Neil Sedaka took "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" to #6 on the Hot 100 in 1961. 3 years later, he brought the song back on American Bandstand. The clip opens with Charlie O'Donnell bringing us back from commercial.
Jules White's 1954 Three Stooges Western, "Shot in The Frontier", is a send-up of the classic Gary Cooper oater, "High Noon", which helped put director Stanley Kramer on the map in Hollywood.
Anyway, the boys recently got married, but soon discover a trio of outlaws have taken a liking to their brides. Emil Sitka didn't get credit as a justice of the peace this time (He played the same role in "Brideless Groom" a few years earlier), and Shemp stand-in Joe Palma is one of the outlaws.
From season 1 of CBS Storybreak comes a much different version of Cinderella, one that, according to host Bob Keeshan, takes place 1000 years before the Brothers Grimm's legendary, oft-adapted tale.
Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story From China, features the talents of George Takei, Brian Tochi, & Michael Bell, among others.
Friz Freleng's take on the Three Little Pigs gets mashed up with a Brahams composition in 1943's "Pigs in a Polka", which has a Big Bad Wolf (Mel Blanc) with a Brooklyn accent. Seems he failed the same elocution course that Bugs Bunny passed. And, danged if one of the triplets doesn't resemble Porky Pig (who should've been the star of this one). And, yeah, the open recalls "A Corny Concerto" from a couple of years earlier.
Following is a Blue Ribbon reissue.
From season 3:
Alan Reed (The Flintstones) plays an auctioneer at an art auction that Rob (Dick Van Dyke), Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), Sally (Rose Marie), and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam) attend. Howard Morris and Ray Kellogg, the latter would soon be on Hazel, also appear in "The Masterpiece":
Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) decides to try out for cheerleading in the series opener.
"Oil's Well at Oasis Gardens" was the 2nd season finale of Hoppity Hooper, and illustrates how Uncle Waldo (Hans Conreid) can be just as gullible as the marks he's trying to work. Paul Frees narrates, and also is heard as Boris Badenov, making his 2nd & final appearance in the series.
No rating. Just a public service.
From season 3 of I Dream of Jeannie:
Jeannie (Barbara Eden) is deceived by her twin sister (Eden in a black wig), who tells her she's a jinx, and needs to leave Major Nelson (Larry Hagman) for 14 years. It's all a ruse, since Jeannie II covets Nelson for herself.
Shannon Farnon, in one of her first face acting roles, appears as a prospective "alternative" for Nelson.
Yeah, the Super Bowl was 2 weeks ago, and the UFL will start play next month. Still, I thought it'd be a cool idea to scope this Afterschool Special entry, "Mighty Moose & The Quarterback Kid". Alex Karras ("Blazing Saddles") not only gets a guest star credit, but doubles as executive producer, co-starring with Brandon Cruz (ex-The Courtship of Eddie's Father) and Dave Madden (ex-The Partridge Family, Camp Runamuck). Joseph Mascolo would later enjoy a lengthy run on Days of Our Lives.
From what is known online as The Archie & Sabrina Surprise Package:
The gang visits a medieval fair, and Carlos (Jose Flores, fresh from Ark II) is Sabrina's date, if you will, since Harvey is in absentia. Carlos is also an artist, and drew King Arthur and members of his court as embodied by Jughead, Archie, Sabrina, & Moose. But, he doesn't think Merlin actually existed, and that brings Merlin to 1977 (Howard Morris recycled his Mummy/Mayor McCheese voice).....
A scientist, wise & bold, developed a device to, ah, regulate emotions. However, an accident results in control discs being attached to Kim Possible (Christy Carlson Romano, Even Stevens) and Shego (Nicole Sullivan, MadTV), resulting in both Ron (Will Friedle) and Dr. Drakken (John DiMaggio, Futurama) being left confused.....
Here's "Emotion Sickness":
Ah, yas. Valentine's Day was just four days ago, but we couldn't resist this entry from the Van Beuren studio back in '36. "Cupid Gets His Man" casts the cherub and associates as Mounties. Oh, the absurdity of it all. Ulysses Cupid, the head cherub, takes it upon himself to coax neighbors into falling in love, ending what seems like an eternity of bickering.
Seems so odd that the gentleman bears a resemblance to one of the most often parodied Hollywood stars of the day, W. C. Fields.
From season 3 of Sesame Street:
Rev. Jesse Jackson made a guest appearance on the show, and taught some kids the verse of his poem, I Am Somebody. At the time, Jackson & the Children's Television Workshop were working together on projects.
Nu Shooz peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in 1986 with "I Can't Wait", which merited an appearance on American Bandstand. Dick Clark interviews the band after the song.
Mulligan Stew was a 6 part miniseries produced by & for the USDA and its youth outreach arm, 4-H. The series was developed in 1971, and went to air a year later with just the 6 episodes, which would remain on PBS until 1981.
