HERE COMES 1974: FROM THE COVER OF TV GUIDE

AND NOW ONTO OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT:  LIKE SANDS THROUGH THE HOURGLASS SO ARE THE COVERS OF TV GUIDE FROM 1974!

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 1

 

As a kid, I was never the slightest bit interested in kung fu movies.  KUNG FU THEATER and BLACK BELT THEATER were on every weekend (Saturday afternoons, I think) on various UHF channels; when they'd come on I'd change the channel.  And it follows that I also never watched the TV show KUNG FU starring David Carradine either.  But this sure is a nifty cover painting, innit?  It was only in the last five years that I became a major kung fu movie fan due solely to the influence of a friend named Robert.  Now I have an extensive kung fu movie collection on dvd; still never seen the TV show though.  Although I did actually meet David Carradine once.  It was at the Chiller Theater Convention about a dozen years ago.  He was hitting on Tiffany Shepis.  It wasn't pretty!

 

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2 - 8

 

Love love love that Dom DeLuise!  Can't say as I ever met HIM in person -- although my friend Paul did bump into him in Atlantic City.  Literally!  This absolutely and totally forgotten sitcom starring Dom was called LOTSA LUCK.  As I recall, it also co-starred another favourite of mine:  that superb character actress Kathleen Freeman.  Just think of the nun in THE BLUES BROTHERS and you'll immediately know who she is.  Well, LOTSA LUCK was a favourite of little kiddy me and my grandma.  Naturally it was cancelled after only one season.  C'est la guerre!

 

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9 - 15

 

We're back to M*A*S*H* again!  This time it's a nice drawing by that venerable favourite Jack Davis again!  I had forgotten how associated with TV GUIDE was Jack.  He did countless covers for them and this is another nifty one featuring one of the best ensemble casts on television back then.

 

 

THE WEEK OF MARCH 16 - 22

 

The second appearance of Carol Burnett on this blog series.  This time she's accompanied by her "lookalike" co-star Vicki Lawrence.  Amsel (whoever dat be) did some of the best cover paintings for TV GUIDE back in the day.  I wonder if they're collected anywhere? 

 

 

THE WEEK OF MAY 18 - 24

 

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN.  Yes, I did watch this.  Almost every week.  Cool cover artwork.  I remember exactly where I was when the pilot movie for the show aired.  I was at my friend Jeffrey's house.  I haven't seen the pilot in decades but I still remember lying on Jeffrey's living room floor watching Steve Austin on the telly ripping a metal pole up out of the concrete and hurling it through the air.  This was after having dinner at his house and playing all afternoon with his Evel Knievel action figure set - sending it catapulting over a make-believe gorge.  After I had moved away, I got the news that Jeffrey had killed himself.  THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN always makes me think of him.

 

 

THE WEEK OF JUNE 29 - JULY 5

 

Remember when I said there were only two Norman Lear sitcoms that made my "comfort TV" pantheon?  Well, here's the other one.  GOOD TIMES and ALL IN THE FAMILY both I own on dvd -- all except the final season of both.  Why IS that, I wonder?  I'll have to rectify that situation soon.  But now back to GOOD TIMES which I watched in reruns every weekday on my clapped-out old black-and-white TV in my room.  Snowy picture with a wire hanger stuck on the broken aerial.  As I said, Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson on ALL IN THE FAMILY and THE JEFFERSONS) co-created this show.  It's about the Evans family, after all, and the youngest son (played by Ralph Carter) is named Michael.  Not much of a mystery there.  GOOD TIMES of course was a spinoff from MAUDE which itself was a spinoff from ALL IN THE FAMILY.  Wow, what a family tree!  I can watch GOOD TIMES at any hour of any day and will always stop to watch it when I stumble across it channel-surfing.  GOOD TIMES to me really defines the whole "comfort TV" thing; it's not so much like watching a favourite TV show but instead to me it's like visiting the family of a dear friend.  And this cover portrait of Esther Rolle and John Amos is just terrific.

