be a good pianist. He can make a scalpel sing on the surgical table, but he will never make the kind of music that pianist can. It is not in the hands, it comes from the heart and mind.

At the end of the episode, the pianist does try the piece Winchester gave him – and he is amazing.

Tables turned
Hawkeye and BJ plan a practical joke where Winchester loses his pants in the operating room. No one thinks it’s funny and everyone blames Hawkeye. Only in private does BJ laugh too, but demurs when Hawkeye mentions BJ had a hand in the joke too. By this time, the whole camp has sided with Winchester, making life tough for Hawkeye. Hawkeye decides to make things right, by pulling a prank on himself and making everyone think Winchester pulled it to get even.

Hawkeye is supposed to sit on a chair with glue on it at the Officers’ Club. He even maneuvers Winchester into the chair, only to realize too late that Winchester sat in the chair with glue and not Hawkeye. Hawkeye is now in even hotter water with everyone at the camp.

Shortly thereafter he learns from Igor at the Officers’ Club that BJ was behind both pranks. He told Igor to switch the chairs.

So, in a scene we never would have seen with Frank Burns, Hawkeye convinces Winchester that BJ was behind it. Together they arrange the king of practical jokes on BJ.

It showed how their relationship had blossomed.

Dads
In by far my favourite episode of “M*A*S*H”, Hawkeye learns his father has a mass pushing on his kidney that could be cancer and needs a difficult operation. As he gets off the phone, he turns and Winchester is there, having heard everything. Hawkeye asks him to keep it between them.

Then, it is Winchester who assures him the operation is delicate but can be done.

Later they share memories of their fathers. Hawkeye talks about losing his dad and never having told him he loved him and now he could be gone. Winchester tells him not to assume the worst. Winchester said that every night at supper his father would ask how his day was. Charles had until the salad came to describe his day. He said to this day he still talks faster when he sees lettuce. He always assumed all families were like this, and then he sees the warmth, the closeness, the fun Hawkeye has for his dad.

Charles said his father is a good man who always wanted the best for Charles, but sums up that conversation by saying, “I had a father, you had a dad.”

“Charles, you never told me anything like this before,” he said.

“Actually – Hawkeye – I've never told you anything before.”

It is the only time Winchester ever calls Pierce “Hawkeye”.

Later in the episode, Hawkeye is in the operating room and explodes at all the commotion going on. It is Winchester who calms him down, telling him it is going to be all right and to give it a rest if he can. 

In the end, everything works out, and Hawkeye’s father pulls through.

At the end of the episode, Winchester is at the Officers’ Club. Hawkeye takes him aside and buys him a drink, and says a soft thank you.

“To our fathers,” Charles says.

“And their sons,” Hawkeye responds.

I am choked up as I type this.

Aftermath
David Ogden Stiers would appear in 131 episodes of “M*A*S*H” from 1977 to 1983. He was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy or variety or music series in 1981 and 1982.

Introduction
I had been excited to see who would be replacing Frank Burns on “M*A*S*H”. The problem was, I had floor hockey on Monday nights when the show aired. I got back just in time for the last two minutes of the show. All I saw was a silhouette of Winchester mentioning classical music. It would be another week before I saw what Winchester looked like, that his name was Winchester, and it would take until reruns to learn how he was railroaded into a tour in Korea.

The rest of the story
The other role David Ogden Stiers played with regularity in the 1980s was as district attorney Michael Reston in a series of Perry Mason TV movies. He appeared in six in 1987 and two more in 1988.

He also appeared in three TV miniseries that I thoroughly enjoyed – “The First Olympics Athens 1896” in 1984, for which he was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or special, then “North and South” in 1985 and “North and South Book II” in 1986.

David Ogden Stiers would continue to act in film and television until 2015.

He passed away on March 3, 2018.

Parting thoughts
David Ogden Stiers will forever be Charles Emerson Winchester III to me. One of the challenges “M*A*S*H” had was replacing cast members. When Colonel Henry Blake left, he was replaced by Colonel Sherman Potter. When Trapper John McIntire left, he was replaced by BJ Honeycutt. And when Frank Burns left, he was replaced by Winchester.

Each time, it would have been easy to just change the face and keep the character the same. It also would have been the death of the show.

Instead, the new characters bore little resemblance to their predecessors, which is what it would have been like in real life.

In the case of Charles Emerson Winchester III, he eclipsed Burns. He was as good or an even better surgeon than Hawkeye or BJ, and could give as much as he took when it came to jokes and barbs. He earned their respect and they earned his.

He also portrayed a sensitivity Burns never did, advocated for his patients whether they were friend or enemy, and had a great deal of compassion.

For that reason, he was foil and friend.

Donnelly Rhodes: From convict to priest and more

Canadian actor Donnelly Rhodes who appeared in everything
from "Soap" to "Danger Bay", "DaVinci's Inquest",
"Battlestar Galactica" and more.
Source: https://pagesix.com/
NBC/courtesy Everett Collection
(May be subject to copyright)

He was pretty scary as a convict who shared a cell with milquetoast, bumbling embezzler Chester Tate on the comedy “Soap”. He was even scarier when he broke out of jail and dragged Chester with him but, over time, he revealed a softer side, a kind heart and became romantically involved with not one but both of Chester’s daughters.

That versatility was my first taste of actor Donnelly Rhodes who went on to have a long career, spanning more than 40 years. He played everything from an escaped convict to a marine biolgist, police detective, shady lawyer, futuristic doctor and much more.

The best part was he was Canadian, starring in almost as many roles in the United States as he did in Canada.

I was thinking about all that Donnelly Rhodes had done when I heard that he passed away awhile back.

