David Cassidy: Alcoholism Results in a Tragic End for a Seventies Teen Idol

One irony of this blog is that the background is essentially a copy of the pattern of the school bus turned family/band tour bus of the fictitious musical family known as "The Partridge Family". And yet, in spite of the design similarity, I had just a single post (see it at https://hgm.sstrumello.com/2012/06/cast-reunions-partridge-family.html for details) about that iconic TV show, and it was mostly about my design choice, with little about the show itself or the characters on the show (although I subsequently added a "P.S." to that post). This post is about the second member of his family's passing a number of  years ago. I never published this blog post, but felt the time might be right to do so now. 

Actor and singer David Cassidy passed away from multiple organ failure (specifically, liver and kidney; see his obituary HERE) on November 21, 2017. At the time of his death, he was age 67. However, David's passing seemed ominously more like history repeating itself rather than a complete surprise of a former teen idol's passing. David's own father Jack Cassidy, himself a famous Tony-winning stage and TV actor, had died almost exactly 41 years earlier in a house fire which was caused when his lit cigarette ignited the sofa he had passed out on due to intoxication. David Cassidy's own life, and his eventual death, looked eerily similar to his own father's. 

"The Partridge Family" was an American musical sitcom which ran ABC based very loosely on the real-life musical family known as The Cowsills. An Amazon Prime movie about The Cowsills called "Family Band: The Cowsills Story" is worth seeing if you're interested in the topic. At the very least, some of their famous songs might be familiar. 

David Cassidy's claim to fame was as a teenaged star of "The Partridge Family", which co-starred his step-mother, Academy-Award winner Shirley Jones, who rose to fame starring in film versions of several Broadway musicals including "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", and "The Music Man". On the show, David Cassidy played her fictitious son Keith Patridge (several other actors/actresses also co-starred in the show as siblings, including actress Susan Dey as sister Laurie, Danny Bonaduce who played brother Danny, while Suzanne Crough played sister Tracy and Brian Forster played brother Chris and actor Dave Madden starred as the band's manager Reuben Kincaid). At the time, there was really no such thing as "omnimedia", and Academy Award-winning performers like Shirley Jones generally did not cross-over to the humble medium of broadcast television until they had reached the end of their careers. However, Shirley Jones broke with that tradition, saying she thought that was ridiculous.  She had already won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a vengeful prostitute in "Elmer Gantry" in 1960. But by the early 1970's, she viewed television as a useful, respectable way to earn a living acting while raising a family. 

In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Jones said: "The problem with Partridge—though it was great for me and gave me an opportunity to stay home and raise my kids—when my agents came to me and presented it to me, they said if you do a series and it becomes a hit show, you will be that character for the rest of your life and your film career will go into the toilet, which is what happened. But I have no regrets." 

As a result of the show, her step-son David Cassidy became a teen idol by playing the role of Keith Partridge, the son of character Shirley Partridge (played by Shirley Jones), in the hit TV show "The Partridge Family" which ran on ABC from 1970 to 1974, although reruns of the show continued running in syndication for years after the show's original run. 

Famous Father, With Family a History of Alcohol Abuse 

Actor Jack Cassidy

David Cassidy was the son of the late actor and singer Jack Cassidy, who was himself a musical performer on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 1964 for Best Performance by a Featured Actor for his role as Steven Kodaly in the play "She Loves Me". On television, during the 1950's and 1960's, Jack Cassidy became a very frequent guest star on TV, appearing in a wide variety of TV shows, including on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", in "Gunsmoke", "Bewitched", "Get Smart", "That Girl", "Hawaii Five-O", "Cannon", "McCloud" and also as a guest star on various TV game shows of the day, including the "Match Game". 

David Cassidy was a son from Jack Cassidy's first marriage to actress Evelyn Ward. However, Jack Cassidy was known to have problems with alcoholism (in addition to suffering from bipolar disorder), which contributed to the failure of his multiple marriages, and ultimately, his untimely death. Jack Cassidy married Shirley Jones on August 5, 1956. Together, they had three sons, Shaun, Patrick, and Ryan. As noted, David Cassidy was actually Jack's son from his first marriage to actress Evelyn Ward, hence Shirley Jones became his stepmother. Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones split-up in 1974 following Jack Cassidy's 1973 diagnosis as manic depressive and bipolar disorder. David Cassidy's birth mother Evelyn Ward died in 2012.

Jack Cassidy died rather tragically at just age 49 in an apartment fire in 1976. The forensics showed that the fire was caused by a cigarette which he was smoking at the time which ignited a naugahyde (synthetic leather) sofa he'd passed out on due to his intoxication. He was already divorced from his second wife Shirley Jones at the time, but it's believed that he came home drunk after going out to a gay bar in West Hollywood, where he was seen by many witnesses the evening before. 

Before his own death, son David Cassidy also went on the record acknowledging his own father as bisexual, citing personal accounts and reports, both anecdotal and published, of his father's known same-sex affairs, something that neither he nor his siblings knew about until after the father's death. But in her 2013 memoir, Shirley Jones also wrote that Jack Cassidy had several same-sex affairs during her marriage to him, including a notable one with famous composer and songwriter Cole Porter. 

However, Shirley Jones went on record in her biography about how her ex-husband Jack Cassidy tried to push the limits of her sexuality and she said that, combined with his alcohol abuse, depression and bipolar disorder ultimately led to her filing for divorce. 

(see https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shirley-jones_0_n_3647862 for more)

Anyway, David Cassidy then was able to take the fame he'd gained from his TV career (he starred in nearly 100 episodes of "The Partridge Family") and turn it into fame as a pop singer in the seventies. But as time passes, aging teen idols aren't guaranteed ongoing success once the spotlight is no longer following them. David Cassidy later said that he found his sitcom role to be very stifling, and that he had issues with the tabloid fame that "surrounded" his every move.

In May 1972, perhaps in an effort to alter his public persona which was so connected to the TV character Keith Partridge, David Cassidy appeared completely nude on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a cropped Annie Leibovitz photo; among other things, although the accompanying Rolling Stone article also mentioned that Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk".

His gamble paid off initially; as he did get invited on the TV talk show circuit, and even landed a few guest roles on TV. There was also brief renewed interest in his vocal talent. But his underlying drinking problem never really disappeared, even with a risky gamble to shed his puritanical public persona by posing nude in a national magazine. For the record, the image and the article from that can be viewed online at: 

https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/rs-28432-22563_lg.jpg

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/david-cassidy-naked-lunch-box-178864/

Failed Marriages and Alcoholism Reminiscent of His Father's 

David's own first two marriages — first to actress Kay Lenz and subsequently to horse trainer Meryl Tanz — ended in divorce after only a few years each. David Cassidy had a daughter, Katie, back in 1986 with fashion model Sherry Williams, but he acknowledged "I've never had a relationship with her. I was her biological father but I didn't raise her." David Cassidy also had a son named Beau, in 1991. However, his wife divorced him shortly before his death and took sole custody of Beau, due in no small part to his alcohol abuse. 

Jack Cassidy: More Gay than Bisexual, But Was Forced Into Failed Marriages to Women During the Era of "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name"

David's failed marriages were also eerily reminiscent of his own father Jack Cassidy's own failed marriages. However, it was important to note that David did not confront a necessity to try and behave as a heterosexual as his father did when he was coming of age and working as an actor. His son David simply inherited his problems with alcohol abuse.

In the years preceding his death, David Cassidy was relying very heavily on things like performing in low-paying dinner theaters and concert tours around the country for income. That's a tough way to earn a living, and it didn't pay very well. But more concerning was that like his father, David was definitely showing signs he was suffering from alcoholism, while his public denials proved he was not truly addressing the problem. 

