A need for speed: Remembering "Top Gun"

The poster for the 1986 movie "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.

Recently I heard there are plans to make a sequel to the 1986 classic “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise reprising his role. It was an iconic movie in the 1980s, and I have a lot of memories associated with it.

Going to the movies

It was the middle of the week, in first semester of Grade 12, which made it in the fall of 1986. I had befriended a fellow named Cliff at the tail end of Grade 11, and we decided to go see this new movie called “Top Gun”.

It was a good action movie. The movie had already started when we got there, so I was unclear on how they encountered that Mig fighter in the first scene. Nevertheless, it was pretty easy to catch on to the plot. Tom Cruise played Maverick, a cocky, hot shot pilot who, with his co-pilot Goose, played by Anthony Edwards, were naval pilots who qualified, just barely, for Top Gun, a flying school for the best of the best pilots. Along the way they encounter adventure, love, loss, and triumph. Val Kilmer plays a rival pilot, a young Meg Ryan plays Goose’s wife, and Kelly McGillis plays a flight instructor who Maverick falls in love with.

On the way home, it was storming pretty badly. I remember Cliff telling me we actually hydroplaned for a bit on the highway from Lethbridge back to Coaldale. The lightning was so bright Cliff had to put on his sunglasses

Sound track sensation

One of the trademarks of the 1980s was that every movie came out with a soundtrack. “Top Gun” was no exception, producing several top 10 singles, and even a number one hit.

It started with “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. He held a hot hand at the time, with a bunch of soundtrack singles, most notably “Footloose”. It was a great, upbeat song that captured the speed of the movie.

Next came “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin. It was the obligatory love theme that every movie needed in that period. Unlike many though, it headed straight to number one, and became the only major hit for the band.

The final song that permeated the radio was my favourite of them all. It was called “Heaven in Your Eyes”, and it was by the Canadian band Loverboy. It was part of this string of success they had, that also included a single on the “Footloose” soundtrack. That song in fact, was also the movie’s love theme. It actually was not Loverboy, but their lead singer Mike Reno singing a duet with Ann Wilson, lead singer of Heart, called “Almost Paradise”.

All in all, the “Top Gun” soundtrack became one of the best selling of the time.

Another odd thing. My buddy bought it and said he’d lend it to me. We listened to it once in his truck cruising Mayor Magrath Drive on a Friday night. The next time I asked if I could borrow it, he told me tragedy struck. He had left the tape on his dashboard – and it melted.

Wedding crashers

There are some odd “Top Gun” memories as well. In my first year of university, making it the early part of 1988, I was living in the Lister Hall res at the University of Alberta with my best friend Chris Vining. There were these girls we liked, and we hung out with them a lot.

Lister Hall is also a full conference centre, so there were a lot of events, especially wedding dances. One Saturday night, we were walking by the stairs to the big dining hall and the girls noticed the music coming from there.

“We should go,” one of them said.

Vining was all for that.

I was all for the girls, so I went along.

We went back to our rooms to dress up. I mentioned it to my good friend Av, who lived just down the hall. He knew how much I liked one of the girls, and told me to dress up. After all we were going to a wedding. He even gave me his cowboy boots – the first and only time I have ever worn cowboy boots.

When we met up with the girls again, the one I really liked told me I looked good. I lied, and told her I was trying out my clothes for student teaching, which was actually coming up. The truth was, I was trying to impress her.

We mounted the stairs and, to my surprise, there was no one at the door. We just walked in.

The dance was in full swing, and they had this giant video screen playing the music videos that went with the songs. The girl I liked, asked me to dance, and the song playing was, “Danger Zone”. It was so cool. The screen was so big, it looked like the planes were coming right at us.

It was a nice night.

The Summer of ‘89

After my second year of university, I found myself going to summer school and living in res, where I also had a part-time job as a residence life assistant.

As it happened, Av needed one more course – any course – to get his degree. So he enrolled in the one I was taking.

We spent every weeknight working on assignments, which were due every few days. Av was a big movie fan. Over the two years I had known him, he was regularly getting VCRs and watching movies in his room. The summer of 1989 was no exception. The thing was, we did not have a lot of time or mobility. Av had signed out a VCR from res along with a tape full of movies.

For six weeks, we watched the same tape over and over, and it was awesome: “Animal House”; “Back to the Future”; “Aliens”; and … “Top Gun”.

That’s where I really got to know the movie, and some of my favourite scenes began to stick in my mind – like the beach volleyball game; when Maverick and Goose sing, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”; and when Goose dies (oh, spoiler alert).

The other thing we started, which goes on to this day was this joke about Tom Cruise movies. It seemed, in every movie he played a cocky whatever, and had an authority figure of some kind dress him down.

It started in “Top Gun” but became classic Tom Cruise. In this case it went something like this: “You’re a good pilot, you’re too good, you’re dangerous.”

There was “Days of Thunder”: “You’re a good driver, you’re too good, you’re dangerous.”

