TODAY'S TWD: THE FAB DAFOE

Last night, NBC debuted 'Crusoe', loosely based on the Daniel Dafoe classic "Robinson Crusoe". The novel has been adapted many times before, but mostly in the movies.

These were the three TV adaptations:

Stanley Baker (Robinson Crusoe)
. . . "Play of the Month" (1965) {Robinson Crusoe (#10.4)} TV Series

Colin Blakely (Robinson Crusoe)
. . . "Play for Today" (1970) {Man Friday (#3.4)} TV Series

Jean-Luc Boutté (Robinson Crusoe)
. . . "Cent livres des hommes, Les" (1969) {Robinson Crusoe} TV Series

Because of my travel schedule and how full my DVR will be next week, I didn't record the two-hour premiere last night. But I can always catch it on Hulu.com, I expect.

I think that even though this series will probably veer off the path laid out by the book just to keep it supplied in scripts to last for years (as the producers hope), I think it might be the version to keep in the main Toobworld. But things like this sometimes need to wait until the series ends, just to examine the overview.

We shall see what we shall view......

BCnU!
Toby O'B

ANOTHER THING ABOUT MACHINES

On this week's 'Fringe' episode, "Power Hungry", Joseph Meegar displayed an uncontrollable power over electrical machinery. If he had the power at all from the beginning, it was augmented by experiments conducted by Dr. Jacob Fischer.

Forty years ago, another TV character exhibited the same powers. But for Bartlett Finchley, they came naturally; although he was just as incapable of controlling them. (This happened in "A Thing About Machines", an episode of 'The Twilight Zone'.)

Finchley was full of self-loathing and his sub-conscience turned this power against himself. His typewriter typed out threatening messages; his electric razor attacked him as if it was a snake. Finally his own car chased him into his swimming pool, where he drowned. (Although the car could have been some former enemy reincarnated, a la Mrs. Crabtree in 'My Mother The Car'.)
It's another example of mutant powers manifesting long before 'Heroes' or 'Mutant X' or 'The X-Files'.....

BCnU!
Toby O'B

THE HAT SQUAD: EDIE ADAMS (II)

"All those years with Ernie taught me
how to hold my own in a roomful of comics."
Edie Adams

As I mentioned yesterday, the lovely Edie Adams passed away yesterday at the age of 81. I have in my Toobworld library the Ernie Kovacs collections in which she was featured, as well as the soundtrack album for his shows on which you can hear her singing a few novelty numbers, and the movie "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World" - which was the genesis for that quote above.

Mark Evanier gave her a nice tribute in his "News From ME", and he links to the New York Times obituary. (It's in his post where I found that quote.) Make sure you check both of them out.

The following is a list of the characters she provided for our enjoyment in Toobworld, with a few of her variety show contributions as well. More of those, plus talk show and game show appearances can be found at her listing at the IMDb.com.

But I would also like to point the way to a beautiful rendition of "That's All", which she performed in the final episode of 'The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour' in which she and her husband Ernie Kovacs appeared as themselves.

By this point in time, the principal cast members weren't talking to each other anymore. The marriage between Lucy and Desi was kaput. But when Ms. Adams sang this song, she brought several of them to tears.

Check out the video of that segment here.

STARRING ROLES
"Here's Edie" (1963)

"The Ernie Kovacs Show" (1952) TV series .... Regular

"Ernie in Kovacsland" (1951) TV series (as Edith Adams)

"Tales of the City" (1993) TV mini-series .... Ruby Miller

"As the World Turns" (1956) TV series .... Roseanne (unknown episodes, 1982)

GUEST STARRING ROLES

"Designing Women" .... Edie

- La Place sans Souci (1990)

"It's Garry Shandling's Show"

- Chester Gets a Show (1990) TV episode .... Edie Adams-Stravely

- Dinner at Eddy King's House (1989) TV episode .... Clair King

"Trapper John, M.D." .... Edie Marks

- Muddle of the Knight (1985)

