#Sherwood Schwartz

[oldshowbiz]

Sherwood Schwartz never got to make Murder on Gilligan's Island.

[davidboles]

Growing Up in 70s Television: The Addictive Glory of Marshall, Schwartz, Larson, and Slade

The 1970s in the United States, as seen through the innocent, yet perceptive eyes of a child, was a period marked by profound cultural, political, and religious shifts. The 1970s were a decade where the vibrant promises of the 60s’ counterculture movements began to clash with the realities of ongoing political strife and societal change. The Vietnam War lingered in the background, its echoes felt…

[barleysinger]

[marciabrady]

THE BRADY BUNCH (1969-74) created by Sherwood Schwartz

[bignaz8]

The Gilligan's Island radio was actually NOT a prop. It was a working radio...Packard Bell model AR-851 table-top AM radio...previously purchased by show creator Sherwood Schwartz to listen to Dodger games in his office. Schwartz didn't like the black radio used in the pilot...thought the white radio would show better. (He had the prop department add the handle and antenna for effect). When the show wrapped after the 3rd season, Schwartz took the now iconic TV prop back to his office, plugged it back in, and continued to listen to Dodger games on it for decades....

[kwebtv]

TV Guide  -  January 19 - 25, 1963

Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) Film and television actor known for his trademark “Ooh! Ooh!” exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54, Where Are You?

Ross also starred as Gronk in Sherwood Schwartz’s ill-fated 1966 sitcom It’s About Time, which featured two 1960′s American  astronauts who were thrown back in time to the prehistoric era. (Wikipedia)

Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) Film and television actor, artist and author. He was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and as Herman Munster in The Munsters. 

[grandgillygaupus]

It’s been days and I’m still thinking about the season 5 finale of Puppet History.

Okay so there’s this show called Gilligan’s Island.

(I promise this’ll loop back around to Puppet History eventually, hear me out)

It aired between 1964 and 1967, and then ran in syndication for a decade or three, so it’s one of those shows that a lot of people remember watching when they were younger, but it’s not recent enough that its premise is anything more than a vague mishmash of concepts to most people. And that’s all well and good, that’s just what happens to TV shows after a while even when they’re incredibly popular.

I’d like to preface this with the disclaimer that I’m talking about a show made in the 1960s. There’s some not-great stuff in there, and I’m not here to condone the racism, sexism, transphobia, fatphobia, etc. that happens in this show. There are parts that are uncomfortable to watch and it’s not something I’d recommend to my friends to show their kids unless they’re willing to watch it with them and have some necessary conversations about the content.

I say all of this because I love Gilligan’s Island very much, and I want it known that this does NOT mean I love everything about it.

What I do love about it, however, is that it’s got a banger of a theme song that explains the premise, and it’s a situational comedy, which means it wears the inspiration for each week’s plot like a very loud and egregious t-shirt. Every week the castaways either try to get off the island and fail, or they spend the episode interacting with someone (or something) that has arrived on the island.

So what’s the plot device of the week going to be?

Well, what was cool with the young folks in the 60s? Rock music - we’ll do an episode about The Beatles, call them The Mosquitos, and get the Wellingtons to play them.

What are some major events going on in the world right now?

Oh yeah, the cold war.

As with most shows, Gilligan’s Island is best viewed with the context in which it was aired in mind. Learning a little bit about the social and political environment of the time and place in which a show was on the air is a great way to better understand where that show was coming from and what it was trying to do with its premise. Easy enough with the stuff that’s currently on TV, we’re living it, but let’s back up to 1963 for a bit. The history of television’s development as a medium is wild and messy and steeped in politics, but the important part is that even in 1963, broadcast television was a relatively new and emerging technology. That year, the pilot episode of Gilligan’s Island was filmed. The episode wouldn’t air until well after the show was cancelled, but it was as they were wrapping up the filming of this pilot that the cast and crew learned of JFK’s assassination.

Basically, Gilligan’s Island is a show that was developed while folks were still dealing with the emotional, social, and political fallout of World War 2, the threat of nuclear annihilation was hanging over everyone’s head, and the president had just been assassinated. So, why does the context matter?

Well, show creator Sherwood Schwartz has never been shy about calling Gilligan’s Island a “social microcosm”, or an allegory about the nations of the world learning to live with and understand each other.

Skipper’s a WW2 veteran.

Gilligan was in the Navy. He saved Skipper from being crushed by a depth charge that came loose from its moorings.

There’s an episode that revolves around a WW2 underwater contact mine washing ashore.

There’s an episode dedicated to Skipper’s depression and how he blames himself for stranding the castaways on the island.

There are several episodes themed around espionage and distrust in the people closest to you.

This is a comedy.

A lot of this stuff wasn’t treated with any sort of gravity, but it wasn’t necessarily trivialized, either. This was just the characters’ reality.

(I could go on about how comedy is one of the most effective ways to get an emotional response out of your audience but that’s a topic for another day)

In any case, the number of times the castaways’ lives are threatened is frankly ridiculous, but every single time, one thing remains the same: they care SO MUCH about each other. And ultimately, that’s the point of the show. It’s about a group of people that come from different backgrounds who not only learn to live with each other, but love each other. This is a found family story.

