THE BETTE DAVIS SHORT STORY

I shared some videos about and/or starring Bette Davis on Thursday for my friend Michael's birthday.  But I did have one more, a story about her by Martin Short......

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"DEAR MR. BURNS"

I just wanted to get the word out about Ray William Johnson's new video channel at YouTube - "Your Favorite Martian". He's got about six music videos up now and I thought this one was a good representation as it's Tooniverse-oriented.....

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A MIME IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE

Here's another video courtesy of Mark Evanier....

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SCULLYVISION

Dustin is the son of my friend and former co-worker Patrick. Thanks to Patrick, I was in the audience for David Letterman's 100th episode of 'The Late Show with David Letterman'. You can see Patrick and me down near the front as David Letterman hands us photo-copies of his vacation picture.....

Anyhoo....

Patrick is a rabid fan of 'The Odd Couple' and the acorn didn't fall far from the tree in that regard.....

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"CRAZY SHOTS" BY STEVE ALLEN & CO.

Oftentimes the videos I share with you are not of my own discovery, but of friends on Facebook and several people in my blog-roll.

I never would have known about this video for example, had it not been for author, comic book writer and cartoon director Mark Evanier....

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JONATHAN WINTERS

Here are three videos celebrating one of my favorite comedians of all time......

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AS SEEN ON TV: JULIAN FELLOWES

JULIAN FELLOWES

AS SEEN IN:
"Upstairs Downton Abbey"


AS PLAYED BY:
Simon Callow

I suppose they removed the second "e" in his last name for libel issues?

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DA BRUNS!

The Classic TV History blog (Link to the left, Historians!) recently ran a very interesting series of articles on the bit part actors in 'Naked City' who never got credit for their work. Many of them would go on to establish themselves as either stars or recognized character actors.

Here are the links to the three articles in the series:

PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE

Before I surrendered to the delusion of Toobworld, knowing all about the actors themselves was my prime fixation. So this series fed into those old interests. But for Toobworld Central, it has to be taken a step further - nowadays I'm interested in those nameless roles and who they might be in the greater TV Universe.

So first off, a very big thanks to Stephen Bowie of the Classic TV History blog for the work that went into gathering these examples.

And then, what I'd like to do on an irregular basis, is to feature one of these pictures and consider who they might actually be.

So for now, here's Phil Bruns as an EMS technician in the final episode of the series, "Barefoot On A Bed Of Coals". (And of course, you should recognize the young punk he's treating for a gun-shot wound!)

I've eliminated Bruns' most famous character from consideration - George Shumway of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'. In the Toobworld timeline, George and Martha (Larkin) Shumway spent their whole lives in Ohio, if not exclusively in the town of Fernwood.

Two other roles to be discarded as pozz-bilities: Gene Stafford, the murder victim in the 'Columbo' episode "An Exercise In Fatality", and whoever that was impersonating Morty Seinfeld in the first appearance of Jerry's parents on 'Seinfeld'.

But just a few years on from the 'Naked City' finale, Bruns would appear in an episode of the next good cop show set in New York City, 'N.Y.P.D.' In "Cry Brute" he played  Mel Wiley, who was planning to sue the police department for his broken arm.

Since his ambulance driver went nameless, maybe these two characters could be the same man.....

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BY ANY OTHER NAME: MILES & MILES

'N.Y.P.D.' ~ 'Sex And The City'
A man named Tom Franklin was beaten to death by a Vietnam veteran on the stairwell in the building where Franklin's ex-wife now lived. Because of the circumstances, Detective Corso had to question Mrs. Franklin about her relationship with her ex-husband, since they divorced back in February of that year.

Nearly forty years later, Mrs. Franklin - whose first name was Joan - met Carrie Bradshaw at the Cafe Edison. She imparted the wisdom that comes with age and experience as she ate her ice cream laced with her prescription meds.

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My thanks to fellow Iddiot Brian-El, for tracking down some of the pictures used for this post.  Whenever I don't have access to the Toobshots I need, there's always a member of Team Toobworld ready to come to my rescue!

AS SEEN ON TV: ELIZABETH BACON CUSTER

ELIZABETH BACON CUSTER

AS SEEN IN:
'Son Of The Morning Star'

AS PLAYED BY:
ROSEANNA ARQUETTE

From Wikipedia:
Elizabeth Bacon Custer (April 8, 1842 - April 4, 1933) was the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. After his death, she became an outspoken advocate for her husband's legacy through her popular books and lectures. Largely as a result of her endless campaigning on his behalf, Custer's iconic portrayal as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of 'Custer’s Last Stand' was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death.

Mrs. Custer was born on this date 169 years ago.  She was also played on TV by Blythe Danner in "The Court-Martial Of George Armstrong Custer", but that would be set in an alternate TV dimension because of the titular event depicted....

