Geoffrey Lewis: Much more than Juliette’s dad

Geoffrey Lewis, at left, with Clint Eastwood in "Every Which
Way But Loose", one of the many movies they appeared in together. 

He is another one of those actors who you would know to see, even if you didn’t know his name. Probably best known for playing alongside Clint Eastwood in a number of movies, Geoffrey Lewis also had a number of roles in various TV shows, including playing the character that drags The Man from U.N.C.L.E. out of retirement in 1983.

Eventually he had a daughter who may have eclipsed him in name recognition, but not in contribution to the pop culture of a decade.

In the movies

Geoffrey Lewis had a pretty prolific career in the movies in the 1980s. He opened the decade appearing in “Bronco Billy” with Clint Eastwood, after appearing alongside him in “Every Which Way but Loose” and “Any Which Way You Can”. He actually began his association with Eastwood back in 1973 with "High Plains Drifter". Lewis would close out the decade, playing opposite Eastwood in 1989’s “Pink Cadillac”.

In between there, he appeared in everything from the ill-fated “Heaven’s Gate (1980)” to “I, The Jury (1982)” based on the Mickey Spillane character Mike Hammer, to the ridiculous movies “Lust in the Dust (1985)” and “Stitches (1985)”, to closing out the decade in 1989 with “Fletch Lives” and “Tango and Cash.”

Geoffrey Lewis with his co-star Polly Holliday in the 1980s comedy "Flo".
It was just one of many guest and recurring roles he had in TV in the decade.

A familiar face

If you watched as much TV in the ‘80s as I did, you definitely would recognize Geoffrey Lewis. He had a guest starring role in pretty much everything you can imagine, from comedy to drama to night-time soap opera.

A sample of the shows he appeared in was “Lou Grant”; “B.J. and the Bear”; “Little House on the Prairie”; “After M*A*S*H”; “Blue Thunder”; “The Yellow Rose”; “Falcon Crest”; “Highway to Heaven”; “Spenser: For Hire”; “The Fall Guy”; “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”; “The A-Team”; “Magnum P.I.”; “MacGyver”; “Designing Women”; “The Golden Girls”; “Matlock”; and much more.

He often played the bad guy, and almost just as often was most comfortable in westerns. That’s where he played alongside Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott in “The Shadow Riders”.

The role that sticks out for me though, is in “The Return of the Man from U*N*C*L*E*: The Fifteen Years Later Affair”. He plays Janus, a turncoat U*N*C*L*E* agent who has resurrected their arch-nemesis T*H*R*U*S*H*, and is threatening to detonate a nuclear device. Only one man can deliver the ransom – Napoleon Solo, the original Man from U*N*C*L*E*. Geoffrey Lewis was awesome in the role.

Series TV

Lewis also had regular spots in two series.

He open the decade in 1980, playing Earl Tucker in “Flo”, a spin-off of the series “Alice” starring Polly Holliday. I remember it well, Monday nights I believe, on Channel 7 on peasant vision. Flo buys a rundown roadhouse and names it “Flo’s Yellow Rose”. Earl Tucker was the bartender, who really did not like working for a woman. “Flo” was cancelled after two seasons.

Two years later, Geoffrey Lewis was back, this time in the western spoof “Gun Shy”, a series based on the Disney movie “The Apple Dumpling Gang”. A gambler wins two children in a game of poker and moves to California. He played Amos Tucker, a wannabe outlaw along with his partner in crime Theodore Ogilvie (played by Tim Thomerson). There are two clips to the left advertising "Gun Shy". The show only lasted six episodes before cancellation.

Geoffrey Lewis with his daughter actor Juliette Lewis.

Parting thoughts

It pains me to see some of the eulogies written about Geoffrey Lewis lead with the fact he is Juliette Lewis’ father.

Geoffrey Lewis was much more than that.

He was a prolific actor who began his career in the 1970s and kept on working well into the 21st Century, making his last appearance in “Retreat!” in 2012. He also will appear posthumously in 2016 in “High and Outside”.

The fabric of television and movie history is woven not just by the stars. It is the supporting cast members who can provide a rich texture and environment for the stars to thrive.

The 1980s is filled with character actors who appeared in a wide range of shows, offering their talents as bad guys, fall guys, wise guys, and just guys.

Geoffrey Lewis may have been one of the best to play any guy you wanted.

Celebrating the bicentennial mark

The last entry was the 200^th for Robvogt80s. That is absolutely unbelievable for me. I still think back to the days where I contemplated starting a blog, but it seemed so daunting.

I had not really read too many blogs, and had no idea how they worked. It all seemed so mysterious, until I just started playing around with this one. As with most things, it just takes time to figure out what’s going on.

