Hallmark Hall of Fame through How to Survive a Marriage
The Hallmark Hall of Fame is the biggest nighttime entertainment Emmy winner ever, so don’t be surprised if soon I split this entry into two – or more. The specials have been around since 1951 and still are on the air today, a truly impressive record. So is how Werner Klemperer assumed Don Knotts’ role in the late 1960s and won supporting Emmys while the real star of Hogan’s Heroes, Bob Crane, went home empty handed.
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Because of the large number of nominations, they are divided by individual production titles, which are listed in bold italic.
All Quiet on the Western Front (CBS p.m., Nov. 14, 1979)
W: Film Editing, Limited Series or Special (Bill Blunden, Alan Patillo)
N: Drama or Comedy Special (Martin Starger, EP, Norman Rosemont, P); Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Special (Ernest Borgnine); Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Special (Patricia Neal); Director, Limited Series or Special (Delbert Mann); Art Direction, Limited Series or Special (John Stoll, production designer; Karel Vacek, art director); Individual Achievement, Creative Technical Crafts (Roy Whybrow, special effects – cinematography)
Filmed on location in Czechoslavakia, this powerful rendering of Erich Von Remarque’s classic novel featured Richard Thomas (unjustly denied a lead actor nod) as Paul Blaumer, an idealistic German high school graduate who enlists to fight in World War II with his classmates and becomes hardened as its hellish reality hits him. Leading his unit was beefy Stanislaus Katczinsky (Borgnine, in his best TV acting ever). While recovering from a war injury he visited his mom, played by Neal, who scored her Emmy nomination mostly for sentimentality, possibly because it reunited her with her TV son from The Homecoming – she only has two scenes, each less than two minutes. While well done in all categories, particularly acting, this does suffer noticeably in comparison with the 1930 Oscar-winning Best Film adaptation in terms of scripting (adapter Paul Monash unwisely flash forwards a few times early to telegraph Paul’s disillusionment) and even direction (Mann frames everything well but cannot match the sprawling war scenes Lewis Milestone achieved in the original). This competed with another unsuccessful Hallmark Hall of Fame show for Drama or Comedy Special in 1980, Gideon’s Trumpet.
Starger: two. Rosemont: Emmy Awards. Borgnine: McHale’s Navy. Neal: The Homecoming, Tail Gunner Joe. Mann: Breaking Up, Producers’ Showcase.
Halloween is Grinch Night – See The Grinch Grinches the Cat.
A Happening in Central Park
CBS p.m., Sept. 16, 1968
N: Variety or Music Program (Barbra Streisand, star; Robert Scheerer, P)
Following the at best mixed critical reaction to her third CBS special The Belle of 14th Street on Oct. 11, 1967, Barbra Streisand came roaring back to the reviewers’ graces with what she did best – belting for her life in public. (Ironically, the special was recorded in June 1967 but held over as part of her one show per year deal with CBS.) The ending was particularly strong – the audience sang along with her on “Second Hand Rose,” she nailed her old warhorse “People,” she pleasantly surprised everyone by doing “Silent Night” and the audience deserved gave her a standing ovation after a typically powerful (for her) rendition of “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
Have Gun – Will Travel
CBS Saturdays 9:30-10 p.m., Sept. 14, 1957-Sept. 21, 1963
N: Cinematography (William Margulies, “Outlaw”), 1957 and (Margulies, “Ella West”), 1959; Western, 1959; Actor, Lead (Richard Boone), 1959, 1960
The business card read “Have Gun Will Travel … Wire Paladin, San Francisco.” It was the upscale Hotel Carlton in that city that served as the base of operations for Paladin (Boone), a gunslinger with no first name revealed who used the white chess knight of the same name as his symbol. Sometimes his missions came courtesy of Hey Boy (Kam Tong, replaced temporarily in the 1960-61 season by Lisa Lu as Hey Girl), other times people solicited themselves. Paladin always got his quarry, but his battles with them typically were as much cerebral as physical. A stylish, classy oater, with Boone magnetic as the star. As the lead-in to Gunsmoke, this series was enormously popular – in the top five its first four seasons and still a strong #29 in its sixth and last one when Boone decided to pursue bigger and better things, which really did not materialize for him unfortunately as he got craggier and hammier in later roles. The show’s other nominee earned Emmy nominations in 1960 and 1961 for different series but like Boone won no Emmy either.
