THE UN-BIRTHDAY SONG (ON LEAH & THOMAS' BIRTHDAY)

Today is the birthday for my sister (who's also my first god-daughter) and her son, my nephew Thomas.

But instead of posting something Toobworld oriented here just for them, I thought this would be a nice time to share the joy. So here's a TV/movie/literature mish-mosh mash-up for everybody else who's not celebrating a birthday today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
LEAH & THOMAS!

BRUCE: ALT. MAN

The Olivia Dunham of the main Toobworld was finally returned from that alternate TV dimension "Over There" in the 'Fringe' episode "Entrada".

The big action sequence took place at the Newark train station known as Penn Station (which also exists in the Trueniverse). But "Over There", it's named "Springsteen Station".

O'Bviously it's named after Bruce Springsteen. But that's not a good thing - especially for The Boss.

They don't just go naming municipal buildings after anybody who strikes their fancy. They're named after Presidents, politicians, war heroes, cops and firemen who fall in the line of duty, and even scientists and inventors who make great advancements to enrich our lives.

They wouldn't go naming it after Bruuuuuce just because they liked "Born To Run".

And usually, the person being so honored with a building named after them is dead.

"Look on the bright side.
We'll all have high schools named after us."
Astronaut Andrea Baker
"Deep Impact"

So.

In order to get a train station named after him "Over There", Bruce Springsteen had to do something of major import for New Jersey, and somehow he then died - perhaps in connection to whatever he did. Maybe Alt-Springsteen took a page from the Schwarzenegger playbook and became governor of New Jersey. Maybe he proved so popular and effective in the position that he entertained notions of running for President.

And perhaps he was assassinated for such aspirations. It could be that The Boss was gunned down simply for being a great and inspirational singer whose music was changing the world on a scale not seen since John Lennon..... And someone couldn't allow that to happen.

But whatever happened, Springsteen must be dead "Over There".

It was my fellow Iddiot Brian Leonard's comment on Facebook that first got me thinking in this direction:

"Loved the Springsteen shoutout on Fringe tonight. Unfortunately, that probably means he's dead in the other universe. Maybe he got ambered while performing at Harvard..."

I kept it closer to home - What if he was sucked into that vortex which opened in the East River back in 1990? Alt-Broyles said that 165 people died that day. Maybe Bruce was one of them. Maybe he was performing on one of those "Blues Cruises" and the ship was pulled in. It would have been a death trap, just not a suicide rap......

(I don't know enough about that East River Vortex, but whenever I hear "vortex", I'm always thinking of it as a corridor to some other destination. 'Deep Space Nine', 'Sliders', the latest "Star Trek" movie..... Right now it's too vague and, even so, too complicated to make theories about it. It still may come into play during a future episode of 'Fringe'.)

When all is said and done with the "Over There" storylines and when 'Fringe' is no longer on the air (hopefully not for a few years yet!), there will be plenty of material about that alternate dimension to fuel the fan fiction.......

[Thanks to Brian Leonard for pointing this out....]

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CONAN O'BRIEN

Since it's the birthday of my sister and my nephew today, why not feature another "family member" in the "As Seen On TV" showcase.....?

CONAN O'BRIEN

AS SEEN IN:
'Futurama'

AS PLAYED BY:
Himself

CONAN O'BRIEN

AS SEEN ON:
'The Conan O'Brien Show'

AS PLAYED BY:
Himself (technically)

Two for Tuesday!

BCnU!

MAKIN' BACON: BILL & IVAN

I don't know how you could miss it, but that was Kevin Bacon playing the Kevin Bacon fan in the Logitech/Google TV blipvert.

I'm not sure if it actually shows up in the commercial - or where - but apparently that fan's name is Ivan Cobenk. It's an anagram.

I was sorry to learn this, because I was all set to make the claim that he was a TV character from the past:

Bill Haverchuck of 'Freaks & Geeks'.

