The Ten Commandments (1956) on Television

Tonight the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is once more airing The Ten Commandments (1956), Cecil B. DeMille's biblical epic starring Charlton Heston. For decades it has been an annual tradition on ABC, and an annual tradition for many viewers. I have seen most airings on the film on ABC since my childhood.

The Ten Commandments (1956) made its television premiere on ABC on Sunday, February 18 1973. Just as it does today, ABC showed the movie in its entirety that night. For the most part ABC has always aired the film in its entirety on a single night, although there have been at least two instances in which ABC divided The Ten Commandments into two parts. The first time was upon its second airing in 1974, when the first part aired on Sunday, February 17 and the second part on Monday, February 18. A second instance in which The Ten Commandments aired in two parts was in 1997, when it aired on Sunday, March 30 and Monday, March 31.

Since it s television debut, ABC has changed the time of year when they air The Ten Commandments. Although today the movie is associated with Passover and Easter, it made its television debut on Presidents Day weekend in 1973 and it aired in conjunction with President's day in 1974 as well. It was in 1975 that The Ten Commandments began airing on Easter Sunday. The Ten Commandments aired on Sunday nights until 2006, when it was moved to Saturday might. Since then, with but a few exceptions, it has aired on the Saturday before Easter. Among the exceptions to this was 2023, when it aired on April 1, eight days before Palm Sunday, because the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs fell on the Saturday before Palm Sunday that year.

Since The Ten Commandments made its television debut in 1973, there has been only one year in which ABC did not air it. That year was 1999, when ABC decided that they did not want to disrupt their Sunday night lineup (which included the hit show The Practice). As a result ABC received a number of phone calls from irate viewers for whom watching The Ten Commandments had become a family tradition. ABC has aired it once a year ever since.I have to think it will continue to air annually as long as there are broadcast networks.

10 Years Ago I Was on Turner Classic Movies

It was ten years ago today that I had the honour of introducing A Hard Day's Night (1964) with Ben Mankiewicz on Turner Classic Movies. This was part of the TCM Fan Favourites series that the channel was doing in 2014-2015. In the Fan Favourites segments, TCM fans got to discuss favourite films with Ben Mankiewicz. The first batch of Fan Favourites segments aired in November 2014 and included Aurora--better known as Citizen Screen (who introduced Meet Me in St. Louis), TCM Party co-founder  Paula Guthat (who introduced The Lemon Drop Kid),  Miguel Rodriguez of the Horrible Imaginings Podcast (who introduced The Thing from Another World), and TCM Party regular Joel Williams (who introduced Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).

I was part of the second batch of Fan Favourites, which aired on April 11 2015. The day begin with Christina Rinaldi introducing Footlight Parade (1933), followed by myself introducing A Hard Day's Night. After me there was Donna D'Andrea with The Way We Were (1973) and Steve Zeoke wtih The Defiant Ones (1958). Steve and Christina and I would become friends following our appearances on TCM.

Anyway, It was in January 2015 that Turner Classic Movies announced in posts on Google+, Instagram, and Facebook that they were looking for four more fans for their next Fan Favourites segment. While the first time Turner Classic Movies asked fans to submit ten different films they would like to introduce, in January TCM asked fans to select one film and tell why they chose that film. In my case, I replied to their post on Google+ and explained why I would choose A Hard Day's Night (which should come to no surprise to those who know me well). Much to my surprise I was chosen as one of the four viewers for Fan Favourites almost immediately. Steve Zeoke always thought that TCM had wanted me from the very beginning, as I was one of TCMParty's original members.  Anyway, those of us who took part in the Fan Favourite segments were sworn to secret until the month they were about to air. I cannot tell you how hard it was not to tell everyone I was going to be on Turner Classic Movies!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Fan Favourite segments, they were accomplished using video chat. That is, when we did my introduction, Ben was in TCM's studios in Atlanta, while I was at home. Before my chat with Ben, I had two practice chats with  Courtney, Associate Producer at Turner Classic Movies, and Mardy, the sound engineer at TCM, to work out any technical difficulties.  As to the actual shooting itself, the introductions were shot in the order in which they will appear, which meant that I went on second. 

