Hacked.

My computer was hacked this morning, causing me to lose all my e-mails, all my sent e-mails, and all my contacts.
I have already fixed the problem for the future, so my e-mail address, macchus999@aol.com, is still intact.
And I have already received some e-mails from friends, telling me that not only have I been hacked, but that in "my" email to them, I am claiming that I am stranded in Africa, and need them to send me money.
I am not stranded in Africa, and do not need anyone to send me money.
I have lost my OTN list and my blog subject list.
I am attempting to reconstruct them.
If anyone out there would like to send me your contact information, I would be grateful to receive it.
This is particular shout out to Maureen Paraventi, whose e-mail exchanges with me were going to be the subject of today's post.
I hope you have saved them and can send them, Maureen.

So I'm busy trying to fix problems today.
I hope things will be back to normal by Thursday.

Welcome to the dark side of the modern age.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

Buddy Hackett On The OTN.

Only one entry today.
Last time, I indicated that "Life With Father" was the only sitcom that aired live in the fifties.
I was mistaken.
"Mr. Peepers" aired live.
As did another sitcom that I remember seeing when I was nine years old.
It was called "Stanley", and starred Buddy Hackett in 1956 on NBC.
I recalled it being hilarious then.
I have recently made a new friend, who is a collector of old TV shows, and we have been trading DVDs of very rare episodes of shows.
He just sent me three episodes of "Stanley"
They were at least as funny as I remember them being.
They made 26 of them.
Carol Burnett was Buddy's co-star, playing his girlfriend, Celia.
This was before she made any kind of a splash in show business.
I believe it was her first job.
And she had absolutely all of her shit together then.
Buddy Hackett was a wonderful comic actor.
Just as he was a wonderful standup comic.
Just as he was, as I'm given to understand, a completely miserable human being.
I have never heard anyone say anything nice about him personally.
But that doesn't disturb me, as it did about Danny Kaye.
Buddy Hackett never went out of his way to falsely convince anyone that he was a nice guy.
So it never mattered to me.
And he was hilarious.
As was Carol Burnett.
As was the show.
It was helmed by Max Liebman, who helmed "Your Show of Shows"
Sid Caesar's writers were very much in evidence.
Woody Allen was credited with writing two out of the three episodes I saw.
First rate writing, and first rate performing.
A rare combination.
My newfound friend has told me that he has the entire 26 episodes, and that I will have them soon.
You should all be so lucky.

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

The Early Twentieth Century On The OTN.

Yes, the OTN is back, and will not go away for a little while, anyway.
Today, I will be offering up two shows that took place in the first half of the twentieth century.
I don't necessarily think that either of them are exemplary.
They were, rather, examples of "least objectionable programming".
But I will admit to having enjoyed them when they were on.
Enough to find a place for them on the OTN.
The first is "Life With Father".
It was a sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1955.
It was based on what was one of the longest running Broadway plays of all time.
It took place round the turn of the century.
What was somewhat rare about it was that it was aired live.
Throughout its entire run.
Oh, Jack Benny and Burns and Allen dabbled in live shows, but mostly they were on film.
"Life With Father" had a great deal of charm and energy.
And it was genuinely funny.
It starred Leon Ames and the priceless Lurene Tuttle.
The cast also included a very young Marion Ross as Nora, the maid.
Once, on the set of "Happy Days", I challenged Marion to come up with the theme music for "Life With Father"
She couldn't, and was floored when I did.
It would just be nice to see it again.

Today's other entry is "The Roaring Twenties"
Warner Brothers made a great movie in the late thirties called "The Roaring Twenties" with Cagney and Bogart.
This wasn't it.
This TV version they made starred such luminaries as Rex Reason and Donald May.
Draw that one on a graph.
But it also had Dorothy Provine as the Texas Guinan-style nightclub owner and performer, and she was terrific.
She seemed headed for stardom.
She didn't get there.
"The Roaring Twenties" was cut from the same piece of Warner Brothers cloth as "77 Sunset Strip", and half a dozen other copies of that.
Only with different locales.
This is the only one that went for a different time period.
It was quite entertaining, in a way that the others really weren't.
Mainly due to Ms. Provine.
Now that she is gone, I think she should be unearthed in some way.

See you next time,
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Report Card----The 2013 Tony Awards.

I usually don't do Report Cards on TV shows that have come and gone.
Jackie Gleason once said that functioning as a TV critic is like reporting an accident to an eyewitness.
But with the age of Tivo, there may still be many of you who have recorded it, but not watched it.
So my mission here is to save those people three hours of viewing time.
In terms of entertainment, this was the weakest Tony Awards show I have ever seen.
The opening number was promising.
It even included Mike Tyson.
Don't ask me why.
But that only served to hand Neil Patrick Harris a slew of lame Mike Tyson jokes during the course of the evening.


On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Only intermittently.
C-.

Compelling even?

In the way that seeing a train wreck is compelling.
D.

Is it controversial?

Tom Hanks losing, and the director of "Pippin" winning, and thanking everyone under the sun except Bob Fosse, who is responsible for the show still existing, was controversial. It took the producer, when they won for Best Revival at the very end of the evening, to invoke Fosse's name.

Were the shows depicted seem worth your time?

Almost not at all. The key musicals, "Matilda" and "Kinky Boots", seemed like warmed over rock versions of hybrids of "Annie", "Newsies" and "Oliver" When they showed segments from the "old-fashioned" musicals, like "Annie" itself, "A Christmas Story", and "Cinderella", they made me actually want to see them. And I already saw "A Christmas Story" and didn't much care for it.
C-.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?

For the most part, although I am totally sick of Neil Patrick Harris. Seeing Jane Lynch as Miss Hannigan in "Annie" was a definite plus.
B+.

Is it too long? Too short?

With Tivo, nothing need be too long. But it was anyway.
C.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

I am still shocked and offended when they start playing "Give My Regards To Broadway" during someone's acceptance speech. Cyndi Lauper and Cicely Tyson (How did Neil Patrick Harris miss the joke about how Cicely was Mike's mother?) gave the speeches of their lives, only to be intruded upon like that. So they wouldn't go overtime. Which the show did anyway.
F.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Yes. About how atrocious it was.
F.

Is it funny?

It tries. Oh how it tries. And it fails. Oh how it fails.
F.

Was it worth the no money it cost to see it?

We should have charged them.

Is it impressive ?

It was depressive.
F.

Overall grade: D-.

The only saving grace is that it spared me from seeing some of these shows next time I'm in New York

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Report Card----"On Your Toes"

This was my first experience attending a performance at City Center "Encores!"
They do this about four times a year.
They all run less than a week, so this review is fairly useless.
But it's really more about the "Encores!" experience than the show.
The show, and the experience were both wonderful.
The show is performed with about a forty-five piece orchestra behind them.
Otherwise, there is a semblance of a set. I didn't know going in whether the performers worked with scripts in hand, as they did in that concert version of "South Pacific"
It wouldn't seem likely, as "On Your Toes" is much more of a pure dance show.
And they didn't use scripts.
It is a first-rate Rodgers and Hart show.
Not a meaty as "Pal Joey"
Not as funny as "The Boys From Syracuse"
They are both better shows.
But this one is a dandy in its own way.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

It dazzles you.
A+.

Compelling even?

The story is not that riveting.
B-.

Is it controversial?

No, and it doesn't need to be.
No Grade.

Is it a story worth telling?

The clash between serious and popular dance is pretty interesting.
A.

Is it good storytelling?

Considering how flimsy the story is, it's handled very well.
A.

Is it well written?

Book-wise, pretty good. Music and lyrics, spectacular.
A.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?

