Remembering “The Love Boat”

The original cast of "The love Boat". in back from left are Ted Lange and Bernie Kopell; while in front from left are Fred Grandy; Gavin McLeod; and Lauren Tewes.

Source: https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/the-love-boat-cast-where-are-they-now

(May be subject to copyright)

Yesterday, I was at a rehearsal for a local production of “The Sound of Music.” I saw the actor playing Baron Von Trapp, and he was dressed in his military uniform.

“I feel like I should be selling fish sticks,” he joked.

“That’s not at all what I think, “ I said. “But I am wondering if you have seen Gopher or Doc.”

He and his wife doubled over in laughter.

That got me thinking about “The Love Boat”, a great show that docked on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial on Fridays.

Cruisin’
The Pacific Princess, a luxury cruise ship, was the setting for the show and the aforementioned “The Love Boat”. The show centred around the crew of the ship, and the weekly guests. There were usually two or three stories running simultaneously that would begin and end in that week’s episode.

The crew was led by Captain Merill Stubing, played by Gavin McLeod, who to that point was best known as news writer Murray Slaughter in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. There was also Adam “Doc” Bricker, the ship’s doctor, played by Bernie Kopell, who had done a turn as a nefarious operative in “Get Smart”. Berl “Gopher” Smith, the ship’s purser, was played by Fred Grandy, who would go on to become a real-life United States Congressman representing Iowa. Isaac Washington was the ship’s bartender, and he was played by Ted Lange. Finally, Julie McCoy, played by Lauren Tewes, was the ship’s cruise director.

Every week, the show would begin with an introduction of various passengers as they boarded the ship, then pan across them as the ship departed in a fanfare of confetti and streamers. Virtually every cruise would go down to Mexico, so viewers became familiar with the names of places such as Puerto Vallarta ands Mazatlan.

The comedy – and drama – came on the ship between trips ashore. I am sure, pragmatically, that was because it cut down on production costs to have all the action take place in a confined space.

But that too familiarized viewers with shuffleboard, the Promenade Deck, lazing by the pool, and fancy dining at the captain’s table – if you were lucky or special.

Special guests
What made the show was the guest stars. Many were actors on other weekly comedies and drama, while some were actors from bygone eras and the past. Still others were celebrities in other fields such as athletes, singers, politicians and more.

I am sure Wikipedia has a full list but I can recall a lot of guest stars as I sit here. There was Beth Howland and Vic Tayback from “Alice”; Robert Hegyes from “Welcome Back, Kotter”; John James from “Dynasty”; Douglas Barr from “The Fall Guy”; Jimmy Baio and Cathryn Damon from “Soap”; Ethel Merman, who played Gopher's mom; Kent McCord from “Adam-12”; Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Anson Williams, Erin Moran and Al Molinaro from “Happy Days”; and Priscilla Barnes and John Ritter from “Three’s Company”.

There was also Ted Knight from “Too Close for Comfort”; John Astin from “Operation Pettitcoat”; Mellissa Sue Anderson from “Little House on the Prairie” playing Gopher’s sister; Lisa Hartman and Michelle Lee from “Knot’s Landing”; Alan Hale from “Gilliagn’s Island”; Kim Richards from “Hello Larry”; singer Charo; baseball player Reggie Jackson; football player Rosie Greer; Georgia Engel from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”; David Doyle from “Charlie’s Angels”; Jack Jones, who actually sings the show’s theme song; Barbi Benton; Stella Stevens; Maren Jensen from “Battlestar Galactica”; Arte Johnson from “Laugh In”; Dick Sargent from “Bewitched”; Slim Pickens; Eve Arden; Bill Bixby and literally hundreds more.

Special episodes
As “The Love Boat” got its sea legs as a series, it started having these special episodes that were two parts or more. There are a few I remember well. In one, crew members and passengers are held captive by this jungle man, played by John Astin, who has not seen civilization for a long time. A storm hits and, afterwards, they discover his gun is filled with mud bullets.

“I’ll make you dirty,” he exclaims when his secret is revealed, as he waves his gun.

In another special episode, the Pacific Princess goes to Alaska. In a previous episode, Julie had fallen in love with a man played by Tony Roberts who lived in Alaska. In this episode, she finds him in Alaska and makes the excruciating decision to stay on the Pacific Princess.

Another special episode saw the Pacific Princess going head to head with the Sun Princess, another cruise ship, in a series of games kind of like the luxury Olympics. The Sun Princess’ captain is played by Ted Knight, who Gavin McLeod had co-starred with on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. The opposing captain drills his crew with military precision to avenge some grudge he had against Captain Stubing. The cruise director of the Sun Princess is a Swedish woman, played by Priscilla Barnes. In the final contest she and Doc end up mud wrestling, before getting together.

Memorable moments
There are several stories I remember well, some funny and some quite dramatic.

She did it for love
The most memorable involves a woman named Penelope who boards the Pacific Princess with her millionaire fiancé. She catches the eye of another passenger, Nick Rondo, who swears that not only did he grow up with her when she was known as Penny, but they used to date – seriously. At first she ignores him, and denies they ever met. Nick is persistent. Finally, Penelope says she just doesn’t want to end up poor like her mom. She even shares this story of how her mother’s biggest dream was having her hair done at a salon.

Nick persists, but then acknowledges he has lost. In the end, Penny comes to him. She realized through it all, her parents had love and that was all that really mattered in the end. She chose Nick and their love was more important than having money or possessions.

He then reveals that when they were kids and he was playing with radios, he turned that into a business. In fact, he says, in a trade for him over her fiancé, it was pretty much even. He’s a millionaire too.

A mile in her chair
An injured professional tennis player comes aboard, confined to a wheel chair. She is angry generally, but gets worse when a sports reporter, played by Bill Bixby, comes aboard. He had been quite critical of her on the court, and she had not forgotten. Then he is injured and – confined to a wheel chair. Now, he walks a mile in her shoes and they end up hitting it off.

Puppy love
Jimmy Baio plays a boy who develops a crush on a girl from another town, played by Kim Richards. They really hit it off, but know when the cruise ends, so will their relationship. In the end, her parents break some bad news to her. They are moving to a new town. She said she is not moving to some dump. He says El Paso is not a dump. He knows because that’s where he lives too.

Three-timer
David Doyle plays Alvin McNair, a nebbish of a man who goes solo on his cruise. He meets a woman and introduces himself as Alvin. Then he meets another woman and they hit it off too. This time he answers to the name Vinny. Incredibly, he meets a third woman and this time calls himself McNair. Predictably, the women meet and get to know each other, sharing stories about the great guys they have met. Then the secret is revealed.

Rags to riches
Maren Jensen plays a woman who suddenly becomes rich and doesn’t know how to act. She even tries to tip the captain when he holds the door open for her. Watching all of this is her former boyfriend, who sees her for who she really is, not the money she now has that others are clamouring to get a piece of.

Colour blind
Captain Stubing is excited to have his cabin painted in a special colour he has chosen. It is called Singapore Sunset Saffron, and he repeats it so often, I still remember that colour to this day. Whenever he shows someone a swatch, especially Gopher, the response is “Oh, yellow”. Stubing insists it's not yellow. Then Gopher takes the swatch and holds it up against the wall in the halls of the ship. It is the same colour.

“See, yellow,” Gopher says.

Stubing snaps and orders the painters, one played by Arte Johnson I believe, to paint the whole cabin blue. When he arrives after they are finished, he discovers they have painted everything blue – the walls, the TV, planters, everything.

A matter of taste
The ship gets a new crew member, Chef Borga, played by Al Molinaro. He too has a grudge with Captain Stubing, only this one is open from the outset. Stubing put ketchup on his boulliabase. When he confronts Stubing, the captain said he did it because it needed it. To accentuate the point, later at dinner, he again puts ketchup on his dinner – only after he makes sure Chef Borga sees him do it. They do eventually make up.

Christmas spirit
Dick Sargent play a priest , the head of an orphanage who brings a group of boys on a cruise. They are pretty rambunctious, with one boy always being left out. No matter how hard he tries, Captain Stubing only makes the boy feel worse. It is Christmas time, and Stubing plays Santa. He hands presents to all the boys – except one. The boy is dejected, but Stubing makes things right by giving the boy a sextet for a present. It belonged to Stubing’s family for generations, and meant a great deal to Stubing. The boy is so excited, he shows the others what he got.

Joke or no joke
A ladies man is cheating on his partner, so she and Doc cook up a scheme. They do something to make him feel sick enough to see Doc. When he gets to sick bay, Doc gives him a rough time, like soaking his stethoscope in ice and applying it to the man’s bare skin. Doc intimates the man may be dying. However, in the midst of his playing, Doc notices something troubling for real, and the man really could be dying. I think the man was played by Dack Rambo.