Once I did, it has been a fascinating journey. I have re-visited people and places I forgot, or hadn't thought of in years. I have received some interesting feedback, both directly on the blog and in private e-mails.

Looking back, these past 200 entries have taught me about a lot of things.

The process

Often, a post simply starts out as a simple topic. Before I became a journalist, I often would be paralyzed by fear, or perfectionism, or writer's block before I even started writing. Something I learned by working in newspapers is there is no such thing as writer’s block. Newspapers are driven by deadlines, and nothing forces you to start writing like a looming deadline. The surest cure for any paralysis is just to start writing.

That is what I have discovered more than anything this past 200 entries is the only way to actually write about Joe Cocker, or Patrick Macnee, or whatever, is to start writing. I often find myself brainstorming on the page. I start thinking about all the memories I have about a particular topic, and just start writing. I also list ideas and memories in point form at the bottom of the document so I don’t forget, then delete them as I use them.

There have been many times I fretted writing about a particular topic. Then I did a bit of research and just started writing. And that is the ultimate victory – triumphing over procrastination. The posts may not be perfect, but I make my point. Something is always better than nothing – and I can always go back and update, change, and improve everything.

Connections

Lately, I have received more comments and feedback than through the first two years of this blog. What always amazes me is that people have the same memories I do. The most recent example was a person who commented on one of my first dozen posts. She actually said she could have written the exact same topic, her memories were the same.

Another person has corresponded with me personally, thanking me for the memories.

Sharing common experiences, triggering memories, those are the things that are validating for me, they really are.

Topics

The choice of topics has evolved over time as well. Initially, it was things I remembered and wanted to write about. Now, most topics have a current slant and I make a connection to the ‘80s. Lately it has been the deaths of personalities, but has also included birthdays and anniversaries. Perhaps this evolution also comes from my journalism background, where I am always trying to find a connection to our local community in all our news stories.

Parting thoughts

On one hand, 200 entries seems like a lot, but on the other hand I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface. There are so many things to write about – movies, music, sports, TV, world events, pop culture – it really seems endless. That is truly exciting.

Looking back at this adventure, 200 posts symbolizes something else for me. I marvelled when I began that I actually followed through and started this blog. Now, I marvel at the fact I have stuck with it.

Lately, I have been re-reading some of my posts, and they are not as bad as I thought. What I have observed most is a style, pattern and form has emerged over time, and I like that.

I can't wait to see what the next 100 entries brings. I’ll see you at 300 entries.

Norman Lloyd: Terminal onscreen but living on in real life

It is funny how sometimes life can imitate art, and sometimes go in the exact opposite direction. In the 1980s, actor Norman Lloyd played Dr. Daniel Auschlander on St. Elsewhere, a character living with a terminal illness. Yet, in real life, a few months ago the actor celebrated his 100th birthday on Nov. 8, proving life does not always imitate art, but instead laughs in its face.

Norman Lloyd came to mind recently, because it was his 100^th birthday celebration that was one of the last public appearances of actor James Best who passed away on April 6.

Norman Lloyd as Dr. Daniel Auschlander in St. Elsewhere.

St. Elsewhere

It was initially supposed to be a four-episode stint, but Norman Lloyd was so charming and so compelling, he became a recurring character on St. Elsewhere, a show set in a decrepit Boston hospital. That was really interesting, given he was a liver specialist with terminal liver cancer. I even recently read a comment he was the longest surviving liver cancer patient. Everything is possible on television.

What made Auschlander so compelling was that he attacked his illness head on and did not let it define him. In the pilot, he bounds some stairs and one of the other characters says, “Auschlander will outlive us all.”

In the world of St. Elsewhere, and in real life, that has proven to be the case.

Norman Lloyd as the conservative headmaster in Dead Poets Society.

Dead Poets Society

Perhaps Norman Lloyd’s most iconic role, in the ‘80s for sure, was the one he played in Dead Poets Society. He plays Mr. Nolan, the conservative headmaster at Welton Academy who was always suspicious of English teacher John Keating’s methods. Once Keating is dismissed after the death of a student, it is Mr. Nolan who takes over his class. And it is he who stands by helplessly imploring the students to get down, who one after another stand on their desks and declare, “Oh captain my captain”. At the same time he is ordering Mr. Keating to leave. Finally, all he can do is stand and watch as the majority of boys stand in defiance and signal their respect for their teacher.

It is one of the most moving moments in the movies ever, not just the ‘80s.

Parting thoughts

It’s funny how everything is inter-connected. Lloyd played alongside Eric Laneuville in St. Elsewhere, and played the teacher the students rebel against in the final scene of Dead Poets Society. Both figure prominently elsewhere in this blog.