"Murder, She Wrote" .... Kaye Sheppard

- Capitol Offense (1985)

"CBS Children's Mystery Theatre" .... Madame Zenia

- The Haunting of Harrington House (1981)

"Fantasy Island" .... Liz Fuller

- The Man from Yesterday/World's Most Desirable Woman

"Vega$" .... Angela

- Sourdough Suite (1981)

"Bosom Buddies" .... Darlene

- Pilot (1980)

"Mrs. Columbo" .... Joanne Huston

- Word Games (1979)

"The Eddie Capra Mysteries"

- How Do I Kill Thee? (1978)

"The Love Boat" .... Sharp Tongued Wife

- Marooned: Part 1 (1978)

- Marooned: Part 2 (1978)

"Police Woman" .... Lorenza

- Blind Terror (1978)

"Rosetti and Ryan" .... Evelyn Albert

- Is There a Lawyer in the House?

"The Blue Knight"

- A Slower Beat (1976)

"Harry O" .... Kate Roberti

- Past Imperfect (1976)

"Joe Forrester"

- The Return of Joe Forrester (1975)

"McMillan & Wife" .... Louise Montgomery

- Blues for Sally M (1972)

(Being in San Francisco, it could be that Louise Montgomery might have been related to the Montgomery family of 'Dharma & Greg'.)

"Love, American Style"
.... (segment "Love and the Hotel Caper") (1971)

"The Lucy Show" .... Nanette Johnson

- Mooney's Other Wife (1968)

"The Dick Powell Show" .... Model

- Thunder in a Forgotten Town (1963)

"The United States Steel Hour"
- Private Eye, Private Eye (1961) TV episode

- The American Cowboy (1960) TV episode

"The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" .... Herself
- Lucy Meets The Mustache (1960)

"The Red Skelton Show" .... Ruby
- San Fernando in Alaska (1959)

"General Electric Theater" .... Sue Ellen
- The Falling Angel (1958)

"Suspicion" .... Gloria Chrystie

- If I Die Before I Live (1958)

"Appointment with Adventure"

- The Royal Treatment (1955)

"Suspense"

- The Girl in Car Thirty-two (1954)

TV MOVIE ROLES
Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989) (TV)

Adventures Beyond Belief (1987) (TV) .... Flo

Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter (1984) (TV) .... Mae West

Shooting Stars (1983) (TV) .... Hazel

A Cry for Love (1980) (TV) .... Tessie

Portrait of an Escort (1980) (TV) .... Mrs. Kennedy

Make Me an Offer (1980) (TV) .... Francine Sherman

The Seekers (1979) (TV) .... Flora Cato

Fast Friends (1979) (TV) .... Connie Burton

Cop on the Beat (1975) (TV) .... Massage Parlor Owner

Evil Roy Slade (1972) (TV) .... Flossie

The Spiral Staircase (1961) (TV) .... Blanche

THE MULTI-VERSE
"Great Performances" .... Fairy Godmother / ... (1 episode, 2004) - Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' (2004) TV episode (also archive footage) .... Fairy Godmother / Herself

Cinderella (1957) (TV) (as Edith Adams) .... Fairy Godmother

Yesterday I wrote about Edie Adams' work in commercials for Muriel Cigars, so please check that out as well for more videos.

She will be missed......

BCnU.....
Toby O'B

TODAY'S TWD: THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

In "The Day Of The Clown", the latest of 'The Sarah Jane Adventures', Ms. Smith and her young friends had to battle Elijah Spellman aka Odd Bob the Evil Clown, who also claimed that he had once been the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

His account of the legend matches that to be found in Wikipedia, and I quote:

In 1284, while the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, a man dressed in pied garments appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the townsmen a solution for their problem with the rats. The townsmen in turn promised to pay him for the removal of the rats. The man accepted, and thus played a musical pipe to lure the rats with a song into the Weser River, where all of them drowned. Despite his success, the people reneged on their promise and refused to pay the rat-catcher. The man left the town angrily, but returned some time later, seeking revenge.