Back in the pros
Real-life football player Rosey Greer plays Virgil Plummer, a professional football player who looks as if his career is over. He admits he has nothing else but football. That’s all he knows how to do. Isaac takes an interest in him and tries to comfort him. Virgil bakes cookies to relieve stress, and people think they are amazing when they taste them. Isaac encourages Virgil to make a business out of it – until Virgil’s wife tells him he has been picked up by Tampa Bay.

There are so many more but, after all these years, in some cases more than 40, I still remember these ones vividly.

Theme song
“The Love Boat” theme song was also unforgettable. It was performed by Jack Jones, who actually appeared on an episode of the show and sang the song.

When my brother left for college, he left behind an old tape recorder that covered the better part of a full shelf, and had a chorded microphone. I used to use that machine to tape music off the TV.

One of the songs I taped off TV was that theme song from “The Love Boat”.

Parting thoughts
“The Love Boat” was must-see TV on Friday nights. I remember looking forward to watching it right after the evening news on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial.

The stories may be cheesy and predictable by today’s standards, but they definitely are memorable. As I reflected on them, some still brought a tear to my eye 40 years later.

That says it all.

Barry Gibb: Getting his due (or disco doesn’t suck)

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.

Source: https://www.discogs.com/artist/151481-Barry-Gibb/

(May be subject to copyright)

It was such a big part of the 1970s then it was just gone. The backlash against it may have been the biggest before all the vitriol poured on Nickleback. Yet, the club and dance music that emerged in the ‘80s and ‘90s seemed to bear a striking similarity to disco, although that just seemed taboo to say.

I was thinking about all the anti-disco propaganda earlier this week when I heard Barry Gibb was part of this year’s “Kennedy Centre Honours”.

My first thought was, “Why has this taken so long?’, then I realized Barry Gibb and his groundbreaking band of brothers the “Bee Gees”, may have borne the brunt of that anti-disco feeling.

I wondered if it was the last bastion of that feeling, as I reflected on their music.

Sounds of "Saturday Night Fever"
The Bee Gees had been playing and singing music starting in around 1957 when they were growing up in England. They would move to Australia in 1958, and continued on their musical career.

Their big break came when they agreed to do the soundtrack for “Saturday Night Fever”, a movie that came out in 1977  about the disco craze starring John Travolta.

The songs are iconic. The first release from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack was “How Deep is Your Love” and it went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. “More Than a Woman” followed, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Then an avalanche of hits followed.

“Stayin’ Alive” stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for four consecutive weeks. “If I Can’t Have You” was the “B” side of “Stayin’ Alive” for the Bee Gees. However, a version recorded by Yvonne Elliman was released as the fourth single off the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack and went all the way to number one. “Night Fever” followed and spent eight straight weeks at number one in 1978, the most of any single that year.

The Bee Gees went on to win five Grammys over two years for the album – Album of the Year; Producer of the Year; Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals twice, once in 1978 for “How Deep is Your Love" and once in 1979 for “Stayin’ Alive”; and Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for “Stayin’ Alive”.

Backlash
The movie “Saturday Night Fever” is just a bit before my time, so all I recall is that everyone was talking about it, and it was the movie John Travolta left “Welcome Back, Kotter” for.

Unlike a lot of music of their contemporaries, I never heard the Bee Gees or the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack when I got into music in 1984.

Instead, the odd time I heard about the Bee Gees in the 1980s was followed by some variation of “Disco sucks.”

By virtue of the fact they were never on the radio, those around me kept saying disco sucks, and I was just getting into music, I bought into the hype. Initially, I didn’t give disco a chance.

However, as I got more and more into music, I wanted to branch out. Ultimately, I bought the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack on vinyl at a garage sale. I don’t recall listening to it then, but I eventually did give their music a chance and I have to say it – I like it as much or more than most of its contemporaries.

Family time
My Aunt Monica is my godmother, and she has always taken the role very seriously. Every time she came to visit, she always had something for me. One time, she came to the farm and had a present for me – a vinyl record of the Sesame Street version of the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack called “Sesame Street Fever“. It had Grover as John Travolta and Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster as the Bee Gees.

It was around that time my Mom filled me in some more history. It may have actually been while I was looking at that record.

Back then, there was this singer named Andy Gibb I had heard of. I used to peek in on my sister when she was reading in her bedroom. One day I did and she was singing along to the radio. I asked who was singing. “Andy Gibb,” she said. I always remember that because I liked the song. I also learned he was dating Victoria Principal, who played Pam Ewing on “Dallas”, a very popular nighttime soap opera we watched.

Anyway, Mom told me Andy Gibb was the younger brother of the Bee Gees. When I asked my sister, she told me the Bee Gees were all brothers – Maurice, Robin, and Barry.

Resurgence
I think what really made me appreciate the Bee Gees was something that happened in 1997. I was listening to the radio in Edmonton, and I heard this song that sounded suspiciously like the Bee Gees. However, I dismissed that outright because, in my mind, the Bee Gees and disco were dead. Again, I could not have been more wrong.

The song was called “Alone” and the harmonies just touched my heart. Wikipedia reveals the Bee Gees had been doing well in the rest of the world, but success eluded them in North America – until “Alone”. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Adult Contemporary charts while in Canada it hit number one on the Adult Contemporary and number 20 on the Top Singles charts.

Parting thoughts
Barry Gibb wrote all those songs for the Bee Gees, making him one of the most prolific songwriters ever. Wikipedia reveals in 1977, Gibb saw five of his songs simultaneously enter the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, for one week, four of the top five songs were written by him. He is also the only songwriter in history to write four successive number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. He has had number one songs in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Overall, he has written or co-written 16 Billboard Hot 100 number one singles.

With his brothers he was inducted into the Songwriter Hall of Fame in 1994; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2002. He was awarded a knighthood in 2018.

The last hold out seemed to be the “Kennedy Centre Honours”.

I am glad Barry Gibb got his due there too.

Jim Backus: The staying power of Thurston Howell III

Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III on the sitcom "Gilligan's Island".

Source: https://www.slashfilm.com/1583282/jim-backus-gilligans-island-casting-script-rewrites/

(May be subject to copyright)

He was already a well-established actor when I first saw him, but he would turn in a memorable role on one of TV’s most memorable comedies, and lend his voice to one of my favourite cartoons.

Recently, when I was reflecting on “Gilligan’s Island”, I started thinking about Jim Backus, who played Thurston Howell III. He was also the voice of Mr. Magoo, who I just loved.

From the start
Jim Backus got his start in movies in 1948 and appeared in many including “M” in 1951; “Rebel Without a Cause” in 1955; “Man of a Thousand Faces” in 1957; “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” in 1963; “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t” in 1972; “Pete’s Dragon” in 1977; “The Electric Horseman” and “C.H.O.M.P.S.” in 1979; “There Goes the Bride” in 1980; and many, many more.

He was also prolific in television including his own series “The Jim Backus Show” in 1960-1961; as well as guest spots in “The Untouchables”; “Maverick”; “The Beverly Hilbillies”; “Password”; “The Wild, Wild West”; “I Dream of Jeannie”; “The Brady Bunch”; “Alias Smith and Jones”; the television movie “Miracle on 34th Street”; “Gunsmoke”; “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”; “CHiPs”; “Fantasy Island”; the pilot for “The Feather and Father Gang”; “Love Boat”; and more.

Stranded
Jim Backus’ most famous role was as Thurston Howell III in “Gilligan’s Island”. He was a billionire, reduced to a millionaire marooned with his wife Lovey and the other castaways. “Gilligan’s Island” ran three seasons and 98 episodes from 1964 to 1967.

He would also provide the voice of Thurston Howell III in the cartoons “The New Adventures of Gilligan’s Island” in 1974-1975 and “Gilligan’s Planet” in 1982; and appear in the TV reunion movies “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island” in 1978, “The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island” in 1979, and “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” in 1981. He reprised the part of Thurston Howell III, with Natalie Schafer who played Lovey Howell, in commercials for Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn; and a “Gilligan’s Island” reunion episode of “The Family Feud” in 1983.

Mr. Magoo
Jim Backus made his first appearance as the voice of Mr. Magoo in 1949 in “Ragtime Bear”, although it is uncredited. He would go on to voice Mr. Magoo in “Spellbound Hound”, also uncredited, in 1950; “Trouble Indemnity” and “Bungled Bungalow” in 1950.

There would be “Barefaced Flatfoot” and “Fuddy Duddy Buddy”, both uncredited, and “Grizzly Golfer”, all in 1951; and “Sloppy Jalopy”, “The Dog Snatcher”, “Pink and Blue Blues”, “Hotsy Footsy”, and “Captains Outrageous” all in 1952.

