Recently in Classic TV shows Category

I shared on a post late last year that my first crush - which I didn't really know was a crush at the time - was on Kent McCord, one of the stars of the 70s police series "Adam 12."

For anyone who also loved the show (which also starred Martin Milner), you should know that its second season has just been released on DVD this week!

Here's a synopsis: Crime is on the rise in the City of Angels, with more gangs, drugs, riots and brutality pushing Officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) to the edge. Stoned hippies, escaped convicts and ruthless snipers litter the streets - it's no surprise that the Season Two of Adam-12 features the newly formed LAPD S.W.A.T. team helping to clean up the mess. Experience the action "ride-along" style as two of L.A.'s finest cops put their lives on the line in the name of service and protection.

A spin-off of the popular NBC series Dragnet, and created and produced by Jack Webb, Adam-12 is one of the first realistic portrayals on the lives of LAPD and chronicles in striking detail and accuracy of events from real cases. Brimming with gritty realism and actions, Adam-12 was a must-see staple of television when the series aired on NBC from 1968 - 1975.

The season Two DVD box set contains all 26 action-packed episodes and a wealth of insightful bonus content including: Commentaries by The LAPD, Photo History of The LAPD and an exclusive One Adam-12 ringtone promotion. Consumers will be able to text a code into a predetermined service provider to receive the famous "One Adam-12...One Adam-12" dispatcher's call as a ringtone for their cellular phone.

Related posts:

-- Catching Up With a Childhood Crush
-- Kent McCord is outa this world
-- Flashback: The Men of Adam 12 in their Prime

Estelle Getty had been ill for several years before she died Tuesday but that didn't diminish the level of sadness and surprise I've noticed on the Internet, in people I kniow, and from those who worked with her. I think we've all seen those episodes of "The Golden Girls" so many times - and they are so damned enjoyable and comforting - that we feel like we lost our Sicilian grandmother.
"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, who was one of the writers on "Golden Girls," said of Estelle: "She always used to be very quick-witted; she could get a punchline out quicker than anybody. That's a rare talent, and she was kind of amazing, and I'm going to miss her terribly."

"She was the least actressy of anyone in the cast," he told ET.com. "She was just happy to be there. She was very grateful for what she had gotten so late in her life. In my mind she will always be everyone's grandma."

Bea Arthur, who played her television daughter, Dorothy: "Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her."

Betty White who played Rose: "The only comfort at this moment is, that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us."

Rue McClanahan who played Blanche:: "Estelle always wanted to be an actress, and she achieved that goal beyond her dreams. Don't feel sad about her passing - she will always be with us in her crowning achievement - Sophia. I love you, Slats - Rue." (Slats was a nickname Rue had for Estelle.)

Here is a video I found on YouTube of some of Estelle's best first season moments as Sophia:

Like I don't already have enough going on this crazy week. Outfest runs through Monday as does the Television Critics Assn. tour and I am juggling events at both and getting ready for Emmy nominations early Thursday morning. It's also my awesome editor Melissa Lalum's last week at the paper so there's more than usual weighing on me right now.

So with all of this going on, I get home and on my doorstep is "The Q Guide to Charlie's Angels" sent to me by author Mike Pingel; I immediately am immersed in it and am gonna share some little tidbits now while reserving the right to share a few more in the near future.

Cheryl Ladd tried to answer Mike's question about why "Angels" resonated so strongly with gays: "I have tons of gay friends and never once have I asked that particular question of them. Which is really interesting. I knew they loved the show, I knew they loved me. But I never asked what it was about the show that they felt so drawn to. I believe it was because it was fun and a little glamorous and we were everyone's best friends, we were such grown-up Girl Scouts. I think everyone thought they'd be so fun to hang out with and go on adventures with us. We were fun girls."

Mike has interviews with Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl. Tanya Roberts too but she was only in season five and I think, by that time, we didn't care as much. The first three seasons are the ones we remember most - it just wasn't the same after Kate left.