 

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 6 - 12

 

And it's that Amsel artist again!  Lucille Ball of course starred in the iconic 50's I LOVE LUCY and followed with a couple more shows:  HERE'S LUCY and THE LUCY SHOW.  All of which were in constant reruns during the 70s.  In fact, it was these later shows which I watched even more than I LOVE LUCY at first.  Come on, I mean they had Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney, after all!  

 

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 27 - AUGUST 2

 

Here's a show 99% of you probably never heard of:  APPLE'S WAY.  It was short-lived but I had to watch it because my little girlfriend Mary Beth loved it.  And why did she love it.  You'd never know from this TV GUIDE cover but it featured the teen heartthrob of the moment Vincent Van Patten so all the little girls who habitually read TIGER BEAT never missed an episode.  Unfortunately for them, they weren't enough to keep the show from being cancelled.  I can honestly say I don't remember even the basic concept of this show.  But I watch it every week regardless.  On our TV in the living room on Linwood Avenue with the wood-paneling on the walls and the air conditioner in the window and the curtains hanging down blocking the archways out of the living room to keep the cold air confined to that one room.  That's how we did it in the low income 70s!

 

 

THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 19 - 25

 

Hey, I never missed CHICO AND THE MAN!  Any kid of the 70's knew who Jack Albertson was.  I mean, WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!  And Freddie Prinze was at the top of comedy stardom when he landed this role.  The camera loved Freddie and his tremendous charm radiated from the TV tube like lightning!  I seem to recall often watching this show when I was staying at my grandparents' house, too.  I wonder if it was a weekend show? 

 

 

THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16 - 22

 

A movie on TV.  Well, if it's what was apparently the television broadcast debut of THE GODFATHER, that was big enough whoop to make the cover of the TV GUIDE of course!  A little off the TV track but has Al Pacino ever done a better bit of acting than in that scene in the restaurant when he comes back from the bathroom with the gun?  Hey, and my main man Sterling Hayden is in that scene as well!  Dandy!  Jack Davis once again does a fine job portraying this quartet of crime for the cover.

 

 

THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 6

 

 

No, I never saw this show either.  But any fan of Quentin Tarantino has heard of GET CHRISTIE LOVE!  And while I never saw the lovely Teresa Graves' TV show, I will track it down one day!  This is a great, stylish cover shot, though.

 

 

THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 14 - 20

 

In short order, we have yet another GOOD TIMES cover.  I know I know but I love the show.  And this time it's a family portrait; although I have to say that Bern Nadette looks a little bit peeved and Ralph seems slightly stunned.  An odd photo.

 

 

THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 21 - 27

 

And once again we end things with a Christmas cover.  I don't know what medium this Santa and reindeer are made of but we saw a lot of this in the 70s.  Is that felt?  What the heck IS that?

 

 

And tune in next time for our trip to 1975!

HERE COMES 1973: FROM THE COVER OF TV GUIDE

PART QUATRE OF OUR LOOK BACK AT THE DECADE OF THE SEVENTIES.  This time we point out some groovy covers from 1973!

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 6 - 12

 

Once again TV Guide started the year with a look back at the previous one.  Another nice composite drawing of some of the old year's events such as Richard Nixon's China trip and treaty with the Soviet Union, another moon feller and what looks like Mark Spitz at them there Olympics.  Full disclaimer:  I hate the Olympics.  People are glued to the television set to watch "sporting events" which they would never DREAM of watching any other time of the year; unless you're a devoted year-round followers of shotputting, why would you JUST HAVE to tune in to every minute of the it during the Olympics.  However, back to Mark Spitz . . . I do remember having a Mark Spitz poster on me wall when I was a kid at this time.  I also remember it wasn't me that bought it or even asked for it.  It's one of those peculiarities of parenthood that they'll buy something for you which you have absolutely no interest in.  I can just picture my little 7 year old self staring at that poster thinking "I've lived with 'em for seven years -- can they STILL have no idea who I am?!?!?!"

