June 29, 2020 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments
Any Time Spent with the Cunninghams Are Happy Days
Continuing the theme "Living in the Past: Timeless Comedies," we find ourselves transported to Milwaukee, WI in the 1950s getting to know the Cunninghams. Beginning September of 1984, Happy Days entertained fans for more than a decade, producing 255 episodes. When the show began, it was set in 1955, and when it went off the air eleven seasons later, it was 1965.
Photo: aceshowbiz.com
Garry Marshall developed the pilot which first aired on Love American Style in 1972 as "Love and the Television Set." The network wasn't interested in turning the pilot into a show when it first came up. However, once George Lucas released American Graffiti in 1973, also starring Ron Howard, ABC took another look at the period show. The first two seasons, the show focused more on Richie Cunningham as he interacted with his friends and family. Jerry Paris (Jerry Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show) directed 237 of the episodes. Happy Days was described as relentlessly ordinary. The plots revolved around the same types of problems most teens experienced in the fifties: dating, wanting to be popular, peer pressure, and similar experiences.
Richie's family includes his father Howard (Tom Bosley) who owns a hardware store, and his mother Marion (Marion Ross). Howard is a family man and is also loyal to his lodge. Marion is content to stay at home, except for a brief stint when she gets a job as a waitress at Arnold's. The cast also includes his younger sister Joanie (Erin Moran) and an older brother Chuck.
Photo: parade.com
Chuck would not be around long. At the end of the series, Tom Bosley says "he had the joy of raising two wonderful kids and watching them and their friends grow up into wonderful adults." Poor Chuck. His existence wasn't even acknowledged in the finale. When a character just disappears without an explanation, it is often referred to as the "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome."
Photo: sharetv.com
Richie's friends include Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) and Ralph Malph (Donny Most). Potsie, whose real name is Warren, was a singer. When Richie went into the Army so did Ralph. A famous catchphrase from the show was Ralph's uttering "I still got it!" after he told a joke. Richie's girlfriend is Lori Beth Allen (Lynda Goodfriend). She and Richie marry later in the series. The friends hung out at Arnold's and got to know Arnold (Pat Morita) well. They listen to a lot of music at the restaurant; Richie's favorite song was "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino. One fun fact about the drive-in was that the restrooms were labeled "Guys and Dolls." Eventually, Arnold sells the restaurant to Al (Al Molinaro).
Photo: nbcnews.com
The pilot included Ross, Howard, and Williams in their later roles. Harold Gould played the part of Howard and Susan Neher was Joanie. When the show got the go-ahead, Gould was involved in a play abroad and declined, so the role was given to Bosley.
Photo: businessinsider.com
Robby Benson and Donny Most were both under consideration for the role of Richie. They had appeared in a commercial for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups together. When Howard was given the role, the role of Ralph was created for Most.
There are several references during the show made about Ron Howard's past acting roles. One of these occurred when the family is leaving a theater where they watched The Music Man in 1962. Marion comments that she thought the little boy in the movie looked just like Richie when he was little. Howard did in fact play the role of Winthrop Paroo in The Music Man in 1962 when he was eight years old.
Photo: neatorama.com
There were two primary sets for the show: The Cunningham residence and Arnold's Drive-In. The real exterior of the house was in Los Angeles. However, Arnold's found its inspiration in The Milky Way Drive-In located on Port Washington Road in Glendale, WI, more recently Kopp's Frozen Custard.
Photo: hollywood.com
The ratings began to decline during the second season, so Garry Marshall made Fonzie (Henry Winkler) more involved in the show. Fonzie moved into the apartment above the Cunninghams' garage. Eventually he and Richie become best friends, and Fonzie is a basically a member of the family. Marion is the only person who is allowed to call him Arthur. Fonzie was also fond of Joanie and nicknamed her "Shortcake." His best-known catchphrase was "Heyyyy!" By 1976 the show was number one.
Photo: sidereel.com
In season four, Arnold sells his restaurant to Al (Al Molinaro). That same year, Fonzie's cousin Chachi (Scott Baio) comes to town. He would eventually fall in love with Joanie. After season nine, Ron Howard left the show, and Howard's nephew Roger (Ted McGinley) joins the cast as the new phy-ed teacher at the high school.