Farrah left after season one but in a legal settlement, made three guest appearances in seasons three and four. She talked about what it was like to come back: "On my return episodes, I was excited to see the girls. It was fun and shocking how easily we slipped back into our pecking order of which girl said what and my teasing with Kate (Jackson) and Jaclyn. We had our own little clique and after all that time had passed, the court and the whole big deal, they were happy to see me. Of course, they never wanted me to leave. I actually was so happy the show continued to do well, so I didn't feel guilty about leaving it. Cheryl came in and was instantly likeable and that's to her credit."

Her bond with Kate and Jaclyn remains: "It was just a good chemistry mix and really to this day whenever we see each other, which is often, we go right back into it, sort of giggly, gossipy about what's going on in our lives."

Earlier post:
-- New "Charlie's Angels" book offer a fun "gay" look at the 70s detective series...

It's been 32 years since Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson made their debut as TV's "Charlie's Angels."

And we can't stop talking about them! Or writing about them! I think they, and their show, remind us so much of our youth. Or maybe it's just the hair. These ladies had - and have - terrific hair. Jaclyn's hair is still so lovely that she was picked to host the Bravo reality show "Shear Genius" and Kate will be making a guest appearance this season.

Jaclyn - queen of TV movies and of a hugely successful line of Kmart clothing and other goods - said in a recent interview that the reason she was offered the hosting gig was probably because of the Emmy night appearance the three ladies made in 2007 during a tribute to Aaron Spelling. It was a surprise reunion that was, by far, the highlight of the entire show and overshadowed the fact that Tori Spelling and her mother were feuding and seated far away from each other at the Shrine Auditorium.

And all three still look sensational.

Anyway, today marks the release of a new book that looks like a lotta fun: "The Q Guide to Charlie's Angels." Author Mike Pingel (pictured with the three original Angels plus Cheryl Ladd) takes a fun "gay" look at the series which ran on ABC from 1976-81 and has forever lived on through reruns, DVDs and feature film remakes.

The female detective show was an absolute 70s phenomenon with the leads making the cover of countless magazines, including the cover of Time! Farrah was at the center of most the attention initially but she left after the first season and was replaced by Cheryl Ladd who was immediately accepted by the show's fans.

Cheryl, Kate and Jaclyn made a nice trio for two seasons before Kate - no doubt annoyed at not being allowed to accept the part that won Meryl Streep an Oscar in "Kramer vs. Kramer" - left the show.
Kate was replaced by Shelly Hack at the start of season four and the show just never recovered. Shelly, who until then was best known for her "Charlie" perfume commercials, went over so badly that she was given the boot after just one season and replaced by Tanya Roberts who was an improvement because she had some of Kate's spunk and humor.

The the show was cancelled after five seasons. In the end, Jaclyn was the only Angel to last all five years, Cheryl did four and Farrah - after being sued by producers for quitting - returned for six guest spots during seasons three and four. She, of course, went on to give Emmy nominated performances in "The Burning Bed" and "Small Sacrifices" and won acclaim for her performances in the stage and film versions of "Extremities" and in the feature "The Apostle."

OK, back to the book. I have so much "Charlie's Angels" trivia inside of me that it just spilled onto the screen before I could stop myself. So Mike Pingel, the author who you see in all these pictures, landed new interviews for the book with Farrah, Jaclyn, Kate, Cheryl and Tanya. Tanya even wrote the forward to the book!

I really don't blame Shelly for not wanting to talk about it.

"The Q Guide to Charlie's Angels" includes the history of the show, highlighted episode breakdowns hundreds of other facts on the series and interviews with guest stars. Mike will have a book signing at The Different Light Bookstore in West Hollywood, CA on July 11 at 7:30pm.

He is writing two more Q Guides for Alyson Publication, The Q Guide to: TVs Wonder Woman and The Q Guide to The Brady Bunch.

How cool is this? Sabrina, Jill and Kelly back together again...

There will be another rare reunion of the original stars of "Charlie's Angels" when Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson appear on an episode of "shear Genius," the Bravo reality show hosted by fellow angel Jaclyn Smith.

