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| This is a
collection of old news and obituaries from the Ask Morty TV
News page. Dates, where shown, represent the date the
story was originally posted on the web site. Because
these are old stories, links within the stories may no
longer be active. For current news and schedules, click
here. |
You Can Browse Old
News By Month...
|
TV
Writer, Peggy Chantler Dick Has Died |
[November 28,
2001] Peggy Chantler Dick, 78, writer of such
television shows as "Dennis the Menace" and "The
Courtship of Eddie's Father," died Nov. 20 of cardiac
failure at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica.
The native of Philadelphia graduated from Northwestern
University and then interned with the writing team of the "Edgar
Bergen Radio Comedy Hour." She worked into production
for the Norman Lear Co., and later collaborated with William
Cowley to turn the comic strip "Dennis the
Menace" into a hit television series. They also
created the Shirley Booth series "Hazel."
Chantler, after working as head writer for the popular series "The
Courtship of Eddie's Father," went on to write
episodes of "Bewitched" and "The
Farmer's Daughter." She married former actor Douglas
Dick in 1963, and occasionally worked on writing projects with
him. |
|
Batman
and Wojo? |
| [November 28,
2001] Adam West (Batman) and Max Gail (Detective
Stan 'Wojo' Wojciehowicz) will play "a charming gay
couple" on "The Drew Carey Show" on
December 12th. The episode, "Hotel
Drew" has Drew trying to make ends meet by
renting a room to gay couple (West and Gail) who, in turn, use
their connections to help him to get a better job at a
classier store. |
|
A
Pop-Up Brady Marathon With Two New |
[November 27,
2001] Pop-Up Brady returns! Two American
television favorites, "The Brady Bunch" and
Pop-Up Video, come together again on Nick at Nite on Sunday,
January 20th. Nick at Nite will give you two, never seen
before, Pop-Up Brady episodes. In the tradition of Pop-Up
Video, Nick at Nite is “popping” the most memorable Brady
Bunch episodes and exposing the insider Brady tidbits that all
fan are desperate to know.
|
January
20th on Nick at Nite |
| 9:00PM |
Episode 1 "The
Honeymoon" (PREMIERE) |
| 9:30PM |
Episode 59 "Her Sister's Shadow" |
| 10:00PM |
Episode 117 "The
Hare-Brained Scheme" (PREMIERE) |
| 10:30PM |
Episode 61 "Getting Davy Jones" |
| 11:00PM |
Episode 96 "Adios Johnny
Bravo" |
| 11:30PM |
Episode 65 "Dough Re Mi" |
| 12:00AM |
Episode 97 "Mail Order
Hero" |
| 12:30AM |
Episode 43 "Our Son, the Man" |
|
|
A
Day of Firsts |
| [November 27,
2001] New Years Day Event-1st Episodes Spend the
first day of the year with TV Land watching some of
televisions first. Tune in Tuesday, January 1 from
6:00am-6:00am for back-to-back premiere episodes of your
favorite shows from the past. The line up will include "The
Donna Reed Show," "Father Knows Best,"
"Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley"
and a special encore presentation of the "I Love
Lucy" pilot. |
|
Rockford
Files Launch |
 [November
27, 2001] The ex-con turned Private Detective
will now be solving cases on TV Land when "The
Rockford Files" joins the line up in January. TV Land
will kick things off with a block of back-to-back of some of
the best Rockford Files episodes. You can catch this
newest addition to the TV Land line up Saturday, January 5 and
Sunday, January 6 from 3:00pm-7:00pm. |
|
New and Improved Merry-Thon
|
  [November
26, 2001] The folks at TV Land took out their
crayons and made a bunch of changes in the Christmas
Fandemonium Marathon (Merry-Thon). It's now fortified
with some great new re-runs. Look closely, and you'll
see: "Donna Reed," "Hazel,"
"Dennis the Menace," and "Father Knows
Best." But wait! What's that smell? Did
someone step in reindeer poo? No, no, it's just the four
hours of paid programming they snuck in. Click
Here for Merry-Thon Schedule |
|
Wizard
of Oz Alert |
| [November 24,
2001] Wind up your VCR "The Wizard of
Oz" will be shown on TNT next Saturday (December
1) at 8PM. Following the movie, TNT will present a
special "We All Dream of Oz" where
celebrities share their memories of the classic
film. This and other TV events are listed in
Morty's viewing guide, CLICK HERE.
