Rewind Back in Time

July 4th 2009 Twilight Zone Marathon - Sci Fi Channel

2009-07-01T20:15:00.004-05:00

It's that time of the year again for the Sci Fi Channel July 4th Twilight Zone Marathon. It will begin 5:00 PM (Eastern time) on July 3rd and run until the early morning of July 5th. Here is the SciFi.com schedule for July 3rd and the same for July 4th. You can also see it all laid out on one page on this IMDB page. Check your local listings for the exact times in your locale.

50 Years Ago Today - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper

2009-02-03T04:00:00.009-06:00

50 Years Ago Today, February, 3, 1959, Buddy Holly (age 22), Ritchie Valens (age 17), and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson, Jr., age 28) died in a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. In Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie", he would call this 'The Day the Music Died'.

The three young rock and roll musicians were leaving their gig at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa (see photo of the ballroom below), which was part of "The Winter Dance Party." They were heading to the next stop in the tour, Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane crashed soon after take off due to a combination of poor weather conditions and pilot error. The pilot, Roger Peterson, also died in the crash. He was only 21 years old and was not rated for night-time flight.

The small plane would only hold three passengers, in addition to the pilot. Waylon Jennings had originally planned to fly, but gave up his seat on the plane to Richardson, who had the flu. Guitarist Tommy Allsup had also planned to fly, but lost his seat in a coin toss to Valens who had never flown in a small plane before and wanted to experience it.

We can only wonder what music the three artists would have written and recorded had they lived to be a more reasonable age.

The Day the Music Died on Wikipedia

Sci-Fi Channel's New Year's Twilight Zone Marathon 2008/2009

2008-12-31T00:38:00.007-06:00

It's time for the annual Sci-Fi Channel's New Year's Eve/New Year's Twilight Zone Marathon. It starts on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008 (7:00 am CST) and continues through January 1, 2009. Check your local listings for the start time in your area.

Here's SciFi.com's schedule of episodes:
(Wed.) December 31, 2008
(Thur.) January 1, 2009

Also see: IMDB.com Schedule for 'The Twilight Zone'

Download a 'Twilight Zone' Episode Guide

2008-12-17T19:24:00.006-06:00

Here you can download a free 9-page Twilight Zone Episode Guide in PDF format. With the title of each episode, this guide gives you the date it first aired, the major stars, and a column to place a check if you've seen it/own it. It's a quick download as it's only 45k in file size.

John F. Kennedy, Jr. Salutes at JFK's Funeral, 45 years ago

2008-11-25T04:16:00.008-06:00

On Nov. 25, 1963, 45 years ago today, John F. Kennedy, Jr. (John-John) salutes his father during his funeral. US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22nd. Sadly, the day of the funeral, when this photo was taken, it was also John-John's 3rd birthday. The family held a birthday party for him later that day.

In the bottom photo, President Kennedy talks with his son John Jr. in the Oval Office on October 14, 1963.

Twilight Zone Marathon, 4th of July 2008 - Sci Fi Channel

2008-06-27T16:15:00.007-05:00

Get ready for the Sci Fi Channel's 4th of July Twilight Zone Marathon, it's starts a bit early. According to the SciFi.com schedule it will begin on Thursday, July 3rd, 8:00 AM (Eastern Time) with "THE PASSERSBY" and it will conclude July 5th with "ON THURSDAY WE LEAVE FOR HOME" (5:00 AM). IMDB has a schedule that lays it out on one page (too bad SciFi.com doesn't appear to do the same). Remember to adjust the times to your locality if you're not in the Eastern time zone. Get out the popcorn and enjoy!

Helpful Links:
SciFi.com July 3 Schedule
SciFi.com July 4 Schedule
IMDB.com Schedule
SciFi.com Twilight Zone page

Blockbuster Online DOES NOT ship on Mondays anymore!

2008-05-12T22:40:00.002-05:00

I have been using Blockbuster Online for 2 years now and I mainly rent older TV shows and movies from them. But, I've had a number of aggravating problems with their service, too many to mention, and lately it only gets worse. They "claim" to ship Monday through Friday but for a few months now they have NOT shipped me any discs on Mondays. This means they only ship 4 days a week! I can return a disc to the local Blockbuster store (where they scan it in and Blockbuster Online then knows I've returned the disc) on a Friday night or the weekend and guess what... I have to wait until Tuesday (and even a Wednesday one time) before they will ship another disc out to me! Which I will usually receive near the weekend, so I return it on the weekend (or Friday) and go through the whole delayed process again. I've written them (more than once) about the "no Mondays" issue and they say that they "ship M-F" and they make up some other lame excuse which is pure bull. I believe they purposely delay me so that they can send out less discs per month. I'm lucky to get 4 a month at this rate (I'm on the one-disc-at-a-time plan). I've never tried Netflix before, because I've heard about their bad practice of throttling, but I feel BBO is doing the same thing to me now. It may be time for me to dump "Crockbuster".