Those were his only two roles in the 1980s, but both are memorable.

They are just part of a body of work that began in the 1930s with Alfred Hitchcock and continue to this day.

For an actor who played a man destined to die, Norman Lloyd seems like he’ll live forever.

Mitchell Wiggins: Sins of the father

Mitchell Wiggins, now known as the father of NBA star Andrew
Wiggins, when he was a guard with my beloved Houston Rockets.

As Canadian basketball phenom Andrew Wiggins moved through his first year in professional basketball and beyond, he will likely be confronted with all the pressures and temptations being a superstar brings. However, he will have to look no further than his own father to see what making the wrong choices can lead to.

Let’s hope the sins of the father are not visited upon the son.

A top pick himself

Mitchell Wiggins was a solid first-round NBA draft pick himself in 1983, taken by Indiana but moving to Chicago for his rookie season, then landing with my own beloved Houston Rockets in the 1984 off-season.

I recall the 1986 season when the Rockets, led by the twin towers of Ralph Samson and Hakeem Olajuwon, advanced all the way to the NBA finals before falling to Larry Bird and his powerhouse Boston Celtics. The future looked bright for the Rockets.

It was a year later when I heard the news. Houston’s entire back court was banned – not suspended – banned from the NBA for drug violations. It was 1987 and their two guards were gone – Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins.

I could not believe it. The loss hurt the Rockets who would not make it back to the finals for eight years.

It also began an odyssey of discovery for Mitchell Wiggins that led to redemption, hope, and a chance to make amends through his children.

Basketball Siberia

The ban would last at least two years. After that Lloyd and Wiggins could apply for reinstatement.

In the meantime, Wiggins still had to hit rock bottom. According to a 1989 story in the Orlando Sentinel, he went to the Continental Basketball Association but, after playing 15 games, failed another drug test and was suspended. He went to Europe but no team wanted him.

Eventually, he realized he had an addiction to cocaine. With some professional help, he and his wife designed their own plan for him to regain control. Pretty soon he was sending the NBA results of the drug tests he took twice a week, even before the league asked.

His wife also played a pivotal role in his comeback. In addition to support and designing that plan to regain control of his life, Marita Payne-Wiggins insisted they train together during his suspension.

They were relentless. In addition to sprinting, he did weights, basketball, cycling, rowing, swimming and thousands of pushups.

He also kept in shape by playing in the United States Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association.

Wiggins was eventually reinstated for the 1989-1990 season, where he had his best season in the NBA. By the time he was reinstated he was clean and sober for almost two years.

However, he was released and did not catch on with an NBA team until he suited up for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1991-1992 season.

It was back to the CBA then bouncing all over Europe and back to the States until he retired in 2003.

After retirement he coached for the next few years.

His greatest gift to basketball would still be coming though.

Canadian connection

Marita Payne-Wiggins was much more than the supportive wife of a disgraced professional basketball player. She was a two-time Olympic silver medalist with the Canadian track team. In 1984, she was part of the women’s four-by-100-metre relay team that took silver in Los Angeles, and part of the women’s four-by-400-metre relay team that also won silver.

She is the co-Canadian record holder in the 400 metres and the legal Canadian record holder in the 200 metres.

Payne-Wiggins also had a stellar career at Florida State University where she met Mitchell Wiggins, a two-year starter on the Seminoles basketball team.

Since 2002, they have made their home in Vaughn, Ontario.

The son
In the 2014 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers made history by drafting freshman phenom Andrew Wiggins first overall out of Kansas University. It was the second straight year the Cavaliers took a Canadian with the top pick, selecting Anthony Bennett from UNLV with the number-one overall pick in the 2013 draft.

The Cavaliers would trade the two Canadians to Minnesota in a deal to get Kevin Love. There, Andrew Wiggins, who had drawn some early criticism, excelled and at season’s end was named NBA rookie of the year.

There to cheer on their son were proud parents Mitchell and Marita Payne-Wiggins

Andrew followed in the footsteps of his older brothers Mitchell Junior, who played at Southeastern University, and Nick, who played at Wichita State University. Both were then identified by the Harlem Globe Trotters.

Parting thoughts
After the NBA draft, all the top picks were required to attend a series of sessions spanning a few weeks to discuss what their new life as professional basketball players will look like. There was information on financial planning, relationships, and of course substance use and abuse.

I distinctly recall seeing an interview with Andrew Wiggins. They asked him what he thought of the sessions. He responded, matter of factly, he had heard these messages from an early age and understood the pitfalls ahead.

The sins of the father will likely not be visited on the son.

David Robinson: Remembering the Admiral, a man of his word

David Robinson, one of the greatest players in NBA history, who was
known just as much for his commitment, dedication, and loyalty.

