The Love Boat
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.
Hotel
January 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”
The Legacy of Soupy Sales
October 26, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
When Soupy Sales died last week on October 22nd, his obituaries focused on his hallmark -- throwing a pie in someone’s face on his television show.
But the legacy of Soupy Sales is not the elevation of pie throwing to a comedic art form.
The legacy of Soupy Sales can be summed up in one word -- work.
Although best remembered as the host of a baby boomer children’s television show bearing his name, Soupy Sales also enjoyed fixture status on the syndicated version of What’s My Line?
He appeared on other game shows in addition to guest starring on popular television shows -- The Beverly Hillbillies, Route 66, Love, American Style, Burke’s Law, The Love Boat, Wings.
He gave radio a shot in the 1980’s with a stint on WNBC-AM in New York City.
And he served as host of the mid-1970’s Saturday morning children’s game show Junior Almost Anything Goes -- a spinoff of the mid-1970’s prime time game show Almost Anything Goes.
Soupy Sales. More than just a pie in the face.
david@davidkrell.com
When Soupy Sales died last week on October 22nd, his obituaries focused on his hallmark -- throwing a pie in someone’s face on his television show.
But the legacy of Soupy Sales is not the elevation of pie throwing to a comedic art form.
The legacy of Soupy Sales can be summed up in one word -- work.
Although best remembered as the host of a baby boomer children’s television show bearing his name, Soupy Sales also enjoyed fixture status on the syndicated version of What’s My Line?
He appeared on other game shows in addition to guest starring on popular television shows -- The Beverly Hillbillies, Route 66, Love, American Style, Burke’s Law, The Love Boat, Wings.
He gave radio a shot in the 1980’s with a stint on WNBC-AM in New York City.
And he served as host of the mid-1970’s Saturday morning children’s game show Junior Almost Anything Goes -- a spinoff of the mid-1970’s prime time game show Almost Anything Goes.
Soupy Sales. More than just a pie in the face.
Uncle Miltie's Lifetime Contract
September 03, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
When did Milton Berle debut as the host and star of Texaco Star Theatre on NBC?
Before.
Before Jackie Gleason introduced Ralph Kramden.
Before Lucille Ball began a 20+ year career on network television sitcoms bearing the shortened version of her name -- Lucy.
Before Phil Silvers showed the art of con artistry as Sergeant Ernie Bilko.
Milton Berle was the first television star. He made his television debut in 1948.
Berle had a rich history in show business prior to 1948. He started at the age of five in silent movies.
Vaudeville, nightclubs, and films followed.
Berle's deep experience as a Master of Ceremonies in nightclubs gave him a nice foundation for keeping the attention of the live audience of Texaco Star Theatre, a variety show.
And Berle dominated America's attention in the infant days of television on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm.
A television soon became a household necessity, not merely a luxury, thanks to Uncle Miltie.
And it replaced radio as the primary medium of entertainment.
With relatively little competition, Berle was a sensation.
So sensational that NBC gave him a lifetime contract.
Signed on May 3, 1951, the exclusive contract bound Berle to NBC for $200,000 per year for thirty years.
Locking America's Uncle Miltie into an exclusive deal showed the confidence that NBC had in its first television personality.
And it showed the confidence that Berle had in NBC.
The glory days of television looked endless with a corresponding limitless reign of its king.
But like all good things, it came to an end.
In 1953, the show changed sponsors.
The Buick-Berle Show a.k.a. The Milton Berle Show aired until 1956.
With increasing competition, Berle could never recapture the wonder of America that he enjoyed as the country's first television superstar.
Because of the exclusive contract with NBC, Berle could not appear on other networks.
And his program offerings diminished.
Jackpot Bowling was one of them.
To expand his possibilities, Berle renegotiated with NBC in 1965 and the exclusive contract became a non-exclusive contract. And the yearly salary of $200,000 became $120,000.
The end date of 1981 stayed.
Berle appeared rather steadily on television as a guest star during the remainder of the contract, including appearances on Here's Lucy, The Joey Bishop Show, The Mod Squad, Batman, Love, American Style, Mannix, and The Love Boat.
But the record will show that his greatest television contribution was his first. So great that he got a 30-year deal.
david@davidkrell.com
When did Milton Berle debut as the host and star of Texaco Star Theatre on NBC?
Before.
Before Jackie Gleason introduced Ralph Kramden.
Before Lucille Ball began a 20+ year career on network television sitcoms bearing the shortened version of her name -- Lucy.
Before Phil Silvers showed the art of con artistry as Sergeant Ernie Bilko.
Milton Berle was the first television star. He made his television debut in 1948.
Berle had a rich history in show business prior to 1948. He started at the age of five in silent movies.
Vaudeville, nightclubs, and films followed.
Berle's deep experience as a Master of Ceremonies in nightclubs gave him a nice foundation for keeping the attention of the live audience of Texaco Star Theatre, a variety show.
And Berle dominated America's attention in the infant days of television on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm.
A television soon became a household necessity, not merely a luxury, thanks to Uncle Miltie.