 

 

THE WEEK OF  JANUARY 20 - 26

 

Back to those weekend nights at my grandparents' house after my bath and tuning into MARY TYLER MOORE; well, following that I believe was THE BOB NEWHART SHOW.  Another huge favourite of mine aided no doubt by the fact that I had another of those childhood crushes on Suzanne Pleshette!  Oh yes, and once again my favourite episode of Newhart's show is a Thanksgiving one also:  "Over the River and Through the Woods" a.k.a. "Moo Goo Gai Pan".  And by the way, those two suits Bob and Suzanne are wearing would've fried the reception on our 1970's television set!

 

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 2

 

Here we have another of my "comfort TV" shows:  M*A*S*H*.  At least the first half of the series before they got a little too serious for their own good.  However, when the show was funny it was FUNNY!  Once again we also have a TV show based on a movie (i.e. THE ODD COUPLE) in which I much prefer the TV show to the movie.  During one of the worst periods of my life when I couldn't bring myself to listen to music or be able to watch a new movie, it was my first half-dozen dvds of M*A*S*H* that got me through it.  I was able to play episode after episode in front of my glazed-over eyes and the comfortable familiarity of each episode was the only thing which seemed to settle me down.

 

 

THE WEEK OF MARCH 3 - 9

 

I won't start in again on how I never watched cop shows.  However, this portrait of William Conrad as Cannon is top notch!  I've always had a great liking for William Conrad; whether in his countless second banana roles in films from THE KILLERS to THE NAKED JUNGLE or from his long career acting in old time radio shows in everything from radio's half-hour of high adventure "ESCAPE" to portraying the original Marshal Matt Dillon on radio's "GUNSMOKE". 

 

 

THE WEEK OF APRIL 7 - 13

 

Children's television is the 70's was superb.  This statement owes more than a little to the fact that I was indeed a child during the 70's.  Even though some of the shows picture on this cover are actually from the 1960's (THE FLINTSTONES, H.R. PUFNSTUF, THE PINK PANTHER) they were endlessly aired during the 70s as well.  Early, early every weekday morning while waiting to walk down to the school bus stop, I watched LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES on Channel 17.  Naturally, after school was another smorgasbord of UHF cartoon delights.  Channel 48 in the afternoons offered all the Hanna-Barbera cartoons (Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound) as well as Casper the Friendly Ghost, BATTLE OF THE PLANETS (Go G-Force!) etc.  Channel 29 showed that other Japanese import STAR BLAZERS and, I'm pretty sure, SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?  Channel 17 had those old 60's superhero cartoons of Superman, Batman, Aquaman (and even the occasional rare ones like the Justice League of America) as well as more dubbed Japanese cartoons SPEED RACER, ASTRO BOY and MARINE BOY.  And of course, Saturday morning cartoons were all encompassing back then.  It sure was great to be a kid back in the 1970s. 

 

 

THE WEEK OF APRIL 28 - MAY 4

 

There's an odd pattern emerging here of my choosing covers to shows I never watched.  Nope, never watched THE WALTONS either!  Although, I think I did see one episode:  the one with the Hindenburg in it.  Other than that, my only other close encounter with THE WALTONS was reading the Mad Magazine parody "THE WALLNUTS".  Or was it CRACKED magazine???  However, this is a very striking, interesting cover art, dontcha think?

 

 

THE WEEK OF JUNE 2 - 8

 

Back to one of my all-time favourite comfort TV shows:  ALL IN THE FAMILY.  Archie and co. were ruling the roost on television by this time as a major cultural touchstone.  Here we have a nice portrait of Mike Evans and Carroll O'Connor.  Does everyone know that not only did Mike Evans portray Lionel Jefferson but he also co-created the show GOOD TIMES?

 

 

THE WEEK OF JUNE 16 - 22

 

ALL IN THE FAMILY had a truckload of spin-offs; one of them being MAUDE.  This superb Hirshfeld caricature of Bea Arthur and Bill Macy just had to make my list of great covers.

