I am rooting for the A's ...
Also, I love television ...
I am so thankful that, in this glorious age of Internet, I needn't face this Sophie's choice ...
Spoiler alert ... I already know how this comes out ...
I love these #freakinweekend posts. They are when the HP feels most clubhousey to me ...
Friday, May 26, 1972: A's 4, White Sox 2. Six thousand, six hundred and sixty-six people turn out at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium to watch the home team pick up a game on American West-leading Chicago. Ken Holtzman, acquired from the Cubs in exchange for Rick Monday during the offseason, goes all nine, and Reggie Jackson, who followed Monday in center field at Arizona State and was Oakland's second-ever first-round draft choice in 1966 (after Monday in 1965), homers and singles, scoring the first and last of the four A's runs. Chicago and Oakland, now separated by only a half game in the division, are NBC's game of this 1972 week, and I am so happy to be BackToBaseball.com.
ReplyDeleteIMDB.com lists the writing credits on this episode of Sanford and Son, "We Were Robbed," as Aaron Ruben (teleplay), Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (creators of Steptoe and Son, which was the British series on which Sanford and Son was based, and writers "Robbery With Violence," probably the equivalent episode of Steptoe and Son) and Norman Lear (developer).
ReplyDeleteSo it seems like the deal is here that Ruben, who was one of the creators of The Andy Griffith Show and wrote several of those episodes (like the one where Andy and Helen go on a picnic, only to be constantly interrupted, and the one where Floyd gets into a long-distance romance where both he and the woman have deceived the other into thinking each is rich), recycled a British script for the U.S. audience. One of the things that comes up in this Sanford and Son is the characters repeat a turn of phrase (in particular, "we were robbed"). That's a trick that came up on Andy Griffith a good bit, too.
ReplyDeleteThe Zen Diaries of Garry Handling is really, really good. He got his big start in Hollywood writing scripts for Sanford and Son.
ReplyDeleteIn this episode, we were learn that Sanford and Son Salvage is said to be at 9114 South Central Avenue in Los Angeles. That site appears today to be across the street from a drive-in restaurant called "Louisiana Fried Chicken/Chinese Fast Food."
ReplyDeleteThe actual storefront shown in the opening credits of Sanford and Son was elsewhere in Los Angeles, and here is a simply fantastic article, at IAmNotAStalker.com, piecing together its whereabouts.
So it turns out that this rerun of Partridge Family that ABC rolled out May 26, 1972, is just an absolutely crucial relic of American history. So much to say ...
ReplyDeleteBut I will have to say it later. Shortly after typing that last paragraph, the wife woke up. The daughter had a but I will have to say it later. Shortly after typing that last paragraph, the wife woke up. The daughter had a sleepover at a friends house, so we got to have a sleep-in morning. My wife woke up to my typing and listening to the Partridge family episode on headphones. She said it sounded like I was playing a Partridge family video game. I went through all of the ball-of-string Comments that I intended to type here, but then she just kept making video-game noises the whole time I was talking.
ReplyDeleteThis episode is called "Whatever Happened to Moby Dick?" It was written by Peggy Chandler Dick, who also did a bunch of Hazels, Dennis the Menaces and other shows. She was married to an actor you almost certainly will recognize, David Dick, and he grew up in Versailles!
ReplyDeleteThe episode takes place at Marineland of the Pacific, which, per Wikipedia, was "a public oceanarium and tourist attraction located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast in Los Angeles County, California, USA ... Marineland operated from 1954 until 1987, when it was purchased by the owners of SeaWorld San Diego. The new owners moved the popular killer whales and other animals to their San Diego facility and abruptly closed Mainland."
ReplyDeleteMore Wikipedia: "After Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (the owner of the SeaWorld ocean park family) purchased the facility in December 1986, Orky and Corky were moved to SeaWorld's San Diego park, where Corky was given the new name of 'Shamu'. Although the company had promised to keep Marineland open, it was suddenly closed in February 1987, six weeks after the sale was completed. The animals were trucked out in the middle of the night, and the new owners poured concrete into the drains so the park could not be reopened. Many local residents complained about the sudden closure."
ReplyDeletePer TV Guide, Orky and Corky were the whales who featured prominently in this Partridge Family.
ReplyDeleteAlso featuring prominently in the episode was Bert Convy, who played a zoologist or some kind of scientist at Marineland named Dr. Whelander. Convy is going to turn up in two episodes next Partridge Family season, not as Dr. Whelander but as Richard Lawrence--first as an unsuccessful political candidate with a teen-age daughter and a romantic interest in Mrs. Partridge and then, three months later, as an old flame of Shirley's who has an 11-year-old daughter. Coach Noles once referred to Bert Convy as "kind of a pretty man," and I can't really disagree with that.
ReplyDeleteThis episode also features Howard Cosell, whose ABC career is just absolutely blowing up.
ReplyDeleteIt's not tonight's rerun, but Howard Cosell was also in an Odd Couple.
DeleteLove it that they were having fondue at the poker game.
DeleteTony Randall, praising Neil Simon's writing on "The Odd Couple:" "When amateurs do it, they get the same laughs that Jack and I do."
