The Late Great Mary Weiss

While their success would be short-lived, The Shangri-Las proved to be one of the most influential singing groups of all time. Much of their success was due to the powerful vocals of Mary Weiss, who was only fifteen when their first hit, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", was released. Mary Weiss would spend most of her life outside the music business and outside the public eye, but the years she spent as part of The Shangri-Las had an impact on popular music in a way that few others ever would. Sadly, Mary Weiss died yesterday, January 19 2024, at the age of 75.

Mary Weiss was born on December 28 1948 in New York City. She developed an interest in music when she was only five years old, and loved The Ink Spots. She began singing when she was very young as well, singing in her church's choir and in school plays.  Her brother George was eight years older than her, and a huge Elvis Presley fan. She listened to many of his records. Mary Weiss was a fan of The Everly Brothers and Neil Sedaka.

Mary Wiess attended Andrew Jackson High School in Queens. It as there that she, her older sister Betty Weiss, and twins Margie and Mary Ann Ganser formed their own vocal group. The group performed at talent shows and sock hops. Record producer Artie Ripp heard The group and worked out a record deal with Kama Sutra Records. It was at this point that they began calling themselves The Shangri-Las. Their first single, "Simon Says," was released on the Smash label, and featured Betty Weiss singing lead vocals. It failed to chart. Their second single, "Wishing Well," was released on Spokane Records. It also failed to chart.

Fortunately, The Shangri-Las were discovered by record producer and songwriter George "Shadow" Morton. In April 1964 their parents, the girls being minors, signed the group to Red Bird Records. The Shangri-Las then had their first hit, a song by Shadow Morton titled "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." The song peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next single, "Leader of the Pack" (written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich), went to no. 1 on the chart. With their success The Shangri-Las performed with such artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Drifters, James Brown, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, Herman's Hermits, Del Shannon, and yet others.

Following "The Leader of the Pack," The Shangri-Las would have hits, both major and minor, with "Give Him a Great Big Kiss," "Give Us Your Blessings," "I Can Never Go Home Anymore," and "Long Live Our Love." Red Bird Records folded in 1966 and The Shangri-Las then signed with Mercury Records. Unfortunately, Mercury Records showed little interest in The Shangri-Las and Shadow Morton had started working with such artists as  Vanilla Fudge. The Shangri-Las then disbanded in 1968.

Afterwards Mary Weiss attended college while working as a secretary. She later worked in the architectural industry and eventually became the the chief purchasing agent for a large architectural firm. She later worked as a commercial interior designer and furniture installer in New York City.

For most of her later years Mary Weiss stayed away from performing music professionally. She sang back-up on Aerosmith's 1979 cover of "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." In 1989 The Shangri-Las reunited for a single show. In 2005 Mary Weiss recorded her only solo album, Dangerous Game, and toured to support it.

Mary Weiss had an utterly unique voice, one that was both powerful and emotive. It was perfectly suited to Shadow Morton's often overwrought lyrics, which covered everything from being jilted to teenage death to being in love with someone from the wrong side of the tracks. Mary Weiss's voice was different from that of any other lead singer of any other girl group, and it set The Shangri-Las apart from the rest.

Of course, The Shangri-Las' image differed from that of other girl groups. While other girl groups tended be demure, The Shangri-Las had a "tough girl" image. Other girl groups performed in gowns and pumps. The Shangri-Las wore less formal attire, even wearing leather, blue jeans, and boots. As it was, the lyrics to their songs set them apart from other groups. The Shangri-Las' songs dealt not with lost love or happy romances, but loneliness, abandonment, classism, and all around teenage angst. There was simply no other girl group like The Shangri-Las.

Ultimately, The Shangri-Las would have an impact that was farther reaching than many other groups. Their songs have been covered by artists from Aerosmith to Blondie to The New York Dolls to Twisted Sister. They would have an influence on the punk and New Wave movements, including such acts as Blondie, The Damned, The Dead Boys, Patti Smith, and The Ramones. The Shangri-Las may have been together for a short time, but they had a lasting impact. There can be no doubt Mary Weiss's voice was responsible for The Shangri-Las' success and continued influence.

Four Lesser Known Cary Grant Movies

Today is the 120th anniversary of Cary Grant's birth. In his honour, then, I thought I would list my four favourite, lesser known Cary Grant movies. By "lesser known" I mean that the average person is not likely to have heard of them. I trust that most film buffs have not only heard of these four movies, but have seen them as well.

The Awful Truth (1937): Whenever I think of Cary Grant's leading ladies, it is Irene Dunne who is the first to come to mind. Much of this is due to The Awful Truth, which is one of my all-time favourite Cary Grant movies. In The Awful Truth, Jerry Warriner (Cary Grant) and Lucy Warriner (Irene Dunne) decide to divorce after suspecting each other of infidelity. As it turns out, they find it difficult to let each other go. The Awful Truth blends physical comedy, one-liners, and great characterization in what is possibly the perfect screwball comedy. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are perfectly matched and have excellent chemistry together. As to Miss Dunne, she plays a character that is both intelligent and fun-loving. As to Mr. Grant, an argument can be made that The Awful Truth is the first film featuring Cary Grant as most of us have come to think of him, sophisticated yet mischievous.

Holiday (1938): Holiday is not as well as Bringing Up Baby (1938) or The Philadelphia Story (1940), two other films starring Cary Grant and Katarine Hepburn, but it really should be. In Holiday Cary Grant plays Johnny Case, a self-made man about to marry a wealthy socialite, only to find his plans complicated after he meets her sister, Linda Seton (Katharine Hepburn). Holiday is particularly effective as a criticism of amassing large amounts of money simply for the sake of amassing large amounts of money, as well as an effective comedy and romance. Both Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are in top form in the movie.

Mr. Lucky (1943): Mr. Lucky finds Cary Grant playing a gambler and conman who operates a gambling ship who has an attack of conscience when he falls for a charity worker (Laraine Day). Cary Grant gives an excellent performance as Joe "the Greek" Adams, who starts having second thoughts about his chosen profession. Laraine Day is also excellent as Dorothy Bryant, the charity worker and socialite who falls for Joe despite her better judgement. It would be a mistake to think of Mr. Lucky as simply another romantic comedy, as there is so much more going on in the film.

My Favorite Wife (1940): My Favorite Wife once more pairs Irene Dunne with Cary Grant. This time Irene Dunne plays a woman, Ellen Arden, who is shipwrecked on an island for many years. In that time she is declared legally dead so that her husband, Nick Arden (Cary Grant) can marry another woman, Bianca Bates (Gail Patrick). As it turns out, Ellen is rescued from the island, which complicates things considerably. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne have their usual chemistry and are in top form. Gail Patrick, who so often played the other woman, also does a great job playing Louisa. Along with The Awful Truth, it is one of Cary Grant's best comedies.

The Late Great Joyce Randolph

Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton on the classic sitcom The Honeymooners, died on January 13 2024 at the age of 99. She was the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners.

Joyce Randolph was born Joyce Sirola on October 21 1924 in Detroit. She attended Cooley High School in Detroit and after graduation worked at Saks Fifth Avenue. At the same time she she appeared in Wayne University Workshop productions. It was not long before she received a role in a touring production of Stage Door. In 1943 she moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. In 1944 she made her television debut in a one-act play aired on the television station WABD titled Gander Sauce. In 1950 she appeared in the TV shows The Colgate Comedy Hour, Inside Detective, Buck Rogers, Famous Jury Trials, The Clock, and I Cover Times Square. In 1950 she appeared on Broadway in Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath.