Margulies: The Lawless Years, Outlaws. Boone: Medic, The Richard Boone Show.
Hawaii Five-O
CBS Thursdays 9-10 p.m.*, Sept. 26, 1968-April 26, 1980
W: Music Composition (Morton Stevens, “A Thousand Pardons, You’re Dead”), 1970; (Stevens, “Hookman”), 1974
N: Drama Series (Leonard Freeman, EP; Bob Sweeney and William Finnegan, P), 1973; Cinematography (Frank Phillips, “Up Tight”), 1969, (Robert L. Morrison), 1972, and (Morrison, Jack Whitman and Bill Huffman), 1974; Drama Director (Bob Sweeney, “Over 50? Steal”) 1971; Film Editing (Arthur David Hilton, “Over 50? Steal”), 1971; Music Composition (Don B. Ray, “Nightmare in Blue”), 1974, (Bruce Broughton, “The $100,000 Nickel”), 1974; Actress, Single Performance (Helen Hayes, “Retire in Sunny Hawaii … Forever”), 1975
No-nonsense Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) led the Hawaiian state police in fighting crime in and around Honolulu, disturbing nary a strand of his jet black hair despite fistfights, gunfire, sea breezes and his clenched pronunciation of native words. From 1968-79, his assistant Danny Williams (James MacArthur) had to endure hearing McGarrett say to him “Book ‘em, Danno” after they captured the villains. If that was not bad enough for MacArthur, his real-life mother Helen Hayes nabbed an Emmy nomination for a guest spot on the show while he never scored one at all. Seriously, this was the first CBS action series to crack the top 10, at #7 in 1970-71, and it peaked at #3 two seasons later before sliding in popularity. It is remembered now more for its killer opening montage and thumping accompanying instrumental theme (a top 10 hit in 1969 for the Ventures), along with beautiful cinematography on location, than its routine plots and acting. In 1974 it was the first series to sweep the series music composition category slots, with Stevens, who composed the theme, claiming a second Emmy for the series. The title played off Hawaii being the 50th state admitted to the union.
Freeman: Four Star Playhouse, Mr. Novak. Hayes:
Hazel
NBC Thursdays 9:30-10 p.m.* (also CBS), Sept. 28, 1961-Sept. 5, 1966
W: Lead Actress (Shirley Booth), 1962, 1963
N: Comedy, 1962; Lead Actress (Booth), 1964
Inspired by Ted Key’s long-running newspaper cartoon of the same name, the TV rendition featured maid Hazel Burke (Booth) meddling into the affairs of her employers, the Baxters – father George (Don Defore), wife Dorothy (Whitney Blake) and son Harold (Bobby Buntrock). She commiserated about life with her friend and fellow housekeeper (Maudie Prickett). In its last season it switched to CBS and George and Dorothy disappeared, with Hazel and Harold now joined by George’s younger brother Steve (Ray Fulmer), wife Barbara (Lynn Borden) and daughter Susie (Julia Benjamin). A rather routine sitcom apart from Booth’s energetic lead performance, it was The Beulah Show without the minstrel act. Hazel did reflect one thing accurately – NBC’s inability in the 1950s and 1960s to have a hit sitcom. It was the first in its genre on the network to make the top 10 (at #4 in 1961-62) and would be the only one with that status the rest of the decade until Julia in 1968-69. Booth remains one of the few performers to win an Emmy, a Tony (for DramaticActress in Come Back, Little Sheba in 1950) and an Oscar (for lead actress in the film version of her Broadway role in 1952).