And Av joked, there was also “Cocktail”: You make a good Tom Collins, it’s too good, it’s dangerous.”

Parting thoughts

“Top Gun” was one of those iconic movies of the 1980s. It was fast-paced, exciting, and accentuated by a driving soundtrack.

I did not like Tom Cruise at the time but, over the intervening years, came to like then dislike then like then dislike him again.

However, the best parts of the movie had nothing to do with Tom Cruise. For me, one highlight was Anthony Edwards as Goose, who was the perfect wingman. He had all the best lines, and was the comic relief for Cruise’s Maverick, who was often way too intense. We've been using the term wingman ever since.

The other highlight was Val Kilmer as Ice Man, Maverick’s nemesis. Just like he stole the show in a supporting role in “Tombstone” as Doc Holliday, Kilmer stole the show in a supporting role as Ice Man. He may have been cocky and arrogant, but everything he said about Maverick was true. He was not a team player, he was selfish, he was arrogant, and he was dangerous.

The best line Kilmer delivers doesn’t even have any words. After some comment by Maverick, Ice Man just looks at him and snaps his gum. It was awesome.

I never saw the chemistry either between Tom Cruise and his love interest, played by Kelly McGillis. It seemed to be an add in, like they needed to have a sex scene, so let’s just throw one in.

If they actually do make another “Top Gun” movie, I hope it is a new story, not a remake. After all, with no Cold War and no Soviet Mig fighters, who would Goose and Maverick flip the bird at?

Handheld video games: Remembering “Electronic Quarterback”

The "Electronic Quarterback", my introduction to electronic football.

Long before video consoles like Atari and Intellivision, but after the dawn of Pong, there was a phenomenon I haven’t heard too much about: the handheld video game.

I owned a few, but one that left a distinct impression was the “Electronic Quarterback”.

Coveting my neighbour’s game

Going to school every day meant riding the bus. Back then, I rode it with a neighbour named Mike. He came from a big family, including two older brothers, so he always had a lot of cool stuff from Christmas or various birthdays.

One day, I hopped on the bus and, when I sat beside him, noticed he was holding something and pressing furiously on various buttons. The frenzied action reached a crescendo with some Muzak-sounding music. I asked what he was doing. Why, playing “Electronic Quarterback” of course. His brother had received it for a present, and he was letting Mike play it to pass the time on the bus.

That’s where I got my first taste of the game.

Mastering the offence

Soon Mike let me try, but I really had to learn on my own. I recall him briefly laughing at my futility. Then his older sister scolded him, reminding Mike when he first played the game all he did was press random buttons – which was pretty much what I was doing.

Catching just a sniff of that game made me want my own. So that’s what I asked for Christmas. Sure enough, it was waiting for me under the tree when we opened our gifts that Christmas Eve.

By then I had played enough to have a basic understanding of the game. Like all football games, it was easy to learn how to run. It was mastering the pass that opened up the offence – kind of like real life and every other video game since. The secret, which I learned by playing hour after hour of “Electronic Quarterback” was that when I hit the pass button, if I hit it again it would keep the pass from being released.

It was pretty rudimentary but, in a simpler time, it was a lot of fun. It was so rudimentary in fact, the defence was automated. The players never actually run the defence, just the offence and the special teams. If memory serves, I could punt the ball too.

The playoffs

When I got “Electronic Quarterback” that Christmas, I recall playing on the drive over to Christmas dinner at my uncle and aunt’s, and again on New Year's Eve. They just lived up the road, so it wasn’t a long trip.

On those trips, and later, I pretended I was the Oakland Raiders, who were set to play the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional Game that year, the 1980-1981 playoffs. (They would go on to win that game, dubbed “The mistake on the lake” when Raider defensive back Mike Davis intercepted a Cleveland pass in the endzone to preserve the win for the Raiders).

Parting thoughts

I had hours and hours of fun playing “Electronic Quarterback” but, like with all toys, I eventually moved on to something else. Intellivision came along, which had a more sophisticated NFL Football, then Commodore 64, and finally, for me, Nintendo and “Tecmo Super Bowl”, which was a bit more sophisticated again.

Still, I will always remember that game, my first introduction to electronic football. It’s how I actually began to learn the game.

I wonder if my “Electronic Quarterback” is still in my parents’ basement. I’ll keep you posted.

Remebering the fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall comes tumbling down amid masses of people in November of 1989, 25 years ago.

It changed the course of history forever, and truly was the end of the Cold War. It played a big part in the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and led to the reunification of Germany less than a year later.

On Nov. 9 the world celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and I recall exactly where I was when I heard the news.

The partition

It’s funny. When I was growing up, I heard a lot about Germany and Berlin being divided into East and West. I later discovered I was not the only one who thought that meant Berlin was right in the middle, and the partition line (I refuse to use the word border) that went through the country went through Berlin. Only later, in high school, did I discover that Berlin was located completely inside East Germany, and partitioned there. That was the only way the Soviets could have created their infamous blockade in 1948.