For the most part, it is done perfectly. But the part of the lead male dancer cries out for a star.
And there was a huge hole on the stage where there wasn't one.
C.

Is it too long? Too short?

The time flew by.
A+.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

It's as believable and engrossing as a cardboard old-fashioned musical can be.
B+.


Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

No, but it doesn't matter.
No Grade.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Yes. It has made me think about going to New York more often to see more "Encores!"
A+

Is it funny?

Often.
A.

Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?

Absolutely.
A+.

Is it impressive ?

Stunning
A+.

Overall grade: A.

"Encores" is a labor of love. And since I can't be in labor, I can only be in love.

Enjoy the Tonys!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Report Card----"The Nance"

I only had the opportunity to see two shows this past Broadway season, so naturally I made one of them the one Nathan Lane was starring in.
It was better than "The Addams Family"
But that's not saying a lot.
Nor does much more positive deserve to be said than that.
It was all about homosexuality and burlesque in the late 1930's.
I am a fan of burlesque, and it was performed very well.
I am not a fan of, nor an expert about, homosexuality.
So, as far as my limited knowledge will take me, it was not performed very well.
It was more graphic than I thought it needed it to be.
But Nathan Lane was superb, as always.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

In its own rather perverse way.
B+.

Compelling even?

No. It was rather diffusely told.
C-.

Is it controversial?

It would have been, about twenty-five years ago.
The times have diminished its impact.
C.

Is it a story worth telling?

It's a fascinating theme. A homosexual pretending to be a "Pansy" on stage, as burlesque was dying because of such acts.
A.

Is it good storytelling?

No. This is the problem. It is unfocused and ramshackle. And unmotivated. Lane's character is a staunch conservative Republican. The Republicans then and now are the least likely to tolerate Lane's lifestyle, and what he does onstage. It's kind of like blue collar workers voting for Romney.
The difference is that Lane's character is supposed to be intelligent. And Republicans are mainly responsible for his downfall.
D.

Is it well written?

The dialogue is not uninteresting, and not the problem.
B+.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?

Pretty much.
B+.

Is it too long? Too short?

It runs about two hours and seems interminable. This is because the story rarely plows forward.
There is one extended scene where Lane works in drag on stage. It is perhaps the best scene in the play.
But it also symbolizes it. The play itself is a drag.
D+.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

You believe, and you care. If you're homosexual, you probably believe and care a lot more.
A.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

This is a tough one, because after a while, you really don't care where it's going.
C-.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Only about Nathan kissing another man openly on the lips. it's a tough image to get out of my mind.
C.

Is it funny?

The burlesque scenes are authentic and hilarious.
A+.

Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?

Can't say that it was.
C-.

Is it impressive ?

I'll give them that one. It was a big try. With better construction, it could have been great.
A.

Overall grade: C+.

Nathan keeps acting, I'll keep coming.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Jean Stapleton: Some Thoughts.

I've mentioned several times here about how the actress Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza's mother on "Seinfeld", was the spitting image of my mother.
Perhaps more vocally than visually.
She was fairly close visually as well.
But Jean Stapleton was much closer visually.
And when "All In The Family" first came on, and she came on, with that dingbat voice of hers, all of my relatives were astounded by the resemblance to my mother.
The difference between Estelle Harris and Jean Stapleton was that what Jean Stapleton was doing on "All In The Family" was an affectation.
She didn't really talk like that.
In interviews, she sounded like a regular, intelligent person.
Intelligent enough to realize that when she was going to audition for Norman Lear, she'd have to "dingbat it up"
I've worked with Estelle Harris.
She is the genuine article.
She really talks like that.
This is not to imply that Estelle Harris is a dingbat.
Far from it.
It's simply how she really talks.

As an actress, Jean Stapleton was quite adept at shifting gears.
My first exposure to her work was when I saw the movie musical "Damn Yankees"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a small part, and she sang the reprise of "You Gotta Have Heart"
And she was in full dingbat mode.

My next exposure was the movie musical "Bells Are Ringing"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a larger part than in "Damn Yankees", but still relatively small.
Still a dingbat.

Shortly after that, I saw her on Broadway in "Funny Girl"
She played one of Fanny Brice's neighbors in her old neighborhood.
She had two songs.
Full-out dingbat.
She was not Kay Medford's understudy as Fanny's mother.
Someone else replaced her when Kay Medford left.
She made a very positive impression on me and just about everybody else in those three roles.

I've come to believe that a little of her went a long way.
And maybe that's why she was never promoted to Kay Medford's part.
Maybe they thought so too.

She wasn't used in the movie.
They brought in Mae Questel, who was the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.

Just coincidentally, this past Sunday night, she showed up in an episode of "Naked City" on MeTV.
They didn't show it as a tribute to her.
It had been scheduled to be aired before she died.
But there she was, in a drama, sounding like a human being.
I didn't even know she operated in that mode back then.
But she was smart enough to know that "Naked City" wasn't looking for a dingbat.

I'm sure she killed in the room when she read for Norman Lear.
But I don't think he has the slightest idea that a little of her went a long way.
I think that she was the fatal flaw in "All In The Family"
Her onscreen presence was way overextended, and she was consistently shrieking.
Maybe I'm swayed because she cut a little to close to the bone in resembling my mother.

The show has not aged well.
It was very good for its time, but was totally topical.
It was all about Nixon.
And nobody either remembers Nixon anymore, or gives a crap about Nixon any more.
So all it is now is loud, and shrieking, and dated.
This is the tone that was set for most of the shows from the Norman Lear empire.
Ms. Stapleton eventually opted out of the show, fearing that she would be typecast.
Of course she was, but it was by her own hand, and most likely what got her the gig in the first place.
Maybe she was just tired of the shrieking.
I know I was.
I was getting enough of it at home.

And she did successfully make the transition to character parts.
Much more subdued ones.
Where a lot of her went a long way.
For which we should all be grateful.

With the Tony Awards coming up, the next two posts will be Broadway Report Cards.

Then, back to the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Game Show Day On The OTN

There are a couple of game shows that I think are OTN worthy.
One was the side-splittingly funny "Dollar A Second".
It was done in the mid-1950's.
I don't know how many kinescopes of it have survived.
There is one episode of it on YouTube.
It was essentially one part "Beat The Clock", one part "Truth or Consequences", and, the part that made it side-splittingly funny, about five parts Jan Murray as the host.
The premise: as long as the contestant stays on the show, he or she wins a dollar a second.
The contestant stays on by answering funny questions in a funny way, such as being asked a question and answering with the answer to the previous question.
Comedy writers were obviously heavily employed.
If the contestant got the answer wrong, a penalty is enforced.
If the contestant loses the penalty, he or she is gone, and leaves with however much was accumulated.
There was also an "outside event"
If that occurs while the contestant is on, all money earned is lost.
The contestant can quit and keep the money at any time.
So it is a game of constant humor, and constant pressure.
What really made it work was Jan Murray.
You really need a comedian as the host.
Chuck Barris tried a remake pilot of "Dollar a Second", hosted by the high-larious Bob Eubanks.
It just laid there.
"The Price Is Right" got along just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Drew Carey.
"Family Feud" did just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Steve Harvey.
"Dollar A Second" would thrive today with either one of them hosting.
It should be brought back, if only for the OTN.

The other game show that I place in nomination is "Stump The Stars"
It was also known in earlier incarnations as "Pantomime Quiz"
Both were eternally hosted by the never funny Mike Stokey.
He was the Alex Trebek of his time, making the players feel stupid if they gave bad clues.
All the players were celebrities, and the game was simple "charades"
The charades that were acted out were gag sayings sent in by the home viewers, which added to the humor.
Watching someone acting out charades is very character revealing.
If you are basically intelligent and quick-witted, you are usually good at charades.
If you are basically not, then you are not.
Very revealing.
There are a handful of "Stump The Stars" and Pantomime Quizzes on YouTube.
I'd like to see them again, and don't see why they can't be revived.
Unfortunately, Mike Stokey can't be revived, because he's dead.

