Classic TV Christmas Specials

I remember it like it was yesterday. Hearing the CBS intro music for their holiday specials like Frosty, The Grinch, Rudolph and more. I used to wait all year to watch those specials around Christmas. As if they were actually going to change plots or something I was GLUED to every frame of animation. I wonder if kids feel the same way today. With all the "On Demand" channels they really don't have to wait if they don't want to. I guess its just another of those outdated traditions that we have to hold close to our heart while the next generation develops their own. I can hear them now.....I used to keep Rudolph on my DVR all year and put a security code on it so no one could open it and watch it until December 24th! LOLOLOL.
As I sit here in my living room looking out at the 6" of snow we got on Christmas Day (A record Christmas Day snowfall for central NC by the way) I am reminded of how special this time of the year is for kids... the memories are still with me today. So in case you need a little "memory jogging"...here ya go.

Oh and make sure to listen to our upcoming shows. hoping for Stefanie Powers and maybe Peter Marshall.

Weve got Thindy Brady!!!

How excited are we that Susan Olsen a.k.a. Cindy Brady is stopping by on Tuesday December 21st just in time for the holidays! Make sure you bring your Brady questions as we go with Susan back to the early 70's and hear what the behind-the-scenes truths were about Americas favorite sparkly clean family where all family issues are solved in 30-minutes. If I'm lucky maybe she will let me borrow the pigtails. :) Ok that was stupid. Hee Hee.

Check us out at www.waitiknowthis.com or on Talkshoe.com where you just search for Wait, IKnow This!. Oh....and dont forget Itunes.

A HORRIBLE WAY TO BEGIN A DECADE

I will never forget that night in 1980 30 years ago today when I heard Howard Cosell make the announcement during Monday Night Football.
Just 16 years before, America was invaded by The Beatles and was taken by storm. Hard to believe that one insane fan could change rock-and-roll forever. I choose to remember him other ways.

Family Ties: A battle between the 60's and the 80's

I remember the first time I met Alex P. Keaton. It was a Thursday night in 1984 when I latched on to one of the smartest shows on NBC. It was the summer before I would leave for college and Alex Keaton struck a chord with me. Being too young to understand the social irony of an ultra-liberal set of parents who were in the Peace Corps and former war-protesters who have a son in the young republicans at college and President of his school and who carries a briefcase and personifies the "money chasing" 1980's.
The show was created by Gary David Goldberg and was originally to be centered around Steven and Elise, the parents...but the commanding performance of Michael J. Fox drew audiences to his character. I read that producers actually went to Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter Birney and said with the focus changing to Alex P. Keaton they would understand if they wanted to quit. Thankfully, they didnt and the show went on to 7 years of success. Family Ties was the 2nd highest rated show on television for the first few seasons and was in the top twenty during 6 of its 7 seasons.

Timmy is outta the well and ready for action!

I just want to thank our most recent guest the one, the only Jon Provost "Timmy" from the "Lassie" show! Make sure you listen to this interview for the backstage stories that give you the best trivia around. Jon talks about how the only reason his mom had him audition for the role was to meet June Lockheart!! HAHAHA. He also touches on how being a celebrity in those days is so much different than being one now. One of my favorite topics we touched on was how compensation from that era compares to the stars of today AND how some child actors had such a rough go of it in those days.
So go get your checkered shirt and jeans and whistle the opening to Lassie right before you listen to this interview. Just use the grey player on the left side of our homepage at www.waitiknowthis.com


(or you can skip the whistling part and just listen to it from this YouTube clip! :))

Leslie Nielsen will SHIRLEY be missed

Very sad to hear about the passing of an acting and comedic legend. For older fans Leslie Nielsen may be remembered more for his role in the 1956 sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet" but for younger fans we will remember him from the "Naked Gun" series and of course, "Airplane!".
Recently Nielsen was admitted to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital for pneumonia. Yesterday, Dr. Doug Nielsen, Nielsen's nephew, announced to a radio station that Nielsen had died in his sleep around 5:30 p.m. EST, surrounded by family and friends. He was 84 years old.
Here's a great collection of Leslie Nielsen moments.

ON THIS DATE (Nov 29)

1948 - "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie" debuted on NBC
1948 - 1st opera to be televised, "Othello," broadcast from the Met (NYC)
1963 - Beatles release "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
1968 - John & Yoko release their 1st album "Two Virgins" in UK
1969 - Beatles' "Come Together/Something" reaches #1

You may not recognize his face but I'll bet you know his work. When I researched Mr. Fox I found out that he wrote the themes for Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days and The Love Boat just to name a few.
And wait....that brings to mind a question I have had for years. What in the world was that saying that Laverne and Shirley said at the beginning of the theme. Listen to the YouTube video here if you've forgotten. I asked Charles that very question and he said it was a childhood saying that he and friends used to chant around the playgrounds! (Listen to the podcast for more details.)
You name em....he has worked with them. Everyone from Roberta Flack (for whom he wrote "Killing Me Softly") to Barry Manilow ("Ready To Take A Chance Again").