Booth: CBS Playhouse.
Heidi
NBC Sunday 7-9 p.m., Nov. 17, 1968
W: Musical Composition (John Williams)
N: Dramatic Program (Frederick Brogger, James Franciscus, P)
This film’s popularity – it was 1968’s highest-rated TV-movie, with nearly half the available audience watching it – has been unfortunately overshadowed by its notoriety when NBC insisted on starting it at its scheduled time on the East Coast and cut off a football game where the New York Jets led the Oakland Raiders 32-29 with 50 seconds left to play (Oakland came back to win 43-32). The resulting brouhaha due to the abrupt ending changed TV sports coverage thereafter. As for Heidi itself, it was a great family film, with all involved at the top of their game, although if you find The Sound of Music too cloying, this will be a little sticky for you too. Starring Jennifer Edwards (daughter of Julie Andrews and producer Blake Edwards), it related the classic tale of a Swiss orphan whose pluck inspires all those around her as she tries to find her place in the world. Co-producer Franciscus had starred in Mr. Novak, while his partner Brogger later went solo and collected two more producing nominations. Williams, previously nominated twice for Alcoa Premiere, won the first of two Emmys for his warm background music before nabbing several Oscars for memorable movie scores, including Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). You can make a strong argument that writer Earl Hamner, Jr., director Delbert Mann and supporting actors Maximillian Schell, Jean Simmons and Sir Michael Redgrave deserved mention too, but undoubtedly the most severe Emmy oversight was no nod for never-nominated Klaus von Tautenfeld’s gorgeous location cinematography of the Alps.
Williams: Academy Awards, Alcoa Premiere, Jane Eyre. Brogger: David Copperfield, The Red Pony
Hennesey
CBS Mondays 10-10:30 p.m., Sept. 28, 1959-Sept. 17, 1962
N: Lead Actor, Series (Jackie Cooper), 1961, 1962; Supporting Actor or Actress, Series (Abby Dalton), 1961; Writing, Comedy (Richard Baer), 1961
Dr. Charles J. “Chick” Hennessey (Cooper), a naval lieutenant stationed at an infirmary in San Diego, attempted to balance his romancing of nurse and co-worker Martha Hale (Dalton) with enduring the shenanigans of Lt. Harvey Spencer Blair III (James Komack), a playboy at the base who became a dentist in order to meet the qualifications to inherit millions from his father, all while serving under Capt. Walter A. Shafer (Roscoe Karns). This mild sitcom probably earned its nominations because it was one of the rare sitcoms of its period to portray adults with relative intelligence, but frankly it should have been a lot funnier, and Komack’s performance was far too flat. Dalton remained a fairly frequent TV actress through Falcon Crest in the 1980s, but has been scarcely seen since then. Baer, who wrote 34 episodes of this series, later was a major contributor of scripts to Bewitched and many other comedies through the mid-1980s before concentrating on playwriting until his death in 2008. Cooper later left acting in favoring of directing, where he won two Emmys.
Cooper: M*A*S*H, The White Shadow.
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
CBS p.m., April 24, 1967
N: Music or Variety Program (Dwight Hemion and Gary Smith, P); Direction, Music or Variety (Hemion); Electronic Camerawork (Heino Ripp, technical director); Electronic Production (William M. Klages, lighting director)
The most successful instrumental group ever in terms of sales and chart performance mimed playing its hits at various locales and scenarios with assorted extras, from Charlie Chaplin look-alikes at the combo’s A&M recording studios to the costumed Seven Dwarfs in Disneyland. Some of the storylines by writers Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth fall flat or were incomprehensible (why did the ride a car in front of horses running on a track for “Tijuana Taxi?”), but the production values were top notch as was co-producer/director Hemion’s usually stellar work, especially the striking opening and closing filming the group in a stadium from a helicopter landing and then leaving from an outdoor stadium. And with catchy tunes like “The Lonely Bull,” “Taste of Honey” and “Spanish Flea” on display, plus a credible hosting job by Alpert, you can forgive the fact that the septet never plays live here. The nominees were deserving ones – I just would have added Nick Castle for his staging of the numbers. The special’s official title was Singer Presents Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in honor of the sewing company sponsoring it. See also Beat of the Brass.