These women have had famous heads of hair for more than 30 years so this is the perfect show for them to appear on and marks their first time together on television since a heart-warming reunion on the Emmys two years ago during a tribute to Aaron Spelling.
It was shortly after rare joint appearance (pictured, right) that that we learned Farrah had been diagnosed with cancer. She has been fighting hard and good to see she's well enough to appear on TV in something other than TMZ.com with cameras following her at the airport.

"You will be surprised when you see it," Jaclyn told Entertainment Tonight of the reunion. "We recreate our styles from the '70s with a modern touch. I thought it was challenging, because you think the simplicity of those styles. I think having some 'Angels' there was intimidating to some of the stylists. I think it was harder for them than just recreating [the hair styles] because we were there."

The second season of "Shear Genius" premieres June 25 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Until then, here is the 2006 Emmy appearance of the ageless Jaclyn, Farrah and Kate:

How cool is this? The three Emmy winning stars of "The Golden Girls," Bea Arthur, Rue Mclanahan and Betty White reunited Sunday night at the TV Land Awards. Betty is gonna be on "Million Dollar Password" on Thursday. Her late hubby, Allen Ludden, was the host of the original version. Rue seems to always be in the middle in the photos of these three. At a reunion I attended about four years ago, Bea seemed a bit frosty toward Betty so I'm not sure what might be going on there.

Oprah Winfrey seems to be phoning it in on a lot of days on her talk show in my opinion, lacking the spark she has had in many past years. But there are some days when she really is on fire. Last week it was a show with Cher and Tina Turner and this week, it was an amazing "Mary Tyler Moore Show" cast reunion that took place on replicas of the classic sitcom's sets. The show, which ended its stellar seven-year run in 1977, meant so much to Oprah as a young woman that the first time she met Mary, she burst into tears of joy. This time, Mary presented Oprah with an "O" to hang on the wall just like Mary's "M," signed by the entire cast.
I love this show, have seen every episode many times, own the DVDs etc. The writing was first-rate and the cast was one of the best ever assembled. Mary herself is a seven-time Emmy winner (four of the Emmys were for her portrayal of Mary Richards);Valerie Harper won four Emmys for playing Rhoda, including one for her spinoff series; Ed Asner is a seven-time Emmy winner including five for playing Lou Grant (two were for his spinoff series); Betty White won two Emmys for her role as sex-crazed Sue Ann Nivens (five wins overall)' while Cloris Leachman has won more Emmys (nine) than any individual performer in history - two of those wins were for her role as Phyllis Lindstrom.
All of these Emmy winners were present on the Oprah show as well as Gavin MacLeod and Georgia Engel. Ted Knight, who played news anchor Ted Baxter, died in 1986.

Although Phyllis was Rhoda's archenemy on the show, viewers might be surprised to know is that Cloris and Valerie were actually good friends offset. "I have a one-woman show, and I talk about her all the time and how she called me her girlfriend, and she was always wonderful to me and it changed me," Cloris said.

Cloris, always outrageous, told a story of a friendly bet with Ed Asner. If he would lose 30 pounds, she would sleep with him. "That's why it never happened. ... He lost 29...and he went right back up!" she jokes. "We looked in each other's eyes, and we were terrified. I don't know who was more frightened."

Here are a few classic clips from the show's later seasons starting with highlights of Leachman as nosy landlady Phyllis followed by the classic: "Chuckles Bites the Dust"

I spent more time at home this week than I have in ages recovering from an allergy thing and it has enabled me to watch an incredible amount of television. A lot of that viewing has been dedicated to the gay marriage and China earthquake coverage but, ya know, some days you just gotta watch some "Oprah" or "Entertainment Tonight."

On Monday's "Oprah," there is going to be a cast reunion of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and it looks like everyone is there (except for the late Ted Knight, of course). So one of the shows (I think ET) drops this bombshell in a preview: during the entire first season of the series, Mary was wearing a WIG!!!