The fall of 1989

The year 1989 would go down in history as one of the most eventful years of the decade. Not only did the Ayatollah Khomeini die in Iran, and student protesters put Tiananmen Square on the map in China, but freedom began to blossom in Eastern Europe.

By the fall, there seemed to be another major event every day somewhere in the Soviet Bloc, whether it was agitation in Poland, the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, or the coup that led to the execution of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu.

Amid all that, things began to foment in East Germany.

Back then I was not as immersed or intrigued by my German roots as I am now. Mind you, I was only 19 years old at the time. Still, anyone who grew up in a German family like I did, that came to Canada seeking a better life, held out hope that one day the Communists would be gone. One day, the two parts of Germany would become one again.

My mother always said it would all change if the right man became leader of the Soviet Union. As in so may other things, she was right. Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union a few years earlier and began to implement reforms. Whether it was increased openness through Glasnost, or the restructuring of trade with Perestroika, he was changing the Soviet Union.

That change would soon spread to the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, and one by one they began to assert greater and greater degrees of freedom and independence.

Finally, in the fall of 1989, I was lying on my bed in my room on Main Kelsey, dozing after another long Edmonton day. Suddenly the phone rang. It was my friend Kevan, who I had begun to hang out with regularly at the start of the school year.

“I thought you’d be dancing in the streets,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“Didn’t you hear?” he asked. I had not.

“The Berlin Wall is a coming down!”

I could not believe what he was saying. You have to understand, growing up in the Cold War 1980s, there was this sense the Soviet Union would last forever. There would never be peace, or freedom in the Communist countries. Instead, Communism would reign there forever, and the best we could all do was keep it from spreading.

I hung up and went in to the lounge. Some of my floormates were huddled around the TV, watching the coverage from Berlin. The wall, the symbol of a divided Europe, was coming down. People were actually tearing it down piece by piece.

The next time I spoke with my mother, the following Sunday (when the long-distance phone rates were the cheapest), she really could not believe it either.

Yet, it had happened. Her hopes of a strong leader freeing the people of the Soviet Bloc, had been realized.

Parting thoughts

It is hard to believe it has been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. One of my overriding memories of that period is not so much the event itself, but the fact I was so immersed in my own world, I did not pay near enough attention or respect.

Looking back, it was just over a year after the death of my grandfather. He would have loved to see the wall fall. But that thought never entered my mind until just recently.

Only a year later, in the fall of 1990, when I took a German history course as my last option before I went student teaching, did I begin to understand what had happened.

It was an amazing time and, looking back 25 years later, changed the world forever.

Honeymoon Suite: a “Saving Hope” flashback

Honeymoon Suite's self-titled debut album. Released in
1984, it produced four certified gold singles in Canada.

A couple weeks ago I heard something curious during a flashbacks scene of the season opener of “Saving Hope”. There, playing in the background on the kitchen radio, was the old Honeymoon Suite song, “Wave Babies”. Given “Saving Hope” is a Canadian show, set in Canada, and the flashback was to the 1980s, it was a likely song to be playing on the radio.

It was the first time I had heard any Honeymoon Suite song on TV in years, and never on a network TV show. It brought back a lot of memories, starting with the album “Wave Babies” came from.

My friend Mat, Video Hits and Columbia House

For the longest time I thought my first exposure to Honeymoon Suite was from their second album, but it turns out that it actually was from their debut album entitled, “Honeymoon Suite”.

There was a show on after school on CBC called “Coming Attractions” which morphed into “Coming Attractions Video” then “Video Hits”. Originally, it featured all kinds of entertainment news, but evolved into a show that played music videos, hosted by Samantha Taylor.

It was some time in Grade 9 when I started watching it more often. That’s when I started hearing about this contest they were running. I did not pay too much attention, other than that the prize was a cameo appearance in Honeymoon Suite’s next video. My friend and neighbour Mat, talked about it periodically too. The next thing I recall was seeing that video, and it featured a sweeping panoramic shot of Niagara Falls and a couple of those binocular machines you can plug coins into to watch the falls. It was part of the honeymoon theme of Niagara Falls. That video was “Wave Babies”, and Mat later told me the aforementioned cameo was a couple seconds of the two winners bopping to the music.

The next time I gave that debut album “Honeymoon Suite” any attention was when Mat bought it when he joined Columbia House. It was one of the initial 10 he purchased to join.

By then, the end of 1986, I was well acquainted with the band’s sound. I wanted more, so I borrowed Mat’s tape and immediately dubbed a copy of my own. I was not disappointed with what I heard.

The debut album
The first four singles on that album were the ones that all made it to radio.

I have a few odd memories. It may have started with "New Girl Now", but it was "Burning in Love" that I always remember. Me and Mat used to cruise down Mayor Magrath Drive in Lethbridge listening to that song, bellowing out the chorus, "I'm still, a lonely man, burning in love". One day, I was hanging out with Mat's younger brother, and he said to me, "You know what my brother was singing this morning?"


