By Sylvia Gurinsky
Preparations for the film "The Butler," based on the life of White House butler Eugene Allen, made news this week for potentially unusual casting choices (Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan and Oprah Winfrey as Allen's wife among them).
One has to wonder how director Lee Daniels, best known for gritty dramas such as "Monster's Ball" and "Precious," will frame this movie. That's because more than 30 years ago, NBC and Ed Friendly Productions gave a four-part look at how it's supposed to be done - "Backstairs at the White House."
"Backstairs," based on the book "My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House" by Lillian Rogers Parks, covered the experiences of Parks and her mother, Maggie Rogers, as members of the White House staff from the administrations of Presidents William Howard Taft through Dwight David Eisenhower.
The miniseries featured an all-star cast, including Leslie Uggams as Lillian and Olivia Cole as Maggie, Louis Gossett, Jr. as Houseman Levi Mercer, Leslie Nielsen as butler Ike Hoover, Cloris Leachman as the head of the White House staff - and that's just the "downstairs" part. Presidents included Victor Buono as Taft, Robert Vaughn (Woodrow Wilson), George Kennedy (Warren Harding), Ed Flanders (Calvin Coolidge) and "M*A*S*H"'s Harry Morgan as Harry Truman. First Ladies included Julie Harris as Nellie Taft; Kim Hunter and Claire Bloom as the two Mrs. Wilsons; Celeste Holm as Florence Harding; Lee Grant as Grace Coolidge; Eileen Heckart as Eleanor Roosevelt; Estelle Parsons as Bess Truman and Barbara Barrie as Mamie Eisenhower.
Friendly, of course, was the creator and producer of "Little House on the Prairie." Some behind the scenes are familiar to fans of "Hawaii Five-O" - Michael O'Herlihy, who directed, and Morton Stevens, who composed the music.
"Backstairs" received numerous Emmy nominations, but won only for makeup. This was the height of the miniseries era on network television, and there was intense competition in 1979 - especially from "Roots: The Next Generations."
"Backstairs at the White House" is available on DVD.
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In memory of the great Earl Scruggs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjVzmIV8gwk
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YesterTube is taking a three-week hiatus and will return the week of April 20. Happy Spring Holidays, and Happy Viewing!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Week of March 23: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad March
By Sylvia Gurinsky
March Madness has taken over television screens, so it's worth going back in time to look at some of the greatest NCAA basketball finishes, all on CBS:
*1985: Villanova beats Georgetown, 66-64 - Many still consider this the greatest upset in NCAA tournament history, as unranked Villanova overcame defending champion Georgetown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjYss_dQF8
*1982: North Carolina beats Georgetown - Future NBA legend Michael Jordan is among the rising stars in this game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxBMwNqGIFs
*1983: Hail the Wolfpack- A bigger Cinderella story than Villanova was North Carolina State University, coached by Jim Valvano. Going up against the University of Houston Cougars, the Wolfpack was seen as overmatched. But with Dereck Whittenburg and Lorenzo Charles in the lead, North Carolina State made it happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQ6JZpjdTY
*1992: Duke vs. Kentucky - Considered the greatest college basketball game ever played, this one ended in overtime at the very last milisecond with Christian Laettner's shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4
Enjoy the Madness! And until next week, Happy Viewing!
March Madness has taken over television screens, so it's worth going back in time to look at some of the greatest NCAA basketball finishes, all on CBS:
*1985: Villanova beats Georgetown, 66-64 - Many still consider this the greatest upset in NCAA tournament history, as unranked Villanova overcame defending champion Georgetown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjYss_dQF8
*1982: North Carolina beats Georgetown - Future NBA legend Michael Jordan is among the rising stars in this game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxBMwNqGIFs
*1983: Hail the Wolfpack- A bigger Cinderella story than Villanova was North Carolina State University, coached by Jim Valvano. Going up against the University of Houston Cougars, the Wolfpack was seen as overmatched. But with Dereck Whittenburg and Lorenzo Charles in the lead, North Carolina State made it happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQ6JZpjdTY
*1992: Duke vs. Kentucky - Considered the greatest college basketball game ever played, this one ended in overtime at the very last milisecond with Christian Laettner's shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4
Enjoy the Madness! And until next week, Happy Viewing!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Week of March 16: Most Influential Television Shows
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Last week, CNN came up with its own picks for the most influential programs in television history:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/08/showbiz/tv/influential-tv-shows/index.html
Naturally, YesterTube presents picks as well, broken down by decade:
1930s (Yes, 1930s): The 1939 Columbia-Princton football game was the first televised sporting events - a flickering hint to the importance of sports for the prestige and bottom line of television in the future.
1940s:
-"Meet the Press": On the air since 1947, with political newsmakers of all stripes.
-"Truth or Consequences": The first truly successful televised game show, and one that would survive the quiz-show scandals a decade later.
1950s:
-"The Today Show" - This one agrees with the CNN list.
-"Guiding Light": Went from radio to television, ensuring that soap operas would continue to thrive until O.J. Simpson and the Internet began to kill them.
-"See It Now" - Emphasizing the importance of investigative reporting in television; Edward R. Murrow and company shined for showing Joseph McCarthy as the demagogue he was.
