ZONKING A FEW "FRIENDS"

I'm not sure which TV dimension this belongs in - Skitlandia?  the Behind the Scenes world from 'Hi Honey I'm Home'?  the Promoverse?  Or something else entirely?

The TVCU has the Bongoverse.  This could be the Zonkiverse......

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT

MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT

AS SEEN IN:

'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

"Opening Night"

From Wikipedia:

MEL BROOKS

Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American film director, screenwriter,composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show 'Your Show of Shows'. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, with many of his films being among the top ten money makers of the year that they were released. His most well known films include "The Producers","The Twelve Chairs", "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein", "Silent Movie", "High Anxiety", "History of the World, Part I" and "Spaceballs". More recently he has had a smash hit on Broadway with the musical adaptation of his first film, "The Producers". 

He was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005.

ANNE BANCROFT

Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress associated with the method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft was often acknowledged for her work in film, theatre and television. She won one Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, two Tony Awards and two Emmy Awards, and several other awards and nominations.
She made her film debut in "Don't Bother to Knock" (1952) and, following a string of supporting film roles during the 1950s, won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in "The Miracle Worker" (1962), receiving subsequent nominations for her roles in "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964), "The Graduate" (1967), "The Turning Point" (1977), and "Agnes of God" (1985). 

She also starred in seven television films, the last of which was "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (2003) for which she received Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Bancroft died of uterine cancer, age 73, in 2005. Among her survivors were her mother Mildred, her husband of 40 years, Mel Brooks, and their son Max Brooks.

Tomorrow is the Tony Awards broadcast.....

BCnU!

"MYTHBUSTERS" MEETS "DEADLIEST CATCH"

Here's the crossover of the month:

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - SIDNEY POLLACK

SIDNEY POLLACK

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn"

From Wikipedia:

Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 21 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 films or shows, and produced over 44 films. Some of his best known works include "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972), "The Way We Were" (1973), "Three Days of the Condor" (1975) and "Absence of Malice" (1981). His 1985 film "Out of Africa" won him Academy Awards for directing and producing; he was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Tootsie", in the latter of which he also appeared. His later films included "Havana" (1990), "The Firm" (1993), "Sabrina" (1995), "The Interpreter" (2005), and as producer for and actor in "Michael Clayton".

BCnU!

TVXOHOF BIRTHDAY HONORS LIST 2 - MAUDIE FRICKERT

To memorialize the passing of my pop culture hero, Jonathan Winters, we're inducting his most famous character - Maudie Frickert - into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  

The old broad made quite a few appearances on talk shows and variety programs over the years, some of them in Skitlandia, others can be considered part of Toobworld proper.  But her qualifications for membership are cemented by three simple blipverts for three different products.  

But we're also including a couple of clips from Skitlandia as well

But she later changed her tune about Hefty...

And because one - at least this one - can't get enough of Maudie - here are some other videos of her presence in the overall TV Universe:

And finally....

Good night and may God bless.....

TVXOHOF BIRTHDAY HONORS LIST 1 - ECCE PROMO!

This year we have two entries on the Birthday Honors List for induction into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  Actually, since this first entry is a true Gemini with a duo, perhaps it should be said that we have three new members.

Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster run the Psych detective agency in Santa Barbara, with Shawn passing off his finely honed observational skills as a psychic ability and Gus sometimes employing his "super-sniffer" power (although he's basically the best friend and trusty sidekick.)

Despite bombarding the airwaves with so many Zonks in each episode, 'Psych' takes place in the main Toobworld of Earth Prime-Time.  But Shawn & Gus also exist in the Promoverse, that tiny alternate dimension in which interstitials promote various TV shows.

And through several promos for 'Psych', Shawn and Gus have teamed up with characters from other TV shows.

And these have to be found only in the Promoverse because some of these shows - chiefly 'The Dead Zone' and 'Defiance' are not located in Earth Prime-Time.  (Or at least in the case of 'The Dead Zone', it started out as part of the main Toobworld, but then changed its focus to an alternate dimension where there was a different President of the United States.)