Fast Fact: Did you know that "The
Wizard of Oz" failed to earn it's production cost at
the box-office? It wasn't until it was sold to TV that
MGM made a profit on the color spectacle. |
|
Movie
/TV Actor Michael St. Clair Dies at 79 |
| [November 24,
2001] Michael St. Clair, a character actor who
had small parts in many films, including "My Fair
Lady,'' and who wrote screenplays for the movies "Thin
Air'' and "Mission Mars,'' died Thursday after
suffering a stroke. The Australian-born actor-writer was
79.
He had bit parts in such movies as"My Fair
Lady" in 1964 and "Three Stooges Go Around
the World in a Daze" in 1963 and larger roles in "Outlaw
Force" (1987), "Thoroughly Modern
Millie" (1967),"Our Man Flint''
(1965) and"Von Ryan's Express" (1965).
He also appeared on such television shows as "Mission:
Impossible," "Man From U.N.C.L.E,"
"Hogan's Heroes," "Get Smart," "The
Rockford Files" and the 1972 TV movie "The
Hound of the Baskervilles." |
|
Fandemonium
Swap |
| [November
6, 2001] Please note that "The Facts of
Life" and the "Gunsmoke" Fandemoniums
have swapped weekends. The correct schedule is:
November 10-11 "Gunsmoke",
November 17-18 "The
Facts of Life" |
|
Classic
TV Stars on TechTV |
[November 23,
2001] Stars from "Welcome Back Kotter,"
"Battlestar Galactica," "The Brady Bunch,"
"Star Trek," and "Family Affair"
join Leo, Patrick, and the "Screen Savers" gang on
TechTV during the week of November 26. All week long,
stars from the '70s will join the show to discuss everything
from what it was like to be on the tech fan's favorite sci-fi
show to what it takes to go from child star to VP of a tech
company. You might be surprised to find out what these stars
have been doing for the past 30 years.
Schedule of guests:
Monday, November 27: Robert Hegyes
Played Juan Epstein on "Welcome Back
Kotter" & Richard Hatch Played Apollo
on "Battlestar Galactica"
Wednesday, November 28: Christopher Knight
Played Peter Brady on "The Brady Bunch"
Thursday, November 29: Nichelle Nichols Played
Lt. Uhura on "Star Trek"
Friday, November 30: Johnny Whitaker Played Jody on
"Family Affair"
|
|
CBS
Salutes Carol & Lucy |
  [November
5, 2001] I wrote about this so long ago that I
thought you might need a reminder. On Sunday,
November 11th at 9pm, CBS will honor Lucille Ball and "I
Love Lucy" with a two hour special.
Then, on Monday, November 26th, at 10pm,
Legendary variety show stars Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Tim
Conway and Vicki Lawrence return to CBS Stage 33 at Television
City in Los Angeles, where "The Carol Burnett
Show" was originally taped, for a new one
hour special. |
|
TV
Icons Sid Caesar and Lassie On "Whose Line" |
 [November
11, 2001] Sid Caesar and Lassie will make
appearances on ABC's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
with Drew Carey the night before Thanksgiving. Sid
Caesar was a TV icon in the '50's. His style of improve
and comedy pantomime got him voted United States' Best  Comedian
by Motion Picture Daily's TV poll in 1951 and 1952, an even
higher accolade was his unheard of $25,000 a week
salary. His "Show of Shows" was
the "Saturday Night Live" of the '50's.
Caesar is now 79 and still performing. Also on the
episode, Wayne Brady and Brad Sherwood improvise a country
song with Lassie. Lassie is 63, probably not the same
dog. |
|
Thanksgiving
Marathon: In Law-Lapalooza |
| [November 21,
2001] The Hallmark Channel will present a Thanksgiving
day marathon of dueling in-laws featuring episodes of "
Bewitched" and " I Dream of Jeannie"
9:00am to 8:00pm. The 11 hour marathon begins with "Bewitched"
"Witches and Warlocks Are My Favorite Things," and
alternates between hours "I Dream of Jeannie"
and "Bewitched" with episodes featuring
Tony and Darrin's infamous in-laws. |
|
Other
Reminders |
| [November 21,
2001] We post information so far in advanced, I often
forget what I intended to watch, so here's some things
we told you about way back when:
Tonight:
Sid Caesar and Lassie will make appearances on ABC's "Whose
Line Is It Anyway?"
On Thanksgiving:
FX airs a 14-hour "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
marathon.
ABC Presents a Special Thanksgiving Day "All My
Children"
Nick at Nite's Keep on Keaton On, a four hour marathon
of "Family
Ties."
Lifetime's "The
Golden Girls," marathon.
TNN's 12 hours of "The
Waltons"
A&E's "Columbo"
marathon.