Turner Classic Movies sent each of us took part in my class of Fan Favourite segments a DVD with our segments. I never have watched mine as I cannot stand to look at myself in photos or in videos. If you are wondering why there are so few pictures of me, that is why. In the nearly ten years I have had the DVD, I have never watched it.

Sadly, I think TCM only did about one or two more Fan Favourites. I know my friends Annette and Meaghan introduced films in September 2015. I really enjoyed doing it myself. At the time I did worry about how I would come off on television, but all of my friends thought I did well and, most importantly, Vanessa still thought I was cute.  I really wish they had continued with the segments, as I thought they were fun. I have always enjoyed seeing other fans talk about their favourite movies, and often the fans know more about their favourite movies than some of the experts. Introducing A Hard Day's Night on TCM will remain one of my favourite memories.

Three Songs from Blondie

The soundtrack to my life when I was in my middle teens included such bands as Cheap Trick, The Cars, The Knack, The Ramones, and Blondie. It is for that reason that I was particularly saddened by Clem Burke's death. Aside from being the drummer of one of my favourite band and one of the best drummers ever, Clem Burke's death spells the end of Blondie for me. It's hard to see the band continuing with only Deborah Harry and Chris Stein, particularly given Chris Stein's health has not been good of late. Anyway, I have been listening to Blondie more than usual and I thought I would share three of my favourite songs from the group.

First up is my all-time favourite Blondie song, "Atomic." The song was written by keyboardist Jimmy Destri and Debbie Harry. It originated as his attempt to doing something along the line of Blondie's earlier song "Heart of Glass," but evolved into something else. Amazingly enough, while "Atomic" is one of Blondie's best known songs, it only went to no. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in 1979.


Like "Atomic,' "Dreaming" is also from the Blondie album Eat to the Beat. It was written by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry. The song grew out the line "dreaming is free," which occurred to Chris Stein. Debbie Harry then worked out the rest of the lyrics from there. I have always thought that "Dreaming" was one of Blondie's more purely power pop songs, power pop being my favourite subgenre of rock music.Though I don't think it is remembered as well as "Atomic," it actually did better on the Billboard Hot 100, going all the way to no. 27.



While "Atomic" and "Dreaming" were both singles, "Petty Baby" was an album track from Parallel Lines. The song was supposedly inspired by Brooke Shields in the movie Pretty Baby (1978), While I have no doubt that this is true, I have always had trouble wrapping my head around it because of the line "petite ingenue." Supposedly by the time she was 13 she was already 5' 4", which I really wouldn't describe as "petite." Maybe Debbie Harry underestimated Brooke Shields's height or simply liked the line. Regardless, I do love the song and there is no denying it is catchy.

Godspeed Drummer Clem Burke

Clem Burke, the drummer for the rock group Blondie, died on April 6 2025 at the age of 70. The cause was cancer. He had played on every single one of Blondie's albums.

Clem Burke ws born Clement Bozewski on November 24 1954 in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father had also been a drummer and he began playing drums while very young. In the late Sixties and early Seventies he played with various local New Jersey bands. He was also a member of the St Andrew's Bridgemen Drum and Bugle Corps in Bayonne for a time.

It was in early 1975 that Debbie Harry and Chris Stein recruited Clem Burke to replace original drummer Billy O'Connor. The band went onto perform regularly at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in New York City. They eventually signed with Private Stock Records and their first, self-titled album was released in December 1976. Their debut album would be followed by Plastic Letters in 1978. Their breakthrough album, Parallel Lines, was released in 1978. It was also that year that they had their first major hit, "Heart of Glass," which went all the way to no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Blondie continued to do very well, producing such hits as "Call Me," "Atomic," "The Tide is High," and "Rapture," until their album The Hunter in 1982. The album itself only went to no. 33 on the Billboard album chart while the only single from the album to chart, "Island of Lost Souls," only went to no. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band announced they had disbanded in November 1982.