It was in 1951 that Jack Gleason hired Joyce Randolph to play Trixie Norton in the "Honeymooners" sketches on Cavalcade of Stars. He had seen her in a commercial for Clorets chewing gum.  Trixie was the wife of sewer worker Ed Norton (Art Carney), who also happened to be the best friend of lead character Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason). Elaine Stritch had originated the role, but only played it for one episode. When Jackie Gleason moved to CBS she remained in the role of Trixie in "Honeymooners" sketches on The Jackie Gleason Show. In 1952 she also appeared as Trixie in a "Honeymooners" sketch on Toast of the Town (later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show. She continued to play Trixie on the classic sitcom The Honeymooners. After the sitcom ended, she continued to appear as Trixie on a revival of The Jackie Gleason Show.  In the Fifties Joyce Randolph also appeared on the TV shows Short Short Dramas, The Plainclothesman, The Jack Benny Program, The Mail Story, and Modern Romances.

Joyce Randolph found herself typecast as Trixie Norton following her stints on The Jackie Gleason Show and The Honeymooners. Afterwards she did summer stock and appeared in commercials. In 1964 she guest starred on an episode of The Nurses. She reprised her role as Trixie on the sitcom Hi Honey, I'm Home!. She had a cameo in the movie Everything's Jake (2000).

While others played Trixie Norton as well, Joyce Randolph remains the best remembered, and I think it is due to more than the fact that she played the role in the "Classic 39." Quite simply, as Trixie Norton, Joyce Randolph was one of the funniest straight women of all time. When reacting to Ralph or Ed's antics, she could get laughs with as little as a look. Her delivery was always pitch perfect for comedy. Joyce Randolph also had great rapport with Audrey Meadows, who played Ralph's wife Alice, and the two of them made a great team. If The Honeymooners is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time and the surviving "Honeymooners" sketches still hold up today, much of the credit must go to Joyce Randolph.

The 50th Anniversary of Happy Days

Happy Days was among the most successful shows to air on ABC in the Seventies. It spent eight of its eleven seasons in the top twenty shows for the year, three of them in the top five for the year, and one season as the number one show on the air. In the end it would be ABC's second longest running sitcom after The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (here it must be pointed out that My Three Sons and Make Room for Daddy debuted on ABC, but moved to CBS).

Happy Days was part of a nostalgia craze in the Seventies that embraced eras from the 1930s (The Waltons) to the 1940s (Ellery Queen) to the 1960s (American Graffiti). In the case of Happy Days, the show was originally set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1955. It centred on teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard), whose father, Howard (Tom Bosley), owned a hardware store. His mother, Marion (Mation Ross), was a somewhat traditional housewife. His younger sister was Joanie (Erin Moran). Richie's best friends were Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) and Ralph Malph (Don Most). Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), AKA "The Fonz," was a leather-clad, motorcycle riding greaser who would eventually become Richie's best friend.

The origins of Happy Days go back to a cold winter's night in Newark, New Jersey when Michael Eisner, then vice president for daytime programming at ABC, and Tom Miller, then Vice President of Development at Paramount, were delayed at the airport. Not knowing when their flight would depart, to pass the time the two men decided to develop a television show. Both men liked shows centred around families. Tom Miller suggested that it take place in another era, so that it wouldn't look old once it went into reruns."

Messrs. Eisner and Miller brought in Garry Marshall to develop a show along the lines of what they had discussed. At that time Garry Marshall was the executive producer on the sitcom The Odd Couple and one of the two men, with Jerry Belson, who had developed it for television. Garry Marshall created a prospective show titled New Family in Town that centred on a family in the 1950s. The pilot was shot in late 1971. Unfortunately, ABC passed on the pilot, but it aired as a segment of Paramount's anthology series Love, American Style on February 25 1972 under the title "Love and the Television Set." In "Love and the Television Set," the Cunnimghams become the first family in their neighbourhood to get a television set. Richie and Potsie become convinced that the new television set can then be used as a means to get girls. "Love and the Television Set" would be later be renamed "Love and the Happy Days" in syndication to capitalize on its link to the hit sitcom.

The cast of "Love and the Television Set" differed from the cast of Happy Days to a degree.  Marion Ross Ron Howard, and Anson Williams were already in place as Marion, Richie, and Potsie, but Howard Cunningham was played by Harold Gould and Richie's younger sister Joanie was played by Susan Neher. Ric Carrott played Richie's older brother Chuck. On Happy Days Chuck Cunningham would be played by Gavin O'Herlihy in the first season and Ralph Roberts in two episodes of the second season. Grandma, played by Nellie Burt, was a character in "Love and the Television Set who never appeared on Happy Days. As to the character of Fonzie, who would become all-important to Happy Days, he was not in the pilot.

It would be "Love and the Television Set" in part that would lead George Lucas to cast Ron Howard as Steve Bolander in his movie American Graffiti (1973).  American Graffiti would prove to be a hit at the box office, becoming the third highest grossing movie in the United States and Canada for 1973. The movie followed two high school graduates on their last night of summer vacation in 1962. The success of American Graffiti would lead to the prospective sitcom being re-pitched to ABC. A new pilot, "All the Way," was then shot.

There would be changes in the cast from "Love and the Television Set" and "All the Way." It was originally meant for Harold Gould to remain as Howard Cunningham, but he was committed to a play he was performing in Paris, France. Tom Bosley, who had made frequent guest appearances on television and was a regular on the short-lived Debbie Reynolds Show, was then cast in the role. Erin Moran was cast as Richie's younger sister Joanie, the role having been originated by Susan Neher in the first pilot. Added to the cast was Don Most as Ralph Malph Henry Winkler as Fonzie,. It was in November 1973 that ABC picked up Happy Days as a mid-season replacement.

During the first two seasons Happy Days would gradually evolve in the show as many people know it. In the first two seasons, the show was shot with a single-camera setup, not unlike feature films. A laugh track would then be added later. Beginning with the third season, Happy Days was shot using a three-camera set-up before a live audience. Earlier Garry Marshall had made a similar change on his sitcom The Odd Couple, which was shot using a single-camera set-up in its first season and then changed to a multi-camera setup for its second season onwards. In the first season Fonzie was only a secondary character. In fact, Henry Winkler was not even featured in the opening credits. Fonzie turned out to be a popular character, so he was given a bigger role in the show's second season. With that season Henry Winkler was added to the opening credits, receiving fourth billing. With the third season Fonzie was given an even bigger role on the show, moving into an apartment above the Cunninghams' garage.

While Fonzie would prove to be possibly the most popular character on Happy Days, executives at ABC did not like the idea of the character wearing a leather jacket for fears that it would make him look like a criminal. Early in the run of Happy Days Fonzie is then seen wearing a windbreaker. Garry Marshall finally struck a compromise with ABC whereby The Fonz could wear his leather jacket if he was near his motorcycle. It was then rare that Fonzie was seen without his motorcycle, even taking it with him inside Arnold's Drive-In. ABC eventually relented and let Fonzie wear his leather jacket all the time.

Another change that would be made to Happy Days early in his run is that the character of Richie's older brother Chuck would be dropped entirely from the show. Chuck Cunningham was played by Gavan O'Herihy in 10 episodes of the show's first season. Randolph Roberts then took over the role of Chuck for two episodes of the second season. Afterwards, the character completely disappeared from Happy Days and was never referred to again. No explanation ever given for the character's departure, and it was treated as if he never existed. In fact, in the eleventh and final season, Howard Cunningham even states that he has only two children.

