TWO FOR TUESDAY TVXOHOF TRIBUTE TO TIM CONWAY

From Variety:
Tim Conway, the agile comedian who was a core member of the “The Carol Burnett Show” troupe and starred in a string of Disney film comedies in the 1970s, died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 85.

A rep for Conway tells Variety he died from water on the brain.

Over his long career, Conway was nominated for 13 Emmys and won six. For “The Carol Burnett Show,” he was nominated six times as a supporting performer in a variety or comedy series, winning in 1973, 1977 and 1978. He was also nominated as part of the writing staff for the show, drawing three nominations and winning in 1978. In addition to those four Emmy wins, he won in 1996 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy, “Coach,” and in 2008 for guest actor in a comedy for “30 Rock.”

“I’m heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being,” said Burnett in a statement obtained by Variety. “I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American comedic actor, writer, and director. He portrayed the inept Ensign Parker in the 1960s World War II situation comedy McHale's Navy, was a regular cast member on the 1970s variety and sketch comedy program The Carol Burnett Show, co-starred with Don Knotts in several films in the late 1970s and early 1980s, starred as the title character in the Dorf series of sports comedy films, and provided the voice of Barnacle Boy in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. He was particularly admired for his ability to depart from scripts with spontaneously improvised character details and dialogue, and he won six Prime-time Emmy Awards during his career, four of which were awarded for The Carol Burnett Show, including one for writing.  

Earlier today, Toobworld Central inducted Ensign Charles “Chuck” Parker of ‘McHale’s Navy’ into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  And now we’re inducting the televersion of the man who portrayed the fictional life of that fictional Navy man during WWII. 

The televersion of Tim Conway is more than just the comic actor in fictional settings.  There were aspects of his life in Toobworld that couldn’t have happened in the Real World.

Sesame Street
- Episode #2.49 (1971)
... Himself

O'Bservation - They should have invited him back.  It just doesn't seem right that we never saw him interact with a Muppet on that show.

Newhart
- Dick and Tim (1990)
... Tim Conway

From the IMDb:
Dick inadvertently drives Tim Conway away from his regular poker game.  

O’Bservations:

• Tim Conway goes overboard with paprika when making his dip.
• In the regular poker game among the “men” of Stratford, the players are George Utley, Michael Harris, Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, and Tim Conway (who had been coming to Stratford, Vermont for a year to play poker.) 
• The Darryls first met Conway when they were producing ‘The Carol Burnett Show’. 
• Tim proved to be so cheap, he stole Dick’s car.

This was the most revealing look at Tim Conway as his televersion in any TV show, but it was as a dream version of his televersion.  The splainin then is fairly simple in disabling the Zonks caused by the shows that were mentioned.

The entire series was a dream triggered by Japanese food eaten by Dr, Bob Hartley just before bedtime.  That Tim Conway probably showed up in that dream could mean that Bob saw a ‘Carol Burnett Show’ rerun on local TV while he was eating that Japanese food.  (One of the leftovers could have been a lobster dish….)  After all, that variety program came up during that segment of the dream. 

As for Tim Conway being tight with a buck, maybe that’s the fault of Buck Benny.  ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ of Toobworld might not be the same as the show seen in the Real World, as is often the case with other TV series which get mentioned but with non-existent episodes.  So perhaps Bob Hartley saw an episode of ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ with both Tim Conway and Jack Benny as her guest stars, something that never happened in the Real World.

Because his appearance as a near-as regular member of the cast of 'The Carol Burnett Show' is mentioned by a fictional character, then it counts as a valid entry in Tim's tally for membership requirements.

Dick:
I’m a big, big fan of yours. 
I think I’ve seen everything you’ve ever done.
Tim:
Really?  Okay. 
You seen my TV series ‘Rango’?
Dick:
No.
Tim:
‘Turn-On’?
Dick:
No.
Tim:
Some fan….

Let’s de-Zonk these references….

Rango (1967)    
.
In Toobworld, their version of ‘Rango’ would be an historical series based on an actual lawman in the old West and his “true-life” adventures.  The Televersion of Tim Conway was hired to play the role because he bore a resemblance to the actual Rango.

Turn-On (1969)

I think everybody who saw this piece of schlattershit knows that it never should have been allowed on the air, no matter what world where it was seen!  (I can say that.  I saw it that night in 1969. I was just barely a teenager and I survived it.)

