Tommy Contest Page 5
of the River Region
May 28, 2019 Published by PTK Corp.
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VINTAGE TELEVISION by Kathy Wolfe
Whether you’re old enough to remember these old TV shows or if you watch them on a syndicated cable channel, you’re sure to find these tidbits about vintage television interesting! • Fans of Knight Rider, which aired from 1982 to 1986, will remember that main character Michael Knight (then known as Michael Long) had been shot in the face during an undercover operation as an LAPD detective. His life was saved by Wilton Knight, whose doctors reconstructed his face, giving him a new identity. Michael Knight was provided with a modified Pontiac Firebird Trans Am controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence. The voice of the car, dubbed KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) was actor William Daniels, whose name never appeared in the show’s credits throughout the series. During the show’s run, Pontiac was overrun with orders for black, T-top Trans Ams. • “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time” was the catchphrase of undercover detective Tony Baretta from 1975 to 1978. Baretta, played by actor Robert Blake lived in the King Edward Hotel with his cockatoo Fred, and drove a beat-up 1966 Chevy Impala, nicknamed The Blue Ghost. Robert Blake got his start in acting as a young child in the series Our Gang, better known as The Little Rascals, from 1939 to 1944. • Sammy Davis, Jr. sang Baretta’s theme song, “Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow.” In later years, Robert Blake was charged with the murder of his wife, but was later acquitted. • For seven seasons, four older women known (Continued next page)
Vol 8 Issue 22 shannon@riverregiontidbits.com
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Tidbits® of the River Region (Front page continued)
1. Is the book of Esarhaddon in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. In Esther 2, what was Hegai “the keeper of” regarding King Ahasuerus? Holy Grail, Weapons, The women, Grain of the fields 3. What New Testament person was the “voice of one crying in the wilderness”? Judas, Jude, Jehovah, John the Baptist 4. From Proverbs 22, what is bound up in the heart of a child? Foolishness, Mischief, Love, Rebellion 5. In biblical times, what were small copper coins called? Pennies, Shekels, Mites, Paschals 6. From Judges 10, who had 30 sons that rode 30 donkeys? Elijah, Jair, Ezekiel, Job Comments? More Trivia? Visit www. TriviaGuy.com (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
as The Golden Girls shared a home in Miami, Florida. Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia lived in Blanche’s home, after the other three answered an ad on the bulletin board at the grocery store. Southern belle Blanche worked at the local art museum and Brooklyn-born Dorothy was a substitute teacher. Somewhat of a dingbat, Norwegian Rose hailed from St. Olaf, Minnesota. Dorothy’s mother Sophia, born in Sicily, rounded out the quartet. Estelle Getty, who played the mother was actually over a year younger than Bea Arthur (Dorothy). It took about three hours to transform the younger woman into Sophia, with heavy make-up, thick glasses, and a white wig. At the start of the series in 1985, Getty was 62, playing an 80-year-old. All four of the Golden Girls actresses won Emmy Awards for their roles, with the show earning 68 total nominations during its 180 episodes. • From 1984 to 1989, one of NBC’s most popular programs was Miami Vice, starring Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Rico Tubbs, undercover detectives in Miami. The series was loosely based on actual Miami crimes. The network executives hesitated giving Johnson the role because his four previous pilots had all failed. Character Sonny Crockett had played football for the University of Florida Gators and served in the Army Special Forces prior to taking the undercover job with the Metro-Dade Police. He lived on a sailboat named St. Vitus’ Dance, (which carried a price tag of $120,000 in 1986), guarded by his pet alligator. Rico was a former NYPD detective who moved to Miami to hunt down his brother’s killer. • Miami Vice pretty much invented the men’s fashion statement of a T-shirt under an Armani sport coat, with white linen pants, and loafers with no socks. • From 1982 to 1993, the regulars at the Boston bar “Cheers” interacted and shared life at the bar “where everybody knows your name.” The week that the sitcom premiered, it landed in last place in the Nielsen ratings. Things definitely improved as it rose to first place over the years. It’s the only sitcom in history to have been both first and last place in the ratings. When Ted