"No," I replied.

"White steel, a lonely man…"

Why was he doing that? It turns out that's what he thought Johnny Dee was singing. I laughed so hard, because for one, that makes no sense, and two, I have made up words just as bad for other songs. I can still here, "White steel, a lonely man, burning in love."

The other memory was more heart wrenching. A few months ago I documented the horrible first date I had to go see "Secret of My Success". Well, I was too dumb to take a hint. I kept calling that girl, and will write about what transpired at another time. However, when the annual Whoop-Up Days fair and midway hit Lethbridge the summer of 1987, I phoned her to see if she wanted to go to "Midnight Madness". She did not. I went with a buddy of mine and, with "Burning in Love" playing in the background, I saw her getting on a ride. That was the official end of my pursuit of that girl.

Unfortunately, I had no new girl now.

"New Girl Now", "Wave Babies", and "Stay in the Light" followed. Due, in part to Canadian content requirements, they all got a lot of air play and made Honeymoon Suite a household name in the mid-1980s.

Parting thoughts
Honeymoon Suite is a band I started listening to after they gained some popularity. Usually, we hear the debut album and interest builds from there. Here instead, I got to know Honeymoon Suite and, with no new album forthcoming, went looking for more music. In this case it happened to be older music.

Still, I was not disappointed, and it just reinforced my love for a band I still listen to, even if it is 30 years later on a medical drama on CTV.

Gerard Parkes: More than Fraggle Rock, a classic Canadian actor

Gerard Parkes in his best known role as "Doc"
on Fraggle Rock, which ran from 1983 to 1987

It’s one of those faces you may recognize without knowing the name, an actor who always seemed to be playing some role – starring or supporting – on Canadian television. He eventually gained international fame as Doc, the lone human in “Fraggle Rock”, but the career of Gerard Parkes was much richer and more diverse. He passed away recently at the age of 90.

Gift to Last

It was a show I am sure I would appreciate more as an adult than I did as a child but, for three seasons, the CBC had a popular show called “A Gift to Last”. I remember it best on Sunday nights. It starred Gordon Pinsent as a soldier, and Gerard Parkes played one of his brothers, a shyer quieter sibling. Pinsent was the centre of the show, but the presence of Parkes was unmistakable.

“A Gift to Last” is a show the CBC should dig out of the vault some time.

It also set Gerard Parkes up for his next role.

Keep the “Home Fires” burning

Gerard Parkes' next recurring role was in another Sunday night drama I started watching. It was called “Home Fires” and he played a doctor named Arthur Lowe, fittingly nicknamed “Doc”. It was another show I am sure I would appreciate more now as an adult, but there are a few things I do remember.

It aired from 1980 to 1983, centring on a family in Toronto during the Second World War. One episode in particular I remember saw Doc run for elected office under the banner of this new party called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. It was my first exposure to the CCF and, only years later, did I discover they would morph into the modern New Democratic Party. Doc had his hands full, because there was a large presence by the Orange Lodge, and after he refused to co-operate with them, they ran their own candidate. It led to Doc’s defeat.

There was also a recurring story line about Lowe's wife's nephew, a boy named Jakob. He was a Jewish refugee from Europe who came to Toronto. Initially, he was unaccustomed to life in Canada. When he was offered an orange at a market, he bit into it like an apple. In later episodes, where he had learned to speak English and became more acclimated to life in Canada, he looked back and laughed at that moment.

And, perhaps what I recall most, was that “Home Fires” was the first recurring role for a young Canadian actress named Wendy Crewson, who played Lowe's daughter Terry. She was already a looker then, and would go on to a successful career that continues today. Most notably, she played the American president’s wife in “Air Force One” alongside Harrison Ford. To Canadian viewers, she brought to life the character of Joanne Kilbourn in several TV movies, and plays a doctor on the current CTV hit “Saving Hope”.

Gerard Parkes, as doc, was the stabilizing force, the patriarch of the family and the show.

Off to Fraggle Rock

After that ended, Parkes found another role as a “Doc”, this time as the only human character on “Fraggle Rock”. The entire community was located behind the wall of Doc’s shop, but he was oblivious to it. Only his dog knew about the Fraggles, the Doozers, and everyone else in that mythical land.

It’s funny. If I was too young for “A Gift to Last” and “Home Fires”, by the time “Fraggle Rock” hit its stride, I was too old. I moved on to other things, most notably more adult TV shows, video games, computers, and girls.

Guest star extraordinaire
Amid all that, Gerard Parkes did guest spots in a who's who of Canadian shows: "Night Heat", "The Littlest Hobo", "King of Kensington", and "Seeing Things". He also found his way to U.S. network TV in shows such as "Cagney and Lacey", "The Twilight Zone", and "War of the Worlds".

Perhaps, more memorable for me were spots in films such as "Glory Enough for All", which documented the discovery of insulin by Canadians; and "The Suicide Murders" which was the first Benny Cooperman novel to make it to TV. Cooperman is a uniquely Canadian private eye in Ontario, created by Howard Engel, and played by Saul Rubinek.

