How many of you out there still remember the words to the theme song of “The Patty Duke Show?” Cousins, identical cousins all the way, one pair of matching bookends, different as night and day.
Go ahead, sing it. You know you want to.
The Patty Duke Show, according to http://www.imdb.com, ran for four seasons, from 1963 to 1966. It revolved around the adventures of Patty Lane and her, yes, you guessed it, identical cousin, Cathy Lane. Patty Lane was the outgoing, crazy-dancing teenager (Patty loved her rock and roll, a hot dog made her lose control), while Cathy was her more reserved, Scottish counterpart (she adored a minuet, the Ballet Rousse and Crepe Suzette).
Other cast regulars included William Schallert, who played Patty’s dad, Martin (also known as Pop-O); Jean Byron portrayed Patty’s mother, Natalie (AKA Mom-O); Paul O’Keefe played Patty’s younger brother, Ross; and Eddie Applegate as Patty’s boyfriend, Richard.
Years later, on an episode of “Oprah Winfrey,” Duke would say she hated “The Patty Duke Show.” In her autobiography, “Call Me Anna,” Duke revealed she had to have two dressing rooms—one for Patty and one for Cathy, and she was constantly going from one dressing room to the other.
Sure, there’s a lot of people out there that know what it’s like to have an identical twin sister or brother. But, odds are ten kazillion to one that no one out there has an identical cousin. (Those would be some pretty powerful genetics!)
But just think … did you ever try to sneak home with your Aunt and Uncle after a family event, only to be discovered a block away in the car because you couldn’t contain your laughter hiding on the floor? Well, if you had an identical cousin, you wouldn’t have to hide. You’d just have to act just like your cousin.
In real life, Duke’s birth name, Anna Marie, was changed to Patty by her mangers, John and Ethel Ross, with whom she eventually would up living with for almost 10 years.
Get a copy of the book and you’ll find out all the details about it.
You can visit “The Official Patty Duke Webpage” at:
http://www.officialpattyduke.com
You can check out the opening to “The Patty Duke Show” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQTqKcojrVY
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Shaving mishap spurs jingle
OK, it's official: I've become waaaaay too immersed in doing this blog. Cut myself shaving this morning, and my first thought? (Besides "Ouch!" and some expletives ...) "I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me."
Twenty minutes later, 38 stitches and two EMT vans later (give it up for writer's embellishment!), that song is STILL in my head. It's going to be a loooong day (especially for my co-workers ...)
Yes, I know, I'm considering professional help.
Twenty minutes later, 38 stitches and two EMT vans later (give it up for writer's embellishment!), that song is STILL in my head. It's going to be a loooong day (especially for my co-workers ...)
Yes, I know, I'm considering professional help.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Luke & Laura save the world
It was September of 1981. I was 14 (you do the math). The month’s top songs were “Prince Charming” by Adam & the Ants, “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell and “Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)” by Ottawan.
And on ABC’s “General Hospital,” Luke Spencer and Laura Webber Baldwin saved the world from being frozen by the evil Mikkos Cassadine and his brothers, Tony and Victor.
Who says there’s no reality on soap operas?
It all started with the quest for the Ice Princess, a little black rock mounted on a small pedestal, which turned out to be a diamond in disguise. But, it was the secret formula hidden in the base of the statue that Mikkos wanted—no, not Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe for fried chicken—but a formula to control the weather.
Mikkos and his small band of cohorts hid out in an underground fortress underneath an island, until Luke, Laura and their pal, Robert Scorpio, infiltrated. Luke and Mikkos wound up alone in Mikkos’ control room, fighting until Mikkos met a frozen death. While Mikkos rapidly started to become an icicle, Luke was left to try to break the code to save the world from destruction. Luke tried typing in weather-related words like snow, and storm. When he typed ICE he thought he was home free until computer required a second word. Yikes! Ice….cream? Ice….follies? Ice…Ice baby? No…wait…wait…this is classic…the code words were:…ICE PRINCESS.
November 16 marks the 26th anniversary of Luke & Laura’s wedding anniversary. So stay tuned for another blog entry … or maybe I’ll just send a card.
And on ABC’s “General Hospital,” Luke Spencer and Laura Webber Baldwin saved the world from being frozen by the evil Mikkos Cassadine and his brothers, Tony and Victor.
Who says there’s no reality on soap operas?
It all started with the quest for the Ice Princess, a little black rock mounted on a small pedestal, which turned out to be a diamond in disguise. But, it was the secret formula hidden in the base of the statue that Mikkos wanted—no, not Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe for fried chicken—but a formula to control the weather.
