Mitchell Hadley's "It's About TV"

I'm quite touched by an awfully kind, generous, and sympathetic review of my book, which came out on Tuesday (March 4th). It appeared on "It's About TV" (www.itsabouttv.com), the very fine blog of writer, editor, critic, and "cultural archaeologist" Mitchell Hadley.

Here is the link for the specific post:  http://www.itsabouttv.com/2014/03/lucky-us.html
 

Boston television, 1960s

This is a photo from the 1960s, of my mother singing on a Boston television program.  I don't recall the name of the show, but remember that it aired weekdays on what was then WHDH-TV (Channel 5).  If I'm remembering correctly, she sang on the show occasionally, and was guest host for the show, once or twice, when the host was away/ on vacation.

I'm struck, in the picture, by the odd "runway" on which she is standing.  One can see stairs, behind her, which appear to lead to a main stage. Yet the runway is, obviously, simply a table (and not a particularly wide one), and I wonder if it felt at all precarious walking upon it.

Morgan White, Jr. and Mel Simons

Two good friends (friends of each other; friends of mine)--both of them Boston-based entertainers, authors, and trivia experts--will appear together, this evening, on Boston's WBZ Radio.

Mel Simons will be the guest of Morgan White, Jr., host of The Morgan Show, which airs Saturday nights on WBZ from 10 to midnight (Eastern time).

The program can be heard at this link:  http://betaplayer.radio.com/player/wbz-newsradio-1030

Morgan White's web address is:  www.morganwhitejr.com

Mel Simons' web address is:  www.melsimons.net

"An Evening of Old Time Radio"

My friends Johnny and Helen Holmes, of Mount Holly, New Jersey, are the focus of a feature story in today's Burlington County (NJ) Times.

The story concerns their ongoing Old-Time Radio presentations at Mount Holly's Daily Grind coffee house.  They've appeared at The Daily Grind every other month since the fall of 2012--and another presentation will take place this Friday evening, from 6:30 to 9.  This week's event will feature three episodes of Jack Benny's radio program; the episodes are from the nineteen thirties, forties, and fifties.

Here is the link to the Burlington County Times feature:

http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/life-style/local-feature/he-likes-that-old-time-radio/article_08308fa4-0110-59c8-9b1c-28c9baa06966.html

Here, too, are the Facebook links for The Daily Grind, and for Johnny and Helen Holmes's "Evening of Old Time Radio" page.

https://www.facebook.com/TheDailyGrindNJ

https://www.facebook.com/AnEveningOfOldTimeRadio

Sid Caesar

I'm saddened to learn of the passing of the great comedian and actor Sid Caesar.  He died today, at 91.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/arts/television/sid-caesar-comic-who-blazed-tv-trail-dies-at-91.html

Here's an amazon link for the very interesting and enjoyable autobiography, now out-of-print, that he wrote  (with Bill Davidson) in the early 1980s, Where Have I Been?  The book, of course, covers his work on the landmark early television program Your Show of Shows.

http://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-I-Been-Autobiography/dp/0517547945/

Another memoir, Caesar's Hours (written with Eddy Friedfeld),  was published in 2003.  Here's the amazon link for the paperback edition of the book, which was released in 2005:

http://www.amazon.com/Caesars-Hours-Life-Comedy-Laughter/dp/1586482831/

In the audience, at "The Ed Sullivan Show"

One of the many wonderful moments of The Beatles' first appearance on Ed Sullivan's TV program, fifty years ago Sunday night, concerned a young girl in the audience;  I've enjoyed, for years, this part of the broadcast.  

One of the show's cameras focused upon the girl for several seconds, and it captured what was clearly her utter joy in watching The Fab Four.  She was seen while The Beatles performed "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and for a fraction of a second, before the cameras turned elsewhere, she gestured, with her hands--as if, it appeared, she were playing the drums, along with Ringo Starr.

I learned, last week--via a CBS Evening News story by reporter Anthony Mason--a little about her. She was 13 years old, at the time, and her name is Andrea Tebbets.  Here is the link to the CBS story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-beatles-fan-recalls-the-bands-american-debut-and-her-tiny-part-of-their-history/

From "Rolling Stone": the 100 Greatest Beatles Songs

From a September, 2011 issue of the magazine:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rolling-stone-presents-the-100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919