 

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 14 - 20

 

 

Was THE SONNY & CHER SHOW a summer replacement?  I don't know but I seem to remember me strolling over to my little girlfriend Mary Beth's house on warm summer evenings to watch it with her.  Dig Cher's platform shoes!  Oh, and close your shirt, Sonny!

 

 

THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 10 - 16

 

Here's another of those boffo "everything but the kitchen sink" TV GUIDE covers depicting the wealth of star-studded spectacle offered during Fall sweeps week, no doubt!  That's a ton of specials going on there including ole Dino in the (I assume) television broadcast premiere of the new movie "AIRPORT"! 

 

 

THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 15 - 21

 

I am a huge fan of Katharine Hepburn; she's my favourite film actress full stop.  So imagine my delight seeing her on the cover of the TV GUIDE running up to Christmastime in 1973.  This is a pretty terrific drawing of her, too.  "THE GLASS MENAGERIE" is indeed an excellent filmed play and happily is available on dvd. 

 

 

THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 22 - 28

 

And this brings us to that very time of Christmas 1973.  Here we have a nice little collection of Santa chotsky on the cover.  I'm sure this very issue sat on the end table in my grandparents living room near the shiny silver aluminum Christmas tree which had a spotlight shining on it through a rotating disc of many colours!

HERE COMES 1972: FROM THE COVER OF TV GUIDE

WE CONTINUE OUR TREK IN OUR WAYBACK MACHINE TO 1972 WITH MY FAVOURITE TV GUIDE COVERS OF THAT YEAR.

 

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 1 - 7

 

Another fantastic pop art cover.  This time TV Guide looks back at the previous year as it's first issue of the new year.  This was something the magazine apparently did for the first couple years of the 1970s but for some reason discontinued.  It looks like the biggest TV events of 1971 were Tricky Dicky, the new and controversial show ALL IN THE FAMILY, the still-fairly-new thing called a Super Bowl and blokes larking about on the moon-type-object.

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 19 - 25

 

The huge and surprising news of the moment was President Nixon's hushed-up visit to China which many consider the crowning moment of his presidency.  Little did anyone know at the time that Tricky Dicky would quite soon overshadow this event with some naughty shenanigans!

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 3

 

Absolutely and positively another of my iron clad "comfort TV" shows is MARY TYLER MOORE.  When I was a kid, I would often spend weekends at my grandparents' house and after my bath it would be time to watch MARY TYLER MOORE during it's original run.  Much later, of course, I watched and rewatched the reruns and I own many seasons on DVD.  One of the most classic of classic television shows and a lovely yet simple cover portrait!

 

THE WEEK OF MARCH 25 - 31

 

What was that I said before about not watching cop shows.  Well, it appears that sweeping statement has a lotta holes in it because I've already stated THE ROCKFORD FILES was a constant viewing favourite and I even watched reruns of THE ROOKIES as I recall (and EMERGENCY! but technically they be firemen).  However, I was also a bit of a fan of COLUMBO if truth be told.  I mean, who could resist the great Peter Falk in his shabby raincoat purposely annoying the suspects and luring them into underestimating him . . . right before lowering the boom on them.

 

THE WEEK OF MAY 13 - 19

 

This is such a great photo of Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, isn't it?  SANFORD AND SON was a show I never missed and I even have a paperback photobook of the show I've had since I was a little kid back when the show was on the air.  However, SANFORD AND SON just misses being considered one of my "comfort TV" immortals.  Loved the show, watched it all the time but it's just one atom away from that "comfort TV" feeling for me.  Along with ALL IN THE FAMILY, there is only one other Norman Lear TV show which makes the "comfort TV" cut and you'll be seeing it before too long.