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THE BOY WHO BLOGGED "WOLF"

One of my Facebook friends sought my help in tracking down a pretty obscure (It's obscure if I never heard of it!) TV series or an episode from an anthology series. Since her description didn't ring my chimes, I decided to turn to Team Toobworld for help.

Here's what she could offer:

Back in either the late 70's or very early 80's when after-school-specials were big, I saw something that I want to get my hands on. I am not sure if it was an after-school-special per se, but it was on after school.

It was about a boy that could do out-of-body experiences. At one point he went into the body of a wolf and saw and smelled what the wolf could see. I don't remember anything else abou it though.

The show did a great job of showing that the wolf could hardly see the boy standing there even though he was wearing a checkered shirt.

I have searched before and not had any luck. I looked in the after-school-special sets but it is not there as far as I can tell (although I haven't look at any recent sets)

Your mission, should you decide to take it, is to find a copy of that scene in the woods with the boy and the wolf, good luck.

I get the feeling that finding the scene would be next to impossible, save by bit torrents or bootlegs, but if anybody could help me track down what show this might have come from, it would be a big help!

[She says it was a one-shot story, so I guess that excludes 'Lucan' from 1977-78........]


Thanks!

SINGING ABOUT JANE, JUST SINGING ABOUT JANE....

As my last piece celebrating the 29th birthday of Michael Cleary (author of "The Cleary Theory"), here's Bette Davis singing her heart out on 'The Andy Williams Show'......

Happy birthday, Michael! All the best from your only friend at Toobworld Central..... Bwahahahaha!

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BETTE DAVIS GOT GAME

Bette Davis put on her game face and appeared on 'What's My Line?' twice, ten years apart. And both times she had laryngitis. Guess who she blamed?

Continuing my celebration of Michael Cleary's birthday - the last year in which he can be trusted......

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THE GUY WITH BETTE DAVIS EYES

I'm not done celebrating Michael Cleary's birthday. He doesn't get off THAT easy!

Here's the legendary Charles Pierce in his stage show as Bette Davis. He also played Miss Davis on the TV series 'Madame's Place'.....

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AS SEEN ON TV: BETTE DAVIS

BETTE DAVIS

AS SEEN IN:
"Norma Jean & Marilyn"

AS PLAYED BY:
Nancy Linehan Charles

From Wikipedia:
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.

After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and her confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized.

Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.

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Today's ASOTV showcase is going out in celebration of my friend Michael Cleary's birthday.....

TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY: ON SCREEN AND ONLINE

Speaking of 'CSI', a recent episode featured a video gamer who had been murdered while playing online against a lot of other fans of the game "Aeron's Legion".

As Muskie Muskrat said, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble that some of those players could be found as regular characters in other TV shows like 'Dweebs', 'Deadly Games', and perhaps Turtle from 'Entourage' - if his tastes in video games extended beyond mixed martial arts. Maybe even Hardison of the 'Leverage' team was in it to win it.

I suppose Sheldon Cooper is loyal to "The World of Warcraft", but maybe his friends Leonard, Raj, and Wolowitz could have been in the running as "Descendants" in "Aeron's Legion".....

See that first name in the list?  "TodDAMAn003" might have been a character in a recent episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' named Todd Zarnacki.  Todd committed "The Zarnacki Incursion" - hacking into Sheldon's online gaming account and stealing all his files.

It's pozz'ble... just pozz'ble......

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"THE DEFENDERS": CROSSED OVER AND CROSSED OFF

I've got a feeling that 'The Defenders' will never see the dawn of a second season.  (They should never have appropriated that name; it brought a curse down on them!)

But before they rode off into the cathode sunset, the series got their official connection to the TV Universe, through a shout-out on that other Las Vegas crime drama.

One of my fellow "Extras" hunters, Artie from Howell, brought it to the attention of David Bianculli in his website "TV Worth Watching". (The link is to the left, my legal beagles!)

artie from howell said:
On the March 10th Episode of 'CSI', "Bombshells", one of the suspects
was implicated by a series of payments made to a legal firm. The name
of the legal firm was Morelli & Kaczmarek...the names of the partners
in the Jim Belushi/Jerry O'Connell CBS series, 'The Defenders'.

[Oh, that's a good one -- even if it melds a decent show to a bad one.
Thanks! - DB]

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AS SEEN ON TV: JOSEPH SMITH, JR.

1830 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette or Manchester, New York.

JOSEPH SMITH, Jr.

AS SEEN IN:
"Savage Journey"

AS PLAYED BY:
Richard Moll

From Wikipedia:
Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and the founder of what later became the Latter Day Saint movement, popularly known as Mormonism. He was also a theocrat, city planner, military leader, and polygamist.

