TV-Times (1960)

Here are two editions of the TV-Times from the year 1960

Elvis - Blue Hawaii (1961)

Elvis Presley's eighth film was 'Blue Hawaii', filmed in the tropical paradise of the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai. 'Blue Hawaii' was Elvis' biggest commercial success. With 14 songs, more than any other Elvis film, the soundtrack album spent a total of 79 weeks on Billboard's pop album chart, with 20 of those weeks at No1. Blue Hawaii, a musical comedy originally tided Beach Boy, became the most successful film of Elvis Presley's career. Elvis stars as Chad Gates, whose wealthy family owns a successful pineapple plantation in Hawaii, At the beginning of the film, Chad has just returned from the Army, and his family is eager for him to pursue the family business. Instead, Chad lands a job as a guide in the tourist agency where girlfriend Maile, played by Joan Blackman, also works.

His new vocation not only allows him to use his knowledge of the Islands' most beautiful sites but also affords him enough time to cavort on the beach with his native Hawaiian buddies. Tension mounts as Chad's blue-blooded mother, played by Angela Lansbury, objects to his job, his girlfriend, and his beach-loving friends. Chad eventually proves a success in the tourist business, and he finally wins the approval of his family by marrying Maile and making plans to open his own tourist agency. Filming for 'Blue Hawaii' began on March 27, 1961 in the lush islands of Hawaii. Location shooting took place on the islands of Oahu and Kauai and was finished by April 17th. The cast and crew then returned to Hollywood where filming continued until May 23rd.

The original working title of the film was 'Hawaiian Beach Boy'. The famous wedding scene was shot on Kauai at the Coco Palms Resort Hotel which had been in operation since 1953. Unfortunately, the resort closed after Kauai was hit with devastating Hurricane Iniki in September 1992. In the 1800s, the land where the Coco Palms is located was the ancestral home of Kauai's last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule. The 'Call to Feast' featured in the film with its ceremonial torch lighting had taken place there every night at 7:30 PM for 40 years until Iniki hit. Elvis loved Hawaii. It was one of his favorite places to vacation and this movie provides us with a glimpse into the beauty of these islands. That combined with the romantic tropical music Elvis sings creates within us all the desire to visit 'Blue Hawaii'.

Elvis' leading lady in 'Blue Hawaii' was Joan Blackman, who played Maile Duval. The following year she played Elvis' love interest in 'Kid Galahad'. Elvis had dated the actress when he first came to Hollywood in 1956.

Roland Winters played Elvis' father Fred Gates. Like Lansbury, he was a respected character actor with many films to his credit. One career highlight was his portrayal of detective Charlie Chan in several of the'Charlie Chan' movies from 1947 to 1950, the third actor to take on that role in these films. He can also be seen portraying a judge in Elvis' 1962 movie 'Follow that Dream'. You might also recognize him from the 1973 remake of the movie 'Miracle on 34th. Street' in which he played Mr. Gimbel.

Angela Lansbury played the role of Elvis' ditzy mother even though she was only 35 years old at the time and Elvis was 26. She began her career in 1944 in a movie called 'Gaslight', which quickly earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She would go on to achieve great fame and numerous accolades in film and television and on Broadway. She has starred in such films as 'National Velvet', 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', 'The Harvey Girls', 'The Manchurian Candidate', 'The Greatest Story Ever Told', 'Harlow', 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks', 'Mrs. Santa Claus' and 'Beauty and the Beast' (voice for animation). She is probably best known for her role as mystery writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the 'Murder, She Wrote'television series. To name just a few of her accolades, she has received three Academy Award nominations, thirteen Emmy nominations, six Golden Globe wins out of fourteen nominations, four Tony Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.

Much of Blue Hawaii was filmed on location in Hawaii, which had only joined the union in 1959. The new state of Hawaii was as eager for the exposure in a major Hollywood film as the producers and actors were to shoot there. Such beautiful Hawaiian locations as Waikiki Beach, Ala Moana Park, Lydgate Park, and the Coco Palms Resort Hotel were used in the film; also used were such unglamorous locations as the Honolulu jail.