The show is mentioned by name in Toobworld by other citizens of that world, like Harry from ‘Mad Men’.  So Dr. Hartley was probably familiar with the tele-travesty. 

Ace Crawford... Private Eye (1983)

I don’t remember hearing this reference at all.  But it would be a similar situation to ‘Rango’.  It just wouldn’t be an historical drama; instead the real Ace Crawford probably sold the rights to his story to a TV producer who saw the comedy potential in Ace’s investigations.

The Larry Sanders Show
- The Matchmaker (1997)
... Tim Conway

From the IMDb:
Larry has trouble firing a staff member that is consistently messing up. Hank does something nice for his assistant and it results in a rumor that he might be gay.

This was another example of how the televersion of Tim Conway was different from the real life original.  I don't want to think that Conway would be as mean to a show's assistant in the Real World as he was to MaryAnn in this episode.

Here are the references made by Tim Conway, but all of them to movies that exist as such in Toobworld.  Which is good - that way we don't have to splain away any Zonks.

The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
Tim Conway jokes he hasn't had any sex since filming the movie.
 

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Marylou pre-interviews Tim Conway and asks if anything funny happened between him and Sandra Bullock in the movie.  

O’Bservation – So there were aspects in the life of Tim Conway’s televersion which hewed closely to the life of the  real Tim Conway... at least as far as his movie credits go.  But definitely not personality-wise!

Ellen
- Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 1 (1998) 
... Comedian

From the IMDb:
A "mokumentary" hosted by Linda Ellerbee hosts a tribute to a 75-year career of Ellen, which traces her career as a vaudevillian, ventriloquist and hostess of the 1950's game show called "Who's the Commie?" to her show with spoofs from the TV shows 'I Love Lucy', the Dick Van Dyke' and Mary Tyler Moore shows too, as well as interviews with celebrities Jennifer Anniston, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Helen Hunt Ted Danson, Phil Donahue, Tim Conway, and many others.  

Conway was one of the talking heads in the mockumentary, speaking about how he used to work on the road with Ellen & Dave, until the day when Dave headed to Hollywood to work in television which Ellen thought was a passing fad.
 

Two and a Half Men
- Bite Me, Supreme Court (2014)
... Tim

From the IMDb:
After multimillionaire Marty Pepper proposes to Evelyn, Walden and Alan throw him a bachelor party with several of his old friends (comedy legends Tim Conway, Steve Lawrence and Garry Marshall) who help him celebrate his last days of bachelorhood.  

O’Bservation - According to the cast list at the IMDb, Conway is only listed as “Tim”.  He’s played other Tims in the past, twice on ‘Diagnosis Murder’ as “Tim Conrad”.  But since Garry Marshall is listed as “Garry” and Steve Lawrence is listed as “Steve”, I think the odds are good that they are all playing themselves.  And it’s believable that a multimillionaire like Marty Pepper would have celebrity friends around his own age.

By the way, Conway was wearing those dark glasses because he had just come from seeing his eye doctor who had given him drops to dilate his pupils.  Conway claimed that the doctor was robbing him blind, but O’Bviously it was all in service to the joke.

Tim Conway also exists in The Tooniverse….

The New Scooby-Doo Movies
- The Spirited Spooked Sports Show (1973)
... Himself (voice)

The Simpsons
- The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (1997)
... Himself (voice)

O’Bservation - Despite the difference in artistic style, these depictions are of the same Tim Conway in the Tooniverse.

If he ever had another appearance in a cartoon series as himself, then he could be inducted yet again for his tooniversion.  

If you know of another appearance in a cartoon by Tim Conway as himself, let me know!  (Apparently Barnacle Boy in 'SpongeBob Squarepants' was an actual character.  I thought he was fictional with that fictional world.)

Welcome to the Hall, Mr. Conway.  On the same day, you’ve been inducted with the man you played in Toobworld and in Toobworld movies, Ensign Chuck Parker.  It’s a rare honor.

Good night and may God bless…

MEMORIAL TVXOHOF, MAY, 2019 - ENSIGN CHARLES PARKER

From Variety:
Tim Conway, the agile comedian who was a core member of the “The Carol Burnett Show” troupe and starred in a string of Disney film comedies in the 1970s, died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 85.

A rep for Conway tells Variety he died from water on the brain.