Convict
After Chester Tate was convicted of the murder of Peter Campbell at the start of the second season of “Soap”, he found himself sharing a cell with Dutch Leitner. Soon after, they broke out. Much of the season they were on the lam, hiding out in the Tates’ basement. Dutch fell in love with Chester’s daughter Eunice, and eventually married her. It was not before he went back to jail, cut a deal to get out, broke up with Eunice after she cheated on him, and slept with her sister Corinne. After all that, they reunited and were married.

Through it all, Donnelly Rhodes did a stellar job as Dutch.

Priest
His most memorable performance for me, was as Father Athol Pere Murray, in 1982 in a show called “The Winners”. He appeared in the hour-long opening episode of the show. It aired on CBC TV on Sunday afternoons at 5:30 p.m.

This was my first exposure to Father Murray who is a Canadian icon. He was a priest who started Notre Dame school, for boys, on the wind and snow-blown Saskatchewan prairie in the 1930s. He took whatever families could offer for tuition, including sacks of grain. In one scene, he is visiting a farm and jumps into help the father who is cutting fire wood. He also encouraged hockey, and the Notre Dame Hounds were an excellent team. So poor, they could not even afford uniforms. In the show they are to face the mighty Regina Pats and everyone kind of looks down their nose at Notre Dame. Until they smoke them on the ice.

Father Murray was also know for his smoking and swearing, a product in part from his time in the military.

Donnelly Rhodes played Father Murray to perfection, and I can still see him in his suit and white collar, smoking and swearing and cutting firewood.

He brought a Canadian icon to life.

Guest star extraordinaire
Donnelly Rhodes was quite productive in the 1980s as a guest star in a variety of television comedies and dramas. He was in everything from “Cheers”, “The Facts of Life”, “Taxi”, “Gimme A Break!”, “Alice”, “The Golden Girls”, and “Empty Nest”, to “Hill Street Blues”, “Magnum P.I.”, and “Murder, She Wrote”.

Sitcom false starts
One of the frustrating things about being a TV fan as I was, but living on the farm in the peasant vision universe, was reading in “TV Guide” about all these series that were on cable, but I could never see.

Many of them did not last more than a season if that, but they featured some actors who often went on to later success. Donnelly Rhodes was in a couple such series.

One was “Report to Murphy”, a 1982 series starring Michael Keaton as a parole officer. Rhodes played Charlie, one of the parolees, in six episodes of a show that only lasted six episodes.

Another was “Double Trouble”, where he played the father of identical twins who had very different personalities. The show lasted 23 episodes over two seasons in 1984 and 1985. Rhodes played the father for the eight-episode first season, before being replaced for the second season, which ran 15 episodes. The show is most notable for real-life twins Liz and Jean Sagal playing the lead characters. Their real-life older sister Katey Sagal went on to a prolific career in “Married, With Children”, “Eight Simple Rules”, “Sons of Anaarchy”, and currently “The Conners”.

Taking to the water
Rhodes finally found a series that took hold when he landed the role of Grant “Doc” Roberts on the CBC drama “Danger Bay”, which ran from 1985 to 1990, spanning a total of 123 episodes. “Doc” Roberts was a marine veterinarian raising his two children Nicole and Jonah, based around what was the Vancouver Aquarium.

I started watching it, partly because I tried to support Canadian TV series, and partly because we only had three channels and there wasn’t much else on.

Interestingly, I lost track of the show, but my sister watched it religiously. I recall staying with her one summer, and we dropped everything to watch “Danger Bay”.

The years after
Donnelly Rhodes would continue to have memorable roles for years to come.

He returned to Canadian television, and the CBC, for 10 episodes in 1991-1992 in the legal drama “Street Legal”. He played R.J. Reynolds, a slick lawyer who ends up buying and abandoning the practice of the main characters.

Rhodes was back in 1998 as Detective Leo Shannon, one of the police officers attached to coroner Dominic Da Vinci in another CBC drama, “DaVinci’s Inquest”. By then, Rhodes was older, playing an old cop paired with a young detective played by Ian Tracey. They made a dynamic pair, mixing the old ways and new technology to solve cases. He was in 98 episodes from 1998 to 2005.

The other role I remember well was Rhodes’ turn as Doctor Sherman Cottle, chief medical officer on “Battlestar Galactica”. He was a tough talking, chain smoking foil for Commander William Adama, appearing in 36 episodes from 2004 to 2009.

He kept on working right up until 2016, appearing in “The X-Files”, “Young and the Restless”, “Supernatural”, “Psych”, “Smallville”, “Heartland”, “Arctic Air”, “The Flash”, and his final television appearance, on “Legends of Tomorrow”.

Parting thoughts
It was an accident that I even found that one-hour show on Father Athol Pere Murray. I was flipping channels one Sunday afternoon and Donnelly Rhodes caught my eye. What was Dutch from “Soap” playing a priest for.

It was the first I had ever heard of Father Murray, but since then I have learned so much more about Notre Dame; the Hounds; Wilcox, Saskatchewan; and so much more. He was one of my favourite figures in Canadian history. It is even more so now, since I met people who went to and worked at Note Dame.

Those two roles, Dutch Leitner and Father Athol Murray, that stood out for me in the 1980s. As Donnelly Rhodes aged, so did the characters he played. It was a natural transition to Leo Shannon in “Da Vinci’s Inquest” and Doc Cottle in “Battlestar Galactica”.

Donnelly Rhodes put together a long career of memorable roles, and for me it all started with the convict and the priest.