Seeing David Robinson on the sidelines of Notre Dame football games watching his son Cory play for the Irish this past season, just drove home the point that service has always been important. It was especially apparent when his son’s team played David Robinson’s alma mater – the Naval Academy.

He may never have actually achieved the rank of admiral, but David Robinson was always a leader among men.

Post player

David Robinson was a seven-foot force of nature, dominating the paint as a centre for the Navy mid-shipmen. He was an All-American his final two years in college, and in his senior year won the Wooden Award for most outstanding player, and the Naismith Award as top basketball player. It was only a matter of time before “The Admiral” would be playing professionally in the NBA.

The waiting game

David Robinson in uniform.

The question on every watcher’s mind though was – when?

Unlike all the teams he played against (except for Army and Air Force), where players could leave school early to pursue their professional dreams, mid-shipmen made a commitment to their school and their country. There was no leaving early. They were in service to the United States Navy.

That meant, whatever team drafted David Robinson, would have to wait two years before he could suit up with them.

It was a gamble for any team. What if Robinson got hurt during those two years? It would be a wasted pick. It would be more palatable if a player was at least playing basketball, and staying in shape somewhere else. But it would be a waste if a team waited two years for a player who was out of shape. What if he could not get back into shape?

On the most basic level, waiting two years for any asset, especially given the relatively short careers of professional athletes of the time, was a risk.

So when the woeful San Antonio Spurs finished near the bottom of the NBA standings, then won the lottery for the number one pick in the NBA draft, the same question persisted: would they take a risk and select David Robinson?

There should have never been any doubt. The Spurs took Robinson – and they waited two years.

It was well worth the wait.

David Robinson, one of the best.

Rookie campaign

There were intermittent rumours about potential trades. The one I recall was the L.A. Lakers making an offer for Robinson. Yet nothing ever came of those rumours.

Robinson joined the Spurs in 1989, after he completed his active-duty commitment. He had the option, because he had not signed an NBA contract, to re-enter the draft once he finished his naval service. Instead, he stuck to his word and joined the Spurs.

The chance the Spurs took in drafting Robinson, and waiting two years for him, proved to be one of the best decisions the franchise ever made.

Robinson led the Spurs to the single greatest one-season turnaround in NBA history to that time. The Spurs had finished with a record of 21-61 in 1988-1989, the year before Robinson’s arrival. In his rookie year, the Spurs went 56-26, for a 35-game improvement. They won the Midwest Division by one game over the Utah Jazz. In the first round of the playoffs, they swept the Denver Nuggets in three games, before losing in seven games in the Western Conference Semi-finals to the Portland Trail Blazers, who would win the conference title before losing to Detroit in the finals.

After the season, Robinson was unanimously voted the NBA rookie of the year.

His arrival, as the 80s ended, started a re-birth for the Spurs that culminated in an NBA championship in 1998-1999, where he was also named finals most valuable player. In doing so, they became the first former American Basketball Association franchise to win an NBA championship.

Parting thoughts

David Robinson would go on to win two NBA championships, the second in 2002-2003; win two Olympic gold medals as part of the 1992 and 1996 USA Dream Teams; be selected an all-star 10 times; be named the 1995 NBA most valuable player; and be inducted into the basketball and U.S. Olympic halls of fame.

However, what sets him apart over so many others is simple: he kept his word. He was a man of honour. He committed to the Naval Academy, to the detriment of his professional basketball career. Serving his country was more important to him than fame and riches.

We live in a world where the very best in college basketball play one year then turn pro. One year. David Robinson played four years but still couldn’t turn pro because he had two years of active service left. Given the player he was, that decision cost him millions of dollars. Had something happened during his tour of duty, he may have lost everything and been just a footnote in history.

Yet, he was anything but that. Instead, he went on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and was named part of the Top 50 of all time.

He remains the only player from Navy to play in the NBA. That may be the distinction he holds the longest. Elite players don’t stick around to finish college anymore. They leave in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

David Robinson was so unique in so many ways, from the way he played the game to all he accomplished. What made him most unique was he not only kept his word and honoured his commitments, but played his entire career with the same team.

So you can add loyalty to that long list of qualities that make David Robinson a role model like no other for young players.

He truly was one of a kind. Maybe the last of his kind.

Goalies who score: Remembering the first

A couple months back one-time Calgary Flames goaltender Reto Berra scored a goalie, which is still considered a rarity. It reminded me of a time when no goalie had ever scored, how one finally got credit for a goal, and when a goaltender finally consciously scored.

It was all in the span of a few years, and it was incredible to see.