Parting thoughts
The television landscape, especially in Canada, is a much different place than it was in the 1980s. If an actor wanted to be on Canadian TV they essentially had two choices: CBC and CTV. The public broadcaster had a lot more money to make a lot more Canadian content, but the choices were still limited.

In the 1980s, with the advent of the low Canadian dollar and other factors, American production came north, and there were a lot more TV opportunities. When the number of pay and specialty channels began to proliferate, there were even more opportunities.

During much of his early career, Gerard Parkes did not have those opportunities. In the days of peasant vision in the 1980s, and the three channel universe, actors such as Gerard Parkes made the most of it. That't why we may recognize the face, but not the name. He made the most of those opportunities.

Finally, when there were more channels and shows, he found "Fraggle Rock", which gave him at least a bit of the notoriety he deserved.

Carl Crennel: More than Romeo’s younger brother

Carl Crennel played linebacker and some
defensiv end in his CFL career, which he spent
mostly in Montreal (as pictured here)

Ever since he came to prominence prowling the sidelines of NFL teams as a coach for the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs, I have always wondered one thing about Romeo Crennel: is he related to Carl Crennel?

Who is Carl Crennel?

When I started watching CFL football, I had this brief affinity for the Edmonton Eskimos who were always winning the Grey Cup. The first couple years I watched, the Eskimos faced the Montreal Allouettes, who seemed to perpetually represent the East.

One of the defenders that seemed to terrorize the Eskimos was linebacker Carl Crennel, who always seemed to be around the ball. However, he just couldn’t do enough, and the Eskimos won the championship.

Going to Edmonton

Then, late in the 1979 season, I heard on the news the Eskimos had acquired Carl Crennel. That was so cool, because I still liked the Esks and I liked Crennel. Now they were combining forces.

Besides, they already had a guy named Dave Fennell, and that rhymed with CrennelI. It was part of this odd name game I played with the Eskimos. They also had Warren Moon and David Boone, which rhymed, Mike Wilson and Tom Wilkinson, who sounded alike, and Dale Potter and Hector Pothier, which also sounded alike.

I recall right after I heard the news about the Eskimos acquiring Crennel, they were playing late Saturday night. I fell asleep before I could watch the game.

At school the following Monday, I asked around if anyone watched the game, and if Crennel played. No one either watched the game, or recalled seeing him play. He did end up playing with the Eskimos that year, and winning the Grey Cup.

A cup of coffee in Hamilton (but not Tim Horton’s)

The next season, Carl Crennel became expendable and was traded to Hamilton, where the rebuilt Tiger-Cats went to the Grey Cup, but got blown out by – you guessed it – the Edmonton Eskimos.

Rebuilding Rider nation

When I started watching the CFL, it coincided with the Saskatchewan Roughriders hiring former quarterbacking great Ron Lancaster as their head coach. The team was terrible, winning four games in two seasons (of a 16-game schedule mind you), in 1979 and 1980. This began their descent into oblivion, after years of being a contender.

Then, in 1981 the Riders hired Joe Faragalli, an assistant with the Eskimos during their Grey Cup dynasty, and he began to rebuild the team. He acquired Joe Barnes to quarterback with John Hufnagel, and picked up Lyall Woznesensky and – Carl Crennel – to bolster his defence. By then, Crennel had become expendable in Hamilton too.

Crennel and the Woz strengthened the defence, but the Riders were still not good enough to make the playoffs. They had a winning record at 9-7, but in the tough West Division finished fourth and one game out of the playoffs.

Shortly after that, I lost track of Carl Crennel.

Parting thoughts
It turned out Carl Crennel was a pioneer and a trail blazer. He was the first black player at his high school in West Virginia. It is still hard to imagine that segregation, whether overt or covert, still existed into the late 1960s. He went on to a standout career at the University of West Virginia captaining his team to a 14-3 win over South Carolina in the 1969 Peach Bowl. He was taken by Pittsburgh in the 1970 NFL, and played with the Steelers for a year, before his tenure in the CFL. Once he came north, he was an Eastern all-star in 1973, 1978, and 1979. He also won Grey Cups in 1974 and 1977 with Montreal, and in 1979 with Edmonton
.

I never thought of him again, until Romeo Crennel started winning Super Bowls with the Patriots as their defensive coordinator. I began to wonder if the two Crennels were related. After a bit of research, I discovered the CFL defender and the NFL coach were related. It turned out they are in fact brothers.

It just shows you how small the football world is, just like any community.

Ash, ash everywhere: Remembering Mount St. Helen’s

Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted in 1980, sendin
 ash as far north as our farm near Coaldale and Lethbridge

The other day on Facebook, my cousin posted this 1980s quiz and one of the questions was about Mount St. Helens. At the time it was a big deal because, even at 10 years old, I had the same belief as so many others around me – there’s no way a volcano could erupt anywhere near us. That’s what we saw on TV, and disaster movies. Molten lava, extreme heat, and nothing but desolation. But it happened, and Mount St. Helens left her mark all the way up here in Southern Alberta.

