Just finished reading Henry Winkler’s excellent memoir/autobiography, “Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond” (2023). Highly recommended.
My one quibble isJust finished reading Henry Winkler’s excellent memoir/autobiography, “Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond” (2023). Highly recommended.
My one quibble is that while he hits the key points and does tell quite a few personal anecdotes, he doesn’t go as much into the making of “Happy Days” and his relationships with his co-stars (aside from Ron Howard) as much as I would have liked. Then, again, I understand that this is his own personal life’s story, not a “Happy Days behind the scenes” book.
I gave the book four out of five stars on GoodReads....more
Finished reading this one last night. Not much I really need to say about other than that it’s a really good book about one of my top favorite tv showFinished reading this one last night. Not much I really need to say about other than that it’s a really good book about one of my top favorite tv shows growing up, “The Greatest American Hero” (1981-1983). The book is “The Greatest American Hero Companion” by Patrick Jankiewicz (BearManor Media, 2023).
Jankiewicz has written several books about shows like this from the late 1970 and 80s (my particular “golden age” of all things pop culture), including “You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry!: A Hulk Companion” (which I am also in the process of reading) and “Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century: A TV Companion”, as well as “Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A Jaws Companion”.
Jankiewicz really does his homework, not only detailing the creation of the show by Stephan J. Cannell and the casting of series leads William Katt, Robert Culp, and Connie Sellecca, plus the obligatory complement episodes guide. He also has loads of interviews with everything, some conducted by him specifically for this book, others conducted earlier (for Cannell, the actors, and other significant people who had died).
This is a pretty definitive book resource about the making of this short lived but still widely remembered television series, one which came out in a lull period in terms of superhero pn TV (“The Incredible Hulk” was just finishing it’s run at the time that “Hero” was beginning). But it was a sign of things to come. I highly recommend “The Greatest American Hero Companion” to all fans of the series. I gave it five out of five stars on GoodReads. (Copy read checked out from the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library.) ...more
Just finished reading volume two (“April Through June”) of Adam Nedeff’s massive “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and Celebrations” Just finished reading volume two (“April Through June”) of Adam Nedeff’s massive “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and Celebrations” four-volume series (Bear Manor, 2014), checked out from my local public library, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, who added them to their circulating collection upon my request (although they are also available on Kindle from Amazon and I’m assuming also eBook format from the other usual retailer sites).
(Note: My review here for Volume 2 is the same as what I wrote for Volume 1: January Through March with only the few necessary changes to make it about Volume 2.)
I first heard about “This Day in Game Show History” while recently listening to old episodes of Stu Shostak’s “Stu Show” podcast.
This is a treasure trove of tv history for aficionados like myself. Since it’s one entry per day of the month for three months, the bill entires (or chapters) are almost all very short. Most are two to three pages, some a bit longer.
The entry are generally of two basic types: dates on which a notable game show first aired, last aired, or had some other significant moment like changing its name, format, or network it was airing on, or a significant change in its host or announcer. And the other being significant game show figures’ “born on this day” (or “died on this day”) entries (some clearly to round out the days of the month not already filled).
The game show program specific entries give details of how that show got on the air, who the notable people working on that show were, the rules of the game, how long it ran for, and any subsequent revivals of that show. The “born/died on this date” entries generally give a broad overview of that person’s entire career (focusing on the game shows if that person was also an actor or had some other field he or she is just as well known for), although some of the figures entries are very short because their time in game shows was likewise short.
If you are into game shows, or television history of the 1950s to today (but especially 1950s-1980s), I highly recommend this book and its other three volumes. (There is quite a bit also about the infamous game show fixing scandals of the 1950s that nearly killed the genre.)
The only caveat is that it probably is a bit better to have all four volumes at the same time rather than one at a time like I am from the library because Nedeff often has notes within or at the end of an entry saying “See November 11” (or some other date) for a related other entry.
Also, due to the format, the entries jump all of the place in terms of what decades the events happened in. One entry 1950s, the next entry 2000s, the next 1960s, the next about someone born in the 1920s, and so on. That’s just the nature of these calendar style “what happened on this day” books. Which is fine, especially for reading only one or two entries a day. Me, I’m a very chronological thinker. So, if I had one suggestion it would have been for Nedeff to have included among the works cited and index sections in the back also an entries in chronological order guide so that a reader could read all of the 1950s entries, then the 1960s, etc. Of course, that would still be just for the entries in this one particular volume, not all four, so maybe not very many other people would find that all that useful.
Anyway, I gave “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and Celebrations” Volume 2: “April Through June” four out of five stars on GoodReads, just as I did for Volume 1: “January Through March”....more
Just finished reading volume one (“January Through March”) of Adam Nedeff’s massive “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and CelebrationJust finished reading volume one (“January Through March”) of Adam Nedeff’s massive “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and Celebrations” four-volume series (Bear Manor, 2014), checked out from my local public library, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, who added them to their circulating collection upon my request (although they are also available on Kindle from Amazon and I’m assuming also eBook format from the other usual retailer sites).
I first heard about “This Day in Game Show History” while recently listening to old episodes of Stu Shostak’s “Stu Show” podcast.
This is a treasure trove of tv history for aficionados like myself. Since it’s one entry per day of the month for three months, the bill entires (or chapters) are almost all very short. Most are two to three pages, some a bit longer.