There would be other changes to the cast of Happy Days, although unlike Chuck Cunningham they would be acknowledged on the show. On Happy Days the local hangout was Arnold's Drive-In, owned by Arnold Takahashi (Pat Morita). Arnold appeared for the show's first three seasons. Afterwards he left Happy Days to star in his own short-lived show Mr. T and Tina. It was explained that Arnold got married and moved away, whereupon the new owner of Arnold's was Al Delvecchio, played by Al Molinaro (who had earlier played Officer Murray on Garry Marshall's sitcom The Odd Couple).

A bigger change in the cast would come with the end of the seventh season. Ron Howard left Happy Days so that he could focus on his career as a director. It was explained on the show that Richie had joined the Army. Don Most, who played Ralph Malph, also left the show before the start of the eighth season. It was also explained that Ralph had also joined the Army.

Other characters would be added to Happy Days during the show's run. In the fifth season Fonzie's younger cousin Chachi (Scott Baio) was added as a recurring character. In the sixth season he became a regular character. He would also become Joanie's love interest. Roger Phillips (Ted McGinley) was added during the show's eighth season. He was Marion's nephew and the basketball coach at Jefferson High School in Milwaukee. Roger was a recurring character in the eighth and ninth seasons of Happy Days and became a regular in the show's 10th season.

The popularity of Happy Days would lead to a good deal of Happy Days merchandise on store shelves. As might be expected, Aladdin produced a Happy Days lunchbox with a Thermos. Gold Key published six issues of a Happy Days comic book from 1979 to 1980. There were also several novels based on the show by William Johnston, published by Tempo Books. There were also action figures, toy motorcycles, Halloween costumes, trading cards, and even bed sheets.

With its success Happy Days would have several spin-offs. The first was also its most successful, and for a time it actually outperformed Happy Days in the ratings. The characters of Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and  Shirley Feeney first appeared in the third season Happy Days episode "A Date with Fonzie." It was while Garry Marshall was at a conference with ABC executives on Marco Island off the coast of Florida that Fred Silverman, the the head of ABC, asked him to create more shows. More to the point, Fred Silverman asked Garry Marshall if he had any spinoffs. Mr. Marshall told him that he was too busy working on Happy Days, but Fred Silverman persisted. In truth, Garry Marshall had been mulling over an idea for a show centred around Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. He then pitched the idea of a show centred around two blue collar women. Fred Silverman liked the idea and gave him the go-ahead for the new show. Laverne & Shirley proved to be a hit from the beginning. The show ranked no. 3 for the year in its first season and then rose to no. 3 for the year for its second season. For its third and fourth seasons Laverne & Shirley was the number one show on the air. It toppled to no. 42 for its fifth season, primarily because ABC moved it from Tuesday to Thursday nights. Regardless, it ran eight seasons and proved to be a huge success in syndication as a rerun.

The second spinoff from Happy Days would be the show that launched Robin Williams on his path to stardom. "My Favorite Orkan" was a fifth season episode in which Richie dreams that he encounters an alien named Mork from the planet Ork (Robin Williams). Robin Williams's performance as Mork impressed ABC executives so much that he was signed to star in his own series. Unlike Laverne & Shirley, which was originally set in the late Fifties just as Happy Days was, Mork & Mindy was set in the present day. It proved to be a hit in its first season, coming in at no. 3 for the year. For its second season ABC moved Mork & Mindy from Thursday night to Sunday night. It dropped to no. 27 for the year and, even after being moved back to its original timeslot, never recovered.

The third spinoff of Happy Days was actually a Saturday morning cartoon. From the late Seventies into the early Eighties there was a trend towards basing Saturday morning cartoons on current, popular television shows. The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang featured Fonzie, Richie, and Ralph travelling through time, joined by new characters created specifically for the cartoon. Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, and Don Most all voiced their characters from the original series. After The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang came to an end, the Fonz would be introduced as a character in the second season of Laverne & Shirley in the Army, which was retitled Laverne & Shirley with The Fonz. Laverne & Shirley in the Army was a Saturday morning cartoon spinoff of Laverne & Shirley.

The final spinoff of Happy Days was Joanie Loves Chachi. On Happy Days romance had blossomed between the characters of Joanie and Chachi, and the two eventually became aspiring musicians. In Joanie Loves Chachi they moved to Chicago to pursue a career in music. Al Devecchio also moved from Happy Days to the new spinoff, having opened a restaurant in Chicago. Joanie Loves Chachi proved successful in its first season, coming in at no. 4 for the year. For its second season ABC moved Joanie Loves Chachi from Tuesday to Thursday nights, where its ratings plummeted. It only came in at no. 70 for the year. It was cancelled only 13 episodes into the season. Joanie and Chachi then returned to Happy Days.

There are two other shows that are often counted as spinoffs of Happy Days, although they should perhaps better be treated as related shows. Blansky's Beauties starred Nancy Walker as Nancy Blansky, a former Las Vegas showgirl now in charge of several Las Vegas showgirls. The character had appeared only a week before the debut of Blansky's Beauties in an episode of Happy Days, where she was introduced as Howard Cunningham's cousin. In other words, Blansky's Beauties did not grow out of an episode of Happy Days, but was instead conceived as a show with a link to Happy Days. This would make it questionable that it can be considered a spinoff.

The other show that is sometimes counted as a spinoff of Happy Days is the fantasy comedy Out of the Blue. Out of the Blue starred Jimmy Brogan as angel-in-training Random, who is assigned as the guardian angel of a Chicago family. Out of the Blue actually debuted a few days before Random appeared on Happy Days in the episode "Chachi Sells His Soul." Like Blansky's Beauties, then, Out of the Blue did not grow out of an episode of Happy Days, although it is a show that is linked to it. Neither Blansky's Beauties nor Out of the Blue proved successful. Blansky's Beauties only lasted 13 episodes, while Out of the Blue ended after only eight episodes aired (although there were four unaired episodes).

Ratings for Happy Days would decline over time. After three seasons in the top five, for its seventh season Happy Days dropped to no. 17. It remained in the top twenty for its next few seasons, dropping to no. 28 for its tenth season. As to why Happy Days dropped in the ratings in its tenth season, it seems likely that it was the debut of a new series on rival network NBC , The A-Team, in the middle of the 1982-1983 season. The show proved to be a hit and ranked no. 10 for the season. Happy Days dropped even further for its eleventh and final season. Part of this was perhaps due to the continued popularity of The A-Team, which ranked no. 4 for the year. Part of it may also have been because ABC moved Happy Days from its long-time 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central time-slot on Tuesday to 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central the same night.

For the show's final season Ron Howard and Don Most returned as Richie and Ralph in guest appearances, the two characters having been discharged from the Army. In the finale, Joanie and Chachi get married and Fonzie adopts a boy. Ron Howard and Al Molinaro both guest starred on the episode. Curiously, the series finale was not quite a series finale. It aired on May 8 1984, after which ABC aired five unaired episodes from June to July.

While Happy Days ended after eleven seasons, the show was hardly gone. The show would see success in syndication. The entire run of the show has been released on DVD. It has not only aired on local stations since its network run ended, but on cable channels such as TV Land and digital broadcast networks as MeTV. It is currently available on multiple streaming channels, including Paramount+, Pluto TV, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.