Raised in western New York during a period of religious enthusiasm, Smith was wary of Protestant churches and was strongly influenced by folk religion. Even as a young man, he was recognized as one who could find buried treasure through supernatural means. In the late 1820s, Smith said that an angel had directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a religious history of ancient American peoples. After publishing what he said was an English translation of the plates as the Book of Mormon, he organized branches of the Church of Christ, a church whose adherents were later called "Latter Day Saints," and popularly, "Mormons."

In 1831, Smith moved west to Kirtland, Ohio intending to establish the city of Zion in western Missouri, but his plans were frustrated when Missouri settlers expelled the Saints in 1833. After leading an unsuccessful paramilitary expedition to recover the land, Smith began building a temple in Kirtland. In 1837, the church in Kirtland collapsed after a financial crisis, and the following year Smith joined his followers in northern Missouri. A war ensued with Missourians who believed Smith had incited insurrection. When the Saints lost the war, they were expelled, and Smith was imprisoned on capital charges.

After being allowed to escape state custody in 1839, Smith led his followers to settle at Nauvoo, Illinois on Mississippi River swampland, and there he served as both mayor and commander of its large militia, the Nauvoo Legion. In early 1844, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. That summer, after the Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith's practice of polgyamy, the Nauvoo city council ordered the paper's destruction. During the ensuing turmoil, Smith first declared martial law and then surrendered to the governor of Illinois who promised his safety. Smith was killed by a mob while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.

Richard Moll also played Smith in the Movie Universe in the mid-1970's......

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"ACTION JACKSON" - THE "MADTV" MOVIE

As you probably saw in the previous post, I sort of gave a pass to John Belushi and 'Saturday Night Live' for their portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor as being over-weight and choking on chicken. It was of the time, when that actually happened to the legendary actress.

On the other hand....

This similar portrayal in this 'MadTV' sketch just felt wrong when they introduced the chicken nun-chucks. (I didn't have any problem with a guy playing her as being heavier. It's Ron Woodard, I believe, and he actually looks good in the part - until he sinks his teeth into the chicken....) By then (1998), it was just old news and lazy joke-writing.

On the whole, though, it's a damned funny sketch. Hypocrite that I am, I have no problem with jokes at Michael Jackson's expense.....

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"CELEBRITY CORNER" with ELIZABETH TAYLOR

I realize this is going to feel disrespectful, but Elizabeth Taylor's presence in Skitlandia, the sketch comedy dimension, was pretty much defined by this portrayal by John Belushi during the "Weekend News Update" segment of 'Saturday Night Live':

Bill Murray: The Senatorial race in Virginia was so close, that they are recounting the votes. So far the winner is Republican John Warner, who's ahead by a very slight margin. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying, "Bill, you maniac, what does this have to do with "Celebrity Corner"? Aren't you getting off the track?" Uh-uh. Because this chief politician John Warner's wife is none other than perhaps the greatest actress who's ever lived, and whose face has set the standard for screen beauty for so many years. Of course I'm talking about Elizabeth Taylor.

[ a plump Elizabeth Taylor eating a chicken leg appears on the screen behind Bill ]

Bill Murray: Liz, welcome to "Celebrity Corner"!

Elizabeth Taylor: Thanks, Bill. It's so nice to be here.

Bill Murray: Liz, how does it feel to be Mrs. Almost-Too-Soon-to-Tell Senator-Elect Warner, anyway?

Elizabeth Taylor: [ chewing as she talks ] Very exciting, Bill. I'm looking forward to being a Washington hostess.

Bill Murray: Liz, tell me this: we heard that you promised that if John won the election, that you would go on a diet from your present weight of 167 pounds, down to your "Butterfield 8" weight of 120. Is that true?

Elizabeth Taylor: That's right. I've started on a strict diet. Nothing but chicken.

Bill Murray: That sounds great, Liz. But to me, I don't care how much you weigh, just so your cheeks don't puff up over those beautiful violet eyes that I've been in love with since "National Velvet".

Elizabeth Taylor: [ not paying attention ] Mmm-hmm...

[ suddenly, Taylor starts to choke ]

Bill Murray: Liz, what about your career? I mean, can we look forward to seeing you in a movie soon? How about "Cleopatra II"? It seems like such a natural. I mean, how would John feel about that? Would there be a career conflict, now that you are also the wife of a United States Senator? [ Elizabeth Taylor pounds her chest to free the chicken, then starts spitting it up ] Well, thank you so much, Liz. It has been a real treat for me to have you on "Celebrity Corner". And I think all your friends in the whole world join me when I say, "Good luck with that diet, I KNOW you're gonna lose that weight." She looks great, doesn't she? I just know she's gonna be a big hit on Capitol Hill.

A big thanks to the SNL Transcripts site, where you can find more classics like this!