I guess it makes sense since her hair was never that long again in subsequent years but it just seems so wrong! What's next? Murray wasn't really bald? Mr. Grant wasn't really fat? Sue Ann wasn't really a slut?

I've got a terrific mom who I love dearly but I have to admit, there have been some other mothers in my life - on television anyway!

So it was a great thrill last week to meet and chat with TV moms Marion Ross ("Happy Days"), Bonnie Franklin ("One Day at a Time"), Marjorie Lord ("Make Room for Daddy") and Meredith Baxter ("Family Ties") who were among those who gathered at the Television Academy in North Hollywood for a night of reminiscing and reunions with their on-screen kids.

I reminded Marion of the time I met her 3-4 years back at Jerry's Deli when I was there having breakfast with Melissa Gilbert. I thought it was so cute that Marion brought her own flowers to dress up her table.

"We bring our own syrup too," she said, laughing. "Sometimes I bring my own tablecloth."
So what is it like to go through life where everyone knows you as Mrs. Cunningham: "It's only been wonderful for me to be Mrs. C. because everyone's so good to me, they're so nice to me."

Is the cast still in touch?

"I talk to the Fonz (Henry Winkler) a lot and Ron (Howard), we were all in New York for "The Today Show," she said. "And Erin (Moran), and Donny (Most) and Anson (Williams), and my Tom (Bosley), we love to see each other."

So what about Chuck, her older son on the show who disappeared without explanation after the first season?

"You know, we had three of those Chucks, three different Chucks (laughs). It's one of the most asked questions we ever get. People say, 'How could you lose a son like that? What a careless family.'"

Meredith, who played Elyse Keaton on "Ties," couldn't lose her TV son since he was played by Michael J. Fox. She expressed surprise at being included in a night with such other legendary TV moms.

"I'm thrilled to be part of it but I keep thinking someone's gonna find out that I'm here and ask me to leave," she said. "I think (Elyse) loved her kids desperately. I think she didn't know what to do with the Alex (Fox) character. He just flouted all their (liberal) beliefs."
Marjorie was not only joined by her TV daughter, Angela Cartwright, at the event, but also by her real-life daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Anne Archer.

"She was always an actress so I was used to seeing her perform but more on the stage," Anne said. "So it was fun when I saw her on the television series. But it was kind of normal life for me, for mom to be acting. That's what I thought most people did."
Marjorie was happy to participate in the reunion: "It brings back a lot of memories and happy times."

Bonnie was joined at the event by both her famous TV daughters: Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips. She talked about what it was like being the first divorced sitcom mom on TV and how she fought for the show to reflect that.

"It was a really good period of time in my life and an important time in my life," she said. "It allowed me to do what I want to do the rest of my life."

Barbara Billingsly, who played June Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver," was too ill to attend the event but I spoke with her two on-screen sons Jerry Mathers (Beaver) and Tony Dow (Wally).

"She was very much like she was on the show," Jerry said. "She's just a lovely, beautiful, wonderful woman and very positive and very professional. I'm prejudiced but I think she's America's number one TV mom."

AfterElton.com ran an item today about Hulu, a site where you can see old TV shows. It singles out a re-imagining of "Adam 12," the 1970s cop show that starred an impossibly gorgeous Kent McCord. The update revolved around two hunky young cops, (Peter Parros and Ethan Wayne) and the AfterElton writer describes an episode he watched was called Gay Bashing: It had the boys in blue investigate a series of assaults on gay men (with side stories about stripped cars and...a nudist club). What surprised me was that the show went out of its way to be as sensitive as possible, not resorting to stereotypical gay characters (for the most part), and having the leads remark repeatedly how wrong and unfair the assaults were.