It would also have a lasting impact on pop culture. The phrase "jump the shark" was coined by a college roommate of radio personality Jon Hein, Sean Connolly, for that point at which a show become unwatchable. The term came from the fifth season Happy Days episode "Hollywood Part 3," in which Fonzie, clad in his leather jacket and swim trunks, jumps a shark while water skiing. Given Happy Days ranked no. 2 for the season and ran another six seasons, it is arguable that Happy Days did not jump the shark for most people when Fonzie jumped the shark. Happy Days is also responsible for the name of the TV trope "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome," TV Tropes defines Chuck Cunningham Syndrome as being when a character disappears from a show without explanation (as was the case with Chuck).

In 1994 the music video for the Weezer song "Buddy Holly" portrays the band playing at Arnold's Drive-In with a cameo by Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio. The characters of Richie, Potsie, Ralph, Joanie, and Fonzie appear through incorporation of footage from Happy Days. In the song Fonzie is made to appear to dance to Weezer's performance though use of Casey Storm, the stylist for the video, acting as a body double for The Fonz. Amazingly enough, the illusion of Weezer performing at Arnold's in the late Fifties was achieved though camerawork and editing. No computer graphics was used.

Happy Days would also result in two stage shows. Happy Days: The Arena Spectacular was an arena show that toured Australia in the late Nineties. Happy Days: A New Musical was a musical with a book by Garry Marshall and lyrics by Paul Williams. Happy Days: A New Musical premiered in 2008 the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California. There have been various productions since then.

After fifty years Happy Days remains popular. It remains one of the most successful shows to ever air on ABC. As I mentioned earlier, it is the network's second longest running sitcom. In 2023 Variety ranked Happy Days at no. 87 in their list of the 100 greatest shows of all time. The Fonz has regularly made lists of the greatest TV show characters of all time. Indeed, I rather suspect even Zoomers even know who Fonzie is, even if they might have never seen an episode of the show.The 50th anniversary of Happy Days finds many in the curious position of being nostalgic about a show made in the Seventies that itself was nostalgic about the Fifties. Chances are good that people will still be watching Happy Days fifty years from now.

The Late Great David J. Skal

If you are a Monster Kid, chances are good that you have heard of David J. Skal. Over the years he wrote a number of books on classic horror movies, including Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen, The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror, and, with Elias Savada, Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master of the Macabre, among others. He championed the Spanish version of Dracula, which Universal produced the same time that they were making Tod Browining's Dracula (1931). He also wrote and even directed documentaries on the history of horror movies  Sadly, David J. Skal was killed in an automobile accident on New Year's Day, January 1 2024, at the age of 71.

David J. Skal was born on June 21 1952 in Garfield Heights, Ohio. He studied journalism at Ohio University, where he was a film critic and editor on the school newspaper. While in college he attended the Clarion Writer's Workshop. His short story "Chains" was published in the 1971 Clarion anthology. After graduating from Ohio University, he was an intern with the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also the the publicity director for the Hartford Stage Company. He later worked at  the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and the Theatre Communications Group of New York. David J. Skal wrote three science fiction novels, Scavengers (1980), When We Were Good (1981), and Antibodies (1988).

It as in 1990 that David J. Skal's first work of non-fiction, Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen, was published. Among other things, the book offered the first detailed analysis of the Spanish version of Dracula (1931). He followed it in 1993 with The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror, an in-depth history of horror movies examined through the lens of historical events at the time. With Elias Savada, he co-wrote Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master of the Macabre (1995), the first full-length biography of Tod Browning. He also wrote the books V Is for Vampire: The A to Z Guide to Everything Undead (1996), Screams of Reason: Mad Science and Modern Culture (1998), Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween (2002), and Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (2008).

Over the years David J. Skal appeared in several documentaries and TV specials about horror movies, including It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein, Universal Horror,  Monsters Madness and Magic, Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story, and many others. He was also interviewed for various television shows, including 100 Years of Horror, A-Z of Horror, E! Mysteries and Scandals, Biography, 20/20, Ancient Aliens, The UnXplained, History of Horror, and Creature Features. David J. Skal appeared as an actor in The Vampire Hunters Club (2001) and an episode of Great Performances ("All Over").

Mr. Skal also directed several documentaries, including The Road to Dracula, Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of "The Wolf Man," Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed, She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein, The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale, Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed!, The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Monsters!, The Universe According Universal, Back to the Black Lagoon: A Creature Chronicle, The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster, Jules Verne & Walt Disney: Explorers of the Imagination, and Carla Laemmle Remembers: An Interview with David J. Skal. He also wrote all of the documentaries he directed, as well episodes of Biography (on Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Angela Lansbury).

I did not have the honour of knowing David J. Skal or even interacting with him online, but he was friends with many of my close friends. He was a guest three different times on my friend Karie Bible's YouTube series Hollywood Kitchen. Mr. Skal was congenial, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and possessed considerable wit. I think I can speak for my fellow horror movie fans when I say that I could listen to David J. Skal all day.

Of course, David J. Skal left an impressive mark as a cultural historian who chronicled horror movies. His books were always well-researched and detailed. What is more they were always written with considerable wit and good humour. No one could write about the classic Universal horror movies the way David J. Skal did, and he remains one of the best historians of the horror genre ever. Fangoria magazine described him as "the Poet Laureate of Monster Kids," and I have no doubt that he was.

The Batman Effect: The Camp Craze on American Television in the 1960s

On January 12 1966 the television series Batman debuted on ABC. The show proved to be a smash hit from the beginning, a particular boon to perpetually low-rated ABC, especially given Batman aired twice a week (on Wednesday and Thursday night). It debuted on Wednesday to a phenomenal 27.3/49 rating, burying its competition on the other two networks (The Virginian on NBC and Lost in Space on CBS). It did even better on its second outing that Thursday night with a 29.6/59 rating. What is more, in the following weeks it continued to achieve extraordinary Nielsen ratings.

Ultimately, Batman proved to be what might well be the biggest fad in the history of American television. A wide variety of Batman merchandise soon filled store shelves. There was everything from toys to games to Halloween costumes to a lunch box. In 1966 alone $150 million worth of Batman merchandise would be sold.

It was in 1965 that ABC expressed interest in a Batman television series and contacted 20th Century Fox about producing the series. 20th Century Fox turned to William Dozier and his company Greenway Productions to actually produce the show. ABC had conceived of Batman as a serious, but tongue in cheek show, not unlike The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on rival network NBC. William Dozier had never read comic books in his life. Because of this, as research he read seven or eight Batman comic books. It occurred to Mr. Dozier that there was little chance that adults would take a series about a man dressed up as a bat seriously. He then struck upon the idea that Batman would operate on two levels. For adults it would be a comedy, an outright parody of comic books and their conventions. For children it would be an adventure show. It was for that reason that Batman was executed in an intentionally camp, Pop Art style. The heroes--Batman (Adam West) and his sidekick (Robin)--were exaggeratedly strait-laced. The villains were over the top. The show reproduced the look of Silver Age comic books on films, down to animated "bams" and "pows" during fight scenes.

At the time William Dozier's choice to produce Batman in a camp, Pop Art style was a wise one. The art movement known as Pop Art was very much in fashion at the time, the movement being characterized by techniques drawn from commercial art, everyday objects, and, of course, comic books. The aesthetic style known as "camp" was also very much in vogue in the early to mid-Sixties. The concept of camp had existed for some time, but it was perhaps best defined by writer and critic Susan Sontag in her essay "Notes on Camp," published in The Partisan Review in 1964. According to Susan Sontag, the most important elements of camp were "...artifice, frivolity, naïve middle-class pretentiousness, and ‘shocking’ excess." Significantly, In the March 21 1965 issue of The New York Times, Ms. Sontag declared Batman comic books to be an example of "Low Camp."