The entry are generally of two basic types: dates on which a notable game show first aired, last aired, or had some other significant moment like changing its name, format, or network it was airing on, or a significant change in its host or announcer. And the other being significant game show figures’ “born on this day” (or “died on this day”) entries (some clearly to round out the days of the month not already filled).
The game show program specific entries give details of how that show got on the air, who the notable people working on that show were, the rules of the game, how long it ran for, and any subsequent revivals of that show. The “born/died on this date” entries generally give a broad overview of that person’s entire career (focusing on the game shows if that person was also an actor or had some other field he or she is just as well known for), although some of the figures entries are very short because their time in game shows was likewise short.
There are a few entries that don’t fit either of those two types like an entry on game shows that won Emmy awards, game shows and their hosts who showed up on scripted television shows (like “Let’s Make a Deal” on “The Odd Couple”, “Family Feud” and memorable episodes of “Mama’s Family”, “The Golden Girls”, and “Cheers” where characters appeared on “Jeopardy!” (“Mama’s Family” also on “Family Feud”, in one of my favorite episodes.)
If you are into game shows, or television history of the 1950s to today (but especially 1950s-1980s), I highly recommend this book and its other three volumes. (There is quite a bit also about the infamous game show fixing scandals of the 1950s that nearly killed the genre.)
The only caveat is that it probably is a bit better to have all four volumes at the same time rather than one at a time like I am from the library because Nedeff often has notes within or at the end of an entry saying “See November 11” (or some other date) for a related other entry.
Also, due to the format, the entries jump all of the place in terms of what decades the events happened in. One entry 1950s, the next entry 2000s, the next 1960s, the next about someone born in the 1920s, and so on. That’s just the nature of these calendar style “what happened on this day” books. Which is fine, especially for reading only one or two entries a day. Me, I’m a very chronological thinker. So, if I had one suggestion it would have been for Nedeff to have included among the works cited and index sections in the back also an entries in chronological order guide so that a reader could read all of the 1950s entries, then the 1960s, etc. Of course, that would still be just for the entries in this one particular volume, not all four, so maybe not very many other people would find that all that useful.
Anyway, I gave “This Day in Game Show History: 365 Commemorations and Celebrations” Volume 1: “January Through March” four out of five stars on GoodReads, and have Volume 2 “April Through June” already waiting among those in my “to read next” pile....more
Just finished my first book of 2023, “The Kick-A** Book of Cobra Kai: An Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion Book” by Rachel Bertsche (2022). This isJust finished my first book of 2023, “The Kick-A** Book of Cobra Kai: An Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion Book” by Rachel Bertsche (2022). This is a really fun behind-the-scenes book on the Netflix series with lots of cool photos and interviews with all involved (the showrunners, actors, writers, directors, stunt coordinators, production designers, etc. Traces the genesis of the project from the early love of the original 1980s “Karate Kid” movies by the three men who who go on to create and produce “Cobra Kai”, Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, through their convincing Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) and William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) to step back into their famous roles.
The selling of the series concept to YouTube (who carried the series on their YouTube Red the first two seasons), the casting of the other roles, the shooting the series, the series popularity especially after it moved to Netflix, the biggest fan moments like the returns of various other characters from the original “Karate Kid” movies and how many of the themes of the series transcend the generations, the young teenage characters going through many of the same experiences that Daniel and Johnny’s generation did back in the 80s.
And perhaps the most fun element of “Cobra Kai”, the unexpected development and redemption of quintessential 80s bad boy, Johnny Lawrence (while at the same time keeping him a man firmly stuck in the 80s thinking wise, to often humorous effect).
Daniel LaRusso’s journey from where we last saw him in “The Karate Kid: Part III” to being a family man with a wife, two children, and a successful businessman, seemingly the opposite of the perennially down on his luck Johnny, is also explored, and how the sudden return of Johnny and Cobra Kai dojo (re-opened by Johnny) brings Daniel to the realization that he has become out of touch with his kids and with his own life’s focus (his beloved mentor, Mr. Miyagi, having passed away seven years prior to the start of the series. It makes Daniel decide to resume his karate and to train his daughter and other teens in the Miyagi style of karate.
As I said, a very fun, well written book for fans of “The Karate Kid” films and “Cobra Kai” series (and a great companion to Ralph Macchio’s recently released “Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me” memoir book). I gave “The Kick-A** Book of Cobra Kai: An Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion Book” four out of five stars on GoodReads....more
Just finished reading last night Randy West's very entertaining tome, "TV Inside-Out - Flukes, Flakes, Feuds and Felonies: The backstage blunders, bloJust finished reading last night Randy West's very entertaining tome, "TV Inside-Out - Flukes, Flakes, Feuds and Felonies: The backstage blunders, bloopers and blasphemy of celebrities in search of success" (BearManor Media, 2022). Randy West has spent his entire adult life working in the entertainment industry, first on radio and then, after being mentored by the famous Johnny Olson (the original "Price Is Right" "COME ON DOOWWWWN" announcer), began his long career in 1988 as a game show announcer, audience warm-up personality, and voice performer.
West has worked with or at least interacted with many of the television and motion picture celebrities, and has had the ear of even more actors, writers, producers, directors, and other figures who have worked in television going all the way back to the 1950s who could share with West stories that West himself could not have personally witnessed himself.
