The Monster Hall of Fame

While I'm away at the Big Bear Horror Film Festival, enjoy this cool sticker set from 1980 celebrating THE MONSTER HALL OF FAME!

Al Martino 1927-2009

More Peanuts Goodness

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, here's a classic Peanuts Halloween-themed strip.

The Most Sincere Halloween Special

"The Great Pumpkin" first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip in the early 1960s. Each Halloween season, Linus Van Pelt would get all worked up for nothing- anticipating the arrival of this mythical character in the most sincere pumpkin patch-and always facing disappointment when the GP doesn't come through for him. Linus' blind faith in the unknown was a recurring theme that fans of the strip looked forward to for dozens of years. The boy's humiliation is brief because there's always hope for next year. I've always found this sweet sentiment somewhat depressing - but it made for an entertaining comic strip.
In 1966, after the success of A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS - CBS premiered what would turn out to be the most-popular and best-loved Halloween cartoon ever, IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN. With a gloomy jazzy soundtrack and wonderful "graphic blandishment", this special evokes the season of autumn like no other.
Each autumn, children (and adults) everywhere would tune in with great anticipation in hopes that maybe this year The Great Pumpkin will indeed appear and all will be right in the world for once - and perhaps Lucy Van Pelt will let Charlie Brown kick a football without pulling it away. Don't bet on that either.Linus even recruits young Sally Brown to sit out in the pumpkin patch with him, thereby missing her first chance of participating in "tricks or treats". Of course, the GP never does show up, but the melancholia doesn't end there. Our pathetic hero Charlie Brown is finally invited to a party with the rest of the kids. Or is he? Turns out crabby Lucy soon informs him that there were two lists, people to invite and people not to invite and Charlie's name was on wrong list. (Spoiler: he manages to show up at the party anyhow - and the girls use his bald head as a model for their pumpkin).
When the kids are putting on their Halloween costumes, Lucy deliciously delivers the best line in the show when she informs the gang that "a person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality" and then dons a a wicked green witch mask. Classic! Things go from bad to worse for Charlie when every house that the kids visit gives out treats, but Charlie Brown reaches into his bag and declares "I got a rock." Following this is an unbearably over-long fantasy sequence involving Snoopy pretending to be a World War One flying ace. Luckily we have fast-forward buttons nowadays.Linus sums it all up best when he tells us that "there are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." Amen, brother.The special aired on CBS every season until 2001-when ABC purchased the rights to the classic Peanuts specials and padded them with some poor-quality extras, expanding the show to an hour's length. It now airs annually on ABC and ABC Family. But for some reason, it's just not the same.
Meanwhile, every year Linus continues to get mocked for his beliefs, but somehow he perseveres. You gotta admit, the kid is admirable in his unwavering devotion to The Great Pumpkin and that things will be different next time, but maybe it's about time he gets some pharmaceutical or psychiatric help.

Annual Animated Treats

Here's a Dougsploitation rerun from last year. Am I the only person who gets super excited by this 5-second piece of video?When I was a kid, the sound of the CBS SPECIAL PRESENTATION i.d. was enough to make me drop my action figures and run through the house and plop my ass in front of the closest color TV set. To those too young to understand, there was actually a time before VCRs, dvds, TIVO and the internet when you actually had to watch TV when it was "on". Holiday specials aired once and if you missed 'em, you were out of luck. There was something "special" about "specials" back then. Now, you can watch FROSTY THE SNOWMAN at 3 AM in the middle of the summer. Back in the day, it was an "event" that you waited all year for...and it never disappointed.

Here's two of the less popular animated holiday specials from the CBS library:

THE FAT ALBERT HALLOWEEN special first aired on October 24, 1977. This, of course, is from Filmation Studios, not known for great animation or storytelling. (See my review of HAPPILY EVER AFTER and my friend Danny's skewering of the HE-MAN/SHE-RA: A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL.) FAT ALBERT was Filmation's jewel in the crown. Because Bill Cosby was involved, the show was a few notchs above the other shows the studio produced. I watched the Saturday-morning series sometimes, but not on as regular basis. I did love the funky theme song though...