Bill was about fourteen or fifteen in 1980, which is when the show took place. (It aired in 1999.) So thirty years on, he'd be about 45. This guy looks a bit older, but that could have been due to hard living and tough times for Bill since we last saw him on our TV screens. And maybe we could also have pushed the claim that the wife he mentions could have been the former Vicky Appleby, the cheerleader who made out with Bill in the "Seven Minutes Of Heaven" closet.

But since we now know this geek's name is Ivan Cobenk, all is not lost. We can still make the claim that Bill and Ivan are cousins, related in some way at least, with Ivan being a few years older than Bill.....

Actually, it could also be that they are brothers. We never did learn who Bill Haverchuck's father really was, or even if his name actually was Haverchuck.

Could it be pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that Bill Haverchuck's dad was Ivan Cobenk's dad as well?

BCnU!

As I sometimes do, I'm dedicating this post to a friend - Amy Lee O'Connell, a big supporter of 'Freaks and Geeks'........

BACON BITS

A commenter at YouTube found the following bits o' trivia connected to Kevin Bacon within this fan's collection:

Yes there is a Grabboid on the lawn but don't miss the truck which is also from Tremors. It is complete with hat on the hood and Grabboid tongue around the axle. In the opening shot the boombox from Footloose is on the counter. At 0:03 there is a model of the green tractor from Footloose. At 0:25 there is a Friday the 13th poster in the background. At 0:37 there is a model of the Apollo landing craft on the coffee table. BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: CATHERINE OXENBERG

CATHERINE OXENBERG

AS SEEN IN:
"Dynasty: The Making Of A Guilty Pleasure"

AS PLAYED BY:
Rachael Taylor

From Wikipedia:
Catherine Oxenberg (born September 22, 1961, New York City) is an American actress known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on the 1980s American prime time soap opera 'Dynasty'. The daughter of HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Oxenberg is a descendant of the Serbian Karadordevic dynasty and a distant heir to the British throne.

Oxenberg made her acting debut in the 1982 made-for-television film "The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana", in which she played Diana, Princess of Wales. In 1984 Oxenberg joined the hit ABC prime time soap opera 'Dynasty' — then at its height of popularity— in the role of Amanda Carrington, the second daughter of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) and Alexis Colby (Joan Collins). Oxenberg was the guest host on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series 'Saturday Night Live' on May 10, 1986. She left 'Dynasty' in 1986 and the role was recast.

Oxenberg starred as Princess Elysa in the 1987 television film "Roman Holiday". She also appeared in "The Lair of the White Worm" in 1988, and reprised the role of Diana, Princess of Wales in the TV film "Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After" in 1992. From 1993 to 1994 she starred in the short-lived series 'Acapulco H.E.A.T.'.

Oxenberg was portrayed by Rachael Taylor in the 2005 telemovie "Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure", a fictionalized retelling of the behind the scenes goings-on during the production of 'Dynasty'. In 2006, Oxenberg appeared in the TV special, "Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar", in which she reunited with her former 'Dynasty' castmates to reminisce about the series.

BCnU!

ONE LAST TRIBUTE

Here's one last tribute to Leslie Nielsen. Not to any of his characters, but to the man himself. That sense of humor he was finally allowed to show us onscreen was always there in his own personality....

In his tribute to Leslie Nielsen, Tom Shales closed with this: "He had a good time giving a good time. Life may not get better than that." And I think this video proved that point....

As Red Skelton would have said, Good night and may God bless, Mr. Nielsen.
BCnU.....

LESLIE NIELSEN GOES DUTCH

LESLIE & BETTY TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

From "Chance Of A Lifetime", a 1991 TV movie.....

I hope Dorothy doesn't catch them.....

BCnU!

LESLIE NIELSEN - THE MUSIC VIDEO

Even though Inner Toob celebrates the Toobworld Dynamic and the world of TV, most of the clips in this music video are from his movies.

But I found the song catchy and the clip sequence worked well with it......

BCnU!

LESLIE NIELSEN IN "THE BOLD ONES"

Remembering Leslie Nielsen......

His best known TV character went on to movie super-stardom - Lt. Frank Drebin of 'Police Squad' and the "Naked Gun" franchise.

