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Monday, June 25, 2012

Never Been Kissed


When I was in high school, it seemed to me that the radio and music video stations were taken over by boy bands.

I don't know exactly why the period between 1995 and 2000 was saturated with teenage boys in groups of four and five singing and dancing up a storm and warbling songs about love, girls, and loving girls.

Let's see...there were The Backstreet Boys, *Nsync, 98 Degrees, 5ive, Take That, O-Town, BBMak, Westlife, No Mercy, and Hanson during my years of high school alone. And, you people thought that New Kids On The Block were overkill!

And then there's the group known as The Moffatts, the Canadian boy band of brothers who dominated American radio in the late 1990s. The band was composed of eldest brother Scott Moffatt, and his younger brothers, Clint, Dave, and Bob (who happen to be triplets). Together, they managed to join the boy band brigade with their pop-infused songs, including “Girl Of My Dreams”, “Miss You Like Crazy”, and “I'll Be There For You”.

While I'll readily admit to not being a huge fan of The Moffatts in my tumultuous teenage years (or any other boy band, might I add), I will admit that there is one song of theirs that I admit is not terrible. And, here it is (albeit edited).



ARTIST: The Moffatts
SONG: Until You Loved Me
ALBUM: Chapter I: A New Beginning
DATE RELEASED: April 26, 1999
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: N/A (#23 in Canada)

The single was actually the fifth release from The Moffatts album “Chapter I: A New Beginning”, which was released almost a year prior in Canada, on May 18, 1998. The album would not be released until 1999 stateside. But this particular song did make an impact on American pop culture, even if it didn't do so hot on the charts.

It ended up as part of the soundtrack of a film that was released just a couple of weeks before “Until You Loved Me” hit the charts, on April 9, 1999. Although the film received mixed reviews and had gotten some rather harsh reviews from various film critics in America, I have a bit of a confession to make. I didn't mind this movie. I remember the first time I watched it, I rented it from Jumbo Video (which has since closed its doors), and I admit to being somewhat glued to the film. Certainly it was hokey, and certainly the plot was quite farfetched. At the same time, I couldn't help but identify with the main character of the film. Because we both had a lot in common at that time. I'll get into that a little bit later.


Today's Monday Matinee is the Raja Gosnell directed “Never Been Kissed”. And, for what it's worth, while the film was mediocre according to critics, its star power was incredible. The movie starred Drew Barrymore, Michael Vartan, David Arquette, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Alba, Marley Shelton, James Franco, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Jordan Ladd, Garry Marshall, and Jeremy Jordan.



Yes, THAT Jeremy Jordan...another teeny-bopper singer...this time from my grade 7 days.


When the movie begins, we're automatically introduced to a woman by the name of Josie Gellar (Barrymore). She works as a copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times along with her best friend, Anita (Shannon). She likes what she is doing, even though she is kind of klutzy and inept. But if one were to look beyond that shell, one might be surprised to know that she is actually quite intelligent.

However, we also learn that Josie has a painful past. She had a terrible experience in high school, being shunned by the popular kids, and had hardly any friends whatsoever. And in regards to high school sweethearts, forget it. Those experiences were filled with lots of heartbreak and pain. She very rarely dated in high school, and not at all after graduation. In fact, at twenty-five years old, she still had yet to have her first kiss.

Hence the reason why the film was titled “Never Been Kissed”.

Anyway, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Rigfort (Marshall) holds a staff meeting to discuss new stories to cover in the newspaper, and he actually assigns copy editor Josie to do an undercover expose. Although Josie had been out of high school for over five years, Rigfort wanted her to pose as a seventeen year old high school student to report on what high school life was like in the late 1990s, as a way to help parents become more involved in their children's lives. She would report the information back to her direct supervisor, Gus (Reilly).


At first, Josie was a little intimidated by the assignment, but soon realized that this story could help her experience something that she had never had before...the chance to redo high school as one of the popular girls. After all, she had to deal with the fact that her brother Rob (Arquette) was popular in high school and had dozens of friends and romances in high school. And Rob of course reminded her that during her first stint in school, the kids always used to call her “Josie Grossie”, a name that still causes chills down her spine. Nevertheless, Josie decides to go through with the assignment...

...and almost immediately regrets it, as history seems to repeat herself. Guy Perkins (Jordan) and his crew immediate take Josie's car and hide it, while the Queen Bees of South Glen South High School, Gibby, Kirsten, and Kristen (Ladd, Alba, and Shelton respectively) acted like complete snobs towards Josie. The only saving grace was that she ended up befriending a quiet, studious girl named Aldys (Sobieski).

TRIVIA: As it turned out, Josie wasn't the only person who was a 25-year-old playing a teenager. Apparently when the movie was filmed, Jeremy Jordan was 25 as well.


But, anyway, back to the plot. Aldys and Josie become fast friends, and Aldys informs Josie that she despises Guy and his friends. Aldys convinces Josie to join a club for intelligent students of South Glen South called the Denominators, which Josie does. However, Josie is still at a loss as to what to write for a story.