John Crosbie: Tell it like it is

John Crosbie in the House of Commons in 1988.
Source: www.cbc.ca
Chuck Mitchell/The Canadian Press
(May be subject to copyright)

Usually when the name Crosbie hits the airwaves, we see the exploits of the talented captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Recently, a different Crosbie made headlines for being just as talented and entertaining as the hockey player – only he did it in a much more combative environment than professional hockey – politics.

Yes, instead of Sidney, it was John Crosbie whose picture was on the screen.

It was with sadness that I heard that John Crosbie, my favourite political figure of all time (next to John Diefenbaker of course), had passed away.

He was outspoken, passionate, fearless and a true leader.

Those are the things and much more that I will remember

Blue budget blues
I was just nine years old in 1979 when Joe Clark and his Progressive Conservatives shocked the world and upset the governing Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau. They won enough seats to form a minority government, something I was just learning about.

Joe Clark named John Crosbie his minister of finance, and thus began my fascination with Crosbie.

Blue suede – uh seal shoes
There is a tradition in Canada where the finance minister will wear a new pair of shoes when bringing down the budget. Crosbie chose a pair of sealskin shoes to support that industry, which was important to his home province Newfoundland and Labrador.

It was a neat gesture.

Loss of power
That Joe Clark government would be short-lived though.

Again, I was just learning about politics, but what a time to learn. Public opinion had begun to turn on the Conservatives so, when Crosbie prepared to bring down his first budget, there was talk of a non-confidence vote, and that the government might fall over the budget.

What was interesting was that vote in the House of Commons was broadcast on live network TV.

So, I watched CBC and witnessed history – the Progressive Conservative government did lose that non-confidence voted as the New Democrats sided with the Liberals. The government could have won the vote, but the four Creditiste MPs from Quebec, who would have put the PCs over the top, elected to stay home.

Canadians would go to the polls again, this time on Feb. 18, 1980 – my 10th birthday.

Trudeau would return from the political wilderness and lead the Liberals back to power, winning a majority government and consigning the Conservatives back to the opposition benches.

Underdog candidate
A growing number of party members became disenchanted with Joe Clark’s leadership, feeling he bungled the party’s chance at governing.

At the same time, Brian Mulroney continued to undermine Clark’s leadership. By 1983, the party was ripe for a leadership change. A leadership review was held in Winnipeg in 1983 and Clark received the approval of 66.9 per cent of delegates. Feeling that was not high enough, Clark moved for a leadership convention and the party obliged.

Soon after, John Crosbie announced he would be a candidate for his party’s leadership.

He energized the party and his leadership bid gained momentum as the leadership convention at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto approached. Clark had been the front runner, but I had an uneasy feeling Mulroney was headed for victory.

But that was not a fait accompli because Crosbie showed he was tough, determined, outspoken, and charming. He spoke well, built a stronger and stronger case that he was the one best equipped to lead the party and take them back to power.

Going into that convention, Crosbie seemed to be the second choice of virtually everyone supporting either Mulroney or Clark.

After the first ballot, that was borne out by the fact he was in third place.

That did not change through the next ballots, until there were just the three of them left.

He finally had to choose – go with Clark or Mulroney.

In a move that made me respect Crosbie even more than I already did, he turned his delegates loose. They were free to support whoever they wanted. He was not going to sway them by going to one candidate or the other.

Looking back, that was politically shrewd. Had he supported a losing candidate, he may be on the outside looking in when it came to a seat at the cabinet table if the Conservatives did win the next election. He could also have been completely excluded. That did not happen though.

What is interesting about his underdog candidacy, is something I read in a book called “The Contenders”, about that leadership convention.

While Crosbie was contemplating what to do after finishing third on that ballot, his people worked the room. It became clear to them Mulroney was going to win, because there were just too many people who could not support Clark. However, a lot of Clark delegates said they would support Crosbie. When that was put to the Clark people, they kind of already knew he was going to lose to Mulroney, and they did want to prevent that. However, Clark, and his people could just not see the sitting leader of the party bow out and throw his support behind the candidate in third place. So, Clark hung in and lost the leadership to Mulroney.

John Crosbie was that close to becoming leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Yes, minister
In 1984, Trudeau went for his walk in the snow and decided to retire. The Liberals subsequently chose John Turner as their leader.

He called an election for September of 1984 and Mulroney trounced him, winning one of the largest majorities in Canadian history and decimating the Liberals and the NDP.

Mulroney then tapped John Crosbie to be justice minister. I was surprised, because I thought he might get finance but, hey, he was one of the few finance ministers in history to have his budget defeated triggering a general election. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea.

He would also go on to serve as Minister of Transport, Minister of International Trade, and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Crosbie made his mark in government. He supported the newly-negotiated free trade agreement with the United States and became minister of international trade shortly after its negotiation, promoting it in the 1988 general election. He supported redress for the Japanese-Canadians who were wrongly interned during in the Second World War, which led to an apology by the prime minister in the House of Commons and compensation of $18,000 per victim. He also proposed the creation of the World Trade Organization. He was an early supporter of gay and lesbian rights as well.

Battle of the ages
It was while he was in cabinet, that Crosbie did battle in one of the fiercest and most intriguing feuds ever in Canadian politics.

Sheila Copps was a Liberal MP from Hamilton who could get under Crosbie’s skin. In 1985, during a heated exchange in Parliament he told Copps to, “Just quiet down baby.” In 1990, he got into hot water again when, at a fundraiser, he said, “Pass the tequila Sheila, and lay down and love me again.”

They did eventually call a truce. Copps even called Crosbie a great Canadian when he died earlier this year.

Parting thoughts
When Brian Mulroney retired as prime minister in 1993, John Crosbie retired at the end of his term that same year. He would go on to a legal career in private practice and became lieutenant-governor of his native and beloved Newfoundland and Labrador from 2008 to 2013.

