Diller Memories...MAD MONSTER PARTY?

A classic post from October 2008 in memory of Ms. Diller.One of my alltime favorite Halloween treats when I was a kid was when local channel 9 WOR in New York would broadcast MAD MONSTER PARTY? (the question mark is part of the title-who knew?) on their 4:00 MOVIE.This wonderful Rankin/Bass "Animagic" feature was released theatrically in 1969-but really found its legs when it was syndicated to local stations in the 1970s. It's cast boasts a who's who of movie monsters - Count Dracula! The Wolf Man! The Mummy! The Invisible Man! Frankenstein's Monster! Dr. Jekyll! Mr. Hyde! The Creature (from the Black Lagoon)! The Hunchback of Notre Dame! It! (aka King Kong) and Phyllis Diller! The only one missing was John McCain.Boris Karloff voices Baron Von Frankenstein - who assembles these characters (The Worldwide Organization of Monsters) to announce his retirement - and introduce his nerdy nephew Felix and shapely new creation Francesca to the group. Even as a gay kid, I knew Francesca was HOT! I wonder if Francesca was the visual inspiration for MAD MEN's Joan Holloway? Hmmm...With character designs by the great Mad Magazine cartoonist Jack Davis, and some of the best stop-motion imagery ever, MAD MONSTER PARTY? is an absolute must-see for animation lovers. While the story may now be a bit slow-moving, and not as clever as I remember it from my childhood - I'd rather sit through this than the more recent "monster mash" called VAN HELSING any day of the year.MAD MONSTER PARTY also features some great musical numbers...and come on, you gotta love Phyllis Diller - here a pic of me and my husband John with Ms. Diller at her lovely Brentwood home in 2008. She's was 90+ and still a hoot!

For more info about Rankin/Bass visit Rick Goldschmidt's enchanting blog.

Holiday Leftovers

Here's some holiday season leftovers from last year for your viewing pleasure...

In 1978, the SESAME STREET gang celebrated Christmas TWICE - Once at home on PBS...

and also on CBS with special guest stars ranging from Michael Jackson to Ethel Merman!!!

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS was a Rankin-Bass animated special that still airs annually on cable. I always found it charming except for it's odd depiction of Santa's red nose and cheeks. He looked freakish to me.

What do you think?

Meanwhile, back in the Stone Age, The Flintstones are celebrating the birth of Christ before it even happened.

In fact The Flintstones celebrate Christmas through time travel as seen here where they frolic with  anthropomorphic animals from the 1960s and the Jetsons, from the far future.

Even 'tweenage Peebles and Bamm-Bamm get in on the holiday fun.

Betty Rubble is absent from this gathering, she must be baby-sitting Boo-Boo Bear who is also not present.

Here Yogi Bear, sans Boo-Boo is taking a turn at playing Santa.

And here Yogi is "helping" Santa...or is he helping himself to Ranger Smith's new skis?

And finally here's Yogi and Boo-Boo decorating their tree with painted snowballs. Shouldn't they be hibernating?

Looks like Tom & Jerry have put all their feuding aside for the holidays - and Jerry's found himself a little gray mousefriend to celebrate with! Hope all my readers and friends have a wonderful holiday season whether they are spending it on Sesame Street, in Bedrock or in Jellystone Park. Peace on Earth and all that.

Thanks for Tooning In (Again)

Everybody has seen A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING at least once. While not as popular as the other Peanuts holiday specials, it stands out as the most memorable animated Thanksgiving program ever created.
Since 1977, when the show premiered on CBS, we have all enjoyed the exploits of the Peanuts gang as they gather for the annual parent-free feast of popcorn, toast and candy. I've always loved pushy Peppermint Patty and her entourage and how they invade Chuck's holiday meal. Maybe it's because I've known a few people like Patty over the years - but she has always been my favorite Peanuts character. The one disturbing aspect of the show is that Woodstock, clearly a bird, carves and ingests a turkey - therefore becoming a cannibal before our eyes. Yikes!

Some other not-so-well-known specials include: THE THANKSGIVING THAT ALMOST WASN'T - not to be confused with THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T! This syndicated special first aired in 1972-and hasn't been seen since. It told the tale of Jeremy Squirrel who helped orchestrate the first Thanksgiving feast. Who knew? This special came from the guys over at Hanna-Barbera.
Another critter tale, THE MOUSE ON THE MAYFLOWER was first broadcast in 1968. It's a Rankin-Bass classic that was narrated by Bing Crosby. You can read all about it here.