So I’d like to highlight a relevant episode that kind of brings all of this together.

The eighteenth episode of the first season, “X Marks the Spot”, deals very directly with the fear of nuclear annihilation. The castaways hear on the radio that a California air force base is going to test a new warhead the next day, and Skipper determines, based on the given coordinates, that their island is where the missile will land. Now, because this is a comedy, we - the audience - are informed that the explosives in the warhead have been removed due to a technical issue, but they’re going to launch the missile anyway to test the guidance systems. They don’t broadcast this on the radio, so our castaways have no idea they’re safe. They spend the time seeking each other out, discussing their lives, their regrets, and they make a point of being kind to one another.

They do everything in their power to catch the attention of the scout plane as a last-ditch attempt at rescue, but when this fails, that’s it. What do you do when there’s nothing you can do?

They watch the missile come down, and they be with each other.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the episode. The missile doesn’t explode, they try to disarm it anyway because they don’t know any better, and they think Gilligan’s been lost at sea inside the missile for about five seconds before he reappears soaking wet but otherwise fine.

But this episode always stuck with me. It speaks to a very real fear, a fear that manifested in comedy as a coping mechanism on a national scale because, well, no one was safe. No one felt safe. Yet it ends with an assurance that our castaways are okay, they’re going to be okay, and you get a good hearty laugh out of the deal. And you know what reminded me of this episode? The Puppet History season 5 finale (YEAH BRINGING IT BACK AROUND, BABY)

‘Cause you know that bit where Ryan thinks the Professor’s lost forever for about five seconds before he suddenly appears a little bigger than expected but otherwise fine? Yeah, that’s a good bit. And then that part where his parents are okay, and they’re all going to be okay, and we get a good laugh out of it? Chef’s kiss.

Anyway, I don’t know if I had a point to make. There’s a lot of horrible things happening right now, everywhere you look is more death and bad news. Will the world as I know it still be around next year? I’ve always been excited to grow old and grey, because it would mean I made it that far. Will I get that opportunity?

Is this what it felt like? Back in the 60s.

And it’s not the same, the circumstances are different. But the immense amount of catharsis wrought from that final song and the meteor’s monologue made me remember what’s important, and that was probably the point. “Tell the critters that you love that you love them, that’s enough.” We’re not alone, we’ve never been, and we’ve done this before.

What do you do when there’s nothing you can do? You watch the meteor come down, and you be with each other.

And in the meantime, you make some damn good comedy out of it.

Thanks Shane.

(No seriously, thanks for giving us the Professor’s parents after tearing our hearts out. King shit.)

[adultswim2021]

The Venture Bros. #30: “The Doctor Is Sin” | June 8, 2008 - 11:30PM | S03E02

I love The Venture Bros, but I always dread writing about it. This season, which is very plotty and dense, especially feels like a slog. I might even have to expend MORE EFFORT on this blog in order to deliver more economical blog posts about this show. Hmm (NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I did not accomplish this for this episode). A rough cut of the first act of this episode originally debuted during Adult Swim’s April Fool’s stunt. And, boy, it would be nice if I had written up that first act back then and only had to write-up the last half of the episode.

This one feels like a TRUE season premiere, even though it leaves the Monarch/Dr. Girlfriend stuff from last season hanging. We join the Venture family waiting for a visit from General Manhowers hoping to cinch a lucrative military contract. He engages in a Sherwood-Schwartz-esque ruse, asking the Orpheus family and others to dress up as multiple characters to give the Venture compound the impression that it’s still the bustling center of innovation it was during his father’s reign. 

The plan fails, even though he creepily writes a scene in which he kisses the teenaged Triana Orpheus, his son’s crush. This part of their script is thankfully never performed because Manhowers is utterly unimpressed with Venture’s affairs and cuts the meeting short. The meeting is also boned by the presence of supervillains who keep showing up to arch Dr. Venture, because the Monarch has supposedly quit in favor of playing ball with the Guild of Calamitous Intent. 

Not wanting to beg his do-gooder brother Jonas Jr. for cash, Dr. Venture takes help from Dr. Killinger, whose making a return appearance from one of my favorite episodes from season two. Dr. Killinger’s guidance winds up being very effective. He even outfits the compound with “Venchmen” (get it?). He also evicts Orpheus, the only person who seemingly understands that Killinger is a consort of evil. Orpheus, the Alchemist (who lets Orpheus crash at his place) and Brock (now being charged rent and bored with his diminished role as bodyguard) decide to storm Venture compound and take back what’s rightfully theirs.

This dramatic clash was not meant to be; when the moment of truth arrives, they find the organization has simply dissolved. That’s because Venture realizes that Killinger has been grooming him to become a villain, and he wants him to arch his brother Jonas. Venture has a bit of an existential crisis; probably because he is a legitimately crappy person. But, COULD HE BE ACTUALLY EVIL?