Oh, and did I mention that at some point, Josie ends up falling for one of the teachers at South Glen South? Sam Coulson (Vartan) happened to be the English teacher at South Glen South, and surprise, surprise, Josie happens to be in his class. And, surprise, surprise, Josie ends up developing a mad crush on him. But, it seemed as though the good Mr. Coulson read what happened to Mary Kay Letourneau, and despite the growing closeness between them over their shared love of Shakespeare, he cannot bring himself to fall for her.

At first, Josie's story seems to be going nowhere. Despite getting close to a hangout that Guy Perkins hangs out at known as The Court (which is a hub for underage drinking and other illegal activities for teenagers), another newspaper snaps up the scoop before Josie. And, while Aldys wastes no time in telling Guy and his friends off, calling them “lemmings”, Josie could tell that all Aldys wanted was to be popular. After all, Aldys reminded her a lot about herself.

This was all nice and good, but Gus was about out of patience. In a last ditch effort to get a story, he basically orders Josie to wear a hidden camera and befriend the most popular students in the school. The resulting investigation gets the entire office buzzing, as well as sparks a rather interesting pairing. But, I won't reveal it all. I'll let you watch the movie to find out for yourselves.

Of course it goes without saying that Josie's attempt to infiltrate the cool crowd didn't go without a hitch. After getting advice from her brother to befriend one cool kid (his reasoning is that if she befriends one, the rest will follow), Josie decides to go to a bar where a band is playing. After an awkward meeting with Sam and his girlfriend (who didn't seem interested in him at all), she happens to meet up with Guy and his friends. Unfortunately, Guy's buddies trick Josie into sampling a “special” brownie, and she ends up getting a wee bit high. The following day, she oversleeps and is late for school, and to her horror, she finds that her forehead happens to have the word “LOSER” written across it, a reminder of the “LOSER” stamp that she was given at the bar the night before. All the kids make fun of her, and she runs to the bathroom completely humiliated. It was so unfair, and it reminded her of the day that she was the victim of a very cruel joke played on her the night of her senior prom.


My heart broke watching that scene. Not because I had the same thing happen to me, but because I know the humiliation that she must have felt. Believe me. I have been there.

But once Josie composes herself (well, after she accidentally knocks herself out by crashing into a door), she comes to the stunning discovery that Rob has done exactly the same thing she did...enrolling as a high school student. Rob has decided to do this for a couple of reasons. He planned to get the cool kids at school to like Josie by telling them all sorts of interesting half-truths to get them to like her. But he secretly had an ulterior motive of his own. He was denied the chance to play for the pros the first time around when he was a player on the school baseball team, and he felt that this was a second chance to prove himself.

At any rate, Rob's plan worked like a charm, and the cool kids began treating Josie a lot better, even though Aldys was less than impressed, and it seems that the friendship between Aldys and Josie is on the verge of ending.

The movie all comes to a head at the prom. Naturally, everyone at the school is in attendance, including Josie who happens to be Guy's date. It all happens to be coming together. Although Josie would rather be dancing at the prom with Sam, she was satisfied with being the date of the most popular guy in school. And everyone in the newspaper office watched with delight as Josie was crowned prom queen...an achievement that Josie would never have gotten during her own high school career. It was all coming together. After all these years, Josie would have finally gotten the ideal, perfect, high school life that she wished for.

If only she didn't happen to foil a cruel scheme against Aldys.

You know the mean girl trio of Gibby, Kristen, and Kirsten? They planned on throwing a whole can of dog food all over Aldys at the prom (Aldys' nickname was Alpo). And Josie, knowing the humiliation that she faced at her prom, decided to stop them. As a result, the Queen Bees ended up wearing the Kibbles 'N Bits with extra gravy instead of Aldys.

Oh they were steamed. They were angry. They told Josie that she didn't deserve to be prom queen.


And for the first time in her whole life, Josie finally stood up for herself with this powerful and moving speech. You can click here to watch it, but I think you also have to read it word for word.

Let me tell you something. I don't care about being your stupid prom queen. I'm 25 years old! I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and I've been beating my brains out trying to impress you people. Let me tell you something, Gibby, Kirsten, and Kristen, you will spend your lives trying to keep others down because it makes you feel important. Why her? Let me tell you about this girl, she is unbelievable. I was new here, and she befriended me no questions asked. But you, you were only my friend after my brother Rob posed as a student and told you to like me. All of you people, there is a big world out there...bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter whether you're prom queen, the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are, and try not to be afraid of it!”

WOW. In that moment alone, Josie Gellar became one of my favourite Drew Barrymore roles ever. She was honest and at her most vulnerable, but she didn't care. She did something that nobody else did. She gave those kids a reality check. Everything she said was true. High school is simply that. It should not be ruling the way you live the rest of your life.