Hemion: Plenty. Smith: Plenty. Ripp: Plenty. Klages: Plenty
Herb Shriner Time
ABC Thursdays 9-9:30 p.m., Oct. 11, 1951-April 3, 1952
N: Comedy Show, 1951; Comedian (Herb Shriner), 1951, 1952
A year and a half after an unremarkable three-month run on CBS with his five-minute nightly series The Herb Shriner Show, the titular “Hoosier humorist” (he was born and raised in Indiana) brought his observational comedy to this live show from New York. With a relaxed demeanor, Shriner shined with strong material, such as describing a man with an inferiority complex by saying, “It wasn’t a complex, he was actually inferior.” But the show undercut his monologues (and funny commercial pitching too) by wrapping them around a play where Shriner only set up the story, and its comedy was not as funny nor as polished as what the host provided. The series was subtitled “The Arrow Show” in honor of sponsor Arrow Shirts, but the announcer sometimes called it “The New Arrow Show,” apparently for anyone who remembered The Arrow Show hosted by Phil Silvers on NBC from 1948-49. Shriner’s low-key comedy was not unlike that of his CBS competition, The Alan Young Show, and that series’ bigger audience, plus that of Dragnet on NBC, ended this program’s run after less than six months. Shriner found success later with Two for the Money.
Here Come the Brides
ABC Wednesdays 7:30-8:30 p.m.*, Sept. 25, 1968-Sept. 18, 1970
N: Actress, Drama (Joan Blondell), 1969, 1970
Facing a revolt among their fellow workers in Seattle during the 19th century, the Bolt brothers (played by Robert Brown, Bobby Sherman and David Soul) headed to New Bedford, Mass. and convinced 100 single women to relocate to the Washington territory and serve as potential wife material. Bridget Hanley and Susan Tolsky played the most heavily featured females, while Mark Lenard played a local leader always looking for an angle against the Bolts, whom he envied. Blondell played Lottie Hatfield, the only female before the brides-to-be arrived who operated a saloon. Nice outdoors filming, pleasant theme song (“Seattle,” which was a minor hit for Perry Como in 1970) and at least adequate works in all departments made this tolerable even if you don’t like westerns. Movie veteran Blondell, a supporting actress Oscar nominee in 1951 for The Blue Veil, looked beautiful and carried herself well in the roll, but she was a supporting actress here too, and her nominations showed the lack of good dramatic roles for women at the time. And why did the Academy think she merited two nominations while Amanda Blake, who is better remembered for a similar role on Gunsmoke, only got one?
Here’s Lucy
CBS Mondays 9-9:30 p.m.*, Sept. 23, 1968-Sept. 2, 1974
N: Supporting Actor – Comedy (Gale Gordon), 1971; Writing – Comedy (Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, “Lucy Meets the Burtons”), 1971
A third series with another six-year run for Lucille Ball after I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy returned Gale Gordon from the previous show to work with Ball, this time playing Lucy Carter, a secretary to her late husband’s brother Harrison “Harry” Carter (Gordon), who ran a unique employment agency in Los Angeles. Also along were Ball’s real-life adult children playing her kids, Kim Carter (Lucie Arnaz) and Craig Carter (Desi Arnaz, Jr. 1968-71), and Lucy’s pal Mary Jane Lewis (Mary Jane Croft 1971-74). A slight step up from The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy still suffered too often from subpar writing that required disbelief from viewers, as well as Ball’s increasingly broad acting, and it was cancelled after it had sunk to its lowest average rating ever at #29. Still, the nominated show was excellent – Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor played themselves wonderfully as Ball acted like the old Lucy in a clever plot where she accidentally had Taylor’s diamond ring stuck on her finger – and Gordon remained a perfect sparring partner for Ball’s antics. The Burton show also spurred Here’s Lucy past its opposition, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, to finish at #3 in the 1970-71 ratings. The writing nomination listed Madelyn Pugh under her married name of Madelyn Davis, which she used throughout her later career, but since it is her only Emmy nomination under that name, I have listed it as Pugh for convenience.