In season ten, Joanie and Chachi also leave the show; Moran and Baio starred in the spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi, but when the new show failed, both characters returned to Happy Days. Richie's leaving was explained by him joining the Army. In season 11 he returns briefly to learn his parents have obtained an interview for him with the Milwaukee Journal. Not wanting to hurt their feelings, he eventually admits his wish is to go to California and try his hand at screenwriting.
Photo: happydays.wikia.com
Some of the best-known guest stars include sports star Hank Aaron, singer Frankie Avalon, western star Lorne Greene, Brady kids Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight, legends Tom Hanks and Danny Thomas, and blonde beauties Morgan Fairchild, Charlene Tilton, and Cheryl Ladd.
The show's theme song was a new version of an old standard, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets. The theme was so popular it reached #39 in 1974; in real life, in 1955, the song had been a number one hit. Beginning in season three, a newer song, "Happy Days" was featured at the beginning of the show.
Photo: fanarttv.com
Amazingly, the show would be the source for a variety of spinoffs including Laverne & Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Joanie Loves Chachi, Blansky's Beauties, and Out of the Blue.
Once so many of the main characters began leaving the show, the writing was on the wall. "Jumping the shark" is an expression that was coined when The Fonz actually jumped a shark. It's a symbol for when a show grasps at straws to increase the ratings. Rarely is that type of exaggeration successful and it was not for Happy Days.
The show was so popular it never left its Tuesday night line-up. It aired at 8 pm EST for the first ten seasons and switched to 8:30 for its final season. However, the show had lost its magic, and the cancellation was inevitable. In fact, the show probably should have ended a season earlier. In addition to actors wanting to move on to new projects, the sixties were a very different time period than the fifties. The warm and fuzzy family themes that carried the show through the fifties and early sixties could not continue as the series had to survive the hippy era and the Vietnam War.
Photo: theweeklings.com
Although the show was a team effort, there is no denying that Winkler's portrayal of the Fonz was the most popular character of the decade and one of the most iconic in television history. After the show was cancelled, his leather jacket was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution for the National Museum of American History. A bronze statue of the Fonz was erected in Milwaukee in 2008 along the Milwaukee Riverwalk.
This character warrants a closer look. One of the people who auditioned for the role of Fonzie was Micky Dolenz from The Monkees. He was a lot taller than the other cast members, so he was bypassed while they looked for a shorter actor which ended in Winkler's hiring. Fonzie's real name is Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli. His grandmother raised him and his nickname was Skippy. His hero is The Lone Ranger, and he carries a picture of him in his wallet.
Photo: realtor.com
Winkler said he based some of Fonzie's movements and speech after Sylvester Stallone whom he had worked with in The Lords of Flatbush. The Fonz loved motorcycles, but Winkler decidedly did not, so most scenes were shot with the bike attached to a platform which was pulled by a truck, so Winkler never had to ride it. The cycle was the same model Steve McQueen rode in The Great Escape in 1963.
Photo: commonsensemedia.com
This show had a slew of catchphrases, and one of them came from The Fonz whenever he was trying to get someone to answer a question correctly. When they said the right answer, his response was "correctamundo."
Fonzie was adored by many kids, especially kids who needed some extra help or attention. Marshall was asked if the show could do something to help kids realize how important reading was. On one of the episodes, The Fonz went to the library and checked out a book, saying "Everybody is allowed to read." That week, library card registrations increased by 500%. During one day of filming, a call came to Paramount Studios. It was from a teenage boy who was contemplating suicide. He wanted to talk to Fonzie. Winkler picked up the call and gave the boy hope, convincing him not to take his life.
The only negative thing about Fonzie was the result he had on Winkler's future acting career. It took a long time before he could shake that image and be considered for other types of acting roles.
In 2019, the cast reunited to celebrate the life of Garry Marshall who passed away in 2016. In an article by Gina Vivinetto in Today on November 14, 2019, Donny Most discussed the cast. "We were so good at what we did because we respected each other and loved each other." He went on to say "we made it look easy and it wasn't."