On St. John's Day while the inhabitants were in church, he played his pipe again, this time attracting the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of the town, where they were lured into a cave and never seen again. Depending on the version, at most two children remained behind (one of whom was lame and could not follow quickly enough, the other one was deaf and followed the other children out of curiosity) who informed the villagers of what had happened when they came out of the church.

Other versions (but not the traditional ones) claim that the Piper lured the children into the river and let them drown like the rats or led the children to a cave on Köppen Hill or Koppelberg Hill outside of Hamelin) or a place called Koppenberg Mountain and returned them after payment or that he returned the children after the villagers paid several times the original amount of gold.

The earliest mention of the story seems to have been on a stained glass window placed in the Church of Hamelin c. 1300. The window was described in several accounts between the 14th century and the 17th century, to have been destroyed in 1660. Based on the surviving descriptions, a modern reconstruction of the window has been created by Hans Dobbertin (historian). It features the colourful figure of the Pied Piper and several figures of children dressed in white.

This window is generally considered to have been created in memory of a tragic historical event for the city. Also, Hamelin town records start with this event. The earliest written record is from the town chronicles in an entry from 1384 which states:

"It is 10 years since our children left."

Although research has been conducted for centuries, no explanation for the historical event is agreed upon. In any case, the rats were first added to the story in a version from c. 1559; they are absent from previous accounts.

This watercolor, which was based on a stained glass window from a local church of that time, is the earliest known depiction of the Pied Piper. And it too makes an appearance in Elijah Spellman's Museum of the Circus.
BCnU!
Toby O'B

(Everything floats down here....)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGELA LANSBURY!

Happy belated birthday to Angela Lansbury, who turned 83 on Thursday!

Ms. Lansbury's character of Jessica Fletcher from 'Murder, She Wrote' was inducted into the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame in May of 2001, not only for her own series and the collection of TV movies which followed, but also for appearances in the crossover with 'Magnum, P.I.' and its spin-off, 'The Law And Harry McGraw'.

I have no excuse for being late with this notice. My friend Kelly posted her own salute on her Facebook page yesterday, and I had plenty of time to doff my cap to her. I'm just inherently lazy......

Nevertheless, I wish Ms. Lansbury well and I hope we'll see her again in Toobworld again someday, no matter what the role! (But one last appearance of JB Fletcher and the folks in Cabot Cove would be nice!)

BCnU!
Toby O'B

SOGNI DI UN RISTORATORE

Before DI Alex Drake was shot in February, 2008, (as seen in the first episode of 'Ashes To Ashes', she must have enjoyed at least one meal at the restaurant Capriccio's in Essex, perhaps several. And it made such an impression, that her sub-conscious mind put the Capriccio's owner/manager Bepe into her imaginary world of Gene Hunt. Only now, Bepe was known as Luigi and he ran a restaurant in London.
By the way, within the reality of Toobworld, the fact that both Luigi and Bepe were played by Joseph Long has no bearing on the situation.

I probably should have used the post title to invoke the old TV show 'Life With Luigi'......

SHOWS CITED:
'Ashes To Ashes'
'Gavin & Stacey'

BCnU!
Toby O'B

SMILE! YOU'RE ON CANDIDATE CAMERA!

You had to make it all the way through the last debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain to get to the best image. Made me think of Grima Wormtongue......

Otherwise, it was going to be this picture from the very beginning of the debate:

BCnU!
Toby O'B

THE HAT SQUAD: EDIE ADAMS I

Edie Adams has passed away at the age of 81 in Los Angeles. Many tributes to her will be about her life with her first husband Ernie Kovacs and the travails she went through after he died because of his debts. Others will talk about her movie career (including "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Apartment") or her Tony-winning role as Daisy Mae in the Broadway production of "Li'l Abner". Still others might talk about how she broke down racial barriers on television by performing with Duke Ellington and Sammy Davis, Jr.

