Hanna-Barbera’s The Funky Phantom made its debut on ABC in September of 1971 and ran until September ’72, encompassing 17 episodes.
The show featured the Hanna-Barbera staple of a trio of teens (Skip, Augie and April) and a pet (Elmo). The young crew befriends a Revolutionary War-era ghost named Jonathan Wellington “Mudsy” Muddlemore and his ghost cat, Boo. Daws Butler provides the Snagglepuss-esque voice of Mudsy, Don Messick is Boo and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees plays Skip.
Enjoy the show’s intro and have a fantabulous Funshine Friday!
Karen Carpenter, 1976. Sure, she had the voice of an angel - but she could still beat the hell out of the drums
Time for some drum-heavy Mood Music to get our day pounding along. Here’s Karen Carpenter performing a fun drum solo on The Carpenters’ Very First TV Special which aired on December 8, 1976.
Keep your eyes peeled for an appearance in the marching band by special co-star John Denver. Far out!
General Mills introduced Boo Berry cereal in 1972. The “market’s first cereal that tasted like blueberries,” was third in the line of the company’s monster-themed breakfast cereals, the first two being Franken Berry and Count Chocula. Enjoy what seems to be the first Boo Berry commercial introducing the Peter Lorre-esque mascot voiced by Paul Frees.
*Note: The YouTube poster lists the spot as originating in ’73, and it may indeed have been recorded then, but the official General Mills site lists Boo Berry as being introduced in ’72 – so, I’ll go with that.
Gene Wilder creating a world of pure imagination, 1971
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was released 41 years ago this month in 1971. I adored the movie (based on Roald Dahl’s book) from the moment I caught it on TV in the early 70s. In fact, I’ve yet to meet anyone who grew up in the 70s who isn’t a fan.
I’ve followed Gene Wilder’s career ever since and was also enamored with Jack Albertson (who played “Grandpa Joe”.) I met Albertson (who I also knew from The Poseidon Adventure and Chico and the Man) in the late 70s at Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles. I recognized him and asked for an autograph. I must have been around 10-years-old. I don’t remember much about it except that he asked me to wait for him to make a phone call first before he signed his name on a slip of paper. I remember thinking it was taking a long while as I watched him chatting in the phone booth. Phone booth, yeah. Remember those?
Regretfully, years later, I lost that slip of paper. Albertson passed away in 1981.
Rick Derringer wrote the tune “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” and it was first recorded and released by Johnny Winter in 1970. Derringer released his own version of the song in 1973 for his All American Boy L.P. and it rose to #23 on the Billboard US “Hot 100” charts.
Enjoy this Derringer video from 1973 and enjoy your first Monday in June.
Richard Dawson on Family Feud, 1978 - wondering who he'll kiss next...
As you may have heard by now, TV sitcom star and Emmy-award-winning game show host, Richard Dawson, has died, aged 79. Dawson was best known for hosting TV’s Family Feud (1976-1985) and for portraying Cpl. Newkirk on Hogan’s Heroes (1965-1971).
In the 1970s Dawson also appeared on a wide variety of TV shows such as Match Game, McCloud, Love, American Style, Laugh-In, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. I watched my fair share of Family Feud as a kid and was a big fan of Hogan’s Heroes – which ran in reruns throughout the 70s. Thanks for the entertainment, Mr. Dawson!
“After starting his career as a stand-up comedian, Dawson married the English pin-up Dors in 1959. The couple settled in California but he was devastated when she walked out on him and they divorced in 1967.
By then, he was known as the Cockney prisoner of war in Hogan’s Heroes, which ran on CBS from 1965 to ’71. He became Family Feud’s host when it launched on the ABC network in 1976 and won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 for best game show host. At its height, Family Feud was one of the most popular programmes on US TV, airing 11 times a week – five in daytime and six in the evening.”