Over his long career, Conway was nominated for 13 Emmys and won six. For “The Carol Burnett Show,” he was nominated six times as a supporting performer in a variety or comedy series, winning in 1973, 1977 and 1978. He was also nominated as part of the writing staff for the show, drawing three nominations and winning in 1978. In addition to those four Emmy wins, he won in 1996 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy, “Coach,” and in 2008 for guest actor in a comedy for “30 Rock.”

“I’m heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being,” said Burnett in a statement obtained by Variety. “I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”

Toobworld Central knew that Conway's character of Ensign Charles Parker deserved to be in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, but it was a matter of when.

ENSIGN CHARLES PARKER

From Wikipedia:
Ensign Charles Beaumont Parker (Tim Conway) — McHale's likable, but goofy second-in-command, he is referred to by McHale as "Chuck" and by the crew as "Mister Parker" (in the U.S. Navy, officers ranking from warrant officer to lieutenant commander who are not in command are often referred to as "Mister"). Tim Conway's bashful, unassertive, naïve, mildly gung-ho bungler often succeeds in spite of clownish ineptitude (a theme that was career-defining). Like Conway, Ensign Parker is from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Parker was born between about 1916 and 1920 and worked for the Chagrin Falls Gazette.

Although he tries to be military, he is too much of a dimwitted klutz to command too much respect, and many of the episodes involve Parker getting into trouble because of his bumbling and ineptitude such as accidentally firing depth charges or shooting down Allied aircraft. Even before becoming a member of McHale's crew, Ensign Parker's personnel file is a laundry list of major foul-ups, including crashing a destroyer escort into a dock, doing something unspecified in heavy fog to the heavy cruiser USS Minneapolis, and calling in a naval airstrike on a Marine gasoline dump. Because of his considerable bumbling, the crew tries to protect Parker, who they feel will not survive as an officer without their help. Also, he is very slow to catch on and does not know when to keep his mouth closed (McHale usually gives Parker a discreet kick or stomp on the foot to get him to shut up). For instance, when Binghamton says "the cat is out of the bag", Parker says, "I'm sure it's around here somewhere, Sir. Here, kitty kitty".

Parker's catchphrase is "Gee, I love that kind of talk" and he loves to cite naval regulations which he knows by heart, but somehow can never remember his serial number correctly. In the episode titled "The Great Impersonation", Ensign Parker impersonates British General Smythe-Pelly (Conway in a dual role) in Noumea, New Caledonia (where he dodges assassins) while the actual general leads an invasion against Japanese forces. In another Conway dual role, Parker impersonates Admiral Chester "Rockpile" Beaty in "The Seven Faces of Ensign Parker". In "H.M.S. 73", Parker poses as a phony British rear admiral, Sir Reggie Grother-Smyth and impersonates British Admiral Clivedon Sommers in "The British Also Have Ensigns". From time to time, Parker is called upon to fool Captain Binghamton with a voice impersonation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Parker also does an impersonation of Roosevelt in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force).

Since they both hailed from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and since there are plenty of examples of Real World celebrities who are related to fictional Toobworldlings, it could be that Parker and Conway were “identical cousins” – in the darker interpretation of that phrase.  (Going with that, and since Conway did appear as himself in several fictional settings… stay tuned.)

Ensign Charles Parker only had one official credit to his name in television, that of the TV series ‘McHale’s Navy’.  He didn’t even make it into the dramatic pilot episode “Seven Against The Sea”, shown as part of an anthology series.

From Wikipedia:
McHale's Navy is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated from an hour drama entitled Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962.

The ABC series spawned three feature films: McHale's Navy (1964), a sequel McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965), and a much later 1997 sequel-remake of the original series.

Years ago Toobworld Central declared that there were certain movies in the Cineverse which should be instead considered part of the Television Universe centered around Earth Prime-Time.  Among these movies were “Batman 1966”, most of the “Star Fleet” movies (right up to the moment when Spock entered the black hole), and the 1990s version of “Maverick”.  Also included in this group were the two spin-off movies for the sitcom.  So Toobworld Central didn’t just pull the movies in so that Charlie Parker could make it into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

So here are the two movies which complete Ensign Parker’s membership requirements for the Hall:

From Wikipedia:

McHale's Navy is a 1964 technicolor movie based on the 1962–1966 black and white television sitcom McHale's Navy starring a slimmed down Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway and Joe Flynn, which had in turn originated with a one-hour anthology drama starring Borgnine entitled Seven Against the Sea. The movie version was directed by series producer Edward J. Montagne and its supporting cast includes Carl Ballantine, Gavin MacLeod, Jean Willes, Claudine Longet, and George Kennedy. The movie was followed by a sequel entitled McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force which did not feature Borgnine or Carl Ballantine. Another film, also called McHale's Navy, was released in 1997 with a completely different plot and an entirely different cast except for Borgnine playing a 35-year-older McHale.

