Obscurity factor: 8
Anyone who loves 60's and early 70's bubblegum music should know about the Cattanooga Cats. This series followed the animated antics of the similarly named band as they traveled around singing their upbeat music. The series was made up of segments with the Cats, short musical interludes, something like music videos and segments featuring three other sets of characters - Around the World in 79 Days, It's the Wolf! (featuring Paul Lynde as Mildew) and Motormouse and Autocat. Originally an hour long, Saturday morning show, it was shortened to a half our in its second year and was cancelled in 1971. Casey Kasem, noted radio DJ voiced one of the cats in the speaking portion of the show. He didn't contribute his voice in the songs, however.
The Cats have developed something of a cult following, though the actual episodes can be hard to find. Many of the musical interludes can be found on YouTube. Above are the opening credits, uploaded by cartooncoon.
Obscurity factor: 8 (enjoys a small cult following, not on DVD, available on YouTube)
Showing posts with label Paul Lynde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Lynde. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Paul Lynde, Florence Henderson & Kiss in The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)
When it comes to wacky, you can't do much better than Paul Lynde. And he really out did himself in 1976 with this television special. It's one of those shows you just have to see to believe. The plot, if you can call it that, finds Paul on Halloween night with his maid (Margaret Hamilton) contemplating the holiday and how much it irks him. He discovers on this, of all nights, that his maid is actually a witch when she takes him to her sister's (Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf) castle. He promises to keep quiet about it if they grant him three wishes. This leads to sketches of Paul as a trucker, and a sheik. The last wish takes them to a disco, where Paul meets the band Kiss.
This series is wrong on so many levels, but reaches the heights of wrongness in the clip above featuring the whole cast (which also includes Roz "Pinky Tuscadero" Kelly, Betty White, Tim Conway, Billy Barty and Donny and Marie Osmond) dancing to Disco Baby (to the tune of Disco Lady). The clip was uploaded by frenchjr25. The special is now available on DVD and I highly recommend it for the wonderful train wreck it is.
Obscurity factor: 6 (on DVD, known in some circles as a camp classic, largely unknown by the general public)
This series is wrong on so many levels, but reaches the heights of wrongness in the clip above featuring the whole cast (which also includes Roz "Pinky Tuscadero" Kelly, Betty White, Tim Conway, Billy Barty and Donny and Marie Osmond) dancing to Disco Baby (to the tune of Disco Lady). The clip was uploaded by frenchjr25. The special is now available on DVD and I highly recommend it for the wonderful train wreck it is.
Obscurity factor: 6 (on DVD, known in some circles as a camp classic, largely unknown by the general public)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Paul Lynde & Alice Ghostly in Temperatures Rising (1972)
Obscurity factor: 9
This embattled sitcom had many plot and cast changes in its short two season run. It began with James Whitmore as the chief of surgery in a Washington DC hospital. When that didn't work, they brought in Paul Lynde and Sudie Bond and the setting became a private clinic owned by Bond and run by Lynde. For the last few episodes, it became a public hospital again and featured Lynde and Alice Ghostly as his sister, a nurse at the hospital. The only cast member to last the whole series was Cleavon Little. Part of the problem the series had was scheduling - it was up against the ratings powerhouse Maude. Another problem was that it didn't really fit in with the trend in television at the time. Several seasons earlier it might have had more success, but in the age of social consciousness comedies like All in the Family and Maude, this show seemed a trifle tone deaf.
Above is part one of the episode "Healer Man" which was from the last incarnation of the series featuring Ghostly. It was uploaded to YouTube by jknuttel.
Obscurity factor: 9 (very hard to find, not on DVD, available on YouTube)
This embattled sitcom had many plot and cast changes in its short two season run. It began with James Whitmore as the chief of surgery in a Washington DC hospital. When that didn't work, they brought in Paul Lynde and Sudie Bond and the setting became a private clinic owned by Bond and run by Lynde. For the last few episodes, it became a public hospital again and featured Lynde and Alice Ghostly as his sister, a nurse at the hospital. The only cast member to last the whole series was Cleavon Little. Part of the problem the series had was scheduling - it was up against the ratings powerhouse Maude. Another problem was that it didn't really fit in with the trend in television at the time. Several seasons earlier it might have had more success, but in the age of social consciousness comedies like All in the Family and Maude, this show seemed a trifle tone deaf.
Above is part one of the episode "Healer Man" which was from the last incarnation of the series featuring Ghostly. It was uploaded to YouTube by jknuttel.
