I was watching a 1973 Johnny Carson show last night (at 11:30, natch) and the guest was Flip Wilson. Immediately I heard the Flip Wilson Show theme in my head and the damn thing has been stuck there ever since. The lead trumpet melody line invaded my dreams and has
If there need be any proof that the ancient and still-charming TV game show ‘What’s My Line’ was as fixed as other quiz shows of the period (and I know that’s a burning question in most people’s minds), then the above excerpt of an episode featuring Salvador Dali will answer
Here’s Don Rickles doing three minutes of ‘Sinatra Is A Gangster And We All Know It’ jokes for Frank’s 80th birthday concert. I can’t tell if Frank is really amused or if he’s out of it but knows he’s supposed to be smiling and laughing. Probably the latter as Frank
The Comedian-Pianist Victor Borge, indescribably famous and beloved in his day, is–as far as I can tell–almost completely forgotten. His concerts–most of them televised in the 1950s/60s–and guest appearances on various TV variety shows gave him a platform to do an act that nobody else did; ‘comedy with music’ as
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJrRhazLcM Here’s a rocking good version of one of my favorite Sondheim songs from ‘Follies’, the intricately prosaic and wonderfully sour ‘Buddy’s Blues’. It’s performed by Alexander Gemignani and was part of the Sondheim 90th birthday virtual TV concert, which thanks to the pandemic gave us performances via Zoom. Yet
I didn’t know this actually still existed or, if it did, exactly how to see it. But here is a lousy but incredibly valuable VHS copy of the 1966 TV show with songs ‘Evening Primrose’, starring Anthony Perkins with songs by Sondheim and a script by James Goldman. Presented on
Stephen Sondheim was a game fanatic. He collected old board games, did lots of puzzles etc. etc. This fact has been covered thoroughly and I’m getting bored trying to update it and make it sound exciting so lets get to the meat. In 1966 Sondheim was invited to be a
What do we know about Ricky Ricardo’s career? Chiefly that he came to New York via Cuba sometime in the pre-war years (just as Desi Arnaz did) but that the similarities between the two mens CV’s ends there. Desi hit it big on Broadway in 1939 in Rodgers and Hart’s
Not only was Desi Arnaz seriously underrated as the mind behind the building of Desilu Studios (see last weeks posts) but he was criminally underrated as a performer. In this 1951 clip from ‘I Love Lucy’ he and Lucille Ball perform a specialty number called ‘Cuban Pete’. It’s a frigging
Behold a nifty little mini-doc (under ten minutes) about the history of Desilu Studios. Directed and edited by an admirable TV historian named William French, it answers a number of questions I’ve always had about the pioneering TV studio/production company, including what back lots they owned and how much land