Henry Mancini is the composer of the theme to 70's sitcom What's Happening!!. That's right, the record holder for most Grammy nominations (72); the man behind Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses, the Pink Panther Theme, Peter Gunn etc. etc.; the winner of four Academy Awards and twenty Grammys also scored the adventures of Raj, Rerun and Dwayne.
Mr. Mike Fun Fact: I attended high school with Hawyood Nelson, who played Dwayne. He graduated a year ahead of me, but it was an early brush with greatness nonetheless.
Mr Mike Recommendation: Check out the Peter Gunn Soundtrack; it's chock full of cool West Coast jazzy goodness.
Chef Boyardee was a real person. Ettore Boiardi was the italian-born owner of Il Giardino d'Italia, an Italian restaurant in Cleveland Ohio. Demand for his food was so great he started selling take-out in old milk bottles. Eventually he needed a factory to keep up with demand and in 1929 he started selling his products nationally under the Chef Boyardee brand. Boiardi's culinary accomplishments included serving as the head chef of the Plaza Hotel in New York and overseeing the catering of President Woodrow Wilson's second wedding.
Little Debbie Snacks are named after a real person. In 1960, the owner of Mckee's Foods, O.D. McKee, was looking for a brand name for his new line of snack products when he came upon a photo of his then 4 year old grand-daughter Debbie. The rest is junk food history. That's a blurry photo of Little Debbie giving out snacks during the 1960's. Am I the only person who finds the company's slogan "Little Debbie has a snack for you" slightly salacious?
Tom Sawyer was the first novel written on a typewriter (1876).
Samuel Clemens got his pen name, Mark Twain, from his days as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi. The term "mark twain" was used when sounding the river; it designated a depth of two fathoms.
Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first married television couple to be shown in the same bed during prime time. Which brings us to the immortal conundrum...Betty or Wilma?
Don't care if we're talking Veronica or Wilma, I still pick Betty.
ReplyDeleteYou find the Little Debbie slogan titillating ? You are even more damaged that I thought ...
ReplyDeleteWhy have you not mentioned the rest of the story about " Whats Happening ?" I think your loyal readers would like to hear about how you had tried out and failed for the Rerun role. Of course the Internet is ripe with stories about the legndary feud between you and Heywood Nelson and the behind the scenes jockeying that went into his eventually getting the role while you went into that Rehab place.
Cmon - - fess up.
I don't remember the theme song so I am going to have to you tube it.
While I admit that Haywood stole my catch phrase "Hey Hey Hey", years of therapy have helped me move on. BTW - Heywood's "Hey Hey Hey" is not the same as Fat Albert's. Note there is a subtle difference in emphasis - Hawyood's was "hey HEY hey" while Albert's was "hey, hey HEY" but I digress.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - if I recall correctly - we met during tryout's for "The Fred Berry Story: From Rerun to Rehab", so who are you to talk?
Please Note: I have no direct knowledge that the late Fred "Rerun" Berry ever went into rehab - it just seemed funny.
BTW - I agree with Steve - I'm a Betty guy all the way too! I never understood what Archie saw in that rich, spoiled shrew Veronica.
ReplyDeleteI would have to cast a vote for the crazy chick who was always chasing Jughead ( Big Betty ? my facility for remembering important stuff like this is lacking ). I would imagine that she had some serious pent up energy that could be channeled to good effect ...
ReplyDeleteYou're thinking of Big Ethel. Sorry Bic, but your taste in cartoon women leaves something to be desired (although your reasoning is pretty good).
ReplyDeleteBetty. hands down. every time. Veronica or Wilma.
ReplyDelete