(Admittedly, it took me about a decade for this to sink it. I'm happy that it did though.)

Anyway, Josie's outburst had a ripple effect through the school. It made Aldys rethink her feelings, and she was grateful that Josie had reciprocated her kindness in that moment. It made Guy and the Queen Bees rethink the way that they had treated her. It made Rob incredibly angry at Josie for outing him. And it deeply devastated Sam, who felt as though Josie played him for a fool. And it was Sam's reaction that hurt Josie the most, as she really developed feelings for him. According to her, she had ruined things forever.

Or, had she?

I won't reveal the end of the movie. All you need to know is that Josie ended up getting her story after all...and the ending involves a baseball diamond, a time clock, and this Beach Boys song.


You know, I have to give Josie credit for a lot of things. She may have been bullied as a teen, but she seemed to overcome it. She ended up making a true friend in Aldys, and she ended up becoming popular by being herself. While it was true that Rob may have influenced the popular kids, you could tell that once they got to know Josie, they found her to be quite cool. Once you see the ending, you might be surprised to see where they stand at the end of the film. Kind of makes one realize that there is good in mostly everyone.

And, you know, since Josie was brave enough to share her story, I'll now share the main similarity between Josie Gellar and myself. And, well, if you read the title of the blog and movie, you may have figured it out too.

Because I myself went through high school having never been kissed. And, hey, I survived. Josie Gellar did too.

That's all that I have to say on that subject.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

School's Out


We’re almost at the end of June, and you know what that means?  Summer vacation is just around the corner!

Well, all right, depending on the region you live in, summer vacation might already be here, but in the area I grew up in, the last day of school was usually held the week of June 21-27. 

And I was one of those kids who could not WAIT for the school year to end.

I mean, let’s face it.  Many of my classmates and I did not see eye to eye, so to have freedom from them for two months was a wonderful perk.  However, there were other reasons to celebrate the end of the school year.  It meant two months of being able to sleep in as late as you wanted.  It meant not having to do any sort of homework until September.  It meant partaking in many days and nights of summer activities.  In fact, if you stay tuned for this week’s upcoming Thursday Confession, I’ll tell you about one of my fondest summertime memories.

I think perhaps the reason that I enjoyed summer vacation the most was the fact that after being cooped up in school for ten months, it was nice to have a couple of months of relaxation and peace.  No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.

Yes, even in the late eighties and early nineties, we kids still sang this rhyme.  Except during the holiday season, where we sang “Joy to the world, the school burned down, it burned right to the ground...”.

It seems like such a silly, innocent childhood rhyme.  But, did you know that rhyme ended up being included in a Top 10 hit back in the 1970s?  It happens to be true.  In fact, why don’t we take a listen to the Sunday Jukebox entry for today right now?



ARTIST:  Alice Cooper
SONG:  School’s Out
ALBUM:  School’s Out
DATE RELEASED:  June 1972
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #7


I think it was almost a rite of passage to play this song on full blast at least once on the last day of school.  I know that I used to.  It really was a perfect song to describe the joy we children all felt on the cusp of summer vacation.  As it turns out, that was the very reason why the song was written, according to the artist who performed this hit.


Meet Vincent Damon Furnier.  He was born on February 4, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan.  Believe it or not, he grew up as the son of a lay preacher and the grandson of an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Furnier was also fairly active in his church during his childhood, most notably between the ages of 11 and 12.

During his childhood, Vincent suffered from a series of childhood illnesses, but managed to stay in school, and actually gained admission to several post-secondary institutions including the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado.  But Vincent turned down these offers, instead wanting to pursue a career in music.

Nobody could blame him though.  He had a love of music, and when he was sixteen, he ended up getting his first taste of being a part of a band.  He was eager to participate in a local annual letterman’s talent show, but he felt that he needed a group to perform with him so that he could get the full experience.  So, he gathered a group of people who were on the school cross-country team, and together they formed the group known as “The Earwigs”.  However, nobody in the band knew how to play any musical instruments, so they basically mimicked a performance by “The Beatles”.  The group ended up winning the talent show, and they loved the experience so much that they decided to learn how to play real instruments.  After purchasing some from a nearby pawn shop, the group soon changed their name to “The Spiders”.  The group consisted of Vincent on vocals, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, John Tatum on rhythm guitar, John Speer on drums, and Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar.  The group often performed around the Phoenix area where they appeared on stage in front of a huge black spider web backdrop.  The group even released a single in 1965, a cover version of The Blackwells song “Why Don’t You Love Me”.

The following year, John Tatum left the band and was replaced by Michael Bruce, and scored a local #1 hit on the radio with “Don’t Blow Your Mind”, an original composition.  They changed their name to “The Nazz”, replaced the departing John Speer with Neal Smith, and relocated to Los Angeles, California.  However, the band was left with a bit of a dilemma when they discovered that musician Todd Rundgren had also been using the name “Nazz” for his band, which meant that the band was forced to change their name for the fourth time in four years. 