Obscurity factor: 9 (very hard to find, not on DVD, available on YouTube)
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Paul Lynde & Mel Blanc in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969)
Obscurity factor: 5
Penelope Pitstop (Janet Waldo) is a fabulously wealthy heiress and race car driver. Her estate is administered by Sylvester Sneekly (Lynde) who, unbeknownst to her is also her arch nemesis The Hooded Claw. Each episode features Penelope being targeted by Sneekly with a series of dastardly traps and torments. Riding to her rescue are the Ant Hill Gang, a septet of pint sized gangster types and their heroic car, Chugaboom.
This animated series, based on the silent film series, The Perils of Pauline, was produced by Hanna/Barbara and lasted one season. There are 17 episodes. Above is part one of Jungle Jeopardy, in which we find Penelope at Sneekly's mercy on a tropical island. It's been uploaded by nayeem03. The complete series is available on DVD and several other episodes are also available on YouTube.
Obscurity factor: 5 (known to H.B. fans and animation buffs, otherwise largely forgotten, on DVD)
Penelope Pitstop (Janet Waldo) is a fabulously wealthy heiress and race car driver. Her estate is administered by Sylvester Sneekly (Lynde) who, unbeknownst to her is also her arch nemesis The Hooded Claw. Each episode features Penelope being targeted by Sneekly with a series of dastardly traps and torments. Riding to her rescue are the Ant Hill Gang, a septet of pint sized gangster types and their heroic car, Chugaboom.
This animated series, based on the silent film series, The Perils of Pauline, was produced by Hanna/Barbara and lasted one season. There are 17 episodes. Above is part one of Jungle Jeopardy, in which we find Penelope at Sneekly's mercy on a tropical island. It's been uploaded by nayeem03. The complete series is available on DVD and several other episodes are also available on YouTube.
Obscurity factor: 5 (known to H.B. fans and animation buffs, otherwise largely forgotten, on DVD)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Liza Minnelli & Mickey Rooney in Journey Back to Oz (1971)
Obscurity factor: 6
This official sequel to The Wizard of Oz (1939) has many casting connections to the original. Liza Minnelli plays Dorothy, reprising her mother's role. Margaret Hamilton is also in the film, but plays Aunt Em, rather than the Wicked Witch. Mickey Rooney - another tie to Judy Garland - plays the Scarecrow. Also in the cast are Milton Berle (Cowardly Lion), Paul Lynde (Pumpkinhead), Danny Thomas (The Tin Man) and Ethel Merman (as Mombi, cousin of the Wicked Witch). The story is roughly based on Baum's second book - The Marvelous Land of Oz and finds Dorothy delivered to Oz again by a cyclone. Once there she attempts to reach the Emerald City where the Scarecrow now reigns as king. Mombi, however has it in for her because of what she did to her cousin and tries to thwart her progress. Along the way she meets Pumpkinhead, who was conjured up by Mombi, but has since gone AWOL. Of course Mombi throws every obstacle she can think of in Dorothy's way - green elephants, murderous trees, confining furniture - can Dorothy and her allies thwart her evil plans?
This film was first released on Britain in 1971, then in the US in 1974. One can only imagine Minnelli's feelings about reprising a role that was so identified with her mother so soon after she had passed away. The Wizard is conspicuously absent from this story, however in the TV release in 1976, segments were introduced by The Wizard played in live action by Bill Cosby. Listen for Mel Blanc as Mombi's crow.
This film is available on DVD though is out of print, and can be difficult to find. It's also available on YouTube in its entirety, thanks to an upload by darthranerful. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.
Obscurity factor: 6 (on DVD & YouTube, remembered by small cadre of fans)
This official sequel to The Wizard of Oz (1939) has many casting connections to the original. Liza Minnelli plays Dorothy, reprising her mother's role. Margaret Hamilton is also in the film, but plays Aunt Em, rather than the Wicked Witch. Mickey Rooney - another tie to Judy Garland - plays the Scarecrow. Also in the cast are Milton Berle (Cowardly Lion), Paul Lynde (Pumpkinhead), Danny Thomas (The Tin Man) and Ethel Merman (as Mombi, cousin of the Wicked Witch). The story is roughly based on Baum's second book - The Marvelous Land of Oz and finds Dorothy delivered to Oz again by a cyclone. Once there she attempts to reach the Emerald City where the Scarecrow now reigns as king. Mombi, however has it in for her because of what she did to her cousin and tries to thwart her progress. Along the way she meets Pumpkinhead, who was conjured up by Mombi, but has since gone AWOL. Of course Mombi throws every obstacle she can think of in Dorothy's way - green elephants, murderous trees, confining furniture - can Dorothy and her allies thwart her evil plans?