And it replaced radio as the primary medium of entertainment.
With relatively little competition, Berle was a sensation.
So sensational that NBC gave him a lifetime contract.
Signed on May 3, 1951, the exclusive contract bound Berle to NBC for $200,000 per year for thirty years.
Locking America's Uncle Miltie into an exclusive deal showed the confidence that NBC had in its first television personality.
And it showed the confidence that Berle had in NBC.
The glory days of television looked endless with a corresponding limitless reign of its king.
But like all good things, it came to an end.
In 1953, the show changed sponsors.
The Buick-Berle Show a.k.a. The Milton Berle Show aired until 1956.
With increasing competition, Berle could never recapture the wonder of America that he enjoyed as the country's first television superstar.
Because of the exclusive contract with NBC, Berle could not appear on other networks.
And his program offerings diminished.
Jackpot Bowling was one of them.
To expand his possibilities, Berle renegotiated with NBC in 1965 and the exclusive contract became a non-exclusive contract. And the yearly salary of $200,000 became $120,000.
The end date of 1981 stayed.
Berle appeared rather steadily on television as a guest star during the remainder of the contract, including appearances on Here's Lucy, The Joey Bishop Show, The Mod Squad, Batman, Love, American Style, Mannix, and The Love Boat.
But the record will show that his greatest television contribution was his first. So great that he got a 30-year deal.
The Love Boat
June 22, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
From 1977 to 1986, America went on vacation once a week, beginning with short jaunts to Puerto Vallarta and graduating to longer trips to other ports of call, including Alaska, Australia, and the Panama Canal.
America went on The Love Boat every Saturday night on ABC.
Perhaps we enjoyed the terrific diversity of guest stars.
Old-school actors -- Dana Andrews, Robert Vaughn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Current stars -- Kristy McNichol, John Ritter, Loretta Swit, Gene Rayburn.
Perhaps we enjoyed being whisked away via television to sun-soaked places during the frigid, winter months on the Pacific Princess, the setting for The Love Boat.
Perhaps we enjoyed the camaraderie of the crew members who supported, encouraged, and helped passengers through whatever problems arose on each cruise in addition to their own problems. At its base, The Love Boat was a workplace sitcom.
But we cannot overlook the hallmark of the show, perhaps its signature.
The theme song.
Jack Jones sang it for most of the show's run and Dionne Warwick sang it in the final season. Paul Williams and Charles Fox wrote the lyrics and music respectively.
The song set the tone beautifully for the show for three reasons.
First, the lyrics.
They're inviting the viewer to take a trip on The Love Boat with welcoming phrases like Come aboard, we're expecting you and Love won't hurt anymore, it's an open smile on a friendly shore.
The lyrics give the viewer a sense that he or she is taking a virtual vacation that will be safe, warm, and fun.
Second, the music.
It has the sound and feel of a song you might hear in one of the ship's lounge acts.
And third, Jack Jones.
He sings the song with feeling, belief, and enthusiasm. He makes you feel immediately welcome as if you were a real guest on the Pacific Princess.
Though Dionne Warwick sang the theme song in the final season of The Love Boat, the Jones version is the one uniquely associated with our television memory.
Other factors add to the appeal of The Love Boat theme song.
The guest stars that we saw in the animated life preserver at the beginning of the song.
The beautiful video of the Pacific Princess accompanying the song.
And the titles of the characters.
The show introduced the characters as they would on a real cruise -- Your Captain, The Ship's Doctor, Your Yeoman Purser, Your Bartender, Your Cruise Director.
The operative word is Your.
This technique reinforced the theme song's welcoming, safe, and relaxed aura that gave the viewer a sense that he or she is indeed a passenger on the Pacific Princess.
At least for an hour each week.
Anchors aweigh.
david@davidkrell.com
From 1977 to 1986, America went on vacation once a week, beginning with short jaunts to Puerto Vallarta and graduating to longer trips to other ports of call, including Alaska, Australia, and the Panama Canal.
America went on The Love Boat every Saturday night on ABC.
Perhaps we enjoyed the terrific diversity of guest stars.
Old-school actors -- Dana Andrews, Robert Vaughn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Current stars -- Kristy McNichol, John Ritter, Loretta Swit, Gene Rayburn.
Perhaps we enjoyed being whisked away via television to sun-soaked places during the frigid, winter months on the Pacific Princess, the setting for The Love Boat.
Perhaps we enjoyed the camaraderie of the crew members who supported, encouraged, and helped passengers through whatever problems arose on each cruise in addition to their own problems. At its base, The Love Boat was a workplace sitcom.
But we cannot overlook the hallmark of the show, perhaps its signature.
The theme song.
Jack Jones sang it for most of the show's run and Dionne Warwick sang it in the final season. Paul Williams and Charles Fox wrote the lyrics and music respectively.
The song set the tone beautifully for the show for three reasons.
First, the lyrics.