Mikkos and his small band of cohorts hid out in an underground fortress underneath an island, until Luke, Laura and their pal, Robert Scorpio, infiltrated. Luke and Mikkos wound up alone in Mikkos’ control room, fighting until Mikkos met a frozen death. While Mikkos rapidly started to become an icicle, Luke was left to try to break the code to save the world from destruction. Luke tried typing in weather-related words like snow, and storm. When he typed ICE he thought he was home free until computer required a second word. Yikes! Ice….cream? Ice….follies? Ice…Ice baby? No…wait…wait…this is classic…the code words were:…ICE PRINCESS.
November 16 marks the 26th anniversary of Luke & Laura’s wedding anniversary. So stay tuned for another blog entry … or maybe I’ll just send a card.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Having a bad hair day? Join the club!
I woke up the other day with really bad hair. So, it got me to thinking about TV character/actors/personalities with cases of really bad hair. So, without further ado, from my cluttered desk at the Courier News, with apologies to David Letterman (and most of the people on this list), here's my top 10 list of television characters/actors/personalities with bad hair ...
10. (tie) Alexandra from "Josie & the Pussycats," Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier from "The Simpsons." (OK, they're all cartoon characters, so technically their hair is not bad, it's just drawn that way.)9. Lucy Ricardo's hair after being trapped in a freezer. (Everybody sing, "I'm gonna wash those icicles right outta my hair ....")
8. Witchiepoo from "H.R. Pufnstuf." (A few zings with her magic wand should do the trick).
7. Jan Brady's brunette wig look. (After being laughed at by her friends at Lucy Winters party, Jan realized blondes really do have more fun.)
6. Lily Munster (Some Miss Clairol should take care of that white streak)
5. Those vintage Oprah shows where it looks like she stuck her finger in a light socket. (Please do not try that at home.)
4. Mr. Spock from "Star Trek."' (I feel your pain, Spocky)
3. Ted Koppel (I just want to see if that's a toupee or not).
2. Kramer from "Seinfeld" (Perhaps it wouldn't look so wild if Kramer didn't keep bursting into Jerry's apartment like the wind).
And, the number one television character with bad hair is...
1. Kojak (Don't worry, we still love ya baby).
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Oh, those TV spin-offs!
Some television shows were (and are) so successful, they spawned several spin-offs, some just as successful as the original, while some just faded faster than me working on three hours of sleep.
One television show than spawned a plethora of spin-offs was the classic ‘70’s and ‘80s television show, “All in the Family.”
Archie and Edith Bunker’s neighbors George and Louise “Weezey” Jefferson moved onto Houser Street, but they soon found themselves “movin’ on up, movin’ on up, to a deluxe apartment in the sky-y-y.” “The Jeffersons” was so successful it ran from 1975 to 1985.
But the Jeffersons weren’t the only ones to get their own show. “All in the Family” also begat “Maude.” The outspoken, liberated Maude, played by Bea Arthur, originally appeared on “All in the Family” as Edith’s cousin. Florida Evans, played by Esther Rolle, originally appeared on “Maude” as her housekeeper. But, Florida and her husband, James, were spun off into their own widely-popular sit-com, “Good Times.” Florida and James lived in “the ghetto” with their three children, Thelma, Michael and J.J. (who made “Dyn-O-Mite” a catch phrase of the 1970s. Viewers of “Good Times” will also remember a young Janet Jackson appearing on the show in later seasons.
“All in the Family” also gave birth to “Gloria,” a short-lived comedy that starred Sally Struthers as Archie and Edith’s daughter, now on her own with her son, Joey, after divorcing her husband, Michael Stivic (better known as “Meathead.”)
Tell me what you think:
• Do you think spin-offs are usually as good as the original?
• What’s your favorite spin-off, and why?
• What’s your favorite TV show catchphrase or commonly used saying? (Some examples: How YOU doin’?..or Nanu Nanu…or Sit on it…you get the idea.)
One television show than spawned a plethora of spin-offs was the classic ‘70’s and ‘80s television show, “All in the Family.”
Archie and Edith Bunker’s neighbors George and Louise “Weezey” Jefferson moved onto Houser Street, but they soon found themselves “movin’ on up, movin’ on up, to a deluxe apartment in the sky-y-y.” “The Jeffersons” was so successful it ran from 1975 to 1985.
But the Jeffersons weren’t the only ones to get their own show. “All in the Family” also begat “Maude.” The outspoken, liberated Maude, played by Bea Arthur, originally appeared on “All in the Family” as Edith’s cousin. Florida Evans, played by Esther Rolle, originally appeared on “Maude” as her housekeeper. But, Florida and her husband, James, were spun off into their own widely-popular sit-com, “Good Times.” Florida and James lived in “the ghetto” with their three children, Thelma, Michael and J.J. (who made “Dyn-O-Mite” a catch phrase of the 1970s. Viewers of “Good Times” will also remember a young Janet Jackson appearing on the show in later seasons.