Pugh: I Love Lucy. Gordon: The Lucy Show, Our Miss Brooks.
He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown
CBS p.m., Feb. 14, 1968
N: Achievement in Children’s Programming (Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson, P)
Snoopy’s behavior has surpassed his usual impish standards (e.g., blowing Lucy into an inflatable pool), so his master Charlie Brown orders him to go back to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for remedial etiquette. Along the way he spends the night with Peppermint Patty, overstays his visit for a week, then must clean up his mess to stay hidden there and avoid his owner, who knows Snoopy is dodging his lessons in manners. But the chores at his new residence gnaw at him, so he returns home and acts just a little bit better. A pleasant trifle illustrating the true love between Charlie Brown and Snoopy, which resulted in the latter getting significantly more air time in future specials. This competed in the same category with You’re In Love, Charlie Brown.
Melendez: Mendelson:
The High Chapparal
NBC Fridays 7:30-8:30 p.m.*, Sept. 10, 1967-Sept. 10, 1971
N: Musical Composition (Harry Sukman, “The Champion of the Western World”), 1968; Supporting Actress, Drama (Linda Cristal), 1968; Lead Actress, Drama (Cristal), 1971
A series very reminiscent of producer David Dortort’s Bonanza – and in fact it followed that show Sunday nights in its first season – The High Chapparal involved another gaggle of mostly rugged men living on a large ranch out west. Chief among them were Big John Cannon (Leif Erickson), his brother Buck (Cameron Mitchell), son Billy Blue (Mark Slade 1967-70), and wife Victoria (Cristal), along with Victoria’s smiling brother Manolito Montoya (Henry Darrow), her father Don Sebastian Montoya (Frank Silvera 1967-70) and ranch foreman Sam Butler (Don Collier). A glossy but disposable western, even though the casting and storylines involving Hispanics stand up well today, and despite running four years, it would be a stretch to call this a hit. I hate to say it, but I think Cristal’s nominations came about simply due to a dearth of other appropriate candidates in her category (there were just three nominees both in 1968 and 1971), and leave it to the Emmys to wrongly categorize her as a lead actress. She was pleasant but otherwise nothing special. Sukman earned Oscar nominations for scoring Fanny (1961) and The Singing Nun (1966), and won the statuette along with Morris Stoloff for Song Without End (1960). Though he scored most episodes of this series, he did not create its memorable dynamic theme – that came courtesy of David Rose.
Sukman: Salem’s Lot.
Hogan’s Heroes
CBS Fridays 8:30-9 p.m.*, Sept. 17, 1965-July 4, 1971
W: Supporting Actor, Comedy (Werner Klemperer), 1968, 1969
N: Comedy Series (Edward H. Feldman, P), 1966, 1967, 1968; Lead Actor, Comedy (Bob Crane), 1966, 1967; Cinematography (Gordon Avil, “How to Escape from a Prison Camp Without Really Leaving”), 1968; Supporting Actor, Comedy (Klemperer), 1966, 1967, 1970; Supporting Actress, Comedy (Nita Talbot), 1968
The most critically divisive comedy ever, Hogan’s Heroes was an effective spoof of war movies and military bureaucracy to supporters and a travesty in bad taste ignoring World War II’s horrors to detractors. Set in the fictional Nazi prison camp Stalag 13, it told how Col. Robert Hogan (Crane) led fellow captive Americans Sgt. Andrew Carter (Larry Hovis) and Sgt. James Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon 1965-70), Englishman Cpl. Peter Newkirk (Richard Dawson) and Frenchman Cpl. Louis LeBeau (Robert Clary) in foiling the oversight they received from Col. Wilhelm Klink (Klemperer), who wore a monocle and pandered to his superiors, and his easily manipulated aide Sgt. Hans Schultz (John Banner), who when caught in a potential compromising situation exclaimed in denial “I know nussing!” The series won points for unconventionality and generally was well acted, but be glad it did not win a series Emmy – it downplayed the horrors of Nazi atrocities, and tellingly it never received a writing nor directing nomination. However, no less than the attested to its influence when compared to Sgt. Schultz . Crane, formerly neighbor Dave Kelsey on The Donna Reed Show from 1963-65, died in a still-unsolved murder in 1978, and it along with his time on this show were dramatized in the 2002 movie Auto Focus with Greg Kinnear as Crane. Emmy winner Klemperer continued acting until shortly before dying in 2000 at 80, while nominee Talbot, who guested several times as Marya, the hostage with quick quips, remained active in the same period but never earned another nomination.