Comic strip cavemen from Before Christ came to life in B.C. THE FIRST THANKSGIVING, which premiered on NBC in 1972. THE FLINTSTONES it's not. You can watch it in three segments here on YouTube.
Another comic strip came to TV in 1989. GARFIELD'S THANKSGIVING was one of the sourpuss cat's many CBS specials. I've never been a fan.
In 1980, NBC aired a compilation of old Warner Bros. cartoons mixed with a new Duck Dodgers episode and called it DAFFY DUCK'S THANKS FOR GIVING.
This was after CBS debuted the similar BUGS BUNNY'S THANKSGIVING DIET a year earlier to big ratings.
In 1980's THANKSGIVING IN THE LAND OF OZ , Dorothy Gale is carried back to Oz by a green turkey balloon to spend the holiday with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who are moving to a nursing home! Along the way she meets Jack Pumpkinhead, a and Tic Toc, and must battle the evil Tyrone the Terrible Toy Tinkerer. Oh boy! This CBS Special should not be confused with the live action atrocity called THE WONDERFUL LAND OF OZ.
Also, it should not to be confused with 1974's JOURNEY BACK TO OZ, which was a theatrical feature from our friends over at Filmation (that actually took ten years to make it to the big screen). Liza Minnelli takes over her late mom's role and she's joined by such talents as Ethel Merman, Paul Lynde, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Danny Thomas and Margaret Hamilton! With special guest Bill Cosby as the Wiz! (A little Filmation cross-promotion there). It premiered on ABC in 1976.

So there you have it - my quick overview of that rare bird, the Thanksgiving special.

Enjoy!

The Network That Slept Through Christmas...

Please enjoy this rerun from Christmas 2008. When I think of the classic Christmas TV specials of my youth, I usually associate most of the classics with CBS. RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (1969), HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) and A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965) all aired on CBS for most of the 1970s and 80s, even though ABC now airs THE GRINCH and CHARLIE BROWN. (How could the suits at CBS let those go???). ABC had it's own stable of regulars back then including the RUDOLPH'S SHINY NEW YEAR and FROSTY'S WINTER WONDERLAND (both 1976) sequels, the SANTA CLAUS double-header (1970's ...IS COMING TO TOWN and 1974's THE YEAR WITHOUT A...) and other cool stuff like Chuck Jones' A VERY MERRY CRICKET (1973).NBC, on the other hand had THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Books 1 and 2-1968 and 1976, respectively) and, um...
THE BEAR WHO SLEPT THROUGH CHRISTMAS (1973)! I remember watching this - and loving it, after all I was 9 years old.
 
But why did it fade away like so many other NBC holiday specials? I know that RUDOLPH actually premiered on NBC, but found a home on CBS. My all-time favorite MISTER MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1962) also first aired on NBC, but it found a lasting legacy as a syndicated special. This is one of my favorite scenes:

Some of the other NBC "lost classics" include THE TINY TREE (premiered on NBC in 1975 - then rerun on ABC and CBS!), B.C.: A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS (1971), THE FAMILY CIRCUS CHRISTMAS (1979) and THE LITTLE RASCALS CHRISTMAS (1979). Most of these aired once or twice and then disappeared forever.Some others like JACK FROST (1979), THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN (1978), A FLINTSTONES CHRISTMAS (1977) eventually made it to cable and home video. So where is the vault that holds all these great animated shows - and how do we get it to open??? Yes - aside from the few that are now avialable on dvd (Notably the Rankin-Bass productions) - where have all the others gone? And so, now you know the sad tale of The Network That Slept Through Christmas.

A Rankin-Bass Easter

Concluding my look at animated holiday specials with three fun Rankin-Bass holiday classics.
HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL (1971)Originally airing on ABC, this Rankin-Bass Stop-motion classic was adapted from the song by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The story is narrated by Danny Kaye and features the voices of Casey Kasem, Paul Frees and Vincent Price. Even Santa Claus makes a cameo. The show moved to CBS in 1976.

THE FIRST EASTER RABBIT(1976) NBC aired this half-hour traditional Cel animated special from Rankin-Bass featuring Irving Berlin's classic holiday song "Easter Parade". Narrated by holiday cartoon favorite, Burl Ives. Other voices include Robert Morse, Stan Freberg, and Paul Frees. Moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s.
EASTER BUNNY IS COMIN' TO TOWN (1977) Animagic classic, narrated by Fred Astaire, recreating his mailman role from SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN. Debuting on ABC, this also moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s. For much more on Rankin-Bass, don't forget to visit Rick Goldschmidt's Enchanted World of Rankin-Bass.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

While I was never a Michael Jackson fan, it is very sad and unexpected that he has died on the very same day as Farrah Fawcett. My favorite memories of MJ were of the Rankin-Bass JACKSON 5IVE animated TV series which ran on ABC from 1971-73.

Easter TV, Part 7: The Rankin-Bass Specials

Concluding my look at animated holiday specials with three fun Rankin-Bass holiday classics.
HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL (1971)Originally airing on ABC, this Rankin-Bass Stop-motion classic was adapted from the song by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The story is narrated by Danny Kaye and features the voices of Casey Kasem, Paul Frees and Vincent Price. Even Santa Claus makes a cameo. The show moved to CBS in 1976.

THE FIRST EASTER RABBIT(1976) NBC aired this half-hour traditional Cel animated special from Rankin-Bass featuring Irving Berlin's classic holiday song "Easter Parade". Narrated by holiday cartoon favorite, Burl Ives. Other voices include Robert Morse, Stan Freberg, and Paul Frees. Moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s.
EASTER BUNNY IS COMIN' TO TOWN (1977) Animagic classic, narrated by Fred Astaire, recreating his mailman role from SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN. Debuting on ABC, this also moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s. For much more on Rankin-Bass, don't forget to visit Rick Goldschmidt's Enchanted World of Rankin-Bass.