The second cartoon in this double-feature is the awkwardly titled PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING LIES. While not Halloween themed, I guess the brass at CBS figured "dragon=scary=Halloween" and scheduled it to air after FAT ALBERT. Or maybe it was a "obese lead character" theme night? After all the TV Guide ad screams "TWO BIG ONES, BACK TO BACK." I don't think I ever saw this particular show, which is a sequel to 1978's PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON, which in turn was based on the song from folk legends Peter, Paul & Mary. Sung here by Miss Dolly Parton...(insert BIG ONES joke here)

This cartoon told the story of a little girl dealing with her parent's divorce by telling lies!!! Cartoons in the 1970s were so cool...and relevant. Too bad there isn't a cartoon based on Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" - that would really be great!

Look for more Halloween (and country music?) treats from Dougsploitation in the coming weeks!

The Other Side of House Hunters' Suzanne Whang

Suzanne Whang is a woman of many talents. She has been the host of HOUSE HUNTERS since 1999 (the #1 rated show on HGTV) as well as the spinoff series, HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL. She has also hosted numerous specials on HGTV and guest hosted GSN Live on the Game Show Network. Among her other credits: co-hosting TV's CENSORED BLOOPERS (NBC) and a red carpet host for ABC's Academy Awards coverage.

Aside from her numerous hosting duties, Ms. Whang has also fostered a career as an R-rated stand-up comedian, winning the Andy Kaufman Award at the New York Comedy Festival! She also won Best Up & Coming Comedian at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, epitomized by her outrageous slogan: "Don't judge a gook by her cover."

You can see her LIVE on Stage This Thursday– October 15 at 7:30 PM at the Spotlight Comedy Club (at Aura) in Studio City, (12215 Ventura Blvd., #209). For reservations visit their website.

Check out Suzanne's website for more info about her and her two worlds.

I Love Sarah Silverman

Hello There (Halloween) Cutie!

Over at my family-friendly blog that I run with my friend and occasional partner-in-silliness Sherri, we've begun a fun Halloween countdown of all things cute: costumes, crafts, candies, cartoons - you name it! Pay Hello There Cutie a daily visit and start your day with a smile!

Worst 'Coming Attraction" Ever

I just came home from seeing the semi-enjoyable ZOMBIELAND. I may have enjoyed the film a bit more if it wasn't preceded by a trailer for a forthcoming film epic called 2012.
2012 is a modern take on the "disaster movie" concept of the 1970s. It's directed by Roland Emmerich (also behind the war-monger classic INDEPENDENCE DAY and the laughable GODZILLA remake), so it has super-realistic special effects. The film "explores" the concept of a global "doomsday event" coinciding with the end of the Mayan calendar's current cycle on December 21, 2012. This ridiculously over-the-top and very disturbing trailer is filled with earthquakes, fires, plane crashes, buildings collapsing, tidal waves, floods, explosions and every other type of horrifying image you'd ever NOT want to see happen in real life - so why the hell would anyone want to fork over $12 to watch this crap on the big screen? Isn't real life hard enough, that we have to be force fed "entertainment" like this? Sometimes I just hate Hollywood.

Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. The film opens on November 13, 2009 worldwide and will probably be a huge box office hit. I'll be home that night watching Season 5 of MARY TYLER MOORE, thank you.

No (Big) Post Today

Today I took "the day off" to go to Disneyland (a day after "Gay Days" ended). It was fun.

St. Franics of Assisi

Okay, what? Doug, the ex-Catholic blogging about a saint TWICE in one weekend? Well, yesterday when I posted my review of Sam Fuller's WHITE DOG, in which the unnamed dog attacks and kills a man inside of a church before a stained glassed window of St. Francis of Assisi –I had absolutely no idea that today (October 4th) was the animal-loving saint's "holy day"!
St. F of A was the founder of the Franciscan friars and is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment - so basically he's the coolest saint in my book. He's kind of like if Ed Begley, the Dog Whisperer and Dr. Doolittle merged and became a monk. So if you're gonna believe in any of that stuff they teach you in Catholic School or not - just go and be kind to an animal today (and every day) in honor of Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone.