While Blonde was split up,Clem Burke would play with various other artists. He played frequently with The Romantics, and even appeared on their albums Made in Detroit (1993) and 61/49 (2003). He also played with Eurhythmics on two albums (In the Garden in 1981 an Revenge in 1986). Clem Burke also worked with such artists as Iggy Pop, Chequered Past, Pete Townshend, The Adult Net, The Plimsouls, and others.

Blonde regrouped in 1997 and released their first new album in years, No Exit, in 1999. Clem Burke appeared on every one of their albums until the final one, Pollinator, in 2017. When Blondie wasn't touring he played with a Blonde tribute band, Bootleg Blondie.

Clem Burke was one of the best drummers in the history of rock music. His style was not unlike that of Keith Moon or Earl Palmer. He hit hard and he hit fast. That is not to say that he was not capable of subtlety,  and he could play on a ballad as easily as he could a power pop rabble rouser. It was Clem Burke's adaptability as a drummer that let Blondie do songs in styles from disco ("Heart of Glass") to reggae ("The Tide is High"). It is little wonder that he played with artists as diverse as The Romantics, Wanda Jackson, and The Ramones. He was definitely one of the best drummers of his time.

Jay North Passes On

Jay North, beset known as the star of the classic sitcom Dennis the Menace, died on April 6 2025 at the age of 73. The cause was colon cancer, which he had been fighting for years.  He also starred in the 1966 movie Maya and the short-lived TV show of the same name.

Jay North was born on August 3 1951. He was only four years old when his father left his family. He never saw his father again. His mother was the secretary to the West Coast director of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). He was six years old when his mother, through her connections with AFTRA, arranged for him to appear on the local children's program Cartoon Express on Los Angeles television station KHJ. It was there that talent agent Hazel MacMillan discovered him.

Jay North made his television debut on an episode of Wanted: Dead or Alive in 1958, playing a boy who hires Josh Randall to track down Santa Claus. In the late Fifties he also guest starred on the shows 77 Sunset Strip, Rescue 8, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Sugarfoot, The Detectives, The Donna Reed Show, and The Red Skelton. It was in 1959 that he began his starring role on Denice the Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketchum comic strip of the same name. The show proved to be a success and ran for four seasons. He made his film debut in The Miracle of the Hills (1959). In the late Fifties he also appeared in the movies The Big Operator (1959) and Pepe (1960). In the latter he had a cameo as Dennis the Menace.

In the Sixties Jay North continued to appear on Dennis the Menace. He appeared in the movies Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) and Maya (1966). Maya (1966) led to the short-lived television series Maya, on which Jay North also starred. He also guest starred on the shows The Red Skelton Show, Wagon Train, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Lucy Show,My Three Sons, and Jericho. He provided the voice of Prince Turhan on the "Arabian Knights" cartoon segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. He also provided the voice of Terry Dexter on the animated cartoon Here Comes the Grump.

In the Seventies Jay North voiced a teen-aged Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show. He guest starred on Lassie and appeared in the TV movie Scout's Honor. He appeared in the B-movie The Teacher (1974). He served for a time in the United States Navy.

In th Eighties he had a week-long guest appearance on the soap opera General Hospital. He also gust starred on Not Necessarily the News. He appeared in the Yugoslavian movie Dikiy veter (1985).  In the Nineties he was a guest voice, playing himself, on The Simpsons. In the Naughts he had a cameo in the movie Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003).

Starting in the Nineties, Jay North worked with Paul Petersen of The Donna Reed Show in the organization A Minor Consideration, which is devoted to supporting past and present child actors.

Perhaps because I have seen it more than anything else he was in, I remember Jay North best from his debut appearance in the Wanted: Dead or Alive episode "Eight Cent Reward," in which he played a boy who hires bounty hunter Josh Randall to track down Santa. Even though it was his first acting job, young Jay North was entirely convincing in the role. Of course, I also remember him from reruns of Dennis the Menace. While there have been TV movies and a feature film since the sitcom, it is still a young Jay North I picture when I think of a live-action Dennis Mitchell. He also did well in his various guest appearances on TV shows and the few movies he did. He will certainly be well remembered.