Danson announced he was leaving the series, it was cancelled, and a spin-off, Frasier, was announced, featuring Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist who moves to his hometown Seattle after his marriage ends to become a radio advice show host. Grammer had already played Frasier for nine seasons on Cheers, following by 11 seasons on the spin-off. When the role was first created, the writers had chosen Nigh as the last name of Frasier. Kelsey Grammer suggested the name change. Frasier and its cast accumulated 37 Emmy Awards over the 11 seasons. • At the height of its popularity, one-third of American households were watching Family Ties every week. Michael J. Fox was 21 years old when he took the role of Alex P. Keaton, a conservative young Republican living with his liberal, ex-hippie parents. He was the producers’ second choice for the part, having already chosen Matthew Broderick, who had to bow out when his father became terminally ill. The sitcom aired for seven seasons, beginning in 1982, and firmly cemented Fox’s popularity, earning him three Emmy Awards. Fox filmed Back to the Future during Family Ties’ (Continued next page)
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third season, working on the series by day, and on the movie set all night and weekends. Fox met his wife Tracy Pollan on the set of Family Ties, when she was cast to play Alex’s girlfriend. The series was President Ronald Reagan’s favorite show. • In 1968, two pilot episodes of Columbo were aired, starring Peter Falk as the rumpled, seemingly inept LAPD homicide detective. In 1971, the program became a regular, and went on to win 13 Emmys. Falk himself won four Emmy Awards. Falk has the distinction of being the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy Award in the same year, a feat he achieved twice. Dressed in his shabby beige raincoat, Columbo was depicted as a fumbling, bungling detective, frequently chewing on a cigar, pestering suspects until he extracted convicting evidence. Columbo’s signature raincoat was actually Falk’s own personal coat. The role of Columbo was offered first to “White Christmas” crooner Bing Crosby, who turned it down in order to concentrate more on golf and retirement. • Robin Williams’ first major acting role was in the sitcom Mork and Mindy, a spin-off of the popular Happy Days series. Williams first appeared in a Happy Days episode in February of 1978, and by September of that year, the new series had been launched. Mork, the extraterrestrial who came to Earth from the planet Ork along with his pet Bebo, greeted folks with the words “Na-Nu Na-Nu” along with a hand gesture and a handshake. “Na-Nu NaNu” became popular catchphrase of the late 1970s, along with Mork’s profane expression “Shazbot.” Williams, who was a big fan of the series Star Trek, opted for a costume that had actually been worn in a Star Trek episode. • Mork and Mindy wasn’t the only successful spin-off from Happy Days. Laverne and Shirley and Joanie Loves Chachi were also launched from the sitcom.
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Tidbits® of the River Region
REMARKABLE PEOPLE:
JOSEPH LISTER
We’ve all heard of Listerine, but there’s much more to Dr. Joseph Lister than mouthwash! Tidbits has the facts on this British surgeon who is considered the father of modern surgery. • Joseph Lister got an early start in the world of medicine. His father, a wine merchant, was also an amateur scientist, who developed a microscope. Joseph spent his childhood years peering at a variety of specimens through the microscope, as well as dissecting creatures, studying their skeletons, and drawing them. • While working as a surgeon in Glasgow, Scotland, Lister realized that half of amputation patients died from infection following the surgery. Surgeons were not required to wash their hands and there were no facilities for cleansing a patient’s wounds in the operating theater. Doctors considered the stains on their unwashed operating gowns as a badge of honor of their experience. • In 1865, while studying the work of French scientist Louis Pasteur, the father of pasteurization, Lister learned of the Frenchman’s discovery that microorganisms could cause infection. Lister began conducting experiments using diluted carbolic acid, a coal-tar by-product that was used to kill the parasites found in sewage. He sprayed surgical instruments, the patients’ incisions, and the bandages with the solution, as well as spraying the air within the operating room. All surgeons in his hospital were instructed to wear clean gloves and wash their hands with a carbolic acid solution before and after each procedure. • Lister noticed the difference almost immediately. He treated the wound of a young boy with a compound fracture of his leg with the antiseptic solution, and no (Continued next page)