This film was first released on Britain in 1971, then in the US in 1974. One can only imagine Minnelli's feelings about reprising a role that was so identified with her mother so soon after she had passed away. The Wizard is conspicuously absent from this story, however in the TV release in 1976, segments were introduced by The Wizard played in live action by Bill Cosby. Listen for Mel Blanc as Mombi's crow.
This film is available on DVD though is out of print, and can be difficult to find. It's also available on YouTube in its entirety, thanks to an upload by darthranerful. The poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.
Obscurity factor: 6 (on DVD & YouTube, remembered by small cadre of fans)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Paul Lynde in The Paul Lynde Show (1970)
Obscurity factor: 10
Coming off the enormous hit Bewitched William Asher produced this sitcom for Paul Lynde, who, of course, had the recurring role of Uncle Arthur on the aforementioned program. Paul played Paul Simms, the conservative father of two daughters, one recently married to a genius who has trouble functioning in the real world. This upper middle class take off on All in the Family made Lynde's character a lawyer and his daughter a college graduate.
The show features Paul Lynde's signature style of comedy and has strange ironic elements in it that make it more off the wall than most vintage sitcoms - most notably the casting of Paul as a conservative family man. Look for Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara in later episodes as Paul's inlaws.
This show is not available commercially on DVD, though I have seen listings for it on iOffer.com. Several episodes can be watched on YouTube. The one above is the first installment of the pilot, uploaded by OldWorldTelevision.
Obscurity factor: 10 (Known to Lynde fans but not many others, not on DVD, available on YouTube and iOffer)
Coming off the enormous hit Bewitched William Asher produced this sitcom for Paul Lynde, who, of course, had the recurring role of Uncle Arthur on the aforementioned program. Paul played Paul Simms, the conservative father of two daughters, one recently married to a genius who has trouble functioning in the real world. This upper middle class take off on All in the Family made Lynde's character a lawyer and his daughter a college graduate.
The show features Paul Lynde's signature style of comedy and has strange ironic elements in it that make it more off the wall than most vintage sitcoms - most notably the casting of Paul as a conservative family man. Look for Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara in later episodes as Paul's inlaws.
This show is not available commercially on DVD, though I have seen listings for it on iOffer.com. Several episodes can be watched on YouTube. The one above is the first installment of the pilot, uploaded by OldWorldTelevision.
Obscurity factor: 10 (Known to Lynde fans but not many others, not on DVD, available on YouTube and iOffer)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Paul Lynde & Mel Blanc in Where's Huddles (1970)
Obscurity factor: 8
The world of professional football was the setting for this summer replacement series with some similarities to The Flintstones - it had a prime time slot and featured the voice of Wilma Flintstone (Jean Vander Pyl) as Marge, Ed's wife. Best friends Ed Huddles (Cliff Norton) and Bubba McCoy (Blanc) were members of the Rhinos professional football team and lived next door to each other. On the other side of Ed's house lived Claude Pertwee (Lynde), who was always doing his best to throw a wrench into the works of whatever plans were on the table for Ed and Bubba that particular day. Though the character Lynde plays is a not-so-subtle jab at gay men, the series still has some fun moments in it. In the episode below, he's apoplectic about the boys plan to install a pool in Ed's back yard.
Though this series didn't have much of a life after the 10 weeks it played on CBS in the summer of 1970, it did spawn a comic book that ran for 3 issues and can occasionally be seen on the cartoon cable channels. A few episodes are available on YouTube. The one above - The Swimming Hole - was uploaded by patricktoons. The series is not available on DVD.
Obscurity factor: 8 (largely forgotten, not on DVD, on YouTube and occasionally aired on TV)
The world of professional football was the setting for this summer replacement series with some similarities to The Flintstones - it had a prime time slot and featured the voice of Wilma Flintstone (Jean Vander Pyl) as Marge, Ed's wife. Best friends Ed Huddles (Cliff Norton) and Bubba McCoy (Blanc) were members of the Rhinos professional football team and lived next door to each other. On the other side of Ed's house lived Claude Pertwee (Lynde), who was always doing his best to throw a wrench into the works of whatever plans were on the table for Ed and Bubba that particular day. Though the character Lynde plays is a not-so-subtle jab at gay men, the series still has some fun moments in it. In the episode below, he's apoplectic about the boys plan to install a pool in Ed's back yard.
Though this series didn't have much of a life after the 10 weeks it played on CBS in the summer of 1970, it did spawn a comic book that ran for 3 issues and can occasionally be seen on the cartoon cable channels. A few episodes are available on YouTube. The one above - The Swimming Hole - was uploaded by patricktoons. The series is not available on DVD.
Obscurity factor: 8 (largely forgotten, not on DVD, on YouTube and occasionally aired on TV)
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