Finally – sort of

It was near the end of 1979 when I heard it on CJOC Radio one morning when I was getting ready for school. It was announcer Wally Hild who said a goaltender had finally been credited with a goal in the National Hockey League. It was Billy Smith of the New York Islanders in a game against the Colorado Rockies (who are the precursor to the current New Jersey Devils). It wasn’t until I got home that night after school that I saw it on the Channel 2&7 News.

I still vividly remember the circumstances. The Islanders were getting a delayed penalty. The Rockie goaltender skated to the bench for an extra attacker. Rob Ramage, a Rockie defenceman, threw the puck out to the point but no one was the there. His teammates helplessly watched as the puck slid into their empty net. The last Islander to touch the puck was Billy Smith, their goalie, who had made a save earlier in the shift.

He became the first goalie credited with a goal, but he had no intention of scoring.

That would come eight years later, a long way from my family farm in a galaxy far away.

Finally – for real

It was in Grade 12 where I first heard the idea of a goalie consciously trying to score a goal. My best friend of the time, Chris Vining, told me Ron Hextall of the Flyers had said he was going to score. He was the perfect candidate – mobile, agile, and very good with the puck. He used to come out of his crease liberally and pass the puck up to start his team’s rush.

Vining later told me that Hextall tried to score on an empty net, but his shot, which has to be high because it does have to go the length of the ice, was knocked down by Kjell Samuelsson, one of the tallest players in the NHL at the time.

The Flyers met the Edmonton Oilers in the 1987 Stanley Cup final, which the Oilers won in seven games. Hextall had played so well, he was one of just a handful of players from losing teams to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player of the playoffs. It was a bittersweet series for Hextall on another level. During that series, Hextall brutally slashed Oiler Kent Nilsson on the back of the leg. He would receive an eight-game suspension to start the 1987-1988 season for the incident.

By the time the hockey season had started, I was firmly transplanted to Edmonton for my first year of university. Vining and I lived on the top floor of our tower and had to ride the elevator up and down several times a day.

One day, as we were coming back from supper in the caf, a couple guys got off on Sixth Kelsey.

As the doors closed behind them, I heard these fateful words: “Hey, Hextall scored a goal.”

Back then, TSN did not air Sportsdesk (the predecessor of Sportscentre) as often as it does now, so we had to wait until we saw the highlights. Sure enough, Hextall had scored.

The goal

As fate would have it, in a year of firsts, the fateful goal came against my beloved Boston Bruins. Late in a game on Dec. 8, 1987, the Flyers led 4-2 and Bruin Coach Terry O’Reilly pulled his goalie for an extra attacker. Hextall corralled the puck, and with no one around him, shoot the puck the length of the ice into the empty net.

Ron Hextall had become the first goaltender to consciously, intentionally score a goal.

Parting thoughts

He said he wanted to do it and, although it took him a year, Ron Hextall did it. A goalie scoring a goal is one of those novelties in sports like few others. I’d liken it to the fair catch drop kick in NFL football, or even a drop kick field goal. In baseball, it might be hitting for the cycle or an unassisted triple play.

It is really hard to compare across sports, but goalies who score are a rare thing. In fact 11 goalies have scored a total of 14 goals in the NHL, including Martin Brodeur, who has three goals; Chris Osgood; Chris Mason; and Mike Smith, who was the last to do it.

However, you always remember your first. You could not pick a more suitable player to be the first. Ron Hextall was the perfect blend of skill, confidence bordering on cockiness, and guts.

Fittingly, he did it twice, the second time to close out the decade in the 1989 playoffs against Washington. On that occasion, on April 11, I did see it. I was glad it was the Capitals, not the Bruins who had their goalie sitting on the bench when the puck went into the empty net.

James Best: Remembering Roscoe P. Coltrane the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County

James Best as Rosco P. Coltrane in the opening
credits of "The Dukes of Hazzard" as many remember him.

It was one of those shows that really was hard to describe because it really was like nothing else. Combination comedy, at times drama, adventure, and music, "The Dukes of Hazzard" entertained viewers Friday nights for the better part of seven seasons.

The show focused on the exploits of Bo and Luke Duke, two cousins who were reformed moonshiner runners tearing around the countryside with the General Lee, one of the coolest cars on TV.

Standing in their way of, I’m not really sure what they did, was the bumbling sheriff with the golden heart – Rosco P. Coltrane. He, under the orders of County Boss Jefferson Davis Hogg, always tried to get them to violate their probation, which meant they could never carry fire arms or leave Hazzard County. In the end, they always got the best of him to live on and break up the next scheme cooked up by Boss Hogg and Rosco the next week.

Rosco P. Coltrane was top of mind recently because James Best, the actor who played him, passed away.