 

THE WEEK OF JUNE 3 - 9

 

The immortal Rod Serling and his 1970s chill-fest NIGHT GALLERY.  There's a slight controversy in my mind whether or not TWILIGHT ZONE makes my "comfort TV" list or not; most of the time I'd say yes it does but sometimes I think the fact that every episode is an entirely different story which has varying degrees of success disqualifies it in a way.  After all, I love BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER as much as TWILIGHT ZONE and I don't consider that show in my "comfort TV" canon either.  But for some reason, NIGHT GALLERY definitely IS comfort TV to me.  I think the "70's thing" has a lot to do with it.  I also think that the fact that I have been watching reruns of NIGHT GALLERY since I was a little tot clinches it; TWILIGHT ZONE I never saw until I was a teenager.  And while TWILIGHT ZONE's theme song may be the more iconic, it's the NIGHT GALLERY theme which immediately fills me with waves of nostalgia whenever I hear it.  It catapults me back to late-night UHF reruns right before I'd have to go to bed for school the next day.

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 22 - 28

 

I chose this cover because it's a really nice illustration.  As a huge fan of old time radio, I have many episodes of DRAGNET on radio but I was never a fan of DRAGNET on TV.  And I probably on saw a handful of episodes of ADAM-12 in my whole life.  Although, as with many shows, I always liked the theme so I would watch that and then change channels when the actual show started!

 

THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2 - 8

 

Once again we have the master of E.C. Comics and Mad Magazine Jack Davis providing another portrait:  this time of THE ODD COUPLE.  The previous post has me having my say about this TV show so I'll leave you to drink in the artwork like Oscar's can of "Slitz".

 

THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3

 

 

The Charlie Brown Specials.  Ah, here's where I get all "old fogey" on you and bring up the constantly-told cliché of how we didn't have VCRs or DVDs or On Demand back in the 70's.  No sirree bob, we had to wait until the TV network decided to air a show and that was our one and only chance to see it.  As a kid growing up in the 70s, I would wait with keen anticipation like every other kid in the neighbourhood for the approach of each holiday which had it's own Charlie Brown special.  Sponsored by Dolly Madison, of course, without fail!  As the school year started and the wind turned colder, Halloween approached -- bringing with it IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN.  Halloween's my favourite holiday so you can imagine how I loved that one!  Then, of course, the approach of Thanksgiving brought A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING with it's introduction of Woodstock.  And finally the year wrapped up at Christmastime with A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS.  So can you guess which of these three specials was my favourite.  The answer should be obvious.  And, of course, it would be the WRONG answer.  Nope, it's A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING.  Coincidentally, the special that was made in the 70s!  I love them all but there's something about A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING which is even more "comfort TV" for me than the others. 

 

 

THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11 - 17

 

Only last year I first discovered the extraordinary radio broadcasts of Alistair Cooke called LETTER FROM AMERICA which the man did weekly from the 1940s until the 2000s!  That's one hell of an impressive record!  So it was with particular glee that I discovered this TV GUIDE cover.  And it doesn't hurt that it's a phenomenal illustration suitable for framing. 

 

 

THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 23 - 29

 

A 1972 TV GUIDE Christmas.  This rather quirky illustration caught my eye for some reason so I thought I'd end this post with it.

 

 

Make sure you come back after these commercial messages for the next installment in the series:  1973!

HERE COMES 1971: FROM THE COVER OF TV GUIDE

AND WE'RE BACK!  Act Two of our "very special episode" of the 1970s seen from the cover of TV Guide.  This time we're going to be looking at the year 1971.

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 16 - 22

 

I dunno.  It's just cool to have Johnny and June on the cover of TV GUIDE, is all!  I actually do vaguely and dimly remember watching a couple episodes of Johnny Cash's variety show at the time.  I was not a fan of country music or Johnny Cash then (oh how THAT would change) but hey there were only three channels then so you saw mostly everything!

 

THE WEEK OF JANUARY 23 - 29

 

Great psychedelic, surrealist artwork for Flip Wilson's show.  Looks like an outtake from YELLOW SUBMARINE, dunnit?  I definitely remember watching and liking this show a lot.  I remember the round stage with the studio audience sitting right there!