Until next time,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Ben Gazzara Day On The OTN.

Ben Gazzara was one of our most interesting and compelling actors.
He had many appearances on the small screen, and I didn't take advantage of as many opportunities to catch him as I should have.
He was great in all those Cassavetes movies.
He was great in a Peter Bogdanovich movie I referenced recently called "Saint Jack", and another wonderful Bogdanovich
movie, "They All Laughed", where he displayed his wonderful flair for comedy.
He was great in "Anatomy of a Murder".
He was just simply great.

He starred in two OTN-worthy series.
Neither of which I saw very often.
Much to my regret.
The first was "Arrest and Trial"
"Arrest and Trial" was the immediate ancestor to "Law and Order"
The first half-hour depicted the arrest being made, and the second half-hour was devoted to thrashing it out in court.
Sound familiar?
Ben Gazzara co-starred with Chuck Connors.
Gazzara was the cop in the "Arrest" portion, and Connors was the D.A. in the "Trial" portion.
Does that not seem out of whack to you?
Shouldn't the brawnier Connors have played the cop, and the more intellectual Gazzara play the D.A.?
Maybe that's why I didn't watch it very often.
I couldn't get past what seemed to me to be backwards casting.
But subsequently, everything I have seen him do has been worth the trip.
So I would like to catch up with "Arrest and Trial"

Shortly after "The Fugitive" began its run on ABC, NBC decided to attempt to cash in on its success by casting Ben Gazzara as his own kind of Fugitive in "Run For Your Life"
In this show, instead of Lieutenant Gerard following him around, it was the Grim Reaper.
He is told by doctors that he has a terminal illness.
One, maybe two years to live.
And he goes around the world, getting involved in people's lives, anthology style, just like the Fugitive.
The series lasted about four years, thus negating its own premise.
And I found myself somewhat turned off by the premise itself.
An eighteen year-old doesn't like to think much about death.
So I didn't watch that one much either.
But my latter found admiration for Gazzara's work in general, and finding myself playing the back nine myself, has caused me to want to seek out this show.
It hasn't been seen in quite a while, so where better than on the OTN?

Until next time,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The Best Felix Unger I Ever Saw.

I mentioned last time that, as much as I loved Tony Randall as Felix Unger, he was, in my eyes, only the second best Felix Unger I ever saw.
And it was close.
But no cigar.
In the very early 1980's, Showtime used to fairly regularly broadcast regional productions of Broadway type productions.
It was an inspired idea.
I wish they were still doing it.
I wish SOMEBODY was doing it now.
The showed things like "Little Johnny Jones", the George M. Cohan musical, at the Goodspeed Opera House, in Connecticut, mercifully without Donny Osmond, who opened it on Broadway for a mercifully brief run.
The Goodspeed production was great.
And they took us to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Florida, where a production of "The Odd Couple" was being offered.
Oscar Madison was being played by Darryl Hickman, Dwayne's older, less talented brother.
You have never seen a boring, more laid back Oscar Madison in your life.
He spent the entire evening not getting any laughs, and essentially playing straight to the actor playing Felix, who was the least boring, funniest, energetic, manic Felix Unger in history.
Namely, Charles Nelson Reilly.
Funny every time he opened his mouth.
Funny with every visual reaction.
There is a good twenty minutes at the beginning of the play where Felix's first entrance is set up.
All the poker players have been forewarned that Felix is missing, and has sent a suicide telegram.
Yes, a suicide telegram.
We all know he is coming.
There is a knock on the door.
They open the door, revealing Charles Nelson Reilly as Felix.
From the peak of his forehead, his thick, black toupee is sticking straight up, erectly.
Inspired.
And that was the jumping off point.
Reilly then took over the stage for the next two hours.
I think he did it in spite of Darryl Hickman.
Not because of him.
I kept thinking how good the production would have been if Reilly worked opposite a heavyweight like Walter Matthau.
You'd think Darryl Hickman would have risen to the occasion, like an inferior tennis player playing against a great one, causing his game to improve.
It didn't happen.
Reilly carried the load all by himself, and did not show any strain doing it.
It was masterful.
So, sorry Tony.
I must call 'em like I see 'em.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Tony Randall Day On The OTN.

As you probably know by now, there can never be enough Tony Randall to suit me.
And there are two series that he did, two seasons each, both post-Odd Couple, that have been unfortunately missing in action, and belong on the OTN.
Because they were both wonderful.
And Tony was, of course, wonderful in them.

The first was "The Tony Randall Show", which immediately followed the demise of "The Odd Couple"
He played Philadelphia judge Walter Franklin.
As good as John Larroquette was on "Night Court", "The Tony Randall Show" was far better.
For several reasons.
"Night Court" virtually never left the courtroom.
On Tony's show, we got into his personal life far more.
And Allyn-Ann McLerie gave John Larroquette a run for his money as a supporting player.
She played Miss Reubner, his sneering, pompous secretary, to a fare-thee well.
Mostly known for playing ingenues on Broadway when she was younger, she showed an unexpected major flair for scene-stealing and high comedy.
Somebody knew something.
Also, Harry Anderson, the judge on "Night Court", was an uninteresting cipher.
Tony's show was easily the best courtroom sitcom ever done.
And it had great writers:

Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, who guided the Bob Newhart Show,

Gary David Goldberg, who ran "Family Ties", and

Hugh Wilson, who ran WKRP in Cincinnati.

Heavyweights all.

Tony's other post "Odd Couple" sitcom was "Love, Sidney"
In that, he played an openly gay artist who shared his apartment with a single mother and her young child.
The young mother was played by Swooosie Kurtz.
This was before she got old enough to be Molly's eternally wine-drinking mother on "Mike and Molly"
"Love, Sidney" was not as well written as "The Tony Randall Show", but it had many fine moments.
Usually because of Tony's fine work.
I was, and am, always in awe of his talent.

These shows should unquestionably be on the OTN.

One more thing about Tony:
As much as I loved him and his work on "The Odd Couple", he was not the best Felix Unger I ever saw.
He was the second best.
Next time, taking a break from OTN submissions, I will tell you who the best Felix Unger I ever saw was, and why.

Until then,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Students Day On The OTN.

On the last post, there was a comment offering up "Mr. Novak" as a potential candidate for the OTN.
Coincidentally enough, I was going to offer it up myself today.
So I will.
"Mr. Novak" was a very well done dramatic series about a high school teacher.
Sort of a serious "Mister Peepers"
But then, the sixties were a much more serious time than the fifties.
It ran for almost three seasons, beginning in 1963.
Mr. Novak was portrayed very sincerely and rather interestingly by James Franciscus.
The principal, Mr. Vane, was played by Dean Jagger, who, with his stuttering style, managed to steal every scene that he was in.
The two of them had a sort of Doctor Kildare-Doctor Gillespie relationship, similar to the way Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey played them.
The show was very intelligent, and very well written.
Two things stand out: One, I was going to High School at the time, and all the actors and actresses playing students seemed to be about five years older than me.
Two, was Mr. Novak's car.
He had what I think was a 1963 Dodge Lancer station wagon.
The Lancer was a compact car.
This was the only version of its station wagon that I have ever seen.
It served two purposes: It showed how little Mr. Novak cared about appearing "cool", unlike all of his students.
It also gave insight on just how little income High School teachers were making.
Where has the show been, and why can't we see it now?