Going volcanic

It seemed like Mount St. Helens had been in the news for months, back in 1980. It was a mountain in the state of Washington that was, in fact, a dormant volcano. It was about to wake from its long slumber, but no one knew exactly when, it seemed.

One of the stories that kept playing on the news, was about an old timer named Harry Truman. He lived on Mount St. Helens and refused to leave, despite repeated warnings. He was portrayed in some reports as heroic and steadfast in his beliefs. It was man against nature, and man would ultimately triumph.

Then the volcano actually erupted.

Getting a piece of ash

I awoke one morning and, as always, my parents had the radio on, CJOC from Lethbridge. They were broadcasting that Mount St. Helens had erupted. My mom told me to look outside and there were faint bits of ash floating in the air. I thought that strange. We had talked about Mount St. Helens at school. I looked on a map, and my teachers even said it was thousands of kilometres away. How could ash travel that far? It must have been some eruption.

I went to school and my friend Tony Curtis had actually gathered up a jar full of ash and brought it to school. Remember those days, back in elementary school, when if we thought something was neat we brought it to school? Well, that was really cool.

Later that day, after school, I discovered Harry Truman had paid the price for being stubborn. His rustic cabin had been buried, and so had he. Mother Nature had had the last laugh, and I recall feeling so sad for Harry Truman.

At the same time, my cousin Carl had a swimming pool. Another cousin told me they were busy straining the pool. While Carl’s parents were away, someone snuck in to use the pool, which happened more frequently than you would think, and left the cover off when they left. All that ash got in and absolutely covered the water. It left this ashy film they had to skim off before it plugged up the filters.

Parting thoughts

Volcanoes are in far-off places. And they spew lava and molten rock, not ash. That’s why it was so surreal Mount St. Helens not only erupted, but its aftermath reached all the way to us in sleepy Southern Alberta. It showed you really can’t count out Mother Nature. Ever.

Greek mythology, outer space, law, and advertising: The wide world of Harry Hamlin

Harry Hamlin as fledgling astronaut
John Pope in the 1985 mini-series "Space"

Long before he was Jim Cutler, the oily ad executive on “Mad Men”, Harry Hamlin entertained audiences as a central figure in Greek mythology, a pioneering American astronaut, and as an idealistic, and at times crusading lawyer in Los Angeles. Such is the resumé of one of the best actors on television in the 1980s.

Walking on the moon – almost

Harry Hamlin first came to my attention back in 1985 when he played astronaut John Pope in the miniseries “James Michener’s Space”. It was an epic, fictional look at the American space program from a variety of perspectives. Hamlin, at the time completely unknown to me, played an ambitious pilot who did whatever he could to get ahead. His girlfriend, played by Blair Brown who was also an unknown up-and-coming actress, did whatever she could to help him get ahead too. Their life sharply contrasted the other astronaut of the story, Randall Claggett, a free-wheeling, high-spirited Texas pilot who was all raw talent with a devoted wife. In the end (spoiler alert they get on a mission to the moon. However, en route they are exposed to some deadly rays that lead to he death of Clagget when he crashes the lunar lander against the moon. Pope makes it home, but it’s a disaster.)

Still, Harry Hamlin turned in an amazing performance.

Michael Kuzak, the conscience of "L.A. Law"

Moving to L.A.

It was about a year later I read in one of the super market tabloids my mom bought that Hamlin was going to star in a weekly series centred on a law firm in Los Angeles. It would be called “L.A. Law” and catapult Hamlin to fame as lawyer Michael Kuzak.

He left after the fifth season, after constructing a lengthy resumé of memorable performances that were at times touching and poignant, and at other times gritty and determined. There was also a comic quality that was all the more effective because he was so serious and intense. The best example was when he wooed love interest Grace Van Owen, played by Susan Dey, away from getting married, and he did it in a gorilla suit. It was priceless because it was so unexpected.

It absolutely boggles my mind Hamlin was never even nominated for an Emmy for his role as Micheal Kuzak, when virtually everyone who acted around him was. I thought he was one of the anchors of the show.

Perseus in "Clash of the Titans"

Clash of the Titans

It was 1981 and my sister and I decided to go to a movie with my cousins Nina and Carl. We were kind of divided on what to see. Carl, in particular, really wanted to see “Clash of the Titans”. I wanted to see this other movie and, with a little friendly cousinly persuasion, Nina and Carl acquiesced. It was called “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, and we all agreed it was the better choice. Besides, Carl lived in the city and could pretty much go to the movies any day he wanted – so he saw “Clash of the Titans” another day. He still thought “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was better after that.

Me, I never saw “Clash of the Titans” to this day. My only exposure to it was when they were giving away free stickers in something my mother bought at Safeway every week. Wagon Wheels maybe?

