"THE WILD, WILD WEST" - A MINI-DOCUMENTARY

CLASSIC TELEVISION THEATER - ROBERT CONRAD IN "JUST SHOOT ME"

BLIPVERTS - ROBERT CONRAD FOR EVEREADY BATTERIES

It's time to pay the bills......

From Wikipedia:
Robert Conrad was widely identified in the late 1970s for his television commercials for Eveready batteries, particularly his placing of the battery on his shoulder and prompting the viewer to challenge its long-lasting power: "Come on, I dare ya". The commercial was frequently parodied on Johnny Carson's 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Carol Burnett Show'.

The DVD set [for 'The Wild, Wild West'] also included one of Conrad's Eveready battery commercials; in his introduction, Conrad stated that he was flattered to be parodied by Carson.

THE LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - ROBERT CONRAD

ROBERT CONRAD

From Wikipedia:

Robert Conrad (born March 1, 1935) is an American film and television actor, best known for his role in the 1965–69 CBS television series 'The Wild Wild West', playing the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West. He also portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. He was a recording artist of pop/rock songs in the early 1960s as Bob Conrad before he began his acting career. He has hosted a weekly two hour national radio show ("The PM Show with Robert Conrad") on CRN Digital Talk Radio.

 In 1959, he played Billy the Kid in the episode "Amnesty" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, 'Colt .45', starring Wayde Preston. Willis Bouchey appears in this episode as Governor Lew Wallace of the New Mexico Territory, who offers The Kid amnesty.

Before 'The Wild Wild West', Conrad played Tom Lopaka on the ABC/WB series, 'Hawaiian Eye', opposite Anthony Eisley and Connie Stevens. The show was a hit and lasted from 1959 to 1963. The show was also a big hit overseas. In Mexico he signed a recording contract with the Orfeon label where he released two albums a few singles sung in spanish and was introduced as Tom Lopaka himself. 

In the 1970s, he played such roles as prosecuting attorney Paul Ryan in a short-lived 1971 CBS series, 'The D.A.', and American spy Jake Webster in the series 'Assignment Vienna'. He also starred in a third season episode of 'Mannix' called "The Playground" and an episode of 'Columbo', "An Exercise in Fatality". With his muscular build and cigarette-induced gravelly voice, Conrad found ratings success from 1976 to 1978 playing legendary tough-guy World War II fighter ace Pappy Boyington in 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' on NBC, retitled for its second season and in later syndication as 'Black Sheep Squadron'.

He played a modern-day variation of James West in the short-lived series 'A Man Called Sloane' in 1979, which was around the same time that he reprised the role of West in a pair of made-for-TV films. He also starred in the 1978 TV miniseries 'Centennial' on NBC.[citation needed]

In 1988, Conrad starred in a short-lived television series, 'High Mountain Rangers', with two of his sons. 'High Mountain Rangers', known for its spectacular scenery and stunts, had a one season spin-off, Jesse Hawkes.

In 2006, Conrad recorded audio introductions for every episode of the first season of 'The Wild Wild West' for its North American DVD release on June 6.

AS SEEN IN:

'Just Shoot Me'

"Jack Gets Tough"

SYNOPSIS:

Thinking he was writing about William Conrad (who was safely dead), Jack Gallo wrote in his auto-biography that he once beat up Robert Conrad.  Conrad then showed up to set things right.

BCnU!

MISSING LINK - BLACK DRESS

Before she hit it big in the movies as the 1970s dawned, Karen Black was guest-starring in several TV series - 'Run For Your Life', 'The Name Of The Game', 'Adam-12', and 'The Invaders'.  She even did a couple of Westerns - 'The Iron Horse' and 'The Big Valley'.  (When her movie career no longer commanded the attention it once garnered, Toobworld welcomed her back.)

With one of those Westerns, there's something decidedly Toobworthy about her appearance which intrigued this televisiologist.  I can't claim credit for discovering it; that honor goes to the wonderful "Cowgirl" who runs the "Rifleman" website.

Before we get down to discussing the particular, why not enjoy one of the earliest performances by the late Karen Black.....

Any idea what was of particular note about Ms. Black's character of Clara Roberts?

It was that dress she wore, as seen at the top of the post.

As "Cowgirl" discovered with her keen eye to detail when it comes to TV Westerns, the design of that dress proved to be mighty popular in the wild, wild West - all of the young frontier ladies apparently owned a copy....

But I'm not quite satisfied with just the fact that all of those women ordered the same dress.  I want to know who they bought it from, preferably bringing in another TV show to this patch of the tele-mosaic.  

Therefore, I think they all found it offered in the dry goods catalogue from Levinson's in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Isidore Levinson is the late father of Cora, the Countess Grantham of 'Downton Abbey'.)

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JEFF GOLDBLUM

JEFF GOLDBLUM

From Wikipedia:

Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum (born October 22, 1952) is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and he has appeared in major box-office successes including "The Fly", "Jurassic Park" and its sequel "Jurassic Park: The Lost World", and "Independence Day". He starred as Detective Zach Nichols for the eighth and ninth seasons of the USA Network's crime drama series 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'.

Goldblum replaced Chris Noth as a Senior Detective on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'. In the series, Goldblum plays the role of Detective Zach Nichols. In August 2010, media outlets reported that Goldblum had decided not to return to Criminal Intent due to persistent concerns about the program's future.

AS SEEN IN:

'Easy To Assemble'

"Co-Mingling"

BCnU!