But I'd like to concentrate on her status as the queen of blipvert sex symbols due to her 19 year association with Muriel Cigars.

This is an excerpt from "Might Minutes" by Jim Hall. It's an excellent book about TV advertising that came out back in 1984:

"The first lady of TV commercial sex, Edie Adams, began her long reign in 1960. Before Adams suggestively sang, "Hey big spender, spend a little dime on me," her sponsor, Muriel Cigars, had fallen on hard times. Sales had drastically decreased. Muriel's first commercials of the fifties featured an animated cigar with Mae West's face and insinuating voice. Edie Adams was recruited to play essentially the same type of character in the flesh.

Adams's first appearance for Muriel was on her husband's hit television program 'The Ernie Kovacs Show'. A rival cigar manufacturer, Dutch Masters, sponsored Kovacs's show, but needed to sell off some surplus commercial time. An account executive at the Dutch Masters ad agency phoned a friend at Muriel's agency and, as a joke, offered the commercial slots. Muriel called his bluff and bought into the program. Then, to heighten the irony, Kovacs's wife was hired as Muriel's singing and dancing spokeswoman.

Edie Adams's hip-grinding, sultry-voiced performances were goodnatured but provocative. She was seen singing the Muriel jingle in Broadway-style production numbers shot in a jazz nightclub, a Western rodeo, and other settings. Adams was the first of the great, attention-getting "stoppers", as sexy spokeswomen are known, and she helped Muriel's sales to regain lost ground."

Here are a few of the many blipverts she made for Muriel:

With Stan Getz

With the "Adams Sisters"
(Edith, Editha, and Edie)

With her name up in lights

BCnU.....
Toby O'B

THE HAT SQUAD: HOUSE PETERS, JR.

House Peters, Jr. has died at the age of 92. Despite the many roles he played on TV and in the movies, especially as the heavy in Westerns, that name might not mean anything to you. The picture might not make a difference either.

But you can certainly picture what he must have looked like back in the 1950s to the early 1960s as the original Mr. Clean in TV advertising!

Here's a picture of him from the "Flash Gordon" serials, which is the best that I can find to represent what House Peters Jr. must have looked like in the role of Mr. Clean.

Unlike many roles closely associated with the actors who played them on TV, Mr. Clean cannot be considered dead as well. Mr. Clean is no ordinary human; he's immortal. Mr. Clean is a magical being, sort of a cleaning genie, who magically appears when needed.

Here are the other roles he played in Toobworld. And those who were his contemporaries, we can now consider them to have passed away as well......

"Perry Mason" (2 episodes)

The Case of the Drifting Dropout (7 May 1964) - Plainclothesman

The Case of the Paper Bullets (1 October 1964) - Lt. Jeffers

"77 Sunset Strip" (1 episode)

The Dark Wood (30 November 1962) - Sheriff Goodson

"The Roaring 20's" (1 episode)

So's Your Old Man (2 December 1961) - Bert Kemper

"Lawman" (1 episode)

Trapped (17 September 1961) - Joe Poole

"The Twilight Zone" (1 episode)
Mr. Bevis (3 June 1960) - Policeman

"Bat Masterson" (1 episode)

Shakedown at St. Joe (29 October 1959) - Marshal

"M Squad" (1 episode)

The Dangerous Game (5 June 1959) - Jess Reinger

"Colt .45" (1 episode)

The Saga of Sam Bass (17 May 1959) - Sheriff

"Zane Grey Theater" (1 episode)

Hanging Fever (12 March 1959) - Harvey

"Gunsmoke" (2 episodes)

The Coward (7 March 1959) - Nat Swan

About Chester (25 February 1961) - Jake Wirth

"Buckskin" (1 episode)

Who Killed Pat Devlin? (16 February 1959) - Pat Devlin

"The Rough Riders" (1 episode)