“Safety Magoo”, “Magoo’s Masterpiece”, and “Magoo Slept Here”, all came out in 1953; “Magoo Goes Skiing”, “Kangaroo Courting”, and “Destination Magoo”, all debuted in 1954; and “When Magoo Flew”, “Magoo’s Check Up”, “Magoo Express”, “Madcap Magoo”, “Stage Door Magoo”, and “Magoo Makes New” all came out in 1955.

There was “Magoo’s Canine Mutiny”, “Magoo Goes West”, “Calling Dr. Magoo”, “Magoo Beats the Heat”, “Magoo’s Puddle Jumper”, “Trailblazer Magoo”, “Magoo’s Problem Child”, and “Meet Mother Magoo” all in 1956; “Magoo Goes Overboard”, “Matador Magoo”, “Magoo Breaks Par”, “Magoo’s Glorious Fourth”, “Magoo’s Masquerade”, “Magoo Saves the Bank”, “Rock Hound Magoo”, “Magoo’s Moose Hunt”, and “Magoo’s Private War” all in 1957; and “Magoo’s Young Manhood”, “Scoutmaster Magoo”, “The Explosive Mr. Magoo”, “Magoo’s Three-Point Landing”, “Magoo’s Cruise”, “Love Comes to Magoo”, and “Gumshoe Magoo” all in 1958.

Then there was “”Bwana Magoo”, “Magoo’s Homecoming”, “Merry MinstrelMagoo”, “Magoo’s Lodge Brother” and “Terror Faces Magoo” all in 1959; “Magoo Meets Frankenstein”, “Magoo Meets McBoing Boing”, “I Was a Teenage Magoo”, and “Inside Magoo” all in 1960; “Mr, Magoo in Sherwood Forrest” and “Mr. Magoo’s Noah’s Ark” both in 1965; and “The Electric Horseman” in 1979.

I was not aware Mr. Magoo was a theatrical release until recently.

Mr. Magoo also took his act to television starting in 1964-1965 in “The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo”; then in the television movies “Mr. Magoo in Sherwood Forrest” in 1964; “Uncle Sam Magoo” in 1970; and “What’s New Mr. Magoo” in 1977.

After school and weekends
I picked up the trail of Jim Backus in the early 1980s when reruns of “Gilligan’s Island” appeared on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial. He was awesome in the role, never taking himself seriously and always seeming to think he was just a little bit better than everyone else – and wasn’t – for comic effect.

I also watched Mr. Magoo cartoons on Saturday mornings, likely in some of the revivals. Mr. Magoo was extremely near-sighted, getting into all sorts of trouble he never saw coming – literally. He always seemed to avoid certain danger. The brunt of that was usually borne by those around him.

Back then, there was no PVR or even a VCR to tape Mr. Magoo. The best I could do was buy the book, and I believe I did buy a Mr. Magoo comic in a book.

Death
One thing I noticed, even as a child, was the shake Jim Backus had. It was more noticeable in later shows I saw him in. His role was even reduced to a cameo at the end of “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island”, due to health problems.

It turned out he had Parkinson’s Disease. In 1989 he died of pneumonia related to his Parkinson’s.

He was 76.

Parting thoughts
I only knew Jim Backus through his role as Thurston Howell III and the voice of Mr. Magoo, but those were both iconic roles.

Every time I hear a name that ends in “the third”, I think of Thurston Howell. My cousin Krista married Jamie Howell. As corny as it sounds, I asked “Who’s Jamie’s Dad – Thurston Howell III”. The name was also synonymous with opulence, wealth and privilege – to comic advantage.

No matter what I saw Jim Backus in, whether “Love Boat”, “Fantasy Island”, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t”, or “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, I always thought “It’s Mr. Howell”.

Even with Mr. Magoo, I recall the first time I saw a Mr. Magoo cartoon.

“That’s Mr. Howell,” I thought.

That’s staying power.

Getting golden with Marilyn McCoo

Marilyn McCoo, host of "Solid Gold", in 1987.

Source: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/351695174685

(May be subject to copyright)

It was must see viewing on Saturday night when I was just getting into music back in 1984. Airing on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial, “Solid Gold” had a top 10 countdown based on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, live musical performances, interviews and more.

It was all hosted by Marilyn McCoo, an acclaimed performer in her own right, who I had already seen many times, but usually with her husband Billy Davis, Jr., not as a solo act.

A few days ago I watched “The Waltons: Homecoming” on the PVR. It was a 2021 remake of the original 1971 movie that spawned the long-running series.

During a scene with some people singing, I recognized one of the singers, then another. Older, but more distinguished and sounding as good as ever were Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.

It got me thinking back to “Solid Gold”, but so much more that Marilyn McCoo did.

Inter-dimensional
My first exposure to Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. was their band the 5th Dimension, and particularly their song “Up, Up and Away”, released in 1967. “Up, Up and Away” went all the way to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and won six Grammys in 1968 for Record of the Year; Song of the Year; Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; Best Performance by a Vocal Group; Best Performance by a Chorus; and Best Contemporary Song.

They also recorded “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” for the musical “Hair” in 1969. It went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group.

McCoo and Davis left the 5th Dimension in 1975. It was as a duo I saw them perform on various shows, and where they became synonymous with each other in my mind.

Golden
Marilyn McCoo became the host of “Solid Gold” in 1981 and stayed with the show until 1984. She returned to host again from 1986 to 1988.

She was really good in that role because she was a performer too, so she knew how to host but also how to interact with performers.

There is one thing I will always remember. “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins was my favourite song in 1984. However, I could not really understand all the lyrics. Then, on an episode of “Solid Gold”, Marilyn McCoo sang “Against All Odds” and clearly enunciated every word. I finally knew what the song was saying.

On screen
As illustrated by “The Waltons: Homecoming”, Marilyn McCcoo also has an acting career.

She appeared on the soap opera “Days Of Our Lives” in 1986 as a friend of Marlena Evans, played by Deidre Hall, and the love interest of Abe Carver, played by James Reynolds, until she left the show in 1987. She has also had guest starring roles in “The Love Boat”; the television movie “The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins”; “Double Dare”; the soap opera “Santa Barbara”; “New Love American Style”; “The Fall Guy”; “Punky Brewster”; “Sonny Spoon”; and “Night Court”.

Parting thoughts
When I think of Marilyn McCoo, I will always think of “Solid Gold”. It was at a time when I was just getting into music, so I soaked up every minute of it. I learned so much about the music of the day and a lot of that information is still with me.

Music became a big part of my life in the 1980s, and “Solid Gold” played a big part in that when I was just starting out.

For that, I will be eternally grateful to “Solid Gold”, and its most famous host Marilyn McCoo.

Going to bed with “The Waltons”

The original cast of "The Waltons".

Source: https://clickamericana.com/eras/1930s/waltons-1970s-nostalgic-family-tv-series

(May be subject to copyright)

“Good night John Boy.”
“Good night Mary Ellen.”
“Good night grandma.”
“Good night Elizabeth.”

It was a Sunday night staple that ended every episode the same way. It was bedtime on Walton’s Mountain, and there was a picture of the Walton home, which had several bedroom windows. Every week we could hear the voices of various characters wishing each other good night, along with a little banter at times. Each one would turn out their light. When all the lights were out and the house was dark, the episode was over.

A few days before Christmas I watched “The Waltons: Homecoming” on the PVR. It was a 2021 remake of the original 1971 movie that spawned the long-running series.

It got me thinking back to my own memories of “The Waltons”.

The show
Much was made of “The Homecoming”, the original pilot that seemed to air every so often after its premiere in 1971. I am sure I likely saw it, but I cannot be 100 per cent sure, because I would have been pretty young.

The premise is pretty straightforward. It is a show set during the 1930s, Great Depression and Second World War about a family living and operating a sawmill on Walton’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

John and Olivia Walton, played by Ralph Waite and Michael Learned, are the parents of seven children.

The show is narrated by John-Boy Walton, played by Richard Thomas, the eldest child of the family, who wants to be a writer. The voice is provided by Earl Hamner, the show’s creator, who based the show on his own experiences growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The rest of the Walton children are Jason, played by Jon Walmsley, who aspired to be a musician and performed often in the Dew Drop Inn in nearby Rockfish Mary Ellen is the eldest daughter, played by Judy Norton-Taylor, who was independent-minded and became a nurse; Erin, played by Mary McDonough, was a telephone operator and supervisor at a factory; Ben, played by Eric Scott, had red hair and was a bit of an entrepreneur; James Robert, or Jim-Bob, played by David W. Harper, aspired to be a pilot; and Elizabeth, the youngest, was played by Kami Cotler.

