Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’
Sunday, May 14th, 2017
“You just dream about something, that’s all it’s ever gonna be. Just a dream.”
So says Harold Nuttingham in the 1979 film Dreamer, a post-Watergate, feel-good movie with a down-to-earth vibe.
Nottingham dreams of being a bowling champion—hence, his nickname “Dreamer”—but he can’t even get a PBA membership until he storms an executive meeting, proves his credentials, and demands inclusion in bowling’s upper echelon. His statement about dreams targets father figure Harry White, a former PBA bowler who never quite reached the level of excellence that Dreamer envisions—and is capable of achieving. Dreamer’s words nudge Harry towards buying an option for them on an 18-lane establishment with a coffee shop and a bar in Peoria.
Dreamer’s car broke down in Alton, Illinois two years before, creating an opportunity for him to work at the Bowl Haven, where he practices his game; Harry runs the pro shop. Repairing the bowling racks is among Dreamer’s duties. Tragically, Harry dies of a heart attack late at night, while bowling; he had a heart condition, so the news is not surprising to Dreamer.
Tim Matheson plays Dreamer, Jack Warden plays Harry, and Susan Blakely plays Dreamer’s girlfriend—Karen Lee, who also works at the bowling alley, as a cashier. “Debra Winger rocked her audition, but the studio decided on Susan,” explains Matheson.
Bowling icon Dick Weber plays Johnny Watkin, Dreamer’s opponent in the film’s climactic match. Matheson reveals, “Dick Weber was instrumental in helping me with my bowling. He showed me ways to patch up my thumb until my calluses healed. We also worked on creating a style that was interesting visually and looked real.
“I was in a bowling league in Burbank. At the Grand Central Bowl in Glendale, I kept score for bowlers. You could make 10 bucks a night, which was a decent amount of money. So, I was very comfortable in that world. For the movie, we bowled in an old alley in St. Louis. I averaged around 165-170. My highest was 199. One day, we’re shooting a sequence and I’m keeping score consecutively with the takes. My score was 224.
“Dick told us about the tricks that bowlers used. They soaked balls in solvent that would soften the ball, so when you went to the tournament, it would react with more torque. If you threw a ball with spin, it spun more. Now, there are rules preventing this from happening.
“Jack Warden was one of the great storytellers of all time. He told us that he auditioned for John Houseman, who was directing King Lear. He was just beginning acting, but he had a blue-collar job during the day. He didn’t have time to change for the audition, so he went in his coveralls. Houseman said, ‘What part do you think you’ll audition for?’ Jack responded, ‘How about this Lear guy?’
“He was full of bravado and always gave advice if you asked about a scene. He was a great acting coach, just gold. He was a gem. Susan was such a pro. So wonderful to work with. Sexy and intense and all the good things you’ll hope for in a partner that you play so many scenes with.”
It is convenient to compare Dreamer to Rocky, which premiered during the Christmas season of 1976; the elements are there—underdog taking on the champion, mentor tutoring the underdog, love interest. This would, however, overlook the density of emotional resonance that Rocky evoked. Where Rocky Balboa wanted to go the distance with Apollo Creed because no fighter had accomplished that seemingly impossible task, Dreamer has unwavering confidence that he belongs in the pantheon of bowling champions, if only he gets the opportunity to prove it.
Typical for Hollywood, Dreamer concludes with the upstart winning in dramatic fashion, dethroning Watkin by one pin in the 10th frame for a final score of 245-244. Dreamer may not have had the edge of The Hustler, Rocky, or The Sporting Life, but it follows the template for Hollywood’s sports films. We want the underdog to win because they remind us of ourselves. Who wouldn’t rather play for the Miami Sharks rather than the Dallas Knights in Any Given Sunday? Who wouldn’t rather play with Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, Jake Taylor, and Roger Dorn on the Cleveland Indians rather than the New York Yankees in Major League? These types of films fulfill the need to hope, allowing us to live vicariously, whether the hero is a bowler, a rugby player, or a major league pitcher.