But before his appearance in "Airplane!", Nielsen was primarily known for his stolid supporting roles in many TV shows as lawyers, detectives, businessmen - some of them decent men, others were villains.

One of his regular TV roles was as Deputy Police Chief Sam Danforth in 'The Protectors', one of the series that alternated under the umbrella title of 'The Bold Ones'. Danforth shows a few touches of comedy in this scene from 'The Protectors', but he is nowhere close in comparison to Frank Drebin......

BCnU!

VIDEO WEEKEND HEADS "DUE SOUTH"

Leslie Nielsen was Canadian, born of a Welsh mother and a Danish father who was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I doubt that was a factor when he played a senior Mountie Officer in an episode of 'Due South' however, since Ingvard Nielsen used to beat his wife and children severely. I doubt he'd do the role to honor his father.....

Here's a couple of scenes from that 'Due South' episode which suggests that Lt. Frank Drebin may have had family ties north of the border.....

[Thanks to fellow "Iddiot" Richard Gordon for pointing out that first clip.....]

BCnU!

THE "POLICE SQUAD" PILOT (IN COLOR)

Leslie Nielsen will always be remembered for his comic turns in "Airplane!" and as Lt. Frank Drebin in the quickly cancelled 'Police Squad' TV series and the more successful "Naked Gun" movies, the film franchise following that TV show. That combination veered his career into comedy immortality.

To see how whacked this man could be, who was better known a solid succession of somewhat dull supporting roles before 1980, here's the first episode of 'Police Squad'.......

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

Tele-trivia tidbit: the episode's guest star, Lorne Greene, was Canadian like Nielsen and in fact was Nielsen's acting coach back in the Great White North.....

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: SOPHIE TUCKER

This will be the only post this weekend which is not connected to Leslie Nielsen. But since tonight marks the season finale of 'Boardwalk Empire', I just had to turn the spotlight on one last historical figure who showed up in the series.

Besides, I think her saucy delivery would fit in well with Leslie Nielsen's sense of humor.....

SOPHIE TUCKER

AS SEEN IN:
'Boardwalk Empire'

AS PLAYED BY:
Kathy Brier

From Wikipedia:
Sophie Tucker (13 January 1886 – 9 February 1966) was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risque songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. She was widely known by the nickname "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas."

In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro as her accompanist and musical director, a position he would keep throughout her career. Besides writing a number of songs for Tucker, Shapiro became part of her stage act, playing piano on stage while she sang, and exchanging banter and wisecracks with her in between numbers. Tucker remained a popular singer through the 1920s, and hired stars such as Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters to give her lessons.

BCnU!

"NIGHT GALLERY" - KEEPING AN EYE ON LESLIE NIELSEN

This may be the first time I actually took notice of Leslie Nielsen as an actor. I remember watching this at my grandmother's house when it first aired and being scared bleepless.

Even though there's a major gaffe - watch the eyepatch while Nielsen is lying in bed - I still find it creepy.
When I was a kid watching this, I thought that was Bradford Dillman as Fritz Weaver's father. What did I know back then? (Little more than I do now, I'm told.)

Anyway, allow me to play Count Floyd for a moment and say Aroooooooo! This is real scary, kids!

BCnU!

ECCE PROMO: GYLNE TIDER - "LET IT BE"

I'm not going to say anything about this. Mainly because I don't know what it was for. A promo for a talk show?

Anyway, Leslie Nielsen shows up in it and I think he might have employed his Hand-Gas during his clip.....

BCnU!

READY FOR FREDDIE: LESLIE NIELSEN & "THE GOLDEN GIRLS"

This is one clip I wish just kept on going......

Leslie Nielsen just fit so perfectly into their little corner of Miami. They couldn't have found a better actor to escort Bea Arthur out of the series......

BCnU!

LESLIE NIELSEN'S ADVERTS EFFECTS

Here's a couple of Leslie Nielsen quickies - one from the "Ecce Promo" category, and the other one a Dutch blipvert......


MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL



DUTCH*TONE



BCnU!