Here's the most recent one, in which Gus and Shawn finally teamed up together to meet characters from another series:

But for the most part, they have worked separately to make these links.  First up, we have Shawn, getting involved in a three-way:

But also:

Both Shawn and Gus contributed to the tributes to detective Adrian Monk:

Gus hasn't been too shabby in making the grade, with a few entries of his own:

And so that's why both Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster have been inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame on my birthday.....

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - BUDDY HACKETT

BUDDY HACKETT

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn"

From Wikipedia:

Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American comedian and actor.

Mr. Hackett was the March 2013 inductee into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame.

BCnU!

ANOTHER FINE NESS

'BANACEK'

"NO SIGN OF THE CROSS"

Thomas Banacek:

Places like this always remind me of 'The Untouchables'.

Paulie Andros:

Yeah.... that was a good show.

Since the exploits of Eliot Ness versus the Chicago mob happened decades before, this quote from a 1970s TV show is a lot easier to splain away than when a current show drops a reference to another current show.  (I can't think of any that are actually current, but off the top of my head there was a mention of 'Lost' as a TV show on an episode of 'Will & Grace' once.)

So 'The Untouchables' - even when it was produced back in the 1950s - was still an historical event.  And so a TV show about it, especially since it was such a thrilling topic, made sense.

And how lucky were they to find an actor like Robert Stack who looked exactly like the televersion of Eliot Ness?

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JAMIE FARR

JAMIE FARR

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn"

From Wikipedia:

Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah, July 1, 1934) is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger in theCBS television sitcom 'M*A*S*H'.

Farr began to carve out his niche in television when, in the late 1950s, he became a regular on 'The Red Skelton Show' before becoming a second banana with Harvey Korman on 'The Danny Kaye Show'. Farr also appeared on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' and was a regular on the gangster-comedy series 'The Chicago Teddy Bears' (featuring Huntz Hall). Farr also worked in TV commercials, including a memorable spot for Wonder Bread (as a vendor who says, “If it isn’t fresh, I’m outa business!”).

He was hired for one day’s work as “Corporal Klinger” on the 'M*A*S*H' episode “Chief Surgeon Who?”. His character wore dresses to try to convince the army that he was crazy and he deserved a Section 8 discharge. Comedy writer and playwright Larry Gelbart has said that comedian Lenny Bruce’s attempt to be released from military service inWorld War II by dressing in a WAVES uniform was the original inspiration for the character of Klinger on the sitcom. 

He was asked back for a dozen episodes in the second season and he became a regular in the third. Eventually, his character gave up wearing women’s clothing (after a lecture from Colonel Sherman Potter, explaining how a Section 8 Discharge would adversely affect his life). Like most of the characters on 'M*A*S*H', Corporal Klinger matured as the years passed. He gradually progressed from being a cross-dressing visual joke, and became a more sensitive and resourceful character.

His favorite episodes are "Officer of the Day" and "Big Mac".

Farr and co-stars Harry Morgan and William Christopher spent two years starring in 'AfterMASH', the sequel that explored how civilian life treated their characters.

BCnU!

I AM NOT A NUMBERJACK!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JERRY HALL

JERRY HALL

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn"

From Wikipedia:

Jerry Faye Hall (born July 2, 1956) is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger. The couple have four children.

In 1989, Hall appeared in director Tim Burton's Batman, in a supporting role as Alicia Hunt, a gangster's moll who is disfigured by The Joker (played by Jack Nicholson). In 1990, she joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of "The Wall" in Berlin. She also starred in commercials for Bovril. In 1993 she played the role of Miss Scarlett in the British television show 'Cluedo'.

In 2001, she appeared as herself in the documentary "Being Mick". In 2005, Hall starred in a new reality series on VH1 called 'Kept', revolving around her search for a "boytoy". The 12 American contestants were asked to transform from boys to refined gentlemen through a series of challenges, and mastering skills like arts, sports, cooking, and fitting into high society. According to an interview with the winner, he never saw Hall again following the show, and there had been no sexual intimacy between Hall and any of the contestants.