What I will always remember about John Crosbie was his passion. His battles with Sheila Copps epitomized that.

Perhaps what illustrated what Crosbie was like was an incident in Newfoundland. He was Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and there was talk of closing the Atlantic Northwest Cod Fishery. When confronted by an angry crowd, he retorted, “I didn’t take the fish from the goddamn water, so don’t go abusing me.”

That sums up the life and political career of John Crosbie.

He was one of those politicians who tells it like it is.

Tony Fernandez: Number one for the Blue Jays

Tony Fernandez, shortstop of the Toronto Blue Jays, throughout the latter half of the 1980s.
Source: https://theathletic.com/1611195/2020/02/16/
(May be subject to copyright)

There were few who could range to their right or left and calmly snap a throw over to first base like Tony Fernandez.

He started his magnificent career with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s, would leave in a blockbuster trade, and return triumphantly to take his rightful place at shortstop in time to win a World Series and set some records in the process.

Earlier this year Tony Fernandez passed away at the age of 57, and the Blue Jays honoured him by wearing his number one on their sleeves.

Waiting in the wings
There was a time I was not a huge fan of Tony Fernandez at all.

It was the mid 1980s, just when the Toronto Blue Jays began to contend in the American League East Division. However, in 1983 and 1984, it became obvious that, as good as their starting pitching, defence and offence were, they still had a weak bullpen. Time and again they would jump out to a lead only to lose late because the bullpen could not hold that lead.

Something had to be done.

Meanwhile in Syracuse, the Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays, they had a prospect at shortstop who, as commentator Tony Kubek said, was making more and more major league plays every day. His name was Tony Fernandez.

Yet, the Blue Jays were already set at shortstop with Alfredo Griffin, one-time rookie of the year, and one of the best shortstops in the Major Leagues. He was also one of my favourite players.

All these elements would converge into a move that changed the course of Toronto Blue Jays history forever.

Blockbuster trade
In 1984, the Blue Jays thought they had their closer when they acquired Dennis Lamp from the Chicago White Sox. He was serviceable, and the Jays were in the hunt to the end, but they still finished second.

Then in 1985, general manager Pat Gillick pulled a massive trade. He acquired Bill Caudill from the Oakland A’s, one of the best relief pitchers in the American League. The price was steep though, including Alfred Griffin. The trade was heralded almost as much for finally giving Tony Fernandez a chance to play.

I was happy the Jays got a quality reliever, but sad they gave up Alfredo to do it.

This Fernandez better be good, I thought.

If I only knew the half of it.

Over the top
The Blue Jays did get over the top and win their division in 1985 but, as it turned out, it was not Bill Caudill who provided relief out of the bullpen. The relief came from their own system, in the form of Tom Henke, a pitcher they acquired in the Rule 5 draft. Caudill and Lamp both provided set up for the man who became known as “The Terminator”.

The revelation though was at shortstop, where Tony Fernandez was even better than expected. He was better than Griffin, and could swing the bat too. He wound up winning four straight Gold Gloves, in 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989 to end the decade.

He would have six solid seasons, making the all-star game in 1986, 1987, and 1989 as well.

And, in 1986, he had 213 hits, a record at the time, for shortstops.

My outstanding memory of him during this time was in the 1989 American League Championship Series. The Jays had given everything they had to come from behind and win their division so they had little left for the mighty Oakland A’s. Although largely a speed bump for the eventual World Series champions, the only spark the Jays showed was in Game 3. It was keyed by a double from Tony Fernandez that drove in two runs to tie the game at 3-3. He later scored what turned out to be the winning run. Up until then, he had been criticized for being robotic. After that hit, he showed emotion, and it sparked the Jays. They went on to win their lone game of that series. It showed he began to grow as a leader.

However, by 1990, the Blue Jays were no closer to getting to a World Series than they were in 1985.

So, Gillick pulled the trigger on an even bigger trade, that turned the tide again for the Blue Jays.

Blockbuster – trade not video store
After losing out to the Boston Red Sox again in 1990, everyone close to the Blue Jays knew a shake up was needed. Gillick, who had been called “Stand Pat” for years for his reluctance to make big trades, changed the entire make up of the Jays in a few short weeks.

He traded Fernandez and power-hitting first baseman Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar.

Along with the acquisition of centre fielder Devon White in a trade with the California Angels, the transformation was immediate, and the Jays won the 1991 American League East Division, although they went down in the American League Championship Series to Minnesota. The next year, with the free agent signings of designated hitter Dave Winfield and starter Jack Morris, the Jays won their division, the American League and beat Atlanta in the World Series.

By then, Manuel Lee, who was a player much like Fernandez, had settled in at shortstop. However, after the 1992 World Series Lee became a free agent and left the Blue Jays for the Texas Rangers.

In stepped Dick Schofield, a former California Angel, at shortstop.

The Blue Jays seemed set as they prepared to try and repeat as World Series champions.

The return
Fernandez settled in as a Padre, playing there for the 1991 and 1992 seasons, making his fourth all-star game in 1992.

He was on the move again in 1993. Before the season, the Padres traded him to the New York Mets, where he did not get off to a good start.

Meanwhile, Schofield was settling in with the Blue Jays when he broke his arm.

The Jays, once so deep at shortstop with the likes of Griffin, Fernandez, and Lee, now needed one desperately.

They went back to the future, trading outfield Darrin Jackson to the Mets – for Tony Fernandez.

He played well, like he’d never left, contributing to their playoff run. The Jays won their third straight AL East Division, and second straight American League Championship.

Awaiting them in the World Series were the surging Philadelphia Phillies who shocked the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.

