Happy Birthday, Richard Pryor

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Happy Birthday, Richard Pryor!

Comedian, actor and social commentator Richard Pryor would have been 72 years old today. The sorely missed, boundary-pushing funnyman was born December 1st, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois.

Let’s celebrate Pryor, who appeared on TV and in film throughout the 1970s, by watching a brief clip from his NBC TV special from May of 1977. And before you go, check this article at HuffPost: “Happy Birthday Richard Pryor: 25 Reasons To Love The Legendary Comedian.”

The Richard Pryor Special?, 1977

Richard Pryor Wiki, IMDb

More Richard Pryor at Bionic Disco

Funshine Friday: Devlin

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Hanna-Barbera’s Devlin, an animated series inspired by Evel Knievel, originally ran on ABC from September to December of 1974. This was a rare dramatic cartoon from HB and the series focused on a traveling circus and a young stunt-riding team. Episodes ran 30 minutes in length and a total of 16 were produced.

Michael Bell (Charlie’s Angels, Super Friends) voiced motorcycle daredevil Ernie Devlin and Michelle Robinson and Monkee Micky Dolenz played Devlin siblings Tod and Sandy. Norman Alden (Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Super Friends) played circus owner, Hank.

Devlin TV Intro, 1974

Devlin Wiki, IMDb

Previously, on Funshine Friday: Speed Racer

Show Toppers: Phyllis

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‘Who charms the crabs of Fisherman’s Wharf right out of their shells?’
‘Phyllis,’ second season TV intro title, 1976

Phyllis, a spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom. The sitcom ran for two seasons from September, 1975 to August, 1977.

Can you guess where the show was based?
‘Phyllis,’ 1975

Phillis, originally Mary Tyler Moore’s landlady, moves with her daughter from Minneapolis to San Francisco after the death of her husband. Not having any money to speak of, Phyllis moves in with her husband”s mother, Audrey, and Audrey’s husband, Judge Dexter. In the first season Phyllis worked in a photography studio. In the second season she had taken a job as an assistant to a S.F. City Supervisor.

The death of three cast members; Barbary Colby, Judith Lowery and Burt Mustin, as well as sagging ratings in the second season, contributed to the series cancellation.

Phyllis season one intro, 1975

Phyllis Wiki, IMDb

Previously, on Show Toppers: What’s Happening!!

Mood Music: The Rutles, ‘Get Up and Go’

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Not The Beatles – but an irregular stimulation.
‘The Rutles,’ 1978

I’m rather astonished to find that I haven’t dropped any Monty Python or Rutles on Bionic Disco readers yet. Let’s remedy that straight away with a clip from the TV mockumentary The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash which first aired in March of 1978.

Here’s The Rutles performing “Get Up and Go” which bears an uncomfortably wonderful likeness to The Beatles “Get Back.”

Barrington Womble – a true super Starr

The Rutles, ‘Get Up and Go’ from ‘All You Need Is Cash’, 1978

Trailer Tuesday: Robert Redford in ‘The Hot Rock’

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Gem-snatchers; George Segal, Paul Sand and Robert Redford
‘The Hot Rock,’ 1972

Diamond heist flick, The Hot Rock, released to theaters in January of 1972. This action-dramedy, based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake, was directed by Peter Yates and features a screenplay by William Goldman.

A young Christopher “SNL/Spinal Tap” Guest joins New York’s finest.
‘The Hot Rock,’ 1972

Robert Redford stars as John Dortmunder, recently released from prison, who gets together a “talented” team of burglars and plans to lift a gem from a Brooklyn museum. George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn and Zero Mostel round out the cast.

Make sure and keep an eye out for a shot of the World Trade Center – still under construction – in the trailer below.

The Hot Rock trailer, 1972

The Hot Rock Wiki, IMDb
The Hot Rock review at Every70sMovie

Music for Monday: Gordon Lightfoot, ‘Sundown’

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Do not creep around this man’s back stair.
Gordon Lightfoot, ‘Sundown,’ 1974

Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot released his tune “Sundown” in March of 1974 and it went to the very top of the charts both here in the US and in Canada.

Who ordered the folksy 70s trio shot?
Gordon Lightfoot, ‘Sundown,’ 1974

The song comes from the L.P. of the same name which also climbed to #1. Here’s Lightfoot performing live on The Midnight Special in 1974. Time to pour a glass of strawberry wine, kick back, keep it mellow…and ponder infidelity. Oh, man. Bummer.

Gordon Lightfoot, ‘Sundown,’ ‘The Midnight Special,’ 1974

Gordon Lightfoot Wiki, GordonLightfoot.com

Previously, on Music for Monday: Johnny Nash, ‘I Can See Clearly Now’