John’s parents, played by Will Geer and Ellen Corby, also lived with the family.

There were all sorts of friends and acquaintances as well. The Waltons shopped at the general store operated by Ike Godsey and his wife Corabeth; they hung out with the Baldwin sisters, who were seniors, and made moonshine they called “Papa’s Recipe”; their church pastor was played by a very young John Ritter; and there were so many more.

Sunday night viewing
“The Waltons” aired Sunday nights on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial. Often, we would go visiting family on Sundays. My earliest memories are of trips to Calgary to visit my Dad’s two sisters and their families, as well as his parents, brother and sister on a farm north and east of Brooks. Later, the trips were just to Brooks. We generally left after supper for home, usually around 7 p.m., and we’d be back in time for at least the last part of “The Waltons”.

Soon, “The Waltons” would move all around the dial, changing times more than once, including Sunday afternoons at like 4 p.m. That made it hard to keep up with, and I eventually lost track of the show.

What I do recall, more than anything, was the way each week began. There would an attention grabbing scene followed by dramatic music and a dissolve to the show’s opening credits. It consisted of drawings of the people, places and things of Walton’s mountain set to a really good theme song.

I do have some memories of the show. Actor Will Geer died and we wondered how the show would handle that. They did in probably they only way they could – Grandpa Walton died too.

Not too much after that, actress Ellen Corby had a stroke, and we watched with anticipation how the show would handle that. Very tastefully, as Grandma Walton got sick too, but she was still in the show. Understandably, she said very little, but it was still such a triumph of the spirit. I remember, even at a young age, rooting for her and being glad to see her back on the show.

John-Boy was an aspiring writer and I recall an episode where he sent in his novel to a publisher. He eventually followed up, fearing it would get lost among all the other manuscripts writers submitted. I remember the scene with a table fuil of manuscripts that all looked the same, wrapped in brown paper.

Later, he would join the war effort and be lost. When he returned, he looked different, because he was no longer played by Richard Thomas. Robert Wightman had taken over the role.

There was another episode, somewhat vague, where a man was to be married and his friends kidnapped him. They drove him miles from town the night before the wedding, and dumped him out, as some form of bachelor party.

Beyond that, I just have a lot of general memories, mostly characters, names and general plot themes.

Life goes on
The show would run nine seasons from 1972 to 1981 for 221 episodes. There were also six reunion movies, starting with three in 1982 – “A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain”; “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain”; and “A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain”. “A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion” followed in 1993; then “A Walton Wedding” in 1995; and “A Walton Easter” in 1997.

Parting thoughts
My Mom and I used to talk about TV shows a lot. She used to say a lot of shows were good, until they just ran out of ideas.

By the dawn of the 1980s, “The Waltons” was on the path my Mom described.

It had been an excellent show, and must-see TV on Sunday nights. The characters were engaging and the stories connected with viewers.

However, another thing my Mom used to talk about also happened to “The Waltons”. Any time you have children on a show, and it goes on any length of time, the children grow up and – the writers run out of ideas.

By the time “The Waltons” entered the 1980s, most of the Walton children were married and some had children. They had gone through a number of jobs and life situations. It was time the show ended, because it had run its course. If there was more story to be told, they could do so through a TV movie. That’s what they did, several times.

Yet, “The Waltons” was also a part of the pop culture fabric of my childhood in the ‘80s.

On more than one occasion I was on a sleep over with my cousins Fred, Vince, Chris and Henry, either in Brooks or at our place. We turned the lights off. Then it started.

“Good night Fred.”
“Good night Vince.”
“Good night Henry.”
“Good night Chris.”
“Good night Rob.”
“Good night John Boy.”

What else can you say?

Gilligan’s Island: Part of our collective consciousness

The cast of the sitcom "Gilligan's Island".

Source: https://www.remindmagazine.com/gallery/gilligans-island-behind-the-scenes-photos/

(May be subject to copyright)

It was a three-hour cruise that stretched into decades, becoming an icon of pop culture. When we drove past the harbour in Campbell River today and I saw all the masts of the boats, I told my partner, “This looks like the opening credits for ‘Gilligan’s Island’.”

That got me thinking about the show and how it got new life in the ‘80s.

After school special
My earliest recollection of “Gilligan’s Island” was watching episodes playing after school on Channel 7 of the peasant vision dial. The premise was simple. The Skipper and his first mate Gilligan run the “S.S. Minnow” a boat they offer three hour tours with. One day, they are on a trip with a millionaire couple, a professor, a movie star, and a country girl. It is actually best explained in the opening theme song, which I learned through osmosis:

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this
Uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star,
The Professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligan’s Isle.

Bob Denver played Gilligan; Alan Hale Jr. played The Skipper; Jim Backus played millionaire Thurston Howell III; Natalie Schafer played his wife Lovey; Tina Louise played movie star Ginger Grant; Dawn Wells played Mary Ann; and Russell Johnson played The Professor.

They were left to their own devices, building huts, hunting and gathering for food, and relying on a few possessions, such as a radio, they had salvaged. With the Minnow too damaged to sail, many episodes were devoted to finding ways to fix the boat and sail back to civilization. I remember one where The Professor said he finally developed a nail that would work to fix the hull. When he tried to hammer it into wood, it just drooped like a house plant. The castaways were stranded another week.

Every week Gilligan would run into some kind of challenge, or the Professor would come up with yet another way to try and get everyone off the island. The castaways had their share of visitors whether a lost pilot and a surfer, or other denizens of the island such as natives. They also found ways to entertain themselves, also to comic effect.

The episodes I saw were in colour. A few years later “Entertainment Tonight” was doing a nightly retrospective of classic comedies, and did a segment on “Gilligan’s Island”. It was then I discovered the show was initially shot in black and white and there were a lot more episodes than the ones I had seen many times.

In total, “Gilligan’s Island” ran for three seasons, from 1964 to 1967, for 98 episodes and a pilot. Yet it lived on in syndication, where I saw it more than 15 years later.

Finally rescued?
Soon, I heard word and I am not sure where, that a new “Gilligan’s Island” movie was being made. That was at a time when a lot of reunions for shows from the 1960s were being made.

The rumours were true, and I am pretty sure I saw commercials for the reunion.

“Rescue from Gilligan’s Island” aired in two parts, separated by a week, in 1978. The castaways finally get off the island by tying their huts together and riding out a storm that takes them back to communication range and ultimately civilization. Now they have to figure out what they have missed and how to move forward. They would all have trouble fitting back in over the next year.

I really enjoyed part one, but was sad because I knew I would miss pretty much all of part two, I think because I had a floor hockey game. We got back just in time for the ending. They are all on a reunion cruise aboard the “Minnow II”, the Skipper's new boat, celebrating their first Christmas since being rescued. History repeats itself as the castaways are stranded again. Gilligan then emerges from the jungle with a piece of the “S.S. Minnow” sign. They were back on the same island they were initially marooned on.

The entire cast reprised their roles except Tina Louise who was in a dispute with the producers. The role of Ginger Grant was subsequently taken over by Judith Baldwin.

Rescued again
I had no idea what happened next, until it was too late. It was at some sort of family gathering at my place because my brother and some of my older cousins were there. I had been out playing with some younger cousins when I went in the house. They were all gathered in the living room watching a show, that looked oddly familiar.

My brother said it was “Gilligan’s Island”. I thought that odd. He went on to explain it was a resort island now. Everyone had got off the island again.

Oddly, I did not want to see what happened without seeing the show from the beginning, so I did something else.

I never did see that second movie, “The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island” which came out in 1979.

However, I sort of did see how they got off the island in a different way.

One last look
We got to visit Gilligan’s Island one more time in 1981, and the only time in the ‘80s. Again, I somehow found out about this third sequel movie either from “TV Guide” or maybe “Entertainment Tonight.”

I was struck by the title “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island”, mixing two elements I would never have put together.

At the outset, it showed a history of the castaways from first getting stranded, then getting rescued, to getting stranded again, and the second time they got rescued. There was no narration to really explain what happened, just clips from previous shows, including one showing the castaways hopping a makeshift plane. That was their second escape. Seeing that posed more questions than answers.

Then it was on to the new show. The resort was in full swing, now under the management of Thurston Howell IV. As it turns out Jim Backus was in poor health so the mantle passed to his character’s son. This time around a couple played by Martin Landau and Barbara Bain want to take over the island for a rare element it has. Interestingly, they were married in real life at the time and had appeared in a number of other shows together. However, they are stopped with the help of the Harlem Globetrotters. The movie climaxes in an exhibition game between the Globetrotters and a team of evil robots. After everything is resolved, Jim Backus makes a brief appearance as Thurston Howell III.

That would be the last of “Gilligan’s Island” as we know it.