Also in 2005, Hall provided the voice for Sister Penelope in the controversial British cartoon 'Popetown'. In 2007 she guest-starred on the British TV show 'Hotel Babylon'. She has also appeared on the popular BBC comedy series 'French and Saunders'. Her autobiography Jerry Hall: My Life in Pictures was published in 2010.

On 10 September 2012, Hall was announced as a contestant for the tenth series of the British dance show, 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Her professional partner was Anton du Beke. She was the second celebrity to be eliminated from the competition. 

BCnU!

LIFE DURING PRIME-TIME - YOURS TRULY

Speaking of my vacation......



Everybody in the Trueniverse has a doppelganger in the TV Universe, living on Earth Prime-Time. Sometimes they even have more than one, living in the alternate dimensions like Skitlandia or the Tooniverse.

Best known of course are the celebrities who play themselves in various TV shows, and I've been featuring them all year in the daily showcase "The League Of Themselves."

But ordinary folk like you and me (well you anyway) would also be in this Brave View World. Most of us would lead the same lives we do in the real world, with some adjustments.

Take me for example. (Ladies, please take me!) My televersion has even been inducted into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame! (The vote was a landslide - unanimous!)

But the differences between Tele-Toby and my own life would include:

 

1] He's a citizen of Joyville, Connecticut. ('The Hap Richards Show')

2] He spent an afternoon with many of his cousins and two of his brothers out in the Connecticut woods at a ranger station. ('The Ranger Andy Show')

3] He went to a lot of hockey games. ("The Deadliest Season")

 

But those were because of my appearances on a couple of local kids' shows in Connecticut plus a TV movie about sports violence. But just regular life could influence the course of one's life in the TV Universe. 

 

 My televersion also was in the audience for the 100th taping of 'Late Show with David Letterman', and by an amazing coincidence, so was I!

I'm thinking I'll be rummaging through the photo albums of my Facebook friends to find pictures of them that could be of their televersions.

But with the first two, I at least got their permission to run with the idea.....

Expect those over the next two weeks!

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - HARRY SMITH

HARRY SMITH

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn"

From Wikipedia:

Harry Smith (born August 21, 1951) is an American television journalist. He hosted the CBS News morning programs, 'The Early Show' and its predecessor, 'CBS This Morning', for seventeen years. In July 2011, Smith left CBS News and is now a contributor at NBC News.

BCnU!

FAREWELL TO ELEVEN......

There were two sad news stories on Saturday dealing with Toobworld.  One was the death of Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker on 'All In The Family'.

The other was this announcement:

THE A&E BIOGRAPHY OF NINA VAN HORNE

Today the Caretaker of the Toobworld Dynamic, Yours Viewly, and his two interns, Nucky and Leela, are heading off on a well-deserved vacation.  

Until such time - if any! - that I return, the blog will still chug along merrily, although greatly reduced in scope.  There's only going to be the bare minimum - the daily showcase for the League of Themselves.

To get the ball rolling, here's the 'Just Shoot Me' episode which inspired the general theme for most of this vacation:

NBC Ya Later!

CARROLL O'CONNOR & JEAN STAPLETON - ONE LAST TIME

 

 

TVXOHOF, 06/02/13 - THEODORE "POP" CLEAVER

When 'Leave It To Beaver' left the air in 1963, young Theodore was thirteen years old.  We supposedly didn't see him again in Earth Prime-Time until twenty years later, with the TV reunion movie "Still The Beaver".  He then went on to headline a sequel series, 'The New Leave It To Beaver' and appeared an episode of 'Hardcastle & McCormack' as well as in an episode of 'The Love Boat' ("Who Killed Maxwell Thorn?", which also featured Carol Brady so there's the link between those series.)

That's plenty to insure that Beaver Cleaver is elegible for inclusion into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  

But it's not good enough for this caretaker.....

When the Beav was in the final months of his seventeenth year, he enrolled as a freshman at Gotham City University.  (If it turns out he graduated from some other college based on dialogue from the sequel or the TV movie, then the O'Bvious splainin is that he transferred.)