The other series for Students Day ran in 1962 and 1963.
It was called "Fair Exchange"
About two families, one British and one American, who swapped daughters so they could be exchange students in each others countries.
The two fathers were war buddies, and they worked it out.
It may have been the only one-hour sitcom on record.
I was quite taken with it.
It had quality writing, it had Eddie Foy Jr., who was hilarious as the american father (and everything else he ever tried his hand at), and it had two young ladies as the exchange students who were the cutest things going, at the height of their cuteness.
The British girl was Judy Carne, who set my heart and my loins aflutter.
This was before she married Burt Reynolds, and got into legal troubles, and did other things to knock the bloom off the rose.
The American girl was Lynn Loring, precisely as adorable, who went on to become a major executive at one of the major studios.
I remember passing her office on the studio lot where she worked, sticking my head in the door, seeing her, and saying "I loved you on "Fair Exchange"
She, of course, looked at me as if I had three heads.
Perhaps she didn't want to be reminded of her past.
I did, and still do.
There was a bit of a kerfuffle when it was cancelled after only one season.
But it was kerfuffle enough by its cult following to get it renewed for a second season.
Sometimes we do have power.

Until next time,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Navy Day On The OTN.

I've been getting e-mails making suggestions for the OTN that have been missing the point.
They have suggested shows like "The Fugitive"
"The Fugitive" has been in reruns for many years.
MeTV is showing it now.
It's time to reiterate: The OTN is the Obscure Television Network, devoted to shows that have virtually never been rerun anywhere, and deserve to be.

Two candidates will be offered up today.
Both from the naval branch of our Armed Forces.
And no, I am not referring to "Broadside", which was a distaff version of "McHale's Navy", and is technically qualified, but does not deserve a place here.
This is because it was never funny, and had no funny people on it.
With the possible exception of Sheila James.
But her presence was not enough to turn things around.

The shows that I am referring to is first, "Ensign O'Toole", which starred Dean Jones in the title role.
It ran two seasons, 1962 and 1963.
There are shows that can be described as "fun", rather than "funny".
This usually means that they tried for funny and failed.
But "Ensign O'Toole was genuinely fun, and made the occasional leap into funny.
I was around fourteen when it aired, watched it every Sunday, and enjoyed it immensely.
There was an actor named Jack Mullaney, who was a regular on it, who was extremely funny.
Much like the way Bob Denver was funny on "Dobie Gillis"
I'd really like to have the opportunity to see it again on a regular basis.

Second is a wonderful show called "Hennessey".
It starred Jackie Cooper as a navy doctor, and Abby Dalton as his nurse and romantic interest.
It too was only occasionally funny.
It was more like fun.
But what it was, was classy, and low-key, and realistic.
Jackie Cooper, in his autobiography, took a major piss on his earlier series, "The Peoples Choice"
You know. The one where he had a basset hound whose thoughts were expressed by the actress Mary Jane Croft.
In a very droll way.
I thought "The Peoples Choice" was VERY funny.
However, it has been rerun quite a bit.
Cooper heaped praise upon praise upon "Hennessey".
And it WAS a better show.
And it's worth our attention now.
Why it has vanished is one of life's mysteries.

Until next time.

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

A Couple Of Variety Shows For The OTN.

As you may recall, last time was "Wally Cox Day" on the OTN.
For those of you who don't remember, George Gobel was a somewhat countrified, somewhat musical, somewhat devastatingly funny version of Wally Cox.
He was the only other actor that I could ever imagine playing "Mister Peepers"
He was more of a monologist, and much more of a singer and musician than Wally Cox.
Thus, hosting a variety show seemed like a natural for him.
And it was.
He won an Emmy Award for "The George Gobel Show, which first appeared in the mid-50s.
The award was richly deserved.
I remember watching the show when I was a kid, and loving it, and him.
There are a couple of episodes of it on YouTube, so you can see what all the shouting is about.
And I will happily do the shouting.
The head writer was the extremely gifted Hal Kanter, and I think that the Gobel Show was the height of his work.
Both Gobel and Wally Cox were regulars on the original "Hollywood Squares"
I don't know if they ever appeared simultaneously, but any questions that the writers there came up with which would have been suitable for one, would have been suitable for the other.
I don't know if any of the kinescopes of the Gobel Show exist, other than the two on YouTube, but I'd sure like to find out.

George Gobel and Garry Moore, who I also briefly mentioned last time, had several things in common:
Charm, crewcuts, their own variety shows, and a penchant for heavy drinking.
Gobel appeared often on Garry Moore's Primetime variety show.
One time, so the story goes, Moore stopped by George's dressing room before the show to wish him well, and found George drinking a tall one. Moore chastised him: "George, do you really think you should be drinking before the show?"
Gobel responded "You mean, you don't?"
Moore replied "Never before a show."
Gobel then asked "You mean you go out there alone?"

I think Garry Moore was underrated as a comic talent.
This is perhaps due to his close association with Durward Kirby, who was never underrated about anything.
I may have mentioned this once before, but Woody Allen was one of the writers on "The Garry Moore Show"
Watching Moore and Kirby in rehearsal, he commented to one of the other writers "They're button salesmen."
This was perhaps a little harsh, at least as far as Moore was concerned.
Moore certainly held his own as Jimmy Durante's partner on radio, in a show titled, appropriately enough, "The Durante-Moore Show"
Moore's greatest strength was his charm and graciousness as a host.
He also hosted the game show "I've Got A Secret"
The great Henry Morgan, who was a regular panelist on "I've Got A Secret", in his autobiography had only the nicest things to say about Garry Moore.
He also delineated the difference between Moore and the subsequent host of "I've Got A Secret", Steve Allen.
He said "Steve Allen was there purely to make jokes. To serve himself. Sometimes at the contestants expense, sometimes at the panelists' expense. Garry Moore was the world's most amiable host. He was there to make the contestants, the panelists, and the audience welcome and comfortable."
And that's what he essentially did on his very entertaining variety hour.
Plus, he was the one who seriously unleashed the brilliance of Carol Burnett as a great sketch comedienne.
What more can you ask for?
Well...if you're me, you can ask for more than the two rather primitive kinescopes of the Garry Moore Show" that appear on YouTube.
You can only ask....

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Wally Cox Day On The OTN.

Homage must be paid to "Mister Peepers", which, of course, is never shown anywhere.
I have a hefty collection of them on DVD.
They are all priceless.
It was pretty much everyone's first exposure to Wally Cox, and his unique brand of hilarious underplaying.
According to IMDB, there were only 32 episodes of it, aired in 1952 and 1953.
It seems like there were more.
IMDB also indicates that it ran through 1955.
So your guess is as good as mine.
I hope that there is someone out there who's better at guessing.
It was also pretty much everyone's first exposure to Marion Lorne, who broke in her babbling and stuttering style, which she later used on the Garry Moore Show, and "Bewitched"
But the writing served her much better on "Mister Peepers"
It was also pretty much everyone's first exposure to Tony Randall, who broke in the character that he usually played in those Doris Day-Rock Hudson movies, as Rock's best friend.
It was an expertly crafted show, and the writing was brilliant.
If we can't get the OTN off the ground, seek out the DVDs.

Wally Cox had another series, just barely remembered, called "The Adventures of Hiram Holliday"
Only 26 episodes were made of that.
I think it was a summer replacement show, and it spanned the years 1956 through 1959. I remember watching it when I was a kid and thoroughly enjoying it and Wally.

Here is a description of the premise, as provided by IMDB:

"Hiram, thought to be a meek-little nobody by everyone around him, is one day discovered to have a range of skills that would make James Bond green with envy. The publisher of the newspaper where he works as a proofreader, recognizing the sales potential of Hiram's story, sends the young man on a trip around the world along with reporter Joel Smith to document his adventures for readers back home."