It would be a series to remember for many players, including Tony Fernandez. The Jays would win in six games, and Fernandez would set a World Series record for shortstops with nine runs batted in.

However, his best performance was in the wildest World Series game I ever saw.

It was Game 4, and the Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first inning, but the Phillies scored four in the first and two more in the second only to have Toronto answer with four in the top of the third to lead 7-6. The Phillies then scored one in the fourth and five more in the fifth to lead 12-7. The Jays scored twice in the top of the sixth, only to have Philadelphia score one each in the bottom of the sixth and seventh. The Jays then struck the final blow, scoring six unanswered runs in the top of the eighth. It was the last scoring of the game, as Toronto went on to win 15-14. It was incredible, the highest scoring World Series game in history.

Fernandez led the Jays at the plate by driving in five runs.

He would leave the Jays after the 1993 season, but returned twice more, for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, and to finish his career in 2001.

Parting thoughts
It is difficult to describe the impact Tony Fernandez had on the Blue Jays, especially given his start.

It seemed he waited so long at Syracuse for his big break.

I really wasn’t thrilled the Jays traded Alfredo Griffin, one of my favourites, in part to make room for Fernandez. (Interestingly, the Jays brought back both Griffin and Fernandez later, where they both got to experience World Series glory, Griffin in 1992 and Fernandez in 1993.)

Yet, when Fernandez got to Toronto, he truly did seize the day.

Once he hit the Major Leagues, he never looked back, playing for 18 seasons with seven different teams.

Initially, he was quiet, kept to himself, and was viewed as kind of a downer. This also contributed to my initial view of him. Before outfielder George Bell left, he had complained he had no one to socialize with, not even the other Latino players. He tried calling Fernandez to go out, but Tony said he was busy reading his Bible. He was even dubbed by the media as the "Frown Prince of Baseball." His faith, his large family, and working out were what was important to Fernandez.

However, a lot of that was maturity. Another part was that he was still learning to speak English. By the time Fernandez retired, as a Blue Jay in 2001, he was seen as a leader and a role model on and off the field. I recall seeing one of the interviews after his last game and thinking this was not at all the same guy who came up for the first time back in 1983.

That's why he was number one for the Blue Jays – in more ways than one.

Memories of CJOC radio

What’s in a name?

A lot apparently for the on-air personalities at 94.1 FM in Lethbridge.

For about a year, the station had been called the Juice FM, then on Friday, July 31, it was announced the station was going back to its original name – CJOC FM.

I was happy too, for a different reason.

One of the reasons the station took the name CJOC was to pay tribute to a radio station that existed for decades in Lethbridge, including the ‘80s – 1220 CJOC.

I think anyone who grew up when 1220 CJOC was on the air, has their own memories.

I have my own for sure.

History
Growing up on the farm one of the only stations we could get on the big green radio my parents had sitting on the top of the fridge was CJOC. It was a country and western station broadcasting out of Lethbridge. In fact, its transmitter was located on the highway from Lethbridge to Coaldale within distance of Perlich Brothers Auction Market and my good friend Dave Perlich’s house.

It was all my parents listened to and the channel was rarely changed.

Part of the reason was the variety of programming. For Dad there was the weather and farm reports. Mom always seemed to have it on as background noise.

In the weekday mornings, she would listen to call-in talk show host Terry Bland, who was anything but his last name. He would get into arguments with his callers, talking about the issues of the day. When she made Sunday dinner, which was at noon in our house, she listened to the “Back to the Bible Hour” which I believe Ernest Manning hosted. Sunday also featured “Musical Memories” with George Brown, and after dinner, the “Blackfoot Tapes” broadcasting I believe from Standoff on the Kainai Nation.

It was also loosely affiliated with Channel 7 TV, although at one point they were connected because I can barely remember when the station was called CJOC-TV. With that association came the crossover of announcers such as weathermen Bill Matheson and announcer Wally Hild.

Cross-over sensation
Occasionally, CJOC would make me do a double take or turn my head. Sometimes songs I really liked, that had kind of an odd country sound, migrated from CJOC to 1090 CHEC, the local rock station, and back. The first example of that was Lionel Richie’s “Stuck On You”, then maybe a year later it was “Bop” by Dan Seals. The last time I heard that happen was spring of 1988 when I was doing deliveries for the greenhouse I worked at and the radio was turned to CJOC. Suddenly, “Rebel” by Blue Rodeo came on. I always laughed that everyone took Blue Rodeo for a country and western band specifically because they had rodeo in their name.

Pre-history
When I started high school in 1984 at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale, I was excited to meet and have as a teacher Ed Ryan who, by then, was the school’s guidance counsellor. My sister, who is nine years older than me, really liked him. Plus, he coached “Reach for the Top”, a TV quiz show for high school students.

The day I started Grade 10, the first lunch break was a memorable one. Mr. Ryan read the announcements, and he sounded like a radio announcer.

That’s because he was – on CJOC. That was something I had heard from my sister as well. Moreover, his wife Shiela still worked at the station as its news director at the time.

As I progressed through high school, Mr. Ryan became like a second father to me, and I spent a lot of time in his office. He had pictures up from his radio days of him with performers such as Jim Reeves and Roy Orbison, some of whom mom still listened to on CJOC.

Bus rider
CJOC was also the radio station our school bus was turned to by our driver. Then one day, as Lorne Kruzsewski, who was the first stop after school, got off the bus with his older brothers and younger sister he turned the radio station to 1090 CHEC, a rock station. It elicited cheers from the rest of us, led by my neighbour.

Sticker shock
On August 29, 2020, we hosted a garage sale at my mother’s house in Lethbridge. One of the items that sold was a red dresser that sat in a room on the farm when I was growing up. It doubled as a computer room for me, office for my dad, and freezer for my mom.