Not to be confused with a primetime series of the same name that came out five years later, Mulligan Stew, which takes its name from a meal of the same name, was built around a youth group that went by that same name.
Following is a sample open:
Well, here it is.
Weather Hunters, PBS' ambitious flash animated series built around weather, premiered in the fall, but production has ended after 40 episodes were produced. Not all 40 have aired as yet, but expect PBS to make this available to elementary schools around the country, if that hasn't happened already.
Al Roker (The Today Show) is Al Hunter, TV meteorologist and father of three, who takes his children on field trips to learn about weather patterns, and the how's & why's of meteorological trends. Holly Robinson Peete (ex-Hangin' With Mr. Cooper) plays his wife. Actress-singer Yvette Nicole Brown performs the opening theme. Celebrity guest stars have included Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Frank Welker, and, in "The Windy Day", LeVar Burton (Trivial Pursuit) as a sentient pair of eyeglasses that Lily finds............
Here's a winter-centric Silly Symphony from Disney. "Peculiar Penguins" gives us a budding couple, with the romance endangered by a shark......
For nearly 60 years, Tex Avery's "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" has been barred from airing on television due to the use of outdated stereotypes. The prototype for Elmer Fudd, originally billed as Egghead, pops up here, waiting for his turn until narrator Robert Bruce gives him the go sign......
While it was previously reported that Bugs Bunny was TCM's Star of the Month, the Oscar winning icon got all of the attention a week ago.
The reason? TCM begins 31 Days of Oscar tomorrow, and to spread out their plans for Bugs over the month would've conflicted with the annual promotion. Unless, of course, the shorts that won those Oscars for Bugs & WB are part of the 31 day event.
Comics Dana Gould, Patton Oswalt (ex-Happy!, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, The King of Queens), & Bill Hader (ex-Saturday Night Live) discuss Bugs' eternal appeal.
You won't find this Fat Albert episode in the series' syndication package, assuming anyone's actually daring to play it these days, in light of the scandal that torpedoed series creator-star-co-executive producer Bill Cosby's career a few years ago.
No, "Food For Thought", about healthy eating, was produced for elementary schools in 1981. At the end of the clip is a promo for the series' shift to syndication in the fall of 1984.
"Pardon My Backfire" was the 2nd & last Three Stooges short produced in 3D, though the effects were replaced for television.
Moe, Larry, & Shemp are mechanics looking to raise money to marry their girlfriends, who are a little shy about commitment. Some escaped convicts enter their shop, and the fun really begins.
From the final season of Happy Days:
Joanie (Erin Moran) has landed her first teaching job. On just her 2nd day, a punk decides he wants to hit on her, not realizing she's already spoken for, and when she's not ready. Of course, Joanie's got some backup......
Two teens decide to open a magic shop, with the help of their aunt (Jane Withers), but it's also a building being earmarked for demolition. Yoiks! "Zack & The Magic Factory" was a 2-part Weekend Special from the winter of 1981, hosted by Michael Young (Kids Are People, Too):
From season 3 of The Rifleman:
A very strict new teacher (Arnold Moss) causes problems for Mark (Johnny Crawford), but must work with Lucas (Chuck Connors) to rescue Mark and a friend from a mine after the boys run away from school.
Worth noting: Connors' real life son, Jimmy Fields, and niece, Pamela Cole, are among the guest stars.
Return with us now to a time when Native Americans were treated as stereotypes, such as the villainous Superchief, also known as Injun Joe. Porky Pig is a scout leading a wagon train, and runs afoul of Joe until the lone survivor of Joe's last raid shows up........
Jennifer Warnes went all the way to the top of the Easy Listening (now Adult Contemporary) chart in 1977, and hit #6 on the top 40, with "Right Time of The Night", which crossed over to the country chart, peaking at #11. This landed Jennifer on The Midnight Special:
Poor Ralph (Donny Most). He's caught the attention of a cheerleader, but her jealous boyfriend (guest star Reb Brown) is so not digging, leading to a boxing match between the two men....
This compilation covers the basic plotline.
James Street's Goodbye, My Lady was adapted into the feature film, "Weep No More, My Lady", with Brandon DeWilde, several years ago. In 1979, Ruby-Spears took their turn for the ABC Weekend Special. The print we have comes from a 1983 repeat hosted by Willie Tyler & Lester. Ernie Anderson & Dick Tufeld are our announcers.
We had this one before, but then it was removed by YouTube. Now, it's back, even though it's not the original CBS print.
Bugs Bunny burrows through a time warp into Camelot, becoming "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court". Subsequent reruns rechristened the special as "Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court", likely due to issues with the estate of Mark Twain, even though Chuck Jones had made it clear what he was doing, taking creative license with the story......
From season 1 of Room 222:
Ever-busy Bernie Kopell (That Girl, Get Smart, The Doris Day Show) guests as a teacher who tries to connect with his students by adopting a hipster persona, which seems to have won over Alice (Karen Valentine).
Directed by Terry Becker (ex-Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea):