"POLICE SQUAD" - THE MONTAGE

On Sunday, Inner Toob's Video Weekend will be featuring an entire episode of 'Police Squad' starring the late, great, Leslie Nielsen.

But as a preview, here's a collection of a running gag on the show.....

BCnU!

VIDEO WEEKEND: "THE SWAMP FOX"

As part of our ongoing "Hat Squad" tribute to the late Leslie Nielsen, and in connection with today's "As Seen On TV" showcase, here's the first episode of "The Swamp Fox", which was a regular "Frontierland" feature during 'Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color'.

As you watch the episode, keep an eye out for some great character actors - J. Pat O'Malley, Dabbs Greer, Richard Erdman, and perhaps even the ancestor of John Steed of 'The Avengers'! Tim Considine, who may be best known as the "forgotten" oldest sibling on 'My Three Sons', also shows up.


PART ONE




PART TWO




PART THREE




PART FOUR




PART FIVE




BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: THE SWAMP FOX

FRANCIS MARION

AS SEEN IN:
'Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color'
("Walt Disney Presents: The Swamp Fox")

AS PLAYED BY:
Leslie Nielsen

From Wikipedia:
Francis Marion (c. 1732 – February 26, 1795) was a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. Acting with Continental Army and South Carolina militia commissions, he was a persistent adversary of the British in their occupation of South Carolina in 1780 and 1781, even after the Continental Army was driven out of the state in the Battle of Camden.Due to his irregular methods of warfare, he is considered one of the fathers of modern guerrilla warfare, and is credited in the lineage of the United States Army Rangers.

Marion was not captured when Charleston fell on May 12, 1780, because he had broken an ankle in an accident and had left the city to recuperate.

After the loss in Charleston, the defeats of General Isaac Huger at Moncks Corner and Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Buford at the Waxhaw massacre (near the North Carolina border, in what is now Lancaster County), Marion organized a small unit, which at first consisted of between 20 and 70 men and was the only force then opposing the British Army in the state. At this point, Marion was still nearly crippled from the slowly-healing ankle.

Marion joined Major General Horatio Gates just before the Battle of Camden, but Gates had no confidence in him and sent him (mostly to get rid of him) to take command of the Williamsburg Militia in the Pee Dee area. Gates asked him to undertake scouting missions and to impede the expected flight of the British after the battle. Marion thus missed the battle, but was able to intercept and recapture 150 Maryland prisoners, plus about 20 of their British guards, who had been en route from the battle to Charleston. The freed prisoners, thinking the war was already lost, refused to join Marion and deserted.

Marion showed himself to be a singularly able leader of irregular militiamen. Unlike the Continental troops, Marion's Men, as they were known, served without pay, supplied their own horses, arms and often their food. All of Marion's supplies which were not obtained locally were captured from the British or Loyalist ("Tory") forces.

Marion rarely committed his men to frontal warfare, but repeatedly surprised larger bodies of Loyalists or British regulars with quick surprise attacks and equally quick withdrawal from the field. After the surrender of Charleston, the British garrisoned South Carolina with help from local Tories, except for Williamsburg (the present Pee Dee), which they were never able to hold. The British made one attempt to garrison Williamsburg at Willtown, but were driven out by Marion at the Mingo Creek.

The British especially hated Marion and made repeated efforts to neutralize his force, but Marion's intelligence gathering was excellent and that of the British was poor, due to the overwhelming Patriot loyalty of the populace in the Williamsburg area.

Some of these events have been fictionalized in the first episode, "Birth Of The Swamp Fox", which will be featured on the blog today........

BCnU!

SKED ALERT! "BOARDWALK EMPIRE" SEASON FINALE

We're a day early with the preview clips from 'Boardwalk Empire' because I want to dedicate just about the entire weekend to video memories of Leslie Nielsen.

Here then, are the preview clips. I hope you enjoyed the season!

Tune in Sunday night to HBO at 9:00 PM EST to see the season finale for 'Boardwalk Empire'!

BCnU!

