There are a couple missing – I just could not find adequate images for them – they are so obscure, and I need the images to make this complete. I’ll keep searching.
Collage of Influence
I literally have no words about Andrea McArdle … and how much she means to me. I have never seen her perform – but I had the Annie album … and it was one of the most influential presents I was ever given. She was MY AGE – or thereabouts. And … LOOK AT WHAT SHE WAS DOING. Hugely inspirational.
I can’t speak. All I can say is I loved him.
Not as sexy as the Fonz … but hahahahahahaha I loved this show. LOOK AT HIS FACE. heh heh heh Laughing!! I was a bit young for it – I hadn’t hit puberty yet – so it was a little bit squishy-ikky-teenagery for me … but I loved him.
This is how I prefer to remember Jack Wild. God bless him. What a great little performance he gave. It totally transported me.
I look at this image below and I pretty much see my whole childhood. Loved his voice, his twinkly eyes … I seem to recall a Prince and the Pauper they did which blew me away. I loved stories about orphans, paupers, little ragamuffins, parent-less survivors … (you can probably see that theme in this entire collage – from The Fonz to Dodger.)
More orphans. GREAT TV movie. Jill Eikenberry – although at the time she was just Emma Symms to me. I had no idea who she was as an actress – but she WAS that character to me!
Sunday nights. The excitement of seeing Tinkerbell swoop by … and touch the tip of the castle with her wand … knowing that some GREAT show was going to follow … beyond compare. So many memories.
Ahem. Anyone know who this is? I was obsessed with him when I was … 7. He was my whole life.
Of course. My mom made me a bonnet that I could wear to school. I was a geek. But we all were. Little House was very very big at that time. I always related to Laura, the wild independent one. Look at Michael Landon’s hair! HAHAHAHAHAHA
LOVE HIM.
Oh my god. Anyone remember this movie? SO ridiculous!! I adored it. Even though the mother did wear a patchwork skirt that I felt a little embarrassed about. I still remember the little girl hiding from the grizzly. Timothy Treadwell has now taught us that that scene was TOTALLY unrealistic … but still. It was very effective when I was 8 years old, and about the age of the girl hiding from the grizzly. LOVED this movie.
After-school special that just CRACKED my HEART. Life-altering. Truly life-altering. About a kid (Lance Kerwin, yet again) being bullied at school by this big monster kid Marv Hammerman. The ending was killer. Did anyone else see this movie?? It was great.
Terrifying movie about Polygamy. Big Love can suck it with its nice bourgeois version of a misogynistic bullshit practice. Am I supposed to care about the second wife’s credit card problems when SHE IS A SECOND WIFE??? Babe, you got bigger issues than debt, sorry.
Anyhoo. Child Bride of FShort Creek. Was it as good as I remember it? I have no idea. Haven’t seen it since. Diane Lane. Helen Hunt. Conrad Bain. I had NO business watching this movie. I must have been babysitting or something. It freaked me OUT. Also – because Mr. Drummond – MR. DRUMMOND – played the evil polygamist leader who married Helen Hunt – and broke her spirit! MR. DRUMMOND!!! Like I said – I had no business seeing that movie.
And of course, as we have discussed today:
Even just seeing their faces give me a thrill of memory. How much did I want to be Tia??
Oh, and please, let us not forget:
Marshall, Will and
I dressed like her. I had braids, a plaid shirt, jeans, and WALLABIES. Member those? I called them wallbies. Not hush puppies. She was my fashion guru. Which really shows you how insane I was back then.
So … with two exceptions (when I find good images, I’ll add them) – these were the “influences ” (outside of books and education) on me. These were rehearsals for myself. Rehearsals of obsession.
Then came Ralph Macchio in Eight is Enough – which I wrote about. Right as I hit puberty …
There was something different in that one … I was growing up. And because of that – I felt I needed to escape even MORE. I still feel that way, and I’ve been grown up a long time now. I deal with the real world as much as I can – but when it comes time to escape? I jump out of that plane without any parachute, man. Let’s just GO.