The series would also spawn two cartoons “The New Adventures of Gilligan”, airing from 1974 to 1977, and “Gilligan’s Planet”, which aired for 12 episodes in 1982 and 1983.

Parting thoughts
Even though “Gilligan’s Island” ended three years before I was born, I still remember it well, especially the antics of Gilligan, the creativity of the professor, and the interplay of all the characters.

The show has become part of the language of pop culture. Since I started writing this, I watched a brand new episode of the TV series “9-1-1”. One of the characters cannot contact a friend on a cruise ship. She tells her partner she is concerned. What if something has happened?

“It’s not the ‘Minnow’,” her partner responds.

That just shows how entrenched “Gilligan’s Island” is in our collective consciousness.

Christmas Day memories

All my Christmas Day memories growing up in the 1980s can be summed up by one word – family. I would wake up on Christmas Day, usually the last to arise, and my parents would already be up and around. I usually got some time, depending how late I woke up, to play with my new toys, but soon it was time to get ready.

We were getting together with family.

Family affair
I didn’t know it then, but my parents had moved from my Dad’s family farm by Brooks to the Coaldale area in 1964, in part, to be closer to my mom’s family. Her parents, my Opa and Oma Jetz, lived in Lethbridge as did her sister, my Aunt Joanne Schurman, her husband my Uncle Ed, and their children, my cousins Nina and Carl. Not far up the road from our farm, a little south and east, was my Mom’s older brother my Uncle Witold Jetz, his wife my Aunt Lotta, and their children my cousins Gary and Doris. The oldest son, Vern, lived in Calgary.

We would rotate among our place, my Aunt Joanne’s in Lethbridge, and my Uncle Witold’s farm for Christmas.

It was always a family affair.

On the road
Uncle Ed and Aunt Joanne’s was always my favourite place to go, not just at Christmas, buy any time. They lived in the city, far from the isolation of the farm. They had cable TV, but they also had something much more important – my cousin Carl. I just idolized him, wanted to be like him, and loved to play games with him.

We would get to Lethbridge around 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m., long enough to get comfortable, catch up on what we all got for Christmas, and usually play with the new stuff. Sometimes I would bring one of my new toys, but not always.

Carl got into music. I recall one year listening to one of the records he got for Christmas – “Hotter than Hell” by Kiss.

Then it was time for dinner. This long table would be set up, usually consisting of a number of tables, where the adults ate. The kids – me, Nina, Carl and Doris – would either be seated at the end or have our own “kids’ table”. It was kind of like a scene out of “The Waltons”.

We always had turkey but I also recall ham. There was mashed potatoes, various vegetables, often purple cabbage which went very well with gravy, and stuffing. There was never any danger we’d run out of food. The one thing I will always remember is having a glass of “Baby Duck”, this sparkling, carbonated wine. One year, Uncle Ed brought “Baby Bear”, which tasted the same to me. I’m guessing it was some sort of knock off.

After we ate, it was back to playing with my cousins, although we were all slowed as the process of digestion took hold.

An outstanding memory I have is playing games. With Nina, Carl and Doris it would be “Monopoly”, “Clue”, or “Stock Ticker” mostly. Sometimes our older cousins would play “Rummoli” or some other card game, and that was fun. Later, as the ‘80s progressed, Doris got “Trivial Pursuit”, and Nina, Carl and I got handheld video games such as “Merlin”; “Wildfire” which was a pinball game; “Mattel Hockey”; “Mattel Baseball”; and I think they even had “Simon”.

Country cousins
Going just up the road to Uncle Witold’s was a different experience. I was generally there more often anyway. It was so close, it was easy to get a lift from my parents and, later, I could ride my bike over. For a lot of years we just swapped back and forth between our place and Uncle Ed and Aunt Joanne’s. Uncle Witold was renovating their house and they said it wasn’t in shape to host that many people.

Before the renovations, I do recall they too had a long table with all the adults around it, and us kids at the end. Again, there was no end of food. My Mom and my aunts were all good cooks

I recall one Christmas when my cousin Vern showed up with a beard, the first time I had ever seen that. His younger brother Gary sported a long, bushy beard. Doris told me when Gary saw Vern come through the door, all he said was, “Cheap imitation.” I laughed.

Another Christmas, we went over there and they were watching some music videos Doris had taped off “Good Rockin’ Tonite’”. It had to be from there because my uncle and aunt’s farm was also served by the rural cable network. I walked into the living room and “Sentimental Street” by Night Ranger was on. Cathy, my cousin Vern’s wife, said she read that song was voted the worst video. In the same article, she said the best video was “Centrefield” by John Fogarty.

Yet another time, everyone was in the kitchen talking except Vern. He was sitting in the living room by himself, likely just taking a bit of a break. I went in there and had the longest, coolest conversation about hockey and football and so much more. I remember asking him if he heard who drafted Dan Marino. He responded he didn’t even know who the Flames drafted. Vern was preoccupied because Marino is a football player. A few years ago, Vern told me he had a similar conversation in the same setting with my Mom, and raved about how much she knew about so many different subjects.

Another time, my sister was just getting into photography. She was setting up Nina to take a picture of her. I was horsing around and not only jumped in front of the camera but did so with flair, like I was signaling touchdown. Even then I thought it was a bit of a dick move. When Barb got her pictures back from developing a few weeks later, both her and Mom thought it was a great photo of me. They forgot what actually happened. All I could see in the photo was Nina behind me trying to pose – and laughing.

Beyond these stray thoughts, I don’t have a lot of memories there, because we didn’t actually do Christmas there very often.

Home game
Hosting Christmas was another thing altogether. Instead of going when we wanted, I had to wait for my cousins to come. I loved having them over, and really wanted to spend time with them especially Carl.

At our place, Mom set up a long table – it was actually three tables end to end – stretching from the edge of our kitchen right through into a bit of the living room. We had a long house, so it was perfect for this. My Mom never thought so, always claiming our house was too small to host that many people. Her bigger worry was running out of water. We had to haul it in, so we were careful when to flush the toilet. My city cousins were used to flushing the toilet at will, so my Mom’s worry was real. I recall more than once, after everyone went home, my sister asking Mom if we ran out of water. We never did.

I do recall playing games with my cousins, the same ones we played at their houses. What I remember best was when I got Intellivision. One year, it was when I was in Grade 6, I borrowed “NFL Football” from my classmate Kimbo Pahara. Vern came over before the rest of his family, and really got into football. My Dad had a desk beside the room Intellivision was in, and Vern took a notepad off that desk to write down some plays he wanted to remember for the game. He also showed me how to shift defences pre-snap.

Another year, I borrowed “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons”, which was an adventure game, one of the first of its kind. By then, I had moved my Intellivision into my bedroom. About half a dozen of my cousins crowded in there watching as Vern advanced through various places finding treasure, food and weapons. It was pretty cool.

Parting thoughts
As we all got older, fewer and fewer cousins came. Carl was the first one to stop coming, choosing to hang out with his friends. The older ones came less frequently, partly because they married and had another family to visit as well.

Eventually, the big gatherings stopped, but my parents and aunts and uncles kept getting together even if it was just for coffee in the afternoon. Family and staying connected was always very important to them.

That is what I will always remember best about Christmas – family.

Christmas Day was for family.

Christmas Eve memories

In our family, Christmas Eve was the night we opened all our presents. My earliest memories are being so impatient, it was excruciating to wait until December 24 to open presents.

As I celebrate Christmas in another province for the first time in my life, I’ m thinking back to all those things that happened on Christmas Eve when I was growing up on the farm in the ‘80s.

Firm but fair
One year, when I was really young, my family went to Lethbridge to see a movie a few days before Christmas Eve. It was “The Pink Panther Strikes Again”, which in retrospect was probably not for kids. Afterwards, my parents took me to the Lethbridge Brewery Hill which was decked out in Christmas lights. It was just awesome and, even without a brewery, it is still a great Christmas light display.

While we enjoyed the lights, I had mentioned I was anxious to open presents. My Mom comforted me, saying it was just a couple more days, breaking it down into one more day of school, then a night then another day, then it was Christmas Eve.

I remember how kind, but firm, my Mom was.

No presents until Christmas Eve.

Waiting isn’t so bad
As I got older, patience indeed did become a virtue. I had no problem waiting to open presents. Usually, we had to wait anyway, whether it was for my brother and his wife, and later children, to come from Calgary; or my sister to come first from Calgary, then later from Lethbridge when she moved there. Throughout the 1980s, my brother and sister made it to the farm for every Christmas. The only exception was when we went to Calgary to celebrate Christmas at my brother’s in 1989.

When I was a teenager, I remember my brother and his wife teasing me about waiting until at least 9 p.m. to open presents. By then, I was already doing a lot of writing. I think I was working on a play at that point, and just started working at that. They called out to me from the living room and said they were joking.