That dresser had a blank spot on it. That spot was where a sticker had been scrubbed off, a sticker for 1220 CJOC. If memory serves, I got that sticker at either Ag-Expo or Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge. Either way, it was a time when the radio station had a booth at events held at the Lethbridge Exhibition grounds.

Sister act
One other odd memory was that 1220 CJOC had a sister station that was a rock station. They shared a building on Third Avenue South in Lethbridge, with their signs side by side. However, it was not 1090 CHEC – it was LA-107 FM, who had a bit of a war with CHEC. CJOC and LA-107 shared resources, especially in the newsroom.

Parting thoughts
The re-birth of CJOC was not only a year in the making, but in a way, decades in the making.

Back in the ‘80s, it was 1220 CJOC and played country music, but it was such a big part of life. It greeted me every morning as I got ready for school, played on the school bus radio – for awhile, and was pretty much the default radio station for anyone over 40.

I will always have fond memories of Terry Bland, Wally Hild, livestock reports, Musical Memories, and much more.

Bringing back CJOC not only restores what was lost in the transition at 94.1 FM, but pays tribute to1220 CJOC.

Everything old is new again on the radio in Lethbridge.

Cruising with Queen’s “The Works”

The album cover of "The Works" by Queen, published in 1984.
Source: https://genius.com/albums/Queen/The-works
(May be subject to copyright)

One of the most powerful moments in “Bohemian Rhapsody” the movie based on the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, is their powerful, show-stopping set at Live Aid, the mammoth 1985 benefit concert to help those suffering drought and famine in Africa.

If you listen closely, two of the songs performed by Queen at Live Aid were not even mentioned anywhere else throughout the movie. Instead, the movie chronicled all Queen’s best-selling hits from “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You” to ”Another One Bites the Dust”, “We are the Champions” and so much more.

“Radio Ga Ga” and “Hammer to Fall” were two songs that were part of Queen’s most recent album leading up to Live Aid. Later they performed a third called, “Is This the World We Created.”

That album was called “The Works” and I had come to know it well the summer of 1984, through my cousin Fred.

Cruising
Every summer throughout much of junior high and high school, I spent a week, and often two weeks, in Brooks with my cousins.

Fred was the oldest, two years older than me, and the coolest cousin. He was funny, artistic, creative, was in a band and had his own car.

In the life of a high school kid, he had everything.

We spent hours after dark cruising the streets of Brooks. Often, we went to a drive-in movie, because the indoor theatre was only open during the winter, then cruised afterwards.

We always listened to music. “Sports” by Huey Lewis and the News was a big one, and – “The Works” by Queen”.

“The Works”
A few months earlier, I was watching “Solid Gold” on Saturday night on Channel 7, and they were doing their weekly countdown. It was based on the Billboard Hot 100 of the previous week.

There was a song, somewhere in the top 20, that I had not yet heard of. It was called “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen, and all I could think was what an odd name. That, and they will air anything, no matter how non-sensical, if it is written by a popular band.

I was wrong.

The first time Fred stuck “The Works” into his tape deck, the only song I recognized was “Radio Ga Ga” – and it was good. It was, to be fair, the first time I had actually heard that song beginning to end.

Over the next week, I heard that album probably twenty, maybe thirty times, and it was loaded with great songs, some that would appear in very different places.

“Radio Ga Ga”
The song hit number one in 19 countries and peaked at number 16 on the Billbord Hot 100. It will always be one of the seminal songs from that Live Aid performance. In fact, Wikipedia reveals “Radio Ga Ga” was played by Queen at every live show from its release in 1984 until their last concert with Freddie Mercury as lead singer in 1986.

“Hammer to Fall”
It was in 1986 that I went to a movie with my good friend Mat, along with two other friends Dave and Mike. It was kind of a science fiction fantasy film about an immortal battling other immortals, and we just loved it. When we turned to leave when it was over, there were maybe 13 other people in the theatre. It was the first or second day of the movie’s release and it was a bomb. However, it would find a second life on video and beyond, becoming a cult classic, spawning two sequels and a TV series.

It was called, “Highander”, and Queen figured prominently in the soundtrack.

The song was featured, if I recall, in a battle scene.

My friend Dave went on a school trip to Europe later that year. One of the things he brought back was the soundtrack to “Highlander.”

“Is this the World We Created”
This is the most powerful song, touching on themes of poverty and hunger. It has a stripped-down sound, essentially Freddie Mercury singing along to acoustic guitar. His voice just touched your very core with this song. I recall my cousin singing along with it, exuding passion too.

It was performed at Live Aid as an encore.

“I Want to Break Free”
This song was the final single I recall vividly from “The Works”. It is well known for its video where the band dresses in drag and parodies the British soap opera “Coronation Street”, which aired on CBC Channel 9 on peasant vision.

Parting thoughts
Two of the best sources of memories for me in the 1980s were my summers with my Brooks cousins, and watching the Live Aid concert with my best friend Chris Vining in his living room in the summer of 1985.

“The Works” figures prominently in both.

I first encountered it cruising with my cousin, then heard its best parts sung at Live Aid.

When I watched “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the memories came flooding back.

Many considered Queen's set the best performance of Live Aid.

Seeing it twice, 30-plus years apart, I can’t disagree.

A eulogy for Magnum: “Looking for Space” by John Denver

The voice sounded familiar, but back in 1987, it was rare to hear actual artists sing their songs on TV. It was a beautiful song that played as Thomas Magnum, as private investigator in Hawaii, walked off.

He apparently had died, signalling the end to seven years of the TV crime drama “Magnum P.I.”