Outstanding Warrants:
Brown, Laquintin DOB: 06/02/1992 Black/Male 5’6” 150 lbs Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Wanted for: Possession of Marijuana 1st
by Samantha Weaver * It was Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky who made the following sage observation: “Silence will save me from being wrong (and foolish), but it will also deprive me of the possibility of being right.” * You might be surprised to learn that a male lion can mate up to 50 times in one day. * Before the iconic reclining armchair was dubbed “La-Z-Boy,” the names “Sit-N-Snooze,” “Slack Back” and “Comfort Carrier” were considered. * A researcher calculated that across the country of Great Britain, the weight of all the insects that are eaten by spiders in a year would be more than the combined weight of all the people who live there. * A 22-year-old man who was trying to board a flight in Cairo, Egypt, bound for Saudi Arabia was stopped by security officers when the X-ray of his hand luggage showed some strange results. It seems that the man was attempting to transport 250 baby crocodiles and -- wait for it -- a live cobra. (Animal lovers will be pleased to learn that the creatures were not harmed; they were turned over to the Cairo zoo.) * Those who study such things say that automatic teller machines are three times more likely to be robbed between 6 and 9 p.m. than at any other time of day. * According to horse-racing regulations, no racehorse’s name can have more than 18 characters -- anything longer would be cumbersome on racing sheets. * In some parts of Europe, red roses are considered to be omens of evil. Seeing the petals fall from a red rose is a portent of death. *** Thought for the Day: “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life -- the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” -- Hubert Horatio Humphrey (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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infection developed. By the following year, Lister’s surgical ward was reporting that there had not been a single instance of blood poisoning, gangrene, or infection for nine months. Within four years, the mortality rate in his ward had been reduced to 15%. • The new of Lister’s techniques spread and in 1871, he was called upon by Queen Victoria to make a house call to her Scottish Highlands estate to treat an orange-sized abscess in Her Majesty’s armpit. His carbolic acid formula prevented infection, and Lister became the royal family’s friend for life. The queen later made him a baron. • Lister did more than just revolutionize how surgeries were performed. He also engaged in the study of the action of muscles in the skin and the eye, and published 15 papers about that, along with his research into the coagulation of blood, and the reaction of blood vessels during an infection’s early stages. Lister also pioneered a method of repairing kneecaps with metal wire, as well as an aortic tourniquet. He was also the first surgeon to use catgut sutures. • So what did Joseph Lister have to do with the invention of Listerine mouthwash? Nothing, actually. In 1879, a St. Louis, Missouri doctor named Joseph Lawrence developed an alcohol-based formula for a surgical antiseptic. Lawrence named his formula Listerine in honor of Joseph Lister’s efforts in reducing post-surgical infection. Although we think of Listerine as a mouthwash, in its early days, it was also marketed as a dandruff cure, hair tonic, deodorant, a cure for the common cold, a remedy for diphtheria, dysentery, and small pox, and as a floor cleaner.
By Chris Richcreek
1. Two pitchers in major-league history have compiled nine seasons of 40-plus saves. Name them. 2. When was the last time pitchers from the same team were the top two in leading a league in ERA for a season? 3. How long was the Air Force football team’s streak of consecutive games in which they scored before Army ended it during the 2017 season? 4. In 2018, DeMarcus Cousins recorded the 10th 40-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game in NBA history. Which player accomplished this feat the most? 5. Who played the most NHL games in New York Rangers history? 6. Joe Gibbs Racing, in 2019, finished 1-2-3 at the Daytona 500. When was the last time a NASCAR team did that at this race? 7. In 2019, tennis star Novak Djokovic broke a tie with two other players to become the winningest men’s singles champion at the Australian Open (seven times). With whom had he been tied? (c) 2019 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Carla Donney Please call 334-452-9296 within 7 days of this issue to claim your prize!