If you have any experience with Blockbuster Online or Netflix, or any other similar service, please leave a comment.

Twilight Zone Marathon New Years Eve/New Years Day

2007-12-23T04:11:00.000-06:00

This New Years Eve through New Years Day the Sci-Fi Channel will be running their annual Twilight Zone Marathon. As far as I can tell, it starts December 31st at 3:30 am Eastern time. I say "as far as I can tell" because the schedule at scifi.com is kind of confusing, and often an "error" page comes up (very annoying). The first epsiode of the marathon is actually listed on the Dec. 30th page here.

Check you local listings or visit scifi.com's Twilight Zone page.

New Beatles Site Launched!

2007-10-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

A new Beatles fan site launched one month ago. Unlike some fan sites, it's updated nearly daily. And no pop-ups either! The site features over 100 avatars, videos, news, quotes, articles and a "song of the moment" that you can play on the homepage. Give BeatlesLane.com a visit!

Leave It to Beaver Turns 50!

2007-10-03T22:18:00.001-05:00

The classic TV sitcom "Leave It to Beaver" turns 50 years old! CBS first aired the show on October 4, 1957 for the first season of the series, then dropped it. Fortunately, ABC picked it up and ran it for another five years (until June 20, 1963).

With the show being 50 years old, that means that all of the kids from the series are aged in their late 50's or early/mid 60's. For example, Jerry Mathers (Beaver Cleaver) is 59, Tony Dow (Wally) is 62, Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) is 64, and Rusty Stevens (Larry Mondello) is 58. Another popular kid, little blonde Stanley Fafara (Whitey Whitney), died on his 54th birthday, in 2003, of complications from surgery. As for the Cleaver adults, Hugh Beaumont passed away in 1982, and Barbara Billingsley is now 91 years old!

TV Land will be running a 24 hour marathon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Leave It To Beaver. It begins on Saturday, October 6th at 8:00PM ET/PT and concludes on Sunday, October 7th at 8:00PM ET/PT. The marathon starts off with the rarely-seen 1957 pilot entitled “It’s a Small World.” This pilot has Jerry Mathers (Beaver) and Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver), but cast regulars Hugh Beaumont and Tony Dow are not a part of it. Instead, Max Showalter is cast as Ward Cleaver and Paul Sullivan as Wally (see pics below). Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, The Simpsons) is seen in one of his very first roles as Frankie, a prototype for the character that would become Eddie Haskell. Diane Brewster (Miss Canfield) and Richard Deacon (Fred Rutherford) also appear in the pilot, but as different characters than what they played in the actual series.

See the TV Land marathon schedule here.

Fake Bands!

2007-08-23T09:06:00.000-05:00

I just came across this website (fakebands.com) about "fake bands" from TV, movies, etc. Who knew there were so many fake bands? Very interesting site. A few of the bands included are The Archies, Spinal Tap, The Monkees, The New Monkees, The Darlings (from The Andy Griffith Show), and The Mosquitoes (from Gilligan's Island). They even have The Honeybees (Mary Ann, Ginger, Mrs. Howell) and The Gnats (Gilligan, Skipper, Mr. Howell, the Professor) from the same Gilligan's Island episode that The Mosquitoes appeared in.

Johnny Bravo, anyone?

July 4th Twilight Zone Marathon - Sci Fi Channel

2007-07-01T17:50:00.007-05:00

For the new 2009 Update Go Here

Helpful Links:
SciFi.com July 3 Schedule
SciFi.com July 4 Schedule
IMDB.com Schedule
SciFi.com Twilight Zone page

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - It was 40 years ago today

2007-06-02T00:34:00.000-05:00

"It was 40 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play...". The Beatles' masterpiece album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was released in the USA on June 2, 1967 (June 1 in the UK). The CD version of the album was released on the 20th anniversary back in 1987. I remember being in Houston, TX on June 2, 1987 (or maybe it was June 1, the UK date) and a radio station there was doing a broadcast where they were pretending it was that June day in 1967 and they had just heard the "newly released album". It's hard to believe another 20 years have passed since that landmark!

Here's an article about Lucy O’Donnell, the inspiration for the Julian Lennon drawing that inspired John's "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The article also mentions the lovestruck teenage runaway, Melanie Coe who inspired Paul's "She Leaving Home".

Sgt. Pepper presentation at the official Beatles site.

BeatlesLane.com Beatles fan site

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

2007-05-29T02:03:00.000-05:00

President John F. Kennedy was born 90 years ago today!

John F. Kennedy (Wikipedia)

Whatever Happened to Robert 'Rusty' Stevens (Larry Mondello) from Leave it to Beaver?