DeleteTiger Beat also had a very strong report on Bert Convy's, Howard Cosell's and the Partridges' visit to Marineland of the Pacific.
ReplyDeleteIt, the TV Guide article and many of these other facts I learned by exploring a simply terrific website, C'mon, Get Happy.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to think about everyone hanging out and maybe staying over at Marineland of the Pacific, and it's fun to think about what I might order for supper tonight if I was eating in the dining room there.
ReplyDeleteTonight 1972's Brady Bunch rerun is the famous "pork chops-and-applesauce" episode.
ReplyDeleteOwensboro's Florence Henderson and Robert Reed were fantastic together.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to think about the A's hanging out at their houses in Oakland before the game with the White Sox on May 27, 1972, maybe listening to Casey Kasem.
ReplyDelete40. Rocket Man, Elton John (song's first appearance on American Top 40)
ReplyDelete39. I’ve Been Lonely For So Long, Frederick Knight (never heard this one)
38. I Need You, America
ReplyDelete37. You Could’ve Been a Lady, April Wine (also don't remember this one)
36. Lean On Me, Bill Withers (debut, not my favorite of his, but I do love Bill Withers)
35. Love Theme from The Godfather, Andy Williams (I'm planning a special Movies 1972 Episode of #freakinweekend, and, for it, I plan to finally see The Godfather)
I just saw the Godfather recently for the first time. It's OK.
DeleteOK, good, now I don't feel such pressure to have to watch.
Delete34. Someday Never Comes, Creedence Clearwater Revival
ReplyDelete33. Old Man, Neil Young
32. Isn’t Life Strange? Moody Blues (a little surprised to discover a Moody Blues hit I don't remember, given how much they were played by my older brothers when I was growing up)
31. Amazing Grace, Pipes and Drums and the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard (debut, No. 1 song in the UK)
ReplyDelete30. Ask Me What You Want, Millie Jackson (favorite song on the countdown thus far)
29. Troglodyte, Jimmy Castor Bunch (debut)
28. Out of Space, Billy Preston (new favorite of the countdown thus far)
Except the name of the song is "Outa-Space."
Delete27. Vincent, Don McLean (heard and enjoyed this song for 30 years before realizing it was about Vincent Van Gogh)
ReplyDelete26. Rockin’ Robin, Michael Jackson
25. Taxi, Harry Chapin (fantastic song, of course, and a beautiful video I'd never seen before)
24. Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne
ReplyDelete23. Back Off Boogaloo, Ringo Starr
22. Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard, Paul Simon
So I've been listening a good bit to the Paul Simon solo record on which this song appears. It was really his second solo record. But the first one was released in 1965 in the UK while Simon and Garfunkel was still together, so this album seems to be his first true effort of his own particular vision, though with contributors (as opposed to something where he is creating songs into a joint vision he shared with Art Garfunkel).
I love the album. "Duncan" is about as perfect a lyric that as has ever been written, for my money. And I love stuff like "Armistice Day" where Paul Simon seems to be exploring his love for the pure sound of words and various musical instruments and styles, not so much the literal meaning of the words, for example. "Armistice Day, Armistice Day/that's all that I really wanted to say" is such a nakedly lovely piece of driftwood for a chorus, coming from a guy who has been so widely (and correctly) hailed as such a brilliant lyricist.
"Me and Julio" ... hey, it's not my favorite. But it's obviously such a great, enduring, infectious pop song. And what is so interesting about it to me is how much of a signature style Simon and Garfunkel had and then how definitively different a signature Paul Simon has, right from the start in Paul Simon. I mean, it's incredible how close 1972's "Me and Julio" already sounds to 1986's Graceland but how suddenly different it sounds to 1970's Bridge over Troubled Water.
I saw Paul Simon talking to David Letterman on his NBC show once, so this must've been the early 1980s. It was after the big Central Park concert reunion success. David Letterman was talking to him about how much he felt the listening public wanted Paul Simon to perform with Art Garfunkel again. And there was a sentimentalism/nostalgia David Letterman was speaking in, which I'm totally down with. But that tone was lost on Paul Simon. I remember his response being something about how he was interested in maybe doing new material with Art Garfunkel because of how their voices had aged over the last 10/15 years and what songs he might be able to create leveraging these changed instruments. For a guy who so loved Mickey Mantle, who wrote about high-school yearbooks and who famously looked "back on all the crap I learned in high school"--the laureate who entered into this nation's history the question, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"--it was interesting that he didn't seem to get at all that what Letterman was begging for was to sit misty eyed and hear good, old Simon and Garfunkel just one more time. Paul Simon was imagining only what he and Art Garfunkel could create new together now.
