I don't know what it is when I put together these lists, but my hit numbers and
e-mail and blog responses increase dramatically. I guess I've tapped into a fairly rich vein.
Onward:
"The Jackie Gleason Show"
The original variety show, where they opened with a wailing, bombastic version of
"Melancholy Serenade".
It perfectly suited it's bombastic host, and got you in the mood to see the June Taylor Dancers.
This is not to be confused with the theme of "The Honeymooners."
Both were accompanied visually by fireworks.
Much more suitable for the variety show.
Totally out of place for "The Honeymooners", which did not make the list.
"Captain Kangaroo"
Nothing bombastic here. It was the ultimate in serenity.
Extremely classy and well done.
To this day, when I pick up my keys, and even slightly rattle them, my mind goes
right to the "Captain Kangaroo" theme dong.
Loved the Captain.
"I've Got A Secret"
The original theme, which was Leroy Anderson's "Plink, Plank, Plunk", and consisted
of violinists plucking at their instruments in a very charming way.
How tasteful for anyone to do anything by Leroy Anderson.
He was most well-known for his composition of "Sleigh Ride",
the Christmas perennial.
More will be heard from Leroy Anderson before I'm through.
"The Early Show, The Late Show, and The Late,Late Show"
These may have only aired in New York on WCBS-TV. I'm not sure.
They all used Leroy Anderson's "The Syncopated Clock"
I told you more would be heard from Leroy Anderson.
"Hennessey"
An early 60's low-key sitcom, nearly totally forgotten today.
It was very well done.
Jackie Cooper played a navy doctor.
It had a touch of realism that was rare for it's time.
The theme music was a jazz version of "The Sailor's Hornpipe".
Very catchy, and very effective.
More next time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 paperback, "Mark Rothman's Essays" is still 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.
******
Saturday, August 11, 2012
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About Me
- mark rothman
- Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."
I loved the Syncopated Clock theme but our poor dog at the time hated it. He would start howling so that we had to get up off our butts and turn down the tv. This was b4 remotes of course.
ReplyDeleteI remember "Hennessey". I also remember "It's About Time" AND the theme music.
ReplyDelete"It's about time/It's about space/It's about people from another place"
To finish your line, from the tune it was stolen from, "I've got the sun in the mornin' and the moon at night."
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting to see Funeral March of a Marionette used for Alfred Hitchcock Presents! Don't disappoint me. (Guess I better not use the apostrophe in my name any more).
ReplyDeletePlease don't have expectations, and please don't anticipate me. How can I surprise you if you call them before I do? I appreciate your enthusiasm and I loved Alfred Hitchcock Presents. There was a time in my life when i was really fat. And any time I saw myself in profile in the mirror, I thought of "Funeral March of a Marionette. So it's not on my list.
ReplyDeleteToo bad there isn't any way to re-hear these songs again.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait; there is.
Here's Hennesey
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Hennesey.html
Many of the others are available there, too.
- The original "Captain Kangaroo" theme was a British recording called "Puffing Billy", which had been in use for years as the theme for a BBC kidshow (can't call the title to mind). This backdates the original record possibly to the late '40s - early '50s; how it wound up in the CBS record library is anyone's guess. When CBS and Bob Keeshan decided to update the Captain's look in the '70s, "Puffing Billy" was dropped in favor of a generic kidshow theme that nobody remembers.
ReplyDelete- "The Syncopated Clock" was used here in Chicago by WBBM-TV, like WCBS an owned-and-operated station of the network. I think it's a safe guess that the other three CBS O&Os (Los Angeles, St. Louis, and (I think) Philadelphia) probably used it too (correction welcomed).
- You seem to be on-and-off in crediting the composers of these themes, so permit this brief mention of Sonny Burke, who composed the "Hennessey" hornpipe (when he wasn't writing music for Peggy Lee's lyrics,such as "Lady And The Tramp").
I loved it when the Captain's theme would stop when he put his keys on the nail and start again if they slipped off. I have heard that Mary Rodgers wrote lyrics for it, but haven't been able to find them yet.
ReplyDeleteMary Rodgers and Marshall Barer wrote dozens of songs for Little Golden Records, so it's possible that there was a version with lyrics, or at least some related songs created for the Captain. Marshall Barer also wrote the "Mighty Mouse" song lyrics.
ReplyDeleteAs a sidenote, when the Captain revamped his show in the '70s, it had a new theme called "Good Morning, Captain" by Bob Brush, who would later create "The Wonder Years." That version was released on vinyl.
You can get "Puffin' Billy" on iTunes.