Friday, April 11, 2008

This Ends the Classic Television Showbiz Broadcasting Day...

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is a film that has really grown on me over the years. Of course, I am a huge Don Knotts fan - but over time I have become a huge fan of the amazing line-up of character actors in the film. Here's the trailer featuring the great, booming Vic Mizzy soundtrack. Mizzy composed some of the most energetic go-go sounds of the nineteen sixties including all the amazing background music on The Addams Family. As an added bonus, here's a pipe organ enthusiast playing The Ghost and Mr. Chicken theme song in an old theater.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sinatra: 80 Years My Way with guest Don Rickles (1995)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Don Rickles (1992)

I've posted so many episodes of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with Don Rickles as a guest I really can't remember which of these I've posted before (if any). Well, if this has appeared before, it's just like when Johnny was still on the air - a plethora of reruns (actually, i'm pretty sure I haven't posted this one before - surely I'd remember Don slapping Ed in the face!).

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Gil Fates (1978)

Gidget with special guest star Irwin Charone (1965)

I was saying yesterday how I love the way popular culture bastardized and utilized beat culture and the hippies that followed in their barefootsteps to contemporize their output. Comic books, cartoon shows, beach party movies and sitcoms also capitalized on mods and the British invasion with all manner of dumb take-offs on The Beatles and their like. This episode of Gidget revolves around a fictional rock band called The Dingbats. It also features a very funny turn from character actor Irwin Charone as a florist.

Here's Lucy (1974) - Footage Offline - 03/10/09

This is a bizarre episode of Lucille Ball's third television series, Here's Lucy. The series often featured celebrity guest stars (usually used to make up for tired, old fashioned scripts), but in this episode the celebrity guest star is Lucy herself. Lucy's character Lucy Carter meets Lucile Ball. A bizarre, almost existentialist concept.