A CHILES IS RE-BORN

THE RETURN OF JACKIE CHILES

By JAKE COYLE,
AP Entertainment Writer
Wed Dec 1, 2:39 pm ET

NEW YORK – Outrageous! Egregious! Preposterous!

More than a decade after "Seinfeld" ended, one of the TV series' most beloved characters has been reborn online. Jackie Chiles, the fast-talking attorney whose civil lawsuits were dependably foiled by Kramer, is starring in his own series on the comedy video website Funny or Die.

Chiles is played by Phil Morris, a [51]-year-old Los Angeles actor who never wanted to fully relinquish the role. After "Seinfeld" ended in 1998, Morris tried to develop a spin-off about Chiles, but it never got off the ground.

Morris also played Jackie Chiles in a couple of blipverts - one for the Honda Accord and another for Diet Dr. Pepper. (I did a quick search of YouTube, but apparently nobody loves Jackie enough to post those clips.)

But with 'Seinfeld', these 'Funny Or Die' videos, and those TV commercials, Jackie Chiles is eligible for membership in the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame.

BCnU!

EXPANDING TOOBWORLD ON "WATERLOO ROAD"

The BBC has announced that their drama 'Waterloo Road' will be launching an online spin-off from the original series which will show what's been happening to characters who have already graduated from that inner - city school.

I'm not familiar with the show at all, and I'm sure most of my readership (if any) are in the same boat. So here's the description supplied by an Anglophile named Ryan:

BBC drama set at a grim inner-city school where a new headmaster (Jason Merrells, Cutting It) tries to modernize despite the efforts of most of the lazy staff to sabotage him. Subplots revolve around the relationships of the staff and students, some of whom were involved in a fatal car accident.

You can find Ryan's website listed in the blogroll to the left.

The new online show is to be called 'Waterloo Road Reunited', and it won't just be a series of scripted episodes. There will also be fictional social network sites and audio clips.

“Unlike most dramas, Waterloo Road is unique in that every year popular characters have to leave the show because they leave school. We wanted to give fans a chance to follow their lives online. The video will focus on events that bring the ex-pupils together, but the story extends beyond video allowing the audience to follow their lives as if they were friends with them on Facebook.”
- Sarah Clay of BBC Drama

I'm not sure anybody outside of Great Britain will have access to that online content, which will debut in the Spring of next year. Meanwhile, 'Waterloo Road' itself will be back with its sixth season in 2011 as well.

BBCnU!

REMEMBERING - AND LINKING - FRANK JARVIS

An actor named Frank Jarvis recently passed away in Great Britain. The name may be as unfamiliar to you as it was to me, but if you've seen the original movie version of "The Italian Job" or you're an avid fan of 'Doctor Who', you've seen his work.

For you 'Doctor Who' fans among my readership (and you know who you are), he played a Corporal in "The War Machines", Ankh in "Underworld", and Skart in "The Power Of Kroll".

Many of the characters he played throughout his career went unnamed - small supporting roles that probably didn't even remain long in a scene. But of course, that's a boon for the Toobworld Dynamic because we can suggest that those characters could possibly be combined into one character and thus link those shows together. (All theoretical, of course.)

In the early '70's, Mr. Jarvis played policemen in episodes from four different series, and it's possible that they could all be the same man - if they all took place in the London area. I haven't seen any of them - at least, I don't think the 'Callan' episode fell into the Netflix mix I watched earlier this year - so I can't say with any certainty that it can be established that all of them are the same man.

Here are those four TV episodes:

"And Mother Makes Five"
Where Our Caravan Is Resting (1 May 1974) - Policeman

"A Pin to See the Peepshow"
Episode #1.4 (16 August 1973) - Policeman

"And Mother Makes Three"
The Eve of the Day (6 June 1973) - Policeman

"Callan"
I Never Wanted the Job (19 April 1972) - Detective Constable

I'd like to think that they're all one and the same man; it would make Mr. Jarvis' role a contender for the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame.

