A Saturday in 1969

It’s a Saturday in early October, 1969. 44 years ago next month. I’m 10 years old. What did I watch that day?

Well, if I was up by 7AM, I watched BATMAN. I’m pretty sure these were the Filmation BATMAN cartoons. At 8, it would have been CASPER, THE JETSONS or HECKLE AND JECKLE, depending on my mood. Up next was THE BUGS BUNNY/ROAD RUNNER HOUR which I turned of halfway through to catch THE CATTANOOGA CATS.  After that was a local show, CARTOONS A GO-GO, followed by H.R. PUFNSTUF (or sometimes HOT WHEELS). After that was SCOOBY DOO and then ARCHIE unless I watched THE BANANA SPLITS HOUR, which I often did. The last morning show was THE ADVENTURES OF GULLIVER. After that came a MONKEES rerun (often with new songs edited in during his period to sell the later albums). Then finally I’d check out AMERICAN BANDSTAND. Today’s episode had The Grass Roots and I DO remember watching when they were on! After that I’d go to a movie or go shopping for comic books or out to play.

If I was back by 5, I might catch PORTER WAGONER (with Dolly Parton) or maybe a DORIS DAY SHOW rerun. That night, if my Dad wasn’t working or out pitching horseshoes, we would have watched his favorite JACKIE GLEASON (guest-starring Carol Lawrence whom he and I would see live in SUGAR BABIES many years later). If he happened to be out, Mom and I would likely have opted for ANDY WILLIAMS, guest-starring, as he often did, The Osmond Brothers. GREEN ACRES followed—although sometimes we watched MY THREE SONS instead. After that was PETTICOAT JUNCTION and MANNIX! The only time we missed MANNIX was if THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE had a particularly good guest. Tonight’s first episode of the season had Bing Crosby hosting Bobbie Gentry, Englebert Humperdinck and the rock group Sweetwater. I love Sweetwater! But since I wouldn’t even discover the group until 34 years later...we skipped it.

At that age, I pretty much crashed by 11 PM.

Dark Shadows-The Soundtrack

This 1970 (?) release was heavily promoted in the fan mags of the day (that would be TIGER BEAT and FAB) but I couldn't fins it anywhere. Finally after it had been out for months, I ran across it while out shopping with my parents at an obscure out of the way department store we didm't normally shop at so, of course, I bought it! When I got home I was disappointed that it didn't have the free poster it was supposed to come with!

Lucille Ball and Gary Morton

After Desi, Lucy married third-string standup comic Gary Morton who became her Producer and business partner, immediately making him one of the most powerful men in show business at the time. Lucy, though, as seen here, was ever the real power behind his throne.

Meet Julie Newmar Next Weekend at MANC!

http://midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com

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What are you waiting for? Click the link and get your tickets now to meet the ever-lovely Miss Newmar along with Larry Storch, Margaret O'Brien, Robert Loggia, Ed Asner and more!

Meet Larry Storch

One of Larry Storch's earliest gigs was an appearance on the radio series DUFFY'S TAVERN in the 1940's and listening to it today he's still hilarious. Originally an impressionist of some renown, he would become known as a loud, brash comic actor even while continuing to do voices…but in cartoons.

One of the first cartoons where I recognized Larry's voice was TENNESSEE TUXEDO in which Mr. Storch portrayed Mister Whoopee, he of the magical super-scientific three dimensional blackboard or the 3DBB! He would also work extensively for Filmation and Warner Brothers including a stint as Batman's foe, the Joker.

But it was TV's F TROOP where Larry became a household word. Ostensibly an ensemble comedy starring Ken Berry as a klutzy cavalry captain, it was the teaming of Storch with Forrest Tucker that made the show the sitcom classic it remains.

Like Al Lewis and Fred Gwynne on THE MUNSTERS, Tucker and Storch, although never an actual comedy team, made perfect foils for each other and their schtick took over the show's plots quickly. 

But Larry Storch avoided typecasting and went on to show he could play many types of roles both comedic and villainous. 

In the seventies, Tucker and Storch were reunited as the stars of the broad Saturday morning comedy, GHOST BUSTERS, as in "I'm Spencer, He's Tracy." "I'm Kong!" Storch was Kong. Tracy was the gorilla.

In the years since, Larry Storch has become a very popular guest at celebrity events and even has a popular new official Facebook page that can be found at 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-Storch/48657204666

Your chance to meet Larry Storch in person and tell him how much you've enjoyed his work through the years is coming up two weeks from now at the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention. 

 The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention
September 19 to 21, 2013
Hunt Valley Wyndham, Maryland
Celebrity Guests Include: Ed Asner, Margaret O'Brien, Julie Newmar, Larry Storch, Elizabeth Shepherd, Johnny Crawford, Robert Loggia and more!
Website:www.MidAtlanticNostalgiaConvention.com

Thanks to Matt Beckoff for permission to use some of the above personal pics.

Angela Cartwright

As a young lad, one of the first TV girls I crushed on was Angela Cartwright. She was so cute on MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY but then even cuter by the time of LOST IN SPACE. Remember, I was a kid. She's actually a few years older than me. In the Internet Age, I've been privileged to speak with her a couple of times online.