Radio show star and comedian Fred Allen has often been credited with the quote, "Imitation is the sincerest form of television," This was quite certainly the case with Batman, whose success the American networks and television production companies rushed to emulate. Not only did the networks go forward with pilots that were very much in the mold of Batman, but even two existing shows were changed so they more resembled the smash hit of the 1965-1966 season. The fates of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Lost in Space were sealed the moment Batman proved to be a hit.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E was the first American television show to grow out of the spy craze of the Sixties. The show began development even before the James Bond movie Dr. No (1962) had been released. It debuted on NBC on Tuesday, September 22 1964. Initially The Man From U.N.C.L.E. struggled in the ratings, but following a move to Monday night at mid-season it not only became a hit, but a television fad not unlike Batman would be. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. merchandise from action figures to comic books to novels soon filled stores in 1964.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. centred on American Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Russian Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum), agents for the international intelligence agency U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). They answered to Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll), the head of U.N.C.L.E. The chief opponent of U.N.C.L.E. was the criminal organization known as Thrush, a group that presented such a threat that even nations diametrically opposed to each other (such as the US and the U.S.S.R.) would band together to stop them. Originally The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was a serious, albeit tongue in cheek television show, not unlike the British television show The Avengers or the James Bond movies. It was after Batman debuted in 1966 that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. took on a much more comedic tone.

Although the turn towards a camp style is associated with the show's third season, it had actually begun late in the second season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It was in the 28th episode of the second, "The Bat Cave Affair," that Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin found themselves facing a Thrush agent called Count Zark (Martin Landau), who dressed and spoke like Dracula as played by Bela Lugosi. Count Zark's plot was to wreck air traffic control around the world using modified vampire bats. As if this wasn't enough, "The Bat Cave Affair" also features stereotypical hillbillies from the Ozarks. That "The Bat Cave Affair" was not an anomaly soon became apparent in the third season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The fourth episode of the third season, "The Super-Colossal Affair," featured a notorious scene in which Illya Kuryakin rides a bomb filled with eau de skunk above the city of Las Vegas.

Today precisely who was to blame for the dramatic change in the tone of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is hard to say. Although it is often blamed for the shift towards a camp style, it certainly was not the show's spinoff, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. For one thing, the first episode to represent the change in tone for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the above cited "Bat Cave Affair," aired late in the show's second season, well before the debut of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Second, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E actually started on a more serious note than The Man From U.N.C.L.E. did its third season. It was a few episodes into its first and only season that The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. began to take on the more comedic tone of its parent show. It is apparent that The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. was simply following the lead of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Many have placed the blame for the shift in the tone of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on NBC. It has been alleged NBC wanted The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to have a lighter, more comedic tone, particularly in the wake of the success of Batman. It also seems possible that part of the blame may be borne by Boris Ingster, who took over as the producer of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. with the 20th episode of the second season ("The Bridge of Lions Affair Part 1"). Regardless of who was responsible for the shift towards camp, it seems clear that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was trying to emulate Batman. Not only did the plots of episodes become sillier and the villains more outrageous, but the show even utilised personnel who had worked on Batman. Stanley Ralph Ross, a veteran writer on Batman, wrote episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., in its third season. Directors George waGGner and Tom Gries, both of who directed several episodes of Batman, directed episodes of the third season of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. There is a good deal of substantial evidence to suggest that in its third season The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was trying to imitate Batman.

What makes the shift in tone of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. sadder still is that the show had been very successful in its second season. For its second season the series ranked no. 13 in the Nielsen ratings for the year. With the change towards camp in its third season, not only was The Man From U.N.C.L.E. no longer in the top thirty shows for the year, but its ratings plummeted. An attempt to save The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was made for its fourth season, with the show once more becoming more serious. Unfortunately, it was too late to save the show. Its ratings did not recover and it was cancelled at mid-season.

Like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Lost in Space did not begin as an intentionally campy show. In its first season Lost in Space was a serious adventure show, in which the characters faced such natural disasters as heat waves and earthquakes. Lost in Space debuted on CBS on September 15 1965. It centred on the Robinson family, who find themselves lost in space when their spaceship, the Jupiter 2, is thrown off course. Accompanying the Robinson are Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonatha Harris), a saboteur for an enemy nation, and their robot. The first season of Lost in Space was shot in black and white. With its second season, not only was Lost in Space shot in colour, but it took a definite turn towards camp.

In the second season of Lost in Space, the characters of Will (Bill Mumy), Penny (Angela Cartwright), the robot, and Dr. Smith took centre stage on the show.  The show took on a more comedic tone, with plots involving interstellar circuses, space cowboys, magicians, and so on. Villains on the show became more extravagant, not unlike the ones faced by the Caped Crusader. Episodes would even end on cliffhangers, complete with the caption, "To be continued next week! Same time—same channel!" The cliffhangers would disappear for the third season of Lost in Space, although the show would not become any more serious. In fact, what might be the most bizarre episode of Lost in Space (not to mention one of the most bizarre episodes of any show ever) aired in the third season as the show's penultimate episode. "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" saw Dr. Smith transformed into a giant stalk of celery and Penny into a flower bed by a giant, talking carrot.

Like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., it is hard to say why Lost in Space shifted more towards a camp aesthetic, although it seems likely that it was an intentional attempt to compete with Batman. It is perhaps significant that Lost in Space aired directly opposite the Wednesday night episode of Batman. Regardless, the camp approach did not seem to hurt Lost in Space the way it did The Man From U.N.C.L..E. The show came in at no. 35 for the year in its first season, no. 44 in its second season, and no. 53 in its third season. While its ratings were not spectacular, they were not particularly poor either. When Lost in Space was cancelled with its third season, it was not because of the show's camp approach, but likely a combination of the show's rising costs and its ratings, particularly given a large percentage of the show's audience was children.

The success of Batman also resulted in the debut of two superheroes shows, although both of them should be perhaps best be considered spoofs closer to Get Smart or F Troop than intentionally camp shows such as Batman or Lost in Space. Both shows debuted on the same night, January 9 1967. The first of the two to debut, at 8:00 PM Eastern on CBS, was Mr. Terrific. Mr. Terrific centred on gas station attendant Stanley Beamish (Stephen Strimpell), who is hired by the Bureau of Secret Projects to fight crime as Mr. Terrific. Mr. Terrific derived his super powers from a power pill that would only work on him. Mr. Terrific did not receive particularly good reviews, nor did it receive good ratings. It was ultimately cancelled at the end of the season.

Immediately following Mr. Terrific on rival network NBC was Captain Nice. Captain Nice was created by Get Smart co-creator Buck Henry and starred William Daniels as police chemist Carter Nash, who developed a special formula that would give him superpowers. Despite its creator and its star (who would later become known for St. Elsewhere and Boy Meets World), Captain Nice did not receive particularly good reviews either. Just as both Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice debuted on the same night, both shows ended their runs on the same night as well, August 28 1967.

In addition to changes to existing shows and the debut of new shows, the success of Batman would result in pilots that would use the camp aesthetic. The most significant of these came from William Dozier, the executive producer of Batman himself. Dick Tracy struck a middle ground between the campiness of Batman and the seriousness of Mr. Dozier's TV show The Green Hornet. Reportedly, the creator of Dick Tracy, Chester Gould, had been in talks with NBC about a Dick Tracy series in 1965, but nothing apparently came of it.