And while Ward and June Cleaver may have helped out his financial situation by paying his tuition, still life away from Mayfield can be expensive for a college student in the big city.

So Beaver took a job at night to help defray his living expenses, and one where he would no longer have people always calling him "Beaver".

He took a job as a theater doorman at the Gotham City Opera House, where he fell afoul of the cowboy criminal Shame and his gang of outlaws.  (Luckily he survived.)

So he wasn't known as Beaver anymore.  But nobody was calling him "Theodore" or even Teddy - even though he was only 17 years old, everybody referred to him as "Pop".  He even had a sign for his desk identifying him as such.

Apparently there's a time-honored theatre tradition that all stage doormen, no matter how old or how young, must be known as Pop.....

(Jump ahead to 5:51 to see Pop Cleaver!)

So I'm counting this as part of the Beaver Cleaver resume as we induct no longer young Theodore into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame on this, the 65th birthday of Jerry Mathers.  (Wrap your head around that!)  Consider this a different sort of Birthday Honors List........

Of course, the Beav is only 63......

BCnU!

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - THE GO-GO'S

THE GO-GO'S

AS SEEN IN:

"Vacation"

From Wikipedia:

The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts.

The Go-Go's rose to fame during the early 1980s. Their debut album, "Beauty and the Beat", is considered one of the "cornerstone albums of (US) new wave" (Allmusic), breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts. When the album was released, it steadily climbed the Billboard 200 chart, ultimately reaching number one, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. The LP sold in excess of three million copies and reached triple platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums ever. The Go-Go's have sold more than seven million albums.

Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978, the Go-Go's initially consisted of Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Margot Olavarria (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums).

They were formed as a punk band and had roots in the L.A. punk community; they shared a rehearsal space with X, and Carlisle (under the name "Dottie Danger") had briefly been a member of punk-rock band The Germs. Due to a bout of mononucleosis, she left The Germs before playing a gig.

The band started out playing at seminal punk rock venues such as The Masque and the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards) was added later in 1978, and in the summer of 1979, Gina Schock replaced Bello on drums. With these line-up changes, the group began moving towards their now more-familiar power pop sound.

During late 1979, the band recorded a 5-song demo at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, and in 1980 supported the British ska revival group Madness in both Los Angeles and England. The Go-Go’s subsequently spent half of 1980 touring England, earning a sizable following and releasing the demo version of "We Got the Beat" on Stiff Records, which became a minor UK hit.

During December 1980, original bassist Margot Olavarria fell ill with hepatitis A and was replaced with Kathy Valentine, who had played guitar in bands such as Girlschool and the Textones. Valentine had not previously played bass guitar.
The Go-Go's signed to I.R.S. Records in April 1981. Their debut album, "Beauty and the Beat", was a surprise hit; it topped the U.S. charts for six weeks in 1982 and eventually received a triple platinum certification. The album was also a success outside the U.S. charting at No. 2 in Canada, where it received a platinum certification, and No. 27 in Australia. In 2003, the album was ranked number 413 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. "Our Lips Are Sealed" and a new version of "We Got the Beat" were extremely popular singles in North America in early 1982. In this period the Go-Go's became America's sweethearts and started building a fan base.

In 1982 the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The follow-up album "Vacation" received mixed reviews and sold far less than "Beauty and the Beat". However, the album was certified Gold in the U.S. and spawned another top 10 US hit with the title track. Other singles released from the album were "Get Up and Go" and "He's So Strange", neither of which made it into the Top 40. In 1983 "Vacation" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Packaging. During the album's promotion the group was forced to go on hiatus when Schock underwent surgery for a congenital heart defect.