Only later did I learn Harry Hamlin had played Perseus in “Clash of the Titans”.

Harry Hamlin's first Emmy nomination
came as Jim Cutler in "Made Men"

Parting thoughts

Not too long ago I watched the sixth season of “Mad Men” and was taken by oily ad exec Jim Cutler. He was at times a letch and greaseball, but also a layered character that was never quite what he seemed. Although older and grayer, Jim Cutler was unmistakably played by Harry Hamlin. He did a masterful job and, for his efforts, was honoured with an Emmy nomination, something that had eluded him on “L.A. Law”.

Seeing Hamlin on “Mad Men” inspired me to watch the L.A. Law reunion movie again on tape. The show takes place about eight years after the show ends. Michael Kuzak has stopped the practice of law and is now owner of a happening nightclub. He describes himself as a saloon keeper. Grace Van Owen, his longtime love, is a judge. The firm is still there, and still run by Douglas Brackman, although now his son has joined him as an attorney. Arnie Becker is still a philandering divorce lawyer, and most of the others make a cameo appearance.

However, the main story focuses on a capital case involving one of Kuzak’s former clients. He has one last chance, having exhausted all avenues of appeal. His daughter begs Kuzak to represent him. After some soul searching, he agrees, and spends much of the movie getting his lawyer legs under him.

What struck me was a scene late in the movie that typified Hamlin himself. Brackman is talking to his son and tells him Michael Kuzak is in court. Seeing him in action is always a sight to see.

The same can be said of Harry Hamlin. Seeing him in action is always a sight to see.

J.C. Watts: A lasting first impression

J.C. Watts in his number six jersey with the Ottawa
Rough Riders, at his mobile, scrambling best.

The career of Julius Caesar Watts took an unexpected turn when he came north to the only league that would let him play quarterback – The Canadian Football League. He would make an immediate mark and almost engineered one of the most shocking upsets in history.

Coming north

When we left you, J.C. Watts had played his last game in college, the thrilling 1981 Orange Bowl. As it turned out, J.C. attracted some interest from NFL teams, but not to play quarterback. I recall in an interview on CFCN Calgary’s “Sports Hotseat” a few years after he came to Canada he said the New York Jets had contacted him, but to play some other position such as receiver or defensive back. He was not interested.

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Rough Riders were not doing so well in the CFL’s Eastern Conference. They were having quarterbacking troubles. Head coach George Brancato had become renowned for remaking his team late in the season, taking advantage of NFL cuts to refurbish his team and make a run at the playoffs. The year 1981 would be the best example of that.

Throughout my time on the farm I never had access to a lot of sports news beyond the nightly news. We had no newspaper or cable TV. That’s why I was thrilled to read the sports pages of the Lethbridge Herald any time we were visiting relatives in the city. It was on one of those Saturdays I read in the transactions section that Ottawa had signed J.C. Watts. I was so excited.

Back then, all the CFL games were still being televised on CTV and CBC. The Ottawa quarterbacking situation had been troubled, with Jordan Case taking a majority of the snaps. I anxiously awaited the next Ottawa game to see J.C. Oh, Ottawa did trot out a new quarterback, but it was Kevin Starkey, not J.C. Watts. It would be a few more games before J.C. made his CFL debut.

Regular season debut

Eventually he did play, scoring his first CFL touchdown in a 17-7 upset win of the B.C. Lions on Sept. 4, Week 10 of the season. That victory was just Ottawa’s third of the year, as their record improved to 3-6. They would win just two more games in the regular season. One was on Oct. 18 when Watts and Starkey combined to beat Calgary 21-10 in front of the smallest crowd in the history of Landsdowne Park in Ottawa. That raised the Rough Riders’ record to 5-10. They would lose their final regular season game to finish the regular season at 5-11.

Watts ended the season completing 77 of 141 passes for 957 yards, with three touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Semi-final win

Incredibly, that 5-11 record was good enough for second place in the East. Hamilton finished first with an 11-4-1 record to earn the first-round bye and host the East Final at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Meanwhile, the Montreal Allouettes had new ownership under Nelson Skalbania. He signed a bunch of free agents from the NFL, including quarterback Vince Ferragamo who had taken the L.A. Rams to the Super Bowl. None of that worked, as Montreal finished third in the East with a 3-13 record and would travel to Landsdowne for the East semi-final on Nov. 8.

Montreal led 15-10 at halftime and 16-10 after three quarters. However, Ottawa hung around, scoring 10 points to lead 20-16 late in the game. Montreal quarterback Ken Johnson, who had supplanted Ferragamo by this point as the Alouette starter, drove the team deep into Ottawa territory. With 36 seconds left, Montreal had the ball on Ottawa’s nine-yard line but Johnson’s pass in the end zone to Chuck McMann was knocked down by Larry Brune and Rick Sowieta to preserve the Rough Riders’ 20-16 victory. Bring on the Tiger-Cats.