But all of this CHILDHOOD stuff (Tia, Laura Ingalls, Artful Dodger) was wiped away in one fell swoop …
by the following …
No longer was I interested in bowl-cut Lance Kerwin, struggling with his voice changing, and school bullies. No longer was I interested in the problems of … er …. polygamist child-brides. Ahem.
Han Solo was a MAN.
I sat there watching that damn scene (at a drive-in, no less – crammed in a car with all of my cousins) – and felt like:
Okay. Lance Kerwin is my PAST. HAN SOLO is the future.
Man, I missed that discussion about your grade-school days. I really need to keep up.
My hometown as adopted Marion Ross as its “mascot” and she’s visited several times. She swoops into our little midwestern town, my mom says, like a true diva with the mink coat and limo — the whole nine yards — but that she’s very very nice. As far as I know, though, no one has asked her the REAL question every has, “What happened to Chuck?”
(I had a metal Fonzie lunch box. Envy me.)
I love Marion Ross – she’s kind of under-rated. Or who knows, maybe she’s not – I just am always psyched when I see that she is still working.
A metal Fonzie lunchbox!! SO COOL!!
“Kimba, Kimba, Kimba the white lion is his name!”
yay!!!!!! Of COURSE you would know!!!
“Neither bird, nor plane, nor even frog…”
Isn’t there an Underdog movie coming out?
Oh, sure he was good as the Artful Dodger; but his best work has to be in H.R. Pufnstuf… I mean some of those scenes with Witchiepoo rival those between Stanley and Blanche
Marion Ross was terrific on Gilmore Girls.
Speaking of metal lunch boxes, I currently own a Star Wars metal lunch box (with Thermos!). The one I had back in 1st grade was destroyed by repeatedly bashing it over the head of a 5th grade bully. Picture Ralphie in A Christmas Story when he finally snapped. Just like Ralphie I left the encounter crying. I mean, I’d just destroyed my Star Wars lunch box!
Scott – wow! It’s just like that Lance Kerwin afterschool special about the bully!!
Good for you for beating up the bully! Sorry about the lunchbox though.
There is indeed an Underdog movie in the works, with Jason Lee providing the voice of Shoeshine Boy.
Ah, the magic of Disney! I think something of the thrill of certain shows has been lost, now that there’s 800 channels and 1000s of shows.
Kimba! I was a Speed Racer guy myself though.
And I will not speak of my crush on Tia…
I cannot tell you how much it warms my heart that so many of you remember Kimba.
Dan – PLEASE speak of your crush on Tia. hahahahaha
OH MY GOD!!! i just realized I forgot one of the most important ones – I downloaded an image for it and everything. Check back for an update!
I know! I am such a dork!!
Dan –
Okay, I put up the missing photo. The “lost” photo, if you will.
Back to business; I so agree with you about the Disney excitement coming out of the fact that there weren’t a ton of choices. Uhm – there were NO other choices.
But it was SO exciting and something to really look forward to!
Simply put, I thought Tia was the bomb-diggedy. I remember beign teased for it.
Land of the Lost may qualify as the scariest show of my childhood. The Sleestaks always sent me scurrying behind the couch.
Absolute terror.
Is there any evolutionary evidence for SLEESTAKS? I mean … wtf???
Oh, sure, y’all are afraid of the Sleestaks, but not creeped out by a boy king that sleeps on the skin of his father?!
Sicko’s!
And while I’m at it… WTF is a “routine expedition” … I mean, this smacks of government or trust fund waste, an expedition should never be “routine”: if Marshall, Will and Holly want to ride the rapids, do it on their own dime rather than call it an “expedition”!
But … but … what ARE Sleestaks?
I’m okay with the creepy boy king because I know what creepy is, I know what a boy is, and I know what a king is.
but sleestaks???
All I can do is just RUN. The other way!
hahahahahahaha JFH gettin’ all bitter about the Land of the Lost theme song … hahahaha I LOVE IT.