In another article during that same event written by Zach Seemayer November 17, 2019], Williams and Howard both talked about the mentoring they received from Marshall. Williams said, "He really cared about us. More than as actors. He really inspired us to learn because he said [we might] wanna wear many hats." Howard also learned from his mentor, saying "Garry was a natural teacher and he loved collecting theories and axioms about life but also making a show. They were all hilarious but they all rang true and they were great lessons."
Both Howard and Winkler told writer Stephanie Nolasco of Fox News how they felt about each other and their time on Happy Days. Winkler had a hard time dealing with his sudden fame, and Howard was able to provide some grounding for him. Winkler described this time, "It's unnatural—the human condition does not prepare you for stardom. That's just the way it is. So, you have to hold on to yourself and then you've got friends like Ron who doesn't take it all seriously. I learned from him; he was my teacher. And Garry Marshall never took bad behavior from anybody. He was a father figure. He was very funny and very idiosyncratic, and then he was very strict."
UNITED STATES – JULY 10: HAPPY DAYS – Gallery – Season Two – 7/10/75 Fonzie (Henry Winkler) Richie (Ron Howard) Potsie (Anson WIlliams) and Ralph (Donny Most) (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
Winkler also discussed his friendship with Howard. "I think people gravitate to the Fonzie/Richie relationship because Ron and I are ten years apart. He was 19 and I was 27. We had a connection that you cannot describe in real life, and it was similar off-camera. He gave me my first mitt; I'd never played baseball before. He's my brother."
Howard echoed the sentiments. "We were fast friends from the beginning. It continues all these years later. It was exciting for me to work with Henry because he was really a trained actor who attended Yale Drama School; just a trained New York actor. And, I'd grown up sort of through the Hollywood television system, so for me to work with this guy who was so thoughtful, so creative, and yet so hilarious, was really an opportunity for me to learn and grow and we just clicked, you know."
UNITED STATES – AUGUST 11: HAPPY DAYS – "Get a Job" 2/25/75 Ron Howard, Henry Winkler (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
The entire cast spent a lot of time together and participated in softball events. Marshall put the league together with casts from other television shows partly to help keep actors out of trouble and away from drugs. Winkler described the cast being "very much like a family. I love them, I talk to them, I email them, and I see them."
Photo: thenewyorktimes.com
For eleven years Happy Days provided all of us with lovely memories of the Cunningham family and their friends. It is one of the best sitcoms of the 1970s and has held up beautifully in syndication. Life in the fifties was a fun and heart-warming time (at least on television), but all good things must come to an end, and Happy Days was no exception. The good news is we can get immersed back into the Cunninghams' lives whenever we want to. Eleven seasons provides for a lot of binge watching. Better make some extra popcorn.
The Audience Did Not Have a Good Time Watching The Goodtime Girls.
During our blog journey this month, we have gone back in time to Sherwood Forest and then sped forward to the 1860 Wild West. Today, as we continue with "Living in the Past: Timeless Comedies," we time travel 80 years ahead and land in Washington DC in 1942. When we arrive, we find ourselves in the midst of The Goodtime Girls, a show that debuted in 1980 and was created by Lenora Thuna in association with Garry Marshall's Henderson Productions and Paramount Television.
Photo: episodate.com
The women, all familiar stereotypes, live together in a small attic apartment. There is dumb-blonde Loretta (Georgia Engel), girl-next-door Betty (Lorna Patterson), level-headed Edith (Annie Potts), and arrogant Camille (Francine Tacker). They must learn to depend on each other and navigate life working in jobs to help aid the war effort.
Rounding out the cast were their landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge (Marcia Lewis and Merwin Goldsmith), their buddy Frankie (Adrian Zmed) who's a cab driver, and was rejected from military duty because of his flat feet, and his pal Benny (Peter Scolari). Frankie and Benny lived on another floor of the home.