2007-01-16T22:56:00.002-06:00

That's a very good question. I've wondered it myself many times. He appeared in 67 episodes of Leave it to Beaver (or 68 if you count the very last Beaver episode in which he only appeared in "flashbacks") and Still the Beaver (1983). Leave it to Beaver originally aired 1957-1963, but Rusty's last appearance was in late 1960. The reason for that is that his father took a job out of state and so the family moved away from Burbank, California to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, therefore ending his career on Leave it to Beaver. From what info I can gather, he has apparently worked in some or all of the following fields: advertising, insurance salesman and/or real estate. According to his very short bio on imdb.com, it shows "(2001) Insurance Salesman in New Jersey." His more current Wikipedia page says "He and his wife now live in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey." (A few years ago it read: "He and his wife now live in Sharpsburg, Georgia.")

Many years after Leave It To Beaver had ended, when they were trying to locate Rusty to reprise his role as Larry in Still the Beaver, a detective had to be employed to try to find him. The detective found the right house and knocked on the door. Rusty's wife answered and the detective asked her if it was the residence of the former child star. She replied that he had the wrong house. When she later told this to Rusty, he told her the man did have the right house. He did indeed play Larry Mondello, he just never told his wife about it before!

Apparently Rusty is purposely staying out of the limelight and has declined offers for TV appearances.

Robert 'Rusty' Stevens was born 11/25/1948 and is currently 62 years old (updated Feb. 2011).

UPDATE: I have found a clip of Still The Beaver (aka The New Leave It to Beaver) on YouTube. The clip features Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello! As far as I know, the 80's TV series isn't available on DVD. It'd be great if it was.

The clip also includes Jerry Mathers (Beaver), Frank Bank (Lumpy), Tony Dow (Wally) and Ken Osmond (Eddie).

Twilight Zone New Year's Marathon

2006-12-29T22:55:00.001-06:00

This New Year's Eve/ New Year's Day the Sci-Fi Channel is running it's annual Twilight Zone Marathon.

Here's SciFi.com's schedule of episodes:
(Wed.) December 31, 2008
(Thur.) January 1, 2009

Also see: IMDB.com Schedule for 'The Twilight Zone'

The Monkees TV Show debuted 40 years ago!

2006-09-24T15:51:00.000-05:00

The Monkees TV show (NBC) debuted on September 12, 1966. That's 40 years ago this month! I can remember when MTV showed the episodes during the 20th anniversary, and now it's another 20 years since then! Where do the decades go?!?

In 1986 I watched all of the episodes via MTV (and VHS taping). Now, in 2006, I'm watching all of them again, this time on DVD's, which I've been renting. In another 20 years I guess I'll watch them again on whatever format we have then, if I'm still alive!

If Buddy Holly had lived...

2006-09-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but Buddy Holly would have turned 70 today, if he were still alive. Sadly, Buddy died in a plane crash at the young age of 22 back on Feb. 3rd, 1959. The crash also claimed the lives of Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, "The Big Bopper", as well as the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. We can only guess at what great music Holly would have created had he had a chance to reach a more reasonable age.

Actor Don Knotts "Barney Fife" dies at 81

2006-02-25T17:02:00.000-06:00

Sadly, actor Don Knotts has died at age 81. He is best known for his great portrayal of "Barney Fife" on the 60's hit the Andy Griffith Show where he was a regular for the first 5 seasons of the shows 8 year run. He was also Ralph Furley on the late 70's/early 80's hit, "Three's Company."

By all accounts he was a great guy offscreen and he will certainly be missed by us fans of his great comedic work.

imdb article

Al Lewis, "Grandpa" on the Munsters, dies

2006-02-04T15:22:00.000-06:00

Al Lewis, most famous for his role as Grandpa on the Munsters TV show, has passed away Friday night. He was either 82 or 95. There is some debate about what year he was born in. Some sources claim 1910, and some say 1923. Some family members have said the 1910 date was made up by him to appear old enough to play Grandpa in the 1964-1966 Munters series.

Al Lewis was born April 30, 1923 (or 1910?) in New York as Albert Meister. In 1961, he starred in the TV show "Car 54, Where Are You?" with Fred Gwynne. After that show was canceled, Al and Fred did the pilot for "The Munsters." From that series, and forever after, Al Lewis will always be remembered as "Grandpa."

Barry Cowsill, 51, died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

2006-01-08T16:03:00.000-06:00

Barry Cowsill, 51, of the Cowsills fame, was apparently a victim of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans on August 29th. He was missing since the hurricane and his body was discovered on December 28th on a wharf in New Orleans, but has only been recently indentified.

The musical family, The Cowsills, peaked in the late 1960s. They achieved two Number Two hits with "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" and "Hair" from the hit rock musical of the same name.