However, Vincent Furnier also believed that the band needed a gimmick.  They needed something that would stand out.  So, imagine their surprise when Furnier suggested the name “Alice Cooper”.  Furnier believed that the name was so wholesome and non-threatening that it would knowingly clash with their hard-edged, gothic image and sound.

(Plus Alice Cooper happened to be the name of Betty’s mom in Archie Comics.)


Eventually, Vincent would later adopt the band’s name as his own stage name, and since 1968, he has gone by the name Alice Cooper ever since.  As for Alice Cooper’s signature look, he explained that it came from a variety of films that he watched over and over, including “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane” and “Barbarella”.

However, with the new name change and direction, the band Alice Cooper soon found that it was difficult to get their name out there.  It certainly didn’t help matters much that at a gig at the Cheetah Club in Venice, California, everyone left after just ten minutes!  However, this misfortune worked out to Alice Cooper’s advantage as they were approached by music manager Shep Gordon.  Gordon saw potential in the band, and arranged a meeting with Frank Zappa, who was actively looking for acts to sign to his new record label, Straight Records.


TRIVIA:  Zappa had told the band to show up at his house at 7:00.  What the band didn’t realize was that Zappa had meant 7:00 PM.  Instead, they showed up at his house at 7:00 AM!  However, while most people would likely not be impressed at being woken up by psychedelic rock early in the morning, Zappa was impressed, and immediately signed the band to a recording contract!

Over the next few years, Alice Cooper seemed to struggle with trying to get their music out there, as their first two albums didn’t make a great impact on the charts.  And then there was the “Chicken Incident” at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969, where Alice Cooper mistakenly believed that a live chicken that happened to make it on stage could fly, and as a result, the chicken ended up being completely torn apart by the people in the audience, labelling the band as being “shock rockers”.

But when Alice Cooper released the single “I’m Eighteen” in 1970, the single ended up reaching #21 on the Billboard Charts.  When Warner Records ended up purchasing Alice Cooper’s record contract from Straight Records, the album that the song came from (Love it to Death) was re-released, and became the band’s breakthrough album, finally giving the band some recognition.

Of course, over the next few decades, Alice Cooper would end up going solo, releasing hundreds of singles, and dozens of albums.  But, I think everyone can agree that “School’s Out” was probably one of his best and well known hits.

As I said earlier in this blog entry, Alice Cooper stated that the reason behind writing the song was based on his response to the following question...what are the greatest three minutes of your life?

Alice Cooper suggested that there were two times in which we all felt this during the year.  One was on Christmas morning just before you open up your gifts.  The second was on the last day of school, particularly during the last three minutes which Alice Cooper described as being similar to a slow fuse burning.

And, in this case, that slow fuse burned into a huge explosion.  Quite literally, if the lyrics are any indication.  Not only is school out for the summer in the song, it’s out FOREVER, as the lyrics imply that the school has blown up.

But if there’s one thing that the song did other than make kids look forward to the end of the school year, it netted Alice Cooper their biggest hit yet.  And, it made people see that there was more to Alice Cooper than just a novelty hit, and showed that they rose above the “Chicken Incident” to become respected artists in the music industry.

And besides, it inspired a really awesome Staples commercial.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Woman Behind Lamb Chop's Play Along


I have always said that my blog topics can come from a variety of sources. The vast majority of them cover television shows, movies, and music that I loved growing up. Some of them were requests from readers. And some were inspired by pictures and quotes that people have posted on social networking sites, believe it or not.

This is one of those blog entries that was inspired by one of these social networking sites.

On the day that I was stricken with inspiration, I was perusing one of these sites when I happened to come across a topic posted by a friend of mine who lives in Jolly Old England. Her name is Helen S. Anyways, on this particular day, Helen was talking about how she was doing some housecleaning, and she happened to come across a long forgotten treasure along the way. And, she posted a picture of it for everyone to see.



This is a picture of a puppet, affectionately named Lamb Chop. When she posted that picture, it prompted everyone on her friends list to discuss their memories of Lamb Chop. I even had a memory of my own. Well, okay, it was my sister's memory, but I was there. It was Christmas 1993, and one of the gifts that my sister received that year was the Lamb Chop doll. She also received Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy, Lamb Chop's closest friends in addition.



At this point, I should also mention that when Christmas 1993 came around, my sister was 21 years old. But, as many people pointed out underneath Helen's picture, age was not a factor in regards to how much one adored Lamb Chop. In fact, I have to admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for the little lamb myself.

So, for today's entry, I thought that I would talk about Lamb Chop, and the woman who helped make her a star.



That woman, of course, was Shari Lewis. Of course, she wasn't exactly known as “Shari Lewis”. Her birth name was Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz. I don't exactly know how Sonia became Shari, but the Lewis came from a marriage that didn't last too long.