 

THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6 - 12

 

Now here we're venturing into "comfort TV" territory.  Again, sadly, I don't own THE ODD COUPLE TV show on dvd but I wish I did.  This is a show I can watch anytime.  And no, I wasn't a fan of the film (it had one funny line, as I recall) but the TV show was something I've been watching in reruns since I was a little'un.  You know, I might have to just go get the dvds now.  I remember as a kid really loving that apartment and, if I was ever to live in New York City (an impossibility, I assure you) I would want either Felix & Oscar's apartment or else Anne Marie's (Marlo Thomas' on THAT GIRL).

 

 

THE WEEK OF APRIL 3 - 9

Criminittly!!!!  It's shocking to realize that cable TV was a thing way back in 1971.  Not around my neck of the woods, I can assure you.  I never heard of cable TV until we moved to Claytown in 1977 . . . and not even then but probably around 1979!  I'm pretty sure 1979 or 1980 is when we first got cable television.  Which is the perfect seque into mentioning that old Jerrold channel-changer type box.  The one connected to the cable box with a physical cord.  The one with the simulated fake wood finish and the punch-down physical buttons and the wheel that you'd have to TUNE THE CHANNEL IN WITH!!!  Ah yes, thems indeed were the days!

 

 

THE WEEK OF MAY 29 - JUNE 4

 

Back to "comfort TV" in a major way.  Not only is ALL IN THE FAMILY one of my favourite tv shows of all-time it's also one of my major "comfort TV" shows as well.  This is another show which I can watch anytime.  If I'm channel surfing and come across it, I will stop and watch it.  I also have all but the last dvd box set -- time I got that as well!  As a kid I had the LP record of ALL IN THE FAMILY released after the first season; the album consisted of scenes taken directly from the TV soundtrack.  I played that record to death and it's a main reason why I can recite a large chunk of ALL IN THE FAMILY season one verbatim!

 

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 3 - 9

 

I did actually watch a few episodes of THE MOD SQUAD when it was briefly in reruns but that's really all.  Never was really a fan and never watched more than a couple episodes, probably.  However, they just look so doggone cool on the cover, don't they?

 

 

THE WEEK OF JULY 10 - 16

 

The Cookie Monster has his portrait painted by legendary E.C Comics and Mad magazine artist Jack Davis!  Sweet!  As a little kid, I remember sitting in front of the television every day waiting for SESAME STREET to come on.  You'd have to because at that time our local PBS station Channel 12 didn't come on the air until 3pm.  Yes, I would sit there for probably an hour before the channel went on the air watching that "Indian head test pattern" waiting impatiently for the ultimate PBS kiddie trifecta of SESAME STREET, MR. ROGERS' NEIGHBOURHOOD and THE ELECTRIC COMPANY!!!

 

 

THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 4 - 10

 

I never watched HAWAII FIVE-O.  Nope.  Remember what I said about cop shows back in the previous 1970 post?  No, if HAWAII FIVE-O came on, I would watch the gloriously classic opening theme music and then change the channel to something else.  That was a great theme, wasn't it?  And this is a beautiful tropical cover as well.

 

 

 

Well, that's about it for 1971.  Join us again in the near future for our next installment:  1972!

FEBRUARY WITH THE SUPER-HEROES

A MONTH GONE ALREADY?!?!?!  Well, now that it's February it's time once again to feature some boffo illustrations from Marvel and DC Comics' 1970's calendars as part of this blog's 10th anniversary.

And here we have Marvel's erstwhile Defenders (Sub-Mariner, Hulk, Nighthawk, Dr. Strange & Valkyrie) from their 1975 calendar by Frank Brunner.

 

Neal Adams & Dick Giordano provide this interstellar portrait of the Man of Steel from DC Comics' 1976 calendar

 

 

Marvel's 1976 Bicentennial Calendar features The Incredible Hulk at Valley Forge by superb Herb Trimpe.

DC Comics' 1977 Calendar finds Batman & Robin tackling the Joker on top of Mt. Rushmore with art by Ernie Chan (a.k.a. Ernie Chua) & Frank Giacoia

 

Irv Novick provides this tableau of The Flash & Kid Flash vs. Captain Cold & Mr. Freeze from DC Comics' 1978 Calendar

And don't forget to click on the pictures to biggify them!