Despite working primarily on location, the producers experienced only minor problems. The first occurred just prior to shooting. Juliet Prowse, who had been Elvis' costar in the successful G.I. Blues, was cast opposite Elvis in the role of Maile Duval. She was loaned to Paramount from Twentieth Century-Fox for the film. Eleven days before filming was to begin in Hawaii, Prowse declared that she was not going to report to work until three demands were met. Prowse wanted her Fox makeup man to do her makeup, she wanted the traveling expenses of her secretary to be paid by the producers, and she wanted a change made in her contract regarding her billing. Wallis replaced Prowse with the lesser known Joan Blackman.

Shooting on location was always a problem when Elvis was the star of a film because increased security was necessary to protect him from fans. When Elvis arrived in Honolulu, thousands of fans nearly broke down the barricades before the singer was whisked to his hotel.

Since mobs waited around his hotel daily, security guards were on duty around the clock.

Elvis was disappointed that he could not visit the sites, and he often looked out his window to watch others strolling along the beach. One morning he saw a heartfelt message written in the sand by the very fans he needed to be protected from. Elvis was touched by the simple message: 'We love you, Elvis!' One minor incident that caused an unnecessary delay was actually the fault of Colonel Parker. Rain moved in on the location one day, causing the crew to wait hours for a break in the weather. The rain finally stopped, and just as director Taurog was able to roll camera on Elvis running out of the surf, Parker rushed in front of the camera yelling, 'Cut, cut!' Proper etiquette on the set maintains that only the director can stop the action. Hal Wallis and Taurog were furious and demanded to know what could be important enough for Parker to halt the shot.

Star Trek - Gold Key Comics: 1967

Gold Key comics were published by Western Publishing, a company with an interesting and confusing history. Some comics in this series were published with US and UK price variants, pin-up photos, and the Whitman logo.

"The Planet of No Return"
Issue Number 1

The Enterprise is carrying out an exploration mission through "Galaxy Alpha", but has discovered no life until the "space scope" picks up a fertile green planet. Captain Kirk orders a close-up view on the "T.V. scanner." The planet is steeped in vegetation. (Scotty comments that it looks "Kelly Green") Kirk sends the Enterprise closer to the planet, and orders a landing party be assembled to survey the surface. While closing on the planet, theEnterprise passes through an "eerie space fog." Within the mysterious mist float a handful of strange plant spores, and they fasten themselves to the hull of the ship. In only minutes, the powerful one-celled spores have penetrated the ship, seeping through the very superstructure.

Spock and Dr. McCoy are gathering supplies in sick bay for the landing party. Suddenly, the laboratory guinea pigs begin squeaking frantically. The two go and look at the animals just in time to see them mutate into a form of plant! Before they can react, all of the other lab animals have transformed into "giant, hostile trees" which go on a rampage and try to destroy them. Spock calls for security. The guards arrive, and Spock orders them to fire their phasers at the central "pollen areas" of the plants. The plants are destroyed just in time before they crush McCoy and Spock with their tentacles. "We'd better report this to the Captain at once!" says the Doctor (really... you think?!) "no telling where or when those plant creatures will pop up again!"

Kirk calls an emergency conference to discuss the creatures. Spock suggests that they may be related to tests that were performed in space weeks ago on the laboratory animals, and that the animals may have picked up "alien spores." Kirk orders Spock to continue research on his theory, while he beams down to the surface along with Dr. McCoy, Yeoman Janice Rand, and several security guards. He tells Spock that he will make an "hourly t.v.-radio report" back to the ship.

The landing party arrives on the surface of the planet K-G (newly named in honor of Scotty's comment on the bridge), and begins a search. Crewman Hunt passes through a patch of the mysterious mist. He begins sprouting branches and turning into a plant, just like the animals on the ship had! At that moment, the crew members are pulled backwards toward a huge cannibal plant, which is trying to suck them in. Just before they are devoured, a giant tree attacks the cannibal plant and destroys it. After the battle, the giant tree collapses to the ground dead. The landing party discovers crewman Hunt's identification bracelet around one of the branches, and realize that Hunt had become the giant tree! He had died trying to save the landing party. The crew buries the remains of the tree in a shallow grave.