Edith, Betty, and Loretta were living in the apartment and already feeling confined and crowded. Camille, a reporter, covering the plight of people dealing with a housing shortage in the capital, is then added by the landlords when she loses her apartment. Camille's personality didn't help her earn a warm welcome by the other women. Edith works for the Office of Price Admissions, Betty was at the US Secretary of War's office, and Loretta worked for General Culpepper (Richard Stahl) at the Pentagon. I was not sure what the Office of Price Admissions was. After a little research, I learned that it began in 1941 and was set up to establish price controls on nonagricultural commodities and rationing essential consumer goods during WWII. One of the first products to receive their ruling on rationing was automobile tires. The Office was disbanded in May of 1947.
The shortage of consumer goods and men didn't help the situation the women found themselves in either. Loretta was the only married tenant, but Edith is the one who tended to "mother" the other girls, doling out advice and wisdom. Frankie and Benny often joined the girls' adventures.
This was one of the few Garry Marshall series that didn't become a hit. Several guest stars appeared during the season including Happy Days' Scott Baio as Edith's brother and Laverne and Shirley's Michael McKean as a bitter soldier confined to a wheelchair.
The mostly forgotten theme song, "When Everyone Cared" was written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel.
Photo: nostalgiacentral.com
The show never connected with viewers. It began life on ABC on Tuesday nights following Happy Days which should have ensured its success. It tested very well with audiences. Rather than a fall debut, the show began January 22, 1980. After the February sweeps (older viewers will fondly recall the exciting sweeps month followed by "nothing new in March"), the show went off the air. Its competition was the White Shadow and a show I don't remember at all, California Fever. (The description on imdb was "Vince and Ross are suburban LA teenagers enjoying disco, surfing, cars, and the rest of the Southern California lifestyle. Musical Vince runs an underground radio station and mechanical Ross is into custom cars." It only lasted ten episodes, so I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't remember it.)
Goodtime Girls returned in April for three weeks on Saturday night and then was pulled again. Although the show was cancelled in May, five of the remaining episodes were aired in August on Friday nights. For some reason, episode 3, "Night and Day" was never shown.
I'm not sure why the show never caught on. It had a great cast but most viewers didn't appreciate the comic aspects of the show. Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy could get away with more slapstick routines than many shows airing in the eighties. At this time, M*A*S*H was still going strong, and if you were doing war humor, it would be a hard show to compete with. Maybe this show just seemed too banal and predictable. It was always discussed as being character driven; perhaps the characters were too typecast to be interesting.
As a noteworthy item of information, I don't think Betty and Camille got along much better after the show ended. Robert Ginty who was married to Francine Tacker for three years later wed Lorna Patterson only fifty days after his divorce became final. However, their marriage only lasted six years.
Unfortunately, the audience was not having as good a time as the cast. I have never seen the show in reruns, and there is no mention of a DVD ever having been released. Learning about so many shows that didn't make it helps us appreciate those series that became mega-hits. If nothing else, the demise of this show made it possible for Scolari to accept a role on Bosom Buddies.
Viewers Found Best of the West "So-So of the West"
June 8, 2020 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments
As we continue the "Living in the Past: Timeless Comedies," we travel back to the frontier for Best of the West. Like the show we discussed in my last blog, When Things Were Rotten, this series was also a rapid fire of gags, puns, and one-liners.
Westerns ruled the airwaves in the 1950s, but with the demise of Gunsmoke in 1975, the cowboys shows had all ridden off into the sunset. The Best of the West made its debut in 1981. The show, created by Earl Pomerantz, was a parody of the previous decades of oaters. Civil War veteran Sam Best (Joel Higgins) moves his family from posh Philadelphia to Copper Creek at the western border in 1865. He was not your typical western hero—more of a city slicker.
A store owner by trade, he knew little about guns or fighting. After arriving in the town, he accidentally scares off The Calico Kid (Christopher Lloyd), one of the "bad guys," and the townspeople lobby him to be their mayor.
Sam's nemesis is Parker Tillman (Leonard Frey), who runs the saloon with a slew of other bad guys, most notably his sidekick Frog Rothchild Jr. (Tracey Walter). With Sam are his southern belle wife Elvira (Carlene Watkins) and his smart-alecky son Daniel (Meeno Peluce). Sam is also friends with the town doctor, Jerome Kullens (Tom Ewell), who is a bit of a lush.
