Alan Thicke 1947-2016

While I was never a big fan of his most famous claim to fame, the TV series "Growing Pains," I'm going to miss Alan Thicke, who passed earlier today. The actor, writer, and TV host was known to me for other reasons. As a game show geek, I knew he had composed the themes to such shows as "Joker's Wild," "Celebrity Sweepstakes," and "Wheel of Fortune," among others. He was huge in his homeland of Canada, and was the father of Robin Thicke, but that's not what I remember him for either.

Two accomplishments made Thicke loom large on my radar, first as a writer on the hilarious and sadly forgotten "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" spin-off "Fernwood 2-Night," and then as the host of the late night American talk show, "Thicke of the Night." The latter exposed me to many bands, that today I still love (Midnight Oil springs to mind), and Thicke's insistence on giving viewers what they weren't getting from Johnny Carson made it all stand out. I was in the minority, but I loved it, and was sad to see it go.

I'm even sadder to see Alan Thicke himself go. I just recently saw him in a horrendous film parody called RoboDoc, in which he was the best thing. No matter what he was in, and he was in everything as he never stopped working, he was always great, and never lost his sense of humor. Alan Thicke will be missed.

The African Queen

The African Queen ~ What makes the TCM Classic Cruise so special? One could say it's getting to meet and chat with new friends who all share a passion for cinema. Or one could say it's just getting away, or one could say it's getting to meet one's favorite stars, or even just seeing a favorite film up on the big screen. It is all that and more. Where else could one see The African Queen on the big screen, then go downstairs on the dock at Key West, and see the actual African Queen? Yeah, that's it, baby.

The African Queen was one of my parents' favorite movies, and I think it might have also been one of the last movies they saw together in a theater. It was one of those films that whenever it came on TV we all had to watch it with ongoing commentary of the 'just wait for this part' type. Things I remember especially from childhood include the leeches scene and Bogart's rumbling stomach. I also dimly remember a game show that re-enacted scenes from classic movies having contestants re-do the final act of the film in an above ground swimming pool. Was it "Don Adams' Screen Test"? Maybe. Weird.

This rather simple film on the surface about a riverboat captain and a missionary who fight back in their own way against the Germans in Africa in World War I is extremely complex and works on several levels. One could call it a romance, an adventure, a war film, even a battle of wills between the two leads, but what it really is, is a classic film, perhaps one of the best ever made. And while not based on a true story, it was based on a real boat, as I mentioned above.

Katharine Hepburn is a missionary with her brother, Robert Morley, in German East Africa whose only connection to the rest of the world is Humphrey Bogart who visits every few months with mail and most recently news of war. When next Bogart returns, the village and church has been burned, the villagers taken away, and Morley dead. Hepburn not only hitches a ride with Bogie to safety but also hatches a mad plan to get even with the Germans, as a proud citizen of the British Empire.

The African Queen is also a romance on fast forward. We go from first meeting through the entire cycle of a relationship on the trip down the river until finally marriage seconds before being hanged, nice metaphor there by the way. It's an adventure, a romance, even a war story, and it stars two of Hollywood's finest in memorable roles. This is a classic do-not-miss film, and I was thrilled to see it on the big screen, and see the real thing afterward, awesome!

RIP Don Pardo

I saw "Saturday Night Live" for the first time in June of 1976. I remember recognizing the voice of announcer Don Pardo right away. I can't rightly say where I knew it from but I knew it. The show has been on the air for almost four decades and he was there for all but one misguided season. The powers that be corrected that mistake quickly.

When the last new show of the current season aired, I actually thought of Don and how long he's been at this, Googled his age and was surprised. I loved the man, and loved his sense of humor, and his ability to deadpan a joke when needed. He did this to great effect in "Weird" Al Yankovic's "I Lost on Jeopardy" and when his usual announcement that "guests of Saturday Night Live stay at the Marriott's Essex House" became part of a bit. He did it with the same finesse as always.

Don Pardo passed away yesterday, quietly in his sleep at the age of 96. SNL is probably what he was known for most even though his golden voice has graced many other shows, games and news, with the same warmth and professionalism. The man and his voice are legend, and I know "Saturday Night Live" will ever be the same again.