I told them I was coming – when I finished the thought I was writing.

Patience had become a virtue.

Gift opening
The presents were always the most important thing, and I still remember many of them vividly. Often the ideas came from other people who already had the toys, and I had the chance to try them out.

There was a microscope, similar to one Ian Schumacher at school had. There was the 75-in-One, an intricate electric circuit board where I connected wires in certain patterns to make everything from a siren to a door bell. My cousin Thomas Ginter had that first. There was also a ghetto blaster from Sears which was the exact same one that my friend and neighbour Mat had.

There were also toys that built on what I had. After I bought my own Intellivision, my parents bought me the game cartridge “Triple Action” while my brother and his wife bought me “NHL Hockey”. After I got a Commodore-64 computer, my parents bought me the game cartridge “Kickman”.

There were big ticket items such as a ghetto blaster in 1984, and a VCR in 1985, and some time before that an exercise bike.

My siblings also surprised me with some pretty cool gifts that were based on my actual interests. My sister went to the University of Victoria in the Fall of 1988 and brought me back a UVIC hockey jersey for Christmas. My brother saw that I liked the Calgary Stampeders, so he bought me an actual Calgary Stampeders t-shirt. This was at a time there wasn’t that much merchandise around, like now. He bought it from a store called “Forzani’s Locker Room”. That was extra cool to me because the owners were the brothers of current Stampeder Tom Forzani, number 22, and one of my favourite players.

Before game consoles, there were handheld video games. One Christmas I got “Merlin” which had several games including “Memory” and “Tic Tac Toe” or “X’s and O’s” as I liked to call. Another year I got “Wildfire”, an electronic handheld pinball game, which I had played at a junior high dance instead of, you know, dancing. I even remember one of our teachers, Mr. Matson, asking us why we brought a video game to a dance if we were going to spend all our time in the hallway. Another year I got Mattel hockey.

Another, sort of handheld video game, was this electronic trivia game “Quiz Wiz”. You could buy different sets of questions. Each one came with a special electronic thing attached to the actual book of trivia questions that you plugged in to the game’s brain. The game came with the standard general interest questions, which my parents got me. Then my brother gave me this one that was all sports. Again, he had provided a present based on seeing what I was interested in.

What’s next
The interesting thing about opening presents. There is all this build up and anticipation then it happens – and it’s over. Often, I would play with my new toys, but then what?

Usually we would watch TV and our wide selection of three channels. That meant, on a number of occasions, watching “The Sound of Music” on Channel 13 or “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Carol” on Channel 9.

I was often pretty wiped, because I always fell asleep during “The Sound of Music” and never saw the end.

Gets me to the church on time
Just once, my Dad took us all to Midnight Mass at St. Ambrose Church in Coaldale, including my Mom who was not Catholic. I have a few outstanding memories.

My Mom was obviously uncomfortable. I had been going to mass every Sunday with my Dad, so I knew how it went. I had a routine as I followed along in this little book we had, called a missalette. When we got to the church, my Mom took it from me, looked through it a second, then kept it, but never looked at it again. I was kind of hurt by that. Looking back, she was obviously suffering from anxiety and I couldn’t blame her.

The church was packed and the air was thick. We stood for long periods of time. I felt faint at one point, and Mom took me to the car. I spent the rest of the service lying in the front seat. I dozed and was awakened by my family returning from service.

The parking lot was full of people, so my Dad drove slowly. Suddenly my brother rolled down his window, and exclaimed, “Stan, you rowdy!” It was his friend Stanley Rach. I recall thinking it cool that my brother had friends around.

New kid in town
Things changed with the birth of my first niece in March of 1986. My Mom in particular was so excited that first Christmas she forgot I was still a kid. She focused all her attention on the baby, and thought it would be cool to have the baby open my presents. She wasn’t old enough yet, so she was just as excited about a piece of wrapping paper as what was inside. My sister-in-law quickly pointed out to my Mom that maybe I did want to open my own presents.

My Mom could get lost in the moment like that.

On the road
In like November of 1989, my Mom informed me we were spending Christmas at my brother’s in Calgary that year. I was really surprised by that because, as always, I was never asked about anything, just told. It was a tad unsettling at first, but I warmed to the idea pretty quickly. I was becoming more mature and empathetic, so I could see why my brother would want to be in his own house. His son was born in May of 1989 so he had two kids now, plus his aging mother-in-law, who was an amazing lady, was in Calgary. Besides neither I nor my sister had a partner of any kind at the time to draw us in another direction.

It ended up being a cool Christmas, and a great way to end the decade. The funny thing was, that was the only Christmas we did not spend at my parents’ house either on the farm or, after 1991, in Lethbridge.

Parting thoughts
I always looked forward to Christmas, and Christmas Eve was such a great time. I have so many great memories.

Beyond the family and the presents there is this warm feeling of familiarity and belonging. As I got older and left the farm to go off to university, I knew I could always come home.

It was the one place on Earth I knew always had a place for me.

No matter where I was, I always went home for Christmas. Whether it was the farm or my brother’s place in Calgary, it was home because that’s where my family was.

The Muppets: A cool cast of characters

Creator Jim Henson with the colourful cast of characters of "The Muppet Show".

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/9isz2z/jim_henson_and_the_muppets_1980/

(May be subject to copyright)

It is a show that I quote more often than I thought. Actually, I refer to just one pair of characters, and people of a certain age instantly know what I am talking about.

Awhile ago I saw two crusty old men in town and they were laughing and complaining and solving the problems of the world.

“Look at Statler and Waldorf,” I said to the person I was with. He didn’t know who I was referring to.

“The two old guys from ‘The Muppets,” I responded. “Who sit up in the balcony and make fun of everyone.”

He instantly knew who I was referring to.

When I was growing up, I looked forward to tuning into Channel 9 CBC on the peasant vision dial every week to watch “The Muppets”.

It was crafted like a variety show with acts going on stage and performing, while the cameras took us back stage to see the show behind the show.

Like any variety show “The Muppets” had an interesting cast of characters.

Street smart
The host was Kermit the Frog, who I came to know from “Sesame Street”. He was such a kind, endearing soul, with a calm, soothing voice. He acted as not only host but show runner, trying to keep the show flowing and juggling the needs and wants of the zany characters and special guests.

To start every episode of “The Muppet Show”, it would fade in to Kermit, who would pronounce, “It’s the Muppet Show with our very special guest star…” and fill in the guest of that week.

The theme song was epic too. The female cast would dance across the screen singing, “It’s time to play the music, It’s time to light the lights, It’s to meet the Muppets, On the Muppet Show tonight.”

The male cast would answer, dancing across the screen singing, “It’s time to put on makeup, It’s time to dress up right, It’s time to raise the curtain, On the Muppet Show tonight.”

It also included the Muppets saying “But now let’s get things started.”

The audience responds with, “Why don’t you get things started?”

Then Kermit says, “It’s time to get things started.”

That eventually led to the climax of the opening. The Muppets sing, “It’s the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational, This is what we call The Muppet Show!”

Going Gonzo
The opening would end with Gonzo coming out to play his trumpet. Every week something strange would happen. Either something would come out of the end of it, or something would happen as a result of him playing it. That set the mood for the show.

Hog wild
One of the biggest personalities was Miss Piggy. She was vain, needy, and high maintenance as the prima donna of the show. She dated Kermit the Frog and affectionately called him “Kermie”. However, she bordered on abusive the way she bossed him around and made him feel small. She also kept him, and others in line, with her infamous karate chop. She would signal it was coming with a patented, “Hiii ya!”

I have to say, she was my least favourite character.

Bear necessities
Besides Kermit the Frog, my favourite Muppet was Fozzie Bear. He was an up and coming comedian who struggled to be funny, often dealing with boos from the audience when he was on stage. Yet, he was a kind soul too. He really meant no harm and always had the best of intentions.

Stockholm syndrome
One of the quirkiest characters was the Swedish Chef. After all no variety show is complete without a cooking segment. Yet, the Swedish Chef was incomprehensible to understand, by design, because he was supposed to be speaking Swedish. It always came out, “Um bork bork, Um bork bork…”

The ingredients always seemed to fly around too. He seemed to attack the food with his cleaver with a fervent zeal.

House band
No variety show would be complete without a band either. "The Muppet Show" had Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. They were always worth watching, especially the lead man’s eye-catching golden teeth and Animal, the band’s hyperkinetic drummer.

Outer space
Another feature, a play on shows such as “Star Trek”and “Star Wars” was “Pigs in Space”. Three pigs would fly around encountering alien life forms. I always remember the introduction, a long drawn out “Piiiiiigs – iiin Spaaaaaaaace”.