After a lengthy introduction in which West expounds upon the nature of being a celebrity and how some people react to the pressures of fame and success (and stresses to continue to succeed) differently than others, West begins telling his stories of television game show hosts and producers, actors who off screen couldn't stand each other, morning show and late night show hosts, news announcers, talk show hosts, etc. How deals were agreed upon and then broken. Personality clashes. Hosts who were warm and friendly--accept when the cameras weren't rolling. Friendships and professional partnerships that splintered apart over sometimes real, sometimes only perceived, betrayals. Tales of personal life travails that derailed successful television careers. And, likewise, stories of others who overcame great obstacles.
I read this book very slowly over several months, just a chapter or two at a time (sometimes even only part of a chapter) as West's style of jumping from one anecdote to another encouraged me to read it this way. His chapters are short and most of them discuss two of three different celebrity tales or stories from different television shows, although a few chapters do focus on one particular celebrity like Johnny Carson and Betty White.
I learned of this book by Randy West's appearing on Ed Robertson's "TV Confidential" radio show/podcast and immediately asked my local public library to get a copy, which they did. I recommend if for anyone who loves reading about old tv shows and celebrities "behind the scenes" stories (although it's not just "classic TV" figures and events West shares about, he also includes tales of celebrities, as well, right up to the year this book came out). Many of the stories are ones that have been told before, but that's okay. There are most likely just as many if not more that most readers have not heard before. And it's a book that some can read as I did, the entire thing, cover to cover, while others jump around in, reading about only the celebrities or genres of television that they personally are interested in.
I gave "TV Inside-Out" four out of five stars on GoodReads....more
I finished reading “Son of a Junkman: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood” (2020) by Ed Asner with Samuel WI finished reading “Son of a Junkman: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood” (2020) by Ed Asner with Samuel Warren Joseph and Matthew Seymour. It has a Foreword by Paul Rudd, who appeared with Asner in 2012 in the Broadway play, “Grace”.
Ed Asner, who just passed away at the age of 91 on August 29, 2021, will forever be remembered as the blustery television news producer, Lou Grant, from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-1977) and the dramatic hour-long spin-off, “Lou Grant” (1977-1982, in which Lou Grant returns to his roots as a newspaper editor). Younger generations will probably recognize his voice as that of Carl Fredricksen on the Disney•Pixar animated movie “Up” (2009), and he also made a very memorable appearance as Santa Clause in the 2003 Will Ferrell Christmas movie, “Elf”.
Asner did much more than those things in his very long career in live theatre, film, and television of course, much of which is at least touched upon in this book.
I enjoyed reading of his early years in Kansas City and his relationship with his family (parents, siblings, uncles, grandfather, etc.). At details what it was like growing up in a Jewish family at that time and his regret that his father died long before he could see his son’s success as an actor.
He discussed how he got into acting (live theater), then into movies and television. He has stories of working with legendary actors like John Wayne, Marlon Brando, and Sidney Poitier, and on two movies with Elvis Presley.
He talks of his many guest appearances and recurring roles on television prior to getting the role of Lou Grant.
He then has separate chapters on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Lou Grant”. These two chapters are way too brief though, in my opinion, and this is the arguably the most memorable role of his career, but they are only eight and five pages long. Then, again, this is a very short book in general, only 143 pages (only the first 94 pages of which are actually the autobiography; the rest of the book are additional interview transcripts between Asner and co-author Samuel Warren Joseph).
Following the chapters on “MTM” and “Lou Grant”, Asner discusses his time as Screen Actors Guild president and his at that time controversial remarks that he made in regards to the civil war going on in El Salvador, remarks that labelled him in the eyes of many as being pro-Communism and that he believed to his dying day as having caused the cancellation of “Lou Grant” while it was still doing decently well in the ratings and a long period in which he was basically blacklisted and could get very little television or film work (the second half of the 1980s, 1990s, and at least early 2000s).
He finally comes out of this fallow period (which was very hard on him emotionally as he loved his craft, acting) with those breakthrough parts in “Elf” and “Up”. He also started getting television guest roles again and also returned to live theater.
As I mentioned, the first 94 pages are the autobiography and the remaining almost fifty pages are additional interview transcripts. As Samuel Warren Joseph accounts in his introduction to those transcripts, his first draft with Asner was formatted as “an oral autobiography” (more interview style, I gather), but that Asner decided he preferred a more standard autobiography format, which co-author Matthew Seymour “reshaped and rewrote” along with Asner, resulting in this version published as this book.
It is a very interesting read, albeit a short one, one which left me wanting more. Perhaps Asner intended to do a follow up book going more into his biggest roles, I don’t know. I do know that he was a very engaging storyteller as demonstrated here in his autobiography and also on his many appearances on radio shows and podcasts over the past few years like Ed Robertson’s “TV Confidential” and Stu Shostak’s “Stu’s Show”.
For fans of his work, like me, he is already sorely missed and I highly recommend “Son of a Junkman”....more
I finished another “quick read” book that had to get back to the public library today: “Star Trek: Discovery: The Official Companion” by Titan MagazinI finished another “quick read” book that had to get back to the public library today: “Star Trek: Discovery: The Official Companion” by Titan Magazines (2018). (That’s the title as written in the inside small print. The front cover adds “The Making of Season 1” to the end of the title. And, just to make things more confusing, GoodReads brings this up as “Star Trek Discovery Collector’s Edition 2”. I read elsewhere online that this was released in both standard magazine and hardcover book formats, which might be why this hardcover I checked out would be considered “Edition 2”.)