Court TV's "Homicide: Life on the Street"
marathon 6am-12am
Comedy Central will have a "SNL" marathon
10am-11pm
"Jeannie"/"Bewitched" marathon on
Hallmark from 9:00am to 8:00pm
On Friday:
TNN will air 15 hours of "Star Trek: TNG"
A&E's "Murder She Wrote." 8am to 8pm
fx's "X-Files" marathon
10am-2am.
On Saturday:
CBS to air digitally re-mastered "Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer"
On Sunday:
VH1 to air "The Chris Isaak Show" in all-day
marathon.
Classic TV Stars on "Weakest Link"
ABC will air the movie "The Santa
Clause" 7pm
On Friday, November 30th:
Fox will air "The Sound of Music" at 8pm
If I've missed anything cool, let me
know. And don't forget the network's Holiday
line-ups for December. |
|
Carol
Burnett Reunion on CBS |
|
[November 19, 2001] On Monday, November
26th, at 10pm, Legendary variety show stars Carol
Burnett, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence return
to CBS Stage 33 at Television City in Los Angeles, where "The
Carol Burnett Show" was originally taped, for a
new one hour special. In all honesty, there's
not much new here, but the clips of all those great sketches
are always fun to watch again. |
|
"Fame"
actor Albert Hague dies
|
 [November
16, 2001] Albert Hague, who played the kind but
stern teacher in the movie and TV series "Fame,"
died at age 81 on November 12th. Born Albert
Marcuse into a Jewish family in Berlin, he was raised as a
Lutheran to protect him from Nazi persecution. He fled Germany
to Italy in 1937 as he was about to be inducted into the
Hitler youth movement. After attending a music
conservatory in Rome, he obtained a scholarship to the
University of Cincinnati and immigrated to the United States
to avoid being conscripted by German military authorities.
Hague went on to win a Tony for his score for the 1959
Broadway musical murder mystery "Redhead,"
starring Gwen Verdon and directed by Bob Fosse. Hague composed
the score for the animated 1966 Holiday classic, Dr.
Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" . |
|
Regular
Networks Schedule Holiday Programming |
 [November
16, 2001] ABC has announced their schedule of
Holiday programming, Fox and the WB have also announced
Holiday Specials. ABC highlights include tonight's
airing of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"
and "A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving."
Upcoming shows include: "The Santa
Clause," "A Charlie Brown Christmas,"
"Jingle all the Way," and much more. 
Full Details
Fox will air an all-new, animated holiday special "Santa
Baby" Monday, December 17 and a new Simpsons
Christmas episode "She of Little Faith," on
Sunday, December 16. Most of the regular Fox shows will
also feature Holiday themed episodes.
Full Details "Dr
Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" returns
to broadcast TV for the first time in 14 years when it airs on
the WB Friday, December 14 at 8 pm.
Full Details
Although not really a Holiday thing, more of a sweeps thing,
Fox will air "The Sound of Music" on November
30.
Full Details |
|
Entire
"Planet of the Apes" TV Series on DVD |
 [November
12, 2001] The short-lived TV series spawned by the
original "Planet of the Apes" movies will be
available on DVD. Now all 14 episodes (including
"The Liberator," which never aired during the show's
original run) have been compiled and are available to own for
the first time. After their spacecraft travels through a
time warp, two astronauts (Ron Harper, James Naughton)
crash-land back on Earth in the year 3085-a time when
intelligent apes rule and humans have been reduced to servants
or pets. Captured by the apes and sentenced to death, they are
saved by a curious chimpanzee named Galen (Roddy McDowall).
The set will be available Tuesday, November 20th, about a
month before Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes,"
starring Mark Wahlberg, becomes available on video. But
you can pre-order one or both and save.  The
TV series has a list price of $49.98, Order here, get it for
$37.49, order both the TV series and the movie, pay only
$42.73. |
|
Ginger's
Still Talkin' |
| [November 9,
2001] Since the TV movie, "Surviving
Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest
Three-Hour Tour in History" aired on October 14th,
people have been talking about the way Tina Louise was
portrayed. The day after the show aired, Howard Stern
was on the phone with Tina for a great interview (that I don't
have). In the interview Howard gave her every chance to
dispute the events portrayed in the TV movie, but she
really only verified the facts. Today Tina was promoting
her new cable TV movie, "Growing Down in
Brooklyn." CLICK
HERE to see the entire 60 second interview from "Entertainment
Tonight" And of course you can
hear the entire cast, all seven original in a 1988 interview, CLICK
HERE. |
|
ALF
Returns to Hallmark |
 [November
6, 2001] The Hallmark Channel has put "Happy
Days" on hiatus in favor "ALF."