Peanut gallery
And of course, there were the two old guys heckling the show at every turn. Statler and Waldorf were good comic relief within the show, making some pretty cutting and pointed – albeit funny – remarks.

Ya, science
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew was an absent-minded scientist who performed these hapless science experiments. He had the help of his assistant Beaker, who didn’t speak words, but expressed his emotions through a series of “Mee, mee, mees”. Often, the experiments went seriously wrong and they suffered injuries, to comedic effect.

Scooter
What I will always remember about Scooter was his eyes and his glasses were one and the same. He was the stage manager and gofer whose uncle owned the Muppet Theatre and rented it to the Muppets.

The guests
The show had every manner of special guests from Elton John to Sylvestor Stallone, and everyone in between. That may have been one of the best parts of the show.

The twist
“The Muppet Show” did some interesting things. One episode I remember well was when pigs were taking over the whole show. Kermit the Pig was the host now, and the resident comedian was Fozzie Pig. He still wasn’t funny.

Behind the scenes
“The Muppet Show” was created by Jim Henson, who was a genius. Yet, he could not get much traction on primetime American television.

I recall at the outset of every episode on Channel 9 of the peasant vision dial, the ITC Entertainment logo coming on before the show started. The show, which ran from 1976 to 1981, lasted five seasons and 120 episodes, and was produced and recorded in England.

The movies
The Muppets hit the big screen with several movies, starting with “The Muppet Movie” in 1979; “The Great Muppet Caper” in 1981; “The Muppets Take Manhattan” in 1984; “The Muppet Christmas Carol” in 1992; “Muppet Treasure Island” in 1996; “Muppets from Space” in 1999; “The Muppets” in 2011; and “Muppets Most Wanted” in 2014.

“Muppet Movie” memories
I have a couple odd memories of “The Muppet Movie”. I first heard about it in elementary school, and the song “Rainbow Connection” sung by Kermit the Frog. Our school, St. Joseph’s in Coaldale, used to participate in the Kiwanis Festival. The grade ahead of us performed “Rainbow Connection” for the festival, and sang it at one of our school assemblies. The song actually hit number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. That song touched me, and made me want to see the movie.

Coaldale used to have a fair every summer called Settler’s Days. One year, I am thinking 1980 or 1981, they advertised “The Muppet Movie” would be shown. I was so excited to go, and I thought my parents were in to go to Coaldale.

Then my Uncle Ed and Aunt Joanne and cousin Carl came to visit with his cousin Todd. That de-railed my chance to see the movie.

I eventually did see it, a couple years after that on network television, all cut up by commercial breaks.

Parting thoughts
When I was little, “The Muppet Show” was must-see viewing every week. I just loved the variety, the puppets, the different guests and the production values.

I liked the music too. My brother had left behind a tape recorder when he left home for college. I used it to tape stuff of TV. When of the things I recall sticking that big microphone in front of the TV speaker to record was the theme from “The Muppet Show”.

One of our streaming services has the old episodes of “The Muppet Show”. Maybe some day soon, I will re-introduce myself to that great cast of characters.

Christmas music: Remembering Bryan Adams, Corey Hart and the Boss

When you mention Christmas music, most often people go to Christmas carols such as “Joy to the World”, “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “Silent Night”, and so on.

However, there is a lot of Christmas music sung by popular performers that hits the airwaves this time of year as well.

As I was thinking back to Christmases past, I could not help thinking about some of the songs sung by artists of the time to celebrate Christmas.

“Christmas Time”
Bryan Adams wrote “Christmas Time” with longtime partner Jim Vallance and they released it late in 1985.

Wikipedia reveals it was released on clear, green vinyl with a picture sleeve. It reached number 31 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and number 39 in Canada, although it peaked at number four on the Billboard 100 Christmas chart. It also earned a gold record in Canada for selling 100,000 copies.

“Christmas Time” remains one of my favourite Christmas songs.

 

“Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”
By Christmas of 1985, Corey Hart had become one of Canada’s biggest stars with his second album “Boy on the Box”. It only made sense that he would try and keep that momentum going with a Christmas song.

The result was “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, which was recorded live at Landsdown Park in Ottawa in August of 1985. It was released on .45 on the “B” side of Hart’s hit single “Everything in My Heart”.

I could find no record – all pun intended – of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” charting. It likely didn’t if it was a “B” side, even if it was a popular Christmas song.

I do recall hearing it fairly often, especially that first year it was released. However, it did not have the same staying power as Bryan Adams.

“Santa Claus is coming to Town”

The first time I heard it, it may very well have been the angriest sounding Christmas song I had ever heard. Yet as much as it sounds like Bruce Springsteen is growling “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, it is a strangely endearing and cool song.

Springsteen recorded it on Dec. 12, 1975 during a concert at C.W. Post College in Brooklyn, New York. It was recorded but sat unused until making its first appearance on the “Sesame Street” compilation album “In Harmony 2” in 1981. However, he kept performing it at his live shows at Christmas time.

Then, in 1985 at the end of November, when he released the single “My Hometown”, he decided to use “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” as the B side.

The Bruce Springsteen version also has what sounds like interplay with the audience, something he did when he performed it live.

Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is coming to Town” remains a song played around Christmas time on the radio, and I find myself growling out the chorus myself when I hear it.

Parting thoughts
It makes sense to me now that I recall all three of these Christmas songs together – they were all released in 1985. I had been into music just over a year, and was really getting into it.

Bryan Adams and Corey Hart were aided by Canadian Content requirements that mandated a certain amount of Canadian music be played on radio. Springsteen was just a hot commodity at the time. In fact “My Hometown” was the seventh single released from his “Born in the USA” album.

Having said that, the songs all stand on their own merits.

They are excellent Christmas songs, and I look forward to hearing them every December.

Christmas movies: “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was another must-see show every Christmas in the '80s.

Source: https://www.tvguide.com/news/where-to-watch-a-charlie-brown-christmas/

(May be subject to copyright)

It still brings a tear to my eye, even when I just think about it. When I was growing up, I always had an affinity for Charlie Brown and that was no more apparent than when watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” every year.

Charlie goes from discouragement to joy, and who can ever forget the magic of that Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

No survey of Christmas movies I watched in the 1980s would be complete without “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.

The story
Charlie Brown is sad and dejected about the Christmas season. After a visit to Lucy for advice, she suggests he direct a Christmas play. That does not go too well either, as the cast members are all about material possessions and Charlie Brown laments the commercialism.

He chooses a play with a Christmas tree at the centre. However, when he goes shopping for a tree, the only live one is a sickly looking sapling. It’s more of a Christmas branch than a tree.

Charlie Brown takes it back. As he passes Snoopy’s dog house, which is heavily decorated, he grabs a bulb. In an attempt to decorate the tree, he hangs the bulb, making the tree bend over. It left Charlie Brown thinking he killed it.

Meanwhile, Linus has given an impassioned speech, and the rest of the kids come to their senses, and go right out to the tree. Led by Linus, who wraps the base of the tree with his beloved security blanket, they decorate it. Then the kids all sing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”.

Charlie Brown hears this, returns to the tree, and they all yell, “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!”

He joins them in the song and it begins to start snowing.

Charlie Brown realizes the spirit of Christmas, and its true meaning, are alive and well.

Just the start
Charlie Brown has always had a special place in my heart. Beyond “A Charlie Brown Christmas” there were other specials I just loved watching such as “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”.

Book ‘em
We used to be able to order books through school every month, called Scholastic Books. They had different names depending on the age group, but I remember “Arrow”, “Lucky”, and “Tab”. One year, I recall ordering a Charlie Brown book, “You’re a Good Sport Charlie Brown”, I think.

I remember the day the book order came. I was in Grade 6, and our regular teacher was away. The phys ed teacher, who was kind of a jerk, was subbing. He gave out the orders. That day there were only two, for me and a girl named Kathy. My name didn’t get called. I went up asking where my book was? He said it must not have come, because the only ones were this teen romance book, and Charlie Brown. He gave the Charlie Brown book to Kathy. I told him I ordered it. He couldn’t believe it. I also couldn’t believe Kathy didn’t initially speak up and say she didn’t order the Charlie Brown book. However, she was one of the shyest, quietest people I have ever met.

That was the last time I ever ordered from Scholastic Books.

Story time
I was also fascinated by the metaphor of how Lucy and the football. No matter how much she says she won’t, Lucy pulls the ball away every time Charlie Brown goes to kick it. It sends him flying into the air and landing on his back every time.

I used that metaphor in the first short story I ever wrote. It was a teen angst, coming of age type story where a high school boy is chasing after the girl of his dreams but she doesn’t really see him. Worse, she gives him little glimpses. I called it “The Charlie Brown Blues”, and it was some source material for a play I wrote in Grade 11 and 12.