Like the “Voyager 25th Anniversary Special” (2020), this is largely (if not entirely) comprised of material previously released in Titan Magazines’ “Star Trek Magazine”.
Brief interviews (two to four or five pages long) with Mary Wiseman (“Ensign Tilly”), Prosthetic and Special Make-Up FX Department Head James MacKinnon, and Alan Van Sprang (Section 31 operative, “Leland”)); an opening overview article on the making of season one (in actuality a bunch of brief interview segments, one right after the other, from the series producers, costume designer, property (props) manager, prosthetics and make-up artists, visual effects supervisor, and musical score composer); a short section of pictures of the U.S.S. Discovery and the U.S.S. Shinzhou and other tech items like hand phasers, tricorders, and communicators; and an episode guide of all season one episodes (each with a plot summary with pictures and a few more relevant quotes from producers, actors, costume designers, make-up artists, visual effects artists, etc.).
Repeating what I said about the Voyager 25th Anniversary Special, this is by no means a must read, but it is an okay “quick read”. I didn’t bother reading the episode plot summaries, which made it an even quicker read. Some interesting insights here and there from the participants (of the original interviews either reprinted or quoted in this “Companion”) but most of them very brief due to the format here....more
Trying to put a dent in my towering “to read” stack of public library books (and in order of first ones due back), I finished this short one earlier iTrying to put a dent in my towering “to read” stack of public library books (and in order of first ones due back), I finished this short one earlier in the week: “Star Trek: Voyager 25th Anniversary Special” by Titan Books (2020) (not to be confused with “Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration”, another book released in 2020 in honor of Voyager’s 25th anniversary, “A Celebration” by Hero Collector Books).
Not a lot to say about the “Voyager 25th Anniversary Special” other than that it’s basically a hardcover magazine length book consisting almost entirely of interviews and articles that ran in Titan Magazines’ “Star Trek Magazine” back while “Voyager” was originally on the air (1995-2001). Short interviews (one to three pages long with the actors and also the season ending recap interviews with producers Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga). The book does open with a short new interview with Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway) conducted especially for those special. (One can tell that it was pre COVID as they mention the upcoming Star Trek Cruise that the Voyager cast was set to attend in honor of the anniversary. That cruise was held in March 2020, right before COVID closed everything down.)
This is by no means a must read, but it is a nice “quick read”. And it is interesting to go back and read what the actors and producers were saying about the show and their characters at the time it was being made....more
Just finished reading “Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration” (2020, from Eaglemoss/Hero Collector Books; writers credited as by Ben Robinson and Mark WriJust finished reading “Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration” (2020, from Eaglemoss/Hero Collector Books; writers credited as by Ben Robinson and Mark Wright, with additional material by William Potter and Matt McAllister). Released in conjunction with (and “celebrating”) the twenty-fifth anniversary of the premiere of the television series on January 16, 1995.
One the best book ever released specifically about “Star Trek: Voyager”. (There have been at least two previously released books—from while the tv series was still in production and had just completed its run—that are also quite good: “Star Trek: Voyager: A Vision of the Future” by Stephen Edward Poe (1998), and the “Star Trek: Voyager Companion” by Paul Ruditis (2003)).
“Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration” includes newly conducted interviews with all of the primary cast of actors (with the exception of Jennifer Lien who played Kes the first three seasons; Lien no longer does interviews, although the book does include archival interview quotes from Lien and comments from her co-stars on their experiences working with her on the series.)
The book also gives two-page spotlights on key episodes, and articles on the development of the series, its opening titles sequence, important behind the scenes personnel like series co-creators and producers Michael Pillar and Jeri Taylor, the various aliens featured on the series (the Kazon, the Vidiians, the Hirogen, the Borg, and Species 8472), the various departments—art department, VFX (visual effects), the writers and directors, make up department (including details on Neelix’s elaborate alien prosthetics that had to be applied and removed every day), costumes, and musical score composers)—designing the USS Voyager and Delta Flyer shuttle and a gallery of the various alien and other Starfleet vessels seen, and several familiar elements of the series like landing the ship (a first for a Starfleet starship on a Star Trek series) and Seven of Nine’s famous silver “catsuit”, and “Captain Proton” holodeck program.
When I first say the announcement that this book was coming, I knew that I would want to read it but at the same time thought to myself, “How interesting could another book on Star Trek: Voyager really be?” It turns out, pretty interesting (if done well).
The next “Celebration” book due out from Eaglemoss is “Star Trek: A Celebration”, about the original 1966-1969 “Star Trek” television series. Again, I’m a bit skeptical as there have been oodles of books written on the original series. Still, perhaps Eaglemoss might be able to surprise me again and give us a different take on an already very well covered subject. We’ll see.
As for “Star Trek: Voyager: A Celebration”, I highly recommend it....more
Just finished reading “The Forgotten Desi and Lucy TV Projects: The Desilu Series and Specials That Might Have Been” by Richard Irvin (2020). An excelJust finished reading “The Forgotten Desi and Lucy TV Projects: The Desilu Series and Specials That Might Have Been” by Richard Irvin (2020). An excellent reference book on all of the (known) television projects Desi Arnaz and/or Lucille Ball—both through their Desilu Studios and then later under their individual separate production companies—considered making (or actually did shoot “pilot” episodes of which then didn’t get made into television series).