Twilight Zone Marathon - this Weekend

2005-12-31T02:57:00.000-06:00

There is a Twilight Zone Marathon this weekend on the Sci-Fi Channel. The series aired on CBS from 1959-64. Creator Rod Serling wrote the majority of the scripts. Some of the episodes had great endings/morals like "The Masks", "Eye of the Beholder" and "To Serve Man" . See the Twilight Zone Marathon schedule here.

John Lennon - It was 25 years ago today...

2005-12-08T17:31:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since former Beatle John Lennon was shot to death by a crazy "fan". On the night of Dec. 8, 1980 Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were returning home from a recording session when Mark David Chapman, who had been waiting hours for Lennon to return, fired 4 shots into Lennon's back. He had travelled all the way from Hawaii to New York to do this one deed. John died shortly thereafter. He was 40 years old and an ex-Beatle for 10 years. Chapman was 25 at the time and has now spent half of his life in prison for the murder. I wonder if he thinks it was worth it?

The photo above was taken by another fan a few hours before John's murder. It shows the would-be killer aquiring an autograph from his "obsession". [Click the photo for a larger version]

Did You Know... about The Monkees?

2005-11-22T22:55:00.000-06:00

...The Monkees TV show debuted 39 years ago.

...The 4 Monkees were put together by producers and didn't know each other before becoming a "pre-fab" band.

...Micky Dolenz, billed as "Mickey Braddock", played Corky in the 1956-1958 TV-Series "Circus Boy".

...Both of Micky's parents, George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson Dolenz, were actors.

...Davy Jones was once an apprentice jockey.

...Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones have the same birthday (Dec. 30th), 3 years apart.

...Mike Nesmith's mother, Bette Nesmith Graham, invented Liquid Paper.

...Micky Dolenz is right handed but plays the drums left handed. (The opposite is true for Ringo Starr... left handed, plays right handed).

...Davy Jones is the sole British lad in the otherwise American band.

...Jimi Hendrix briefly opened for them, but he quit after being frustrated by the "we want the Monkees" chants from the young audience.

...They met their idols, The Beatles. Also, John Lennon was a fan of the show.

...After Peter Tork quit the band in 1968 the remaining three released a couple of albums as a trio. When Nesmith left in 1969 and the remaining two continued as duo and released one more album (1970).

...In 1986 there was a serious re-surge of Monkeemania when MTV re-broadcast most of the original Monkees episodes over a weekend. [I remember it well and still have the videotapes.]

...In 1987 there was a band and TV show of "new" Monkees, aptly named "New Monkees". They didn't last long.

TV Land Confidential

2005-11-20T16:49:00.000-06:00

TV Land Confidential is an interesting 30 minute show airing on TV Land Wednesday nights at 10 PM (ET/PT). Some of the original actors and crew from classic TV shows comment on behind the scenes stuff that we may have not heard before. How did Bewitched end up with two Darrins and how did they make the switch? Why wasn't Fonzie allowed to wear a leather jacket in the early days of Happy Days? Why did Michael Landon like to put live frogs into his mouth on the set of on Little House on the Prairie? Questions like these are answered on the show. Check it out.

Also, check out the TV Land website for bonus footage.

Paul McCartney won't buy back the Beatles' songs

2005-10-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

According to Rolling Stone magazine Paul McCartney won't buy back the Beatles' songs from Michael Jackson even though he admits he hates paying to play the songs he wrote. Paul and Michael were once friends but in 1985 Jackson bought the songs behind McCartney's back and the rumor is that Jackson might now sell them to help clear some of his debts. McCartney does make some money from the publishing of his songs, but ironically, he has to pay to play them live including during his current American tour.

TV Obscurities site

2005-10-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

I just found this rather interesting site named TVObscurities.com that features some... well... obscure TV stuff. There are pages devoted to TV shows like "Planet Of The Apes", "Blondie: '57 & '68", "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams" and others. Also topics like "Pilots That Didn't Make It", "From Themesong To Hit Single", "Rare TV Outtakes", "The Ten Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever", "ABC's Failed 1970 TV Guide Ads" and other interesting TV stuff.

The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome

2005-10-24T00:52:00.000-05:00

What is the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome? Have you ever noticed when a character from a TV show disappears without any explanation? No doubt you remember that on Happy Days there was Ritchie Cunningham and his younger sister Joanie. If you haven't seen the first season of the show there's a good chance that you didn't know that Ritchie had an older brother. Chuck seems to have disappeared without further mention during the rest of the long run of the series. Even in the final episode of Happy Days Howard Cunningham says something along the lines of "we've raised two wonderful children". Was Chuck not "wonderful", or perhaps he was disowned? Or maybe just a dream? Practically the same thing happened earlier on My Three Sons. There was an older brother Mike followed by Robbie and Chip. During the first color episode of the series (I believe it was) we see Mike get married and go on his marital way. Not only was he never seen again but he was never mentioned again either except for maybe a few episodes (if any) that followed the wedding episode. And his "nonexistence" was verified in a later season when a lady saw a picture of the family (minus Mike) in the office of the father Steve Douglas. Trying to find out if he had a wife she asked him if that was his whole family and he replied "That's it". I supposed the eldest son was disowned for getting married!