Effective Monday, November 5th the cable channel, formerly
known as The Odyssey Channel,
brought the fuzzy alien back. It airs Weekdays
8:30am, 6pm and 6:30pm/et, and Saturdays 9 and
9:30am/et. If you'd
like to see more classic TV
on Hallmark, tell
them what you want by clicking here. Check out the
weekday line-up, click
here. I've received hundreds of e-mails asking about
"ALF." Please, please-- wind up your
VCRs and tape him while you can! |
|
On
November 10th Fox Family Becomes ABC Family |
| [November
6, 2001] As reported last month, Disney has
purchased the cable channel, Fox Family. On November
10th, the cable outlet that reaches 83 million homes will get
a new name, "ABC Family." Don't expect to see
many changes until after the first of the year, and the 25
days of Christmas programming will air as scheduled. The
December event includes several Fox Family originals,
including the movie "Three Days," starring
Kristin Davis of "Sex and the City." |
|
New
"Family Affair" to Air on WB |
[November
6, 2001] Here's an item that I didn't
expect: The WB network has made a script commitment to
an update on the classic '60s comedy "A Family
Affair," reports Variety.
The original series, which aired on CBS from 1966 to 1971,
followed the adventures of a New York-based bachelor (Brian
Keith) who ends up taking care of a trio of orphans -- Buffy,
Jody and Cissy. The series also starred Sebastian Cabot as the
butler, Mr. French, and was shown on TV Land in the 1990's.
The update is being produced by Gavin Palone's Pariah
Productions and Sid and Marty Kroft. |
|
Ab-Fab
Returns With New Episodes on Monday |
 [November
6, 2001] Jennifer Saunders has awarded fans of "Absolutely
Fabulous" with an early Christmas present. The hit
show will return with six new episodes starting on Monday,
November 12th on Comedy
Central. But wait! Comedy Central's
running some Fab stuff on Sunday too, Click
here for a schedule.
Saunders made up her mind to revive the show after making the
Spring pilot episode of "Mirrorball", itself
to be shown on December 22nd. She explained, "We had such
a great time making 'Mirrorball' that we all
wanted to work together again."
The world of PR terrorist Edina Monsoon and her gaunt
companion will have moved on since 1996's 'The Last
Shout'. In the new series Edina is sandwiched between
the upwardly mobile worlds of her daughter Saffron, who has
found success as an actress, and her mother (June Whitfield),
who has found a job and a new man. Visit
the official site for more stuff.
|
|
TV
Land Fandemonium By the Book |
 [November
4, 2001] On December 8 & 9, TV Land will
present a Fandemonium weekend based on their new book, "TV
Land to Go,." which features opinionated,
informed, and, most of all, humorous takes on everything
television (or so the reviewers say). The
Fandemonium will feature shows and episodes referenced in the
book. This 320 page compendium of TV is
written by Tom Hill, the creative director and head writer at
TV Land, where he creates their trademark tongue-in-cheek
on-air promotions. He also appears on the network as the guy
in the TV Land to Go information booth. I swear
to you that it's a complete coincidence that many of the
recent news items are related to merchandise in Morty's
Mall, but yes, you can buy this book (to be released on
November 27th) here. List Price: $15.00
Our Price: $12.00 You Save: $3.00
(20%).
CLICK
HERE |
|
More
Classic Stars on Weakest Link |
 [November
3, 2001] A few weeks ago there were classic TV
stars on "Weakest Link." I didn't
bother to write about it because these specials are often
disappointments. It wasn't. One of my favorite
moments was Marc Price of "Family Ties"
getting stone faced Anne Robinson to crack-up.
Well, there's more to come, and this time I'm telling
you about before it airs:
SCENE STEALERS Sunday, November 11: Alan
Cumming, Tamala Jones, Luis Guzman, Ice-T, Kathy Najimy, Larry
Miller, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Anthony Anderson
WWF STARS Monday, November 12: Triple H, the
Big Show, Kurt Angle, Lita, William Regal, Booker T., Trish
Stratus, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
CLASSIC CHILD STARS Sunday, November 18:
Keshia Knight Pulliam, Emmanuel Lewis, Danica McKeller, Dustin
Diamond, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tina Yothers, Danny Pintauro and
Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.
