1955
Return of Television Legends
July 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
Leonard Goldenson
October 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Leader. Visionary. Gentleman.
Leonard Goldenson. The founder of ABC.
In the early years of television, NBC and CBS had glamor, prestige, and history.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had marquee A-list talent.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had their blueprints for running a television network based on their predecessor radio networks.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
A leader who gained the trust of his business partners, the loyalty of his staff, and the admiration of his competitors.
A visionary who took a struggling, unstable, third-rate television network and shaped, built, and transformed it into a massive media force.
A gentleman who knew everyone’s name in the building, from the executive suite to the janitorial staff.
Leonard Goldenson could see around corners where his competitors could not even see the corners.
But this commentary is not about Leonard Goldenson’s business instincts.
It is not about ABC’s groundbreaking programming during his reign -- Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, Roots.
It is not even about television.
It is about one man’s dream to make the world better for those in need.
Leonard Goldenson’s oldest daughter, Genise, was born in 1943 with cerebral palsy. Soon, Leonard and Isabelle Goldenson met Jack and Ethel Hausmann. The Hausmanns faced a similar circumstance.
As he did so often in building ABC into a media colossus, Leonard Goldenson saw opportunity where others saw obstacles. While Leonard Goldenson’s power opened doors to the political, cultural, and business elite, other doors remained closed, unanswered, or slammed in the face.
People were ignorant, cruel, or just plain unknowing about treating the disabled both medically and personally.
The Goldensons and the Hausmanns joined to form United Cerebral Palsy in 1948. They formed the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation in 1955. Because of the framework established by the Goldenson and Hausmann families, researchers developed the first fetal heart monitor, isolated the rubella virus, and took the first steps towards conquering neonatal jaundice.
Behind every great man, there’s a woman. And Isabelle Weinstein Goldenson was no ordinary woman. Concerning the lives of the disabled, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her passion for improving the conditions, treatment, and access regarding disabled people led to new laws that seem simple in retrospect, but revolutionary at the time of their respective creations.
Buses allowing wheelchair access with special steps.
Ramps at crosswalks and public buildings.
Handicapped Only parking spaces.
This commentary does not begin to scratch the surface of the societal contributions of Leonard Goldenson and his wife, nor does it pretend to.
These are just the headlines.
david@davidkrell.com
Leader. Visionary. Gentleman.
Leonard Goldenson. The founder of ABC.
In the early years of television, NBC and CBS had glamor, prestige, and history.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had marquee A-list talent.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had their blueprints for running a television network based on their predecessor radio networks.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
A leader who gained the trust of his business partners, the loyalty of his staff, and the admiration of his competitors.
A visionary who took a struggling, unstable, third-rate television network and shaped, built, and transformed it into a massive media force.
A gentleman who knew everyone’s name in the building, from the executive suite to the janitorial staff.
Leonard Goldenson could see around corners where his competitors could not even see the corners.
But this commentary is not about Leonard Goldenson’s business instincts.
It is not about ABC’s groundbreaking programming during his reign -- Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, Roots.
It is not even about television.
It is about one man’s dream to make the world better for those in need.
Leonard Goldenson’s oldest daughter, Genise, was born in 1943 with cerebral palsy. Soon, Leonard and Isabelle Goldenson met Jack and Ethel Hausmann. The Hausmanns faced a similar circumstance.
As he did so often in building ABC into a media colossus, Leonard Goldenson saw opportunity where others saw obstacles. While Leonard Goldenson’s power opened doors to the political, cultural, and business elite, other doors remained closed, unanswered, or slammed in the face.
People were ignorant, cruel, or just plain unknowing about treating the disabled both medically and personally.
The Goldensons and the Hausmanns joined to form United Cerebral Palsy in 1948. They formed the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation in 1955. Because of the framework established by the Goldenson and Hausmann families, researchers developed the first fetal heart monitor, isolated the rubella virus, and took the first steps towards conquering neonatal jaundice.
Behind every great man, there’s a woman. And Isabelle Weinstein Goldenson was no ordinary woman. Concerning the lives of the disabled, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her passion for improving the conditions, treatment, and access regarding disabled people led to new laws that seem simple in retrospect, but revolutionary at the time of their respective creations.
Buses allowing wheelchair access with special steps.
Ramps at crosswalks and public buildings.
Handicapped Only parking spaces.
This commentary does not begin to scratch the surface of the societal contributions of Leonard Goldenson and his wife, nor does it pretend to.
These are just the headlines.