Anyway, Shari Lewis was born in January 1933 in The Bronx, New York. Her mother, Ann Ritz, and father, Abraham Hurwitz, had encouraged Shari to become an entertainer when she was just a teenager. By the time she was thirteen, she was already learning magic tricks from her father. After all, Shari's father was once named New York City's official magician by then mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Great Depression.

But Shari didn't just limit herself to performing magic. She studied acrobatics, learned how to juggle, played the piano and violin, and learned how to ice skate.

(You see kids, people DID have fun without iPads.)

Shari also ended up learning one other talent from a man named John W. Cooper. John was a skilled ventriloquist, and he ended up teaching a young Shari some of his finest techniques. Little did Shari know that these lessons would end up changing the course of her life forever.

However, Shari didn't quite pursue the career of a ventriloquist right away. She studied at the New York High School of Music and Art, and went on to dance at the American School of Ballet, all while acting in a neighbourhood playhouse. I tell you, Shari Lewis was one ball of fire in her youth!

In 1952, Shari Lewis would end up getting her first big break, when she won first prize on the CBS television series “Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts”. And, do you know what her winning talent was? Puppetry!

Soon after that appearance, she appeared on a variety of children's television programs, including hosting a program called “Facts 'N Fun” on July 5, 1953. Lewis was only 20 years old. Unfortunately, the program barely lasted three months on the air. However, shortly after that, she took over Ted Steele's role as host of WPIX's Kartoon Klub, a variety show featuring a live studio audience, her sidekicks Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle (who also appeared with her on Facts 'N Fun), and aired cartoons. The program was so successful with Lewis as host that the name changed twice. It became “Shari & Her Friends” in 1956, and later that year, the name changed again to “Shariland”. In between her hosting duties, she would appear on other children's shows including Captain Kangaroo. And in March 1956, Shari Lewis appeared on Captain Kangaroo with a new friend for everyone to meet.



Lamb Chop.

A year later, Shari was on a brand new program called “Hi, Mom”, which ran from 1957-1959. It was on this show that Lewis introduced three more characters in addition to Lamb Chop. There was Charlie Horse, the slow-witted and jokester of the group. Hush Puppy, a dog that spoke in a Southern Accent, and Wing Ding, a black crow. Along with Lamb Chop, Shari would often have all four characters interacting with her on the show, which the audience loved.

In 1960, Shari Lewis began production of another show, “The Shari Lewis Show”, which debuted on October 1, 1960. For the next three years, Shari, Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and Wing Ding would entertain millions of children each week. In fact, let's watch a clip of the Shari Lewis show below to see what it was like. Fair warning though, the show is in black and white.



Wasn't Shari just a natural? She was so professional in her craft. Almost made it look effortless.

And with the success of the show came merchandising deals. Puppets of Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy flew off the shelves during the early 1960s.

However, Wing Ding was left out of the merchandising opportunities. It was speculated that Wing Ding was dropped entirely during the 1960s because it was feared that Wing Ding was not socially acceptable any more, as his characterization was widely considered by some people to be stereotypical of African-Americans. Whatever the case, I did find one photo of Wing Ding, just so you can see what he looked like below.



During the 1970s and 1980s, Lamb Chop and her friends kind of went on the backburner (although they did make sporadic appearances between 1975 and 1991), as Shari herself focused on acting commitments, conducting symphonies, and writing children's books.

TRIVIA: Shari's second husband was Jeremy Tarcher, who ended up writing a third season episode of Star Trek, entitled “The Lights of Zetar”.

However, in 1992, Lamb Chop and her friends would bring laughter and joy for a new generation of children all over the world with this show.



Lamb Chop's Play Along”. A show that was dedicated to making young children have a lot of fun, and make them smile. And you know what, I'll admit it. I saw a few episodes of this when I was twelve, and I readily admit to being bemused by it. Make fun of me if you wish, but I can see why so many young children liked watching it. Just watch a clip of the program below to see what I mean.



The show was a perfect example to showcase each and every single one of Shari's talents. She sang and danced to the viewing audience each show. She used the magic tricks that she learned from her father to amaze the children who came to visit her at the studio. And of course, she had her friends Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, and Charlie Horse...who ended each show the same exact way.



I bet you can't get that song out of your head now, can you?

The program itself did very well on PBS, and it stayed on the air for five years between 1992 and 1997. A second series called “The Charlie Horse Music Pizza” aired shortly after the filming of “Lamb Chop's Play Along”, and produced several home videos starring her famous puppets including “Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah”, which received the Parents' Choice award for 1996. Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop also made guest appearances on several television programs, including a memorable episode of Fran Drescher's show “The Nanny”, which aired in 1995. You can watch it by clicking HERE if you want.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for the accomplishments that Shari Lewis achieved. In her lifetime, she won the following awards;

12 Emmy Awards
Peabody Award (1960)
Monte Carlo Prize (1963)
John F. Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity (1983)
7 Parents' Choice Awards
Action for Children's Television Award

These are just a few. Do a little research and you'll see many more awards that she has won.