There is an episode of it on YouTube which I just watched.
It is, as I remember it was, loaded with charm, and terrific underplaying by Cox.
All the episodes took place in exotic locales that gave you the impression that they never left the backlot.
But it didn't matter.
The more exotic the locale, the more out of place Wally seemed in it.
And the more entertaining it was.

Wally Cox is just another one of those greats that a not-too-much-younger generation could not pick out of a police lineup.
More's the pity.

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Richard Boone Day On The OTN.

Well, obviously I'm not going to talk about about "Have Gun, Will Travel"
That show has been rerun for an eternity.
It doesn't need the OTN's help.

What do these names have in common?

Richard Boone

Warren Stevens

Bethel Leslie

Harry Morgan

Ford Rainey

Guy Stockwell

Lloyd Bochner

Jeanette Nolan

Laura Devon

Robert Blake

June Harding

That's right.
All of them except one was never accused of murder.
But aside from that, they were all regulars on "The Richard Boone Show" in 1963.
And by regulars, I mean regulars.
This was a one-hour filmed anthology series, and these same actors appeared as different characters every week.
It was television's first, and I believe only attempt at Repertory Theater.
It was a fascinating concept.
They made thirty-five episodes, and every episode was fascinating.
I vividly remember an episode where Warren Stevens played an office worker who was a Korean War veteran who had gone off the deep end, and decided to relive the war by holding all of his co-workers hostage by machine-gun-point.
Richard Boone appeared in about half the episodes, and narrated all of them.
It was a really ambitious try, and should definitely be seen again.

The other show I'm placing in nomination that starred Richard Boone is "Medic"
I had never seen "Medic" when it first appeared.
I was seven years old, and it was on way past my bedtime.
Not that I would have had much interest in it then anyway.

But it has vanished.
I caught up with a few episodes of it on YouTube.
It was a first rate show.
The first really serious dramatic show about medicine.
And the only half-hour dramatic show about medicine that I know about.
Richard Boone employs a Jack Webb style of acting.
The show in general could be considered the "Dragnet" of medicine.
It's use of narration, music, and "Just the facts, ma'am" approach.
And I found myself learning interesting facts about medicine.
Interestingly enough, its creator was James E. Moser, who wrote for "Dragnet" on radio, and then went on to create "Ben Casey"
So "Medic" sort of bridged the gap between the two.
Let's find a place for it.

Until next time,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Back To The OTN.

I'm offering up two more nominees for the OTN today.
Two medical shows.
Both class acts.
First, "The Nurses"
Later to be known as "The Doctors and the Nurses"
CBS's answer to Casey and Kildare.
But it was shot in New York, exec produced by Herbert Brodkin, who was exec producer for "The Defenders"
The dialogue and storytelling were first rate.
It had a much grittier feel to it than Casey and Kildare.
It was kind of the predecessor to "East Side/West Side" in that regard.
The performances were uniformly excellent.
The leads were Shirl Conway and Zina Bethune.
I had only seen Shirl Conway before this on her frequent appearances on one of the Sid Caesar Shows.
Zina Bethune, as the young, cute student nurse, was completely unknown to me at the time.
I found her to be just barely cute.
In life, she was also a dancer.
She had later experienced many crippling physical injuries.
In life, I didn't find her to be cute at all.

I was spared a very awkward situation involving Zina Bethune.
I was on the set of "Laverne and Shirley", and there was Zina Bethune sitting in the bleachers.
I didn't know why.
But she quickly cornered me.
She knew I was casting a regular for my series "Busting Loose"
It was the part that I wanted Loni Anderson for, and we had just signed Barbara Rhoades for it.
It required the character to be a glamor-puss.
Something Loni Anderson and Barbara Rhoades both were, and something Zina Bethune decidedly was not.
She asked if she could audition for it.
Rather than having to dance around the fact that she wasn't attractive enough for it, I was able to say to her with total accuracy that the boat had sailed, and she was not on it.
Barbara Rhoades was.
Anyway, I'd really like to see this series again.

The other series I'm placing in nomination is "St. Elsewhere"
When it was on, it was my favorite show.
Utterly inventive, particularly for its time.
When it was on, if anyone asked me what the funniest show on television was, I invariably said "St Elsewhere"
Because unlike, say "Cheers", where you could feel the actors nervousness if they didn't get a laugh every eleven seconds, "St. Elsewhere was totally steeped in its dramatic story line.
And it usually took one attempt per episode to blindside the audience to laugh really hard.
And with me, they always succeeded.
And that was a far more gut level bellylaugh than anything they ever attempted in any 22 minute segment of "Cheers"
It had one of the most bizarre endings of any series, in which, in a variation of "Rosebud" from "Citizen Kane", the entire series took place in the imagination of an autistic child.
Maybe this has diminished its rerun value.
But not for me.
Every series comes from SOMEONE's imagination.
Whether an autistic child's, or merely a neurotic adult writer's.
It had a particular affinity and fondness for casting comedians.
Almost every cast member of the old Steve Allen Show, including Steve and Jayne, made appearances on "St. Elsewhere".
A case could be made that it was a comedy disguised as a drama.
It was quite effective, and I miss it terribly.

We'll continue next time.

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Old Bread, Old Rolls, Part Six.

I know I said I was going to get back to the OTN this time, but how often do I get to do a Part Six of a formerly five-part series, when the first five parts appeared over a year-and-a-half ago?

I'm going to quote from Part Three of that series, which explained where the expression "Old Bread, Old Rolls" came from:

"The way the denizens of the bungalow colony in the Catskills when I was a kid were able to make contact with civilization was with the one telephone available to all, which was located in Mr. Lipschitz's "Canteen", which was another way of referring to what was basically a General Store.
The Canteen was the 7-11 of it's time.
With overinflated prices to match.

And the bungalow guests were at Mr. Lipschitz's mercy, pricewise.
Mr. Lipschitz also had a microphone, attached to a public address system, so that if anyone received a call, they would be paged by Mr. Lipschitz over the loudspeaker.

Now Mr. Lipschitz was an "Immie".
A Concentration Camp survivor with tattooed numbers on his arms.

This, as in the other instances I've related, caused the first generation American born Jews to resent him, along with his generally foul nature.

Mr. Lipschitz had a first generation American-born son named Warren, whom Mr. Lipschitz, with his thick foreign accent, called "Vodding".
As did everyone else there, usually mockingly, behind his back.

On what turned out in retrospect to be a typical day at the Canteen, "Vodding" cautioned his father that the expiration dates had been reached on many of the baked goods Mr. Lipschitz offered for sale.

Vodding suggested that they be replaced by the new shipment that had not yet been put on display.
Lipschitz countered with "Old bread, old rolls, they won't know the difference".

What Lipschitz was not aware of was that the microphone was turned on and that last sentence of his was heard over the P.A. system by everybody in the bungalow colony.
Within a matter of minutes, the entire population of the colony amassed in front of the Canteen, shouting "Old Bread, Old Rolls, they won't know the difference!"
Over and over.

The bungalow denizens went on strike, never to enter the Canteen until it was "Under New Management"
This took place in about a week after Lipschitz had fled.
He probably beat a hastier retreat than he had when he fled the Nazis."

So "Old bread, old rolls, they won't know the difference" became symbolic for anyone attempting to put something fraudulent over on the masses.