Broken down into projects under Desi Arnaz’s running of Desilu from 1950 to 1962 Desilu first, then, after Desi’s resignation from the company in 1962, under Lucy’s term as president of Desilu from 1962 to 1967 (when she sold Desilu to Gulf + Western).
Each of these periods are then further divided out by “funny lady” comedy pilots, “funny guys”, “couples comedies”, “dramas”, “anthologies”, proposed spin-offs of successful Desilu series like “I Love Lucy”, “Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse”, “The Untouchables”, etc.
The length of each project/pilot entry varies from only a paragraph or two in cases where nothing was made and little information still exists to several pages about pilots that were actually shot.
There are also chapters detailing the Gene Roddenberry produced Desilu pilots and proposed projects including the original “Star Trek” pilot episode, “The Cage”*, and precursors to Desilu’s successful “Mission: Impossible” series.
(* It is in the Gene Roddenberry chapter that I found a glaring error, though. It might just be a poorly written sentence but it says that the second pilot episode of Star Trek, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, with William Shatner taking over as lead of the series from Jeffrey Hunter, “became the first episode of Star Trek to be aired with an entirely new cast except for Leonard Nimoy” (153). Any one who knows the original Star Trek series well at all knows that the first episode aired was “The Man Trap”. “Where No Man” was aired as the third episode of the first season.)
Still, this is an excellent reference book for those interested in early television production (a look into the *many* projects a studio used to make—or consider making—of pilots of in hopes of a television network buying them to turn into a regular weekly series), the early history of television in general (such as the 1950s when the television anthology series was prevalent), and/or just in learning more about Lucille Ball’s and Desi Arnaz’s careers. (One project considered by Desi Arnaz was a Fred and Ethel Mertz spinoff series after “I Love Lucy” but Vivian Vance refused to work with William Frawley on any project without also Lucy and Desi.)...more
Last night I finished reading “Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons” by Jay Moriarty (2019).
Now, I read a lot of books about the makLast night I finished reading “Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons” by Jay Moriarty (2019).
Now, I read a lot of books about the making of classic television series. It’s one of my go-go subjects as I love reading all of the behind the scenes stuff like the development of a series, the writing, the casting, the shooting of the episodes, etc.
That said, I have to say that “Honky in the House” is one of the best of these types of books that I’ve read. The best of these bring up warm memories of when you first watched an old tv series (“I remember that episode!”) and make you want to watch that series again. Moriarty’s book very much does this for “The Jeffersons”.
For those unfamiliar with “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985), it was a spin-off of another classic series, “All in the Family” (1971-1979), both overseen by Norman Lear.
Starting with the second season, Moriarty and his writing partner, Mike Milligan, joined the writing staff on “The Jeffersons”. Prior to that, they had written episodes of “Good Times” and “Maude” (two other Norman Lear series), “That’s My Mama”, “Joe and Sons”, and “Chico and the Man”.
Moriarty spends the opening chapters of “Honky in the House” quickly getting you through his early years (how he ended up wanting to be a television writer), getting married and moving to California to pursue that dream, submitting a story pitch to “All in the Family” for an episode called “The Draft Dodger” (which went unanswered at the time but which would be made into one of the all time most memorable episodes of that series many years later after Moriarty and Milligan were on “The Jeffersons”), meeting and forming his partnership with Milligan, and their experiences writing the episodes for the series I mentioned above.
However, all of that is covered in just a small number of chapters, after which pretty much the entire rest of the book is either about their time working on “The Jeffersons” or a few side projects they worked on at the same time.
Moriarty and Milligan quickly rose through the ranks at “The Jeffersons”, starting out as “Program Consultants”/“Assistant Story Editors”) for season two (their first season on the series), “Story Editors” for seasons three and four, “Producers” for season five, and “Executive Producers” for seasons six and seven.
Not bad for a couple white television comedy writers on what became a number one hit “black” television situation comedy series. Moriarty addresses this several times, what it was like being asked over and over how a white man can write for black characters. He goes into his philosophy about this and also how his goal was always for his scripts (and the ones he oversaw the development of) to #1, “be funny”, and #2, to have something significant to say about life, society, race, serious issues, family, etc. But he would shelve an “issue” story idea until he and his partner could come up with a sound story to go with it. (“How do we make this funny? How do we explain how this would naturally work within the confines of our series and the lives of characters that we’ve already established?”)
Moriarty goes pretty much chronologically through his years on “The Jeffersons”, season by season, and intersperses where appropriate his working relationships with Norman Lear, the other producers, and the cast (Sherman “George Jefferson” Hemsley, Isabel “Louise ‘Weezie’ Jefferson” Sanford, Marla “Florence” Gibbs, etc.).
He doesn’t try to go into every single episode (this isn’t an “episode guide”). He brings up the ones that meant the most to him personally and also gives his thoughts on a handful of others for each season. (I won’t try to go into any specific ones here but, again, I was constantly going, “Oh yeah, I remember that one!” over and over again.)