Perhaps one of Shari Lewis' finest hours could be traced back to the year 1993. That was the year that Lewis appeared in front of Congress to testify in favour of protections for children's television. But Lewis wasn't the only one to speak. Turns out that Lamb Chop herself had something she had to get off her chest. And when the little lamb was given permission to speak, her passionate speech definitely left a huge impression on the people in the room.

Not bad for a lamb puppet who claimed she was “only six”.



Of course, all things eventually do come to an end. In Shari Lewis' case, the end came in the summer of 1998. On August 2, 1998, Shari Lewis succumbed to viral pneumonia, a complication brought upon by a diagnosis of uterine cancer just two months prior. She was 65 years old.



However, Lewis' death did not mean that Lamb Chop died with her. Her daughter, Mallory Tarcher (who now goes by the name Mallory Lewis in honour of her late mother) worked on both “Lamb Chop's Play Along” and “The Charlie Horse Music Pizza” shows as a writer. She basically grew up with Lamb Chop in her life. So it wasn't all that surprising when it was announced in 2000 that Mallory would take over as the puppeteer of Lamb Chop. Have a look below.



You know, I'm sure that if Shari Lewis could say it now, she would be proud that something she created all those years ago is still making children laugh and sing all these years later. I also believe that she would be happy that her daughter is continuing the Lamb Chop name.

And, I once again want to credit Helen S. for giving me the great idea for today's blog!

Friday, June 22, 2012

My Two Dads


In the year 2012, there are admittedly all different types of families out there.  One of the most common types of family is the so-called nuclear family, which is a family that consists of a mother, father, and at least one child.

However, this does not mean that this is the only type of family that one can see on the street.

The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of families that some people may label as “unconventional”.  I’m sure you might know what I mean by that.  Single-parent families, step-families, families with same-sex couples raising children, foster families...the possibilities are endless.

But, does this mean that these families are any more or any less important than the standard nuclear family?  I say no.

As far as I’m concerned, it shouldn’t matter what makes up a family.  All that matters is that the people within a family are happy and healthy, and grow up to be loving, caring, productive members of society.

And if you look back through the world of television sitcoms, there are lots of examples where this is the case.  Take a look at “Full House” for example.  The three girls in the family were raised by their father, their uncle, and their father’s best friend after the death of their mother.  It certainly didn’t make D.J., Stephanie, or Michelle turn into drug addicts.  Well, the characters on the show, anyway.  On “Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch”, Sabrina was raised by her two aunts, Hilda and Zelda, and despite having magical powers, she grew up quite grounded.

On “The Facts of Life”, you could say that Blair, Tootie, Natalie, and Jo ended up forming their own family of sorts, with Mrs. Garrett acting as House Mother.  On that note, you could look at “Diff’rent Strokes” for a perfect example of a non-traditional family as the rich, Caucasian Drummond family took in two poor, African-American children as their own.  Even on last week’s blog topic, “Step by Step”, we can see the trials and tribulations of growing up as part of a step-family. 

As it so happens, today’s TGIF subject also deals with the idea of an untraditional family.  And weirdly enough, the show has one star in common with last week’s show, Staci Keanan.


We’re going to look back on the NBC television sitcom “My Two Dads”, which aired for three seasons from September 20, 1987 to April 30, 1990.  Staci Keanan played the role of Nicole Bradford.  Nicole grew up never knowing who her father was.  She grew up with a single mother, Marcy.  For the first twelve years of her life, she grew up happily under her mother’s care.  However, when her mother passes away, Nicole is wondering what will become of her.

TRIVIA:  Although we only see Nicole’s mother in a flashback style episode, she was played by a familiar face – Dynasty’s Emma Samms.


On the show’s pilot episode, we soon discover Nicole’s fate, and it’s probably one of the most bizarre circumstances ever.  You see, when it comes time to read Marcy’s will, there are two men in attendance.  One is financial advisor Michael Taylor (Paul Reiser), and the other one is struggling artist Joey Harris (Greg Evigan).  The reason why both men happen to be there soon becomes clear.


The first thing that you need to know is that Michael and Joey used to be the best of friends.  They were quite close, and they swore to themselves that nothing would ruin their friendship.

Unfortunately, Marcy ended up getting caught in the crossfire.  She had the misfortune of having Michael and Joey falling in love with her, and as a result of this, Michael and Joey’s friendship ended.  Certainly at the will reading, Michael and Joey’s rivalry continued, and they were still quite bitter over what had happened.  After all, both men dated Marcy while she was alive, and both men thought that they would end up being the last man standing.

What neither one of them knew was that Marcy had a secret.  You see, Marcy had gotten involved with both men before Nicole was conceived, and well, Marcy didn’t know exactly which one was the father.  And, since Maury Povich didn’t end up getting a talk show until the 1990s, she had no idea which man fathered her child.


