Tom Jones and Friends - Footage Offline 01/29/08

This awful variety show which featured "comedy" and "music" occasionally plays at odd hours of the morning on obscure Canadian television stations. It was originally filmed in Vancouver - probably for tax reasons of some kind - in the late seventies and early eighties. Here Donny Osmond and Tom Jones seem to be singing along with the world's first kareokee machine. That's what it sounds like anyway. Here's five bucks saying you can't sit through the whole thing.

The Tommorow Show with guest Elton John

Tom Snyder is his normal obtuse self interviewing Elton John in this brief clip from The Tomorrow Show in 1980.

We'll Be Right Back with the Partridge Family - Footage Offline - 11/19/07

A 1979 commercial break that aired during a syndicated episode of The Partridge Family on station WFLD.

NBC 1965-66 Fall Preview

Here's an end of summer special to get you all excited about the new shows and the return of your old favorites to NBC in fall of 1965. Blurry as hell, but worth it. Speaking of Get Smart, FYI, The Complete Get Smart is now available on DVD, you may have missed that news since it's mail-order only.

The Joe Franklin Show opening sequence (1977) - Footage Offline - 10/20/07

Joe Franklin is regarded as the first person to host a television talk show. The station was the primitive WJZ-TV in 1950 which would become New York's well known WABC. You may recall his showbizzy office appearing in the documentary The Aristorcrats. This is some hokey footage from latter-day and less notable incarnations of his show.

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with guests The Turtles

This is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. The Turtles are one of the best, and perhaps most underrated, pop groups of all time. A Guide For the Married Man was one of the few songs they didn't write themselves but they did wonders with it. This tune was the theme song to a Walter Matthau picture of the same name. The movie had an incredible cast of comedy stars second only to It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1964). Directed by Gene Kelly the film featured Robert Morse, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Wally Cox, Sid Caesar, Joey Bishop, Art Carney, Jayne Mansfield, Phil Silvers, Louis Nye, Ben Blue, Carl Reiner, Terry Thomas, and countless other instantly recognizable character actors. This Turtles appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour took place in 1967. Tommy Smothers promises me the show will be on DVD soon!