The Hollywood Palace
ABC Saturdays 9:30-10:30 p.m.*, Jan. 4, 1964-Feb. 7, 1970
W: Art Direction and Allied Crafts (James Trittipo), 1966
N: Variety Series (Nick Vanoff, EP; William O. Harbach, P), 1966, 1967; Achievements in Music (Mitchell Ayres, conductor), 1966, 1968 and (Joe Lipman), 1966; Art Direction and Allied Crafts (Ed Smith, wardrobe), 1966; Electronic Camerawork (Herb Weiss, video control), 1968 and (Nick Giordano, tape editor), 1968; Videotape Editing (Giordano), 1970
Take The Ed Sullivan Show, base it in Los Angeles, and have your guest host(ess) sing and/or do a comedy sketch or two in addition to introducing each act, and you have The Hollywood Palace. Replacing the embarrassing debacle that was The Jerry Lewis Show, this was the glitziest variety series ABC ever aired, with the James Joyce Singers and the Marc Breaux Dancers contributing to the easy-to-watch polished product. Why they nor director Grey Lockwood and writers Joe Bigelow and Jay Burton never received nominations is a mystery – they all put their best efforts in making hosting comedians look like legitimate music stars and vice versa. It went out after six years with a nice finale – frequent host Bing Crosby reminiscing about the series and sharing bloopers from previous shows on an empty stage with no audience. This was the first Emmy for Trittipo, who would win two more statuettes out of three nominations through 1971.
Trittipo: Fred Astaire Show, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Robert Young and the Family. Vanoff: Julie Andrews Hour, Kennedy Center Honors. Harbach: Julie Andrews Hour, Gypsy in My Life. Lipman: The Big Show. Vanoff: Giordano: In Concert, John Denver Show, Julie Andrews Hour.
The Hollywood Squares
NBC Weekdays 11:30 a.m.-Noon*, Oct. 17, 1966-June 20, 1980 (also syndicated 1971-1981 and 1998-2004)
W: Game Show (Merrill Heatter and Robert Quigley, EP; Jay Redack, P), 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981; Game Show Host (Peter Marshall), 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981 and (Tom Bergeron), ; Daytime Host of the Year (Marshall), 1974; Director for a Game Show (Jerome Shaw), 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980; Writing for a Game Show (Jay Redack, Harry Friedman, Gary Johnson, Harold Schneider, Rick Kellard, Steve Levitch, Rowby Goren), 1974
N: Achievement in Daytime Programming, (Heatter and Quigley, EP), 1969, (Heatter and Quigley, EP; Redack and Bill Armstrong, P), 1972, 1973; Achievement in Daytime Programming, Individuals (Marshall), 1972, 1973, (Paul Lynde), 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and (Redack, Friedman, Johnson, Schneider, Kellard, Levitch) 1976; Game Show, 1974, 1976, 1977; Director for a Game Show (Shaw), 1974, 1976; Game Show Host (Marshall), 1976, 1979; Special Classification, Individual Achievement (Redack, Friedman, Johnson, Brian Pollack, Steve Kreinberg, Justin Antonow, Phil Kellard, writers), 1980, 1981
Two contestants played tic-tac-toe, with the objective being to be the first to line up three squares in a row. The challenge was that a celebrity sat in each square, and contestants had to determine correctly whether that celebrity’s answer to a question was right to win a square. Victors received $200 per game and could win up to five games before retiring. This easy concept would have flopped without the right mix of stars making clever quips (most of which were written for them as supposed ad libs, but that did not detract from the fun). Luckily the show was blessed with great regulars such as Paul Lynde, whose snide, withering comebacks were fan favorites, witty and offbeat questions, spiffy production and direction, and an excellent host in Peter Marshall, who knew how to wring out laughs from nine stars yet move the show along at a steady clip. Often the top-rated daytime show during the early to mid-1970s, The Hollywood Squares inspired a wave of similar star-laden game shows during the decade – for the most successful one, see Match Game. The show has had several revivals since it ended, but for the most part they missed the magic of the original, and only one of them received any Emmy nominations.