I'm not too familiar with the rank designations in the British police force, so I don't know if Detective Constables could also be lumped into the general category of "policemen". This might have caused a bit of a Zonk, since that episode of 'Callan' appeared first. But we could splain it away with a demotion on the part of Mr. Jarvis' Detective Constable for something that happened after the episode aired, but before his appearance in 'And Mother Makes Three'.

Then again, considering how violent things could get in 'Callan', that Detective Constable may not have lived to see a crossover into any other show. Even if that happened, we could still make the claim that the policeman played by Frank Jarvis in those other shows was the twin brother of the Detective Constable. And that he joined the force in his late brother's memory.

I was tempted to throw in the Corporal he played in that 'Doctor Who' story "The War Machines". As that was about half a dozen years before the 'Callan' episode, it could be that the Corporal cashiered out of military service and then joined the police force. (However, this being 'Doctor Who', the Corporal may have died after urging Sir Charles to flee before the onslaught of the War Machine. I'm not fully conversant on that storyline.)

Again, I haven't seen any of these episodes so I can't make any definitive declaration about my theories.

It may not be the best of legacies - Who am I kidding? It's definitely not! - but it would make for a nice, if small, tip of the hat to the man.....

BCnU

AS SEEN ON TV: MEYER LANSKY

MEYER LANSKY

AS SEEN IN:
'Boardwalk Empire'

AS PLAYED BY:
Anatol Yusef

From Wikipedia:
Meyer Lansky (born Meyer Suchowljanski) (July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Jewish-American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States.

Lansky developed a gambling empire which stretched from Saratoga to Miami to Council Bluffs and Las Vegas; it is also said that he oversaw gambling concessions in Cuba.

Although a member of the Jewish Mafia, Lansky undoubtedly had strong influence with the Italian Mafia and played a large role in the consolidation of the criminal underworld (although the full extent of this role has been the subject of some debate).Wikipedia's biography jumped right to the 1930's, with no mention of his activities in 1920 (the time period of 'Boardwalk Empire'.) Click here if you'd like to read more about Meyer Lansky at Wikipedia......

BCnU!

STOMPIN' AT THE TDOY

Every Monday, Ivan Shreve of 'Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear' (link to the left, Team Toobworld!) runs a feature called "Mayberry Mondays". Each week he dissects another episode of 'Mayberry RFD' and has just finished examining the first season.

With the second season premiere episode, Ivan asked me to participate, since "Andy's Baby" had Toobworld-shaking ramifications: Whatever happened to the baby Andy had with his second wife Helen? We never saw Andy Junior in the 1986 TV reunion movie "Return To Mayberry".....

Andy Junior would be forty-one years old now... if he was still alive. (Dunh dun DUNN!)

Ivan and I covered that topic in this week's "Mayberry Monday" , so I hope you check it out! And while you're there, check out everything else TDOY has to offer......

BCnU!

A MAGNUM OF END CREDITS

It might seem like the end credits for the "A.A.P.I." episode of 'Magnum P.I.' could have put the kibosh on the claim that the actual 'Kojak', 'Columbo', and Mike Stone of 'The Streets Of San Francisco' were in the show: But we've said this before: End credits have no effect on the TV Universe.

BCnU!

MAGNUM A TROIS

I was never a fan of 'Magnum P.I.' but I've seen a few episodes over the years. And I ordered one disk from Netflix just to get a few screen captchas important for Toobworld.....

In "A.A.P.I.", Eugene Roche returned as old school private eye Luther Gillis when Thomas Magnum was to receive the award for Private Eye Of The Year (Hawaiian chapter).

Even though it was the local award, the convention attracted a few police detectives from the mainland, as well as the Surete detective who would be the keynote speaker.

He ended up dead, and even though that was the focus of the episode, I'd rather bring your attention to the three American cops who were in attendance: In case you couldn't tell (and I didn't get one of them at all), they are - from the left:

Lt. Mike Stone of San Francisco
Lt. Columbo of Los Angeles
Lt. Theo Kojak of New York City

Basically this is all you see of them in the episode. They had no lines and no reference was made to their presence in the crowd. So I'm willing to accept that they are the real characters.