So in Marcy’s will, Marcy clearly stated that since she didn’t know whether Michael or Joey was Nicole’s father, she wished for both men to have joint custody of Nicole.

Naturally, both men are completely shocked by the news, and upon meeting Nicole for the first time, they’re not exactly sure how to deal with the situation.  In fact, I think this is a great time to post the link to the pilot episode, which you can see if you click HERE and HERE.

So, clearly, you can see that the sudden arrival of Nicole in the lives of both Michael and Joey didn’t really do much in terms of melting the frostiness between them...at first.  But after both of them got into a huge fight which hurt Nicole they soon realized that they were being jerks, and they made a pact to try and get along for Nicole’s sake.  Of course, the fact that the judge who made the ruling for Nicole to live with both Michael and Joey, Judge Margaret W. Wilbur (Florence Stanley), also contributed to their decision, as Nicole would have been placed in foster care otherwise.

Of course, this step also helped mend the friendship between Michael and Joey, and by the series end, both men had completely repaired their friendship with each other. 

TRIVIA:  Florence Stanley’s character also appeared on the NBC sitcom “Night Court”.


So, that’s the story behind “My Two Dads”.  Over the three seasons that the program aired on NBC, Joey and Michael tried to balance parenthood with dating, jobs, and other aspects of daily life.  Initially, Michael lived in an uptown neighbourhood, while Joey lived in an artist studio with Nicole splitting time between the two men’s homes.  But after Joey accidentally gets Michael evicted from his apartment, Michael moves in.  And, Judge Wilbur ends up becoming a familiar face as well, as she ends up buying the apartment building that Joey lives in, making her a regular character as well.


TRIVIA:  Other famous faces to star in the program included Chad Allen and Giovanni Ribisi (as two boys who have crushes on Nicole), and Dick Butkus as the owner of the diner below Joey’s apartment.

Now, here’s where the sitcom becomes even more heartwarming.  Michael and Joey automatically assume the responsibility of taking care of Nicole and her well-being.  No questions asked.  And Nicole’s personality helped win the hearts of both Michael and Joey.  To them, it didn’t matter whose kid Nicole was.  Both of them loved Nicole as if she were their own. 

Mind you, there was one episode that aired in 1989 that almost answered the question of who the father was (It’s an episode entitled Pop, The Question, if you’re curious to watch it).  At the time, Michael and Joey had a falling out, and both of them decided to run a DNA test to determine which one of them was Nicole’s father.  The only problem was that they ran the test without letting Nicole know, and she was very upset that they had done this without consulting her.  Nicole manages to get the results, and tears them up, showing Michael and Joey that she didn’t care about what the results said.  To her, both men were worthy of being her father.  This caused Michael and Joey to patch things up between them, and as a result, the viewing audience never found out which father was really the father...if either one was, that is.

In fact, the only person who ever found the truth out was the judge, and she never told anyone.

But that was what was great about the show.  No, we never did find out if Joey or Michael was Nicole’s dad...but by the end of the series, it didn’t matter at all.  She was still happy, well taken care of, and in fact, she helped the men become more responsible, and happier as a result of her coming to live with them.  Even at the end of the series, when Joey had to move to San Francisco, Nicole never stopped loving him, and lovingly referred to Joey as still being one of “her two dads”.


I think that’s all that matters in the long run.  It doesn’t matter how traditional a family is, and it doesn’t matter how unconventional a family is.  As long as there is love, shouldn’t that be enough?

Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Complimentary Post With A Side Of Self-Doubt


With this edition of the Thursday Confession, I'll readily admit to posting something within this space that has been recycled from another source. In this case, I wrote this piece approximately a year ago in my Notes section on Facebook. But since not everyone can read those, I figure that for the vast majority of you, it'll be new to you. And, this time around, I can actually post video clips and pictures to supplement my confession the second time around.

This confession is all about compliments, and the art of receiving them. There's a lot of people out there in the world who are motivated by the number of compliments that they get from various people. And, believe me, I get that. Everyone likes to hear something good about themselves every now and then, right?

But what happens when you are at the receiving end of a compliment, and you aren't exactly sure how you're supposed to take it. On the surface, it appears as though it is genuine, and that the giver is sincere in his/her words...but if you dig a little deeper, you might discover that it's anything but.

Well, that's what this confession is all about. The art of accepting a compliment...and why on my report card of life, I've never gotten higher than a C- in that art.



THURSDAY CONFESSION #25: In the past, I was absolutely terrible at taking compliments at face value. Even now, I still have difficulty doing this.



Does anyone remember a singer by the name of James Blunt? I'm sure you all do, since he's been all over the pop charts over the past five years or so. I can't really say that I myself am a fan of his, but I kind of have to talk about him briefly to get into the meaty goodness of this whole article.