• Belinda Carlisle became the most commercially successful solo artist of the band's alumni, scoring a string of mainstream pop singles in the mid and late '80s, including the No. 3 US hit "Mad About You" (co-written by Paula Jean Brown) and the number-one single "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". In the UK and Europe, Carlisle became even more successful, continuing to score top-10 hits through the mid '90s. In August 2001, Carlisle appeared in a nude layout, including a cover photo, in that month's issue of Playboy magazine. In 2007, she released a French-language album entitled "Voila". She also appeared as a judge on the MTV show 'Rock the Cradle' and toured during the summer of 2008 as part of the Regeneration Tour with The Human League, A Flock of Seagulls, ABC and Naked Eyes. Carlisle wrote a memoir, "Lips Unsealed", that was published in June 2010.
• Jane Wiedlin released several solo albums including "Fur", which featured a successful single, "Rush Hour". Wiedlin also took acting roles in movies such as "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", "Clue", and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", as well as doing cartoon voice-overs and a 2005 appearance on the VH1 show 'Surreal Life'. In 1995, Wiedlin formed a band called froSTed (the capital ST paid homage to 'Star Trek'), which released an album, "Cold", before disbanding in 1998. In 2000, Wiedlin started her own label, Painful Discs, to release her solo CD "Kissproof World". She has also become a legally ordained wedding officiant who performs ceremonies as "Reverend Sister Go-Go".
• Charlotte Caffey worked as a songwriter and session musician for Carlisle, and then in 1988 formed a band called The Graces that released the album "Perfect View". After the Graces disbanded, she briefly formed a group called Astrid's Mother. Caffey and Wiedlin performed several shows in 1997 as Twisted and Jaded, at which they played acoustic versions of Go-Go's songs and debuted new material they had written. They also co-wrote "But for the Grace of God" (2000) for Keith Urban, which was their first number-one single on the charts. Together with Anna Waronker, Caffey co-wrote "Ordinary Girl", the theme song to the television series 'Clueless' (61 episodes, 1996–1999).
• Gina Schock released a self-titled album in 1988 with her band House of Schock, and she later formed the short-lived group K-Five. Gina Schock co-wrote the title track for Miley Cyrus's sophomore CD, "Breakout", which debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts in the summer of 2008. Schock also co-wrote several tracks on the 2009 debut album "Kiss & Tell" by Selena Gomez & the Scene. Selena Gomez and Cyrus are both stars on the Disney Channel.
• Kathy Valentine returned to her blues-rock roots playing lead guitar with a band called the Blue Bonnets, which morphed into the Delphines with Dominique Davalos on lead vocals and bass. The Delphines released two CDs, "The Delphines" (1996) and "Cosmic Speed" (2001). Gina Schock also joined the Delphines as drummer for a brief period. Valentine released a debut solo CD, titled "Light Years", in September 2005. In 2006 she relocated to Austin, Texas and produced a local female trio, Adrian and the Sickness, whose CD "BFD" came out in 2009. Valentine reformed the Blue Bonnets and continues production work in her home studio.

Jane Wiedlin is at work on a new solo album, and a comic book based on herself titled "Lady Robotika". Belinda Carlisle appeared on 'Dancing with the Stars' on ABC in 2009. She recently starred in London's West End production of the musical "Hairspray". Charlotte Caffey along with Anna Waronker wrote the music for the rock opera "Lovelace: A Rock Opera" based on the life of infamous porn star, Linda Lovelace. The opera premiered in Los Angeles in October 2008. Kathy Valentine produced a new Blue Bonnets album "Boom Boom Boom Boom," released June 2010. The group was originally slated to begin their "Happily Ever After" summer farewell tour, which was scheduled to kick off July 7 at Lilith Fair San Diego, and conclude in Austin, TX on July 27. However, it was cancelled due to Jane Wiedlin injuring her knee after a 20-foot (6.1 m) fall while hiking near her home in Northern California. They re-scheduled their tour for the following year, calling it the "Ladies Gone Wild" Tour, and on August 11, 2011 the band received the 2,444th star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame located at the site of where small punk rock club "The Masque" used to stand. At this location, the band would rehearse and play their first live show. 

A new best of album is in the works that includes a new single.

BCnU in two.  

Hopefully you won't even notice I'm gone......