For example, like many alcoholics, David Cassidy repeatedly assured family members that he was attending AA and going to rehab, and that he was no longer drinking. But there were clear clues he was lying. For example, in one notable concert performance, David Cassidy could not even remember the lyrics of a song he'd been performing for nearly 50 years, and he also fell off the stage. Not long after, he was also arrested in Florida for DUI. Those are clear signs of a drinking problem. 

Then, David Cassidy publicly announced that he was living with dementia and was retiring from all further performing (his desire to stop performing could have been to avoid another humiliating incident where he forgot lyrics during a performance, then falling off stage). He said that his mother and grandfather had also suffered from dementia at the end of their lives, and that "I was in denial, but a part of me always knew this was coming." 

But that was also completely false. He was definitely not suffering from dementia, rather he was suffering from chronic alcoholism and denial, plus his memory lapses while performing were due to his drinking, not due to dementia. 

Eventually, it finally looked as if he was finally facing his demons. In a surprisingly candid interview with an A&E producer (see the interview at https://www.aetv.com/specials/david-cassidy-the-last-session for details), David Cassidy stated that he'd just met with his doctor, and he confirmed that he had liver disease, meaning his life had "changed dramatically." Cassidy added that he had been unconscious and near death for the first few days after the incident, he said since then, he claimed his memory had returned. Cassidy also acknowledged that there was "no sign of [dementia] at this stage of [his] life," adding that "[it] was complete alcohol poisoning – and the fact is, I lied about my drinking." Cassidy said, "You know, I did it to myself, man. I did it to myself to cover up the sadness and the emptiness."

Sadly, the A&E interview would be his last. David Cassidy passed away at the age of 67, on November 21, 2017. At the time, he was awaiting a liver transplant; as his own liver was so damaged from cirrhosis, but his doctors were unable to find a suitable, eligible liver from a deceased donor before he died. 

Impressively, as I write this, David's step-mother Shirley Jones is 88 years old as of 2022, and she shows no apparent sign of illness beyond simply her age. Since 2015, however, she has been a widow. For 38 years, she was married to Marty Ingels, himself the star of dozens of TV sitcoms in the 1960's, and he was also known as a bit of a comedian, until Marty died of a heart attack. Her three other sons with David Cassidy are still alive. Their marriage seemed to work, even though they drove one another crazy from time to time.

In 2020, Shirley Jones finally opened up to the celebrity magazine Closer (see https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/shirley-jones-is-grateful-to-have-known-stepson-david-cassidy/ for detail) about David Cassidy and his passing: 

"The idea that the little boy I came to know and love as my stepson would've turned 70 [in 2020] is astonishing to me," Shirley Jones told Closer. "And I am grateful for all the wonderful times we shared together." 

While he was alive, David was equally fond of Shirley (who married his father, actor Jack Cassidy, and played his mother on "The Partridge Family"). He was quoted as saying that Shirley "taught me so much about how to deal with fame and success," he said. "She's one of the best human beings I've ever known." He also became very close with her sons with Jack (who were David's half-brothers): Shaun, Patrick and Ryan.

VW Mines Nostalgia Again With Planned Relaunch of its Bus as an Electric Vehicle

The Volkswagen "Bus" which was known officially known as the VW Type 2, while the original Beetle was known officially as the VW Type 1; and Volkswagen, to its credit, actually embraced the different nicknames for its designs in different markets, even using those nicknames in its advertising was officially launched in 1950.  It, along with models like the low-priced sports-car design known as the Karmann Ghia (which were sold from 1955–1974) were all immensely popular across the U.S. market.  The VW Bus, in particular, arguably peaked in popularity back in the late 1960's; the VW Bus was particularly popular during the counterculture movement of the 1960's and was iconic with many hippies, some of whom actually tried to live in their VW Bus, as well as had sex in, smoked marijuana and took LSD in these vehicles.  The VW Bus had become iconic with the hippie movement, although it continued selling in the U.S. until 1979.

The retro blog ClickAmericana has an entire page dedicated to some of the ads for the VW Bus/VW Type 2 sold in its later years (the 1970's) at http://clickamericana.com/eras/1970s/volkswagen-bus-ads-1977 which are worth looking at (I've featured one such ad here, and if you click on it, you will then be redirected to ClickAmericana's relevant webpage.

Notwithstanding the VW Bus association with now-elderly hippies, the VW Bus was also part of VW's early success in the North American market.  But following the ending of the Vietnam war, combined with the VW's discontinuation of the Type 1 model with the introduction of newer A1 model meant to replace the Beetle, which featured front-wheel drive and a water-cooled engine, branded as the VW Golf (initially sold under the VW Rabbit nameplate in the U.S.), although the Vanagon was the name given to its newer "bus" model in the U.S.) remained on the market for a few more years, but the era of the VW Bus, at least in the U.S., seemed to be over.

In the decades that followed, Volkswagen as a company had largely fallen off the radar of American car buyers.  The Golf, in spite of being one of the world's best-selling cars, was never a huge seller in the U.S., sales of the Jetta weren't great either, and sales of the Passat were also quite limited.  The Passat was simply too pricey for mass market American consumers, many of whom preferred Hondas/Acuras or Toyotas/Lexus cars.  Plus, many younger generations of Americans had absolutely no relationship with Volkswagen at all.  In fact, younger generations hardly even knew who Volkswagen was as a company.  Making matters even worse for Volkswagen were currency exchange rates (when the Deutsche Mark was still the currency of record for Germany).

Many writers have observed that the Germans at Volkswagen remain eternally frustrated with what they consider to be a peculiarity of the U.S. market, like the importance that U.S. buyers place on seemingly trivial items such as high-fidelity stereo systems and cup holders.  People in Germany believe that a car is for driving, not for concerts or picnics.  But Americans disagree wholeheartedly.  The conditions of American roads are abysmal, and there is no autobahn in the U.S., hence performance isn't always the most important factor considered in buying decisions.  Traffic in the U.S. is horrendous by German standards, and never improves -- and not just in Los Angeles or Houston.  These things make apparent niceties like sound systems important to making a daily commute from hell tolerable, something Germany has little experience with, with well-maintained roads and efficient public transportation.  Volkswagen, in spite of its success in Europe, has arguably struggled in North America, while smaller Swedish rival Volvo even managed to outsell VW in the U.S. at one point, which says a lot about Volkswagen's U.S. struggles.

The VW Beetle spent a few decades on hiatus (at least in the U.S.), before being resurrected in 1998 to positive reviews and sales.  The VW Concept 1, known as the "new Beetle" changed all that.  It was essentially a VW Golf under the hood, but the design was much truer to the original Beetle that many Americans had a fondness of.  Its design originated in California, but the quirky design evoked fond memories from Americans who drove the original VW Type 1 "Beetle", and became Volkswagen's most successful U.S. auto introduction in decades.  Many also hope that a new Karmann Ghia might emerge as well, though a few models do not guarantee ongoing success for an automaker, especially one that aims to remain one of the world's biggest.  The VW Bus, in different iterations, has attempted comebacks, but never seemed to gain the success it had in the 1960's.

Indeed, mass-market European automakers like Volkswagen have struggled in the U.S., although European luxury car makers including Germany's BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Britain's Jaguar, Italy's Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati have all succeeded because of their premium prices.  However, other mass-market European brands, including Fiat, Renault, Rover and others have had lengthy periods of time where the companies completely exited the U.S. auto market.  Yet Sweden's two automakers Volvo (and to a somewhat lesser degree, Saab) succeeded while bigger rivals from France and Italy failed mainly because they successfully created and then targeted lucrative niche markets -- mainly for safety.  Indeed, Sweden's carmakers have remained in the U.S. since they were first introduced.  It should be noted that in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, most of Volvo cars on the streets are small cars, not the big cars sold by Volvo in North America today.  Indeed, Volvo became one of the most successful, albeit niche, automakers anywhere in the world, keeping many Swedes in auto-making jobs for much longer than conventional wisdom suggested was even possible, let alone likely.