To read the entire post , go to AfterElton.com. And I thank that great site for finding two pics of Kent (and on-screen partner Martin Milner) that I didn't have! Can you see why Kent was my first crush?
Related post: Catching Up With a Childhood Crush

Was at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove this morning doing a post-breakfast browse and spotted on the bookshelf "The Q Guide to Designing Women" by Allen Crowe. Regular readers of this blog know that this is one of my favbrite shows of all time . I had written a series of newspaper articles and blog posts about a "Designing Women" reunion that took place in the fall of 2006. It gave me the opportunity to interview star Dixie Carter and creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason before the event. At the event, I got a second-row seat directly behind Delta Burke and met all four of the main leads: Burke, Carter, Jean Smart and Annie Potts. It was heaven.
A short time later, the author had called me to interview me for the book. I didn't give it another thought until I saw the book this morning. I saw my name in the acknowledgments and as I leafed through it, found myself quoted in Chapter 12 ("The Cast's Favorite Episodes") on pages 124 and 135).

The episode he writes about is "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" Here's the excerpt: In addition to "Dash Goff, the Writer," the episode when Delta first met Gerald McRaney, her favorite show was the one dealing with her weight issues. Los Angeles Daily News entertainment journalist Greg Hernandez also picked this as his favorite episode. He was very moved by a conversation between Julia and Suzanne the morning after Suzanne's high school reuniin: "Julia told Suzanne, 'In the end all that matters is what was true and truly felt.' As a closeted gay man (at the time), it really resonated with me. It was something to go on and try to live by."

A few pages later, the author provides the entirety of what Julia said to Suzanne - words that have stuck with me forever: "In the end it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about you. You have to be exactly who and what you want to be. Most everyone is floating along on phony public relations. People who say being beautiful or rich or thin makes them happy. People who are trying to make their marriages and their children seem better than they actually are. And for what?! Appearances. Appearances don't count for diddly! In the end, all the really matter is what was true and truly felt and how we treated one another."

THE EMMY THAT GOT AWAY: Delta Burke was nominated for her first Emmy Award for her performance in the episode but had the misfortune of going up against Candice Bergen who won her second (of five overall) Emmy that year for "Murphy Brown."

Related posts:
- A Night with the Designing Women: Part One
- A Night with the Designing Women: Part Two
- The Dazzling Designing Women

C'mon, you know you were!

I just loved Joanie's spunky best friend on "Happy Days" and it sure was fun to interview the actress who played her, Cathy Silvers, recently for my weekly "Whatever Happened to...": column that runs in the Daily News and other papers. Here is the story:

Cathy Silvers grew up as the daughter of television comedy star Phil Silvers ("Sgt. Bilko") then became a star in her own right as Jenny Piccalo on "Happy Days."

As the best friend of Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran), Jenny provided crack comedic timing during the show's final three seasons.

"It's the most fun I ever had in my life, absolutely, bar none," Silvers said in a recent interview.

"Driving to Paramount Studios every day for three years, sitting on a set with Henry Winkler and Tom Bosley and Marion Ross and Erin Moran and Ted McGinley and Crystal Bernard - it was just like, you gotta be kidding me. And Anson (Williams) and Donny (Most).

"It was too good to be true."

Silvers continued acting after the show left the air, doing guest spots on such comedies as "Wings," "Punky Brewster" and "1st and Ten." She also had a role in the 1996 movie version of "Bilko" starring Steve Martin.

Silvers, now 46, has parlayed her television stardom into a business career.

"I think (TV fame) was a leg-up," she said. "But I went to college. I actually did take four years off and went to American University and got a degree in marketing. I have a pretty big company now,; it's a successful company, and we have a lot of businesses."

She operates a delivery service that provides order organic produce from farmers' markets to customers throughout Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles resident is also a vegan chef with a private practice, teaching people how to transition from unhealthy to healthy eating habits.

Silvers just wrote a book called "Happy Days Healthy Living," released in October, and is currentlyon a tour promoting it for Random House. She also hosts "The Healthy Living Show" on the Web-based Healthy Living Network (TheHealthy LivingShow.com).

"I'm speaking pretty much all over the country now about being healthy, about a green planet and drinking green smoothies so you can have a greener, healthier life and body."

Most of the "Happy Days" cast contributed segments to the first half of her book, which is dedicated to "Happy Days." Series star Ron Howard wrote the forward and creator Garry Marshall wrote the introduction.

