From Where I Sit

The Goof and the Gomer

    I watched much of the coverage yesterday morning of the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. As a somewhat cynical person, certainly when it comes to politics, I don't often get a real patriotic feeling when watching our government in action. However, funerals of former presidents, as well as Inaguaration Days, do make me feel rather proud of our system. The fact that men and women who have, through the years, often been at odds with each other on certain issues can all come together to pay their respects in a civil and dignified manner says something positive about our system. The same goes for the transfer of power in our government. No matter how bitter and ugly a Presidential campaign can get, the transfer of power from one leader and administration to another is always peaceful and civil. That could be seen as hypocritical or it can be seen as an orderly system of rules and laws that is respected by all sides, winners and losers.

    I thought that , generally, all the eulogies were quite good. Bush 41 was admiring of his former mentor and  successfully injected some humor into the proceedings. Henry Kissinger was Henry Kissinger but, at times, seemed dangerously close to getting downright emotional. Tom Brokaw was a man who was on camera in front of millions of people for decades so I expected good things from him. The guy who continues to surprise me is George W. Bush, or Bush 43. This guy seems totally incapable of even "acting" dignified or Presidential. We know he's not too bright, we know he's arrogant despite his lack of enlightenment, but doesn't he know by now how bored he always looks at these very official and/or solemn occasions? Hasn't someone said, "Mr. President, you can't look like you don't give a damn today. You really need to at least act concerned, act remorseful, act respectful." I must admit, as cynical as I am, I still can't get over how either clueless George W. Bush is or how little he cares what the American people think.

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     On a lighter note, my sons and I have been watching DVDs of the first season of Gomer Pyle starring Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton. I'm a little surprised at how funny it is although I shouldn't be. Remember, it was made by most of the same people involved with The Andy Griffith Show such as Sheldon Leonard, Aaron Ruben, Ron Jacobs, and used many of the same Andy Griffith Show writers like Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, Art Baer and Ben Joelson, and Harvey Bullock. There were even a couple of episodes written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson. I'm almost positive that Marshall & Belson did not write any Andy Griffith Show  episodes but they did write a good number of episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I think eighteen in all. The shows that were filmed on that Desilu lot under the watchful eye of Sheldon Leonard, with the cooperation of Danny Thomas, during those golden years served as the equivalent to college courses for dozens of writers, actors, producers, and directors that would work in television comedy for the remainder of the 20th century. Thank heavens that DVDs are making so many of these shows available again for all to watch and enjoy.

     And one more scary observation (I'm not kidding you this time, kids) - the worst of the shows from the 1960s or 1970s are better than about 85% of what's on TV today. Seriously.

Don Knotts: What A Character!

    Don Knotts, the actor who portrayed "Reliable Barney Fife" on TV's classic Andy Griffith Show, died Friday at the age of 81.

    I have been a devoted fan of The Andy Griffith Show for well over 30 years. I was only four years old when the show ended its initial run in 1968 but, like most of the world, I've enjoyed the show in reruns ever since. Like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and a few other television classics, The Andy Griffith Show has been running in syndication non-stop for almost four decades. One of the reasons for its phenomenal success is due to the strength of its characters, and none was as durable as Knotts' Barney Fife.

    Barney Fife was a blowhard, a reactionary, a high-strung alarmist and yet, you couldn't help but love him. He wanted to be big, really big despite the fact, or perhaps because of the fact, that physically he weighed just slightly more than a mosquito. Who knows what might have become of Barney Fife if it hadn't been for his cousin-turned-best-friend Andy Taylor. Andy was always figuring out ways to heal Barney's bruised ego or build up his confidence. While Barney may have been weak and jittery, he really wasn't a coward.      

    I have every Andy Griffith Show boxed DVD set that is available with the exception of Season 5 which should arrive this week. My kids, ages 11, 8, and 5, all enjoy watching the show with me which I think also speaks to its durability and timeless humor. Just tonight, in honor of Don Knotts, we watched two episodes from Season 3. In "High Noon in Mayberry," Andy receives word from an ex-con who he shot and jailed years earlier that he's coming to Mayberry. Barney assumes he's coming for revenge and urges Andy to be prepared. Andy tells Barney not to worry but out of concern for his friend and mentor, he deputizes Gomer and Otis so the three of them together can keep an around-the-clock surveillance on Andy. Even when the ex-con arrives carrying a gun, Barney does not run. In fact, he busts into the house to save his friend. Of course, he bungles everything but he does not run.