It's worth noting that Sweden's Volvo was part of a larger Swedish company that made a variety of industrial products (including aircraft parts, etc.) and the types of big trucks found transporting goods.  Volvo's automobile unit known as Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding [Geely Holding] of China since 2010, when it was purchased from Ford Motor Co., but for decades before, Volvo succeeded selling cars despite its small size largely because its most widely-sold (and most expensive) car models' extraordinary safety records, which proved to be a very lucrative, profitable and unique "niche" market that had been largely ignored by other automakers.

With U.S. startups like Tesla aiming to claim the luxury market for electric sports cars, in June 2017, Volvo announced that by 2019, it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars.  To date, Tesla is a luxury car maker, while mass market manufacturers have moved more slowly on electric vehicles.

The U.S. history of automakers outside of Detroit's "Big Three" (GM, Ford and Chrysler, the latter of which has been owned by both Germany's Daimler Benz, and more recently, Italy's Fiat) has seen a history of failure against the big Detroit automakers.  Japanese automakers have proven the exception, rather than the rule.

For example, from 1954-1988, the company formerly known as American Motors Corp. (also known as "AMC", which itself was a descendant of the Nash-Kelvinator Corp. following its merger with Hudson Motor Car Company.  That company's origins were in Wisconsin, not Michigan, although executive talent necessitated relocation to the Great Lakes state.  For a time in the late 1960's to the early 1980's, AMC competed aggressively with GM, Ford and Chrysler, mostly with its rather peculiar car designs, including the Rambler, the Gremlin, the Pacer, the Matador and finally the Eagle.  AMC's best known auto brand endures under Fiat Chrysler, which is Jeep.  When Chrysler acquired AMC in 1988, it marked the end of Detroit's four major automakers.  After that, there were a few startups which did not last, most notably the DeLorean Motor Company (whose auto model DMC-12 was featured memorably in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy, as the model of car made into a time machine by eccentric scientist Doc Brown, although the company had ceased to exist even before the first movie was made).  Tesla's long-term success remains unproven, although its push into electric sports cars has helped push Volvo and eventually, Volkswagen to pursue wider marketing of electric automobiles in the U.S.

That said, as of 2017, infrastructure limits for electric vehicles in the U.S. remain, including electric car recharging stations that have yet to see widespread adoption across the U.S.  But Volvo is not Volkswagen, and apparently Volkswagen foresees an opportunity to join Volvo in the move towards electric cars.  After all, the Swedes' ongoing success in the U.S. while Germany's auto giant VW has struggled, suggests that the Chinese-owned Nordic automaker might be onto something.  Adding to that, Volvo's new Chinese parents want to advance the technology for electric autos, and realistically, that's probably more likely to come from the West than it is from the Chinese mainland, although relevant components are likely to come from China.

Around the same time as Volvo's announcement, at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, Germany's Volkswagen unveiled an electric microbus concept called the ID Buzz which was clearly meant to be a more modern successor to the old VW Type 2 or Bus as it was more popularly known.  The company also unveiled the new microbus concept at last year's Consumer Electronics Show.  An image of the new microbus, along with another graphic can be seen below.

Irish Times reported: "VW is playing the nostalgia card for all its worth with this concept car. The styling is a very simple update of the original Type 2, right down to the deep "V" shape in the centre of the front, which is now being used to replicate the effect of a smiley face. It couldn’t be more hippy if it tried."

The Street subsequently announced that VW actually plans to re-introduce by the hippy favorite as an all-electric vehicle with a driving range on its battery power of 270 miles which another media outlet reported a planned introduction by 2020.  Previously, the ID Buzz was merely a concept car.  However, the company saw similar success in the U.S. market with the introduction a new Beetle following a similar manner of introduction.  Quirky design style is also key to the company's success.

But while young hippies in the late 1960's fell in love with their VW Buses, it's far less certain that today's American youth will adopt the new VW buses as their transportation method of choice.  As of 2017, the Baby Boomer population has been declining (and will continue to as normal lifespans end), although Gen Xers remember seeing them on the road when they were growing up, but selling to and capturing the Baby Boomer nostalgia market segment no longer ensures success for companies.  And Millennials seem largely indifferent to automobiles, and as a generation, has one of the lowest incidences of driver's licenses of any group observed in decades.  Necessity, of course, may yet push some to get cars eventually.

But a report (an update to an earlier survey from 2014), from researchers at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group, shows that Millennials are far less car-focused than older Americans and previous generations of young people, and their transportation behaviors continue to change in ways that reduce driving.

While urban dwelling is a major factor behind the decline in car interest among youth, it's also a fact that many Millennials are being priced out of the very cities that they once flocked to en-masse (or aimed to move to, see HERE for more information on that).  Increasingly, more and more hipsters are migrating to nearby suburbs with mass-transit access, typically near suburban commuter rail lines and express buses.  The question is whether that suburban migration will bring more auto-buying, or whether car-sharing services like Zipcar and competitors will effectively address that need?  It's also possible that technology-driven solutions may prove even more compelling than electric cars by themselves (but car sharing of electric vehicles may hold appeal).  Many companies, including Alphabet's Google and countless others are pursuing self-driving cars, and we can realistically expect to see the established automakers pursue this as well, even though much of the early development is coming from Silicon Valley.

Nevertheless, as The Street reported, Volkswagen will indeed pursue its first electric vehicle, which just so happens to be its resurrection of the VW Bus that was so popular among young hippies.

Maybe we'll yet see a new version of the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia in the future?  Let's hope so!

Faith as a Basis for Broadway Success

In the 1970's, several different Broadway shows, specifically "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" placed the central story of Christianity's Gospel as center-stage in the commercial musical theater.  As might be expected, at the time, some conservative Christian groups objected to these plays.  In their view, to enact the word of God in a commercial theater rather than a sacred house of worship was to profane it.  Nevertheless, both shows were successful (if not overwhelmingly, certainly enough to be commercial successes for their time).  Ironically, many churches later embraced these shows as a way of spreading the gospel, especially among younger Christians.

Both of those shows were also some of the first professional works of then-twentysomething songwriters whose work would subsequently loom quite large in the theater world, including Stephen Schwartz ("Pippin," "Wicked") who wrote most of "Godspell's" music and some of its lyrics; and the British team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (who went on create "Evita," and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" among others) who created the "Jesus Christ Superstar" score.

"Jesus Christ Superstar" also gave rise to a celebrity singer from Hawaii which until that time was better known for Don Ho in the music world.  Her name was Yvonne Elliman, and her vocal interpretation of the song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" sung by the Biblical character of Mary Magdalene in the London performance of that show, and its subsequent production on Broadway in New York helped make her a global superstar.  She subsequently had a platinum single from the hit soundtrack of the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever", specifically "If I Can't Have You", which was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb (better known as the Bee Gees), which helped usher in the disco era to American music.  She would follow that with Billboard-chart hits including a cover of "Hello Stranger" to name a few of her hits during the 1970's.  A clip from her broadway song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" can be listened to below.

Just why these religiously-inspired shows hit so big at a time when young Baby Boomers were rejecting religion (organized or otherwise) en-masse was most likely due to the catchy music, and familiar stories that were set in more modern times.  Of course, the shows followed a longtime theater pattern of depicting cathartic stories of loss and redemption that are really core to virtually every successful Broadway show, and have been at the heart of comedy/tragedy upon which theater has continued since ancient Greek times.