Copycat Kitchens

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When I look at the Food Network lately, I have to wonder about that. I'm a big fan of "Chopped," and I really can't get enough of it, but trust me, this isn't what I meant. It seems like almost every new show coming out of the Network lately is just another variation of the show.

"Chopped" has four chefs preparing three meals from three mystery baskets of ingredients. It’s a competition that eliminates one contestant every round until there is a winner of a cash prize. I love it, it’s challenging, it's creative, and most of all it's fun. And yes, I know that "Chopped" itself is sort of a derivation of "Iron Chef" and that it has spun off a Canadian version. Those are okay, it's the other shows I'm talking about.

The shows in question are "Cutthroat Kitchen," "Guy's Grocery Games," and "Kitchen Casino," just to name the main perpetrators. They are all essentially "Chopped," with slight derivations to the rules. "Cutthroat" adds obstacles to the contest, and is the most entertaining. Guy Fieri's "Grocery Games" adds a bit of "Supermarket Sweep" to the formula. And "Kitchen Casino" puts, what else, a casino into the equation. And "Rewrapped"? More "Chopped" than spin-off of "Unwrapped."

The thing is, while they are all entertaining to some extent, why not just make more "Chopped," rather than dilute the idea with substandard programming? None of them are as good or fun as "Chopped," so why not just do more "Chopped" instead?

RIP Richard Dawson

Television and film actor, singer and Emmy-winning game show host Richard Dawson passed away last night due to complications of esophageal cancer. He was 79.

Besides appearing in numerous television shows, including a six-year run on "Hogan's Heroes," Dawson is probably best known as the host of "Family Feud," where his friendly attitude toward the ladies resulted in what is estimated 20,000 kisses. Dawson eventually even married one of the female contestants.

Besides "Feud," he was also a frequent panelist on "Match Game," and his most infamous film role was his last in 1987 as the evil game show host Killian in The Running Man. We have lost one of television's most beloved entertainers.

Dick Clark 1929-2012

We have lost another legend today. Media mogul, television entertainer, TV producer, game show host, disc jockey, and just all around nice guy Dick Clark passed away in surgery today after suffering a massive heart attack. America's oldest teenager has passed away.

I never missed "American Bandstand," from before I can remember to probably past my college days when it ended, I watched every week. I was a music addict, took my radio everywhere, and in a pre-internet world, "American Bandstand" was the place where the current artists, the new acts, and the about-to-happen phenoms appeared. Everyone was on "Bandstand," and everyone was interviewed, if only briefly, by Dick Clark. If you made it to the show, you knew you had made it.

Now "Bandstand" was a gigantic part of his career, it wasn't everything the man had going on. He was a prolific television producer, creating shows like the "Pyramid" game shows, "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," "The American Music Awards" and "New Year's Rockin' Eve," the last of which has become an American tradition. For decades Clark braved the cold to watch the ball drop, and more recently, after his stroke, America tuned in to see him just make an appearance, just to see how he was. Yeah, we, as a nation, cared how this man was doing. That says a lot.

Clark created and produced numerous TV programs including various game shows, talk shows and even prime time drams. He owned a chain of restaurants and theaters.  He was also a disc jockey here in Philadelphia before "Bandstand" came along, which was also born in Philly. As I said, we have lost a legend today, Dick Clark will be missed.

Mike Wallace Dead at 93

Over the weekend one of television's pioneers passed away. Multiple award-winning journalist, TV host, and media personality Mike Wallace is dead at the age of 93 from natural causes.

While best known as a correspondent on the long-running news program "60 Minutes," Mike Wallace has worn numerous and varied other hats such as narrator on the "Green Hornet" and "Sky King" radio series, game show host, actor (under the name name Myron Wallace, although he played himself in one of my favorite films, A Face in the Crowd), and he also hosted several other news shows before landing "60 Minutes."

Wallace had semi-retired in 2006, but appeared throughout 2008. He garnered at least twenty Emmy Awards, had written two autobiographies, and was perhaps the last of the real television journalists (just my opinion). We have lost one of the greats.