To the extent that Dreamer has a villain, it’s the PBA, which looks askance, at least initially, at Dreamer’s qualifications. Though not explored in depth, the confrontation between Dreamer and the PBA’s powers that be, including Watkin, represents a frustration at bureaucracy that was felt 100 years before Dreamer hit movie theaters and will be evident 100 years hence, in whatever medium audiences use to consume visual entertainment.
After the climactic game between Dreamer and Watkin, the last shot of the film shows Dreamer and Karen Lee packing up their car and listing their itinerary of bowling tournaments. As they pull away, we see that the building behind them is the Harry White Memorial Bowl.
Taking Matheson’s portrayal of Eric “Otter” Stratton of Animal House as the archetype of a slightly arrogant character brimming with confidence, one can find levels of that personality in several of his subsequent roles, including:
- Larry Sizemore (Burn Notice)
- Al Donnelly (Black Sheep)
- John Hoynes (The West Wing)
- Harry Stadlin (Just in Time)
- Alan Stanwyk (Fletch)
Alan Stanwyk is devious when he sets up Fletch to be the dead body in a burning car, thereby allowing him to escape to South America undetected. John Hoynes is a political manipulator along the lines of LBJ—a Senate Majority Leader from Texas who lost the Democratic nomination to an underdog from New England and settled, uncomfortably, for being Vice President.
And yet, there is an underlying likability to these characters—they do not, in any way, exude nastiness. Dreamer, neither, though his single-mindedness about pursuing a professional bowling career excludes Karen Lee, whom he considers to be a distraction during competitions. This, of course, is reconciled after Harry’s death, which prompts Dreamer to realize that Karen Lee is not an appendage to his career, but a necessity to his life.
The Bowl Haven still stands today, a 24-lane escape for Altonians looking to knock down some pins. Those of a certain age may remember the summer of 1978, when the Bowl Haven closed down for shooting. Once owned by the Netzhammer family and built in the late 1950s, the Bowl Haven enjoys continuity to the past with Bill Netzhammer, the original owners’ son, managing the lanes that Dreamer once practiced upon.
A version of this article appeared on www.thesportspost.com on March 4, 2017.
Tags: 1976, 1978, 1979, Al Donnelly, Alan Stanwyk, Alton, Animal House, Any Given Sunday, Apollo, Apollo Creed, Bill Netzhammer, Black Sheep, bowl, Bowl Haven, bowler, Burbank, Burn Notice, Christmas, Cleveland, Cleveland Indians, Creed, Dallas, Dallas Knights, Debra Winger, Dick Groat, Dick Weber, Eric "Otter" Stratton, film, Fletch, Grand Central, Grand Central Bowl, Harold Nuttingham, Harry, Harry Stadlin, Harry White, Illinois, Indians, Jack Warden, Jake Taylor, John Houseman, John Hoynes, Just in Time, Karen, Karen Lee, King Lear, Knights, Larry Sizemore, major league, Miami, Miami Sharks, Netzhammer, New York, New York Yankees, PBA, PBA membership, Peoria, Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Roger Dorn, Sharks, St. Louis, Susan Blakely, The Hustler, The Sporting Life, The West Wing, Tim Matheson, Watergate, White, Wild Thing, Yankees
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Saturday, April 15th, 2017
Gene Autry wore many hats, proverbially speaking, besides the cowboy dome piece in his movies:
- Owner of Los Angeles television station KTLA from 1963 to 1982
- Original singer of the Christmas standard Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Army Air Corps officer and Air Transport Command pilot during World War II
- Owner of Melody Ranch, a 110-acre site formerly known as Monogram Movie Ranch (bought in 1953, sold nearly 100 acres and used the remaining land for Western movies and television series)
- Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch radio show
- The Adventures of Champion radio show (about Autry’s horse Champion)
- Radio stations
- Television stations, in addition to KTLA
- Rodeo
- Record company
Baseball fans, however, knew Autry primarily as the man who planted a Major League Baseball flag in Orange County, California; Autry, once a part-owner of the Pacific Coast League’s Hollywood Stars, was the first owner of the California Angels ball club—originally named Los Angeles Angels—which had its first season in 1961.