My most vivid Saturday morning memories revolve around Land of the Lost, Superfriends, Shazam!, and Isis (actress Joanna Cameron). Although my feelings for Isis were more tingly. I wished I were Captain Marvel so I could hook up with her. O Mighty Isis, indeed. Mighty FINE.
As long as I’m ranting, James at 15 ruined it for all of us blonde boys that were 15 at the time. We couldn’t measure up to the angst of Hollywood writers… We just wanted to make out with chicks.
Obviously Lance couldn’t live up to it either. He ended up doing a U-Turn for Christ and never looked back.
What is my problem.
‘Lance Kerwin is my PAST. HAN SOLO is the future.’
LOVED this line. loved Han Solo ever since i first saw him!
Ha!
I never watched James, except for the long-rumored episode when he was supposed to get his freak on with Melissa Gilbert. Snuck v e r y carefully into the living room, listened for Mom and Dad, flipped the channel whenever they walked past…
…caught about five minutes of the episode.
Masterpiece Theatre with Alistair Cooke – I’m going to have to write something about that myself. I may have been the only 12 year old dork in the world to get addicted to Upstairs Downstairs…
Wallabies! Oh, my God! How I PINED for wallabies!
I didn’t ever have any — for some reason my mom wouldn’t let me. This should not have surprised me, actually. I mean, this was the woman who put freakin’ washcloths on my feet when I was 5 to STOP ME from running around barefoot! Um, WHA??
But then, you’d think she’d have gone for the Wallabies. A lot sturdier than those washcloths.
Han Solo is not just a man – he is the feckin’ MAN. (I owe Sheila six cents for “feckin’.” Oop – make that twelve, now.)
To make up for it, for the time being –
When criminals in this world appear
And break the laws that they should fear
And frighten all who see and hear
The cry goes out from far and near for Underdog!
Underdog!
Speed of lightning, roar of thunder
Fighting all who rob and plunder
Underdog!
Underdog!
When in this world the headlines read
Of those whose hearts are filled with greed
Who rob and steal from those in need
To right this wrong with blinding speed comes Underdog!
Underdog!
Speed of lightning, roar of thunder
Fighting all who rob and plunder
Underdog!
Underdog!
Hells yes, from memory.
tracey – hahahahaha wha????
wallabies rule. I felt SO cool and Holly-ish when I wore them.
mitch – Upstairs Downstairs was amazing.
I loved Flame Trees of Thika with the scrumptious Hayley Mills … and I have a vague memory of Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes being a Masterpiece Theatre production – but I can’t find it on their website archives. So maybe it wasn’t Masterpiece Theatre – that’s one of the missing links in this post – the TV movie of Ballet Shoes, based on Noel Streatfield’s book. MAGICAL.
Also – I thought they did Prince and the Pauper – but again, I can’t find that one on the archives, either. But I was SURE that was Masterpiece Theatre!
Regardless: great show.
Alistair Cooke. Classy dude. Come to find out much later – he was a good friend of Cary Grant’s (another ex-pat here) – and another America-lover – like Grant. When Grant died, he wrote one of the most elegant and beautiful articles about him, and who he was.
Nobody like Alistair Cooke!! Didn’t he always just look so friendly, and nice?
Nightfly – bravo!!!
Oh, and the Solo/Leia pic reminds me of a debate I had with my aunt, that Harrison Ford was one of our greatest actors. She opposed the notion, but really – who else could have been Han AND Indy? Look at the screen tests of Kurt Russell (great as he is) or Jeff Bridges doing Han’s lines…. they’re good, but they’re not HAN.
Then there’s Blade Runner, Regarding Henry, the Fugitive, Mosquito Coast, even the Sabrina remake…
What say you all?
No Witness???
It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s always in my top 5 – along with Empire, come to think it.
Great GREAT performance by him – and why I think he is one of our best actors.