Many of the former castmates remain close.

"I hang out with Henry Winkler a lot, and Erin Moran and I don't live far from each other, and I was just at Marion Ross' house a couple of months ago," she said. "We're all friends."

Sometimes, my life is so surreal. I found myself on the soundstage where "I Love Lucy" was filmed this afternoon scooping some salmon onto my plate as I chatted up Florence Henderson.

Me: "I really loved all the "Brady Bunch" shows except for the ones with cousin Oliver."

Me: "But hey, look at you. You're still here."

My Daily News column tomorrow is all about Florence and her new talk show. But details of the lunch itself, which won't be in the column, are what I want to share with you. Among a handful of journalists who were invited were a smattering of guest stars including Barbra Streisand's little sister, Roslyn Kind - a very talented singer who is back on stage after a long hiatus. I'll share my chat with her tomorrow. Freda Payne and I gabbed for a minute and Pat Boone was also there but I didn't bother to strike up a conversation with him. Also there was Mr. Blackwell who I wanted to chat up but he was engrossed by an anecdote being told by Tippi Hedren. I thought it was funny that he was at the same table as Allison (Nellie Olson from 'Little House on the Prairie) since he had dissed her on his worst dressed list.
But she was thrilled to be on the same list as Posh Spice! She's a hoot and I will have that interview in the coming days.

Anyway, here's my column on Florence Henderson:

When I was a kid, every Friday night my parents would buy us McDonalds for dinner then we'd all pile into the living room to watch "The Brady Bunch." So it was really cool on Thursday to meet Mrs. Brady herself, Florence Henderson, at an intimate luncheon event celebrating the premiere of her new talk show.

The chatfest, which airs on the fledgling Retirement Living TV channel, may be aimed at the 55-plus crowd but Florence told me she wants to play host to guests of all ages.

"I'd love Tom Cruise as a guest, or Julia Roberts. Certainly Clint Eastwood," said the lovely lady. "I want to talk to people who are contributing and who are talented and have something to say. I'm the most appreciative fan you'll ever meet."
So far, some terrific guests have taped interviews for "The Florence Henderson Show" including Carol Burnett, Jason Alexander, Bob Newhart, Judge Judy and Garry Marshall, among others. Before lunch, she had finished taping a show with guests Tippi Hedren, Freda Payne and Roslyn Kind.

"On most talk shows, if you're on for five minutes you're lucky," she said. "My guests don't feel pressured. We sometimes do 30 minutes and you find out things about these great performers. I love talking to people, I love that intimate one-on-one."

Yes, two of her on-screen kids from "Brady Bunch" - Eve Plumb and Susan Olsen - have already guested with others sure to follow.
"I can't get rid of them!" she joked.

Florence, who turns 74 on Valentine's Day, looks remarkably youthful after more than 50 years of stardom. She was originally a big Broadway star in such shows as "Wish You Were Here" and "Fanny" before she landed a high-profile gig "The Today Show" in 1959 as what was then referred to as a "Today girl."
"In a way, doing this show is going full circle because one of the first things I did was 'Today.' To be so young and to work with people like Dave Garroway. I've just been very fortunate."

Since Retirement Living TV is just over a year old, the show is available locally only through Direct TV and Comcast Cable so Florence knows it's an uphill climb for viewers: "It's difficult these days unless you're hot or you're Britney Spears and you're sick."

Britney Spears could really use a Mrs. Brady right now.