Marshall: Fantasy. Lynde: .
Hollywood Television Theatre – See Actor, The Andersonville Trial, Another Part of the Forest, The Hemingway Play, The Last of Mrs. Lincoln, Montserrat, The Scarecrow, Steambath, U.S.A.
The Hoober-Bloob Highway
CBS Wednesday 8-8:30 p.m., Feb. 19, 1975
N: Children’s Special (David H. DePatie, EP; Friz Freleng and Ted Geisel, P)
Working on a platform in outer space alongside a musical instrument with hands that strummed its own strings, Mr. Hoober-Bloob allows babies waiting to be born to preview exotic lands on Earth before deciding which one he should dispatch them down a curving highway from his base. This delightful, imaginative, funny tale with pleasant songs should be on standby in any parent’s house whenever he or she does not feel like answering their child’s question “Where did I come from?” The show merited its nomination, although it is ridiculous that it took nearly a decade of specials that were critical and popular hits such as Horton Hears a Who! (1970) and The Lorax (1972) before the Academy nominated this as its first Dr. Seuss program.
Geisel: Dr. Seuss’s Pontoffel Pock, The Grinch Grinches the Cat.
Hot Potato
NBC Weekdays Noon-12:30 p.m., Jan. 23, 1984-June 29, 1984
N: Game Show Host (Bill Cullen), 1985
A Family Feud ripoff, Hot Potato featured two trios (with one each having a celebrity captain starting midway during its six-month run) who competed to name all the answers in a previous survey, with an incorrect one knocking that player out. The first team to have all its players sit out lost the game and the chance to play a bonus round. Yet another entry in the endless string of daytime disasters on NBC in the 1980s. Bill Cullen was lucky to receive his nomination, since the show barely fell into the 1985 daytime Emmy eligibility period and the list of competitors expanded that year to make the only other time since 1978 where there were five game show host nominations.
Cullen: Blockbusters, Three on a Match.
How to Survive a Marriage
NBC Weekdays 3:30-4 p.m.*, Jan. 7, 1974-April 18, 1975
N: Individual Achievement, Daytime Programming (Stas Pyka, graphic design and title sequence), 1975
Larry Kirby (Michael Landrum, Ken Kercheval and Michael Hawkins) and his wife Chris (Jennifer Harmon) endured a rocky relationship as his fling with Sandra Henderson (Lynn Lowry) led to Chris separating from him under the advice of her mother Monica Courtland (Joan Copeland) and her counselor Dr. Julie Franklin (Rosemary Prinz). However, Larry and Chris reconciled at the end after realizing they still loved each other and witnessing other traumas that hit their families and friends. From its pretentious title to its preachy pseudo-feminist dialogue, this was one thoroughly 1970s production. Most housewives were unimpressed, leading NBC to can it after just over a year on the air. It can take credit for being the first soap opera nominated for its opening titles.
Pyka: First Ladies’ Diaries.