COMEDIANS III Monday, November 19: Greg
Proops, Louie Anderson, Brian Posehn, Julie Brown, Kim Coles,
Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, Scott Thompson, Paul
Rodriguez
CLASSIC TV STARS II Sunday, November 25:
Cindy Williams, Nell Carter, Erik Estrada, Jill Whelan,
Mackenzie Phillips, Erin Moran, Joan Van Ark, Fred Berry
STAR TREK Monday, November 26: William
Shatner, Denise Crosby, John De Lancie, Wil Wheaton, LeVar
Burton, Robert Picardo, Roxann Dawson, Armin Shimerman |
|
TV
Land Becomes a Game: Blast From the Past |
 [November
2, 2001] Actors and actresses from Americas
best-loved classic television shows of the 50s, 60s and 70s
were brought together in the first-ever PC trivia game in
which the stars themselves ask questions about their shows in
"TV Land Presents Blast From the
Past." Designed to make players
feel like contestants on an actual television game show,
"TV Land Presents Blast From the Past" boasts
twenty stars of classic TV shows.
Single users, or up to two teams of players, compete
through six different games, including Celebrity Challenge,
a game in which players choose a star who asks them
multiple-choice questions about his or her show; Who's on
the Tube, where contestants play tic-tac-toe by answering
true or false questions with the stars; Celebrity Face-Off,
in which players match TV stars and related trivia; and Mystery
Guest, in which players must race to identify surprise
celebrities who feed them clues about the characters they
played. The player who earns the most points receives an
Inside TV Land backstage pass to watch a personal and
revealing interview with the TV star of their choice.
What a great gift for the the TV fan in your home.
It's available now, Regular Price: $24.99,
Morty's Price: $19.95! Click
Here to order yours. |
|
Morty
Presents A Rankin/Bass Christmas |
 [November
2, 2001] If you just can't wait to see all
those really great animated Christmas shows from
Rankin/Bass, now you can own them on DVD!
You can get "Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer," "The Little Drummer Boy,"
"Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty the
Snowman Returns," "Santa Claus is Comin' to
Town," and more! I've put together a
special page for these great DVDs in Morty's Mall.
Please excuse this blatant self-promotion, but it's the sales
from Morty's Mall that help keep things going,
and it is a good deal I thought you'd like to know
about. CLICK
HERE |
|
Meet,
Greet and Beat the Geeks |
| [October
31, 2001] Comedy Central has a new show in the
wings, a daily pop-culture game show called "Beat
the Geeks," which pits contestants'
knowledge of TV, movie and music trivia against three resident
"experts," i.e., geeks, in each area. The daily show
kicks off December 10, and challenges contestants to put
the Geeks back in their rightful place and win a variety of
prizes. For the Geeks, it's a shot at fame and a chance to
prove that the time spent down in the basement by themselves
was well worth it.
But who are these Geeks? For TV, it's Paul Goebel, an
actor, comedian and winner of TV Land's "Ultimate Fan
Search," who is the self-proclaimed King of TV;
for music, it's writer and music producer Andy Zax, who wrote
Rhino Records' famous RMAT trivia contest in 2000; and for
movies, it's Marc Edward Heuck, a self-monikered "film
snot," whose love of film goes back to the fourth grade,
when he wrote a pitch letter to the president of Paramount
Pictures. Hosted by comedian J. Keith van Straaten, the
show will also have a "special guest geek" each week
who will specialize in a specific genre or entertainment
project. |
|
Pitches
and Pilots |
| Did
You Know?: |
|
"Leave
it to Beaver" was to be called "It's a
Small World" A pilot was made with
Jerry Mathers (the Beaver) and Barbara Billingsley
(June), but Ward and Wally are played here
by different actors. Harry Shearer appears as the
Eddie Haskell-like Frankie Bennett. This
pilot is not lost, and is shown at the
Museum of Radio and Television. Why not
write TV Land and tell them you'd like to see
it! Click
here.
|
|
 |
|
"Pilot I Love
Lucy Audition" Determined to break into show
business, Lucy schemes to replace the ailing
clown in her husband's nightclub act. Kinescoped on
March 2, 1951 |
[October 26, 2001] TV
Land will explore the development of some of the most popular
sitcoms ever seen on television when the network presents "Inside
TV Land: The Pitch" on Friday, November 16 from
8:00-9:00 PM. The newest installment of "Inside TV
Land" will feature in-depth, interviews
with numerous television creators, stars and well-known
network executives as they re-trace the development of
various hit shows from the original pitch to their broadcast
premieres. Then, immediately following from
10:00pm-Midnight TV Land will telecast the pilots of "I
Love Lucy," "Hogan's Heroes," "Get
Smart," and "The Brady Bunch."
Although TV Land is heralding these episodes as
"rarely-seen," the "Hogan's Heroes,"
" Get Smart" pilots are shown
regularly. There are thousand of truly un-aired pilots
that could fill months of Fandemoniums.
|
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