Speechless

You want FAME? ... Well, FAME costs.

In a world full of disposable entertainment about the trials and tribulations of being a talented teen, i.e. AMERICAN IDOL, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and now GLEE, it's nice to see where this genre got it's start.
FAME (1980, directed by Alan Parker) was a gritty, realistic, R-rated Academy Award-winning film about a group of young entertainers struggling to make it through four years of New York's High School of the Performing Arts. The film was well written, expertly directed, wonderfully acted and featured some great music. I'll never forget Irene Cara's brave performance as Coco. Parker also directed powerful and poignant films like MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, SHOOT THE MOON, THE WALL, BIRDY, ANGEL HEART, MISSISSIPPI BURNING and ANGELA'S ASHES.
FAME (2009, directed by Kevin Tancharoen), on the other hand, is a weak blinged-out PG-rated re-imagining about a group of mostly annoying pretty people struggling to make us give a shit about them as they are berated by former sitcom stars over how talented or untalented they are. The hip-hop drenched soundtrack is joyless with the only good songs being the few swiped from the original film (and the enjoyable Black & Gold by Sam Sparro) Oh, and Tancharoen also directed a Britney Spears tour.
In between the two FAME films came a well-made weekly TV series that ran for six seasons (1982-87) and a short-lived spin-off/revival called FAME L.A. (1997-98). FAME also became a reality show (2003) and has been the basis for several stage musicals (FAME: THE MUSICAL, FAME ON 42ND STREET and FAME FOREVER).

Getting back to the current film version–which a saw this weekend as part of a birthday celebration for my good friend Dennis Hensley–it does have some merits. The opening titles were cool. It was good to see Debbie Allen included in the cast and the sampling of her famous inspirational mantra ("You want fame? ... Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying. With sweat.") was a nice touch, as too was the brief nod to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. I also think that Naturi Naughton (she plays Denise Dupree) has true star quality. Every time she is on screen, she shines.
But thanks to FAME (2009) I now know...
•....hand-held camera work doesn't guarantee grittiness - only nauseousness
•...there are no openly gay kids enrolled in the High School of the Performing Arts, unless you count the asexual boy who wants to be a ballet dancer.
• ...that it is always winter in New York City.
• ...where former sitcom stars (Charles S. Dutton of ROC, Megan Mullally of WILL & GRACE, Kelsey Grammer of FRAISER and Bebe Neuwirth of CHEERS) go to die.
• ...I will never request Ms. Mullally to sing "You Took Advantage of Me" when we go to karaoke together.
• ...every record producer, film producer and successful teen actor are out to take advantage of students from the High School of the Performing Arts.• ...all African American parents don't want their kids to be stars.
• ...it takes exactly four years to resolve things that arise on your first day of class as an incoming freshman.• ...the loser kid who is told he'll never be a star and should return home to the farm in Iowa can be featured front & center in the big finale.
• ...a tribute to THE LION KING is no replacement for running and jumping and dancing through the streets of New York City.

Did I hate FAME? No. Would I recommend it? Hell no. But if you are a big fan of the original and/or the TV series you should check it out at some point.

Celebrating My 550th Post

Anniversaries, birthdays, season premieres - it's like we're always celebrating something these days. Well, I've been busy celebrating all sorts of good things all weekend long, so I've fallen behind on my blogging. Enjoy this vintage cookbook spread while I regroup and figure out what the hell I'm gonna blog about tomorrow.