Autry’s journey to ownership began, as financial successes often do, in the wake of disappointment. When the Los Angeles Dodgers switched radio broadcasters from Autry’s KMPC to rival KFI in 1959, an opportunity emerged. A new American League franchise in Los Angeles would be a ripe opportunity for KMPC, particularly because of its sports broadcasting pedigree. A former ballplayer raised the ante. “Joe Cronin had known Autry since Gene’s barnstorming rodeo days over two decades earlier. Cronin, now president of baseball’s American League, wondered if Autry was ready to tame the Wild Wild West’s newest franchise in L.A.,” wrote Robert Goldman in the 2006 book Once They Were Angels. “Autry jumped at the opportunity. It was a perfect fit, as not only did Autry love baseball, but he also had an impeccable reputation as a businessman and a person of integrity.”
And so, the mogul who grew up dirt poor in Oklahoma pioneered American League baseball on the West Coast.
And yet, the icon born Orvon Grover Autry is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Autry’s tenure as the Angels’ owner spanned decades, from the last days of the Eisenhower presidency to the first days of the Internet becoming a mainstream tool for information. When Autry sold the Angels in 1996, he left a legacy difficult to match and easy to applaud. His length of time made him a baseball fixture. His integrity made him a model of comportment for businessmen.
Tom Yawkey is in the Hall of Fame, and rightfully so—he spearheaded the renovation of Fenway Park in the 1920s.
Walter O’Malley is in the Hall of Fame, which causes havoc in the hearts of Brooklynites, who see O’Malley as a betrayer for moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles. His transit to Los Angeles after the 1957 season paved the way for Autry and other owners to establish teams west of St. Louis, theretofore the westernmost metropolis with a Major League Baseball team.
Barney Dreyfuss is in the Hall of Fame, a membership for the former Pirates owner resulting from many achievements, including being a proponent of the World Series; the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates played in the first World Series in 1903.
Gene Autry is not in the Hall of Fame, despite his steadfast ownership.
Devotion to the fans stands out. Not content to simply have a financial ledger in the black. Autry poured “his vast millions on players who made the club a winner if not a world champion. He attended his final Angels game only 10 days before he died,” wrote Myrna Oliver of the Los Angeles Times in Autry’s 1998 obituary.
In 1982, the Angels retired 26 as Autry’s number to reflect being the “26th Man” on the roster, which has a limit of 25 players. It was a sign of respect that Autry also earned from owners, fans, stadium workers, players, and baseball executives across Major League Baseball. Such is Autry’s emotional connection to Angel Nation that the phrase “Win One for the Cowboy” resonates from Angel Stadium to Aliso Viejo, from Santa Ana to San Juan Capistrano.
Cooperstown awaits. Patiently.
A version of this article appeared on www.thesportspost.com on September 29, 2016.
Tags: 1903, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1982, 1996, 1998, 26th Man, Adventures of Champion, Air Corps, Air Transport Command, Aliso Viejo, American League, Angel Stadium, Angels, Army, Army Air Corps, Barney Dreyfuss, Brooklyn, California, California Angels, Champion, Christmas, Cooperstown, Fenway Park, first World Series, Gene Autry, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, Joe Cronin, KFI, KMPC, KTLA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Angels, Major League Baseball, Melody Ranch, Monogram Movie Ranch, Oklahoma, Once They Were Angels, Orange County, Pirates, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pirates, Robert Goldman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, The Adventures of Champion, Tom Yawkey, Walter O'Malley, West Coast, Win One for the Cowboy, World Series, World War II
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Friday, December 25th, 2015
Christmas television specials dominate prime time during between Thanksgiving and December 25th. The Hollywood Palace was no exception in 1965.
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Tags: 1965, Allied Prisoners of War, Bing Crosby, Bing Crosby Productions, Bob Crane, Christmas, Christmas television special, Christmas television specials, Colonel Klink, December 25th, Hogan's Heroes, holiday, holiday season, Hollywood Palace, John Banner, Le Divine Enfant, LeBeau, Minute Maid, oil well, oil wells, Pirates, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pirates, prime time, Prisoners of War, real estate, Robert Clary, Sergeant Schultz, Silent Night, Stalag 13, Stille Nacht, television, television specials, Thanksgiving, The Hollywood Palace, Werner Klemperer, World War II
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Friday, October 30th, 2015
Dino Crocetti emerged from the hardscrabble existence in Steubenville, Ohio to become one of the biggest stars in the second half of the 20th century. With a new moniker of Dean Martin, a legendary partnership with Jerry Lewis, and a fixture status in the famed Rat Pack, the kid from Steubenville became a show business icon.