The Counterfeiters (11 December 1958) - Pete Terrell

"Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1 episode)
The Night the Phone Rang (17 November 1958) - Association Man

"Northwest Passage" (1 episode)

Break Out (19 October 1958) - Pvt. Zach Miller

"Bronco" (1 episode)

The Besieged (23 September 1958) - Ben Cabot

"Sugarfoot" (1 episode)

Mule Team (10 June 1958) - Turner

"Wagon Train" (3 episodes)

The Charles Maury Story (7 May 1958) - Matt Goslett

The Artie Matthewson Story (8 November 1961) - Ick Fears

The Jeff Hartfield Story (14 February 1962) - Link Hartfield

"Broken Arrow" (1 episode)

Bear Trap (29 April 1958) - Captain Rowan

"The Californians" (2 episodes)

The Regulators (5 November 1957) - Jacob Johnson

An Act of Faith (26 May 1959) - Actor

"Boots and Saddles" (2 episodes)

Terror at Fort Lowell (31 October 1957) - Actor

Weight of Command (27 May 1958) - Actor

"Tales of Wells Fargo" (1 episode)

The Feud (14 October 1957) - Actor

"Telephone Time" (1 episode)

Stranded (9 May 1957) - Actor

"The Adventures of Jim Bowie" (1 episode)

The Intruder (26 April 1957) - Hagar

"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" (1 episode)

Scourge of the Wilderness (11 January 1957) - Monk Larson

"The Gray Ghost" (1 episode)

Sealed Orders (1 January 1957) - Hollingshead

"Lassie" (12 episodes)

Fish Conservation (18 November 1956) - Sheriff Jim Billings

Goodbye Forever (6 January 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

Vigil (27 January 1957) - Sheriff Benson

The Search (24 March 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

The Harvesters (19 May 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

The Runaway (8 September 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

The Berrypickers (6 October 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

The Elephant (27 October 1957) - Sheriff Billings

Transition (1 December 1957) - Sheriff Jim Billings

Runaround (11 April 1965) - Sheriff Jim Simmons

Charlie Banana (10 October 1965) - Sheriff

The Friendless (27 February 1966) - Tom

"Navy Log" (1 episode)

In the Labonza (14 November 1956) - Actor

"The Roy Rogers Show" (3 episodes)

His Weight in Wildcats (11 November 1956) - Leo Driggs

Tossup (2 December 1956) - Bill Wheeling

Portrait of Murder (17 March 1957) - Dave Shelton

"Fury" (1 episode)

Joey Sees It Through (21 January 1956) - Actor

"You Are There" (1 episode)

Spindletop - The First Great Texas Oil Strike [January 10, 1901] (4 December 1955) - Bruce Greeves

"The Adventures of Champion" (1 episode)

The Medicine Man Mystery (15 October 1955) - Ote Bledsoe

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (4 episodes)

Wyatt Earp Comes to Wichita (4 October 1955) - Dave Bennett

The Man Who Lied (11 October 1955) - Dave Bennett

The Gambler (18 October 1955) - Actor

The Killer (25 October 1955) - Actor

"Buffalo Bill, Jr." (4 episodes)

Legacy of Jesse James (23 June 1955) - Actor

The Little Mavericks (1 August 1955) - Actor

The Golden Plant (15 May 1956) - Actor

Kid Curry - Killer (18 May 1956) - Actor

"Annie Oakley" (4 episodes)

The Dude Stagecoach (30 January 1954) - Wiley

Annie and the Lily Maid (27 March 1954) - The Lily Maid's Chief Henchman

Outlaw Brand (16 September 1956) - Willoughby

Treasure Map (30 December 1956) - Sully Martin

"Hopalong Cassidy" (1 episode)

New Mexico Manhunt (22 January 1954) - Dakota

"Ramar of the Jungle" (2 episodes)

Blind Peril (1 January 1953) - Dick Webley

Call to Danger (21 November 1953) - Dick Webley

"Death Valley Days" (2 episodes)

