Creepy, kooky and animated – The Addams Family, 1973
Hanna-Barbera’s animated version of The Addams Family sitcom debuted in September of 1973 and 16 episodes were produced. Voice actors for the series included Ted Cassidy, Jackie Coogan, Janet Waldo, Lennie (H.R. Pufnstuf) Weinrib and Jodie Foster (as Pugsly).
Enjoy the show’s intro and have a happy Funshine Friday!
Hello, fellow streakers and Pepsi Light drinkers! How was your holiday? I hope it was dandy. Here’s a trio of 1970s-related stories you may wish to explore on this fine post-Independence Day…day.
Deliverance– 40th Anniversary
Burt Reynold’s first (and finest?) big film – Deliverance, 1972
The cast of Deliverance (released to theaters in July, 1972) gathered together on the Warner Brother’s lot last week to chat about old times and promote a new 40th Anniversary Blu-ray release of the classic film. You can read more about the gathering here and read a review of the Deliverance Blu-ray here.
Home Media Magazine Quote:
“‘We’ve got 6,700 films in our library, and about 500 of those have made it to Blu-ray,’ said Jeff Baker, EVP and GM of theatrical catalog for Warner Home Video. ‘We’re very selective, based not just on consumer demand, but also the quality of the content. Deliverance is special. It was old-style film-making, and they just don’t make films like it anymore.’
No they don’t. Director John Boorman (Excalibur, Hope and Glory) shot the entire film in linear sequence, a rarity in 1972, much less in 2012. All four actors did their own stunts, and paid the price during filming: Reynolds busted his tailbone. Beatty almost drowned. Voight came within a foot or two of having his head split open on a rock while climbing a cliff.”
Deep Throat & Culture Change 40 Years On
Linda Lovelace in ‘Deep Throat’, 1972
Gary Susman at Moviefone writes about the 40th anniversary of the hugely successful and game-changing pornographic film Deep Throat (released to theaters in June of 1972). Seems that writer/director Gerard Damiano aspired to turn porn films into a “couples’ date-night experience” and maybe even raise the genre into the realm of “art”. Read it.
Moviefone Quote:
“Four decades after the pornographic film ‘Deep Throat,’ we need not one, but two biopics on the star of the movie, Linda Lovelace. (The first stars Amanda Seyfried. The other which may never happen — stars Malin Akerman.) These dueling projects are just one measure of how big a deal ‘Deep Throat’ remains 40 years after it went into wide release, on June 30, 1972.
Other measures include the multi-billions in profits earned each year by a porn-film production industry that scarcely existed before ‘Deep Throat,’ the level of household-name fame the film’s title earned amid the Watergate scandal, the countless courtroom challenges over whether porn merits First Amendment protections, and the still-ongoing debate over whether porn is good or bad for women — a debate embodied by the life story of Lovelace herself, still the most famous/infamous porn star who ever lived. And then there’s the snickering or prickly reaction you had upon reading the phrase ‘Deep Throat’ a few moments ago. Yes, the movie is still a controversial topic about which no one feels indifferent.”
Ginsu Knives Pioneer Dies
‘But wait…there’s more…’
Barry Becher, the infomercial pioneer who brought you Ginsu Knives, the Miracle Slicer, Armourcote Cookware and many more products, has passed away at the age of 71. The Huffington Post has the story behind the man and advertising sensation that took root in 1978. Read the obit and watch the original ’78 Ginsu spot below.
HuffPost Quote:
“In the course of a decade, the men said they amassed more than $500 million in sales. Armourcote was the most profitable, but Ginsu remains the most widely known, a household name across the U.S., and fodder for countless comedians.
Millions were sold from the commercial’s debut in 1978 into the early 1980s, with audiences mesmerized by images of an exotic-sounding knife that seemed able to cut through anything. The infomercial promised a 50-year guarantee and ‘much, much more.'”
Knowles Family Reunion, Park City, Kansas, July 4,1972
Happy 4th of July, celebrants in the US and elsewhere! On this American holiday I thought we’d cast ourselves back in time to the 1970s and relive days gone by. Last year we took a look at the Bicentennial celebrations occurring on July 4, 1976. This time around we head back 40 years to the quieter party that was Tuesday, July 4, 1972.
Events
On this day at 10 AM, simultaneous announcements were made by North Korea and South Korea that the nations had negotiated an agreement to discuss unification.
The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres 2 to 0 in a “1-hitter” at Shea Stadium.
Secretariat ran fourth at Aqueduct, “the poorest placing of Secretariat’s career.”
TV and Super 8:
NBC News report for July 4, 1972 – Nixon in San Clemente
ABC News report for July 4, 1972 – “In America, South Vietnamese soldiers are trained to fly helicopters.”
And for kicks – here’s Arroyo “Gildzen” Chamisa‘s YouTube video of a party held in Twin Lakes, OH on the 4th, 1972.
Andy Griffith, Salvage 1, 1979. ‘I wanna build a spaceship, go to the moon, salvage all the junk that’s up there, bring it back and sell it.’
Television and film icon Andy Griffith has died at the age of 86 at his home in North Carolina. Griffith was best known for playing sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68) and defense attorney Matlock (1986-1995).
During the 1970s, Griffith appeared in a wealth of TV projects and his series included Headmaster (1970), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971) and Salvage 1 (1979). He also appeared in the TV mini-series Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977) and Centennial (1978-79). TV guest appearances included shots on Hawaii Five-O (1972), Here’s Lucy (1973), and The Bionic Woman (1976). You may also remember him as the narrator for Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976).
Thank you for the fine entertainment, Mr. Griffith. Let’s enjoy a few 1970s-era clips.
The New Andy Griffith Show, 1971:
Salvage 1, 1979:
“‘Throughout his career, he represented everything that was good about North Carolina: a small town boy and UNC graduate who took a light-hearted approach to some of the attributes he grew up with and turned them into a spectacularly successful career,’ she (Gov. Beverly Perdue) said. ‘And regardless of where that career took him, he always came back to North Carolina and spent his final years here.’
Actor and director Ron Howard, who played Griffith’s son, Opie Taylor, on ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ said he is ‘forever grateful’ to the actor.
‘His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life,’ Howard said on Twitter.”
Bruce Dern and Walter Matthau are all smiles in ‘The Laughing Policeman’, 1973
Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern and Lou Gossett, Jr. star in The Laughing Policeman, released in December of 1973. The film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg and based on the book by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, focuses on the search for a mass murderer in San Francisco.
In Matthau’s film timeline, Policeman came out between ’73’s Charley Varrick and ’74’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. View the trailer below.
The Laughing Policeman Wiki, IMDb
Black Sabbath gettin’ all ‘Paranoid’ and stuff, 1970
“Can you help me occupy my brain?”
Black Sabbath released “Paranoid”, the lead-off single from the album of the same title, in August of 1970. A true heavy metal classic, “Paranoid” hit #4 in the UK and #61 in the US and still maintains a place on Ozzy Osbourne’s set list to this day.
Press play. Begin banging your head and breaking things. It is mandatory.