Discovering the Dukes

The Dukes of Hazzard only came to my attention after one of my classmates started watching it and talking about it Monday mornings on the bus ride to school.

Shortly after that, we had company one Friday night. As we were winding down after everyone left, we flipped to Channel 13 and "The Dukes of Hazzard" was on. I was struck by the narrator, who I later discovered was musician Waylon Jennings. The episode centred on Cooter the mechanic, Bo and Luke’s good friend, who decides to steal the President of the United States’ car when it stops at his shop.

From then on, I recall watching it regularly, although like all shows on peasant vision it was not always on at the same time. I remember watching it Sunday afternoons for awhile, as an example, and in the summers well after midnight.

It gave me something to talk about on the school bus, and we even played "Dukes of Hazzard" on the playground. I was Bo and my buddy was Luke, primarily because I was blonde and he was a brunette.

I loved the car chases through trees and water on back country roads, and the General Lee jumping over water and ravines. I read an article in TV Guide about what went into the making of those jumps. The show had purchased hundreds of Dodge Chargers, but only used each car once in a jump. The stress of landing was too hard on the car to be used again. To illustrate the point, the article was accompanied by a photo of a grave yard of cars. Leaning up against a wall were dozens of car roofs with the Confederate flag painted on them and dozens of car doors with that distinctive “01”. Each time they used a car, they cut off the roof and removed the doors to prevent scavengers from trying to make money off the cars. Coincidentally, one of my cousins in Brooks also had a Dodge Charger.

I also loved the hood slide every time Bo and Luke were in a hurry to get in the car and on their way, and the fact they always came out on top. I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

Rosco P. Coltrane with one of his classic expressions.

The bad guy

In order to have a happy ending you have to have conflict, suspense, and a villain. Few viewers like the bad guys on TV but actors love playing them. James Best always looked like he was having fun playing Rosco. He even developed a distinctive voice for the character. I remember the first time I heard Best speak out of character, and the difference was quite striking.

Rosco may have been corrupt, but he loved his dog and his sister, probably in that order. He played the part tongue planted firmly in cheek too. He may have been perpetually trying to get the Dukes into trouble, and was a key player in most of Boss Hogg’s schemes and scams, but it was hard to take him seriously. He was more like a cartoon bad guy than a true villain.

Parting thoughts

“Dukes of Hazzard” has been top of mind lately because it has been censured for its use of the Confederate flag on the roof of the General Lee.

According to website Fox 411, the uproar over the flag began after nine African-Americans were shot to death during Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston; photos of the white man charged with their slayings showed him displaying the Confederate flag. Recently, the Confederate flag was removed from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse. TV Land also pulled episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard" it had been running.

Although they make a point, it really is hard to take a show seriously that never took itself seriously. It was the definition of a bunch of good old boys having some down home fun. A lot of the time, it was more of a real life cartoon than an adventure show.

Rosco P. Coltrane was the perfect cartoon antagonist. He was bumbling and incompetent, but still competent enough to be dangerous. It kept us all coming back week after week, even though deep down we knew how it was going to end. And that's what made James Best's portrayal so memorable.

I do wonder what Rosco would think of all this though, TV Land pulling the show after all these years. He’d probably have to ask Boss Hogg first.

David Letterman: Innovator, pioneer, original thinker

David Letterman hosting his show back in the 1980s.

Have you ever seen a man drink milk through his nose and shoot it out his eye? How about a guy wearing a suit of Velcro jump onto a wall of the same stuff and just stick there? Or the quarterback of the reigning Super Bowl champion throwing footballs at passing New York City taxis to see how many he can get through the open windows passing by?

These are just some of the hundreds of stunts David Letterman hosted on his late show.

Many of them happened after the end of the 1980s, but the first time I ever saw David Letterman in earnest was when I left home and moved into student residence at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Letterman recently retired, which got me thinking about when I first saw him, and what kind of a true original he was.

Communal TV

In res, we had one large TV in our lounge, and often had to negotiate with the other 30 residents on our floor to see the shows we wanted. The flip side was my floormates introduced me to shows I may never have found myself.

One of the first of those was “Late Night with David Letterman”.

I had heard of the show, and even saw the odd clip on “Entertainment Tonight”, but it was in the late-night hours in the winter of 1988 that I really started watching Letterman, thanks to a floormate of mine named Mak.

He was a night hawk, and I was soon discovering I was too.

It seemed whenever I got back to my floor after midnight, Mak was watching Letterman in the lounge.

The guests were always good, but what I remembered most were all the odd and quirky things Letterman did. The first that comes to mind is rotating the screen clockwise a few degrees every few minutes. Halfway through the show he was upside down and right where he started when the show was over.