When TV Stars Sing - Part 3

I conclude my look at the vocal adventures of TV stars with a batch of vinyl gems from the ladies of action shows.MOD SQUAD star Peggy Lipton released a eponymous LP of mod tunes in 1968. Among the ditties on this disc was a little something by the great songwriter Laura Nyro: Stoney End, which was later famously and fabulously covered by a certain someone named Barbra.Not sure what this is, I'm thinking it's a reissue of the above album with an attempt to cash in on her sudden MOD SQUAD fame.
This single was released in 1970 and was written by Donovan (Mellow Yellow).
Peggy recorded another Nyro tune, Lu in 1970. This was the last recording made by the lovely Lipton to date. After the MOD SQUAD, Peggy married record producer Quincy Jones. Their beautiful and talented daughter, Rashida Jones has starred on TV in THE OFFICE and more recently PARKS & RECREATION.The late Farrah Fawcett (Majors) released a self-titled album in 1977 during the peak of her CHARLIE'S ANGELS fame. Not sure what songs she recorded. Can't really find any info on it other than the fact that it did exist. Wish I owned it.
In 1978, Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah, and she was already a professional singer, having recorded vocals for Hanna-Barbera's JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS earlier in the decade. This single featured the B-side Here is a Song for those people who were confused as what exactly was recorded on that piece of vinyl.
Cheryl donned her cowboy boots in 1979 for Missing You and Thunder in the Distance. Is it me or do the B-sides always sound much more intriguing than the A-sides?And evidently it was imported to Japan.
An finally, we have 1978's Portrait by Lynda Carter. Yes, the WONDER WOMAN star recorded an album of songs–two of which she performed on the series.In 1980 she released a single called The Last Song. This was not accurate since Linda continued to sing, both on television and in acclaimed concert appearances.
After WONDER WOMAN was cancelled, CBS awarded her with a string of musical specials: Lynda Carter's Special (1980), Encore! (1980), Celebration (1981), Street Life (1982) and Body And Soul (1984). After several years of performing on the cabaret circuit, the still-stunning Ms. Carter released a second album entitled At Last earlier this year. Suck on that Sally Field! (see Friday's post).

When TV Stars Sing - Part 2

Continuing the trend that began in the 1960s, sitcom stars of the 70s also tried their hands at recording careers.
Doubtlessly inspired by the success of their Friday night neighbors, THE BRADY BUNCH boys all attempted to capture the success that THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY's David Cassidy had. In 1972, Barry Williams a.k.a. Greg Brady a.k.a. Johnny Bravo released something called Sweet Sweetheart. Sounds sweet. Williams later became a Broadway star (I regrettably saw him in something called ROMANCE, ROMANCE) and released an album titled The Return of Johnny Bravo in 1999.
Also in 1972 Paramount Records put out Meet Chris Knight - Over... whatever that means. Either Over... was a song title or instructions on what to do with the record once you played side one.In 1973, Peter Brady teamed up with Marcia, Marcia, Marcia for Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick. Jan must have been so jealous - after all she was Peter's "twin", not Marcia! Maureen had previously recorded a solo single with the songs Truckin' Back to You and the provocatively titled Teeny Weeny Bit (Too Long). She released a string of singles over the next few years. More than twenty years later McCormick released her first solo album, a country CD called When You Get a Little Lonely (1995). In 1997 she played country singer Barbara Mandrell in the television biography GET TO THE HEART: THE BARBARA MANDRELL STORY.
Not to be left out, the youngest Brady boy, Bobby released a single on Capitol Records in 1973 called Love Doesn't Care Who's In It with Gum Drop on the B-side. I wish I was just one song called Love Doesn't Care Who's In The Gum Drop.
No relation to Barry, HAPPY DAYS star Anson Williams (Potsie Webber) had a single in 1977 called Deeply. His co-star Donny Most (Ralph Malph) had a whole album (not pictured).
In 1976, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams recorded an entire album of songs sung in character as loudmouth Milwaukee beer factory employees. Fun!
Later in 1979, their friends Lenny & Squiggy got their shot with Lenny & Squiggy Present Lenny & the Squigtones on Casablanca Records-the label who gave us Donna Summer and KISS!
Meanwhile, Jimmie JJ Walker had an album called Dyn-o-mite! I think this might have been a comedy record, but I'm including it anyhow. Jimmie's GOOD TIMES co-star Ralph Carter had a minor singing career (remember, he appeared courtesy of RAISIN) and a little-known castmember by the name of Janet Jackson also later scored a recording contract. Next up...it ain't over till the dramatic TV actresses of the 70's sing.