Television Actors Who Sing

Every time I write about music here at The Ugly Bug Ball, I feel insecure.  I’ll confess to anyone who will listen that music is practically a foreign language to me.  You’ve been warned before, but here we go again!

I collect music performed by television actors.  I don’t do it on purpose.  It just sort of happens, but there’s no disputing the evidence.  It’s sitting right there on my shelf, a testament to either blind faith or questionable taste.   I have been happily surprised by some of albums I’ve purchased, disappointed by others.  Here’s a sample.

I’ve shared my affection for The Partridge Family in an earlier post.  This was the first album in my collection.  I usually start with a greatest hits compilation, and if I like it, I will then seek out other albums. I got this CD in 1990, and now it’s on my mp3 player.  I have most of The Partridge Family LP records, and I like to play them when I’m doing housework.  There’s nothing like a little bubblegum pop to make the work more fun.

I got this CD a few years back when Leif Garrett was in the news for his various problems with drugs.  I didn’t listen to his music in the 70s, unless he was performing a song as a guest star on a television series I happened to be watching.  My interest as a fan came earlier in his career, when he starred in a very short-lived 1975 series called Three For The Road.  It also starred Vincent Van Patten and Alex Rocco.  I was devastated when it was cancelled.  Some of the songs on this album aren’t awful, but there’s too much disco for me to listen regularly.

When Daniel Boone was finally released on DVD, Ed Ames quickly emerged as my favorite actor on the series.  I was curious about his recording career, so I bought this collection.  It’s now one of my favorites.  What a voice!

I’ve watched every episode of Starsky & Hutch on DVD, and I still tune in on RetroTV when there is only reality TV on the other channels.  David Soul’s Don’t Give Up On Us (Baby) was impossible to avoid in the 70s.  I hadn’t heard most of the other songs on this collection.  Some of them I like, some of them I don’t.  With mp3s, you can pick and choose when you add them to your computer and mp3 player.  That’s what I’ve done with this album.

I’ve been a fan of Sal Mineo since I was in junior high.  He is better known for his movie roles, but he did make many television appearances.  I didn’t know until recently that he had some recordings as a singer.  I have to confess, this is the least played album in my collection.  I don’t know if it’s me or the recordings, but I can’t recommend Sal the Singer.

We’re finally into the 21st century!  Last year, I started watching General Hospital to see Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer.  I also started listening to his indie band, Enation.  World in Flight is still my favorite album by these guys.  It seems that every album they release is very different from the one before, making it hard to describe them with any accuracy.  I can recommend this one, and my favorite songs are still Everything is Possible and Permission to Dream.

And now we’re back to the early sixties.  There’s no hiding my current obsession!  Since getting into The Rifleman, I’ve been exploring the recordings of Johnny Crawford.  It took me a couple of listens to get used to the style from this era.  Now I’m hooked.  My favorite song is probably The Girl Next Door.

To stay current with Johnny Crawford, I have to go back to an even earlier era.  These days, the Johnny Crawford Dance Orchestra is based in Los Angeles, playing mostly at private functions and Hollywood events.  The music is vintage arrangements from the 20s and 30s.  This album (the only orchestra one so far) is available through Amazon, CD Baby, and iTunes.  I wasn’t sure I would like this as much as his teen recordings from the sixties, but I’m really enjoying these tunes, especially the title track.

So, that’s a little glimpse at my music collection.  Tell me about yours!  Got any television actors that I missed?

Retro TV

Last month, I stumbled across KCNS channel 38, a local San Francisco TV station that broadcasts Retro TV.  The timing couldn’t be better.  Just as summer re-runs begin, I get to enjoy TV shows from the 60s, 70s and 80s.  Some of these series I watched growing up, like Daniel Boone and Starsky & Hutch.  Others are old enough to be completely new to me, like Naked City and Route 66.  I love watching these programs, then going online to look up the actors.

I guess Retro TV rotates their programming every now and again.  I wish I knew exactly when.  Just as I was settling into a groove with one set of shows, getting the schedule memorized, everything changed.  I don’t know if this will happen every month or every six months.  The Retro TV website doesn’t say.  Since the latest set includes Daniel Boone, I can’t complain too much.  I can’t even begin describe how much I love this show.  I’ve seen every episode on DVD, because a few years ago Fess Parker started releasing them season by season.  As much as I adore Fess as Daniel, I think Ed Ames (Mingo) is my favorite.  Growing up, naturally I liked Darby Hinton (Israel Boone) the best.   Fess Parker passed away recently, as did Jimmy Dean, who went from a frequent guest star to a series regular when Ed Ames left to pursue his singing career.  Ed Ames just turned 84 last Saturday (July 9th), so happy belated birthday, Mr Ames.  I have his greatest hits on mp3 player, and I listen to them all the time.  He’s just the best.