TOOBWORLD SPOTLIGHT: NOT SO BUTCH CASSIDY

Cassidy Brown is a young actress who hasn't hit the big time yet, but she is steadily working in both films and TV for the last few years.  And she has two unnamed roles in TV shows that put her ⅔ of the way towards membership in the TV Crossover Hall of Fame.  (But more than likely only as part of the Birthday Honors List.)

'Center of the Universe'
"And the Silver Medal Goes To..." (2004)
Office Assistant

'Franklin & Bash'
"Out of the Blue" (2013)
Club Waitress

Here's how it would play out:

This young, currently unnamed woman is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she worked as an office assistant.  But at some point after 2004, she must have decided to try her luck in Los Angeles, perhaps as an actress.

To that end, she got a job as a waitress at a country club frequented by many of the luminaries in the legal field, including Stanton Infeld, Leonard Franklin, and the late Judge Henry Dinsdale.

Should Cassidy Brown appear again in some small role set in Los Angeles, and which has no strings attached (extensive backstory, for example), we might even include it as part of the character's growing resume.  Even if such a character has been given a name, that would still be allowed.  However, once named, it would be difficult (but NEVER impossible for ye olde Toobmeister!) to later claim that another named character played by Cassidy Brown was the same person.

Every so often I'll be checking back in to the IMDb to see if Ms. Brown's alter-ego has expanded her life during Prime-Time......

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - DARLA HOOD

DARLA HOOD

From Wikipedia:

Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 - June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the "Our Gang series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma", the only child of James Claude Hood and Elizabeth Davner. Her father worked in a bank and her mother was a music teacher.

Hood then went out on her own with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. She was a regular on 'The Ken Murray Show' from 1950 to 1951. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. She had a hit record in 1957, "I Just Wanna Be Free", and appeared in the movie "Calypso Heat Wave" (1957) singing a duet with Johnny Desmond. She also recorded two songs with the Ray Whitaker Orchestra, "Only Yours" and "Silent Island," for RayNote Records.

Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as 'Tell It to Groucho' and 'The Jack Benny Show', where she appeared on October 30, 1962 as "Darla" in a spoof of the Our Gang comedies with Jack Benny (who appeared as Alfalfa), and 'The Charlotte Peters Show' in St. Louis. She did singing and voice-over work on TV commercials, which included Campbell Soup and Chicken of the Sea tuna. She appeared in her own nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, the Copacabana in New York, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

AS SEEN IN:

'The Screen Directors' Playhouse'

"It's A Most Unusual Day"

SYNOPSIS:

Darla was one of the singers in Jimmy McHugh's revue at the Mocambo's nightclub.  She sang "On The Sunny Side Of The Street".

O'BSERVATION:

Darla was listed as one of the vocalists in the credits, but was never acknowledged as playing herself.  But since Jimmy McHugh was appearing as himself, why not his singers?

BCnU!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - "THE NEWCOMERS"

'DEFIANCE'
"IF EVER I LEAVE THIS WORLD ALIVE"

Lawkeeper Nolan was upset that his foster daughter Irisa would be "sequestered" in the mines "with a bunch of 'slaghead' minders who think she's Typhoid Mary."

"Slag" was the pejorative term used to describe the Tenctonese when the former alien slaves sought refuge on Earth back in the early 1990's (as seen in the TV series 'Alien Nation'.)  They were also called "sponge-heads".

'Defiance' takes place in the future of an alternate TV dimension, but it could be that the Tenctonese were to be found on that world as well.  And after so many decades, the terms may have been corrupted over Time and then combined to become "slagheads".

Or maybe not.  But it wouldn't mean that the Tenctonese never arrived on Earth before the Votan races.

The splainin as to why we haven't seen any Tectonese (no longer "Newcomers" by that point) in Defiance, Missouri, is because most of them settled in the Los Angeles area.  That's where their slave ship came down in the desert after the slaves rebelled against their Overseers.  And on the whole, they may not have survived the Pale Wars or the radical terra-forming of the planet... especially if they were exposed to massive amounts of salt water during those chaotic times.

But it brings up another question - where are the Tenctonese today in Earth Prime-Time?  If they are still around in Los Angeles, shouldn't we have seen at least one in L.A.-based series like 'Major Crimes', 'Franklin & Bash', 'Californication', and 'NCIS: Los Angeles'?  (And then there are the sitcoms!)

Splainin?  A handful may have decided to remain on Toobworld - the Francisco family, for example, and Cathy Frankel who married to human detective Matthew Sykes.  (I like to think that we could see George Sam Francisco on 'Major Crimes' if only Captain Raydor chose to visit his office at police headquarters instead of Russell Taylor's, the Assistant Chief of Operations. I think George Francisco would have been kicked upstairs to a management position based on his prowess in the field.)

But as for the thousands of others?  I think they accepted an offer to be taken off-world to a new planet that could be wholly their own, with no indigent sentient species to contend with... and NO salt water!  (Lessons learned from the mistakes made regarding Israel and Palestine, perhaps?  Except for the salt water part, of course.)

And who would have been able to provide such a monumental taxi service to this New Tencton?

Just sayin', is all.......

BCnU!

LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES - JIMMY McHUGH

JIMMY McHUGH

From Wikipedia:

James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by such artists as Bill Kenny, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland (who died only one month after McHugh), Billie Holiday, Adelaide Hall, Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Dinah Washington, June Christy, Peggy Lee, Deanna Durbin, and Ella Fitzgerald.

AS SEEN IN:

'Screen Directors' Playhouse'

"It's A Most Unusual Day"

SYNOPSIS:

Peter and Margie Terrence went to the Mocambo's nightclub to see & hear the Jimmy McHugh revue.  Each of his songs reminded them of a key moment in their past life together.

SONGS FEATURED:

BCnU!