They're inviting the viewer to take a trip on The Love Boat with welcoming phrases like Come aboard, we're expecting you and Love won't hurt anymore, it's an open smile on a friendly shore.
The lyrics give the viewer a sense that he or she is taking a virtual vacation that will be safe, warm, and fun.
Second, the music.
It has the sound and feel of a song you might hear in one of the ship's lounge acts.
And third, Jack Jones.
He sings the song with feeling, belief, and enthusiasm. He makes you feel immediately welcome as if you were a real guest on the Pacific Princess.
Though Dionne Warwick sang the theme song in the final season of The Love Boat, the Jones version is the one uniquely associated with our television memory.
Other factors add to the appeal of The Love Boat theme song.
The guest stars that we saw in the animated life preserver at the beginning of the song.
The beautiful video of the Pacific Princess accompanying the song.
And the titles of the characters.
The show introduced the characters as they would on a real cruise -- Your Captain, The Ship's Doctor, Your Yeoman Purser, Your Bartender, Your Cruise Director.
The operative word is Your.
This technique reinforced the theme song's welcoming, safe, and relaxed aura that gave the viewer a sense that he or she is indeed a passenger on the Pacific Princess.
At least for an hour each week.
Anchors aweigh.
Cesar Romero
June 16, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Heath Ledger's chilling, sinister, and violent portrayal of the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture and a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Ledger continued the standard of excellence in portraying the character.
Jack Nicholson owned the role in 1989's Batman.
And Cesar Romero owned it in the 1960's camp version of the Batman franchise on ABC's Batman.
With his maniacal laugh, wide smile, and refusal to shave his mustache, Cesar Romero lit up the screen when he was the Special Guest Villain. White makeup somewhat covered up the mustache, but we could still see it. It added to the character's bizarre qualities.
But Cesar Romero did much more than embody the Joker, the character with the most guest appearances on Batman.
He was a serious dramatic actor with credits forming a terrific body of work, including the movie The Thin Man. He plays a villain opposite William Powell.
And he plays Duke Santos, a highly significant role in the 1960 Rat Pack movie Ocean's 11.
Santos is the fiancé of the mother of Jimmy Foster, played by Peter Lawford.
Santos is also a reformed gangster who figures out that Foster and his buddies pulled a New Year's Eve heist on five Las Vegas casinos. He becomes a thorn in their side as he pledges to the casino owners that he will get the money returned, provided he gets a percentage.
Besides Batman, Romero guest starred on several iconic television programs.
In an episode from the 1960's spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., he plays the head of U.N.C.L.E.'s rival spy agency T.H.R.U.S.H.
He played Gilberto, Chico's absentee father, in the Chico and the Man episode Chico's Padre.
He also guest starred on The Golden Girls, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Magnum p.i., The Love Boat, and Ironside.
In addition, Romero had recurring roles on Alias Smith and Jones and in Disney's Medfield College starring Kurt Russell.
He also played Peter Stavros for a few seasons of the 1980's CBS nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest.
But for baby boomers who saw the original 1960's television show Batman in its initial run and the Generation Xers who saw it in reruns, Romero's defining role is the Dark Knight's greatest villain -- the Joker.
david@davidkrell.com
Heath Ledger's chilling, sinister, and violent portrayal of the Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture and a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Ledger continued the standard of excellence in portraying the character.
Jack Nicholson owned the role in 1989's Batman.
And Cesar Romero owned it in the 1960's camp version of the Batman franchise on ABC's Batman.
With his maniacal laugh, wide smile, and refusal to shave his mustache, Cesar Romero lit up the screen when he was the Special Guest Villain. White makeup somewhat covered up the mustache, but we could still see it. It added to the character's bizarre qualities.
But Cesar Romero did much more than embody the Joker, the character with the most guest appearances on Batman.
He was a serious dramatic actor with credits forming a terrific body of work, including the movie The Thin Man. He plays a villain opposite William Powell.
And he plays Duke Santos, a highly significant role in the 1960 Rat Pack movie Ocean's 11.
Santos is the fiancé of the mother of Jimmy Foster, played by Peter Lawford.
Santos is also a reformed gangster who figures out that Foster and his buddies pulled a New Year's Eve heist on five Las Vegas casinos. He becomes a thorn in their side as he pledges to the casino owners that he will get the money returned, provided he gets a percentage.
Besides Batman, Romero guest starred on several iconic television programs.
In an episode from the 1960's spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., he plays the head of U.N.C.L.E.'s rival spy agency T.H.R.U.S.H.
He played Gilberto, Chico's absentee father, in the Chico and the Man episode Chico's Padre.
He also guest starred on The Golden Girls, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, Magnum p.i., The Love Boat, and Ironside.
In addition, Romero had recurring roles on Alias Smith and Jones and in Disney's Medfield College starring Kurt Russell.
He also played Peter Stavros for a few seasons of the 1980's CBS nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest.
But for baby boomers who saw the original 1960's television show Batman in its initial run and the Generation Xers who saw it in reruns, Romero's defining role is the Dark Knight's greatest villain -- the Joker.