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Tags: 500 Club, Airport, Ann-Margret, Atlantic City, Barbara Eden, Barbara Feldon, Bob Hope, Bob Newhart, Buddy Ebsen, Chita Rivera, Christmas, Christmas Day, Danny Thomas, De Gaulle, Dean Martin, Dino Crocetti, Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams, Eisenhower, Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Gabor, Everybody Loves Somebody, Flip Wilson, George Gobel, Glenn Ford, Howard Cosell, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Joey Bishop, Jonathan Winters, Julie London, Khrushchev, Las Vegas, Las Vegas strip, Leslie Uggams, Lorne Greene, Marriage on the Rocks, Meredith MacRae, Mickey Rooney, NBC, Nick Tosches, Ocean's 11, Ohio, Orson Welles, Peter Falk, Peter Lawford, Raquel Welch, Rat Pack, Rich Little, Rio Bravo, Rip Taylor, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Sammy Davis, Sands, Sergeants 3, Some Came Running, Soupy Sales, Steubenville, Steve Lawrence, That's Amore, The Dean Martin Show, The Silencers, The Sons of Katie Elder, World War II
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Saturday, October 10th, 2015
On the day before Christmas in 2006, Frank Stanton passed away at the age of 98. A broadcasting pioneer, Stanton served as CBS chief William Paley’s lieutenant for decades, helping mold the television industry into a media force. Unquestionably, CBS earned its prestige under the watchful eye of Stanton, leading to the Tiffany Network moniker.
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Tags: 1935, 1950, 2006, 60 Minutes, blacklisting, CBS, CBS Evening News, Christmas, communist, Evening News, Face the Nation, First Amendment, Frank Stanton, Harley O. Staggers, Holcomb B. Noble, Museum of Broadcast Communications, Network, New York, New York Times, Ohio State, Ohio State University, Pentagon, Peter Goldmark, Psychology, Red Scare, Selling of the Pentagon, subpoena, The New York Times, The Selling of the Pentagon, Tiffany, Tiffany Network, Vietnam, William Paley
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Saturday, May 2nd, 2015
Get Smart parodied the popular spy genre in the 1960s, countering serious offerings, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart gave American television audiences a humorous view of espionage during the Cold War. Don Adams mastered the role of Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning, befuddled, and gadget-dependent spy for C.O.N.T.R.O.L., a United States spy agency.
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Tags: 1960, 1960s, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2002, 2005, A Very Brady Christmas, ABC, Agent 13, Agent 99, Andy Dick, Barbara Feldon, Bernie Kopell, Buck Henry, C.O.N.T.R.O.L., CBS, Chief, Christmas, David Ketchum, Diane Caldwell, Dick Gautier, Don Adams, Douglas Martin, Edward Platt, FOX, Get Smart, Get Smart Again, Hymie, Hymie the Robot, K.A.O.S., Mad About You, Maxwell Smart, Mel Brooks, Nostalgia, nostalgia craze, obituary, sports car, spy, spy agency, Spy Girl, The Brady Brides, The Brady Bunch, The Brady Bunch in the White House, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The Brady Girls Get Married, The Bradys, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The New York Times, The Spy Who Loved Me, tv-movie, United States
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Monday, July 22nd, 2013
Yuppies existed on prime time television before we had a word to describe them. Yuppie, of course, is a slang word for young, upwardly mobile professional.
Dr. Bob Hartley was a Chicago yuppie on The Bob Newhart Show.