In nearly every way the 1964 movie is merely an extension of the TV series and allows fans of the TV series to see the show in vibrant color. Even the film location for New Caledonia is identical to the one used in the series. For more information on the main characters see the TV series McHale's Navy. The movie was released on DVD for Region 1 on January 31, 2011.

The film was released following the end of the second season of the television series.

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force is a 1965 movie based upon the television 1962–66 sitcom McHale's Navy. Series supporting players Joe Flynn and Tim Conway are the leads for this sequel to the first movie made in 1964 also named McHale's Navy. Most of the movie is based on their two characters particularly Ensign Parker. Series star Ernest Borgnine was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict while he appeared in the 1965 movie The Flight of the Phoenix. However, in a Cinema Retro interview, Borgnine said the producer Edward Montagne wanted to make the film cheaply, without him and would not show him the script.  Carl Ballantine also doesn't appear in the movie and the PT-73 crew is not seen in large portions of the film. The movie, which also features Ted Bessell and Gavin MacLeod, was directed by series producer Edward Montagne.

Except for Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) and Lester Gruber (Carl Ballantine) the movie features all the main characters from the TV series. Binghamton (Joe Flynn) is sent to a staff meeting in Brisbane, Australia and is forced to use the PT-73 to get there after Fuji (Yoshio Yoda) sabotages Lt. Carpenter's PT-116 (Bob Hastings). While in Brisbane, Binghamton orders the PT-73 crew to remain on board, but they switch uniforms with Russian crewmen on the adjoining docked ship so they can leave the ship without being noticed. In a mix up Parker (Tim Conway) switches uniforms with Lt. Harkness (Ted Bessell) who then is mistakenly arrested by the Russian NKGB and put on the Russian ship, but he later escapes and spends the entire movie trying to get back. Parker impersonates Lt. Harkness with Binghamton helping him until Harkness comes back. Because of Harkness's reputation as a lady killer women are drawn to the very shy Parker. Parker also has to avoid General Harkness (Tom Tully) who is Lt Harkness's father for fear of being found out. In the meantime Harkness (or rather Parker) is promoted three times to Lt. Colonel by unwittingly scoring three military victories. Even after being found out, Parker is by then too big a hero and the military brass decide to sort of cover up the whole mix-up of Parker pretending to be someone else. At the end of the film Parker does an impressive impersonation of then President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Eventually, Ensign Parker would have made it into the Hall as the Monthly Showcase for April, but a great talent like Tim Conway should not have to wait to be acknowledged.  I apologize for taking this long.

Good night and may God bless, Chuck Parker….

MONDAY MEMORIAL TVXOHOF TRIBUTE - NORMA JENNINGS

From Variety:
Peggy Lipton, actress and singer known for her roles in “The Mod Squad” and “Twin Peaks,” and the mother of Rashida Jones, has died at 72 of cancer.

Her daughters Rashida and Kidada Jones announced her death to the Los Angeles Times. She had previously been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004.

Lipton won a Golden Globe and was Emmy-nominated four times for her role as flower child Julie Barnes in “The Mod Squad,” in which she starred from 1968 to 1973. She became a fashion icon for her hippie outfits on the show, which featured three hip undercover cops, “One black, one white, one blonde,” as the marketing campaign described. Clarence Williams III and Michael Cole were her fellow bell bottom-wearing undercover officers in one of the first shows to feature a multiracial cast and one of the first to depict the growing counter-culture movement.

After a long break to raise her daughters, she returned to acting on David Lynch’s original “Twin Peaks” series, on which she played Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner. She reprised her role in the recent revival of the series.  

Kyle MacLachlan wrote a very moving tribute to his former co-star which made me, for one, envious that I never got the chance to meet her.

Peggy Lipton’s performance as Julie Barnes on The Mod Squad made a huge impact on my whole generation. The show was decidedly not meant for our parents, and Peggy, who died on May 11 at 72, was a revelation. She represented a type of person not seen on television before, the quintessential example of a new kind of woman, young and hip, with a resilience that complemented a truly gentle spirit. 