The book ends after Moriarty and Milligan completed their six year run on “The Jeffersons” (and also their overseeing the very short lived “Jeffersons” spin-off series, “Checking In”, starring Marla Gibbs’ Florence character which was shot after the completion of “The Jeffersons” season seven in 1981; four episodes of “Checking In” were written and shot very quickly, much faster than Moriarty and Milligan liked, due to an impending writer’s strike; the four episodes were aired, the series was cancelled, and Marla Gibbs returned to “The Jeffersons”, as she had wisely had put in her contract for the spin-off series).
Moriarty and Milligan had already decided to leave “The Jeffersons” at the end of season seven, which they did, to accept an offer to develop new series ideas at another network. “Honky in the House”, being a book primarily about their time on “The Jeffersons”, ends here though and does not follow their careers beyond that. Perhaps Moriarty has a second book in mind.
I highly highly highly recommend “Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons” to anyone who have ever enjoyed watching that classic television series (which at the time was the longest running American television situation comedy series: eleven seasons, 253 episodes). I also recommend it for people who just like to read in general about television shows were made in the 1970s and early 80s....more
I just finished reading “Betty White on TV: From Video Vanguard to Golden Girl” by Wesley Hyatt (2021).
This is the fourth television history book writI just finished reading “Betty White on TV: From Video Vanguard to Golden Girl” by Wesley Hyatt (2021).
This is the fourth television history book written by Hyatt that I’ve read, the others being “Television's Top 100: The Most-Watched American Broadcasts, 1960-2010” (2011), “The Carol Burnett Show Companion: So Glad We Had This Time” (2016), and “Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories” (2017).
Hyatt, who I’ve heard many times on television related podcasts “Stu’s Show” (hosted by Stu Shostak) and “Television Confidential” (hosted by Ed Robertson), always does an excellent job detailing the history of various television shows and/or personalities. He clearly is very knowledgeable about the subject and also goes out of his way to seek out every possible episode of a series to view when writing about it even if it means flying across country to various television history museums to do so.
The one thing about Hyatt’s writing that lessens my enjoyment of his otherwise excellent books is when, in his capsule reviews of television episodes, tv movies, or specials he feels the need to go beyond the objective facts and plot summaries to also giving his critical opinion as well. Things he doesn’t like he describes as unfunny, plodding, uninspired, etc. (generally not aiming those comments at the person he’s covering and their performance but at the show’s writing, producing, etc.). I’m sure that some find value in Hyatt’s critical opinions but I tend to like these parts less because I realize that such things are highly subjective and that just because one person might not find something funny or interesting doesn’t mean that I might not.
While Hyatt did this quite a bit in his Bob Hope book (which made it the one I liked but probably enjoyed the least of the four books he’s written that I’ve read so far), he does very little of this in “Betty White on TV” (aside from the last couple chapters where he details White’s time as a regular on “Hot in Cleveland” and covering all of the guest starring appearances she made on television over the years). As a result of this plus Hyatt’s as always excellent historical overview of White’s long career, this is probably my favorite of his books that I’ve read, right up there with his Carol Burnett Show and “Television’s Top 100” books.
The book is divided into the following chapters: “Betty the Personality” (White’s start on local Los Angeles television including “Hollywood on Television”, a six days a week afternoon talk show, the first of many short lived “Betty White Shows”, and her many years co-hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving and Tournament of Roses Parades, as well as her guest appearances on other talk shows over the years like “The Tonight Show” with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson and “The Late Show with David Letterman”), “Betty the 50s Funny Lady” (her first sitcoms, “Life With Elizabeth” and “Date With the Angels”), “Betty the Game Show Goddess, Part I” (White’s many tv game show appearances from 1955-1975 including her meeting and marrying Allen Ludden, the host of “Password”), “Betty the Variety Star and Guest” (appearances on “The Carol Burnett Show” that lead to other variety show appearances throughout the second half of the 1970s; also covers later variety show appearances including the Facebook fan driven campaign that saw her hosting “Saturday Night Live” at age eighty-eight in 2012), “Betty the Game Show Goddess, Part II” (1973-2009 game show appearances), “Betty the Scene Stealer” (White’s time playing Sue Ann Nivens, the “Happy Homemaker”, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1973-1977)), “Betty the Shining Star” (another short lived “Betty White Show” (1977-1978), some unsold pilot episodes she did, five appearances on “The Love Boat”, and her return to a character she played earlier on “The Carol Burnett Show” in the 1982 “Eunice” tv special and subsequent “Mama’s Family” series (1983-1986)), “Betty the Rose in Bloom” (White’s second really big television role of her career, Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls” (1985-1992) and short lived follow-up series “The Golden Palace” (1992-1993)), “Betty the Boss and Grandmother” (White’s post “Golden Girls” sitcom roles on shows like “Bob” (1993, with Bob Newhart), “Maybe This Time” (1995-1996, with Marie Osmond and Craig Ferguson), “Ladies Man” (2000-2002, with Alfred Molina), and “That 70s Show” (White appearing in four episodes in a recurring role from 2002 to 2003)), “Betty the Drama Queen” (White’s recurring role on “The Practice” (2004-2008) and the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” (2006-2009), “Betty the Added Attraction” (White’s regular role on “Hot in Cleveland” (2012-2015), and “Betty the Omnipresent: Guest TV Acting Appearances 1956-2018” (including her last two sitcom appearances as of the time of this book’s writing on “Young and Hungry” (2017).
