Mickey Rooney struggles with "A Piece of Shit"

Dinah! with guests Henry Winkler and David Bowie (1976) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest The Backwards Talker (1988)

Cesar et les Romains (1965)

From Montreal television in the mid-sixties, les Romains were a pretty big deal for a while and most of their records are pretty good - some consisting of some fairly gritty garage, believe it or not.

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Don Rickles (1984)

Yet another Carson appearance for Don Rickles. Watch several more by clicking on Don Rickles' name below.

Buster Keaton Plays a Little Love Song (1965)

If the clip doesn't work go here.

I have no idea what this is from, if it's actually from a movie or if it's home movie footage taken backstage somwhere, I dunno. What we do know is it is Buster Keaton and it is an appropriate clip for Valentine's Day at Classic Television Showbiz. Update: Okay, it is a clip from a good looking National Film Board of Canada documentary called Buster Keaton Rides Again - available in either VHS or DVD formats at every public library in Canada - i'll be checking it out promptly tomorrow. The NFB gave great B&W treatment to notables during this era, everyone from Paul Anka to Don Messer. Director of this film, John Spotton, was editor of the Paul Anka feature. All of these films are great.

The Love Experts with panelists David Letterman and Soupy Sales (1978)

Happy Valentines.

The Love Experts with panelists Soupy Sales and Geoff Edwards (1978)

The Best of "What's His Name "- The Jack Paar Comedy LP

I've owned several copies of this obscurity over the course of time and it is the only album I've ever seen on the phallic sounding Ramrod Superrecords. The back cover has an advertisement for Jiffy Sew. The LP is quite funny, consisting of two monologues from The Tonight Show with Jack Paar from 1960 or so. One is from an episode of the program that was broadcast from England, although the album provides zero context, and this is something the listener is pretty much left to themselves to figure out. I've heard a rumor that this was a "premium give-away" promo LP courtesy of NBC, but I don't know if that is true. If it is, it makes the label's name all the more confusing. Here it is in its entirety - The Best of "What's His Name."

What's My Line Celebrity Guests: Steve Allen, Art Carney and Jerry Lewis - Footage Offline - 6/01/09

Art Carney, again, simply hilarious - Steve Allen's Vix Vapo Rub line in the same episode is also pretty damn good.