A couple of years ago I had a marathon viewing of Starsky & Hutch on DVD.  I know Starsky was the funny guy, but I always liked the blonde.  This series was about guns and hot cars, but what made it special was the caring relationship between the two leads.  There are certain episodes that stand out.  There’s the one where Starsky is shot in an Italian restaurant by hit men waiting for a mob boss, and Hutch takes care of him.  There’s also the one where Hutch is abducted and turned into a heroin addict.  Starsky helps him through his withdrawal.  The physical contact shared by these two straight characters is remarkable when you consider the show was made in the late 1970s.  Actually, straight male characters don’t really touch now.   Not that much has changed.  Anyway, both Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul went through very difficult times after Starsky & Hutch ended.  I’m still fascinated by these two actors.  Yeah, I have The Best of David Soul on CD, and I just put the songs on my mp3 player.  (Don’t Give Up on Us, Baby!)

One of the few shows on Retro TV that’s not that old is Da Vinci’s Inquest.  This Canadian show really sneaks up on you, sucking you in.  I have to confess, I turn on my TV’s captions when watching, because the actors talk fast and mumble a bit. I really like Ian Tracey, so I guess he’s the reason I keep tuning in.  I remember the first time I noticed him, he was a guest star on The X-Files (season 3: The Walk).  Of course, he was hard to miss, playing a soldier with no arms or legs, a brilliant display of special effects wizardry coupled with a standout performance.  According to IMDb, Tracey appeared on 21 Jump Street years before.  I loved that show because of Johnny Depp.   Now there’s a series that should be on Retro TV!  You can watch all of it on hulu, at least.  Of course, 21 Jump Street was not an original concept, with young-looking cops going undercover in high schools.  There was David Cassidy: Man Undercover, which was a spin-off of an episode of Police Story (also shown on Retro TV).  Before Man Undercover, there was The Mod Squad, another series that I adore.

Some of the shows from the last schedule provided me with lots of happy googling.  I was surprised to learn that Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H and Dragnet) is 96 and still with us, while Pete Duel (Alias Smith and Jones) committed suicide at the age of 31.  Watching Dragnet last month, I spotted a very young John Rubinstein (Family and Crazy Like a Fox).  The episode was called The Grenade, and it was his first TV role.   I worked with Mr. Rubinstein at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1985, and I have such good memories from that experience.  John Rubinstein is still really busy working in theatre and television.  He’s looking great, too.

The strangest thing about Retro TV’s programming?  The predominance of all male casts.  Women are almost as rare as hen’s teeth.  Sure, there are female guest stars, but very few women in regular recurring roles on these shows.  I don’t know why.  It’s a mystery!

Update:  I wrote an email to the Retro TV website, but they haven’t answered, and now the website has been down for a couple of weeks.  Very strange.

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Speaking of old TV shows and female performers, a couple of nights ago I went to I Dream of Barbara Eden as the Castro Theatre.  It was a rather odd show consisting of belly dancers, film clips, a Jeannie look-alike contest, and an onstage chat with Barbara Eden.  She looks great, and she seems  like a very nice lady.  Most of the memories and anecdotes she shared were positive; Elvis Presley was a gentleman, Lucille Ball was lovely and down to earth, Marilyn Monroe just glowed.  She did say that Ann Southern was mean.  She also told us that Larry Hagman could act childishly when he felt threatened by the male guest stars on I Dream of Jeannie.  I think I will have to read more in Barbara Eden’s new book.

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Last week I read the book Brady, Brady, Brady by creator Sherwood Schwartz and his son Lloyd Schwartz, who went from dialogue coach to producer and director of the show.  It was an entertaining behind-the-scenes book about The Brady Bunch.  I was shocked to find out that Sherwood Schwartz died today.   He was 94.  He had a good long life, and he certainly made us laugh.  Thank you, Mr. Schwartz.

The Tony Awards 2010

Watching the 64th Annual Tony Awards last night, I felt my usual sense of longing, since I used to dream of accepting my own Tony Award.  One of these days, I need to sit down and write a brilliant play that will take Broadway by storm. In the meantime, here are my impressions of this year’s broadcast. Please note: I avoided reading any other press about the Awards before writing this, so I wouldn’t be influenced by other opinions. I’m really taking this blog thing seriously!

