Happy Days: A Look Back

I remember those weeknights back in the mid 70's when I couldn't wait to see my hero, The Fonz, walk into Arnold's and utter the sound that sent uproarious laughter up from homes all over the country. Looking back, I'm not sure why every sitcom character in the 70's and 80's had to have a catch phrase but they did. And no one did it better than Henry Winkler when he professed his approval with a resounding "Ayyyyyyyyyyyy".
By the way, you better be tough acting if your name is Henry Winkler. LOL.
Anyway, shows like Happy Days, All In The Family and Dallas were so popular that they were the birthplace of MANY a spin-off. All In The Family spun off Maude and The Jeffersons as well as the sequel Archie Bunker's Place. Happy Days spun off Mork and Mindy and Laverne and Shirley...not to mention Joanie Loves Cha Chi.
But it was also a birthing room for the future's stars and nothing cracks me up more than to see today's superstars in bit parts from the past.
Check out this You Tube video that I love where we see a young Tom Hanks give his best to de-throne The Fonz as the coolest guy around. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46oAEdudoDk
OR maybe you'd like to see a youthful David Letterman being even more aloof than his usual self in this rare glimpse of Letterman in his acting days with a small role on Mork And Mindy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFavsfq3wjo

I am forever trying to catch these moments when I watch old shows. I'm the guy who refuses to leave the movie theatre until ALL the credits are over in case I see someone in a bit part that I find int resting.

So I hope you enjoy these videos...thank God someone has the time and resources to put these nuggets on You Tube. If you find more of these please forward them to me by commenting here or sending me a message at echilton@waitiknowthis.com.

Happy surfing!!

The Andy Griffith Show

Well, its time to talk about one of my favorite shows of all time...The Andy Griffith Show. There is good reason for my love of this show...you see my hometown is Mount Airy, NC the actual hometown of Andy himself. In fact, I graduated from Mount Airy Senior High in 1984 and Andy graduated in 1944! The stories that fly through Mount Airy about Andy have survived decades and nowhere else is he more loved and appreciated. The show which sprung from a skit about a small-town sherrif without a gun on The Danny Thomas Show took on a life of its own. Here's a good trivia nugget. Did you know that The Andy Griffith Show has run continuously SOMEWHERE on television since its original run in the 1960's. I am currently the chief meteorologist/Host for the CBS affiliate in Greensboro, NC and we have run the show since it went into syndication. As a matter of fact we run it at 5:30 pm and it BEATS other newscasts! Needless to say I am a huge fan of Andy's and will always hold this show close to my heart. Let me reccomend catching it on TV Land whenever possible. Especially, "Opie The Bird Man" Episode number ....but bring a few tissues. Ron Howard hasn't made you cry like this since you were Opie's age.

This week on "Wait, I Know This" we will be chatting with a very special actress from "Mayberry" who actually MOVED to Mount Airy becasue of its small town charm and resemblence to the fictional town we love.

So be sure to tune in with all your questions. We hope to see you on Sunday night at 7pm eastern time. Until then keep whistling the theme. LOL

The Beautiful and Talented LANA WOOD

We were very excited to get the always beautiful Lana Wood as our first guest. Lana's career goes back to when she was 8-years-old and she is, to this day, one of the most remembered Bond girls. Her toss-from-the-window scene in "Diamonds Are Forever" is classic.

Lana was a regular on the steamy 1960's prime-time soap "Peyton Place" where she co-starred with a young Ryan O'Neal. Who, by the way, tried to date Lana but as she says in our interview, "He wasn't the one for me."

Posing for Playboy in the April 1971 issue sent this star to the A-list and believe it or not went on to star in a Disney movie not long afterwards. How does one go from being a character called "Plenty O'Toole" to a Disney movie! Ha Ha. Lana has remained a true "classic". She has appeared in more than 20 movies and countless TV shows from Wild, Wild West to Fantasy Island.Please take the time to listen to our interview with her. Our time with her made us BIG FANS!! She is a truckload of fun and brutally honest at times! We love that, by the way. And here's the trivia question about Lana that you can only find the answer to in our interview. What actress did Lana and a few others on "Peyton Place" aggravate just to get a rise out of her? Very funny.

Anyway, give a listen to our show and interview by clicking on the widget on the right side of the page and maybe you'll say "Wait, I know this" before the show is done. Later.