“Crime Story”

In the 1980s, an NBC show about cops had it all. A new look.  Story arcs existing through several episodes.  And the elevation of lesser known actors to household name status. Hill Street Blues?  No. Miami Vice?  No. Crime Story?  Yes. Michael Mann’s production...

1960s Sitcom Music

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...

Happy Anniversary, Elvis!

On this date in 1954, the Memphis airwaves debuted a singer.  And rock and roll was never the same. The singer was Elvis Presley. WHBQ played his rendition of That’s All Right on July 7, 1954.  Recorded two days prior in Sam Phillips’ Sun Records studio,...

The Day the Lone Ranger Lost His Mask

As dawn anticipated breaking over southern California on the morning of August 30, 1979, a man two weeks shy of his sixty-fifth birthday covered his thinning hair with a cowboy hat.  Besides the hairline, age was not a serious opponent.  He was still fit and trim with...

1960s Sex Symbols: Catwoman Is Purrrfect

Julie Newmar’s sex appeal as Catwoman on the 1960s television show Batman stemmed not only from a statuesque figure, a skin-tight outfit, and a beautiful visage.  Newmar’s self-assuredness was a powerful force, too. In The Twilight Zone episode Of Late I...