OK "I Love Lucy" fans, remember the character of Mr. Hickox who was hired as the Ricardo's business manager? How 'bout the passport office guy who Fred, Ricky, Lucy and Ethel tricked into staying past closing time? Here's one of his lines from that episode courtesy of my friend Eddie: "I'm a civil servant, madam. if you want to get me fired, you'll have to wait til I die." Then there's the guy holding auditions in the "Lucy Tells the Truth" episide and the expectant father in the hospital with Ricky who had already had six girls.
All of these character were played by the same man, Charles Lane, who has died at the age of 102! My friend Henry is the one who provided me with a quick rundown of the episodes Lane appeared in so thanks Henry! Feel better soon...and I hope you live another 75 years!
"They were all good parts, but they were jerks," he told The LA Times in 1980 of his characters in "I Love Lucy." "If you have a type established, though, and you're any good, it can mean considerable work for you."
He has hundreds of film and television roles to his credit stretching from the early 1930s to the mid-90s.
He appeared in small roles in many classic films ("It's A Wonderful Life" and "You Can't Take It With You") , often as a suffering no fools kinda guy. Lane was pretty sharp until the end, attending the 2005 TV Land Awards and joking that he was still available for work.

My far-flung friends Henry and Eddie aren't gonna believe this! Lucy and Ethel are becoming Barbie dolls! Now, we don't play with dolls but we do LOOOOOVE Lucy and Ethel and we love the episode "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress." You remember it, right? It's the one where they sing "Friendship" and started tearing each other's dresses off right there at the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League talent show? The dolls were just released to retail stores including Walmart today!
I would not have known about this had I not seen it on the EverythingLucy.com blog which is one of several sites I frequent often and that today I added to my Blogroll. Others include JustJared.com, TMZ.com, Kennethinthe212, Towleroad, Queersighted, MichaelAusiello, Popnography among others.
Enjoy! And check out these sites, I love 'em all.

When we were kids, my sister had a big poster of Erik Estrada on her bedroom door. so yesterday afternoon, I was at a DVD conference at the Century Plaza Hotal (I think it's a Hyatt now) and Estrada strode in with all that hair and those dazzling white teeth still intact. Of course I walked over to chat him up and told the former star of "CHIPS" about the poster. He smiled and laughed, as though he had heard it a gazillion times before. But what else was there to say? "Oh, I just love your infomercial for that land development! Stunning work!"
Estrada was there for the conferences annual TV on DVD panel that in past years has attracted the likes of Donny Osmond (I still have a crush. Shut up.), Jerry Mathers ("Leave it to Beaver"), Christopher Knight ("Brady Bunch"), Linda Gray and Charlene Tilton of "Dallas" and Joyce DeWitt of "Three's Company." But this year, Estrada was the big "name." He did make the audience laugh when he introduced himself as Tony Orlando and one of the panelists asked how it is he still looks the same nearly 30 years since his show's debut. Season One of "CHIPS" is just out on DVD.
Anyway, I figured the former Ponch would be by big star sighting of the day but a little while later as I walked to my car, I spotted Sherry Lansing, the former head of Paramount Studios and one of the most gracious people in Hollywood. Lansing received a special Oscar this year for her humanitarian work and at the nominees luncheon, stopped by our table to say hello to Curtis Hanson (I was sandwiched between him and Jennifer Hudson) and started telling me about his accomplishments.
Anyway, on Tuesday, Miss Lansing was standing with Wayne Rogers and introduced us. Now, my sister didn't have a poster on her door of Wayne Rogers but I still recognized Trapper John from "MASH." It was a real thrill to meet him.
Television stars from the 70s and early 80s still seem so familiar to me. It's almost like we know them so well because this was pre-cable and Internet and they were all we had.
Called my sister as I got in the car: "I met Ponch and Trapper John!"
Imagine if I had met Marcia Brady or Keith Partridge? Maybe next time...

I love PinkIsTheNewBlog and the creative way in which it presents its cool photos. Since I posted about the Brady Bunch reunion yesterday, wanted to share with you these recent shots of the still beautiful Maureen McCormick who still looks like Marcia Brady after all these years. She's back on the scene again after so many years out of the limelight. She is one of the cast members on the new season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club.