His book is a must-read. "Killing Me Softly" is basically a life-story and a career account of someone who has lived the dream of most composers. I love to hear how people got their start. It never ceases to amaze me how humble beginnings develop into such great careers. Charles is no exception. From the Bronx he rose to greatness through playing in many latin bands and working with the likes of Tito Puente. But his success with ABC really launched him into stardom. His creation of the famous ABC Wide World of Sports theme and the original Monday Night Football theme paved the way for the rest of his "must read" career.
Please take a listen to our time together on "Wait, I Know This!" and check out his book. You can see it on Amazon.com HERE.

June Foray Dies

Recently I was saddened bythe news of the passing of cartoon voice great June Foray. I interviewed her back in April of 2009 and she was fantastic!!! I truly believe she was one of the "unknown greats". And when I say that I mean NO disrespect to her....in fact quite the opposite. We ALL knew her work we just didnt know who it was. June was the voice of Natasha and Rocky the Flying Squirrel on Bullwinkle. She was also Rudolph in the stop-action classics we waited for on television every holiday season in the 60's and 70's.
I'll suggest that you listen to my interview with her to hear her wonderful stories but let me say this about June the person. She had more grace in her twilight years than just about anyone I have ever interviewed. She was a classy and sweet lady who deserves the world. I am proud to say that I got 30 minutes to spend with her. We all love her and her work...you are missed, Miss June. :(
Please check out the podcast when you can. Use the drop down menu on the player to the right and choose episode 23. Also here's the blog post as well. http://waitiknowthis.blogspot.com/2009/04/june-foray-our-time-with-legend.html

ON THIS DAY IN TELEVISION HISTORY

I love the little tidbits you can find online about history and in my case its always TELEVISION HISTORY. So here are a few online facts I dug up. Awesome.

1931 - NBC began putting a TV transmitter on top of the Empire State Building. The first experimental TV broadcast from the building was on December 22, 1931.

1978 - The movie "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" aired on NBC-TV.

1986 - The 100th episode of "Cheers" aired on NBC-TV.

1990 - The 100th episode of "Matlock" aired on NBC.

1992 - The Perry Mason TV movie "The Case of the Heartbroken Bride" aired.

You're a "senior citizen" Charlie Brown!

It is one of the most successful cartoon franchises of all time. The Peanuts gang warmed our hearts and made us laugh year in and year out since the 1950's. Creator Charles Schulz was the mastermind behind the cartoon strip that brought the likes of Linus, Lucy, Snoopy and Pig Pen into our world. From the psychiatric advice of Lucy to the "beyond-his-years" wisdom of Linus we all grew up feeling like we had we had a few extra friends in our childhood. This was an honor to chat with Jill Schulz, Charles Schulz's daughter about the beginnings of the strip.
I can tell you first hand that the moment I heard the music of the holiday Peanuts specials I was out-of-control with excitement. I used to check the TV Guide every week as Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas approached so as not to miss the Peanuts specials.
I hop you enjoy our chat with Jill as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. Until next time.... the doctor is in. Now give me my 25=cents. :)

CLASSIC 70's TV CHAT

Our last recording was a "free-for-all" where we discussed everything 70's TV. Everything from Mork From Ork to Laverne and Shirley was discussed. OH... heres your first trivia question to lead you into the last show. What do those two sitcoms have in common? Mork and Laverne and Shirley? Give up? Then listen to our latest show for your answer. (And its not Garry Marshall...although that would be a correct answer as well. Ha Ha)
Just use the player to the right and click on play. :)

Beverly Washburn: The celebrity you didn't know you knew!

Old Yeller, Star Trek, Jack Benny or Loretta Young...they all have connections with Beverly Washburn. If you don't know her name odds are you know her face. She has had more bit parts than you can shake a stick at and is one of those celebrities that everyone didn't know they knew!!
In addition, and even more importantly she is one of the sweetest and classiest actresses we have ever interviewed. Her stories of Jack Benny and Loretta Young are amazing. She was a child celebrity and worked with some of the greatest stars of classic television. Her stories are filled with classic trivia...oh, and be sure to ask her about what Trekkies say to her at conventions! Hilarious!

ALSO, make sure to check out her new book "Reel Tears" on Amazon.com at this LINK