Here's a detailed article on the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, although they fail to mention My Three Sons.

Gordon Lee, 'Porky' from Our Gang/Little Rascals, dies

2005-10-21T18:44:00.000-05:00

Gordon Lee was the chubby child actor who played George "Spanky" McFarland's little brother, "Porky," in the "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" comedies. He has died at age 71 after after battling lung and brain cancer. Incidentally, this is less than a month after the passing of co-star, and fellow Texan, Tommy Bond.

Lee, starting at the age of 2, played one of the younger members in the "Our Gang" shorts in the mid to late 1930s, appearing in more than 40 of them. His Porky character is credited with originating the catchphrase "otay."

He was born Eugene Lee in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1933. Lee was 2 years old when his mother sent his picture to studio executives who were seeking an actor to play McFarland's brother. "We were on the next train to L.A. and I had a contract within a few days," Lee said. "Fat kid got lucky." Lee told friends his career ended when a growth spurt made him thinner. "They wanted Porky to be a chunky fellow, so they looked for someone else." Gordon eventually became a teacher.

New Paul McCartney CD: "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"

2005-10-11T05:45:00.000-05:00

This new McCartney CD was released on Tuesday, September 12. Most of the instruments and vocals were performed by McCartney himself. The multi-talented McCartney did the same feat on his "McCartney" (1970) and "McCartney II" (1980) albums.

Paul is performing some of the new songs on his US tour.

I haven't heard this disc yet, but here's a review from someone who has.

More info here including a few song samples.

Tommy Bond of "Our Gang" dies at age 79

2005-10-06T17:51:00.000-05:00

Thomas Ross Bond played Butch the bully from the Little Rascals and Our Gang shorts of the 1930's. Later he went on to other roles, including Jimmy Olsen in two Superman films in the 40's. He was offered the role in the TV series, but turned it down.

Born Sept. 16, 1926, in Dallas, Texas, Bond got his start at age 5 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was walking with his mother. The scout said he had "a great face" and he could set up an appointment with Hal Roach in Los Angeles. His grandmother drove him to L.A. for the meeting with Roach that led to his career on the Little Rascals and Our Gang series.

Bond died September 24, 2005 of complications from heart disease.

Don Adams of "Get Smart" dies

2005-10-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

Don Adams passed away on Sept. 25th at the age of 82. Adams is best known for playing Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, on the TV series "Get Smart". Twice "Get Smart" won the Emmy for best comedy series with Adams winning three Emmys as comedy actor. Adams was also the voice of the cartoon characters Inspector Gadget, Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo.

`Gunsmoke' 50th Anniversary

2005-09-10T19:22:00.000-05:00

Today is the 50th Anniversary of the first airing of the long running TV classic "Gunsmoke". Producers initially wanted John Wayne cast in the part of Matt Dillon but he declined because of his movie career. Wayne introduced the opening episode Sept. 10, 1955.

TV Land Remembers Bob Denver

2005-09-08T06:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice obit for the late great Bob Denver on TV Land's website.

Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island dies

2005-09-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

Sadly, Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island fame has passed away. Denver died Friday in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer. Apparently the media is just receiving the news today. Denver had also undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year. Ironically, the last of the 3 Gilligan's Island DVD sets was just released a few weeks ago.

Denver first became recognizable to TV audiences with his portrayal of the beatnik-type Maynard G. Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959-63). The Gilligan's Island series started in 1964 and ran for 3 years. Bob Denver will be forever known as Gilligan. His website, bobdenver.com, is designed and maintained by his widow Dreama Denver.

Three of the other Gilligan's Island cast members died in a three year cluster, 1989, 1990, and 1991.

Gilligan's Island cast:
Bob Denver - Gilligan - 01/09/1935 - 09/02/2005
Alan Hale, Jr. - Skipper - 03/08/1918 - 01/02/1990
Jim Backus - Thurston Howell III - 02/25/1913 - 07/03/1989
Natalie Schafer - Mrs. Howell/Lovey - 11/05/1900 - 04/10/1991
Tina Louise - Ginger - born 02/11/1934
Russell Johnson - The Professor - born 11/10/1924
Dawn Wells - Mary Ann - born 10/18/1938

Update: Fats Domino reported safe - rescued from floodwaters

2005-09-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

Fats Domino reported safe - rescued from floodwaters.

Fats Domino Missing in New Orleans!

2005-09-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I just read that Fats Domino is missing. Oddly, I've had the TV news channels on all day and haven't heard any mention of this. I'm not sure why not. Antoine "Fats" Domino, 77, has not been heard from since Monday afternoon. He lives with his wife Rosemary and daughter in a three-story pink-roofed house in New Orleans’ 9th ward, which is now under water. On Monday afternoon, Domino told his manager, Al Embry of Nashville, that he would “ride out the storm” at home.