It was in 1966 that William Dozier met with Chester Gould to discuss the possibility of a Dick Tracy show. By July 1 script writer Hal Fimberg joined Dozier to meet with Gould. It was on July 4th that Broadcasting magazine announced that 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions (Dozier's company) had obtained the rights to Dick Tracy. It would be a half hour show airing at 7:30 PM Eastern/6:30 PM-Central on NBC. It would debut either midseason during the 1966/1967 season or the fall of 1967. By October 1966 actor Ray MacDonnell was cast as Dick Tracy.. The pilot was set to begin shooting on October 16, 1966.

The pilot for the potential Dick Tracy series, "The Plot to Destroy Nato," pitted Dick Tracy against the villain Mr. Memory (Victor Buono), who believes that he can communicate directly with computers through his mind. Both Davey Davison as Dick Tracy's wife Tess Trueheart and Eve Plumb as his daughter Bonnie Braids appear in the opening credits of "The Plot to Destroy Nato," but not in the episode itself. In the pilot they are said to be visiting Tess's sister. The overall tone of the Dick Tracy pilot is different from either Batman or The Green Hornet. Unlike Batman the heroes and most other characters are played straight. Unlike The Green Hornet there are some elements of camp, namely in the form of the villain Mr. Memory as played by Victor Buono. One can only assume that Dick Tracy would have occupied a middle ground between Batman and The Green Hornet, where Dick Tracy, his family, and his fellow cops would have been played seriously and the villains would have been outrageous.

Regardless, Dick Tracy as produced by William Dozier would never become a television series. Ultimately, NBC passed on Dick Tracy as a mid-season replacement during the 1966-1967 season. In February 1967, when NBC announced its schedule for that fall, Dick Tracy was conspicuously missing. It seems likely that the failure of Dick Tracy to be picked up as a series was due to the fact that by the middle of the 1966-1967 season Batman had dropped considerably in the Nielsen ratings from the phenomenal numbers it had in its first season. As far as NBC was concerned, the camp craze may have been over and so they passed on Dick Tracy.

In 1966 Dick Tracy was not the only television show based on an existing property that William Dozier had planned. In fact, he had in mind a series based on another DC Comics character besides Batman, namely Wonder Woman. William Dozier never made a pilot for a Wonder Woman series, but he did make  five minute presentation film entitled "Who's Afraid of Diana Prince?." Going by the presentation film, it seems likely that the tone of the Wonder Woman series Mr. Dozier had in mind would have been outright comedy rather than camp. Wonder Woman is played strictly for laughs. Diana Prince (Ellie Wood Walker) is portrayed as a shy plain Jane whose mother (who is not Hippolyta of the Amazons) nags her about not having a boyfriend. When she dons the Wonder Woman costume, she sees herself in the mirror as being more attractive than she really is (the Wonder Woman in the mirror is played by Linda Harrison, later of Planet of the Apes fame). It seems likely that the reason William Dozier's Wonder Woman series never made it beyond the presentation film was not due to ratings for Batman falling, but instead because "Who's Afraid of Diana Prince?" was just plain bad.

William Dozier was not the only producer reviving old properties for television. What is more, not every television project based on an old property was from the Thirties and Forties like Batman and Dick Tracy. One property selected for revival in the Sixties dated back to 1914. The Perils of Pauline was a 1914 serial starring Pearl White as an heiress who constantly finds herself in danger. What is more, the first attempt to revive The Perils of Pauline as  a television series pre-dated Batman by three years. In 1962 Warner Bros. sought to produce a pilot for a situation comedy based on The Perils of Pauline starring Dorothy Provine and John Dehner. It seems possible that the pilot never came to be, as Dorothy Provine was focused on a career in movies and refused to star in the prospective television series.

The second attempt to adapt The Perils of Pauline as a television series came about before Batman even debuted. In the October 23 1965 issue of The Salem News, in the column "Between Channels" by Richard Doan, among producer Herbert B. Leonard's planned pilots for television series was The Perils of Pauline, which was described as "...'a wild and contemporary' updating of the early movie cliffhanger serial of the same name." If the name Herbert B. Leonard sounds familiar, it is because he produced the classic TV series Naked City and produced and co-created the classic show Route 66 with writer Stirling Sillipant. Herbert B. Leonard had apparently had the idea for a television show based on The Perils of Pauline for some time. In a  June 27 1967 article in The Edwards Intelligencer, it was stated that he had been searching for "the right Pauline" for five years.

Herbert B. Leonard found his Pauline in the form of actress Pamela Austin. Pamela Austin had made several guest appearances on television, most notably in the Twilight Zone episode "Number 12 Looks Just Like You." She had also appeared opposite Elvis Presley in the movies Blue Hawaii (1961) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). It was not until 1966 that Pamela Austin really began to be noticed, starring in a series of commercials for the car company Dodge as part of their "Dodge Rebellion" campaign. The commercials would place Miss Austin in various dangerous situations, such as nearly falling off a cliff, almost being crushed by a chandelier, being menaced by sharks, and so on. It was one night that Herbert B. Leonard saw one of Pamela Austin's "Dodge Rebellion" commercials on television that he decided he had found the Pauline for his prospective TV show based on The Perils of Pauline. Pat Boone was cast as Pauline's love interest (and the person who is constantly trying to rescue her) George Stedman.  As to the concept for the series, it was relatively simple. Pauline was an orphan who constantly finds herself in dangerous situations.

Sources seem to be unclear as to whether a single pilot was made for The Perils of Pauline with two additional sample episodes also shot, or whether the pilot was reworked three times. Either way, in the end there were three completed episodes of The Perils of Pauline. It as written by Albert Beich, who had created the short-lived television series Kentucky Jones and co-wrote the screenplay for the Bette Davis movie Dead Ringer (1964). The original director was Ken Annakin, who had directed such films as Miranda (1948), The Sword and the Rose (1953), and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). He left the pilot after only 18 days. The Perils of Pauline was then directed by producer Herbert B. Leonard himself and Joshua Shelley, an actor who had made guest appearances on television shows from Philco Television Playhouse to The Defenders.

Ultimately, CBS decided not to pick up The Perils of Pauline as a series. While it seems clear that many projects done with a camp aesthetic were not picked up due to the declining fortunes of Batman, this was probably not the case with The Perils of Pauline. At the time CBS decided not to pick up The Perils of Pauline, Batman was still riding high in the ratings. It was then that Universal decided to release The Perils of Pauline as a feature film. The three completed episodes of The Perils of Pauline were stitched together, with additional footage shot in December 1966. The film was released in 1967. It was not well-received by critics, nor did it do particularly well at the box office. This could well point to the reason that CBS did not go forward with the television series The Perils of Pauline. It simply was not very good.

While The Perils of Pauline was conceived only a few months before the debut of Batman on ABC, it seems likely The Perils of Pauline was influenced by both Batman and  the hit movie The Great Race (1965). The direction of The Perils of Pauline was apparently meant to simulate silent movies or, more accurately, what people in 1966 thought silent movies were like. There is colourful title cards, undercranking the camera, and old-style organ music. At the same time it would appear to owe a bit to Batman. It is shot in vivid Technicolor. There are florid villains and over-the-top situations. Everything is exaggerated and done in a camp style.