Eastern Final shocker

The two teams met in the East final on Nov. 15 in Hamilton. It was a low-scoring affair that Hamilton led 13-10 late in the game. Ti-cat quarterback Tom Clements did not have his best game, throwing three interceptions including one in the Ottawa endzone by Glenn Cook with Hamilton up 13-7, but he still had them in position to win.

Enter rookie quarterback J.C. Watts. Hamilton backed up Ottawa deep in their own end. Watts dropped back to pass in his own endzone, scrambled away from Ti-cat pressure and threw a bomb to Pat Stoqua. When the dust settled, Stoqua was standing in the Hamilon endzone. They had connected on a 108-yard pass-and-run play, propelling Ottawa to a shocking 17-13 upset, and a date in the Grey Cup in Montreal on Nov. 22.

Watts finished the game completing 19 of 39 passes for 311 yards. However, it was his legs that made the difference, as he avoided the tough Ti-cat pas rush and rushed six times for 46 yards.

Watts against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Grey Cup stunner

Awaiting Ottawa in the Grey Cup were the 14-1-1 Edmonton Eskimos, winners of the previous three Grey Cups. On paper, the game seemed to be a monumental mismatch. Edmonton had nine more wins than Ottawa, and had lost just one game all season. The Eskimos entered the game 22.5-point favourites, while many considered Ottawa the worst team to ever qualify for the Grey Cup.

Someone forgot to tell Ottawa they weren’t supposed to get blown out. Watts moved Ottawa crisply, taking them into field-goal range twice. Kicker Gerry Organ made no mistake, connecting on field goals of 34 and 37 yards in the first 10 minutes to give the Rough Riders an early 6-0 lead.

What became apparent early was Ottawa’s defence was ready for Edmonton and their star quarterback Warren Moon. Late in the first quarter Sowieta intercepted a badly-thrown Moon pass, helping set up a one-yard touchdown run by Jim Reid. The Organ convert made the score 13-0. The defence continued to dog the Eskimos in the second quarter. John Glassford intercepted another Moon passing, setting up a 14-yard touchdown run by Sam Platt. I remember that run well, because he dragged Edmonton defenders with him into the endzone. (Coincidentally, on New Year’s Day Platt had lined up opposite Watts in the Orange Bowl when his Florida State Seminoles played Watts’ Oklahoma Sooners). Organ added another convert to make the score 20-0. The Eskimos’ lone point in the first half came off the toe of Edmonton kicker Dave Cutler when he missed a 24-yard field goal. Watts and the Rough Riders went into the dressing room poised to engineer one of the greatest upsets in CFL history.

The Eskimos had other ideas. After all they were the three-time defending Grey Cup champions. Coach Hugh Campbell had pulled Moon in favour of wily veteran Tom Wilkinson, who settled the offence down and  moved the ball, allowing Moon to re-gain his composure before going back in. The third quarter was a mirror image of the first. Jim Germany scored on a two-yard run to close the gap to 20-7, before Cutler’s convert made it 20-8. Ottawa showed signs of fatigue and nerves. Watts fumbled deep in his own end, and Edmonton’s Dale Potter recovered. That turnover set up a one-yard Moon quarterback sneak, closing the gap to 20-14, and even further with Cutler’s convert. Ottawa 20-Edmonton 15 after three quarters complete.

The fourth quarter would be one for the books. Ottawa’s defence rose up again, recovering a Moon fumble, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Organ to extend the Rough Riders’ lead to 23-15. Moon rebounded, taking his team down the field, capping the drive off with another one-yard touchdown plunge, cutting the deficit to 23-21. On the ensuing convert attempt, Coach Campbell decided to go for two. Moon proceeded to find Marco Cyncar in the endzone for the two-point convert, tying the game at 23-23.

Then controversy struck. With about four minutes remaining, Watts completed a 20-yard pass to Tony Gabriel for a crucial first down. Eskimo defender Gary Hayes was hanging all over Gabriel, and there was a flag down. Inexplicably, the official called pass interference on Hayes and Gabriel. Ottawa ultimately had to give up the ball. It was the opening Moon needed, taking the ball into field-goal range where Cutler made no mistake on a 27-yarder with three seconds left. Edmonton had their first lead of the game, 26-23.

However, Watts was not done yet. Instead of taking a kick off, Ottawa took the ball on their own 35-yard line, giving J.C. one last chance with the ball. He danced all over the pocket, and took off. It looked like he might break free, but he just had too far to go. He was tackled and the final whistle blew. Edmonton had come all the way back for their fourth consecutive Grey Cup – barely.

Watts was named offensive most valuable player for the game, while John Glassford was named defensive most valuable player. It was also the last game for Gabriel and Wilkinson, who both closed out hall-of-fame careers.

Parting thoughts

The future looked so bright for J.C. and the eastern Riders. Just a couple plays away from winning the Grey Cup, they had a good defence, some young talent – and the reigning Grey Cup most valuable player. Yet the future would not unfold as anyone expected.