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AS SEEN ON TV: DICK & EDDIE

RICHARD BURTON

AS SEEN IN:
'The Benny Hill Show'

AS PLAYED BY:
Benny Hill

EDDIE FISHER

AS SEEN IN:
"Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story"

AS PLAYED BY:
Corey Parker

Just a couple of Elizabeth Taylor's hubbies for "Two for Tuesday".....

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SUPER SIX LIST: NAMING THE LITTLE GUY

THE SUPER SIX LIST:

The Top Six TV Character Names That Could Be Nick-Names For The Penis

1] Hoss or Little Joe - 'Bonanza'
(Depending on the size and - if you're aiming for "Hoss" - girth)

2] Big Mike - 'Chuck'
(It helps if your name is Michael, but you better be able to back up your claim)

3] Manmeet - 'Outsourced'

(They knew what they were doing when they named his character, that phone center Lothario)

4] Frank Cannon - 'Cannon'

(Or if your initials are "T.V.", you can simplify it as "TV's Frank")

5] 'Peter Gunn'
(But if you're talking classic, you can't beat....)

6] Beaver Cleaver - 'Leave It To Beaver'
(That's right - leave it to beaver... unless you play for the other team)

Other names I could have used - Mike Stivic (you know, as in "Meat-Head"), Stretch Cunningham, Little Ricky, Big Eddie, Keen Eddie, Lonely (from 'Callan'), Top Cat, Herman Munster, Magnum, Dirty Sally (Hey, I don't judge....), the Big Giant Head, and Karl Pilkington.

Actually, that's not really a good nickname for the penis, but have you ever seen the cartoon version of that little round-headed buffoon? He looks like a penis!  In real life, his case isn't helped much by the image below.....

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"Say good-night, Dick."

Dan Rowan

'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'

AS SEEN ON TV: KNUT THE POLAR BEAR

From CNN:
Knut the polar bear, the star attraction at the Berlin Zoo who suddenly died March 19, drowned after falling into his swimming enclosure, investigators said Friday.

Knut had encephalitis, or severe inflammation of the brain, which caused the muscle spasms that led to his drowning, according to the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, the official German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

A pathologist with the institute said the encephalitis would have killed Knut eventually if he had not drowned.

But here's how the Chicago NBC affiliate reported the story:

KNUT

AS SEEN ON:
WMAQ News

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Thanks to my brother Bill for letting me know about this....

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

THE "TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY" TRAILER

Everybody in 'Doctor Who' fandom was in a tele-tizzy this week with the debut of the new 60 second trailer for the next season. And so the 'Torchwood: Miracle Day' trailer slipped under the radar.....

In Toobworld, Death is not only an embodied personage, but there's a whole family of them. It's not just a matter of Death being able to change its appearance to suit the situation or its own whims, but there's a different Death serving various sections of the world. And on other planets as well.  And since they're a family, that means there is reproduction going on. (See 'Mulberry'.....)


It'll be interesting to see how this new 'Torchwood' story affects that premise.....


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CHANNELING MY INNER FERRET

My friend Michael Cleary got me in contact with my inner ferret....

Bucky Katt of "Get Fuzzy" is not going to like that.....


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THUMBING THE RED NOSE AT "EASTENDERS"

This two-part video was made for a Red Nose Day telethon several years ago:

It could be considered part of Skitlandia, that TV dimension for comedy sketches, but it could also be part of the TV Land in which the television shows we watch are considered TV shows as well, complete with the acknowledgement of the actors who perform in them. This is the same world in which we would find '30 Rock', 'Extras', 'The Larry Sanders Show' and all those behind-the-scenes TV movies about 'Three's Company', 'Dynasty', 'Gilligan's Island', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Steptoe & Son' and the life of Frankie Howerd.


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"FALLING SKIES" PREVIEW

Here's the extended trailer for the new Dreamworks' series 'Falling Skies':

 

 O'Bviously this will have to go to an alternate TV dimension, but which one? Should it have its own Toobworld, or is there a dimension which we'll probably never visit again which would be suitable for being the location for this new show?

If there are no shots of the Moon during the series, we could make the claim that this is the same world as the short-lived series 'Three Moons Over Milford'.....

My Little Buddy Sean is always hoping these types of calamities will befall the dimension of 'The West Wing', give it the proper apocalyptic ending. But I know one day Aaron Sorkin will return to that milieu for reunion TV movie or something....

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AS SEEN ON TV: BARBARA WALTERS

While looking for the '30 Rock' video of Rachel Dratch as Elizabeth Taylor for last week's tribute, I also found this......

BARBARA WALTERS

AS SEEN IN:
'30 Rock'

AS PLAYED BY:
Rachel Dratch

I probably should have saved this for a "Two for Tuesday" showcase with Gilda Radner as Baba Wawa.....


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