Parting thoughts
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on CBC Channel 9 every year on peasant vision, and I watched it every year.

The themes are as true today as they were in 1965, especially how commercialized Christmas is and how so many people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.

Charlie Brown has always been a beleaguered kind of character, and that was never more evident than in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. That’s why it is so poignant seeing his reaction to the mocking he gets from his friends, then when they rally around the Christmas tree and wish him a Merry Christmas.

It is such a heart-warming story, it almost brings a tear to my eye as I think about it.

Christmas movies: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

The Grinch and his dog Max making off with some of the Christmas loot in "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" .

Source: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas

(May be subject to copyright)

“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.”

He sure was, but he did see the light at the end of that movie.

“The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” was such a part of Christmas for me in the 1980s, it was always there to watch. Whether I was at school for a Christmas concert in elementary school, a teenager on the farm, or a university student who really didn’t have a lot of time for TV it was there.

As I reflect back on the Christmas movies I watched, one of the staples was always “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”.

The story
It is a well known story. The Grinch lives high above Whoville. He so despises Christmas, he actually masquerades as Santa Claus to steal it from the villagers. He manages to sneak into town while everyone is sleeping and literally steal everything from trees to ornaments, wreaths, presents and everything in between. His dog Max is dressed up as a rein deer and struggles more and more as the weight of Christmas increases in the sleigh.

However, The Grinch is caught in the act by a little girl, but gets away. Worse for him, when he gets to the summit, he hears something he cannot believe. With no presents, trees or any sign of Christmas left, the villagers are singing as Chistmas dawns. The Grinch realizes the Christmas spirit is alive and well, and has nothing to do with material possessions.

His heart had been described earlier in the show as very small, and was actually measured in a box. Suddenly, it grows three times its size, breaking the box drawn around it. He returns everything, and celebrates Christmas in Whoville with the villagers.

He even gets to carve the roast, giving the first piece to his trusty dog.

History
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is based on the children’s book of the same name, written by Dr. Seuss in 1957. The show came out in 1966 and was narrated by Boris Karloff, who was best known for playing Frankenstein on the big screen. He would go on to win a Grammy for his performance as The Grinch as well.

Remember when
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was a Christmas special I never seemed to miss. I recall curled up on our couch on the farm watching it. One year, I had my actual Christmas concert at St. Joseph’s School in Coaldale and thought for sure I would miss it. I was wrong. My teacher had “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” going on Channel 13 on a TV in our classroom while we waited to go on stage.

As I got older, and seemed to watch less TV as my high school years progressed, I still seemed to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” every Christmas. It never got old.

The same thing happened in university. In my first year, December of 1987, I recall gathering in front of the TV in our lounge on Tenth Kelsey to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. It seemed my floormates were just like me – the movie was can’t miss television.

Even to this day, my spouse and I set the PVR to record it whenever it should happen to play and watch it before Christmas Eve.

Ironically, we have already done that this year – and the version we recorded was from Channel 13.

Fitting.

Parting thoughts
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is another part of the tapestry of the 1980s. It was a staple every Christmas that I rarely missed, regardless of how old was – or am.

It is a timeless story of redemption, that is still inspiring. It illustrates the enduring appeal of the story, and the writing and imagination of Dr. Seuss.

It’s funny. A few years ago Jim Carrey put out a live action version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, yet I never could bring myself to see a live action version.

It just wouldn’t be the same as hearing the smooth tones of Boris Karloff telling us about an old miser, who catches the Christmas spirit.

Christmas movies: “Frosty the Snowman”

"Frosty the Snowman" was a part of every Christmas season in the '80s.

Source: https://deadline.com/2019/11/friday-ratings-frosty-the-snowman-wins-night-1202797595/

(May be subject to copyright)

There must have been some magic in that old top hat after all.

Every year when Christmas rolled around, I always looked forward to seeing “Frosty the Snowman”, knowing full well I would be saddened then uplifted.

“Frosty the Snowman” was a roller coaster of emotion every year, and I guess that was part of its magic.

“Frosty the Snowman” is yet another part of the tapestry of growing up in the 1980s. I was reminded of it once more as I reflect on the Christmas shows I used to watch every year.

The story
Based on the song of the same name, “Frosty the Snowman” is a cartoon about a group of children who build a snowman. They find an old magician’s hat and put it on top of their creation.

Suddenly, Frosty comes to life.

However, the temperature begins to rise, and Frosty fears he may melt if he does not get to the North Pole. He goes through a lot of adventures with the leader of the children who built him, Santa Claus and others.

At one point he seems free and clear, as they take refuge in a greenhouse. The next thing you know, Frosty has melted into a puddle.

Ultimately, through the magic of that old hat – and Santa Claus – Frosty not only comes back to life, but vows to be back next Christmas.

As seen on TV
According to Wikipedia, CBS first aired “Frosty the Snowman” in December of 1969, two months before I was born. The network has aired it annually during the Christmas season ever since. In Canada it aired on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial, and was on every Christmas season I can remember. I can’t imagine it isn’t aired annually, considering it likely simulcasts the CBS special.

Parting thoughts
I have always had mixed feelings about watching “Frosty the Snowman”. I loved the magic and the way a creation made by kids my own age came to life. It was just so cool and he was so full of life.

Yet every time I watched that show, I knew his imminent death was coming. And that’s how I viewed Frosty’s demise on the floor of the greenhouse – his death. It really bothered me. I even recall when I was really young pleading with the Frosty not to go in there. I was talking to the TV even at that age. But Frosty always went in.

He always comes back to life too, which did cheer me up. But it didn’t always take away the sting of Frosty dying.

It was such an emotional roller coaster for a soft-hearted kid like I was.

Christmas movies: “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek”

John Schneider and Tom Wopat starred in "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek" in 1987.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092756/

(May be subject to copyright)

It was a Christmas TV movie that would fit in nicely nowadays with the dozens that air every day.

Back in 1987, there was no Hallmark Channel, Netflix, or other streaming services to provide an endless array of Christmas movies.

Instead, we had three channels that recycled a lot of content from year to year, so I saw several Christmas movies several times.

New movies did appear, and there was none that I remember more fondly than “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek.”

It had a great message, brought a tear to my eye, and now has an interesting connection to where I live.

Sibling rivalry
“Christmas Comes to Willow Creek” focuses on two brothers who fall in love with the same woman. Pete is a quieter person, played by Tom Wopat, who has to deal with a son angry his dad is on the road trucking all the time. Ray, played by John Schneider, is also a truck driver but a bit more outgoing. Jessie, played by Kim Delaney, falls for Pete first, but ultimately leaves him for Ray. Much of this back story is told through flashbacks.

Ultimately, the brothers are hired by an old friend, played by Hoyt Axton, to drive a truckload of Christmas supplies up to Willow Creek, Alaska. It is a town hit hard by the closure of its cannery, the main and pretty much only industry in town

It could really use some Christmas cheer.

So, Pete, Ray, Jessie who, incidentally is pregnant, and Ray’s son set out to get this truck to Willow Creek for Christmas. Along the way, they all learn to work together, heal some old wounds, and bring a new life into the world.

It is one of my all-time favourite Christmas movies.

Reunion
It was really cool, because “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek” was a reunion of sorts, an obvious one for people watching TV in the 1980s.

For seven seasons, John Schneider and Tom Wopat had played cousins Bo and Luke Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard”. They had great on-screen chemistry, and it showed again in “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek”.

Hometown connection
When I saw “Christmas Comes to Willow Creek” for the first time on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial, I was living on a farm north of Coaldale just west of the highway to Picture Butte.

Willow Creek meant nothing to me, other than it was a cool name for a town in Alaska.

I moved to Claresholm, an hour and a half north and west of Coaldale in 2001. The town was built east of the actual Willow Creek, and the name has left its mark all over this community. The high school is named Willow Creek Composite High School and the rural municipality covering this area is called the Municipal District of Willow Creek.

I thought that was pretty cool when I was re-acquainted with the movie.

Parting thoughts
“Christmas Comes to Willow Creek” is one of those great feel good movies that are all over the airwaves at Christmas time. However, back in 1987, there weren’t as many of them as proliferate now. Maybe that accounts for the quality of the movie.

It has such a great message, not only of hope and goodwill, but reconciliation and love. Seeing a father and son sort out their differences, watching two estranged brothers reconcile, and all three of them work to bring a baby into this world is heart warming.

And, the casting of John Schneider, Tom Wopat and Kim Delaney as three points of this love triangle is perfect. The on-screen chemistry of all three of them is a big part of what makes the movie work.

That’s why it remains one of my all-time favourite Christmas movies.