Anyways, James Blunt has been a singer for a few years now, and I would hazard a guess that his first big breakthrough was a song called “You're Beautiful”. Now, on the surface, judging by the title of the song, you'd think that it was a lovely song about how beautiful someone is, and how much they mean to the person. Yet, dig a little deeper, and you will discover that the song is really about heartbreak and betrayal. Heck, if the music video showing Mr. Blunt leaping off a cliff doesn't convince you of that, I don't know what will. Have a look at the music video below to see what I mean.



In some twisted way, it kind of leads into the general point of this confession. After all, as I said before, this entry's all about compliments, and why it seems so difficult for some to accept them as they are.

I guess in some ways, I'm kind of guilty of that. In many ways, I find it difficult to accept a compliment at face value. Someone may tell me that I'm beau...um...handsome, and like the James Blunt song, I over-analyze it and try to find some iota of sarcasm or truth fudging within it. Like, suppose I'm walking down the street and all of a sudden people are whistling and cat-calling at me. In past occasions, I dismissed those as being nothing more than a cruel joke because I felt that I wasn't worthy enough to get such attention. Certainly when I was at my heaviest weight, I completely dismissed it as nothing more but a joke. How could they say that I was “hot stuff” when I certainly didn't feel that way about myself?



Or worse is the dreaded backhanded compliment. The kind of compliments that are given by such fictional characters as Reggie Mantle, or Marie Barone from “Everybody Loves Raymond”. Oh, sure, they may tell you something that appears nice, but depending on the context, it might appear as though they are actually being more condescending than kind. Believe me, I've gotten quite a few of those during my lifetime as well.

There is some good news however. I am getting better at taking compliments and praise at face value every day, and I'm more willing to accept them rather than roll my eyes in disgust.

Still, I will probably always have some smidgen of doubt as to how accurate they are. If someone tells me I'm intelligent for instance, I'm perfectly fine with that now and can own it...but if you had asked me that question a decade earlier when I voluntarily left university because I couldn't hack it, I probably might have told you to go to hell, and that you were cruel for making light of something so horrible.



Yeah, at 22, I was pretty much the definition of “emo”. I'll admit it. Consider it a bonus confession for today, if you will.

I think a part of why I sometimes have a bit of difficulty accepting compliments at face value is probably partly due to how I was raised. I was never really brought up in an environment where compliments were freely given out, so maybe that has something to do with it. Not saying that my childhood was filled with abuse or neglect...far from it, really. But, because I didn't really get many spoken word compliments by those closest to me, I guess in some way, I didn't know how to accept a compliment, or more importantly how to distinguish the difference between genuine praise and a sarcastic remark. And, that's not me making an excuse. At the time, it was how I genuinely felt.

I think a larger part of it comes from the pitiful amount of self-worth I had back then. I certainly didn't feel good about myself at my worst, and it didn't matter how people told me that the terrible things I was feeling weren't true. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to really let those compliments in at the time.

I'm probably not the only case out there in regards to praise. There's some people who are like me, who couldn't figure out the difference between real and fake compliments. As a result, some may mistake genuine praise for sarcasm, or they'd interpret constructive criticism as a personal attack, or if they were truly like me, they'd hide from the world and not let anyone else in for fear of getting hurt.

And, I know that looking back on it, it sounds so incredulous to me that I could even feel this way about something that should be appreciated.

But I did.

I've taken some great efforts to try and improve my outlook on life, and try to be more accepting of compliments, but I know it's not going to be an easy fix, and that it's going to take a lot of patience for me to get there. It is a challenge though. I won't deny that.

I don't take things nearly as personally anymore, and after some soul-searching, I've come to the conclusion that I am just as deserving of love and affection as anybody else.



I just have to try and let my guard down, and trust that when someone does tell me that I am smart, or I'm kind, or when I'm walking down the street and cat-calling me, I'll believe them, and not try to find something snotty in the tone or the choice of words someone uses.

In fact, when I turned 31 a month ago, I was walking down the street, and a group of people were stopped at the corner, whistling at me. And, this time around, I was more accepting of it. It still felt a bit uncomfortable, but I didn't automatically assume the worst either, so I guess I can consider that a small victory in the battle for eternal self-esteem.

I guess I'm just babbling on a bit, and for all I know, this confession may not make any sense whatsoever...but it's something that I have been thinking about for a while, and in my quest to understand myself better, I feel I have to jot everything that's been bothering me down. No matter how crazy sounding it looks to someone on the outside, or how nonsensical it appears to me.

But, that's the kind of guy I am. At one time, I used to be afraid to share things with others, because I was scared I'd be perceived as weird, or flighty, or be made fun of. Now that I'm older, I don't care what people think. These are my thoughts, and my thoughts alone to do with what I want.

Some may look at it as me sharing too much about myself at any given time, but I've only scratched the surface. I still have many, many issues to work through. Many demons left to slay. Many secrets to unearth.

One day, I hope to truly be an open book. Instead, I choose to let you all in one chapter at a time.

In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep telling myself that I'm beau...er...handsome, and take it from there.