Kirk calls the ship and tells Spock what has happened. He decides to keep the landing party on the surface of the planet in order to find out what is causing the mysterious plant attacks. The party walks through the forest and comes upon a "community of vegetation", with plant creatures, houses, and buildings just like on Earth! The Captain realizes that it is an intelligent society, and leads the party toward the village for a closer look. As they approach, the party is suddenly attacked by trees on all sides. The crew members use their phasers to blast a path through the living trees and escape. The party sees a natural cave, and uses it for shelter. As they rest, a huge crawling vine attacks them! The creature wraps Yeoman Rand up in a tentacle, and takes her from the cave.

The remaining members of the landing party chase the giant plant. It takes Yeoman Rand to a large "cattle pen" made of thorns, and deposits her inside, where other animals are grazing. The landing party tries to use their phasers on the thorny wall of plants, but the thorns regenerate as fast as they are destroyed. Kirk guesses that the large plants use the animals for food, and since Janice is with them - she is in danger of being eaten!

Kirk calls the Enterprise and orders Spock to fire a pinpoint "laser beam" at the wall of the pen. The blast destroys the pen, and kills a large plant creature that is about to devour Yeoman Rand. The landing party rescues her, and Kirk tells Spock to bring them back up to the ship. They are beamed up just in time, before more deadly plant spores "pollinate" them.

When they arrive on the Enterprise, Spock tells Kirk that if the spores from the planet continue drifting through space, other planets may be in danger. "We must orbit that hideous little globe until all foliage upon it is decimated by our laser beams!" Spock says. "I have set a course for the mission already!" The Enterprise moves slowly over the surface of the planet - using its weaponry to destroy all life, before it can continue its tour of research through the vast reaches of the universe.

Look-in - Number 19 (1971)

The front cover and a few snippets from the classic kids mag Look-in. This particular edition dates back to 1971.

Remembering Harry O (1974-1976)

Harry O was an American Crime Drama series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred the late, lamented David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (airing March 11, 1973) and then the second (with noticeable retooling), Smile Jenny, You're Dead (airing February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen.

David Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a Private Investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan. Late in the series' first season, the location of the series shifted to Santa Monica, California due to the high production costs of filming in San Diego. Harry again set up a PI agency out of his beach house (somewhere along the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu), with Quinlan killed off, and Anthony Zerbe (who later won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role on the series) became Orwell's foil/contact, Lt. K. C. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department.

Additional characters included Farrah Fawcett - Majors, as Harry's attractive next-door neighbor and sometime girlfriend Sue Ingram; Paul Tulley as Sgt. Don Roberts, Lt. Trench's assistant; Les Lannom as Lester Hodges, a bumbling private-eye wannabe; Tom Atkins as Sgt Frank Cole; and Bill Henderson as Spencer Johnson, Harry's frustrated car mechanic.

Ratings for the series were initially fair and got a boost after the series was retooled in January 1975. Harry O was picked up for a second season and continued to gain viewership and critical acclaim, however, then-ABC president Fred Silverman decided to take the network in a different direction and canceled the series in favor of Charlie's Angels. The last original episode aired on April 29, 1976. The series cancellation greatly disenchanted star Janssen, who vowed never to participate in a television series again.

Happy New Year - Abba (1980)

As we reach 2012 I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope you continue to enjoy my posts on Ado's Blog.

The song Happy New Year was probably the closest ABBA as a group ever came to a Christmas record. But over the years the individual members have made quite a few forays into the Christmas market. In this feature, we take a look at Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida’s musical season celebrations over the years.

"Happy New Year" is a popular song by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1980 album Super Trouper. The song's working title was all the more festive and humorous; "Daddy Don't Get Drunk on Christmas Day". Although recorded in 1980, the English-language song wasn't released as a single until 1999 and charted in Sweden (No27), The Netherlands(No15) and Germany (No78) to promote the CD re-release of many of ABBA's singles.

"Felicidad" was the Spanish language version of the song. The single charted in the top 5 in Argentina. The song was also included on the South American versions of the Super Trouper album. Released in 1980 in Argentina, the single's B-Side was the album's title track, "Super Trouper".

"Felicidad" was first released on CD as part of the 1994 Polydor U.S. compilation Mas Abba Oro, and in 1999 on the expanded re-release of ABBA Oro: Grande Exitos.