Tommy Count ______ This week’s winner receives a
$25 Dollar Gift Certificate from
Farmers Market Cafe Register to win by sending an email to entertommycontest@gmail.com or USPS to PTK Corp., PO Box 264, Wetumpka, AL 36092 with the following information: 1) Your name (first and last), and, 2) the number of times you find Tommy in the ads in the paper. From the correct entries a winner will be selected. You must be 18 years of age to qualify. The gift certificates will range in value from $25 to $100 each week. Entries must be received by midnight each Friday evening. Last Week’s Ads where Tommy was hiding: 1. Unplugged Inc., p.1 2. Mitts Chapel Baptist Church, p.2 3. T. A. Wear, p.6
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TidbitsÂŽ of the River Region
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MORE VINTAGE TV
BIBLE TRIVIA ANSWERS:
1) Neither; 2) The women; 3) John the Baptist; 4) Foolishness; 5) Mites; 6) Jair
1. Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. 2. It was 2016, when Kyle Hendricks (2.13) and Jon Lester (2.44) of the Chicago Cubs led the N.L. in ERA. 3. It was 306 games (1992-2017). 4. Wilt Chamberlain (six times). 5. Harry Howell, with 1,160 games (1952-69). 6. Hendrick Motorsports, in 1997. 7. Roger Federer and Roy Emerson.
Tune in! It’s time for more facts on your favorite old television programs. • The 20th century’s longest-running primetime series, Gunsmoke, premiered in 1955 and ran for 635 episodes until 1975. By its second season, it was the most popular series in the U.S., a rank it maintained until 1961. John Wayne, who introduced the program’s first episode, strongly promoted his good friend James Arness as the best man for the role of Matt Dillon, marshall of Dodge City, Kansas. Several actors got their start on the show, including Burt Reynolds, who played deputy Quint Asper from 1962 to 1965. Harrison Ford appeared in two episodes, and Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy was in four episodes. Although a romantic connection was always hinted at between Matt Dillon and saloon owner Miss Kitty, in all 20 seasons, Matt kissed just one woman – Michael Learned, who later played Olivia Walton, mother of the Walton brood – in 1973. • James Arness wasn’t the only member of his family to gain fame in television. His younger brother, Peter Graves, starred as Jim Phelps, director of the Impossible Mission Force on the series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973, and again from 1988 to 1990. His starting salary in 1967 was $7,500 per episode. Following his Mission fame, he went on to star in the 1980 spoof Airplane!, although after first reading the script, he said it was “the worst piece of junk” he had ever seen. • During his 30 years as the host of The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson delivered 4,531 monologues. The show was first aired nationwide on NBC in 1954 with host Steve Allen. Carson took over the reins in 1962. On his final appearance in 1992, there were no guests. Carson sat on a stool on the stage and showed clips of favorite moments from the show’s history. That broadcast was viewed by more than 50 million people. • The Tonight Show has the distinction of airing the nation’s last cigarette commercial, after the Public Health Cigarette Act banned cigarette advertising on television and radio. The last commercial aired at 11:59 PM on January 1, 1971, advertising Virginia Slims cigarettes. • Oddly enough, the names of Johnny Carson’s first three wives were Joan, Joanne, and Joanna. • A lab experiment gone wrong resulted in a gifted scientist zapping himself with too much gamma radiation, and morphing into The Incredible Hulk whenever he was under emotional stress. From 1978 to 1982, Bill Bixby starred as the scientist, with Mr. Universe bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. Bixby made sure that he and Ferrigno were never photographed together when the Hulk was in his makeup, because he didn’t want younger viewers to catch on to the fact that he and the Hulk were separate actors. The storyline was that scientist David Banner had no memory of what he did as the Hulk, so on the set, Bixby would not watch Ferrigno performing, and Ferrigno did the same with Bixby’s scenes. Ferrigno spent much of his day in a refrigerated motor home to keep the heat and his sweating from melting his green makeup.