“All in the Family” also gave birth to “Gloria,” a short-lived comedy that starred Sally Struthers as Archie and Edith’s daughter, now on her own with her son, Joey, after divorcing her husband, Michael Stivic (better known as “Meathead.”)
Tell me what you think:
• Do you think spin-offs are usually as good as the original?
• What’s your favorite spin-off, and why?
• What’s your favorite TV show catchphrase or commonly used saying? (Some examples: How YOU doin’?..or Nanu Nanu…or Sit on it…you get the idea.)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Who’s your favorite Tuscadero?“
"Happy Days” brought us the Fonz, who could start a jukebox just by hitting it with his fist. (It must be a gift. I tried it myself. Didn’t work) It also brought us the phrase “sit on it.”
And, most importantly, it brought us the characters of Pinky and Leather Tuscadero.
Pinky, played by Roz Kelly, appeared on the show first, as Arthur Fonzarelli’s (that’s Fonzie to you and me) former love interest. She teamed up with the Fonz to battle in a demolition derby against the sinister Malachi brothers, famous for crushing cars with their signature “Malachi Crunch.” (Sounds like a cereal!)
And, then there was Leather, Pinky’s sister (played by Suzi Quatro), who spent some time in reform school and was now fronting her own band, Leather and the Suedes (first named Bertie and Gertie, and then, according to my Internet research, Millie and Jillie, although I always thought it was Millie and Tillie.)
I’ve been kept awake at night wondering if Pinky and Leather were actually their birth-given names, or just nicknames because of the clothes they wore. I guess it sounded better than something like Hester and Beatrice Tuscadero.
Personally, I liked them both, but I loved Leather’s music (and her backup singers). Everybody sing: Let’s go down to the Devil Gate… down to the Devil Gate…. down to the Devil Gate Drive.
I recently found Quatro’s CD on iTunes, called “Back to the Drive.” It’s on my iPod as I type this.I really need to get a life …
And, most importantly, it brought us the characters of Pinky and Leather Tuscadero.
Pinky, played by Roz Kelly, appeared on the show first, as Arthur Fonzarelli’s (that’s Fonzie to you and me) former love interest. She teamed up with the Fonz to battle in a demolition derby against the sinister Malachi brothers, famous for crushing cars with their signature “Malachi Crunch.” (Sounds like a cereal!)
And, then there was Leather, Pinky’s sister (played by Suzi Quatro), who spent some time in reform school and was now fronting her own band, Leather and the Suedes (first named Bertie and Gertie, and then, according to my Internet research, Millie and Jillie, although I always thought it was Millie and Tillie.)
I’ve been kept awake at night wondering if Pinky and Leather were actually their birth-given names, or just nicknames because of the clothes they wore. I guess it sounded better than something like Hester and Beatrice Tuscadero.
Personally, I liked them both, but I loved Leather’s music (and her backup singers). Everybody sing: Let’s go down to the Devil Gate… down to the Devil Gate…. down to the Devil Gate Drive.
I recently found Quatro’s CD on iTunes, called “Back to the Drive.” It’s on my iPod as I type this.I really need to get a life …
Friday, October 19, 2007
Where's Milton?
My mind was wandering last night (one of these days I’d really like it to come home) thinking about what to write about for my next "Totally TV" blog, when I thought about Milton the Toaster.
You remember Milton? The cartoon toaster featured in Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts commercials in the ‘70s? I even went searching on the Web to see if I could find an answer. But I couldn't find anything definite.
My thoughts on the matter? Perhaps Milton met a cute little toaster oven and they’re living the K-E-double L-O-double good life in Pop-Tartville.
My worst fear? Milton short-circuited, was thrown out in the trash and picked up by Lamont Sanford and was brought back to the junkyard, where he’s been languishing ever since.
If that’s the case, to the person who threw poor Milton out: In the words of the immortal Fred Sanford, "Ya big dummy!"
You remember Milton? The cartoon toaster featured in Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts commercials in the ‘70s? I even went searching on the Web to see if I could find an answer. But I couldn't find anything definite.
My thoughts on the matter? Perhaps Milton met a cute little toaster oven and they’re living the K-E-double L-O-double good life in Pop-Tartville.
My worst fear? Milton short-circuited, was thrown out in the trash and picked up by Lamont Sanford and was brought back to the junkyard, where he’s been languishing ever since.
If that’s the case, to the person who threw poor Milton out: In the words of the immortal Fred Sanford, "Ya big dummy!"
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