In 2008, it was released again in several countries, and charted in Denmark (No25), Norway (No11), and Sweden (No4). It re-entered the Sweden and Norway charts in 2009 at No5 in both charts and reached the Dutch Top 10 in 2011.

In Vietnam, this song is still popular and played very often during new year holidays

Classic Corrie: The Rovers is Robbed (1975)

It's back to the good old days of Coronation Street before it became too shite and the programme deteriorated beyond belief! Back in 1975 Annie Walker found herself with visitors, unexpected visitors to say the least. After hiding themselves in the toilets after time was called, Les Grimes and Neil Foxall are intent of nicking from the Rovers. After finding nothing of value in the Living Room the pair go upstairs to Annie Walker's bedroom.

Annie refuses to tell the pair where the money is and a battle of nerves with Neil begins. Albert Tatlock notices that the lights are on and informs Len Fairclough & Ray Langton that there may be something wrong at the Rovers. Neil calls Annie a liar and refuses to believe that there is no money kept at the Rovers. The pair make there escape but are intercepted by Len & Ray and a battle of fists ensues.

Annie tells Len that she is worried the Brewery might think she is vulnerable and falls down the stairs knocking herself unconscious.

Classic Kids TV - Hickory House

Hickory House is a British television programme aimed at pre-school children. It was produced by Granada Television from 1973 to 1977 and broadcast on weekday lunchtimes.

Each programme was usually hosted by a pair of presenters, most often including Alan Rothwell. The setting was normal house, but in Hickory House household objects were brought to life through puppetry. The puppet characters included Humphrey Cushion (a grey cushion with a fondness for bananas), Dusty Mop (a mop with a long red nose) and the Handle Family. The puppets were created by Barry Smith's Theatre of Puppets.

All 129 episodes survive in Granada's archive, although none have yet been released on DVD.

The animated opening title sequence of Hickory House began with Granada Television's "G" logo transforming into a house. This innovation was used again in 1978 with the game show 3-2-1, when Yorkshire Television's "Y" logo was worked into an animated title sequence. Curiously, this later programme also featured a character named "Dusty" based on a household item (in this case, a dustbin).

The Persuaders - Episode One - Overture (1971)

Anonymous invitations to a luxurious Cote d'Azure hotel bring a wealthy American and an Aristocratic English man together - tricked into teaming up for what is to be a new challenging career of adventure and danger.

Danny Wilde (TONY CURTIS) and Brett Sinclair (ROGER MOORE) provide a striking contrast. Danny is a rough diamond, self polished - a man who has emerged from a tough New York slum background, now moves in high society, has made and lost several fortunes and never has to worry about being able to make another one if necessary. Brett, on the other hand, is a real live Lord from a long line of aristocrats, has the languish and polished perfection of his class and is very much a member of the caviar and champagne set.

Nevertheless, they have a lot in common. Both are handsome and highly personable and both are magnetic to beautiful women. Their meeting is unexpected, but planned. Each receives an anonymous invitation to a luxurious Cote D'Azure hotel. Their first encounters are skillfully manipulated, climaxing in a good-humoured but none the less vigorous fight which almost reduces the hotel restaurant to rubble.

Facing the prospect of imprisonment, they find themselves at the mercy of their mysterious host, a former Judge named, Fulton (LAURENCE NAISMITH) who berates them for being playboys but says he can help them. As an active Judge, he had applied justice according to the law which meant that many criminals escaped. In retirement, he has resolved to correct the balance between law and justice and Danny and Brett are his chosen instruments for righting legal wrongs!

Prison is their only alternative to complying with his wishes, so they comply. And their first task has its appealing aspects: to check out a lovely brunette by the name of Maria Lorenzo (IMOGEN HASSALL) who can be identified by a clothes-covered birthmark. This is easier said than done. Judge Fulton has set a trap to test them. They are attacked by a couple of thugs and they are shot at, but they do manage to identify Maria and discover - as Fulton already knows - that she is the sister of a crime syndicate boss said to have been shot two years earlier. But the usual battle for power following a top "Hood's" death did not materialise, why not?

Danny and Brett find that Maria really does believe that her brother is dead and that she has no idea what his business was. She is staggered when she discovers that her brother is still alive and is the most wanted man in the Mediterranean. Danny and Brett, as well as Maria and Judge Fulton himself are now in real peril!......