Sam reminds me a bit of F-Troop's Will Parmenter. He's a likable guy placed in a situation that he did not pursue. Sam's family is not happy in their new setting. They had gotten used to the comforts of a big city. Elvira is beside herself because she can never get the dirt off the floor, until Sam reminded her it was literally a dirt floor.
The plots on this show were a bit similar to many of the story lines we became familiar with from decades of westerns. In one show the doctor's mail-order bride is described as having a vivid personality with a past to match. In one episode, Sam and Tillman try to convince the railroad company to connect with Copper Creek. Another example is when Sam shoots himself in the leg and the jail begins to fall apart, and the town reconsiders his ability to lead them, or the classic tale of Elvira and Daniel exploring a cave that is booby-trapped and ready to collapse around them.
The show never seemed to catch on with viewers. It was hard to fault the writers. David Lloyd, Sam Simon, and Earl Pomerantz were working together on Taxi, and they would go on to write for Cheers in 1982.
Dixie Carter
The show also had some amazing celebrity guest stars: Dixie Carter, Chuck Connors, Andy Griffith, Al Lewis, and Betty White.
For a while, parodies like Airplane! were all the rage, and maybe the fad had just played out.
Perhaps, western fans, with their fond memories of growing up with Bonanza and The Rifle Man, just weren't ready to make fun of their childhood shows.
It was hard to find information about the show. As you can see in these photos, the majority of them came from imdb.com; there just aren't many photos out there otherwise.
ABC didn't outright cancel the show, but they took a lot of time trying to decide whether to renew it or not. In the meantime, Joel Higgins got tired of waiting and accepted the role of Edward Stratton on Silver Spoons. With the star gone and the ratings mediocre, the show ended after 22 episodes.
Silver Spoons would be the show that brought Joel Higgins success. However, he had an interesting career. He graduated from Michigan State with a degree in advertising. He went to work for General Motors for six months. When he enlisted in the Army, his title was Special Services Sergeant in Charge of Entertainment. This role seemed to redirect his path. Post-Army life, he was busy with both television roles and theater performances. He also started a business with two friends. They wrote more than 200 jingles for a variety of products, including Kool-Aid, M&Ms, Schwepps Soda, and Coors beer, as well as several themes for shows such as Life with Lucy, one of Lucille Ball's many shows.
The Calico Kid
His family members Carlene Watkins and Meeno Peluce never found their "Silver Spoons." Carlene had been on The Secret Empire in 1979. After Best of the West, she would go on to be part of the cast of five more shows–It's Not Easy, Mary, The Tortellis, Dear John, and Bob–none of which lasted very long. Peluce was part of the Bad News Bears from 1979-80 and later would land a regular role on Voyagers from 1982-83. He did make appearances on many shows, including Silver Spoons in 1984.
Photo: collider.com
Many viewers seem to have fond memories of this show. If you want to see what the show was like, CBS-DVD released the show as a manufactured-on-demand DVD in 2017. While this series might not portray the best of the west, it certainly was not the worst of the west either.
When Things Were Rotten: No "Happily Ever After" for this Tale
This month's series is "Living in the Past: Timeless Comedies." For our first blog, we travel back to the 12th century to Sherwood Forest to a time When Things Were Rotten. After viewing one episode of this show, you knew it could only have been created by the comic legend Mel Brooks. In this case, he had the help of John Boni and Norman Stiles.
Debuting in 1975 on ABC, Brooks considered what life would have been truly like if the legend was just hype, and Robin and his Merry Men were just a bunch of buffoons. The series has many of the traits found in Brooks' Blazing Saddles or Monty Python episodes.
Reading the list of brilliant cast members, this show seems like one that should have been a huge hit, but in reality, it only lasted for thirteen episodes. Based on its brief airing, perhaps Robert Klein was wise to turn down the role of Robin. Dick Gautier, who worked with Brooks on Get Smart, agreed to take on the role of the heroic leader. Henry Polic II played the Sheriff of Nottingham who always got taken in by the gang. Ron Rifkin is Prince John. Misty Rowe, known best for her Hee-Haw performances, is Maid Marian. The Merry Men were indeed merry, being made up of Bernie Kopell, Dick Van Patten, Richard Dimitri (who had a dual role as identical twin brothers), and David Sabin.