"Walking To New Orleans" is among his numerous famous songs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168122,00.html

TV Land Screensavers

2005-08-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

The TV Land site has a few classic TV screensavers you can download. Check them out here.

Leave It To Beaver coming to DVD!

2005-08-26T23:50:00.000-05:00

Good news for us Leave It To Beaver fans. Universal has announced a release date of 11/22/2005 for Leave It To Beaver: The Complete First Season on DVD. The 3 disc set will have all 39 digitally remastered episodes from the complete first season of Leave it to Beaver. It will include the original pilot, titled "It's A Small World", which should be interesting to see again. The only time I've seen it before was once on TV back in the 80's. The pilot episode had different actors playing the part of Wally (Paul Sullivan) and Ward (Casey Adams) and a character named Frankie played by Harry Shearer (The Simpsons, Spinal Tap, Saturday Night Live). The Leave It To Beaver series was produced in 1957-1963. more info...

Cast:
Barbara Billingsley - June Cleaver
Hugh Beaumont - Ward Cleaver (1957-1963)
Tony Dow - Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver
Jerry Mathers - Theodore 'Beaver' Cleaver
Ken Osmond - Edward 'Eddie' Haskell
Frank Bank - Clarence 'Lumpy' Rutherford
Richard Deacon - Fred Rutherford
Robert 'Rusty' Stevens - Larry Mondello (1957-1960) (as Rusty Stevens)
Madge Blake - Mrs. Margaret Mondello (1958-1960)
Doris Packer - Cornelia Rayburn
Stephen Talbot - Gilbert Bates
Tiger Fafara - Tooey
Richard Correll - Richard Rickover
Stanley Fafara - Hubert 'Whitey' Whitney
Burt Mustin - Gus the Fireman
Jeri Weil - Judy Hensler (1957-1960)
Diane Brewster - Miss Canfield (1957-1958)
Sue Randall - Miss Landers (1958-1962)
Cheryl Holdridge - Julie Foster (1960-1963)
Howard McNear - Andy The Barber (1957-1960)
Majel Barrett - Gwen Rutherford
Bobby Mittelstaedt - Charles Fredericks (1957-1959)
Joey Scott - Benjie Bellamy

Mini-Bio: "Little Ricky" Keith Thibodeaux

2005-08-23T03:50:00.000-05:00

Keith Thibodeaux (stage name Richard Keith) played "Little Ricky" Ricardo on "I Love Lucy". Before joining the "Lucy" cast he was already a professional drummer discovered by bandleader, Horace Heidt at the age of three. A child prodigy indeed. When his father took him to audition for the "I Love Lucy" TV show Lucy asked him if his son could act. He answered "no". Wondering why he would be auditioning she rather curtly asked him something along the lines of "then what can he do?". Keith proceeded to play the drums and Lucy's attitude quickly changed and she exclaimed "This is the kid! This is him! This is Little Ricky!". He actually took a pay cut when he left his previous gig and became "Little Ricky" on the television series, often displaying his amazing drum playing talent on the show.

Viewers confused Keith with Lucy and Desi's real-life son Desi Arnaz Jr. It didn't help that young Thibodeaux was billed as "Little Ricky" on the show's credits and not as Keith Thibodeaux or his stage name Richard Keith. He grew very close to Desi Arnaz Jr. and they remain friends to this day.

You may also recognize Keith occasionally as Johnny Paul, one of Opie's friends on "The Andy Griffith Show."

In 1994, he published his autobiography, Life After Lucy: The True Story of "I Love Lucy's" Little Ricky (New Leaf Press). Today, he lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with his wife, Kathy, a professional ballet dancer. Thibodeaux became the executive director of Kathy's touring ballet company, Ballet Magnificat.

Keith Thibodeaux was born December 1, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Gilligan's Island - The Complete 3rd Season coming to DVD

2005-07-23T01:49:00.000-05:00

Gilligan's Island - The Complete Third Season (1966) will be released on DVD on July 26, 2005. This is the last edition of the 3 season series. I have the other two seasons and am ready to complete the collection with this one. The quality is excellent and you've never seen Gilligan's Island so clear. The first season is in b/w and the other two are in glorious color. I recommend it to all G.I. fans.

Cast: Bob Denver - Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr. - Skipper/Capt. Jonas Grumby, Jim Backus - Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer - Mrs. Howell, Tina Louise - Ginger Grant, Russell Johnson - Professor Roy Hinkley, Dawn Wells - Mary Ann Summers

More info here. [I have no affiliation with Amazon]

Update: Since making this post I have purchased the 3rd Season DVD. As expected, the quality is as great as the first two seasons. I recommend all three sets for Gilligan's Island fans like myself.