Even in dumb movies (or obvious movies) I think he’s great to watch. Like watch the moment when he begs for his family’s life on board the airplane in the stupid Air Force One – it’s truly amazing how available he is to the camera. Wonderful actor. I love him.
I need to do a great big Witness post, come to think of it.
Witness, aw poop! Knew I’d forgotten a good one. Or even Force Ten From Navarrone. Too busy memorizing cartoon songs, I suppose. =)
For example – here (to my taste) is why he is so powerful:
I have seen Witness probably 50 times. I have memorized it shot by shot. But the scene in the police station when little Lukas Haas identifies Danny Glover in the photo in the trophy case – ALWAYS gives me goosebumps and as a matter of fact I have goosebumps writing about it right now.
Harrison Ford is across the room, on the phone, busy, we just see him in glances … then slowly – he realizes that the little Amish kid is looking at something …
Oh man. GOOSEBUMPS.
THAT is staying power as an actor – when you can see a moment like that 50 times and still be moved by it.
Someday, Sheila, SOMEDAY — I WILL WEAR WALLABIES!
I loved Force 10 from Navarone!
“Underdog” is being filmed in Providence. In the end of April, Tom’s psycho-boss (said in the nicest of ways) had him driving downtown like a mad man looking frantically for a FedEx box to mail off something that should have been sent out last century. He was getting directions from her on his cell phone, “No? Not on the corner of such and such? Well try here…Not there either??” And every street he tried was blocked off! If you know anything about Providence, most of the streets are all one way streets anyhow. So he was getting more and more lost, and she was getting more and more frantic until finally he found a FED EX DRIVER and he jumps out of his car and just shoves it into the drivers hand and begs the woman to take it! When he tells me this story later on that night, I calmly tell him, “Oh, yeah, they were filming “Underdog” downtown today, so they closed off a bunch of streets.” He almost clocked me. So, if you see a little green Honda Element whizzing back and forth in the movie, with a man on a cell phone, it’s just my husband looking for a FedEx box.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Red,
Did you ever see Cooke’s epic documentary miniseries “America?” It was like a 25 part documentary about…America. From the perspective of a Brit who loved and was perplexed and fascinated by the place. I need to find it on vid someday. Amazing show from the late seventies.
couple comments…
1) I should know that white running animal… he looks REALLY familiar…. ugh.
2)UNDERDOG!
3) I wanted to be Tia too….
4) I didn’t like Little House on TV. (sorry…) I LOVED the books, but the show was too saccarine for me. And Nellie Olson drove me bonkers – I wanted to hit her. Hard.
5) Marion Ross… she’s from my hometown. And, she came to town one summer and did a fundraiser for the local community theater, and my mom got to be in a show with her! Somewhere, in my mom’s house, is a picture of her, and me, and Marion Ross… I remember her being as nice as she seemed on TV.
Love this! KIMBA THE WHITE LION!
What a show! Ran home after school every day for Kimba. There was a crazy baboon character too that had a remarkable red monkey butt that made us howl with laughter!
Underdog, the Fonz, and Han Solo of course all great favorites as well. But following Kimba on WLVI, Channel 56 on the UHF dial, was the immortal driver of the Mach 5, Speed Racer.
Wildnerness Family? Good Lord, what a memory!
I could sing that one from memory too, liam, but I will spare you my off-key typing.
liam – so far no one had commented on The Wilderness Family so I am very glad to see that someone else saw that movie!! hahahaha
So silly, but such a fantasy!
Kimba, Kimba … Apparently I was way more into Kimba than the other kids in my neighborhood – but being a bossy little girl I would FORCE everyone to play Kimba the White Lion. Of course I was Kimba. Of course.
Just so you know, Wallabies are back. My 12 year old HAD to have a pair. Feel free to wear them again!
But how much did you love Manly from Little House? I always remember the episode where he had some horrible fever and was dying, and they put him in a bathtub full of ice.
The guy’s name was Manly for god’s sake! How can you not love him?