Home for the summer

The summer of 1988, my last summer on the farm, I did not have much to do, so I stayed up and watched Letterman.

That’s when I saw one of the quirkier, but also more touching, things Letterman did. There was a staffer on the show named Bridget Huckaby who was getting married but didn’t have much money. The network, NBC, had a pay scale for guests on the show. So Letterman got her to come on the show, pretty regularly, so she could earn the network scale. She’d read the Top 10 List and do other things. Guests who performed an act received more money, so one night Letterman got her to come on stage. Reluctantly, and that’s an understatement, she had a sock puppet she briefly talked to. Good enough for Letterman, and the network I guess, because she got the money for her wedding.

You can read Bridget's own reflections here:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2015/may/19/dealing-dave/304568/

But that seemed to be the kind of guy Letterman was. He’d skewer pompous, ridiculous guests, but real people he treated with caring and compassion.

The years after

As the ‘80s became the ‘90s and beyond, I still recall those odd Letterman stunts and bits. There was the stupid human trick where the guy drank milk through his nose and shot it out his eye. That always left me wondering – how does someone find out they have that talent? There was “bad ass ham” and the episode where he earned money for a charity every time he said the word “psyched”. Emmit Smith was one of his guests that night. There was the top ten list of goofiest driver’s licence pictures. What was number one? Why Letterman’s own picture of course.

I got away from Letterman for more than a decade, but returned for awhile a couple years ago. It was really like visiting an old friend again. He was married and had a son now, just like all the real-life friends I have re-connected with. As expected, he worked his son into his routine. Who would expect anything less?

Parting thoughts

Much was made a few years ago about how David Letterman was the logical, and rightful, successor to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. It never worked out, as Jay Leno got that job. It also precipitated Letterman’s defection to CBS.

The truth is, Letterman could never replace Johnny Carson. Letterman was his own unique man with his own unique style. Stupid Pet Tricks and the subsequent Stupid Human Tricks, the Top 10 List, the World’s Most Dangerous band, Larry “Bud” Melman, and so much more were all his creations. We had never really heard of intellectual property before but, when Letterman departed NBC for CBS, all of a sudden we heard the term constantly, because NBC claimed all that stuff was intellectual property that belonged to them, not Letterman. That was how valuable NBC perceived Letterman and all that “stuff” to be.

Personally, I have always valued innovators, pioneers, and original thinkers. There was no one more original in all of TV, not just late-night TV, than David Letterman.

Sabonis: Different worlds for father and son

Arvydas Sabonis in his prime in the 1980s playing with the Soviet national
team. Had Communism not prevented him from playing in the NBA in his prime,
he may have been one of the best centres in history. We'll never know.

He could have been one of the greatest basketball centres ever. However, because of the Iron Curtain that had descended over Europe, it would be 10 years from the time he was drafted to the time he actually played professionally. When he finally did arrive, to little fanfare, he was so talented that, even deprived of the chance to play with the best in his prime, he still put up impressive numbers.

I was recently reminded of the greatness that was Arvydas Sabonis because his son Domitas, looking and playing just like his father, hit the national stage in the recent NCAA March Madness basketball tournament.

First contact

The first time I heard of this big basketball player from Lithuania was in 1987, when I was sitting in the waiting room of my optometrist in Lethbridge. Dr. French, the eye doctor was originally located in Coaldale, and I started seeing him after Dr. Batting, my family’s long-time optometrist in Lethbridge, had retired. Dr. French re-located to a larger practice in Lethbridge soon after I started seeing him.

It was actually the last time I went to see him. There was a magazine in the waiting room, but I don’t actually think it was a sports magazine. I read this article on Ted Turner, the founder of the Turner Broadcasting System, Cable Network News, partner of Jane Fonda, and owner of baseball’s Atlanta Braves and basketball’s Atlanta Hawks.

The focus of the article was on Turner’s desire to try and improve his basketball team by bringing over players from the Soviet national team. The Hawks had the rights to a guard named Alexander Volkov, but the player Turner coveted was a big, powerful centre named Arvydas Sabonis. The article described him as the perfect blend of size and skill. He had hands as strong as a vise, could cut well to the basket, and could shoot from the field – and he was over seven feet tall.

The problem would be getting him out of the Soviet Union.

Consequently, I didn’t hear about Sabonis or any of those Soviet players for awhile, but when I did, they shook and shocked the basketball world.

1988 Olympics

It was the fall of 1988, and I was in my second year of university. The Summer Olympics were in Seoul, South Korea that year, but I didn’t have a chance to watch too much.

What I heard though, was amazing. The Soviet Union had upset the heavily favoured United States to win gold in men’s basketball. That was an American team that included future NBA stars such as David Robinson and Danny Manning.