That voice that was, well, angelic, was in fact John Denver's.

The producers had resurrected his song “Looking for Space” to use throughout what they envisioned as the series finale.

“Looking for Space” – the single
John Denver released “Looking for Space” in 1976. He was heavily influenced by Erhard Seminars Training when he wrote it for his ninth album entitled, “Windsong”. According to Wikipedia, Denver described to Billboard Magazine the themes of the song as, “It’s about looking for the definition of who you are, by finding out where you are, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.”

It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Denver’s seventh number one on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart.

“Looking for Space” – the eulogy
“Magnum P.I.” had been a ratings powerhouse on CBS Thursday nights for years. Then, in 1984, NBC scheduled “The Cosby Show” up against “Magnum P.I.” and the erosion of “Magnum P.I.”’s ratings began. By 1986-1987, the show seemed to have run its course.

In a move that looked on the face of it that seemed intended to kill the show off, CBS moved “Magnum P.I.” to Wednesday nights up against “Dynasty”, another ratings powerhouse.

Meanwhile, the producers of “Magnum P.I.” decided to end the show. The final episode of the seventh season was called, “Limbo”. It centred around Magnum being ambushed, shot and left for dead. Suddenly, he is walking around his own life, guided by Mac, an old friend who had been killed a few seasons earlier. Presumably, Mac was an angel and Magnum was dead. The show ends with Magnum seemingly walking off to heaven.

And “Looking for Space” played almost in its entirety.

It was the perfect song for the moment.

Only something strange happened.

Resurrection
It turned out, “Magnum P.I.” fared very well against “Dynasty” on Wedensday nights. Miraculously, it was renewed for an eighth and final season. Magnum had not died, but instead recovered and the show had a much different ending in the spring of 1988.

Parting thoughts
The odd thing was, I saw no screen credit indicating the song was actually written and performed by John Denver. At that time, hearing pop songs on TV shows was rare, and hearing them sung by their actual performers was even more rare. It had something to do with copyright, but usually when there were pop songs, they were performed by obscure singers who, I assumed, were more affordable. “Miami Vice” changed that, with the use of a lot of popular music and two TV soundtracks that exploded on the radio and the charts.

It was not until the following summer, of 1989, that I borrowed a tape my brother made of John Denver songs. I saw it when I was visiting home, and wondered if in fact “Looking for Space” was a John Denver song, and if it was on that tape. When I plugged it into my ghetto blaster back in my room in Edmonton on the University of Alberta campus, it sure was.

I was listening to that amazing song from “Magnum P.I.”

According to Wikipedia, the song enjoyed a brief resurgence in popularity in 1987.

“Looking for Space” is still my favourite John Denver song. Not only is it powerful with great lyrics, but it reminds me of one of my favourite shows of all time.

I am glad what was intended as a eulogy, turned out not to be the swan song for a great television character.

Instead, it was a prelude of things to come.

The Foligno Leap: Like father, like sons

Like father, like son, Mike Foligno does trademark leap after scoring a gal in 1985, while at right, his son Marcus does a Foligno leap of his own in 2012.  Source: https://imgur.com/r/hockey/9f8Wg8t
(May be subject to copyright)

He was a great player, who scored some great goals, but what set Mike Foligno apart was his celebration: “The Foligno Leap.” He leaped with both skates in the air, after a two-foot take off.

And he did it right up until his final goal in 1994 with the Florida Panthers.

The career
Mike Foligno played his junior for Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings took him third overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, and he joined the team in the fall of 1979.

He had 36 goals and 35 assists for 71 points in 80 games in his rookie season, 1979-1980, then had 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in the 1980-1981 season.

In 26 games in the 1981-1982 season, Foligno had 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points when he, with Dale McCourt and Brent Peterson were traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Danny Gare, Jim Schoenfeld and Derek Smith.

He would have his best seasons in Buffalo, scoring at least 20 goals in every season from 1981-1982 to 1988-1989. His best season was 1985-1986 when he scored 41 goals and added 39 assists for 80 points.

He would join Toronto part way through the 1990-1991 season and stay a Leaf until a trade to Florida during the 1993-1994 season.

He retired at the end of that season, playing a total of 1,018 career NHL games, scoring 355 goals and 372 assists for 727 points.

Legacy
Mike Foligno worked as an assistant coach for several NHL clubs and was coach and general manager of the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL, the same team he played for.

Both his sons, Nick and Marcus, played for him at Sudbury before going on to the NHL.

This is where it gets cool.

Nick, the older brother, made it to the NHL first.

He was taken 28th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

Then, on Oct. 18, 2007 against the Montreal Canadiens and netminder Carey Price, Nick scored his first goal. His mother Janis phoned father Mike who was on the road to tell him Nick had scored his first NHL goal.

Better yet, she taped it for him.

When Mike Foligno got home around two in the morning, Janis turned on the game.

Suddenly Nick Foligno scores – and he does a leap.

Proud dad said it was kind of humbling.

Marcus was taken 104th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, the team his father played on for 10-plus seasons.

It was March, 2012, while in Buffalo and playing against brother Nick’s Ottawa Senators that Marcus scored his first NHL goal. However, he was not sure he had scored so, on March 14, 2012, he scored in Buffalo and – does the Foligno Leap.

Like father, like sons.

Parting thoughts
Seeing Mike Foligno score a goal was a sight to behold. It was pure joy every time he put the puck in the net and did his trademark leap.

It was really neat to see that his two sons, once they got to the NHL, followed in their father’s footsteps and did the leap too.

Both leaps were special for different reasons. Nick was first, while Marcus scored wearing the jersey of the same team as his father.