All of this is followed by an extensive Appendix section (“Betty By the Numbers”) listing all of White’s known television appearances from 1953 to 2018, broken down into categories of National TV series as a regular performer (17), National TV series as a semiregular (9), Emmy wins (7), Emmy nominations without wins (17), Aired Pilots (2), Guest starring shots-Miscellaneous (3), TV movies (12), Guest shots-Dramas (20), Guest shots-Cartoons (20), Guest shots-Sitcoms (42), Guest shots-Variety (80), Selected talk show guest shots (100, noted as just a sample out of hundreds of confirmed appearances), and Confirmed game show guest shots (338!).
There’s not much else I can say about this book than that I highly recommend it for both fans of Betty White and also for those who just like to read about tv history. The chapters about White’s more well known series like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “The Golden Girls”, and “Hot in Cleveland”, are approximately longer and more detailed, covering the creation and production of those shows (with the focus always on White’s roles in those shows) in greater detail. However, as much as I enjoyed those chapters, the ones I learned the most from were the ones about White’s early years on “Hollywood on Television”, “Life With Elizabeth”, “Date With the Angels”, covering the parades, and appearing on the early late night talk shows (the 1950s and 60s stuff), and the two chapters covering White’s hundreds of game show appearances.
There are so many game shows that White appeared on as a celebrity panelist that I’d never heard of prior to reading this book, and each series is given an entry here describing the rules of the game, the confirmed dates that White appeared in the show, memorable things she said or did, and how long the series ran for (some for as little as three or six months).
Here’s just some of them (including many of which I *was* already familiar with): “What’s My Line?”, “To Tell the Truth”, “I’ve Got a Secret”, “Keep Talking”, “Masquerade Party”, “Password”, “Play Your Hunch”, “Your First Impression”, “The Match Game”, “You Don’t Say!”, “Missing Links”, “The Price Is Right”, “Get the Message”, “What’s This Song?”, “Call My Bluff”, “Concentration”, “Chain Letter”, “Snap Judgment”, “Win With the Stars”, “It Takes Two”, “It’s Your Bet”, “Beat the Clock”, and “He Said She Said” (which just gets to 1970).
Finishing this review up, again, I highly recommend this book for those into these sorts of things.
(I should probably stress that this is *not* a biography of Betty White, although Hyatt does give brief accounts of White’s early years and also, later, her marriage to Allen Ludden from 1963 to Ludden’s death in 1981. Instead, this is an extensive overview focused entirely on her fifty plus years working in television.)...more
Finished reading today “Confessions of a Rogue TV Comedy Writer: Forty Years of Fame, Fear and Combat Inside the Writers Room” by Ted Bergman (2019). Finished reading today “Confessions of a Rogue TV Comedy Writer: Forty Years of Fame, Fear and Combat Inside the Writers Room” by Ted Bergman (2019).
Bergman’s book is a fun read. As much (or more) an autobiography/memoir of his life (his various personal adventures, travails, and relationships) during the time that he was a Hollywood television sitcom writer as much as it is about his experiences working on those shows but he does commit chapters to telling those stories as well.
From his first television script he ever sold and saw produced (an episode of “The Munsters” (1964-1966), to writing set up lines for “Hollywood Squares” (1966-1980), Bergman’s big break came when he was hired as a staff writer on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (1967-1969).
From there, he next worked on “The Jonathan Winters Show” (1967-1969), “The Trouble With Tracy” (Canadian, 1970-1971), “Sanford and Son” (1972-1977), “What’s Happening!!” (1976-1979), “Sanford” (1980-1981), “Gimme a Break!” (1981-1987), “Rocky Road” (syndicated, 1985-1987), and (very briefly early on) “Full House” (1987-1995). Bergman also takes us through the various projects that never saw the light of day for various reasons (unsold pilots, stage plays, movie pitches, etc.).
In between tv writing jobs, his life with wife and fellow writer Kathy takes them around the world including buying a tropical island home that they end up living in for only a short time.
As I said, I enjoyed this book. A couple things I should mention. Bergman himself points out that there was another Ted Bergmann working in Hollywood (and sometimes at the very same production company) which oftentimes led to people confusing the two of them for each other. This other Ted Bergmann (1920-2014) was the head producer on “Three’s Company” (1977-1984). The Ted Bergman who wrote this book is not *that* Ted Bergmann.
The other thing is that this paperback edition (which has the look of a print-on-demand book) has to be one of the worst copy edited books that I’ve ever read. Words misspelled on just about every other page. Proper names misspelled. (On one page Pat Morita’s name is spelled “Pat Moria” several times.) “Newhart” is “Newheart”. And many, many instances of words missing apostrophes, such as “we’re talking about” being instead “were talking about”.
Also, there are no page numbers. So, to keep track of how far I was progressing each day I’d have to go by the table of contents. Except I soon realized that they missed a chapter in the table of contents so that wasn’t correct either.