Of course, in this parody, slapstick is involved in every episode. The sight gags were always described as hilarious, and every script was full of great one-liners. It was definitely not everyone's cup of tea. For example, at times the sheriff was said to be barking mad and he would literally bark. In one episode, the "barking" sheriff asks Bertram to hang up some banners and a cutaway scene shows a husband, wife and two children on a wall saying, "Hi, we're the Banners." Another example is Richard the-Lion-Hearted coming ashore after the Crusades to be met by an umpire, yelling "Safe," at which point the sheriff shouts, "Kill the umpire." The humor came fast and furious at a rapid-fire pace. Brooks described the construction of the show by saying: "We took great liberties, and the writing was very crazy and funny."
Unlike some parodies, the production of the show was high quality with lavish costumes and sets. Every episode featured a well-known guest star. Dudley Moore appeared as a piano-playing sheik named Achmed Muhammad Ben Gazzara. Other stars included Carl Ballantine, John Byner, Sid Caesar, Paul Williams, and Mel Brooks himself. Brooks said his favorite episode was "The French Disconnection" starring Caesar as a French ambassador.
The theme song was written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse who had done the well-known theme for All in the Family as well as many composing for many popular musicals. The lyrics were:
"Once upon a time when things were rotten,
Not just food, but also kings were rotten.
Everybody kicked the peasants,
Things were bad and that ain't good,
Then came Robin Hood (Ba-bahh!)
"Soon a band of merry men he'd gotten,
They wore outfits made of plain green cotton,
Helping victims was their business.
Boy oh boy was business good —
Good for Robin Hood!
"They laughed, they loved, they fought, they drank,
They jumped a lot of fences.
They robbed the rich, gave to the poor —
Except what they kept for expenses!
"So when other legends are forgotten
We'll remember back when things were rotten.
Yay for Robin Hood!"
When Things Were Rotten was definitely a product of its time. Like Laugh-In or even Sesame Street, viewers had no time to reflect on a comment. Things moved at a frenetic pace. One of the New York Times critics, John O'Connor, timed the gags and noted there was a new one every fifteen seconds.
The critics gave the series great reviews and mentioned its inventiveness and quick humor. The ratings never backed up the praise however. Brooks had a different perspective. In an interview with Frank DeCaro in the New York Times (7-19-2013), Brooks discussed the show's ending. "The show was canceled, Mr. Brooks said, not because it failed to find an audience — 'The ratings weren't bad,' he insisted — but because, as a one-camera show, shot like a film, it just cost too much to produce. 'I was very happy with When Things Were Rotten,' he said. "We were on our way to doing 36 episodes, and then someone at Paramount called and said, 'Mel, could you do it as a three-camera show?' I said, 'You mean like "I Love Lucy"? Are you crazy?'" When the network pulled the plug, Mr. Brooks remembers, friends offered their condolences. 'Everybody said, 'I'm sorry it didn't work.' I said: 'It did work. It was just too expensive.'"
The same reason many viewers might still appreciate the show today is also one of the factors of its demise. The show depended on fans knowing a lot of pop culture knowledge. People who love cultural history would have a blast watching the show, but the younger generations whom don't have that database in the brain might feel disconnected.
Of course, the television schedule always has a lot of sway about whether a show is a hit or a flop. This show was on Wednesday nights. Its competition was Tony Orlando and Dawn and Little House on the Prairie. While Tony Orlando and Dawn was on its last legs and would not return in 1976, Little House on the Prairie was very popular. This was the second season for the show which had a huge audience; the show would continue until 1983.
Comedy legend Mel Brooks
The show might have ended, but Brooks could not let the concept go. In 1993, his film, Robin Hood: Men in Tights would continue the concept. In this version, Cary Elwes as Robin leads his men, but if you look closely, you might think The Abbot (Dick Van Patten) resembles Friar Tuck in When Things Were Rotten.
One interesting technological advancement is that a show like this typically would never have been released on DVD because of its short run. Now, however, manufactured-on-demand makes the show available on Amazon. It's the perfect length for a week-end marathon. You might realize that When Things Were Rotten, they were also pretty good and funny.