As noted, these were Baby Boomer re-interpretations of old religious teachings that were force-fed to them by their parents.  As already noted, another, subsequent West End/Broadway show also produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber with a rather similar religious inspiration known as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" would follow the same basic format, although "Joseph" had very little dialogue, and virtually the entire script was set to music.  Also, the duo followed a different path to get "Joseph" produced by persuading some friends to record the songs, and then the album took off, which subsequently triggered the stage production (which was where they first began with it).

"Godspell", "Jesus Christ Superstar, and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" also helped pave the way for more modern variations of religiously-inspired shows, including the smash hit "The Book of Mormon", which parodies some of unique tenets of Mormonism.  The basis for that show, the lyrics, and music were written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone (best known for their collaboration on the television cartoon hit "South Park") and Robert Lopez.  "The Book of Mormon" follows two young Mormon missionaries as they attempt to share their scriptures with the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. The earnest young men are challenged by a lack of interest of the locals, who are preoccupied with more pressing troubles such as AIDS, famine, and oppression from the local warlord.

To be sure, although earlier stage productions stayed marginally truer to the original Biblical teachings set to catchy, modern music, given the popularity of "The Book of Mormon", it would seem difficult for any musical based upon a religious theme to succeed today without a sense of satire embodied by "The Book of Mormon".  Of course, times change and so do public sensibilities.

At the 2011 Tony Awards, Book of Mormon had a performance, which can be seen below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/PHEqCXY2B-w:



Still, while "The Book of Mormon" focuses on the Mormon faith, there is plenty of fodder for Evangelical, born-again Christianity, which perhaps moreso than any other faith tradition in the U.S., practices hypocrisy of "do as we say, not as we do" by many followers, whose support of slavery, the death penalty, gay marriage bans, denial of Constitutional rights to non-Evangelical Christians, and divorce are all at odds with actual Biblical teachings.  What the next faith-based Broadway hit will be remains to be seen, but there are certainly plenty of role models to base them on.

Roger Moore, Who Played James Bond 007 Times, Dies

Let me start by acknowledging that I borrowed the headline for today's post from the New York Times obituary, because it was so appropriate.  One of the actors to have played the iconic role of James Bond (secret agent 007) in the iconic British spy series popularized by author Ian Fleming back in the 1950's has passed away from cancer, specifically Roger Moore, according to his family (see below, or by visiting HERE);

With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated. pic.twitter.com/6dhiA6dnVg

— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) May 23, 2017

At the time of his passing, Roger Moore was age 89 and living in Switzerland, evidently as a way to escape taxes in his native country (as a tax exile).  Mr. Moore had homes in Switzerland and Monaco.  NPR had a clip about his passing which can be listened to below, or by visiting https://n.pr/2jcLWVf:

Roger Moore is the first actor who played James Bond to have passed away.  That's likely because Roger Moore was also the oldest actor to have played James Bond – he was already age 45 in "Live and Let Die" (1973) which co-starred a young Jane Seymour as the Bond girl and Hervé Villechaize as one of the enemies, and he was age 58 when he announced his retirement in 1985 following his being featured in "A View to a Kill".  The trailer to Roger Moore's first Bond film ("Live and Let Die") can be seen below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/KTzsm9-XWQo:


Mr. Moore was the third actor to play that role (he followed Sean Connery who originated the role, and Australian actor George Lazenby who starred in one Bond film, specifically "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969), and Roger Moore played in a total of seven Bond films during the 1970's and 1980's.  Mr. Moore played the role of 007 in more Bond movies than any other actor (so far).  As noted, Roger Moore was also the oldest actor to have played James Bond – he was age 45 in "Live and Let Die" (1973) which saw Bond fight with voodoo priests and heroin smugglers, and co-starred a young Jane Seymour as the Bond girl and Hervé Villechaize as one of the enemies.  Moore was age 58 when he announced his retirement in 1985 following his being featured in "A View to a Kill".  During his Bond tenure, he also appeared in the 1981 movie "The Cannonball Run", the car-race comedy with Burt Reynolds.

Roger Moore as James Bond, agent 007

After surrendering the role of James Bond to actor Timothy Dalton (who would star in "The Living Daylights" in 1987 and "Licence to Kill" in 1989), Roger Moore appeared in a half-dozen largely unexceptional movies (in the words of the New York Times), made a few television appearances and did voice work in animated films.  Mostly, however, he turned his attention elsewhere, becoming a UNICEF good-will ambassador in 1991. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1999 and he was knighted in 2003.

Roger Moore's portrayal of James Bond was very popular, although it was not without its critics, mostly from people who felt any actor to assume the role originated by Sean Connery were doomed to fail.  While many moviegoers enjoyed Roger Moore's portrayal of Bond as more of a light-hearted playboy who was always in control, the selection of Timothy Dalton to succeed him (at least for two Bond films) brought a different portrayal of the the character.

For example, Steven Jay Rubin wrote in The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopaedia (1995):

"Unlike Moore, who always seems to be in command, Dalton's Bond sometimes looks like a candidate for the psychiatrist's couch – a burned-out killer who may have just enough energy left for one final mission. That was Fleming's Bond – a man who drank to diminish the poison in his system, the poison of a violent world with impossible demands.... [H]is is the suffering Bond."

For the record, actor Timothy Dalton was succeeded for the role of James Bond by Irish actor Pierce Brosnan in four films: "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "The World Is Not Enough", and "Die Another Day", followed by actor Daniel Craig in all [thus far] the subsequent Bond movies.

That said, in addition to having starred in more James Bond films than any other actor, after surrendering the role of James Bond to Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore appeared in a half-dozen largely unexceptional movies (in the words of the New York Times).  His post-Bond films included such efforts as "The Quest" with Jean-Claude Van Damme and "Spice World" with the Spice Girls.  He also made a few TV appearances and did voice work in animated films.  Mostly, however, he turned his attention elsewhere, becoming a UNICEF good-will ambassador in 1991.  One of his neighbors in Swtizerland, the actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn, got him involved with UNICEF, the United Nations agency focused on children’s health and safety.  He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1999 and he was knighted in 2003.

He was forthcoming about his run as 007.  In a 2014, in an interview with NPR (see https://n.pr/1yF8U5n for detail), he said he thought his version of the spy who never met a foe he couldn't conquer or a woman he couldn't seduce, was the most humorous.

"I look like a comedic lover, and Sean [Connery] in particular, and Daniel Craig now, they are killers," Moore said. "They look like killers. I wouldn't like to meet Daniel Craig on a dark night if I'd said anything bad about him."

Although Roger Moore was knighted in his home country of the United Kingdom, his decision to relocate to Switzerland in order to avoid taxes was not unlike many celebrities, among them American soul and pop singer Tina Turner who also calls Switzerland home these days.

Roger Moore's net worth is estimated to be around £84 million.  The actor previously spoke about his love of luxury and said that he enjoyed spending money more than looking after it.  Speaking to the Telegraph in 2012 (see HERE for details), he said:

"I love cash. When I came out of the Army I went into reparatory theatre in Palmers Green and I think I got £9 or £10 a week and they were all in crispy £1 notes. The sheer luxury of them."

Roger Moore was divorced three times, from skater Doorn Van Steyn in 1953, English singer Dorothy Squires in 1969 and Italian actress Luisa Mattioli, the mother of his children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian, in 2000.  He married a fourth time, in 2002, to Swedish socialite Kristina Tholstrup, who survives him.  The family is planning a private funeral in Monaco for Roger Moore in accordance with his wishes.