Paul Shaffer To Host Benefit for Mike Smith (Dave Clark 5)

2005-07-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

Paul Shaffer, musical director for "The Late Show With David Letterman," will host two benefit-tribute concerts for Mike Smith, former lead singer and keyboard player for the Dave Clark Five, who suffers from spinal cord injuries after an accident at his home in Spain in 2003. You may not know his name but you probably know his voice if you're a fan of 60's rock. Mike Smith, with the Dave Clark Five, had a number of hits including Glad All Over, Bits and Pieces, Can't You See That She's Mine, Because and Catch Us If You Can.

The concert will feature performances by The Zombies, Peter and Gordon, Billy J. Kramer, original Moody Blues lead singer Denny Laine and Beatles cover band The Fab Faux.

"A Tribute to Mike Smith" will be held Aug. 2 at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York. The first show will be broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio. All proceeds will benefit Smith, who is paralyzed below the rib cage and has very limited use of his upper body, it was announced Sunday.

A 10-day eBay auction to benefit Smith begins July 31 and will include items such as an autographed drumhead signed by Ringo Starr, Monty Python memorabilia and VIP tickets to a Brian Wilson concert.

More info: http://www.tciartists.com/mikesmithbenefit

Pink Floyd in a one-off Reunion

2005-07-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

It was great to see Pink Floyd reunited for the recent Live 8 concert, after nearly a quarter century apart. I was disappointed though that Roger Waters didn't get to do more of the vocals. Then again, his singing at Live 8 wasn't at it's best for some reason. Dave Gilmour, on the other hand, sang in top form. Members of Pink Floyd, minus Waters, have recorded and toured together in the past, but I didn't follow their post-Waters career as I felt Roger Waters was an essential member of the band. It just wasn't the same without him.

The briefly reunited Pink Floyd have dismissed an offer of $150m to tour the US.

Ringo Says He'll Never Tour With Paul McCartney

2005-07-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

In an interview with Access Hollywood, Ringo Starr says that he and former Beatles band mate Paul McCartney will "never" go on tour together.

The former Beatles bandmates have not toured together since the 1960s and Ringo insists that this is not going to change. He told US show Access Hollywood: “I haven’t toured with Paul since ’65. [Actually I believe it's '66]

“We’re never going to do it. We are not going to tour together. I go with my band. He goes with his.”

Asked whether retirement looms in the near future, Starr also said not to count on it.

"The blessing of being a musician is you can go until you drop," he said. "As long as I can hold those damn sticks, I'll be fine. I might be playing the blues, but I'll be fine," he said, laughing.

Ringo turns 65 tomorrow, July 7th. For info on his Beatles predecessor, Pete Best, see my May 11th entry below.

Eddie Albert 1906-2005

2005-06-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

Eddie Albert, best known for his role as Oliver Wendell Douglas on Green Acres, passed away at the age of 99!

'Riddler' actor Frank Gorshin dies

2005-05-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

Actor and master impressionist Frank Gorshin has died at the age of 71 or 72, depending what source you read. Some say he was born on April 15, 1933 and some say April 5, 1934. He was best known for his maniacally menacing turn as the Riddler on the 1960s TV series "Batman".

The veteran entertainer, diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago while starring in a one-man Broadway show as comic legend George Burns, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Burbank, California, his agent and longtime friend Fred Wostbrock told Reuters.

Gorshin also had been suffering from emphysema and pneumonia, Wostbrock said.

His wife of 48 years, Christina, was with him at the end, the agent said.

Ironically, Gorshin's death came two days before CBS was set to broadcast what became his final performance, a guest appearance on the season finale of the hit show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Gorshin, a Pittsburgh native, got his start in television and film playing bad guys during the 1950s and '60s. But he soon gained attention as a gifted impressionist, doing comic imitations of such stars as Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster on the nightclub and TV variety show circuit.

One of his first big appearances, on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964, happened to coincide with the Beatles' famed first performance on that program.

But Gorshin's biggest break came in 1966 when he was cast in the recurring role of the Riddler, the cackling, fiendish arch enemy of Batman on the ABC series based on the popular comic book hero.

Gorshin made 12 appearances as the Riddler on "Batman," earning an Emmy nomination for his work, and donned his green question mark-patterned suit again for a big-screen movie based on the series.

He also is remembered by "Star Trek" fans for his memorable guest performance on that show as Commissioner Bele, a half-black, half-white alien who appeared in a favorite episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," a parable on race relations.

Much later in his career, Gorshin portrayed the late George Burns in the Tony-nominated Broadway show "Say Goodnight, Gracie." source: abcnews.go.com

Whatever happened to former Beatle Pete Best?

2005-05-11T15:31:00.000-05:00

This post has been tweaked and moved to beatleslane.com. You can find the article here.