 Later, she played a more personal, yet equally influential, role in my life, when we worked together on Twin Peaks. Peggy brought mystery and strength in equal measure to the character of Norma, who ran the Double R Diner. She radiated a sense of purpose, and her performance on the show in many ways mirrored Peggy the unique individual. She was always gracious and ever thoughtful, and moved to her own rhythm. She was wise and seemed all-knowing, and I instinctively felt that her world was full and complete—and far more fascinating than she would ever reveal to the rest of us.

When she poured you a coffee at the counter at the Double R, her smile and calming voice made everything feel all right with the world. And she made one hell of a cherry pie.
- Kyle MacLachlan

About the only way Toobworld Central can honor the memory of favorite actors is to take one of their characters – or perhaps the actual person – and finding a way to induct them into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame. 

I really wanted to get Julie Barnes in the Hall, eventually Pete and Linc of the Mod Squad as well.  But besides their TV series, they only had a reunion movie and no crossovers. 

However, Norma Jennings fits the bill, thanks to two theatrically released movies which have been absorbed into the Television Universe as part of the same franchise for ‘Twin Peaks’.

‘Twin Peaks’
1989-1991
30 episodes

"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me"
1992 

"Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces" 
2014

'Twin Peaks'
2017
5 episodes

Here are the basic facts:

NORMA JENNINGS

BORN
September 30, 1950
RESIDENCE
Twin Peaks, Washington, United States
OCCUPATION
Owner of the Double R Diner
FAMILY
• Marty Lindstrom (father)
• Ilsa Lindstrom (mother)
• Vivian Smythe (step-mother)
• Annie Blackburn (half-sister)
• Hank Jennings (ex-husband)
• Ed Hurley (husband)

Norma Jennings (née Lindstrom) owned the Double R Diner, and was the organizer of Meals on Wheels, formerly with Laura Palmer.

Norma was the high school sweetheart of Ed Hurley, but in 1969 - the spring after graduation - she cheated on him with Hank Jennings one weekend, so he decided to marry Nadine Butler while in a partially inebriated state. Norma quickly married Hank in April, and they honeymooned in Hollywood, where they got tickets to 'The Tonight Show'. Also that month, she began working at the Double R Diner.

She graduated from Twin Peaks Community College, earning a degree in Home Economics.

Also in 1969, Norma won the first annual Miss Twin Peaks Contest.

In August of 1987, Norma began a Meals on Wheels service at the Double R Diner with the help of high school student Laura Palmer. In September of that year, Hank was convicted for vehicular manslaughter, so she and Ed began an affair.

On the morning of February 24, Laura was later found murdered, deeply affecting the town.

Later at the diner, Norma served a cherry pie to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, whom she was introduced to by Sheriff Harry S. Truman as having taken over the investigation into Laura's death. Cooper asked her about Laura's involvement with the Meals on Wheels program and then asked her for two more pieces of pie.

Information is collected from the ‘Twin Peaks’ wiki.

Welcome to the Hall, Ms. Jennings.  You’ll find Special Agent Albert Rosenfeld is already a member of the TVXOHOF.  And as Prime-Time marches on, I’m sure I’ll be adding to your little group of members.

BCnU!

VIDEO SUNDAY - REMEMBERING DORIS DAY

Doris Day, who died this past week, was featured in scenes from "Send Me No Flowers" with Rock Hudson.  The movie would premiere a few months after this episode was first aired.  By then it had to have been finished, I'm sure, so it's not likely the Clampetts were really seeing the daily rushes. 

In a way, this episode served as a promotional stunt to advertise the movie which was the third and final film made by Ms. Day, Mr. Hudson, and Tony Randall together.

BCnU!

VIDEO WEEKEND - REMEMBERING DORIS DAY

Yesterday we inducted the late Doris Day into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  Today, for our video weekend entry, we're presenting one of the episodes which qualified her. 

In this episode of her eponymous sitcom, a traditional TV trope was invoked in which the main character of the sitcom gets to meet the actor who plays them.

I've included all five of the YouTube segments, but more than likely they follow one after the other.  I'm just a Doubting Thomas. 

And there's an uncredited guest appearance which will put that star on the fast track for his own membership in the Hall.....

BCnU!