Rob Petrie was a television comedy writer yuppie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
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Tags: 1986, 1986-87 television season, 1987, ABC, ad campaign, Advertising, advertising agency, advertising yuppie, Baltimore, Bernstein Fox, Bewitched, Bob Newhart, car accident, Catholic, Catholicism, CD, CD players, Christmas, Christmas tree, comedy writer, DAA, Darrin Stephens, Dick Van Dyke, Dr. Bob Hartley, Elliot, Elliot Weston, Ellyn, fashion, fashion sense, Gary, God, Hope, I'll Be Home For Christmas, iPod, Jack and Mike, Jewish, Jewish identity, Los Angeles, Melissa, menorah, Michael, Michael and Elliot Company, Michael Steadman, Miles Drentell, olive branch, passion, priest, prime time, prime time television, religion, Rob Petrie, Shelley Hack, television, television comedy, television comedy writer, The Bob Newhart Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Michael and Elliot Company, thirtysomething, Tom Mason, Tuesday, Yuppie, Yuppies
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Wednesday, July 17th, 2013
If music be the food of 1960s television sitcoms, play on.
In the 1960s, the Beatles captained a British invasion across the Atlantic Ocean. John, Paul, George, and Ringo inspired sitcom versions of themselves after their first American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 captured America’s attention, not to mention Hollywood’s creative community.
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Tags: 1960, 1960s, 1960s television, 1960s television sitcoms, 1964, 45 RPM, Alan Brady, Ann-Margret, Ann-Margrock, Army, Army buddy, Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean, Barney, Barney Rubble, Beatles, Bedbug, Bedbugs, British, British invasion, Bupkis, Buzzy Potter, Camp Crowder, Capri pants, Carl Reiner, Christmas, Diana Ross, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dick Van Dyke, Ed Sullivan, F Troop, February, February 9, Flinstone, Flinstones, food, Frank, Fred, Fred Flintstone, Gi, Gilligan's Island, Hollywood, Honeybee, Honeybees, I Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool No More, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Jerry Lanning, Jimmy Darren, Jimmy Darrock, Mandalay, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, Mosquito, Mosquitoes, music, nothing, Ocean, Oh Rob!, Pebbles, Pebbles Flintstone, radio, radio station, Randy Twizzle, Richard Deacon, Robert Petrie, Rose Marie, royalty check, sitcom, sitcoms, Standells, Sticks, Sticks Mandalay, Stone Age, Surfing Craze, television sitcoms, The Alan Brady Show, The Alan Brady Show Presents, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, the Bedbugs, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Flintstones, the Honeybees, The Littlest Lamb, the Mosquitoies, The Munsters, The Standells, the Supremes, The Twist, The Twizzle, WIFE, Yiddish
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Thursday, June 20th, 2013
1951. The Giants Win the Pennant! Ralph Branca. Brooklyn Dodgers. Bobby Thomson. New York Giants. Leo Durocher. Polo Grounds. Russ Hodges. The Shot Heard ‘Round the World. Larry Jansen.
Larry Who?
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Tags: 1835, 1848, 1864, 1875, 1947, 1951, 1951 National League pennant, Ark of the Lord, Bobby Thomson, Brooklyn Dodgers, Catholic, Christmas, Christmas Day, Depere, Diocese of Green Bay, Donald trump, Dutch, Dutch Catholic, Edward Daems, Father Edward Daems, Father Scott Vandehey, Father William Verboort, Green Bay, Hebrews, Holland, Indians, Jackie Robinson, Jerusalem, Jesus, King David, Larry Jansen, Leo Durocher, Manhattan, Milwaukee, minor league, National League, National League Pennant, New York Giants, Oregon, Peter Minuit, Polo Grounds, Ralph Branca, Rookie of the Year, Russ Hodges, San Francisco, San Francisco Seals, Scot, Seals, St. Francis DeSales, St. Francis DeSales seminary, Staten Island, The Giants Win the Pennant!, The Shot Heard 'Round the World, United States, Vandehey, Verboort, Vicar General, Vicar General of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin
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Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
All in the Family dominated prime time programming in the first half of the 1970s. It was a jewel for the Tiffany Network, a nickname for CBS because of the network’s high quality news and entertainment programming.
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Tags: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1970s, 1971, 1979, ABC, All in the Family, Archie Bunker's Place, Carroll O'Connor, CBS, Christmas, Christmas dinner, Christmas episode, Draft dodging, Gender discrimination, Gold Star Father, Homosexuality, Jean Stapleton, KKK, news and entertainment programming, Norman Lear, racial prejudice, rape, Religious prejudice, television, The Vietnam War, Tiffany Network, Vietnam
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