* On May 30, 1911, the inaugural Indianapolis 500 is run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. The 2-1/2-mile track had been rebuilt with 3 million street-paving bricks after a crushed rock-and-tar surface was abandoned in 1909 due to fatalities caused by unevenness. * On June 2, 1924, with Congress’ passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, the United States confers citizenship on all Native Americans born within its territorial limits. Before the Civil War, citizenship was often limited to Native Americans of one-half or less Indian blood. * On May 31, 1930, actor Clint Eastwood, best known for his role as San Francisco Police Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan, is born in California. Eastwood got his start playing Rowdy Yates in the popular TV Western series “Rawhide.” * On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France, where it fled because it was leaking fuel. The German death toll was more than 2,000. Three days earlier, the Bismarck had sunk the British battlecruiser Hood. * On May 28, 1957, National League owners vote unanimously to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, on the condition that both teams had to move. * On June 1, 1968, Helen Keller dies in Connecticut at the age of 87. Blind and deaf from infancy, Keller circumvented her disabilities to become a world-renowned writer and lecturer. Her teacher, Anne Sullivan, taught Keller sign language at age 6 by using a hand alphabet. * On May 29, 2003, some 35 U.S. states declare it to be Bob Hope Day when the iconic comedic actor and entertainer turns 100 years old. Hollywood officials renamed the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine as Bob Hope Square. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Mouthwatering Bran Muffins I’ve been baking and writing about bran muffins for years. This spring, I put my favorite recipes to the test, and if my family tasters are honest, I’ve hit on an updated version that is so good, I have to hide them in the recesses of my cupboard pantry if I’m going to get my share. Still full of good and healthy stuff, I now soak the raisins a bit so they puff up before stirring into the batter. I added more chopped walnuts. When I did a taste test with two recipes, one with a smooshed-up ripe banana, and one without, the banana won. It adds a nice taste and texture. Taste testing aside, the fun part of muffin-making with kids is that there’s a job for all ages and stages. One child can measure and stir together dry ingredients in one bowl, while another cracks the egg or smooshes the banana in a different bowl. Within minutes, the batter comes together and is ready to scoop into little paper cups and bake. Wash and dry the prepping dishes as a team, and before you know it, you’re poking a toothpick in the middle of a muffin to test doneness and enjoying a healthy homemade snack in a kitchen where the baking aroma of home wafts through the air. YUMMY BRAN MUFFINS 2 cups whole-wheat flour 1 1/2 cups wheat bran 1/2 cup wheat germ 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/2 cup raw blue agave sweetener or 1/3 cup honey 1 ripe banana, mashed 3/4 cup raisins soaked in water for 5 minutes and drained 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 1. Heat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. 2. Stir together the flour, bran, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, vegetable oil and agave sweetener or honey, until combined. 4. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined, then fold in the banana, raisins and nuts with a few swift strokes. Do not overstir. 5. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups. An icecream scoop works well. 6. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. 7. Cool for 5 minutes and serve. Makes 12 large muffins. *** Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.” (c) 2019 Donna Erickson Distributed by King Features Synd.
Tidbits® of the River Region
1. Which group had a hit with “Since I Lost My Baby”? 2. Name the 1968 song that focused on orange images, such as pumpkin drums, tangerine dreams and carrot trumpets. 3. For which musical was “Send in the Clowns” written? 4. What group released the pop standard “Never My Love”? 5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “I told her that I was a flop with chicks, I’d been this way since 1956.” Answers 1. The Temptations, in 1965. The Jackson 5 recorded it four years later, but it was never released until appearing on their “Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls” album of unreleased material in 2012. 2. “Jelly Jungle (of Orange Marmalade)” by the psychedelic group Lemon Pipers. 3. “A Little Night Music,” by Stephen Sondheim in 1973. In this case, clowns refers to fools, not a circus. 4. The Association, in 1967. According to BMI, it was the second most-played song of the 20th century. 5. “Love Potion No. 9,” by the Clovers in 1959, and the Searchers in 1964. The singer talks to a gypsy about his love problem. She reads his palm and recommends a potion, but it makes him fall in love with everyone, including a cop on the street. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.