|
|
 Do you use the “Saved -To Buy Later” feature on Amazon. com? Purchases I can’t quite justify or about which I’m somewhat conflicted wind up on this ever-expanding list, usually never to be resurrected.
Eventually, though, low price – $6.99 – liberated The Infinite Worlds Of H.G. Wells DVD (a three night mini-series that aired on The Hallmark Channel in 1991) from my STBL list. This was fortuitous; it’s great entertainment. A clever premise links the story lines from 6 different Wells short stories (The Crystal Egg, The New Accelerator, The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes, The Queer Story of Brownlow’s Newspaper, The Truth About Pyecraft, and The Stolen Bacillus) and weaves them together into 240 minutes of terrific, engaging, intelligent, high production value television, reminiscent at times of The Avengers, at times of Dr. Who, at times Masterpiece Theater.
Another recent purchase:
The Toon Treasury of Classic Childrens Comics is a full-color, 352 page oversize volume that presents a terrific selection of some of the best comic book stories from the 1940’s through the 1960’s by Carl Barks (Uncle Scrooge), Sheldon Mayer (Sugar and Spike), John Stanley (Little Lulu), Walt Kelly (Pogo) and George Carlson (Jingle Jangle Comics), among others.
June 16, 1992. Guest Ed Meese, President Reagan’s ex-Attorney General. The interview is joined in progress. Then we have the Nightside Hour for phones.
Don’t think Tom was terribly fond of Mr. Meese. If you remember the Hanna-Barbera character “Mr. Jinx,” his signature phrase springs to mind…
Commercial breaks are included from the Meese interview – some seem germane, some were just funny or interesting. Once again, the topics still seem current, although many of Meese’s positions have not stood the test of time… deregulation, for example. I love the caller who was “disenchatized” with Meese’s handling of Oliver North.
There’s quite a bit of the Snyder philosophy available in the Nightside Hour.
Listen or download.
 August 25, 1992: Tom takes a live feed from a newsman awaiting Hurricane Andrew (“Will New Orleans come away clean from this?”), interviews political pundit Eleanor Clift and actress Dana Delaney.
We’re in the beginning of the Bush/Clinton campaign, post conventions, which Tom covers with Eleanor. (The more things change…)
Dana Delaney is, in a word, delightful.
(Photo: 1968)
Download.
Tom is ready for his interview with Martin Gross. You can hear it – he calls Gross’s book terrific; he’s laughing as the interview starts; he likes the idea that someone has documented waste in Washington.
But – very quickly – Martin Gross says things that strain Tom’s credulity. Tom’s smile disappears; he asks Gross to repeat a statement. For Tom, the answer is totally overboard. Tom realizes that he’s got nearly an hour to go with this wacko. The tone of the interview changes; Tom starts taking shots at the guy… well, listen. You’ll hear it happen.
Also – a partial (sorry) interview with comedian Rita Rudner.
From June 22, 1992.
Listen or Download.
 This time out, an interview with Al Gore, who’s promoting his book Earth In The Balance and the Nightside hour, featuring calls from listeners.
During Nightside, Tom can’t seem to figure out how the then-new VCR Plus automatic VCR programmer works. Listeners try to explain it, but Tom still doesn’t quite get it.
A notable hour because Tom – completely befuddled as to how the VCR Plus works – leaves the microphone for a minute or so while he searches the studio for the day’s newspaper, which he believes will solve the problem once and for all. (It doesn’t). While he’s gone on this fool’s errand, the control room plays an old TV theme (Holiday for Strings).
From December 20, 1990
Listen or download.
Tom Snyder in Philadelphia circa 1965.
According to a radio hall of fame, Tom Snyder was a bit of a wiseguy back when he was doing the local news at noon in Philadelphia. One day, the sports reporter at the station couldn’t make it back to the studio in time, and Tom said he’d cover. Tom’s sports report, in total:. “A partial score just in: Philadelphia 5. Now, turning to the local news…”
Tom often repeated two curse words over and over right up to his on-the-air cue. This required the audio man to keep Tom’s microphone closed, which complicated the job of simultaneously managing the opening music, the opening announcement, and Tom’s mike. If the audio man had ever opened Tom’s mike too early, both he and Snyder would have lost their jobs.
A different Sunday With Snyder – in this half-hour interview of Tom early in his career. Recorded February 1967 at the student-run station at Temple University.
