Hidden in Plain Sight

Jason Evers (1922-2005) was an American actor on stage, in film, and on television. The handsome actor often portrayed ill-fated characters. Despite consistent, strong supporting roles, he seemed hidden "in plain sight" by his fellow lead actors. Roles on Broadway led to Hollywood, with one of his earliest television multi-role characters on the hit comedy The Phil Silvers Show. His first recurring role was on the 1960 NBC Western series Wrangler. Evers made three appearances on Perry Mason before Evers starred as Professor Howe in the 26-episode ABC drama series Channing (above), based on life at Channing College and not his character's name. His most infamous role is from the 1959 B-movie, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, which was not released until 1962. He redeemed himself in two big-budget sci-fi films, The Illustrated Man (1969) and Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). Evers appeared in thirteen episodes of The Guns of Will Sonnet (1967). By 1970, Evers turned up on many television series ranging from The Doris Day Show, The Streets of San Francisco, The Rockford Files and many others through the 1980s. 

Television Talkers

Don Pardo (Dominick George Pardo, 1918-2014) is noted for not only his distinct vocal tone and delivery but his seventy-year career with NBC, most famously as the voice of Saturday Night Live for thirty-eight of those years. A few scripts had him participate, occasionally on camera. Prior, he was the announcer for early versions of such notable shows as Jackpot, Jeopardy!, Winning Streak and NBC Nightly News.

The Massachusetts native got his start in radio in 1938 with an NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. Pardo joined NBC full-time as an in-house announcer in 1944 and worked as a war reporter for NBC Radio. He made his mark on game shows for NBC television in 1952 as the voice of the original The Price Is Right from 1956 until its move to ABC in 1963. His many assignments included announcing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the NBC Nightly News, and he participated in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "I Lost on Jeopardy," a parody of "Our Love's in Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band. Pardo was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2010.

Word Origins

 

*TELEGRAPH

A dated pun has it that there are three ways to spread news rapidly: telegraph, telephone, or tell-a-woman. But the French inventor Chappe had no pun in mind when he gave this name to the instrument which he had devised in 1793 for transmitting messages by means of a sort of semaphore. It comes from two Greek words, tele, "far off," and graphein, "to write." There have, since Chappe's day, been other devices known as telegraphs, but the word has now become restricted almost entirely to the electro-magnetic instrument invented by Samuel Morse in the 1830's. Telephone, too, was coined much earlier than the invention of the instrument with which it is now associated. The first element is the same as above—the second is the Greek phone, "sound, voice." All this to say, John Wayne road the telegraph lines in his 1933 film.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

We Interrupt This Program

In the event of a national emergency, American citizens were to adjust their radio dial to one of two radio frequencies designated as the CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) radio-alert system. Prior to 1951, there was no systematic way for the US government to communicate with citizens during the early years of the Cold War. As forerunners to CONELRAD, broadcasters would interrupt normal programming to issue emergency bulletins, as happened during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and the first tornado warning in 1948. Radios came equipped with two frequencies set aside for emergencies. The two civil defense symbols (sometimes red) appeared on radio tuning dials as pictured above.

 
There were those who felt the CONELRAD radio-alert system was not as effective as it could be and the National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR) was invented as a supplement. It did not require a radio or television to be switched on to warn citizens, nor a civil defense siren to be in their vicinity. NEAR was a 3" square box warning device designed to plug into a standard power outlet to receive a special signal sent over the electric power transmission lines. Unfortunately, this "buzzer box" gave no instructions on what to do, leaving citizens to turn to their radios anyway. Both programs were made obsolete by 1963 with the advent of the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), still in use today. 

Note: A CONELRAD automobile radio is used in the 1962 thriller, Panic In The Year Zero! about a nuclear attack on American cities.

CONELRAD history

Twentieth Century Talkers

 

John Charles Daly (John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly, 1914-1991) was an American journalist, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show host. 