All of that said, I still recommend this book for anyone interested in the writing of television sitcoms during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Those of my age and older will probably remember watching several of these series and enjoy reading about what things were like behind the scenes. Others will probably find Bergman writing style to be funny and his life outside of the writers room to be just as interesting....more
Just finished reading “Get in the Car, Jane!: Adventures in the TV Wasteland” by Billy Van Zandt (2020). Another fun look behind the scenes into the mJust finished reading “Get in the Car, Jane!: Adventures in the TV Wasteland” by Billy Van Zandt (2020). Another fun look behind the scenes into the making of television sitcoms from Billy Van Zandt, who, along with his long time partner, Jane Milmore, created and/or developed such shows as “Daddy Dearest” (with Don Rickles, 1993), “Bless This House” (with Andrew Dice Clay, 1995-1996), “The Wayans Bros.” (1995-1998), and “Suddenly Susan” (with Brooke Shields, 1996-2000). Chapters of the book also detail Van Zandt’s and Milmore’s tenures as staff writers on the last season of “Newhart” (1982-1990), their first jobs in television after starting our as off Broadway playwrights, “Anything But Love” (1989-1992) with Jamie Lee Curtis, consulting on “Sydney” (1990) with Valerie Bertinelli and a very young Matthew Perry, supervising producers on the first season of “Nurses” (1991-1994), co-executive producers on the first season of “Martin” (1992-1997) with Martin Lawrence, and as consultants on “The Hughleys” (1998-2002) and, briefly, “Yes, Dear” (2000-2006).
Of all of the shows mentioned above, I will admit that I didn’t really watch any of them (except for “Newhart”), but I still found Van Zandt’s experiences working on each of these shows to be fun to read about. Being a comedy writer, he makes humorous his struggles to get scripts ready, parts cast, network and studio executive notes addressed (or not) and shows shot all in time to air or to be considered for the following season, oftentimes under very trying circumstances (whether from working with a verbally abusive Martin Lawrence, being told that he and Milmore can also act in the series they are producing then having that taken away from them, or working to produce pilots which they somehow manage to get finished by crazy deadlines and actually quite good ones only to have the network either A) decide to pass on the pilot, or B) decide to replace Van Zandt and Milmore with other producers.
Three television pilots that Van Zandt and Milmore worked on that ultimately didn’t get turned into regular series which make for interesting chapters of his book are “Staten Island, 10309” with David Krumholz and Kaye Ballard; an American version of the British sitcom “Waiting for God” that would have been titled “Alive and Kicking”, starred Olympia Dukakis and Richard Mulligan, and produced by Van Zandt, Milmore, and Penny Marshall; and a Disney Channel kids show titled “Jake and Janet Save the Planet” starring eleven year old China Ann McClain (who would star in the Disney Channel series, “A.N.T. Farm” (2011-2014), instead).
As a classic tv (1950s to 1970s/80s fan), though, my chapters of most interest are Van Zandt’s getting in 1986 to meet his idol, Lucille Ball, watch her shoot an episode of her short lived series she was starring in at the time, “Life With Lucy”, and even appear in a brief scene as a flowers delivery guy.
Then, in 1990, (“ten months after Lucille Ball’s death”), a copy of the long thought lost pilot episode of “I Love Lucy” is found (a story in and of itself), and Van Zandt and Milmore get to produce “I Love Lucy: The Very First Show”, a TV special incorporating both the unearthed pilot episode and also interviews with “I Love Lucy” writers Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis, hosted by Lucie Arnaz. The special would go on to be nominated for an Emmy for “Best Informational Special”.
Again, I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in reading funny stories of working with television stars, writers, and producers in getting television shows made in the 1990s, and with the studio and network executives pulling the strings (and oftentimes making the process all the harder).
(Checked out from the Tampa/Hillsborough County Public Library. Learned about from hearing Van Zandt interviewed on Ed Robertson’s “TV Confidential” radio show/podcast.) ...more
"The Virginian" (1962-1971), "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" (1969-1973), "Ironside" (1967-1975), "Amy Prentiss" (1974-1975), "Kolchak: The Night Sta"The Virginian" (1962-1971), "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" (1969-1973), "Ironside" (1967-1975), "Amy Prentiss" (1974-1975), "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (1974-1975), "Barbary Coast" (1975-1976), "CHiPs" (1977-1983). Cy Chermak (1929-January 29, 2021) served as producer and/or executive producer on all of these series, and this is his behind the scenes accounting/memoir of his long and accomplished career in television.
Chermak spends most of the book going over all of the things a "show runner" (what Chermak describes as a "working executive producer", versus others with that title who do not actually take care of the day to day needs of production) must take care of. All the people he or she must meet with and decisions that must be made. Working with the stars, the casting director, the production managers, set designers, directors, editors, etc.
All the while, Chermak sprinkles in interesting anecdotes from the various series he worked on and the people he worked with. Then, in the last part of the book he discusses “The Virginian”, “Ironside”, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”, and “CHiPs” in more detail, each in their own chapter.
A very enjoyable read. Chermak could be both biting at times of others yet was always fair in his assessments of just what went down in each instance. And he could be just as critical of himself. And his sense of humor runs throughout the book, making it a fun read (in addition to reading about all of the behind the scenes stuff like actors walking off of sets when not getting their way, and others trying to exert control over the entire production or squabbling with their fellow co-stars).
Sadly, Chermak just recently passed away this past January. I learned of Chermak’s book when he was interviewed on Ed Robertson’s “TV Confidential” radio show/podcast. The copy of Chermak’s book is one that I borrowed from the Tampa/Hillsborough County Public Library (added to their collection as one of my monthly “please buy” requests)....more
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