Well.....yesterday, I inadvertently found another great example of "Old Bread, Old Rolls"
On WeTV, I watched the very last episode aired of the series "Dobie Gillis"
It was shot in 1963.
Looking forward on my Tivo, I could see that the next episode to be shown on WeTV would be the Pilot, shot in 1959.
And they would then be airing the series sequentially again from the beginning.
I was looking forward to those early episodes, because, for one thing, Warren Beatty was in them, and for another thing, the stories at the tail end of the run were so stupid and predictable that I constantly found myself deleting them by the first fifteen minutes. I was hoping the earlier ones would not be that stupid.
But I stuck it out for the very last episode.
This was the story:
Dobie, in desperate need of money, (he was always desperately in need of money,) found himself lured into a corrupt activity---the rigging of a raffle, so that he would win enough money to impress a girl. He got himself in cahoots with the person drawing the winning number to call his number.
He then developed fantasies about how this would carry him down the road to an irredeemable life of crime.
He became conscience-stricken. The drawing was held, Dobie's number was called. He couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that he was the winner. The girl knew he had the winning ticket, was not aware of the ruse, and abandoned him. Another number was drawn, and someone else won the prize. It then turns out that his co-conspirator was not the one to draw the winning number. And Dobie had won the prize legitimately. And he basically cries "Woe is me!"

And that's how they ended the series.
The next day, WeTV aired the Pilot.
And EVERY ELEMENT THAT I DESCRIBED IN THE LAST EPISODE WAS IN THE PILOT.
SHOT FOUR YEARS PREVIOUSLY.
BEAT FOR BEAT.
So it's also how they began the series.
My best guess is that they had just found out they had been cancelled, had one more script to turn out, and all concerned were not particularly concerned, and just said to each other "Fuck 'em! Let's just reshoot the pilot! Who'll know the difference?"
And it took WeTV airing them back to back for anyone to know the difference.
A classic case of "Old Bread Old Rolls"
The first five parts of "Old Bread Old Rolls" are still on the blog, if you missed them first time around.
They went up around the last two weeks of November 2011.
You might want to check them out.
You'll notice that Part Three has a record number of spam comments.
I just did.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The Sudden Surge.

We will continue with more programming for the OTN next time.

Something happened on Friday that was far more topical, and amusing, and if it is to be addressed, now's the time.
I had about twice as many hits on the blog this past Friday as I usually have on any other given day.
In the past, this has usually meant that another major blogger , such as Mark Evanier or Ken Levine, has referenced my blog, causing his readers to check out my blog.
I always hope that this is the case.
No such luck in this instance.
So I went to my Stat Counter, which provides me with all sorts of information, to determine why this happened on Friday.
There it was.
The answer.
Staring me in the face.
With all the tsooris going on in Syria, NBC (and MSNBC, I don't know who pays the bills) sent their main foreign correspondent, the handsome, dashing Richard Engel, to Syria.
He always likes to be where the action is, and has put himself in danger many times.
One of the ways he puts himself in danger, when he is reporting from some war zone or other, is to use one of those crummy hand-mikes that the network has undoubtedly purchased from Woolworths.
And you can barely understand him because these mikes give him a speech impediment.
A sibilant "S"
It makes him sound like the late Pinky Lee.
If you have never heard of, or heard, Pinky Lee, go to You Tube and type in his name.
Evidence abounds.
So when he's in a place like Syria, Richard Engel is in danger of sounding ridiculous.
It is not flattering to sound like Pinky Lee.
I've also heard Richard Engel being interviewed stateside, in a studio, and can personally attest to the fact that under those conditions, he does NOT have a speech impediment.
He does NOT sound like Pinky Lee.
I haven't heard him sound like Pinky Lee since he made daily reports from Libya.
But last Thursday, there he was, reporting from Syria, once again sounding like Pinky Lee.
NBC had not upgraded their equipment since Libya.
A while back, I had written a two-part article called "How To Watch MSNBC", and addressed the Richard Engel speech impediment issue, already knowing that he didn't have one.
I even referenced Pinky Lee.
But only once.
As a result, my Stat Counter on Friday informed me that the reason I doubled my hits the previous day is that a preponderance of readers were doing a Google search for "Richard Engel speech impediment"
Well, they certainly knew where to look.
Who says I'm not educational and informative?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The OTN. 3.

I'm offering up two nominees for your consideration, which I would put on the OTN in a New York minute.
Both series took place in California.

The first is "Slattery's People", which starred Richard Crenna as a state legislator in Sacramento.
They made thirty-six episodes that ran in 1964-65.
The writing muscle was James E. Moser, who several years earlier created and was the writing muscle for "Ben Casey".
"Slattery's People" had the same dramatic tone as "Ben Casey", which I thought was also a class act.
The scripts were uniformly intelligent, and quite interesting and informative about a subject that I was totally ignorant about.
This was Crenna's first real opportunity to speak in his natural voice.
Not the high-pitched hilarious squeal he used on "Our Miss Brooks", or the hillbilly twang he used on "The Real McCoys"
Crenna was a wonderful actor, and was his usual wonderful in this.
Bing Crosby Productions produced both "Ben Casey" and "Slattery's People"
Der Bingle demonstrated very good taste in producing dramatic series.
Sitcoms, not so much.
"The Bing Crosby Show" was at best mediocre, at worst a waste of talent.
And "Hogan's Heroes" was a travesty which I will write about at length at a future date.

One of the supporting actors on "Slattery's People" stood out to me, and he was made aware to me for the first time on "Slattery's People"
I'm referring to Edward Asner.
The IMDB indicates that he was only in three episodes, but I could swear that it was many more than that. And that's why I remember him, and no other supporting actor from the show.
He was just simply interesting.

This leads me to my other nominee, "Lou Grant"
The dramatic spinoff from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
Great writing, compelling storytelling, and wonderful acting from the ensemble cast.
I'm amazed that this show has vanished.

I'm also amazed that most of the series regulars have also vanished.
The only one to have resurfaced was Nancy Marchand, who played the owner of Lou's Los Angeles newspaper.
She became Mama Soprano, and died during its run.
But all of the reporters have fallen off the face of the earth.
Linda Kelsey had a try at a short-lived sitcom, for which she was ill-suited.
Jack Bannon, who is the son of the late, great, Bea Benaderet---I have no idea what happened to him.
You'd think from his genes alone, someone would have tossed him into a sitcom.
No dice.
Robert Walden, the feisty reporter Joe Rossi, showed up on a sitcom that lasted a couple of seasons, but that was quite a while ago.
Darryl Anderson, who played the photographer, Animal, graduated only to Soap Opera Land.
Mason Adams, Lou's boss, worked up until his death, but not a whole lot, and will still be remembered primarily as the voice of Smuckers jelly.
This is an example of how life, and particularly show business, is not fair.
Because each of these actors, and each of the characters they played in this series were INTERESTING.
And deserved better.
As does "Lou Grant"
There is a time slot waiting for "Lou Grant" on the OTN.

'Til next time,

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The Voices Of The OTN.

I indicated when we started this that it would be a cooperative effort.
The Comment section has been so loaded, and colorful, and full of good ideas, and funny the past two times, that I thought it would be a good idea to at least share the highlights of it with you in Prime Time.
The Comment section is usually ignored around here, for good reason.
There are usually so few of them.
But not for the last two posts.
You've really gotten into the swing of things.
So, without further ado, the Comments:

Lee Markham: April 27, 2013 at 1:33 PM
I enjoy tuning in to some of the old anthology series, a genre apparently too expensive for today's production budgets. Some compelling stories came out of that era, and some of my favorites were Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and, long before Michael Jackson made a song out of the title, Thriller. Of course, all of these now show up now on those alternative broadcast networks like MeTV, for which I'm grateful. You can even see some of this stuff on YouTube.