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, by eleven his home was in Boston, Massachusetts where he attended Tilton School, eventually graduating from Boston College. He became a reporter for NBC Radio and, later, CBS and was the first national correspondent to report the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

With television on the brink, by 1950 he became the host and moderator on the CBS panel show produced by Goodson–Todman, What's My Line? The show lasted 17 years, with Daly hosting all but four episodes of the weekly series. During this time, Daly became the vice president in charge of news, special events, public affairs, religious programs and sports for ABC and won three Peabody Awards. There was no conflict with What's My Line? because he was employed by Goodson-Todman Productions, not CBS. Daly's closing line on the ABC newscasts was "Good night and a good tomorrow." In 1959, along with the Associated Press writer John Scali, Daly, above far left, reported from Moscow on the infamous "Kitchen Debate" between First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev and Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

He filled in occasionally on NBC's The Today Show, making Daly one of the few people to work simultaneously on all three networks. One memorable broadcast during the show was when Harpo Marx was promoting his book Harpo Speaks. Marx caused such on-camera chaos for Daly, he became completely convulsed in laughter during the live telecast. 

Note: He provided the voice of a CONELRAD for a 1954 broadcast of The Motorola Television Hour on ABC titled Atomic Attack, which showcased a suburban family dealing with the aftermath of a hypothetical H-bomb attack fifty miles away. It was later reflected in the 1962 film, Panic In The Year Zero. CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) was a method of emergency broadcasting to the US public in the event of an enemy attack during the Cold War.

Word Origins

 

*ROULETTE

Originating in 1744, the French word roue means "a wheel." A roulette, of course, is "a little wheel." And all those who have played the game of chance of the same name are well aware that it is a little wheel that governs the destinies of the players.

Gambling is featured in the comedy, The Honey Machine (1961) starring Steve McQueen, Jim Hutton, and Paula Prentiss, pictured above.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

Television Ratings: Part 5

TV NIELSENS 1970s: (L-R: 78-79/79-80) 

The ABC network was riding high in 1978-79. Two purple block shows lost viewers but One Day At A Time remained in the top 20. Eight Is Enough (red) remained steady. Three's Company (dark green) was riding high while its spin-off, The Ropers, had its highest viewership. As the 1970s close out, ABC's two shows were the only chink in a solid CBS domination. Taxi and Happy Days (blue) hit their high and low points, respectively. Both Charlie's Angels and Barney Miller (purple) ratings were down over the previous season.

Twentieth Century Talkers

 

Hal March (Harold Mendelson 1920-1970) was an American comedian, actor as well as accomplished musician and conductor. March began his career in broadcasting as an announcer in San Francisco. After World War II he teamed with Bob Sweeney for The Bob Sweeney-Hal March Show on CBS Radio until 1948. He also appeared in The Adventures of Sam Spade on CBS from 1946-1949. March co-starred as Harry Morton for sixteen episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on the NBC and CBS radio networks from the mid-1940s until 1950. When the show switched to television that year, he was replaced mid-season in 1951 by Fred Clark.

March's heyday was the 1950s. His popularity and comedic style cast him in single episodes of many popular shows of the era. The exceptions are four episodes of My Friend Irma and six appearances as himself on The Dennis Day Show. Today, March may be best known for his "guilt by association" with The $64,0000 Question scandal period. Unaware of the producer's and contestant's fraud, his career nevertheless suffered somewhat. In 1961, he played the lead in Neil Simon's first Broadway play Come Blow Your Horn, a hit that ran 677 performances. March finished out his career in 1968, though with fewer television appearances. 

Note: I have found it difficult to uncover much about Hal March's musicianship. In tribute, I have included one of his albums above. 

Word Origins

 

*WHIPPERSNAPPER

The word itself is merely a balanced extension of whip-snapper, "one who cracks a whip." Its use is most often in the sense of "one who cracks a whip loudly to make a fearsome noise because he himself would have no attention paid to him otherwise." In other words, "an insignificant, impudent, and presumptuous nobody."

