We all have our favorite TV shows from back in the day. It was time when we loved Lucy, followed the Cartwright clan, shared a lollipop with Kojak, laughed with the Petries and wondered what Capt. Kirk was doing in space. It was a pretty special time and here are some fun facts regarding those shows and others.
When they were casting the show about the Petries, the lead character came down to two people, Dick Van Dyke and Johnny Carson. Of course, Van Dyke won out and the “Dick Van Dyke Show” was born. Carson would do okay for himself as he would go on to become the king of late night TV.
NBC originally rejected the show “Star Trek”. But it was Lucille Ball head of Desilu Productions who convinced the network to give the show a chance and it would be a hit. Of course Lucy was right.
Fred Gwynne, as Herman Munster and Al Lewis as Grandpa in “The Munsters” played so well off one another because they’d had a couple years of practice. They’d co-starred as Officers Francis Muldoon and Leo Schnauser on the hit sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961 until 1963.
The detective series “Kojak” starring Telly Savalas ran from 1973 to 1978 and was watched by millions around the world. One it’s most avid fans who never missed an episode was Queen Elizabeth II.
Irene Ryan played Granny on the “Beverly Hillbillies” and great makeup mad her look dowdy and older. Before the hit show Ms. Ryan had done several movies and was also a Tony award winner for her role in the Broadway musical Pippin.
The early TV hit western “The Rifleman” was the first show to feature a former professional athlete as the star. Chuck Connors had been a professional baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs and basketball player for the Boston Celtics before becoming an Emmy nominated actor.
For the entire run of one of the most watched shows in TV history “M.A.S.H”, it wasn’t filmed in some foreign country or studio back lot. It was actually filmed in Malibu, California up on a mountain about 30 minutes away from the beach.
One of the big shows of the 1960’s was “The Twilight Zone”. It was written, produced, created and narrated by Rod Serling. CBS did not want Serling as the narrator preferring Orson Welles, but his fee was more than CBS wanted to spend so Serling wound up doing it. He also wrote 94 of the 156 episodes.
Remember the detective show “Cannon” with William Conrad? In the background of Cannon episodes, you will always see a blue Cadillac Coupe deVille with a white top parked where it can be seen next to Cannon’s car or parked in a driveway of a home or park on the side of the street. The Caddy was Conrad’s real life car.
So there you have a few fun facts about TV shows from our past. I know many of you enjoy these fun facts, trivia type features, so we’ll try and bring more your way in the future. Have a great week everyone.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