Gen X Author Claims Too Many Baby Boomers Are 'Sociopathic'

If you were born between 1945 and 1965, you are by definition a Baby Boomer whether you admit it or not (the exact start and finish of a generation is not universally defined, but the consensus is that each generation lasts about twenty years, though people at the beginning or end could likely fit into the generation that precedes or succeeds it).

Yet contrary to the Boomer-centric publishing industry (or television, radio, movies or any other media outlet within their control) of years past, today Baby Boomers are no longer most of the authors, readers or publishers anymore, which means that's no longer a Boomer pep rally as it previously was (indeed, the publishing industry is struggling somewhat these days, which means that today, publishers more likely make decisions on what to publish based on what will actually sell).  It began when a venture capitalist questioned why technology hadn't improved as fast as it did previously (leading to slow economic productivity growth, listen/see http://bit.ly/2imEfHQ for more detail), or the recession lasted longer and saw a weaker recovery, and all of his research suggested that Boomer behavior and the economic/political policies implemented under their watch was largely responsible.

In that environment, Bruce Cannon Gibney, who is a 40-something Gen Xer (he was born in 1976), has published a new book entitled "A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America".  He says the Boomer attitude of "Me first and damn the consequences" has been a disaster for the country.  In short, He posits that too many Boomers are selfish, lacking in empathy and financially irresponsible and its been a disaster for the U.S. economy.  Known as the "Me Generation," the Baby Boomers have long been described as self-interested, but never quite in such damning terms.

"My assertion isn't that all Boomers are sociopaths, but that a sufficiently large percentage of them behave in ways that appear to be sociopathic and because they're such a large generation ... any personality defects could easily translate into political dysfunction. I think that is what happened."

Suffice to say, Mr. Gibney's new book is making headlines not only because of the provocative title, but because he uses a lot of verifiable facts to validate his central thesis that as a whole, the Baby Boomer generation have some sociopathic tendencies, and they have undermined the prosperous, progressive America they were raised in.  He uses credible statistics to show how Baby Boomers have turned American dynamism into stagnation, inequality, and bipartisan fiasco.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Bruce Cannon Gibney has also been getting a lot of angry mail since his new book, "A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America," came out in early March 2017.  Of course, a lot of that correspondence is still snail-mail paper letters, since Boomers tend not to e-mail as instinctively as subsequent generations do.  Still, he has wisely not published his own e-mail address, just in case.

There was an interesting video accompanying the typical news promoting a new book, which can be viewed below, or at http://ow.ly/CZKe309WwHa:


This Salon Talks Video was produced by Alexandra Clinton

Men's Journal had an interview with Mr. Gibney at https://bit.ly/2Vne7kQ which is worth reading. Also, the Boston Globe interviewed him which can be seen at http://bit.ly/2l9KXCA.

Similarly, WBUR, which is Boston's NPR news station had an equally interesting radio interview with him.  The central thesis is not Baby Boomer narcissism or sociopathy per se (he doesn’t claim to be a psychiatrist who can diagnose anyone), but the tendencies of the generation as a whole have failed to save for their own retirements as they should have, and are therefore are over-reliant upon their own children.  As proof, he notes that we see this in the national data based on cohort savings levels and national savings levels, for which there have been in significant declines in savings rates since the 1970's when the Baby Boomer generation first entered the workforce.

Beyond that, he also cites data that supports the claim that Boomers have largely failed to support public policies that maintained critical infrastructure on things like roads, airports, schools and the like, putting future generations at a disadvantage relative to the environment Boomers grew up in, which he claims is sociopathic behavior.

"I don't posit that all Boomers are sociopaths, just that a large fraction of them are," Mr. Gibney said.  "The study done by the National Institutes of Health speculated in the '80s that the consequences [of Boomer behavior] would get worse over time, and I think it has," said Gibney.

Raised in an era of seemingly unending economic prosperity with relatively permissive parents, and the first generation to grow up with a television, Baby Boomers developed an appetite for consumption and a lack of empathy for future generations that has resulted in unfortunate policy decisions, argues Mr. Gibney.

"These things conditioned the Boomers into some pretty unhelpful behaviors and the behaviors as a whole seem sociopathic," he said.

Not surprisingly, he also cites the Boomers' unprecedented divorce rates.  Mr. Gibney told WBUR:

"Prior generations did not divorce frequently, in substantial part because no-fault divorce wasn't around until '69. But the odd thing is that the Boomers actually have higher rates of divorce than even their children at comparable points in the marriage. So their rates of divorce are lower. And that's relevant not because divorce is a moral good or bad, per se, in any given situation, but because one of the key sociopathic indicators is an inability to form a lasting relationship, and I think divorce certainly falls into that category."

To listen to WBUR’s interview with Mr. Gibney, listen below, or visit http://wbur.fm/2mJId1d:


Washington, DC's WTOP Federal News Radio interviewed Bruce Cannon Gibney on April 5, 2017. That interview can be listened to below, or by visiting https://wtop.com/life-style/2017/04/13310521/:
 

Canada's MacLean's magazine covered it from a non-American perspective, which some have equated to being the equivalent the U.S. magazine Time or Britain's Economist, and that can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2m1nHvK.

"A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America" is an important work because it systematically dismantles many of the claims that Baby Boomers have made for the past several decades.  He also argues that several hallmarks that Boomers have attributed to themselves are simply them taking credit for the work of others.  He notes that it's time that we dispense with this meretricious Baby Boomer rebranding that's gone on.  For example, items Baby Boomers like to give themselves credit for, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not occur because Baby Boomers decided to protest, rather that legislation was passed into law by their parents.  He also notes that Brown v. Board of Education was not decided by 14-year-olds, and that would have been the oldest Baby Boomer at the time.  It was decided by nine old, white men on the U.S. Supreme Court. The Clean Air Act that was passed in 1963. Again, that's not a Boomer victory either.

Although his core thesis is negative, it's probably not completely unexpected.  Gen X has been told by Baby Boomers for its entire existence that there would never, ever be a generation as 'great' as the Baby Boom was (although now we have the Millennial generation which not only outnumbers Baby Boomers, but will eventually surpass them in votes, too).  Gen X was also force-fed Boomer music, movies and television for decades.  But keep in mind that Gen X fought Baby Boomers over our name, as many Boomers wanted to call Generation X (unoriginally) "Baby Busters", but we know how that turned out.  Similarly, Millennials followed the same path and rejected the labels "Gen Y" and "Boomer Babies" for a label that's better suited to them.  As a result, there is deep-seated resentment of the Baby Boomer generation, especially among the generations that follow.  As a result, they don't always write glowing endorsements that Baby Boomers have grown accustomed to.

Forbes does suggest that Gen X seems destined to assume political power in the not-too-distant future due to no other reason than demographic reality (see http://bit.ly/2n1HQ4d for the article), and Politico suggests (see http://politi.co/1K9zu1t for the article) that the country as a whole will likely be better off once Gen X assumes political power in Washington, DC.  But Boomers have been slow to relinquish power, perhaps to ensure that they keep policy benefiting them as long as possible.

Bruce Cannon Gibney does say "I do have hope [for the future]. Young people do seem to embrace an empathetic agenda, up to and including supporting senior entitlements, I think in part because they've been misled about it. They're certainly much more progressive about climate change and civil rights than the Boomers are. So I am hopeful, but it will be some time before they're in control. The Boomers still hold 69% of the House. They're obviously in the White House for some time. Whether that's four more weeks or eight more years remains to be seen. And they control substantial chunks of the judiciary and the administrative state. So we are going to be living in a Boomer America for some time, in part because the policies themselves will carry forward for some time."

Pop Culture Reunion: Who's the Boss?