Overall, I found the Tony Awards too Hollywoodized. Just because the broadcast has never had the popularity or the ratings of the Academy Awards, there is an ongoing practice of padding the presenters and audience with “movie stars.” It’s so sad to see all the talented Broadway actors shoved in the back rows so more recognizable movie stars can hog all the reaction shots. Granted, this year saw an especially large number of movie actors appearing in Broadway roles. I was suspicious of the number of movie stars who ended up being nominated for Tonys and then dismayed at how many ended up winning.

I thought Sean Hayes made a good host, and I particularly liked his Billy Elliot costume. His knees in the Annie costume, on the other hand, were downright scary.

I didn’t see Scarlett Johansson in her Broadway debut, but her acceptance speech was pretty terrible. It can’t be easy going first, and she could have learned a valuable lesson from Viola Davis, whose acceptance speech was moving and inspiring. I liked how both Viola Davis and Denzel Washington weren’t afraid to mention God in their speeches.

The weirdest team of presenters was Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Holmes. How tall is that woman?? Radcliffe looked so tiny next to her. ( Imdb.com lists Radcliffe as 5’8″ and Holmes as 5’9″)  I was very surprised to learn that Radcliffe will be playing the lead in the upcoming revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The role will really be a stretch, since the character of Finch is brash, hyper-confident, charismatic and quintessentially American. Oh, and it’s a musical. I’m not saying Radcliffe can’t pull it off, and I have to admire him for taking risks.

Eddie Redmayne won the Tony for featured actor in a play, for his performance in Red, which went on to win best director and best new play. Redmayne was very sweet accepting his award and also strangely sweaty. His director Michael Grandage gave his speech directly to the award in his hand, barely glancing at the audience. Perhaps he’s shy! Anyway, I was very pleased that women were nominated in both directing categories, for best play and for best musical.

Technical difficulties marred the acceptance speech of Katie Finneran for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, when the caption across the screen named the wrong actress. Eventually they flashed the correct name.

The award for most stunning has to go to Helen Mirren. I thought she looked marvelous. Angela Lansbury was lovely too, and I’m so pleased about her new honorary position with American Theatre Wing. Jada Pinkett Smith gets my award for shiniest skin. She looked positively oiled.

Catherine Zeta-Jones performed Send in the Clowns from Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, and it was distinctly odd. I’m no judge of singing, so I can’t comment on that aspect of the performance. What I found strange was all her snappy head swings during the song. The entire song was delivered sitting on a bed, and I was seriously distracted by her head twisting left and right. Her acceptance speech later, when she won Best Actress in a Musical for the performance, was also odd but kind of endearing, though I can’t help wondering if her “shock” at winning wasn’t also a performance.

The “In Memoriam” section of Awards shows always make me cry, and this time was no exception. I was particularly moved by Lena Horne and the last Ziegfeld Follies girl.

During every single commercial break, for two and a half hours, the announcer promised Glee‘s Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele were coming up next. It was such an obvious ploy to get young viewers to stay tuned in. Then when they finally appeared, it was pointless filler which belonged earlier on in the program.

I live on the west coast, so by the time I watch the Tonys, they’ve been recorded from an earlier broadcast. This would explain, I suppose, how they were able to bleep out the four-letter words in the American Idiot musical number. It was after 10:30pm by then, but I guess they have to protect those young people who make up most of American Idiot‘s target audience. Or maybe it was the old folks they were trying not to offend. Anyway, I was pleased that Memphis won for best musical, even though I haven’t even seen it yet. As the night progressed, it seemed like the obvious popular choice. Of the nominated musicals, I’ve only seen American Idiot, and it wasn’t strong enough to deserve the Tony.

So now I have a new list of plays and musicals to see, and I hold out hope that next year I will see more Broadway faces in the front rows of the Tony Awards, favorites like Sutton Foster and her brother Hunter, Christian Hoff, and Casey Nicholaw.

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I woke up to the sad news that Jimmy Dean passed away. As a huge fan of the Daniel Boone TV series, I was deeply affected by Fess Parker’s death only a few months ago, and now we’ve lost another cast member. Jimmy Dean became Boone’s sidekick on the TV show after Ed Ames left to pursue his singing career. In the memorable final episode of the series, Jimmy Dean adopts feisty little Jodie Foster. My condolences to Mr Dean’s family.