Self-Made Man (12 December 1952) - Actor

Land of the Free (26 May 1953) - Actor

"The Cisco Kid" (2 episodes)

Pancho and the Pachyderm (5 October 1952) - Joe Shadden

Dutchman's Flat (9 November 1952) - Curt Hansen

"Sky King" (1 episode)

Desperate Character (26 July 1952) - Matt Durkin

"Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" (2 episodes)

Ex-Convict Story (16 December 1951) - Stevens

Wrestling Story (19 May 1952) - Jason

"The Range Rider" (6 episodes)

False Trail (1 January 1951) - Actor

Indian Sign (1 January 1951) - Actor

Dim Trail (1 January 1951) - Actor

Shotgun Stage (1 January 1952) - Fake Austin

Convict at Large (1 January 1953) - Bill Martin

West of Cheyenne (1 January 1953) - Larry Rand

"The Gene Autry Show" (3 episodes)

Head for Texas (23 July 1950) - Lou Phelps

The Silver Arrow (6 August 1950) - Myron Foster

The Star Toter (20 August 1950) - Reynolds

"The Lone Ranger" (12 episodes)

Jim Tyler's Past (16 February 1950) - Blackie Kane

Man Without a Gun (15 June 1950) - Slack

Desert Adventure (30 November 1950) - The Yuma Kid

Mr. Trouble (25 January 1951) - Pierce

Best Laid Plans (25 December 1952) - Slim Gordon

Prisoner in Jeopardy (20 August 1953) - O'Neil

Diamond in the Rough (27 August 1953) - Bat Anders

Ex-Marshal (16 September 1954) - Chick Compton

Gold Freight (28 April 1955) - Jake Ronson

Outlaw Masquerade (3 January 1957) - Frank Cameron (as House Peters)

Breaking Point (24 January 1957) - Mark Slade (as House Peters)

Ghost Town Fury (28 March 1957) - Vic Clanton (as House Peters)

"Gang Busters" (2 episodes)

O'Dell-Griffen (????) - O'Dell

The Blonde Tigress (????) - Comm. Timothy J. O'Connor (unconfirmed)

House Peters, Jr., seen here with his father,

House Peters, Sr.

I'll have more on several of these appearances later.....

BCnU.......
Toby O'B

THE HAT SQUAD: JACK NARZ

So many people connected to Toobworld have passed away over the last few days, and I know if I don't give them their proper dues now, I'll probably be overwhelmed as time goes by......

Game show host and announcer Jack Narz died at the age of 85, after suffering a couple of massive strokes in the last month. He's probably best known for hosting 'Dotto' at the time of the big quiz show scandal (I think 'Dotto' was the first show to be outed, but his career was not damaged by the association.)

Narz was also the announcer for 'Space Patrol' and for the first episode of 'The Adventures Of Superman', as well as for TV Crossover Hall of Famer Betty White's sitcom from the early 1950s, 'Time For Elizabeth'.

Technically, many of these shows are not exactly part of Toobworld. But they may have been mentioned in various shows of the era as TV characters would watch many of the same game shows that we do here in the Trueniverse. So Jack Narz would still be counted among Toobworld's League of Themselves.

For a better and personal tribute to Jack Narz, visit Mark Evanier's "News From ME". Click here to go directly to the story, but his site is also at home to the left.....

"The Farmer's Daughter" (1 episode, 1966)

- My Papa, the Politican (1966) TV episode

"The Spike Jones Show"

"Life with Elizabeth"

"Adventures of Superman"

"Space Patrol"

"Password Plus"

"Card Sharks"

"Beat the Clock"

"Tattletales"

"Now You See It"

"Match Game 73"

"Concentration"

"The Movie Game"

"I'll Bet"

"Seven Keys"

"Video Village"

"Dotto"

"The Price Is Right"

"The Bob Crosby Show"

"Place the Face"

"Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge"

BCnU.....

Toby O'B