On October 5, 2016, the main cast of the 1980's sitcom "Who's the Boss" reunited 25 years after the show ended in 1992.  The reunion video appears on Time's (relatively) new streaming video service (which launched in September 2016) called the People/Entertainment Weekly Network.  A link to the news can be seen at http://ew.com/article/2016/09/30/whos-boss-ew-reunion/ and the video (and link to it) can be seen below.  The re-united cast dished on one of their show's most iconic episodes, "Samantha's Growing Up". The basic synopsis of that episode was Samantha was growing up fast, only Tony was reluctant to admit it. Reality set in when he had to buy her first bra.  When Samantha was upset over his purchase, Tony asked Angela for her help with shopping for Samantha's first bra.

In the reunion, Tony Danza (Tony Micelli), Judith Light (Angela Robinson Bower), and Alyssa Milano (Samantha "Sam" Micelli) shared how they could only say the word "bra" on broadcast television once at that time because the network censors were still very actively controlling what could (and could not) be said on the show.  Although all of the cast is present, the conversation was dominated by Tony Danza, Judith Light and Alyssa Milano, whereas Danny Pintauro (Jonathan Bower) and Katherine Helmond (Mona Robinson) are a bit quieter, although we don't really know how much was edited out of the final reunion video.  The video clip can be found below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/dTcTYKJy2Zc .



About Who's the Boss?

The title of the show refers to the clear role reversal of the two lead actors, where a woman was the breadwinner and a man (although he was not her husband) stayed at home and took care of the house.  It challenged then-contemporary stereotypes of Italian-American young men as macho and boorish, but wholly ignorant of life outside of urban working-class neighborhoods like Brooklyn where the character Tony was from, whereas Tony was depicted as sensitive, intelligent and domestic with an interest in intellectual pursuits.

The premise of the show was that former major-league baseball player (he was reportedly a second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals) Tony Micelli, who was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury, along with his young daughter Samantha, takes a job as live-in housekeeper at the suburban Fairfield, Connecticut household of advertising exec Angela Bower.  Angela was uptight and obsessed with her work.  But Tony was eager to move his daughter out of crowded Brooklyn, New York, so the gig in Connecticut seemed like a perfect place to raise his daughter.  Tony and Sam had to adjust to their new lives with the Bowers -- Angela, her son Jonathan, and her mother, Mona.  Mona Robinson was Angela's feisty, sexually progressive mother, and Mona dated all kinds of men, from college age to silver-haired CEOs. That portrayal of an "older woman" with an active social and sex life was also unusual for TV at the time.

In terms of sitcoms, Who's the Boss premiered at a time when broadcast TV was still king (1984), which was just before cable (and later, streaming) commanded a growing share of public attention and ratings (and therefore ad dollars), or industry creativity and awards.  As a result, it was somewhat unique because it shares something with true television classics like I Love Lucy which came from an era where TV was only broadcast over the airwaves and was still a relatively new technology.  While Who's the Boss? got mixed reviews from critics, it was a ratings success for ABC, and continued for an impressive eight seasons.

Cast of Who's the Boss?

The cast was also an interesting ensemble.

Tony Danza was a TV sitcom veteran (in addition to being a former professional boxer in real-life), having previously starred in the ABC sitcom Taxi roughly a decade earlier.  Judith Light was a veteran of the stage and of TV soap operas, having been a popular and longstanding cast member (playing character Karen Wolek) on ABC's One Life to Live for a number of years before stepping into primetime TV.  Katherine Helmond was another sitcom vet, having starred on the sitcom Soap among others.

Both of the children in the cast pretty much got their start on "Who's the Boss".  While Alyssa Milano (age 44 as of 2017) continued to work periodically in entertainment, as did Judith Light (age 68 and as of 2017, she regularly appears on Amazon's series Transparent), and Katherine Helmond played recurring characters on both the sitcom Coach and Everybody Loves Raymond, Helmond has since largely retired (she's now age 87), and Tony Danza (age 65) has also unofficially retired, while Danny Pintauro has basically left show business.

Life After Who's The Boss?

A year earlier, former child actor Danny Pintauro announced that he was HIV positive and had been living that way for over 15 years (see http://usat.ly/1KFryBK for more), making him one of a few celebrities along with Charlie Sheen and Magic Johnson to do so.  He broke the news when he told told talk show host Oprah Winfrey that at the advice of his former Who's the Boss? co-star Judith Light, he shared the story with the celebrity tabloid the National Enquirer, which threatened to out him, but instead, he said he felt that the Enquirer's coverage of his news was fair and balanced rather than salacious, and that was mainly because he was forthcoming with his story.   Catch his interview with Oprah for the OWN cable network on YouTube at https://youtu.be/GUCJgQndgGQ for more.


Because Pintauro's diagnosis took place a number of years after medications were developed to effectively treat the HIV virus, his story was quite different from earlier celebrities diagnosed in the late 1970's or early 1980's (think of people like Rock Hudson as the most notable example), and he's now a happily-married gay man, rather than a tragedy.  But he's also avoided staying in show business, preferring to live his adult life outside of the Hollywood spotlight, making him an anomaly among former child stars, which has a sordid history of leaving child-stars-turned-adults devastated with drug/alcohol addiction and ruin, or religious cult membership to give a few examples.

One need look no further than the cast of the 1970's sitcom Diff'rent Strokes as an example, where Dana Plato went from TV star to robbing convenience stores before her untimely death in 1999 at the age of 34.  She wasn't alone.  Her co-star Todd Bridges battled a crack cocaine addiction in his twenties, and the other child co-star Gary Coleman, struggled financially later in life.  In 1989, he successfully sued his parents and business adviser over misappropriation of his assets, only to declare bankruptcy a decade later.  Unfortunately, Gary Coleman died in 2010 at age 42.  But Coleman was also parodied in the Broadway show Avenue Q, which won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical, and a character presented as Gary Coleman in the show works as the superintendent of the apartment complex where the musical takes place.  In the song "It Sucks to Be Me", he laments his fate.  Initially, the producers intended for Coleman to play himself, but he never showed up to the meeting with them, and subsequently threatened to sue them, although the lawsuit never materialized.  Given the track record of child-stars-gone-bad personified by the cast of Diff'rent Strokes, the fact that Danny Pintauro left show business should be viewed positively.

As for the others in the cast, former child castmate and on-screen pseudo-sister Alyssa Milano is, perhaps due to her age, been one of the more active cast members still working on-screen (aside from Judith Light), but her work has also been more limited by comparison, consisting of  a number of made-for-television movies, guest-star appearances, occasional TV celebrity game-show and daytime talk-show appearances, as well as a few television commercials.

As already noted, Judith Light has likely had the most active acting career after her work on Who’s the Boss?  Having really begun her acting career on Broadway, Judith Light has continued to return to working on the stage, having received several Tony nominations and winning two Tony's (one in 2012 and another in 2013).  She's also played in a variety of different television roles since starring on Who's the Boss, including recurring roles on both the NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and on ABC's Ugly Betty (for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2007), and on the short-lived TNT reboot series Dallas.  Most recently, she's been starring as Shelly Pfefferman on Amazon's successful series Transparent, for which she received noms for the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Critics' Choice Television Award.

Although Tony Danza continued to work on television immediately following the conclusion of Who's the Boss?, mostly in made-for-television movies, and he briefly had his own syndicated daytime talk show known as The Tony Danza Show which ran from 1997-1998, as well as various standalone appearances, his work has been considerably less frequent in the past decade, and the consensus is that he is now semi-officially retired now (he may still work in entertainment occasionally, most likely when his agent brings something of interest to his attention).

As for the sitcom Who's the Boss, I think the reunion episode was cute (there had been previous reunions, but the timing seemed right this time around) and the length was right for an environment where short clips seem all the American attention-span can accommodate.  Whether the People/Entertainment Weekly Network releases any others remains to be seen.