    Last week, the kids and I watched one of my all time favorite episodes featuring Barney "Nip It In The Bud" Fife. The episode, entitled "Lawman Barney," concerns two farmers who come to Mayberry and sell their fruits and vegetables on the street without a permit. Barney tries to run them off but being twice his size and two against one, they intimidate him and he runs. Andy finds out, scares the peddlers by telling them that Barney's a killer and then sends Barney back to run them off. This time the peddlers flee at the site of Barney and Deputy Fife has his confidence restored. Unfortunately, Andy didn't count on the soda pop gang at Wally's filling station blowing his plan. Floyd and the boys inadvertently spill the beans that Barney couldn't hurt a flea. Once the farmers learn the truth they go back to peddling and tell Floyd to let Barney know. Barney and Andy return to the scene but before they reach the farmers, Barney asks Andy to get out of the car. Andy told Barney that his badge was all he needed to run them fellers out because that's what gives him his authority - the law. Barney goes back and stands up to these two bullys and although they try to intimidate him again, he calls their bluff and refuses to back down or run. This time, seeing that he is not intimidated, they back down and begin to pack up their wares. I love this episode because unlike so many others where Andy "bails out" Barney to save his reputation or self-confidence, this was a case where Barney really faced his fears and did it on his own. I've always loved this episode because it allows Barney dignity and self-respect that he truly earns.

    When I first heard the news this morning about Don Knotts, I told my daughter "Barney Fife died." I realized after watching some of the shows tonight that I couldn't have been more wrong. That's the beauty of television and film. Barney Fife will never die - he'll lives forever. If you want him you can find him at the courthouse in everybody's hometown of Mayberry, North Carolina.

Cavett DVD Fabulous!!

    I haven't posted for a few days for one good reason and one very good reason. The good reason is I have a FRA NOI article deadline rapidly approaching Monday morning and I've been working on an article about Italian American female vocalists. The other very good reason is I've been spending all my other free time watching my new DVD set of "The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends."

    You know how sometimes you're looking so forward to something that when it finally arrives, it ultimately disappoints you? Not so, in this case. I had first spotted "The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends" announcement on Amazon months ago. You see, I had been wondering for awhile why Cavett, or whoever controls these shows, was waiting to release a compilation with some of the comedy greats that I knew he had interviewed over the years? After all, what the hell do I care about Rock Icons? Niente! That's what.  Anyway, it would appear from this set that Cavett exerts at least some level of control over the product and now that it's finally out I'm not complaining.

    Cavett deserves our thanks, not only for giving us time with some of the legends of comedy like Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, George Burns, Woody Allen, Lucille Ball, and Mel Brooks, but also for doing it right. Most of the time we see a product like this, it's nothing more than a compilation of clips and highlights from a number of different shows over many years time. That's all well and good. Quite often those shows are very entertaining. However, I've always longed to see entire shows without having the compilers take out what they considered boring. I want real time-capsule type stuff and finally someone has done it. "The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends" presents full shows from roughly the time period of 1968 to 1974. Some are quite funny and some are not. BUT, all are fascinating!

    Now to be perfectly honest, I haven't seen all the shows yet. There are 12 full shows plus some very good bonus material included in this set. Thus far, I have seen all of Disc One which has three full shows: Show One - all Groucho Marx; Show Two - Woody Allen, Ruth Gordon, and walk on by Gina Lollabrigida; Show Three - all Bob Hope. The bonus features of Disc One include a half hour show of clips including Groucho, Woody, and Hope but also with some priceless footage of (the recently departed) Pat McCormick, a wonderful comic and comedy writer, and Jack Burns, of Burns & Schreiber fame. There is also a piece where Cavett is interviewed about these shows and an alternate opening filmed for the Groucho Marx episode. The only disappointment on Disc One is the Hope program. For whatever reason, Hope is too subdued.

    Disc Two includes a full 90 minutes with Woody Allen from October of 1971 which is very, very good. The second show features Mel Brooks, one of my all-time favorites. He does the schtick you'd want and expect like the 2000 year old man, as well as a treat of him imitating Frank Sinatra singing "America the Beautiful" as though he were in a Las Vegas lounge. Remember, this is about seven years before Brooks made "High Anxiety" and would do the classic Sinatra take-off on the film's title song.

    I'd like to rave more about this set but I want to try to watch the rest of Disc Two tonight before I wander off to dreamland. The next show up is from November 1971 with a pre-Heathcliff Huxtable version of Bill Cosby. Bonus features for this disc include an outtake segment from the Woody Allen episode and an interview from 1968 with Joanne Carson, Johnny Carson's wife at the time.

    If you want to buy this set from Amazon, as I did, you can click on the "Dick Cavett: Comic Legends" link in the left column of this site. My zen/web master Jason tells me that if you do so, Amazon will compensate me in some minor way that may eventually help me pay for the site. It all sounds like voodoo to me but then I'm still amazed and impressed by Still Photography.

    I'm off to the year 1971. Good night all you moderns stuck in '06.