Kirk: April 27, 2013 at 4:54 PM
After he left All in the Family, Rob Reiner starred in a very short-lived show called Free Country, in which he played a turn-of-the-last-century immigrant right off the boat from Ellis Island. I think it was a summer replacement show in 1977. I was 16 at the time and found it very funny. I don't know if I'd find it funny now. Only the opening credits are on YouTube.

mark rothman: April 27, 2013 at 6:39 PM
Free Country was a very good show.
I'd certainly like to see it again.

Stef: April 28, 2013 at 10:13 AM
I would love to see "The Rogues" (1964-65) again. It starred David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Gig Young as a trio of retired con men who still pulled the occasional heist. From week to week they rotated in the lead, ala Maverick, abetted by a wonderful support cast including Robert Coote and Gladys Cooper. Impressive guest start list, too. It was a kind of predecessor to today's "Leverage".

mark rothman: April 28, 2013 at 6:01 PM
"The Rogues" was fun, and is definitely a candidate. The only problem I had with it is that as the run proceeded, Gig Young had the lead roughly three out of four times. Kind of like if Jack Kelly had the lead three out of four times on "Maverick"
By the way, all these deleted comments were spam, directing you to their websites. It's nothing editorial.

Mark Murphy: April 28, 2013 at 7:15 PM
The OTN -- what a great idea!

A few suggestions:

"The Practice," which marked the only time I ever found Danny Thomas to be funny, and created by Steve Gordon, who, of course, did "Arthur." I'd be curious to see whether I'd still find Thomas -- and the show -- funny.

"Trials of O'Brien," with Peter Falk. This was one of those tantalizing shows from when I was a kid -- meaning that I somehow sensed that it was a very good show, though I was too young to understand it. I do remember one episode about (I think) a murder among vaudevillians, called "Dead End on Flugel Street." I think it featured Milton Berle. And wasn't Elaine Stritch a regular? I'd be curious to know your opinion.

Maybe "The Law and Mr. Jones," with James Whitmore. I barely remember this, but Whitmore usually made anything worthwhile. (OK, maybe not "Temperatures Rising"....) He also co-starred in a short-lived show called "My Friend Tony," which I remember liking at the time.

Dick Powell's anthology series, which one cable channel did show some years ago. (As I recall, you share my enthusiasm for this, too.)

I hope I'm not overloading your program schedule....

mark rothman: April 28, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Mark, You've brought up 3 out of 4 shows that I was going to bring up.
I've seen, and written about "The Law and Mr. Jones", which had an extensive run on the Nostalgia Channel when it existed.
It held up very well.
"The Practice" and Danny Thomas were VERY funny.
Danien did no spit-takes in this one.
Elaine Stritch played Peter Falk's secretary, and "O'Brien" was wonderful.

Anonymous: April 29, 2013 at 5:41 AM
"Meet McGraw" a one-named detective played by two-named Frank Lovejoy.

Mike Doran: April 29, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Ahhhh ...
I'm home.

First off, THE ROGUES is part of the MeTV inventory.
It was airing in the Sat-Sun overnights for while, before giving way to BURKE'S LAW (V.O.), which has the spot now (and since they're now running the crap spy shows that killed it, that spot should be opening up shortly).
I believe the problem you mentioned stemmed from David Niven not wanting to do much heavy lifting at that point.
Thus, Gig Young took up some slack, and they were in the process of breaking in Larry Hagman as a backstop.

TRIALS OF O'BRIEN is an all-time favorite; kind of the flip side of PERRY MASON.
What I remember mainly is how Peter Falk's typecast was back in the '60s.
Falk was the Joe Pesci of that time: fast-talking, loud, in-your-face.
Remember O'BRIEN's teaser title? Falk's hands in close-up, gesticulating furiously, followed by his face, in several degrees of lawyerly concern(?).
Not only Elaine Stritch as his secretary, but also David Burns as his legman, and even Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife, and for that matter Ilka Chase as his mother-in-law (who was on his side).
I recall one review: "Falk is irresistable - you sit back and root for him."
Just not enough of us, I guess.
The moral is clear: don't kick off your great series opposite GET SMART.

Many series are kept off the market because of ownership issues: who owns the rights, the words, the films (not always the same people).
Back then, nobody believed that TV shows would have any kind of shelf life beyond their original airing.
The very idea that anybody would be willing to watch a filmed show (or even a live or taped one, comes to that) as much as a second time ... preposterous.
So live shows weren't preserved, and kinescopes got dumped, and early videotapes got taped over or wiped, and films were left in vaults to deteriorate.
That last is what's happening to THE DEFENDERS (who owns that one?).

There's something called the "collector-to-collector" marketplace (C2C to its inhabitants), wher copies of "lost" series and specials can be found in varying stages of decrepitude - watchable, but often just barely.
In my DVD/VHS wall at home, I've got scads of ancient (and sometimes not-so-ancient) TV, more than enough to start my own OTN.
I may soon start plaguing you with some of these.
Consider yourself warned.

mark rothman: April 29, 2013 at 2:53 PM
I hope by "plaguing" me, it means sending me some.

Guy: April 29, 2013 at 4:13 PM
I know this would be second or third hand but I'd be curious if you had any stories from those writers about working with Keefe Brasselle. I recently learned about his existence from Kliph Nesteroff's Classicshowbizblogspot and am fascinated to hear anything I can about him.
Thanks

Mike Doran: April 29, 2013 at 5:05 PM
I don't know if you're familiar with a book titled "The Box" by Jeff Kisseloff.
It's an oral history of American TV, a bunch of interview excerpts strung together into a loose narrative.
In a section about TV variety, "The Keefe Brasselle Show" is covered in some detail, much of it from its producer, Greg Garrison.
One story has to do with Garrison trying to get Brasselle to stop delaying his appearance onstage (" ...you don't make your audience wait ...").
Brasselle finally went on - but not before putting out a hit on Garrison.
Garrison got this news from Rocky Graziano, who was a regular on the show, and who expressed displeasure at Brasselle's action ( "... crazy fuckin' wop ..." was his exact characterization).
Garrison spent that night at Graziano's apartment, while Rocky spent several hours on the phone, "squaring" the matter with various people who were in the position to do so.

That is a representative story, not only about Brasselle, but also of Garrison's many experiences over years of TV. It made me regret that Greg Garrison never got around to doing his own book.

"The Box", the Kisseloff book I stole this story from, is worth tracking down.

I can also send you to a blog called "Mystery*File", where I often contribute comments about ancient and semi-modern TV, mainly in the mystery/crime/detective genres; I expect that there will be a certain amount of crossover between here and there in coming days.

mark rothman: April 29, 2013 at 7:04 PM
Mike, I have read "The Box" It is a very good book.
I have often referred to my late friend and colleague, the legendary Harry Crane, who was the head writer on the Dean Martin Show, which Greg Garrison produced. He told me that Greg and Dean were very much alike.
Both of them were lazy and didn't want to work too hard.
I think it showed.
One of my eccentricities was that I was able to rattle off all of the first names of all the original Gold-diggers.
I had the opportunity to perform this parlor trick in a social situation to one of the actual Gold-diggers.
She, of course, then spent the rest of the night on the other side of the room, as far away from me as she could get.
Speaking of hit-men, I am reminded of a great monologue joke that Letterman did when Sinatra was still alive.
Sinatra was going into the mens neckwear business. This was true. According to Letterman, "They're planning to call it
"Alleged Mob Ties"

Mark Murphy: April 29, 2013 at 8:54 PM
Ah, Keefe Brasselle. I remember when he wrote "The CanniBalS." A while back I found a clip on YouTube of him on the Colgate Comedy Hour. It's still there. And still jaw-droppingly awful, I'm sure. (I can't work up the nerve to watch it again.)