While The Perils of Pauline drew upon a silent movie serial for inspiration, Old Time Radio would provide inspiration for another prospective show with a camp aesthetic. I Love a Mystery was a popular radio show that aired on NBC from 1939 to 1944. It was created by Carlton E. Morse, who had also created the popular radio soap opera One Man's Family. I Love a Mystery centred on private detectives Jack Packard, Doc Long, and Reggie York. Jack was more or less their leader, who was the best at solving mysteries. Doc Long was the comedian of the group, a large, high-spirited Texan. Reggie York was an Englishman who was exceptionally strong and skilled at combat. The three men comprised the A-1 Detective Agency, whose cases involved everything from the jungles of Indochina to ancient mansions. I Love a Mystery blended the genres of adventure, mystery, and horror. The radio show was popular enough to inspire three movies produced by Columbia Pictures (I Love a Mystery in 1945 and The Devil's Mask and The Unknown in 1946). It would also be revived twice on radio, as I Love Adventure on ABC in 1948 and I Love a Mystery on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1949.

It was in a November 25 1966 article by Associated Press movie and television writer Bob Thomas that Jennings Lang of Universal discussed television movies that were being produced for NBC under the network's "World Premiere Movie" banner. Some of these television movies would serve as pilots for television series, including I Love a Mystery with Les Crane, Ironside with Raymond Burr, and Outsider with Darren McGavin or Harry Guardino. Both Ironside with Raymond Burr and The Outsider with Darren McGavin would go onto become television series on NBC. In a December 11 1966 article in The Register, it was reported that Don Knotts would have a cameo in the I Love a Mystery TV movie, and that Les Crane and David Hartman starred on the show. A January 28 1967 article in The Kingston Daily Freeman discussed Ida Lupino playing her role as a mad scientist in the NBC World Premiere movie I Love a Mystery.

The TV movie I Love a Mystery was directed and written by Leslie Stevens, best known as the creator of the classic television series The Outer Limits. Leslie Stevens's teleplay was based on two episodes of the radio show I Love a Mystery. "The Fear That Creeps Like a Cat" dealt with the disappearance of Alexander Archer. In "The Thing That Cries in the Night" Jack, Doc, and Reggie find themselves dealing with three beautiful women and a mysterious mansion. Les Crane played Jack Packard. Les Crane may be best known as the first talk show host to challenge Johnny Carson's supremacy with his talk show on ABC from 1964 to 1965. David Hartman played Doc Long. Although not well-known at the time, he would go on to have a regular role on The Virginian and become a long time host on Good Morning America. Hagan Beggs played Reggie York. Hagan Beggs made frequent guest apperances, on American television, and was later a regular on the Canadian television series Danger Bay. Legendary actress Ida Lupino played the antagonist of the pilot, Randolph "Randy" Cheyne, while Don Knotts had a cameo in the pilot.

In Bob McKenzie's May 18 1967 column in The Oakland Tribune, it is mentioned that Les Crane co-stars in I Love a Mystery, a two hour television movie that may be released in theatres instead. As it turned out, I Love a Mystery would not be picked up as a TV series, nor would the TV movie ever be released to theatres. In fact, the TV movie I Love a Mystery would not see the light of day until it aired on NBC on February 27 1973, six years after it had been filmed. While it is hard to say why NBC waited so long to air the TV movie, it seems likely that it was not picked up as a TV series simply because the camp craze was obvioulsy over by the time the TV movie was completed. Indeed, by the time the TV movie/pilot was announced in the fall of 1966, Batman was no longer the ratings behemoth it had been.

As it was, I Love a Mystery was very much in the mold of Batman. The situaitons in I Love a Mystery were not nearly as exaggerated as those on Batman, but they were exaggerated nonetheless. As the villain Randolph Cheyne, Ida Lupino is only a little more restrained than the villains on Batman.  I Love a Mystery even features a narrator early in the film. Ultimately, it plays less like a faithful adaptation of a radio show from the days of Old Time Radio than a parody of such.

In the end, the camp craze on American television in the mid Sixties abated without ever becoming a full-fledged cycle of camp television shows.  Much of this was due to the fact that the camp craze was very much tied to the fortunes of Batman. While Batman would prove sucessful in syndicaiton as a rerun and today is regarded as a classic, in the winter and spring of 1966 it was very much a fad. And like all fads, it ended almost as quickly as it began. Once Batman was no longer a ratings giant, the networks lost interest in pursuing similar shows. This was probably part of the reason that Dick Tracy, The Perils of Pauline, and I Love a Mystery were not picked up.

Of course, the other reason why some of the campy pilots made in the wake of Batman were not picked up as TV series was simply a matter of quality. The camp aesthetic depends largely on a precarious balance of going over the top without going too far. Paricularly in its first season, Batman was able to maintain that balance. The pilot for Perils of Pauline was not. In other words, in some cases campy pilots did not become TV shows simply because they were not very good (or "so bad they're good," as the case may be).

After the mid-Sixties, American television would never be nearly overtaken by camp, although it would not disappear completely. The first season of the Seventies series Wonder Woman was much like the 1966 pilot for Dick Tracy in that the primary characters were treated seriously while episodes of the show had some camp aspects (it is to be noted that veteran Batman writer Stanley Ralph Ross developed Wonder Woman for television). Still later Twin Peaks, Xena: Warrior Princess, Riverdale, and a few assorted other shows would make use of camp to one degree or another. The camp craze on American telvision in the Sixties was brief, but its effects are still felt to this day.

The 65th Anniversary of Rawhide

Today Rawhide may be best known as the television show that launched Clint Eastwood on his path towards stardom, although it deserves to be remembered for much more than that. Rawhide was highly successful in its early years and ultimately ran for eight seasons, making it the fifth longest running Western television show on broadcast network television after Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian, and Wagon Train. It proved popular as a rerun in syndication. It has run on such cable channels as the Family Channel, the Hallmark Channel, Encore Western, and AMC, as well as such broadcast outlets as MeTV. Even its theme song, "Rawhide," has held up over time, having been covered by various artists multiple times.

Rawhide centred on a cattle drive from San Antonio, Texas to Sedalia, Missouri in the late 1860s. The trail boss was Gil Favor (Eric Fleming), a tough, but fair man who had worked with cattle for most of his life. Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood) was the ramrod on the cattle drive, essentially Mr. Favor's right-hand man who acted as the foreman on the drive. Pete Nolan (Sheb Wooley) was the original scout on the cattle drive, who looked for water for the cattle and places where they could camp for the night. Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) was the drive's cook, and Mushy (James Murdock) was his assistant. Hey Soos Patines (Robert Cabal) was the drive's wrangler, who was responsible for taking care of the horses on the drive.

Rawhide followed Gil Favor's cattle drive as it made its way from San Antonio to Sedalia. Plots on the show ranged from natural disasters (such as drought, wolves, or anthrax outbreaks) to bandits to dishonest townsfolk. Rawhide was known for its realism, with a good deal of cowboy jargon making its way on the show. The man who drove the cattle were "drovers." The cattle were "beeves (the plural of "beef"). The remuda was the herd of horses used by the drovers. Particularly in its early seasons, Rawhide was grounded in reality in a way the majority of television Westerns were not.

Rawhide was created by Charles Marquis Warren. who was well-established as a writer, director, and producer of Westerns. Indeed, it was Charles Marquis Warren who developed the radio show Gunsmoke for television and served as its producer in its first seasons and part of its second. Charles Marquis Warren directed the 1958 movie Cattle Empire, starring Joel McCrea as the trail boss of a cattle drive. For Cattle Empire Charles Marquis Warren relied heavily on the 1946 novel The Chisholm Trail by Borden Chase, which served as the basis for the 1948 Western movie Red River and the 1866 diary of cattle drive trail boss George C. Duffield. It occurred to Charles Marquis Warren that a cattle drive in the 1860s could provide the basis for a television series.