Mama's Family: From Network TV Also-Ran to Star of Syndicated TV

During the 1970's, analog broadcast television (and that's pretty much all that existed, as cable and satellite TV wouldn't really appear for more than a decade, and digital wouldn't emerge until the 2000's) was dominated by the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC, all of which were evolved from successful, national radio networks a generation earlier), PBS and in some metropolitan areas, so-called "independent" stations (these often appeared on the UHF channel spectrum, where there was considerable broadcast capacity) which focused mainly on local news programs, occasional local programs and a battery of network television re-runs long before TV Land would even claim the space.

Although News Corp. converted a number of previously "independent" television stations to Fox television in the 1980's, and other networks including Paramount and Warner Brothers followed the same path before bowing out in the late 1990's as a drain they couldn't make work work financially, there was some programming success from independent TV stations, and those shows sometimes went into syndication.  Some examples include the seventies children's program The Magic Garden which originally aired on New York's WPIX (Channel 11), and Sally Jessy Raphael (later shortened to simply Sally) daytime talk show which ran during the 1980's, having begun on the KSDK-TV (Channel 5) NBC affiliate in St. Louis before quickly moving into national syndication.

Broadcast syndication is the licensing of the right to broadcast television programs without going through a broadcast network.  The success of broadcast syndication peaked in the 1970's and 1980's.  Some of the best-known syndicated television shows included various game-shows, among them: Hollywood Squares, Name that Tune (in which a young vocalist then named Kathy Lee Crosby née Epstein sang tunes the contestants had to guess; she is perhaps better known by her more recent married surname of Gifford, and is famous for her work as a top-rated morning network TV show host), The Gong Show, Wheel of Fortune and others, including a number of different musical-variety shows starring the likes of Dolly Parton, Andy Williams and Sha Na Na, as well as more traditional TV programming including Jim Henson's The Muppet Show, and Mama's Family, which was spun-off from the popular 'The Family' skits that aired on The Carol Burnett Show, as well as Charles in Charge, Silver Spoons, Webster, Too Close for Comfort, and What's Happening!!.

Like Mama's Family, which first began as a series on network television (NBC), some syndicated TV shows saw new life in syndication after being dropped by network television, including 9 to 5, which originally aired on ABC, but was later rebooted for syndicated television distribution, as well as The Nanny which began on CBS and was later run in syndication, principally on the Lifetime cable network.  Mama's Family's subsequent success is impressive since it came in spite of the absence of such famous stars as Carol Burnett, Betty White and Rue McClanahan (the latter two left to star in The Golden Girls, see https://goo.gl/DD3pCP for more).

In addition to game shows and sitcoms, some animated shows ran in syndication, too, including the cartoons Underdog (which started as a network program that ran on NBC), He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Pink Panther.  Meanwhile, syndication also brought us a number of talk-shows, including the most successful late-night talk-show The Arsenio Hall Show, as well as the daytime talk-shows including Sally, Morton Downey, Jr. and Rosie O'Donnell, which had brief periods of impressive ratings and influence; while others, such as Oprah Winfrey and Maury Povich, had a much more sustained run.

As already noted, one of syndicated broadcast television's more popular programs was Mama's Family, which had its origins as a popular skit called The Family that ran on The Carol Burnett Show.  That program had a brief run on network television (NBC), but was even more successful in syndication.  First-run syndication in the 1970’s made it possible for some shows that were no longer wanted by TV networks to remain on the air.  The syndicated version of Mama's Family garnered substantially higher ratings than did its network version, eventually becoming the highest-rated sitcom in first-run syndication.  Set in the fictitious southern town of Raytown, many have speculated it could be Raytown, Missouri, but that town is in Kansas City suburbs, not the rural Ozarks locale on the Arkansas border that is most likely the Raytown of the show.  For the record, the actual address for the house featured on Mama's Family in the intro (at least the home in one of the show's iterations, Seasons 1 and 2 were on NBC while subsequent seasons were released in syndication) was in the Los Angeles area, specifically at 1027 Montrose Avenue, South Pasadena, CA 91030.  Its never stated specifically where Raytown is in the show itself, leaving it up to the viewers to decide.

The Me-TV network featured a 30-second story/summary of Mama's Family which can be viewed below, or at https://youtu.be/CeL1YkgKp3o:



In 2016, after a several-year hiatus from cable and broadcast television (in most markets, anyway), reruns of Mama's Family returned to television.  As of 2017, the show was airing on Me-TV as well as MTV's Logo cable network.  Also, in 2013, the entire series of Mama's Family (both its network seasons 1 and 2 which originally aired on NBC, and the subsequent reboot in syndication) was released on DVD.  Previously, only Season 1 had been released on DVD by Warner Bros. Home Video, but DVD releases of all subsequent seasons were delayed, as various legal entanglements kept the remainder of series from being released on DVD.  Those issues were finally resolved in late 2012, and resulted in the series being released by mail order initially, and subsequently retail distribution.  The mail order DVD series had some cast reunions (at least the cast from the syndicated iteration of the show, including regulars Vicki Lawrence, Ken Berry and Dorothy Lyman) from the syndicated iteration, but excluded Vinton 'Buzz' Harper, Jr. (played by Eric Brown) and Sonja Harper (played by Karin Argoud)  The syndicated iteration of the show included the delinquent grandson from Thelma Harper's daughter Eunice and her husband Ed Higgins named Bubba (played by Allan Kayser), and also included prissy neighbor Iola Boylen (played by Beverly Archer).  The DVD release of the series has one of those reunions.  The promotional video for the collection can be seen below, or by visiting https://imdb.to/2EcQUdL. Note that the promo ends at 1:51, you can stop at that point.


Me-TV's website also has an entertaining personality test which asks users a series of questions about which character from all of Mama's Family is most like you.  Visit that at https://www.metv.com/quiz/which-mamas-family-member-are-you to take the quiz.

Note that Carol Burnett's official YouTube channel has a number of original "The Family" skits which aired on The Carol Burnett Show, considered the origins for Mama's Family.  Visit https://goo.gl/X1rb2F to watch some of the classic skits!

Author P.S., December 1, 2018: There was news today that actor and dancer Ken Berry, who was perhaps best known to kids who grew up during the eighties as the actor who played Vinton Harper on TV's "Mama's Family" passed away today at age 85. He was also known for his prior work on the sixties sitcom "F Troop" as well as occasional TV commercials in between longer-term television work. The family did not disclose a cause of death. The full obituary was published in Variety, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times among other publications.

Linda Ronstadt: Voice Silenced Due to Health

In 2013, the smooth-voiced singer Linda Ronstadt, who racked up an impressive 11 Grammy awards, 2 Academy of Country Music awards and an Emmy award during her lengthy recording career, revealed that she had Parkinson's Disease, which meant that she, in her own words, "can't sing a note" anymore.  Both AARP interviewed her at http://bit.ly/2cCqiaD and People magazine interviewed her at http://bit.ly/2cBC3JJ which are worth reading.  Evidently, the Parkinson's Disease has also impaired her daily movement, but she said that she can still get around, although certainly not like she used to.