How To Convert LP's and Cassettes to CD or MP3

2005-05-05T03:36:00.000-05:00

If you're like me you probably have some great old albums and cassettes that you don't have on CD. Some of them you won't find available on CD or maybe you just don't want to re-buy the same music again. I could write an article on how to convert your analog media (LPs, cassettes, etc.) into digital (CD's, MP3's) but instead I'll just point you to a few sites that have already written some how-to articles. I hope that you find them helpful.
How to turn vinyl LPs into CDs | How to Convert LP and Cassettes to CD or MP3 | Home Office: LP to CD--Music Soothes Savage Bass

Town Not Entirely 'Bewitched' by TV Statue

2005-05-04T05:11:00.000-05:00

SALEM, Mass. -- In this town where witches are no laughing matter, a proposed statue immortalizing TV's "Bewitched" has left some residents wishing they could simply make the thing magically disappear. The 9-foot tall bronze statue of sitcom character Samantha Stephens astride a broom, one of a series of sculpture nationwide proposed by TV Land cable network, is near where 20 people were sentenced to death during the witch hysteria of 1692. source: newsday.com

Beatles 'Break-Up' Letter to Be Auctioned Off

2005-05-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

A letter co-signed by three members of the The Beatles, dated April 18, 1969, is to be auctioned to the highest bidder by Christie's in London on May 5th during their Pop Memorabilia auction. It has been owned by the same anonymous private collector for around 20 years. The letter, which is signed by George Harrison, John Lennon and Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), was addressed to Lee Eastman, Paul McCartney's father-in-law and lawyer. It details how Paul McCartney wanted Lee Eastman to manage the band, while the others chose Allen Klein, who also managed the "Rolling Stones". The letter tells Eastman that he is, "not authorised to act as the attorney or legal representative of 'The Beatles' or of any of the companies which the Beatles own or control." The issue was resolved when the band was dissolved in 1975, although they technically broke up in 1970. Starr later compared the band's dissolution to “...like the wind-down to a divorce. A divorce doesn’t just happen suddenly, there are months and years of misery until you finally say ’Oh, let’s end it.”’

Update: BEATLES 'SPLIT' LETTER SELLS FOR $91,200

"people weren't really writing their own music"? Lisa Marie misspeaks...

2005-05-01T05:21:00.000-05:00

Please excuse me while I set the record straight. Lisa Marie Presley was on Larry King the other night. Larry asked her if her father, Elvis, wrote any of his songs. She said "No, no, he didn't. I'm sure (he) could have. I don't think it was, at that time, people weren't really writing their own music, I don't think anybody was." Hmmmmm. Lisa Marie, you ever hear of Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Eddie Cochran, just to name a few? And that's only the first few years of Elvis's career. How about Hank Williams who died years before Elvis ever even made a single record? Then, during the 60's just about everyone wrote their own stuff. You may have seen a few songs with "Elvis Presley" included in the writing credits, but those were most likely just for publishing purposes to bring in a bigger cut from sales. Some record producers elsewhere have used this trick by placing their own name in writing credits to get a bigger piece of the pie. I'm not saying all of this to take anything away from Elvis, I'm actually a fan. He was an incredible singer and is certainly a legend. But her saying that nobody wrote their own stuff back then is just wrong! I can understand that Lisa Marie wants to defend her dad, but it kind of waters down the greats who DID have songwriting talents "back then". Yes, even in those early days of rock.

Rolling Stones blog

2005-04-27T03:16:00.000-05:00

I happened upon this blog, Rolling-Stones-World, by accident and I'm glad I did. Great info on one of the greatest and longest lasting bands ever, The Rolling Stones.

Paul McCartney US Tour

2005-04-26T18:37:00.000-05:00

Former Beatle Paul McCartney, in my opinion the greatest singer/songwriter/musician ever, starts a US Tour this year. The tour dates are posted on his website in the "Live" section.

Leave It to Beaver's Tony Dow turns 60

2005-04-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, the older brother we all wish we had turned 60 this month. Tony Dow was born April 13th, 1945 in Hollywood, CA. Dow is best remembered for playing Wally Cleaver, the clean-cut and much wiser older brother of Beaver on the classic family sitcom Leave It to Beaver (1957-1963). His mother was Muriel Montrose, who had appeared on the "Our Gang" comedies.

Privacy Policy for rewindback.blogspot.com

2005-04-21T23:59:00.001-05:00

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Welcome to RewindBack

2005-04-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

Welcome. The main theme of the RewindBack blog will be the love and appreciation of the TV shows, music, movies, pop culture, etc. of the past few decades. A "rewind back" in time of sorts to a more innocent era when you didn't need to lock your doors and windows or worry so much about your kids playing outside. Some posts may seem a bit random or trivial, but hopefully most will be pieces of the larger "puzzle". Thanks for visiting!