21. I Saw the Light, Todd Rundgren (why does this song stay so fresh?)
ReplyDelete20. Walking in the Rain with the One I Love, Love Unlimited (don't remember ever hearing this one, excellent speaking appearance by Barry White at the end)
19. Diary, Bread
18. Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond
ReplyDelete17. It’s Going To Take Some Time This Time, Carpenters
16. Slippin into Darkness, WAR
15. Daydreaming, Aretha Franklin (such a pretty song that brilliantly sounds like someone daydreaming)
14. Betcha By Golly Wow, Stylistics
13. Little Bitty Pretty One, Jackson 5
12. Last Night I Couldn’t Get To Sleep At All, Fifth Dimension (1980s stereo equipment is beautiful)
11. Nice To Be With You, Gallery
10. Hot Rod Lincoln, Commander Cody
ReplyDelete9. Sylvia’s Mother, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
8. I Gotcha, Joe Tex
7. Tumbling Dice, Rolling Stones
6. Morning Has Broken, Cat Stevens
5. Candy Man, Sammy Davis Jr. (this is one of the first songs I can remember hearing out and about in the culture; I still like it, and I'm thankful for it breaking a dry run of songs on the countdown for me personally)
4. Look What You Done For Me, Al Green (Casey especially likes this one)
3. First Time Ever Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack (love her, LOVE HER)
2. I’ll Take You There, Staples Singers (love this, too ... strong finish here to the countdown ...)
1. Oh Girl, Chi-lites (excellent song ... strong top five ... satisfying ... thank you, Casey!)
I am rooting for Mario Andretti in the Indianapolis 500.
ReplyDeleteDespite the commonly held assumption (among me) that the "wings" on Indianapolis 500 cars are there because they make them look sharp and space-agey, the truth is that they are intended to work in reverse effect of airplane wings--pushing the car down, particularly in curves, and, therefore, allowing drivers to more safely go faster.
ReplyDelete1972 appears to be the debut of wings at the Indianapolis 500, though they've been in the race's logo since inception.
ReplyDeleteAll 33 qualifiers for the 1972 race were faster than the 1971 pole sitter.
ReplyDeletePole-sitter Bobby Unser of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the early leader. A.J. Foyt of Houston is way back in the pack, as his engine wouldn't start until most everyone else was already one lap ahead.
ReplyDeleteUnser's engine is dead!
ReplyDeleteGary Bettenhausen of Tinsley Park, Illinois, is our new leader, and now Foyt's engine is smoking.
ReplyDeleteFoyt, a three-time winner, is out.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Bettenhausen--does he become the annual hard-luck story that Jim McKay was always talking about?--is out, too.
Now our leader is Jerry Grant of Escondido, California. But then he has a mess up on timing of pit stops, and that allows Mark Donahue of Media, Pennsylvania to the fore.
Wait! What? Mark Donahue won? I don't even remember hearing of that dude.
ReplyDeleteYes, congratulations to Mark Donahue.
ReplyDeleteBut also rest in peace. He wrecked in a practice session for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. A track marshal was killed, and Donahue died later. He is buried in Summit, New Jersey.
Also, rest in peace, Jim Malloy of Columbus, Nebraska.
DeleteMy man Mario of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, ran out of fuel again, after 194 laps, and this time he couldn't keep it going. He finished eighth.
ReplyDeleteSuper Wikipedia: "On race morning, track president Tony Hulman was talking with William F. Harrah, owner of Harrah's. Jim Nabors was accompanying Harrah as a guest at the race. Hulman recognized Nabors, and asked him if he wanted to "sing the song" during the pre-race ceremonies. Believing that Hulman was talking about "The Star-Spangled Banner", Nabors agreed, and walked over to arrange with the Purdue Band. Nabors asked the band leader what key they were going to play, and it was not until that moment that he was informed he was going to be singing "Back Home Again in Indiana". A surprised Nabors quickly wrote the lyrics down on a piece of paper, climbed up on a ladder, and performed the song unrehearsed. It was the beginning of a tradition that would see Nabors perform the song at Indianapolis nearly every year through 2014."
ReplyDeleteAnd here's some great home-movie footage of the race, effectively played to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name."
DeleteAnd then Joey Ramone's version of "What a Wonderful World" and the Cure's "In Between Days."
DeleteA couple of things about the Sunday-evening, May 28, 1972, ABC News broadcast embedded in the post here:
ReplyDelete-- Based strictly on the coverage here of President Nixon and Democratic challengers Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, I feel pretty certain I would've been voting come November for the incumbent.
-- That the Soviet Union had only one known Protestant church is (still) astounding. I love church. I was 32 before I started attending one regularly, and I'm 49 now. I certainly hope I never have to live anywhere that at least one isn't available to me.
Gorgeous ABC Wide World of Sports promo amid a Dick Caveat from May 1972.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the New Dick Van Dyke Show episode that reran on May 26, 1972, but I like it. This one originally aired Jan. 15, 1972.
ReplyDeletePart of the story has Dick Preston attending a Phoenix Suns game. The (real) 1971-72 Suns went 49-33 in their fourth season. That was their best-ever record, and it was fifth best in the Western Conference, just missing qualifications for the playoffs. WKU's Clem Haskins averaged 15.7 points per game in his first season in Phoenix, and the Suns were the only team in the NBA to beat the Los Angeles Lakers as many as two times (in six tries) until the Western Conference finals. There, the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks also got two wins against the Lakers (in six tries), and then the Lakers whipped the NBA70-champ New York Knicks in the NBA finals, four games to one.
May 27, 1972: A's 6, White Sox 3. Jim Hunter throws a complete game.
ReplyDelete