With a recording career that spanned rock, pop, country and everything in between, Linda Ronstadt really did not belong in a single musical genre, only what her voice could accomplish.  Indeed, few pop singers have been as successful, as durable, and as wide-ranging as Linda Ronstadt.  She began her career back in the 1960's in a band called the Stone Poneys, and one of her best-known songs "Different Drum" came from her time there.  Below is a recording of Ms. Ronstadt performing one of her songs with the band in the late 1960's (this is the "official" Vevo video of a live performance on YouTube).  Watch below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/TGZznJXY1Xc:



Ms. Ronstadt is a music-biz anomaly for many reasons.  For one thing, she grew up on a ranch in the Arizona desert near Tucson, but she is part Mexican even though she speaks (and formerly sang) English perfectly.  Indeed, as a child she grew up with Spanish-language music that her grandfather taught her, although few would mistake Ms. Ronstadt as a Mexican immigrant.  She also spanned musical genres years before others did (I've talked about country cross-over artists before, check the archives for details).  For example, anyone who thinks Taylor Swift is unique because she began in country before moving to rock likely doesn't know Linda Ronstadt, even if they know her famous music.  The former songstress has collaborated with some of Nashville’s best-known recording artists, including her friend Dolly Parton.

Ms. Ronstadt also released a memoir in 2013, reflecting on her long music career.  NPR's Terry Gross, who is the host of the program Fresh Air spoke with Linda Ronstadt, which can be listed to below or at the following link:  http://www.npr.org/2013/09/17/223172521/in-memoir-linda-ronstadt-describes-her-simple-dreams.


Similarly, WNYC's Studio 360 interviewed Linda Ronstadt in August 2014, well after her public disclosure of her Parkinson's Disease diagnosis, which can be listened to below, or by visiting: http://www.wnyc.org/story/linda-ronstandts-curtain-call/.


Finally, NPR's popular Diane Rehm show interviewed Linda Ronstadt in July 2014, around the time her new book was published.  Although I cannot embed that interview, the link can be found at: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-07-29/singer-linda-ronstadt-her-life-music.

Although Ms. Ronstadt's voice has been silenced because of her health, her impressive library of recorded music will remain with us.  If you aren't already familiar with her music, now would be a great time to discover her musical library!

Odd Way Race Was Depicted in the 1970's

For most of TV's history, the images on screen were anything but diverse.  Instead, TV reflected a depiction of the U.S. as an almost exclusively Caucasian-American, heterosexual, Christian population (in spite of the fact that most of the industry's most important executives were Jewish).  But following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it became clear that either they started depicting people outside of that narrow population (usually, that meant including African-Americans) or it might be imposed upon them by lawmakers or the courts.  This meant that people who grew up in the 1970's were the first generation of people to grow up in this "new" world.

The cover of a Ginn basic reader circa 1973

It wasn't just Hollywood, even publishers of grade-school textbooks faced the reality that the U.S. was never truly as white as they'd portrayed it to be, so the readers used in grade-schools across the country suddenly faced revisions to accommodate reality as it actually was, rather than as some racists wanted it to be.  Most notably, that meant the inclusion of African-Americans in the dialogue and illustrations, although far less of smaller demographic minority populations at the time, including Hispanics, Asians, Hawaiians, Native Americans and certainly no sexual minorities.  Of course, those groups did not include a legacy of slavery as was the case with Southern blacks.  Ironically, in many parts of the country, "integration" as it came to be known at the time was largely something that was talked about, but didn't really exist except in conversation because many Americans had self-segregated themselves by living near people who looked like them, worshiped as they did, and thought like they did.  But integration had to start someplace.  The problem was that publishers and TV execs did not exactly "embrace" integration in the beginning, rather they stumbled into it.  That meant that kids growing up during that era were seeing failed integration experiments in person.

Some of my favorite examples were the late-1960's to mid-1970's TV sitcoms.  For example, in early in 1970, the sitcom Bewitched starring Elizabeth Montgomery was at the top of the ratings (catch one of my posts about that sitcom at https://goo.gl/olfrdW for more).  The show featured a husband Darrin Stephens and his stay-at-home, witch-turned-wife Samantha and their daughter Tabitha (they added a son Adam towards the end of the show).  The show also featured regulars including Samantha's meddling mother Endora (played by Agnes Moorehead), and occasionally others including her uncle Arthur, portrayed by gay actor Paul Lynde, Darrin's boss Larry Tate (played by David White) as well as nosey neighbor Gladys Kravitz, and Larry Tate's wife Louise, and a few others.  Although the replacement of actor Dick York who played Darrin Stephens with another actor Dick Sargeant (who like Paul Lynde was a gay actor) got the biggest headlines, the show replaced other recurring characters with different talent, including the actress who played Gladys Kravitz, originally played by Alice Pearce, but following her death, the role was played by Sandra Gould, and also the replacement of  character Louise Tate from actress Irene Vernon subsequently with Kasey Rogers.  Note that a 1980's sitcom, The Golden Girls acknowledged the character-switching.  In season 2, episode 24 "To Catch a Neighbor", the character Sophia (played by Estelle Getty),  has a dialogue in which she tells her daugher Dorothy that she's going to their criminal neighbor's house because they need her experience, noting that she's lived through "two world wars, 15 vendettas, 4 operations and 2 Darrin's on Bewitched".

From my perspective, I think its appropriate to acknowledge how race was addressed on television in the years that followed the late 1960's civil rights battles (including such notable U.S. Supreme Court victories as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and Loving v. Virginia).  While those legal issues may have been resolved, public acceptance among many still lagged the Courts, and continue to this day.

The origins of the Bewitched episode "Sisters At Heart" show were actually quite noble.  Actress Elizabeth Montgomery and her then-husband/producer William Asher had visited a Los Angeles area high school Thomas Jefferson High. It was early in 1970 and they were touched by the plight of the students at that school, especially the minority students, some of whom they stayed in touch with through their graduations.  Because of that interaction, they also took an idea that the students themselves came up with, and turned it into an episode of Bewitched.  Elizabeth Montgomery even gave a special message to the audience before the show including acknowledgement of the show's sponsor Oscar Mayer.


The episode originally aired on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1970, and yet these days, you might legitimately wonder how the episode ever made it on the air.  The episode was called "Sisters At Heart" began with Tabitha introducing her friend (who is African-American) and McMahon-Tate wanting to entertain a new client. The client wants to investigate the home life of the people he's working with. The client also happens to be a racist. Tabitha and her friend declare themselves as "sisters" and the African-American child answers the door when the client enters. The client assumes that Darrin Stevens has a black child. Tabitha's friend then tells the client that she has a white sister.  After the meeting, Tabitha tries to rationalize how they could be sisters. First, Tabitha makes both girls white.  Then she makes them both black, but remember, she's a child who hasn't mastered the art of "wishcraft" yet.  She finally tries again and they both end up polka-dotted with the other girl's skin color as dots.

In 1970, rather than generating an outcry for showing blackface on network television, the show was actually awarded a special Emmy. These days, some would likely completely lose it if actors appeared in blackface on national television regardless of the reason.  But "Sisters At Heart" now stands as a rather unique piece of television history.  Indeed, the late Elizabeth Montgomery stated this was one of her favorite episodes of Bewitched.

But the episode stands out for another reason in my mind.  The fact that the African-American characters are never seen again on the show, not even the character Keith Wilson (played by actor Don Marshall), who supposedly worked at McMann-Tate, the advertising firm where Darrin is employed, nor is daughter Lisa Wilson (played by Venetta Rogers) ever seen again.

It wasn't only Bewitched that stumbled on the race issue in the 1970's with odd, one-off depictions of characters who are never mentioned again, many other TV series did things in a very similar way.  Only legendary TV writer and producer Norman Lear, who began with the smash hit All In the Family, really included some of the first African-Americans (others featured black cast members, even if those weren't always regular cast members).  Mr. Lear pushed the proverbial racial envelope even further in subsequent years with several hit sitcoms featuring African-American casts, including Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.  The Jeffersons, in particular, was among the most popular, running for an impressive 11 seasons, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms in the history of American television.

Although content rights come and go, for the time-being the "Sisters at Heart" episode can be seen at https://dai.ly/x6gjguc or below: