Happy November 6th Birthdays!

Everybody's wishing Happy Birthday to actress Sally Field today!  We will, too; she's been a reliable TV presence since her debut as Gidget and her days as The Flying Nun and let's not forget so many more great television moments including her riveting title role in the Sybil miniseries, either.  However, we like to feature some of the folks who may not always get the love so here we go.

First up, TV comedy wouldn't be the same if John Philip Sousa hadn't been born on November 6, 1854.  Sousa was known in his time as "The (American) March King" for his incredibly popular trademark compositions, and his 1893 march "The Liberty Bell" became the theme song for the classic British comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, clip below.  In case you've never heard the whole march you can listen to it here also, and we've also got the trailer to the highly romanticized 20th Century Fox 1952 biopic Stars and Stripes Forever starring Clifton Webb as Sousa.  Sousa passed away on March 6, 1932.

November 6, 1914 -- exactly one hundred years ago today -- saw the birth of a television legend who would become a genuine pop culture icon.  Jonathan Harris -- born Jonathan Charasuchin in the Bronx -- came from humble origins but a home where love of culture was always encouraged. His early exposure to the arts developed into an abiding love for theater.  Despite his love for performing, he studied to be a pharmacist and practiced for several years, but he had been bitten by the acting bug.  After dabbling in local repertory productions he made it to Broadway and started his dream career in the early 1940s.

Where Jonathan Harris really found his home was in the nascent medium of television.  From 1949 on Harris was a frequent performer in the live from New York dramas and later in countless Hollywood-produced series.  Primarily a character actor but often ascending to costar status, Harris and his unique persona were always memorable and as much in serious roles as in comedy.  In addition to his one-shot guest star roles he also became a regular on the 1959 espionage series The Third Man alongside star Michael Rennie and later on the sitcom The Bill Dana Show.  However, Harris got his TV Legend stripes playing Dr. Zachary Smith on the Irwin Allen space adventure turned cult classic Lost in Space which debuted in 1965.  During the three seasons of the show he brilliantly honed his portrayal of the fussy and feckless Dr. Smith -- "Oh, the pain!" -- to the eternal delight of science fiction fans everywhere.

Let's take a look at the credits from the third season of Lost in Space when John Williams' rollicking theme perfectly captured the rambunctious excitement of the show:



Jonathan Harris loved creating Dr. Smith and we all loved him for doing it.  You will definitely enjoy his one man show where he shares stories of his amazing show biz career; taped in 1994 in Australia:



Also, Jonathan Harris was the subject of an especially good edition of A&E's Biography series, full of wonderful footage, rare photos and terrific interviews.  Such a treat!




One of Harris' many wonderful guest roles was as Charles Dickens in the "A Passion for Justice" episode of Bonanza.  Here he is in a beautiful recitation:



Jonathan Harris passed away on November 3, 2002 at the age of eighty-seven.

For our second musical personality of the day, a brief Happy Birthday salute to the movie and television music arranger and popular bandleader Ray Conniff who was born on this date in 1916.  A huge talent with an enormous popular music footprint, Conniff and his troupe of singers had an iconic sound whose appeal transcends mere nostalgia.  There is an informative tribute website available by clicking here.  The Conniff legacy lives on even though Ray passed away in 2002.

Our last November 6th birthday is actor Lance Kerwin, born on this date in 1960 and remembered so fondly for playing the title role in the short-lived but memorable 1977 series James at 15/James at 16 along with countless other TV roles starting when he was a young teen.  Lance was the go-to kid actor at the time, getting plum roles and great reviews for his performances such as in Michael Landon's autobiographical 1976 TV movie The Loneliest Runner and co-starring opposite David Soul and James Mason in the acclaimed miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot from 1979.








There are lots of Lance's TV movies on YouTube and also many episodes of James at 15/James at 16.  Kerwin continued his busy career well into the 1990s but gradually eased out of the business for reasons including substance abuse problems.  He's now reportedly doing very well in his new life as a spiritual counselor/minister in Hawaii.  Kerwin's impressive acting career stands as a wonderful legacy to his talent even if he has turned to another calling.  The internet is a repository of Lance Kerwin material, including this page at Former Child Star Central, an out-of-date but still charming tribute site available by clicking here, and a great interview with him at Retrocrush from 2004, highly recommended for Kerwin's wonderful recollections.


Happy Birthday to all November 6th birthday boys and girls out there!

John Cleese -- Happy 75th Birthday!

On the long list of TV series we simply couldn't imagine living without, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers are near the top, thanks in part to the brilliant comedic sensibility of John Cleese.  He's celebrating his 75th birthday today, an impressive life milestone alongside all his professional milestones spread out over an accomplished 50 years in show business.  Cambridge-educated Cleese began his acting and comedy work at the college, his performing talent soon eclipsing his desire to study law.  Growing up in a time where anarchy was on the loose in British comedy (particularly on radio, thanks to The Goon Show and talents like Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan), Cleese and his comic contemporaries were well-poised to continue the tradition and then establish their own creative beachhead the likes of which has never been equaled.

You can read about Cleese's life all over the internet, and he's got So Anyway -- an autobiography of his first thirty years -- coming out next week.  Finding out about his life is interesting and important, and you will probably quickly learn that he's maybe not the jolliest fellow or the nicest Python but possibly the smartest and definitely the most introspective, yet that in the long run means little. What he's going to remembered by are his comedic gifts, the moments he created either as a writer or as a performer, that will stay with us forever.

Here's a pre-Python TV-appearance by Cleese, alongside comedy great Marty Feldman, on At Last the 1948 Show (he was also a writer on the show) ca. 1967:




And here is a very random selection of some classic Cleese moments from Monty Python's Flying Circus:


















Fans have kept the dozen episodes of John Cleese and (his wife at the time) Connie Booth's series Fawlty Towers at the top of their favorite lists since 1975, too.

















There's so much more to his career, so many more clips on online, so many episodes that you must revisit!

Happy 75th Birthday to John Cleese, one of the world's most precious comedy assets!

Are You Pythoning This Week?

We're a tad late with this, but we hope that you are enjoying IFC's six part, six night event this week, saluting the greatest comedy influence of the late 20th century, Britain's Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Please visit IFC's website for all the schedule particulars, but don't expect to be able to watch any of the clips if you are anywhere but in the U.S. of A. There's some powerful and tremendously rude IP geoblocking going on there. Horrible and so uninviting, IFC!!!

The new documentary and the ensuing Python reunion event earlier this month in New York are good news for Python fans everywhere! I fondly remember going to see them live at the Hollywood Bowl, and if you also hold them in high esteem, you will love the doc!

BBC America Going Python on This Memorial Day

I believe if I had to distill down my most important TV influences to only two, it would have to be Star Trek and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Trek -- because it's just the best -- and Monty Python because to me it's just the funniest. Python embraces the absurd, celebrates eccentricity, and was a great place to begin exploring the brilliant British comedic point of view, which really is different than ours. I can't imagine not having that subversive influence around me, and finally BBC America is coming back to its roots a bit and bringing MPFC back to the air.

Weekly, starting this coming Friday, they will be running new digitally-enhanced versions of the show, with two episodes at 8p and 8:40pm (with later repeats), and more encores on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings. To get us in the mood, they're running 15 episodes from 9am until 7pm tomorrow, Memorial Day Monday. You can take a look at the BBC America website for an episode schedule but trust me the line-up listed for tomorrow has very weird ep numbers which don't necessarily correspond to anything. (Ep info seems to be back on track for the subsequent airings). I recommend just settling in and watching the whole darn marathon; it'll all be good, of course.

If you're a Python fan you probably have your favorite fella, possibly informed a bit by what they've done in the years since the show. Palin seems incredibly sweet after all his good-natured travel adventure shows, Cleese rather curmudgeonly but then we don't mind our Brits to be a little snarky (Simon Cowell, anyone?), Jones is
similarly kind and an intellectual seeker, and Idle seems to be the Brit version of John Waters in his ability to bring a cult movie to musical theater success. Poor Graham Chapman is no longer with us, but what a hilarious presence he is in MPFC. After watching and re-watching Python all my adult life, I truly can't pick a favorite anymore. I love them all.

Anyway, they're back on BBC America! There are a lot of great Python segments on YouTube -- how to pick just one to highlight here...tough! After much deliberation I've decided to go with the delightful "Vocational Guidance Counselor" skit starring John Cleese and Michael Palin. Enjoy!