And I'm not the only one. The Wold Newton Universe has accepted them into its company as well.

Being played by other actors, there were of course some differences in how they look. (Mike Stone was the one who didn't really work for me. But that may have been because of his drastic change in wardrobe.) In general, I'm going to attribute any physical discrepancies to the rigors of long distance travel. Because of scheduling, they had to go to the convention straight from the airport.

Kojak and Columbo became nationally known figures, so they could trade on their well-known visages. As for Mike Stone, it wouldn't matter if people didn't recognize him - he was probably carrying his American Express card.

I'll bet he never left home without it......

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: IKE HOOVER

IKE HOOVER

AS SEEN IN:
'Backstairs At The White House'

AS PLAYED BY:
Leslie Nielsen

From Wikipedia:
Irwin Hood Hoover, (October 24, 1871–September 14, 1933), also known as "Ike," was, for many years, the White House Chief Usher.

He was born in Washington, D.C., the son of a grocer. As an employee of the Edison Company, he was sent to the White House on May 6, 1891, during the Benjamin Harrison administration, to install the first electric lights. He stayed on as permanent electrician, and soon accepted a position on ushers' force, and under the Taft Administration was appointed Chief Usher. He held this position until his death in 1933.

During these forty-two years of service, Ike Hoover had intimate daily contact with ten Presidents, their wives, and their families. As Chief Usher he was the executive head of the household, in charge of all social affairs and entrusted with confidential matters of every description. It was also his duty to welcome guests of the President, to arrange the details of their visits, and to make them feel at home in the White House (a difficult task).

As 'Backstairs At The White House' was broadcast in 1979, the role of Ike Hoover probably marks the last major dramatic role Mr. Nielsen would play before his career took an amazing trajectory into comedy for the next thirty years, following 'Airplane!' in 1980.

BCnU....

AS SEEN ON TV: ROCK HUDSON

ROCK HUDSON

AS SEEN IN:
"Dynasty: The Making Of A Guilty Pleasure"

AS PLAYED BY:
Robert Coleby

From Wikipedia:
In the early 1980s, following years of heavy drinking and smoking, Hudson began having health problems which resulted in a heart attack in November 1981. Emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery sidelined Hudson and his new TV show 'The Devlin Connection' for a year; the show was canceled in December 1982 not long after it first aired. Hudson recovered from the heart surgery but continued to smoke.

During 1984, Hudson's health grew worse, prompting different rumors that he was suffering from liver cancer, among other ailments, due to his increasingly gaunt face and build.
From December 1984 to April 1985, Hudson landed a recurring role on the ABC prime time soap opera 'Dynasty' as Daniel Reece, the love interest for Krystle Carrington (played by Linda Evans) and biological father of the character Sammy Jo Carrington (Heather Locklear). While he had long been known to have difficulty memorizing lines which resulted in his use of cue cards, on 'Dynasty' it was Hudson's speech itself that began to deteriorate. Hudson was originally slated to appear for the duration of the show's 5th season, however, due to his progressing illness, his character was abruptly written out of the show and died offscreen. Hudson had been diagnosed with HIV on June 5, 1984, but when the signs of illness became apparent, his publicity staff and doctors told the public he had inoperable liver cancer. It was not until July 25, 1985, while in Paris for treatment, that Hudson issued a press release announcing that he was dying of AIDS. In a later press release, Hudson speculated he might have contracted HIV through transfused blood from an infected donor during the multiple blood transfusions he received as part of his heart bypass procedure in 1981.

Hudson flew back to Los Angeles on July 31, where he was so physically weak he was taken off by stretcher from an Air France Boeing 747, which he chartered and upon which he was the sole passenger, along with his medical attendants. He was flown by helicopter to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he spent nearly a month undergoing further treatment. When the doctors told him there was no hope of saving his life, since the disease had progressed into the advanced stages, Hudson returned to his house, 'The Castle', in Beverly Hills, where he remained in seclusion until his death on October 2, 1985 at 08:37 PDT.

"Rock Hudson's death gave AIDS a face."
Morgan Fairchild

BCnU.......