Listen or download.
Clockwise, from lower left: a bunch of Canadians, John McCain, Paul McCartney, Richard Nixon, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector.
Updated, maybe even perfected, 3:35AM Sept 21
The picture above is part of a quiz I’ve been working on. It’s about music, generally speaking.
There are two basic kinds of quizzes and they are age-related.
- If you are school age, the goal is to determine whether you’ve been paying attention. (Can you convert fractions to decimals? When was Polk elected?)
- If you’re no longer in school, the goal is to find out nice, reassuring things about yourself. (What’s your real age? Which Smurf are you?)
This one fails to fall in either category.
It’s supposed to be entertaining at best and silly at worst. I wasn’t going to post it tonight, but a promise is a promise. “Music Trivia” would be the general category, but you are a worthwhile person even if you do not pass. Click on the picture above to launch the quiz.
If you have any interest is seeing the full length performances referenced in the quiz, they are here. [2021 note: This isn't necessarily the recording of "You Are the One I Love" originally shared by Don.]
There’s more to come about some of the songs and performers highlighted here. Stay tuned.
The television business I know is over. Gone. Kaput. Finiti.
- Tom Snyder March 27 2003
June 26, 1992.
John Gotti’s in jail. Roe versus Wade has been challenged. Murphy Brown has been challenged, too, by Dan Quayle, who doesn’t like the single character deciding to have a baby. Meantime, there’s a real newswoman in Boston who’s doing the very same thing.
A bunch of guys are riding around in the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile documenting Roadside America – including places like Carhenge - Stonehenge recreated with half-buried used cars.
And Tom decides to write his very own version of The Vermont Teddy Bear commercial.
A complete 3-hour Radio Show which runs just under two hours in this version without most ads and newsbreaks. A good one.
Listen or download.
 Snyder’s career began in Milwaukee in the 1960s as a radio reporter. He then moved into local television news and anchored newscasts in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York before moving to late night.
Paul Friedman, a senior executive at CBS News who worked with Snyder on local news in New York, said he was a first-rate newswriter. He’d “read all the wire copy and then throw it away and write the story, quickly, in his own conversational, made-for-broadcast style. It always worked,” Friedman said.
Ed Hookstratten, Snyder’s longtime agent, said Snyder was one of the best local anchors in the country, but he loved interviewing “and always wanted his own hour. He loved to dig down and do his homework on whoever his guest was.” – Article in USA Today, 7/31/2007This is our fourth Sunday With Snyder: every Sunday, ILT “rebroadcasts” Tom Snyder’s ABC Radio Show.
Tonight: September 4, 1992: Lawyer Melvin Belli (partial; joined in progress) and TV Guide Editor Anthea Disney.(NOTE: This is a new, significantly expanded file added on Dec. 21, 2009 which includes segments that had been missing).
Listen...or download the mp3.
At left, one of six replica cloth patches sent by Disney as a complimentary gift to those who joined D23. Take a close look.
It’s either a) proof that when it opened in 1959, the train was referred to as a monroail, or 2) a rigorous attention to historic detail, reproducing a mistake made 50 years ago, or c) a brand-new mistake attributable either to really sloppy proofreading – or no proofreading at all.
Hey, at least it doesn’t say “Disnyeland ‘59!”
|
Isn’t Life Terrible? "Isn't Life Terrible" is a Charley Chase short from 1925. The title was derived from a 1924 D.W. Griffith film, "Isn't Life Wonderful?" Other Charley Chase film titles that ask questions are "What Price Goofy?" (1925), "Are Brunettes Safe?" (1927), and "Is Everybody Happy?" (1928). Chase abandoned his titles with question marks for titles with exclamation points during the sound era.
----------------------------------
Isn't Life Terrible moved from Blogger to WordPress in May of 2010. As a result, some links in older posts were broken. If you encounter one, let us know by leaving a comment on the post with the broken link, and we'll move it to the top of our "to-fix" list.
----------------------------------
This is a non-profit, ad-free blog that seeks to promote interest in, and enhance the value of, any and all copyrighted properties (appearing here in excerpt-only form) for the exclusive benefit of their respective copyright owners.
----------------------------------
Links to audio files go to a page where you can listen with a built-in player and/or download the file. If you want to continue to browse the internet while listening, don't close the page - open a new browser window.
|