Ultimately, Rawhide owed a good deal to the movie Cattle Empire. Endre Bohem, who co-wrote the screenplay for Cattle Empire, was hired as the story editor on Rawhide and wrote episodes of the show. Paul Brinegar, who played one of the cattle drive's cooks in Cattle Drive, played the cook Wishbone on Rawhide. Both Steve Raines and Rocky Shahan, who played drovers Jim Quince and Joe Scarlet on Rawhide, had roles in Cattle Empire. Another veteran of Cattle Empire, Charles H. Gray, would guest star in two episodes of Rawhide in its first and second seasons would play the regular role of drover Clay Forrester on Rawhide in its fourth and fifth seasons.

The first season of Rawhide was budgeted at $4 million, with much of that money going towards guest stars on the show. The outdoors scenes with cattle were filmed near Tucumcari, New Mexico, which also happened to be the hometown of Paul Brinegar. Other filming locations for the show ranged from Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley to Conejo Valley. Scenes were also filmed at Universal Studios in Universal City and CBS Studio Centre in Los Angeles. Making Rawhide could be gruelling for both the cast and crew. Roughly one episode was produced each week with breaks of three to four months between seasons.

One of the best remembered aspects of Rawhide is its theme song. "Rawhide" was written by lyricist Ned Washington and composer Dmitri Tiomkin. It was sung by popular vocalist Frankie Laine. The song proved popular, reaching no. 6 on the UK singles chart and no. 34 on the Australian singles chart. While it did not reach the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, it proved successful nonetheless. It would be covered by such diverse artists as Johnny Western, The Dead Kennedys, and The Blues Brothers.

Rawhide would see a good deal of turnover in its producers over the years. Charles Marquis Warren did not remain with television shows very long, but he remained with Rawhide for three seasons, which was longer than his stints on Gunsmoke or The Virginian. Story editor Endre Bohem became the show's producer in its fourth season. Vincent M. Fennelly, who had produced movies at Monogram and Allied Artists as well s the TV show Trackdown, served as the producer on Rawhide for its fifth and sixth seasons. Bruce Geller, now best known as the creator of Mission: Impossible, and Bernard L. Kowalski, would produce 21 episodes of the show's seventh season. Messrs. Geller and Kowalski's stint on Rawhide was unlike anything on the show before, or any other Western television series for that matter. Indeed, in many of their episodes no cattle were in sight. One person who did not approve of the direction Rawhide was taking was William S. Paley, the head of CBS. Mr. Paley fired Bruce Geller, Bernard L. Kowalski, and story editor Del Reisman in December 1964 and gave an order "...to put the cows back in." Endre Bohem returned as producer following Bruce Geller and Bernard L. Kowalski. For the eighth and final season Ben Brady, who had worked on Perry Mason,  was brought in as an executive producer and Robert E. Thompson as its line producer.

While Rawhide saw a good deal of turnover in producers, its cast was fairly stable. Sheb Wooley left after the show's fourth season, only to return for a few episodes in its seventh season. Don C. Harvey, as drover Collins, also left after the show's fourth season. Others would only stay for a few seasons. John Erwin as Teddy appeared from the second to fourth seasons, and then again from the sixth to seventh seasons. As mentioned above, Charles H. Gray played Clay Forrester in the show's fourth and fifth seasons, and had a single appearance in the show's sixth season. The biggest cast change would come when Eric Fleming departed the show at the end of the seventh season. Today it is unclear why he left. At the time Eric Fleming joked to TV Guide, "They fired me because they were paying me a million dollars a year (here it must be pointed out he was actually paid $220,000 a year)."

Of course, Eric Fleming was not the only cast member to leave Rawhide after its seventh season, as several cast members were let go. Robert Cabal, James Murdock, Rocky Shahan, and others were no longer part of the cast. The eighth season of Rawhide appears to be set a few years later than the sixth season, with Rowdy Yates promoted to trail boss and Jim Quince promoted to ramrod. Paul Brinegar remained on the show as Wishbone. The departing cast were replaced by new drovers, including Raymond St. Jacques as Simon Blake (the show's first regular Black drover),  John Ireland as Jed Colby, and David Watson as Ian Cabot.

For the first three seasons of Rawhide, while Charles Marquis Warren was producer, the titles of episodes followed a format of "Incident at....," "Incident of...," and so on. This was dropped at the start of the fourth season. Episodes of Rawhide sometimes addressed serious issues, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, racism, and superstition. In "Incident at the Top of the World" Robert Culp played a Civil War veteran who had become addicted to morphine. Hey Soos faced racism in multiple episodes. Episodes such as "Incident of the Golden Calf" and 'Incident of the Prophecy" touched upon religion. Rawhide also featured a wide range of big name guest stars. The seventh season episode "Canliss" featured a rare television guest appearance by Dean Martin as the titledcharacter. In the fourth season episode "The Captain's Wife,"screen legend Barbara Stanwyck played the wife of a cavalry captain left in charge of an abandoned fort facing Comanchero raids. Troy Donahue played a man about to be married in "Incident at Alabaster Plain." A short list of big name guest stars on Rawhide includes Claude Akins, Eddie Albert, Mary Astor, Ed Begley, Lon Chaney Jr., Ann Doran, Barbara Eden, Nina Foch, Martin Landau, June Lockhart, Burgess Meredith, Woody Strode, and Audrey Totter.

During its run Rawhide would see some merchandising. In 1961 a novel based on the TV show, Rawhide, by Frank C. Robertson, was published by Signet Books.Two issues of Dell Comics' anthology comic book Four Color adapted the TV series. There was also a board game, puzzle, and various other goods.

Rawhide proved to be a hit in its very first season, coming in at no. 28 for the year in the Nielsen ratings. It rose in the ratings in its second season to no. 18 for the year and peaked no. 6 in its third season. Rawhide dropped to no. 13 for the season in its fourth season and then to no. 22 in its fifth. Unfortunately, its fifth season would be the last time Rawhide ranked in the top thirty shows for the year. For the show's sixth season CBS moved Rawhide from Friday night to Thursday night, and its ratings dropped. Rawhide was moved back to Friday night for its seventh season, but its ratings continued to decline. With its eighth season Rawhide moved from Friday night to Tuesday night. Between the new time slot and the massive changes in the show's cast, ratings for Rawhide plummeted. The show was cancelled only thirteen episodes into its eighth season.

While Rawhide ended its original broadcast network run in 1965, it was hardly gone. It entered syndication and would be seen on local television stations for years. It would later be seen on a wide variety of cable channels. The entire series has been released on DVD by CBS DVD.

Rawhide would have a lasting impact. The fourth season episode "The Black Sheep" was the one that led director Sergio Leone to cast Clint Eastwood in his Western A Fistful of Dollars (1964), thus launching Eastwood on his film career. Its theme song has become a standard, recorded by multiple artists. While he was fired from the job, Rawhide was among the first shows produced by Bruce Geller, who would go onto create Mission: Impossible and produce the TV series Mannix. Rawhide also brought a higher degree of realism to television Westerns and, for the brief time that Bruce Geller and Bernard L. Kowalski produced it, even pioneered the revisionist Western. Rawhide may not have seen the success of Gunsmoke and Bonanza, but in some way it was just as influential.