-"The Tonight Show" - Also on the CNN list
1960s:
-"CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite" - Walter Cronkite would become the most trusted anchorman with his coverage of such stories as the moon landings and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It would take him a while to pass the NBC duo of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley in the ratings, but once he did, his popularity as a television newsman was - and remains - unsurpassed. His 1968 commentary calling the Vietnam War a "stalemate" changed that year's presidential race and the debate about the conflict.
-"Laugh-In" - Would change the tone of humor programs and let later comedy-variety shows such as "Saturday Night Live" take more chances.
-"Peyton Place" - Heralded the successful future of prime-time soap operas, including "Dallas," "Dynasty" and "Desperate Housewives."
"I Spy" - Innovative for two reasons: Bill Cosby as the first African-American in a successful starring role and location shooting, which encouraged television production to be moved out of Hollywood - and sometimes away from the American mainland.
"60 Minutes" - On CNN list, but has managed to be profitable AND high-quality.
1970s:
-"All In the Family" - On CNN list
-"An American Family" - Inexplicably not on the CNN list, this 1973 PBS documentary was the trigger for so-called "reality" programs that have chronicled - and often helped to destroy - lives.
-"Roots" - Besides triggering the popularity of the miniseries, "Roots" opened television viewers' eyes to the possibilities of diverse storytelling. Sadly, the commercial networks have since abdicated that promise.
1980s:
-"Hill Street Blues" - On CNN list
-"Cagney and Lacey" - "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" opened the door, but this police show walked right in with its honest portrayal of women's lives.
Looks at all of the programs are available in various forms, including DVD and online.
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Last week, CNN came up with its own picks for the most influential programs in television history:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/08/showbiz/tv/influential-tv-shows/index.html
Naturally, YesterTube presents picks as well, broken down by decade:
1930s (Yes, 1930s): The 1939 Columbia-Princton football game was the first televised sporting events - a flickering hint to the importance of sports for the prestige and bottom line of television in the future.
1940s:
-"Meet the Press": On the air since 1947, with political newsmakers of all stripes.
-"Truth or Consequences": The first truly successful televised game show, and one that would survive the quiz-show scandals a decade later.
1950s:
-"The Today Show" - This one agrees with the CNN list.
-"Guiding Light": Went from radio to television, ensuring that soap operas would continue to thrive until O.J. Simpson and the Internet began to kill them.
-"See It Now" - Emphasizing the importance of investigative reporting in television; Edward R. Murrow and company shined for showing Joseph McCarthy as the demagogue he was.
-"The Tonight Show" - Also on the CNN list
1960s:
-"CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite" - Walter Cronkite would become the most trusted anchorman with his coverage of such stories as the moon landings and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It would take him a while to pass the NBC duo of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley in the ratings, but once he did, his popularity as a television newsman was - and remains - unsurpassed. His 1968 commentary calling the Vietnam War a "stalemate" changed that year's presidential race and the debate about the conflict.
-"Laugh-In" - Would change the tone of humor programs and let later comedy-variety shows such as "Saturday Night Live" take more chances.
-"Peyton Place" - Heralded the successful future of prime-time soap operas, including "Dallas," "Dynasty" and "Desperate Housewives."
"I Spy" - Innovative for two reasons: Bill Cosby as the first African-American in a successful starring role and location shooting, which encouraged television production to be moved out of Hollywood - and sometimes away from the American mainland.
"60 Minutes" - On CNN list, but has managed to be profitable AND high-quality.
1970s:
-"All In the Family" - On CNN list
-"An American Family" - Inexplicably not on the CNN list, this 1973 PBS documentary was the trigger for so-called "reality" programs that have chronicled - and often helped to destroy - lives.
-"Roots" - Besides triggering the popularity of the miniseries, "Roots" opened television viewers' eyes to the possibilities of diverse storytelling. Sadly, the commercial networks have since abdicated that promise.
1980s:
-"Hill Street Blues" - On CNN list
-"Cagney and Lacey" - "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" opened the door, but this police show walked right in with its honest portrayal of women's lives.
Looks at all of the programs are available in various forms, including DVD and online.
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Week of March 2: So Long, Davy Jones
By Sylvia Gurinsky
"The Monkees" series had no heads or tails, as a Spanish saying goes. But it was revolutionary. Davy Jones, who died this week, was one of the reasons why.
The British Jones was the lead singer for the mostly American group, created as one of the 1960s answers to The Beatles. The plots were silly, but it was the music that counted.
Video sequences such as the one for "The Last Train To Clarksville" set a precedent that would be followed up during the 1980s by MTV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZeZ1e441A&feature=related
Both seasons are available on DVD.
See you next week.
"The Monkees" series had no heads or tails, as a Spanish saying goes. But it was revolutionary. Davy Jones, who died this week, was one of the reasons why.
The British Jones was the lead singer for the mostly American group, created as one of the 1960s answers to The Beatles. The plots were silly, but it was the music that counted.
Video sequences such as the one for "The Last Train To Clarksville" set a precedent that would be followed up during the 1980s by MTV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZeZ1e441A&feature=related
Both seasons are available on DVD.
See you next week.
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