Currently Nick is captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Marcus plays for the Minnesota Wild. Interestingly, neither of those teams even existed when their dad played in the NHL.

Mike wore number 17, and both sons have followed in his footsteps there too, wearing 17 at one time or another.

Family lines, and the Foligno leap, run deep in the family.

Lindsay Wagner: "The Bionic Woman" and much more

Lindsay Wagner, as the "Bionic Woman", with longtime co-star Lee Majors,
as the "Six Million Dollar Man", in a 1987 reunion movie.
Source: https://www.amazon.com/
Return-Six-Million-Dollar-Bionic-Woman-Region/dp/B0030YGDNG
(May be subject to copyright)

She will always be the “Bionic Woman”, but in the 1980s branched out into TV movies and even tried another series, before returning to the role that made her famous.

That was the life of Lindsay Wagner in the 1980s.

The years before
Lindsay Wagner broke out with a role in the motion picture “The Paper Chase” in 1973, which is set in a law school, and the pilot of “The Rockford Files” where she played Rockford’s first client.

That led into her initial role as Jaime Sommers. She was a professional tennis player who was the girlfriend of Steve Austin, an astronaut who, after an accident, was outfitted with bionic legs, an arm, and eye to become “the Six Million Dollar Man”. Jaime also suffers a skydiving accident that should kill her, but Steve convinces the government to make Jaime bionic too. So she is outfitted with two bionic legs, an arm and an ear. At first it works, but then Jaime’s body starts to reject her bionics and, in one of the first times I ever cried over a TV show, she died.

However, because of the popularity of the character, the story was somewhat re-written to bring Jaime Sommers back and launch her on her own as “The Bionic Woman”.

The show lasted from 1976 to 1978, cancelled the same year as “The Six Million Dollar man”, which ran from 1973 to 1978.

Lindsay Wagner with a young Keanu Reeves, at left, and veteran
actor Robert Urich, at right, in "Young Again", a 1986 TV movie.
Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092269/mediaviewer/rm1525814528
(May be subject to copyright)

TV movies
Lindsay Wagner kept very busy in the 1980s, appearing virtually every year in a TV movie of some kind. I saw many of them, but two really stick out.

One was “Young Again”, which was made in 1986 and aired on "The Disney Sunday Movie". On CBC, the movies were aired at 6 p.m. on Sunday nights, in two parts. Often, as I got busier, I would tape them and watch the two parts back to back.

“Young Again” was one such movie, and it was a favourite of mine. It starts with the main character, played by Robert Urich, celebrating his 40th birthday and beginning to feel his age. He is riding a bus one night and meets an old man played by Jack Gilford. He wishes he was young again. It turns out the old man is an angel of some sort and grants his wish. Suddenly, Robert Urich is transformed into a young version of himself, played by a young Keanu Reeves.

Throughout his life, he lamented the girl who got away. So he returns to his home town and becomes a high school basketball star. He meets a girl who takes an interest in him and he in her. She takes him to meet her mom and it is – the girl who got away. She’s all grown up now, and played by Lindsay Wagner.

It was an excellent show, I would like to see again without being cut into two pieces and riddled with commercials.

Lindsay Wagner in "Child's Cry" in 1987.
Source: https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/
reviews/childs-cry-1986/childs-cry-1986.html
(May be subject to copyright)

The other was “A Child’s Cry” in 1987, where Wagner plays a social worker counselling a boy she
suspects of being abused. How she finally finds out the truth is awesome too. This too was cut up. I taped it as well, but watched it only when I had time, in about three sittings.

Series television
Wagner guest starred in various shows. One of note was a spot in “The Fall Guy” where she reunited with series star Lee Majors, who had played “The Six Million Dollar Man”.

Another guest spot was on “Kate and Allie” in an episode called, “Late Bloomer”. In it, Kate takes a cooking class taught by a woman, played by Wagner, who also teaches acting and studies psychology when not arguing with her mother about moving home. It was intended to be a pilot for a series, but never went beyond that.

Wagner did try another series I heard a lot about called “Jessie”, but only lasted 10 episodes in 1984. She played a psychiatrist who worked for the police to help the department and victims. Tony Lo Bianco played her police contact and Celeste Holm played her mother.

It was also a victim of bouncing around the schedule, and was hard to find for me on the peasant vision dial. When I did find it, it was on Channel 7.

The return
In one of the coolest turns of the 1980s, I heard that a “Six Million Dollar Man Bionic Woman” reunion was airing. It was in the spring, May of 1987 near the end of Grade 12. It even made the cover of “TV Guide”.

I ended up watching the movie on a Sunday night at a kind of house party.

The show, set 10 years after the original series ends, focuses on Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin coming out of retirement to stop a new, evil organization. Jaime has also suffered a concussion, which restores all the memories she lost when her body rejected her bionics – including her love for Steve.

It was everything I expected. It was awesome.

Two years later, I was home for a visit in April of 1989 and watched the second sequel, “Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.” This time around, a diplomatic crisis is triggered when someone with bionics steals top secret information.

This movie also starred Sandra Bullock, in her first major role, as a young bionic woman Jaime mentors.

Parting thoughts
Lindsay Wagner keeps working. Most recently I saw her in “Grey’s Anatomy”, playing the lost mother of Alex Karev, and in the TV movie, “Eat, Play, Love” where she reunites with Lee Majors in sub-plot of the movie.

What struck me was how good she still looks.

For boys of a certain age, everyone had a crush on “The Bionic Woman” Some had her poster hanging in their room. Others had a photo of her cut out of one of the many teen and entertainment magazines she was in. She was the perfect blend of beauty, charm, intelligence, and confidence.

Not really that much has changed.