Who better to receive "The Pop Culture Award" at the TV Land Awards April 14 than The Brady Bunch?
The show has clearly transcended its origins as a Friday night family viewing staple in the early 70s to become a television touchstone for not one generation, but many. Nearly 40 years after its 1969 premiere, the show can still be seen everyday on television -- somewhere in the world.
So it looks like the ageless Florence Henderson and five of the actors who played Brady kids will be in Santa Monica for a reunion at the awards show. Robert Reed, who played Mr. Brady, is dead while Eve Plumb, who played Jan and famously said "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" is not listed as one of those scheduled to appear. She looked downright pained during the last reunion show a few years ago so I'm not surprised if she skips it.
As for Alice (Ann B. Davis), I don't know her status. But no Brady reunion is complete w/o Alice!

Anyone who loves Lucy as much as I do was saddened to hear about the death a few days ago of Bob Carroll Jr. who worked with writing partner Madelyn Pugh Davis for more than 60 years on virtually all of Lucille Ball's shows - including every episode of "I Love Lucy." He was 87.
When you think of how well the dialogue of "I Love Lucy" episodes has held up and how funny they still are more than 50 years later, it is criminal that Carroll and Davis only received two Emmy Nominations for writing on the show.
But in 1992, the Writers’ Guild of America awarded them with its Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Achievement.
TV Week's Tom Gilbert interviewed Davis on Monday: "We had the same sense of humor. We really never argued about anything. People always ask where we got our ideas because we turned out so many scripts. We never liked to do off-color stuff. And we never used topical humor-thank God for that; we had no way of knowing we were going to last for 50 years."
She added about the partnership, "I think Bob was funnier than I am. I was the more of the driver-and I did the typing."
Carroll and and Pugh (her name then) were writing for comedian Steve Allen’s radio show in the 1940s when they heard Ball was hiring for her show, “My Favorite Husband.� They were so anxious to write for the series that they paid Steve Allen to write his own show one week so they could submit a spec script for Lucy.
Needless to say, the script was accepted. They stayed with the program for the remainder of its 2-1/2 year run, then moved to TV with Miss Ball, collaborating with Jess Oppenheimer on the "I Love Lucy" pilot and then turning out scripts for 39 episodes a season. Together they also created "The Lucy Show" and "The Mothers-in-Law" which starred Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard. Other TV credits include scripts for "Here’s Lucy," "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," the Lucille Ball-Henry Fonda movie "Yours, Mine, and Ours," among many other credits - some 400 television programs and 500 radio shows in all.
After one of my articles about "I Love Lucy" ran in the Daily News last fall, I got an email from Bob Carroll's daughter, Christina, who pointed out that I had not mentioned her father and Davis in it. She wrote in part: "Is the show's enduring appeal not due to the clever verbal gymnastics of the writers? What are any scripts without words?"
We then began trading emails and there was hope that I would be able to interview her father and Davis to coincide with the 55th anniversary of the airing of the first episode of "I Love Lucy" which aired Oct. 8, 1951. "As you may calculate, they are both in their eighties, but I can let them know what you'd like to do. We'll have to see," Christina wrote.
The interview didn't happen but Christina Carroll did leave me with one nuggest of "I Love Lucy" trivia that I never would have thought to include in a quiz I put together for our front page. One of my answers had the famous red head's REAL hair color as being "mousy brown." Bob Carroll's daughter corrected me: "By the way, for the record (and should you personally come upon another Lucy quiz), Lucy's hair color was, more precisely: "mucklededun", a mousy brown. "Mucklededun" was an expression of my grandmother's to describe a dishwater brown haircolor. Her son, later in life, wrote it into an episode of "I Love Lucy."
I've posted about Lucy on this blog before. Click to see "Oh How We Still Love Lucy" and "I Love Lucy Movie: An Update."

This was my favorite moment of the the SAG Awards when out walked onto the stage, each individually introdiced, the cast of the classic "Mary Tyler Moore Show." They were given a warm and well-deserved standing ovation. What. A. Cast! They were there to present the best comedy ensemble award and how appropriate since they set the standard for an ensemble.
When Mary announced "The Office" as the winner, star Steve Carell took the mic and said: "This is quite an honor having these people [resent this to us [applause]. I ws craning my neck, 'Oh my God! There she is!They're here! Oh my God!"
It was perfect!