I never saw "The Reporter" -- I was too young to be allowed to stay up for it. But it looked interesting and now, having spent 30 years in the newspaper business before bailing, I'd be interested in seeing it.

I do remember "The Baileys of Balboa" and Cara Williams' show.

My family kind of liked "Baileys" -- it featured Paul Ford, Sterling Holloway and, as their nemesis, the great John Dehner (who also did a good job of playing Paladin on the radio, not to mention his guest roles on "Gunsmoke"). Perhaps the material was weak, but these pros were fun to watch.

We liked the Cara Williams show less, and I've been wondering lately how it was that Frank Aletter managed to co-star in practically every sitcom that was on the air when I was a kid. Or at least it seemed that way.

But there was one small, saving grace about the Williams show: a secondary character, a dippy jazz musician named Fletcher Kincaid, played by the great Jack Sheldon, who (I was later to learn) was (and still is) a real and really good musician. There's a recent documentary about him that I hope to see at some point.

mark rothman: April 29, 2013 at 10:19 PM
I have that whole "Colgate Comedy Hour" on videotape.
The more you watch of it, the more you hate it.
I understand that Cara Williams was one of the great impossible people to work with, a la Keefe Brasselle.
I wrote a post about Jack Sheldon.
I think it's still on the blog.
He's had a stroke.
I don't know if he's recovered well enough to play the horn again.
The documentary was great.

*****

More entries next time.

Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The OTN. 2.

Well!
Not only are we generating an enthusiastic response to the OTN, but some controversy as well.

I received an e-mail from the great writer and blogster Mark Evanier:

"Okay, Rothman. Explain to me how "Harrigan and Son" could have been a
comedy knockoff of "The Defenders" when it debuted a year earlier."

I responded thusly:

"Simple.
Some weasel at ABC saw the original two-part "The Defender", which aired on "CBS's "Studio One In Hollywood" in
19-friggin'-57.
Two hours worth. Same premise. Same characters.
Three years before "Harrigan and Son"
Written by Reginald Rose, who was the creative muscle on what then became "The Defenders"
Starring, as the Prestons, Ralph "FDR" Bellamy, and Billy "Priceline" Shatner.
The weasel at ABC was impressed, and thought it could be knocked off comedically.
Okay, it's not likely, but it is plausible.

Rothman"

I do not go down without a fight. We needed Ruby Goldstein to separate us.

Your comments and suggestions have been most welcome.
And quite accurate.
But I still have plenty of nominees left to offer up.

I've got two today:

Around 1963, James T. Aubrey was named head of programming at CBS.
James T. Aubrey was known as the biggest prick in Hollywood at the time.
He was also known as "The Smiling Cobra"
He fired people with a big smile on his face.

One of his first acts as head of programming was to get into bed with, figuratively and probably literally, with the actor Keefe Brasselle.
Anyone remember Keefe Brasselle?
His big credit was that he starred as Eddie Cantor in the biopic "The Eddie Cantor Story".
It had come out in subsequent years that he had come out as gay.
So he probably had first hand knowledge of just how big a prick Aubrey had, er, was.
He wrote a thinly veiled, malicious, pure fiction of life at CBS, called "The CanniBalS"
His caps, not mine.
Subtle, hah?
Aubrey rewarded Brasselle with his own variety hour, "The Keefe Brasselle Show"
I remember seeing it.
It was an ego excursion.
I know a couple of writers with extensive variety show credits who worked on that show.
They described it as the low point of their careers.
They described it that way over and over again.
At the drop of anything.
Aubrey also offered Brasselle the opportunity to produce, or at least have his name listed in the credits as producer, on three other series that same year: "The Baileys of Balboa", "The Cara Williams Show, and "The Reporter".
Maybe it had to do with Brasselle flaunting his alleged Mafia connections.
The first two are certainly obscure, but do not deserve any consideration
"The Reporter" was set in New York, and I think was shot in New York, and had quality talent associated with it.
Jerome Weidman was the writing muscle on "The Reporter", and it starred Harry Guardino, always an interesting actor.
Another show that came out of Aubrey's stable that same year was "Mr. Broadway"
"Talent Associates, David Susskind's production company produced "Mr. Broadway"
Susskind always produced quality goods.

Craig Stevens. as we have well established, was a boring actor. And he played Mr. Broadway, in which he played a press agent.
I don't know if he was as boring as he was on "Peter Gunn".
I think I only saw "The Reporter" and "Mr. Broadway" once.
And my memories of them are very vague.
The only other press agent I recall being portrayed was Sidney Falco, at his greaseballiest, by Tony Curtis, in "Sweet Smell of Success", one of the great movies.
And he was brilliant.
I'm sure Stevens was far more upscale, thus far more boring.
Both show went thirteen weeks and out.
"The Keefe Brasselle Show" lasted for less than that.
And it inflicted so much pain on those writers.
Imagine if it had gone a full thirteen.
Brasselle quickly faded from the scene after that, which perhaps casts doubt on his alleged Mafia connections.
Both of these dramatic series provide a major curiosity factor for me.

Those are todays entries.
I'm looking forward to more of yours.

Mark Rothman
CEO of OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The OTN.

I have mentioned several times here that I believe that THIS is the Golden Age of Television.
Primarily because, as I have said, we have virtually everything that has ever been on available to us.
Well, that statement isn't quite as accurate as I would like it to be.
There were comments after my last post, because I made a passing reference to the series "The Eleventh Hour", that some shows just seem to be lost.
Beneath just about everybody's radar.
Shows that were worthy of our attention then, and are most-likely worthy of it now.
This commentor suggested that we form the OTN.
The Obscure Television Network.
Please bear in mind that this is probably an exercise in complete fantasy.
Who knows if these shows are even available to be shown?
Who knows if there is even an audience for such a network?
Beyond the readers of this blog, I seriously doubt that there is enough of a viewership to make it a profitable venture.
And I'm not even so sure about you guys.
But I would certainly be a devoted viewer of such a network.
Therefore, I, along with your assistance, am going to attempt to make the case for shows that deserve to be on the OTN.
This will take at least several posts, and I welcome your suggestions in the comment section as we go, and I will respond to them.
If you don't feel like suggesting, I don't mind carrying the load myself.

Here are the rules, as set forth by the New York State Athletic Commission.
The referee for your main event is Ruby Goldstein:

We are only dealing with shows that have simply disappeared from the airwaves since their initial runs.
There should be some quality, and/or curiosity, and/or nostalgia value to these shows.
It doesn't matter how few episodes were made of any series.
Showing up in the bowels of YouTube for one or two episodes doesn't eliminate a show from consideration.
A show coming out on DVD does not eliminate it from consideration.
I won't present them in any order of preference.
Except for today.

Thus, I'll toss out the first pitch, the first show, today.
The daddy of them all.
The daddy of lost shows.
"The Defenders"

It has been a major mystery, one I hope one of our readers can help straighten out, as to why this show has completely vanished.
I've heard tales of legal problems, but don't you think enough time has gone by that this stuff can be resolved?
When it was on, beginning in the early 60's, it won every Emmy Award you can imagine.
And it deserved every one it received.
It starred E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father and son defense attorneys.
They were both wonderful.
No wonder Robert Reed felt like he was slumming when he was doing "The Brady Bunch"
There was also a comedy knockoff of "The Defenders"
Another Father-and Son law firm: "Harrigan and Son"
Pat O'Brien, and the forgettable Roger Perry.
Pat O'Brien was much better when he played Jimmy Cagney's friendly neighborhood priest in all those Warner Brother gangster films.
Lost as it also might be, I would not put "Harrigan and Son" on the OTN.
I look forward to your input.

Mark Rothman
CEO of the OTN.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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