Above: When they first met, Jim Rockford thought Richie Brockelman was a young “whippersnapper” on The Rockford Files episode, The House on Willis Avenue.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

Big Small Screen Presence

 

Tim O'Connor (1927-2018) was an American character actor known for his steady work in television until the 1990s. By far, O'Connor's 416 appearances as Elliot Carson on Peyton Place were his most appearances on a single show. Another well-known role was playing Dr. Elias Huer in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Other recurring roles were on Barnaby Jones, Dynasty, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon and six episodes of The F.B.I. O'Connor's voice and physical presence allowed him to specialize in playing various officials, physicians, military men, and police officers. Like one of his peers, David Janssen, O'Connor made a bigger impact on the small screen than in films. O'Connor's film appearances were sparse. A few include The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Across 110th Street (1972), Sssssss (1973), and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991). His last performance was in the film, Dreams Awake (2011) where he reunited with Erin Gray from their Buck Rogers series.

Television Ratings: Part 4

TV NIELSENS 1970s: (L-R: 76-77/77-78) 

A cultural viewer shift began as two nostalgia sitcoms, Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley traded the number one spot. Baretta (gray) broke into the top ten for the only time. Charlie's Angels remained steady while Welcome Back, Kotter reached its high point before disappearing after the novelty wore thin. Two shows (lavender) remained solid with The Love Boat honing in at 14. Jack Webb's 1978 series, Project UFO, (yellow) made its only appearance in the top 20, before being canceled in 1979. Of note is the umbrella program, The Big Event 1976-77 (orange), re-titled from NBC Sunday Night Movie in the hope that something from the network might stick. The production was shown at various times and days to gauge viewership patterns. In addition to the major films it broadcast, it also featured concerts, sporting events, and original television movies. 

Twentieth Century Talkers

 

Dew Pearson (Andrew Russell Pearson 1897-1969) was one of the best-known American columnists and radio commentators of his day. He was known for his fearless approach toward high-level politicians, often creating friction. Pearson saw journalism as a means to challenge those he thought to be working against the public interest. He has been quoted as saying, "I just operate with a sense of smell: if something smells wrong, I go to work." Though he sounded fierce in print, in life was gentle, even stately.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, to Quaker parents, Pearson served with the American Friends Service Committee from 1919-1921, directing postwar rebuilding operations in Peć, which at that time was part of Serbia. In 1924, he taught industrial geography at Columbia University, and from 1925 to 1928, continued reporting on international events. By late 1932, Pearson and Robert S. Allen secured a contract with the Scripps–Howard syndicate, United Features, to syndicate a column called Washington Merry-Go-Round. Pearson's column not only revealed embarrassing news items but expanded his criticism of the Roosevelt administration's conduct during World War II. He dug into post-war investigations about the FBI, Preston Tucker, and Senator Joe McCarthy. At the time of his death, his column was syndicated to more than 650 newspapers, more than twice that of others.

In addition to radio, Pearson appeared as himself in a number of Hollywood movies, most notably in the 1951 science fiction classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Character actor Robert F. Simon, who somewhat resembled Pearson, played him in the 1977 NBC television movie Tail Gunner Joe, a biopic of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Word Origins

 

*TENDERFOOT

First used in the literal sense of "having tender feet" as it applied to horses, and recorded in this sense in the late seventeenth century in England as the adjective tenderfooted. The use of the word as applied to a person is conceded to be an Americanism and probably arose also in the literal sense, referring to one who, unused to traveling, became footsore. However, the earliest recorded use of the word is not in this literal meaning, but in the figurative one of "a greenhorn, a novice." This meaning has been dated to as early as 1849 and was popularized by the emigrants to California in the gold rush of that time.

Above, Joe E. Brown starred in the 1932 comedy, The Tenderfoot, with leading lady Ginger Rogers.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)