Who was leading the Soviets? None other than their dominating centre from Lithuania.

Coming to America – finally

One day in 1995, I’m watching an NBA game, and I hear a name I had not heard in a very long time. He was a rookie centre for the Portland Trail Blazers. At that point I realized his name was Sabonis, not Sarbonis as I had misread in the optometrist’s office so many years before.

At first I wasn’t sure it was the same guy, but the announcers made a big deal of the fact he was an old rookie, and how he had been drafted 10 years earlier. Later, I think it was Sports Illustrated, did a story on Sabonis and the draft class of 1986. While he was a rookie in the NBA, so many of the players drafted the same year were already done with basketball either flaming out, fouling out, or retiring.

Sabonis was almost 31 when he joined the Portland Trail Blazers. He ended up making the all-rookie team, and was runner-up both as NBA Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year. He would go on to play in the NBA until 2003, with a one-year hiatus. He would play in Europe after that, retiring from basketball altogether in 2005.

Parting thoughts

What a different world Domitas Sabonis lives in from the one his father inhabited in the 1980s. Domitas is free to attend university and play basketball in the United States and still live in Lithuania. Ultimately, the only factors that will restrict where he plays are the ones faced by every other player in North America: skill level; politics; money.

His father had to face a world divided down ideological lines into Communist and non-Communist. Worse, he suffered so many injuries, when the world changed he was not the same man he used to be.

Although Arvydas Sabonis had a serviceable and productive NBA career, I am left with one question: what could have been?

Joe Cocker in the movies

The gravelly voice was unmistakable, partly because some of the time you couldn’t understand what he was saying. But that was the charm of Joe Cocker, who passed away back in December.

He had a long career, when he died at age 70, but for me growing up in the ‘80s, Joe Cocker will always be synonymous with the movies.

“Up Where We Belong”

“An Officer and a Gentleman” was the movie that catapulted Richard Gere to stardom in 1982. He plays a drifter who finds a life flying jets and love with Debra Winger. It also finally achieved recognition for Louis Gossett Junior with a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a no-nonsense drill sergeant, after being unrecognized for so long.

That same Oscar night, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes were on stage accepting an Oscar of their own, for their balled “Up Where We Belong”. The song had a Canadian connection too, as Buffy St. Marie co-wrote the song.

It demonstrated Cocker’s soulful sound, contrasted sharply with Warnes. When they sang it live on Oscar night, it looked as if Cocker was reaching deep down all the way to his toes for each word.

It would be awhile before I finally did see “An Officer and a Gentleman”. Back then, there were three Pay-TV channels, two that carried commercial-free movies. My brother, who lived in Calgary, had one of them and he taped a bunch of movies off TV, three to a tape. He lent me one of those tapes, which had “An Officer and a Gentleman” on it. I watched it one Saturday night with my mom. I had a VCR by then, so it had to be at least 1986.

“The Edge of a Dream”

The movie “Teachers” came out in 1984, starring Nick Nolte as a burnt-out teacher trying to make a difference. It was also significant because it was Ralph Macchio’s first role after his breakout, iconic performance as Daniel LaRusso in “The Karate Kid”.

The soundtrack was much heralded as well. It featured ZZ Top, Bob Seger, .38 Special and much more. The first big single was the title track, “Teacher, Teacher” by .38 Special, and it was awesome. Mind you I’ve always like .38 Special.

I heard the second single off that soundtrack when I tuned in to “Solid Gold” on Channel 7 on the farm on a Saturday night.

It was called “Edge of a Dream”, and there standing hunched over a mike was Joe Cocker to sing it live.

In so many ways it was much like “Up Where We Belong”. Cocker seemed to dig down deep for every word. That gravelly voice has a certain charm.

When I got my VCR for Christmas in 1985, it came with 50 free movies from Baker's Appliances in Lethbridge. My sister lived in Lethbridge at the time, and came out to the farm every Sunday for noon dinner. She started signing out movies and bringing them out. One of the first was "Teachers".

The hat’s all that stayed on

It would be 1987 when I heard that gravelly voice once more. This time it was in a movie about two people who get into a physical, kinky relationship for a short period of time. The movie was called “9 ½ Weeks” and it starred Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.

There were some pretty risqué scenes, including one where Basinger kind of strips down. If memory serves, that’s the scene set to the soulful sounds of “You Can Leave Your Hat on.” That’s was pretty much all that did stay on.

Parting thoughts

So much of the 1980s was about movie soundtracks. Every movie had to have one, for better or worse. One of the better balladeers was Joe Cocker. He sang with such heart and emotion, seeming to work hard for every note.

Hopefully now Joe you’re up where you belong.