There’s a great scene where Killinger takes Rusty on a trip into his own psyche, where he flashes back to his youth. His father walks into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers, after having an adult "sleepover". His dong flops out, intimidating Rusty. Killinger tells Rusty that this is the moment his feelings of inadequacy first took hold. This is the moment that his father became his tormentor and rival.

If you’re watching the blu-ray, the dong is uncensored (as are all the swears). On HBOMax, the dong is boxed out. There’s one advantage to the censorship box; when Venture Sr’s penis morphs into Dr. Killinger, the box actually morphs and it’s a fun transition. On the blu-ray, we simply cut to Killinger, already having taken the form of Jonas’ package. I appreciate the uncensored version, but the censored version is a little more fun, animation-wise. 

According to the audio commentary, that scene was meant to have an extra element to it: the woman Jonas was meant to have been rogering was a beautiful actress that Rusty had a crush on. She’s in the middle of making a movie called “Follow That Bikini!” about a woman who turns invisible while wearing a bikini, so she was going to be covered in blue paint for blue-screen effects. It sounds like this scene was cut during the script stage. Years later, we actually see snippets of this movie playing on a TV.

There were plans to have Rusty run into her in the present day, now in her 50s, and attempt to smash. I read somewhere that she was supposed to be Hank and Dean's mother [source?]. Since this wasn’t technically in the episode; it’s still very much in character for Jonas to have done such a thing, and for Rusty to feel as resentful as he does. It would’ve been poetic to have the parallel between him having that done to him as a boy and repeating the same exact mistreatment between him and Dean, with Triana and the creepy kissing scene he writes for them earlier in the episode. 

This one feels more like a classic Venture Bros. episode in that it has a story that’s somewhat self-contained. It still feels like we’re doing a lot of table-setting for the season, though. This episode mostly functions to remind us that Venture is looking for a new arch, who eventually will show up.

There’s also a lot of fan-service when Doc calls his brother Jonas Jr. In the background we see him working with Hector and Swifty, the pirate, and Sally Impossible. The pirate I vaguely remember being established as working for Jonas. We also see Hadji from Jonny Quest overseeing some other division of Jonas’ arm of Venture Industries. Action Jonny is with him. Nearly all of these guys are people who Rusty cruelly cast aside for his own narcissism. The intent here to make longtime fans feel a little warm and fuzzy seeing them find success and thrive with Jonas Jr. 

My criticism of this season still holds true, but I do think this is a big improvement over the previous episode. The commentary track sorta backs up my feelings; Jackson and Doc refer to these episodes as “feverishly getting stuff out of our system”. They also mention that these first two episodes of season three were originally part of the same episode and they realized the Monarch stuff was a much more complicated story than they realized. I still think they should’ve combined both episodes into an hour-long special to kick off the season with. If anyone makes a fan-edit of these two episodes doing that, then... I'd, uh, watch it. I don't know. Probably wouldn't work out; we need something connecting the two episodes.

The post-credits scene is Venture opening up a package from the Monarch with a venomous cobra inside. It crumbles into dust because the package was sent in 2003 and not opened until now. This replaced a deleted scene (which is on the blu-ray) of Sgt. Hatred getting a letter that he’s to be Venture’s new arch, a teaser for what’s to come. He’s a very divisive character; and I will probably be forced to write a pretentious paragraph or two about that. Or, like Brock Sampson putting on brownface, I can simply gloss over that. Brock Sampson puts on brownface in this, everyone. 

MAIL BAG

Hey! Sorry for the late reply about the season 3 premiere (I only check this blog like once a week), but I do have an interesting tidbit to share about the "Monarch, I'm..." bit. As revealed in the venture bros art book, the original plan was for her to answer "Monarch, I'm pregnant", but Doc HATED that twist. Felt that it went against the show, went against what he wanted to write, she's a strong character and the last thing they need is for her to be a mom.

Doc thought it would be Out of Character for her to be a negligent parent, and if she was a GOOD parent, there goes her independence as a character entirely. Jackson ended up cutting it out and later admits that doc was right in hindsight, though he still feels that never answering the "Monarch, I'm..." question directly was one of the biggest failures of the show, he felt like he was just blowing the fans off (though doc thinks it's funny that the answer's "who fucking cares?").

I never did read that art book; I've taken it out from the library and leafed through it a couple times, though. That's interesting! I don't think they really go over that in the commentary. I feel like they could've dragged out the pregnancy and came up with a weird twist. Or they could've made a joke out of it and had the first episode just been them walking out of an abortion clinic.

[70s80sandbeyond]

The Cast of Gilligan's Island with producer Sherwood Schwartz and director Jack Arnold

[frothlad]

I think my parents just kind of liked the name, but didn't have a significant personal reason. I was on the leading edge of "Greg", though, thanks to being born before The Brady Bunch became a thing.

(In a interesting aside, I am reblogging this from a person who shares a name with a character from Gilligan's Island; both Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island were by creator Sherwood Schwartz.)

[oldshowbiz]

Read my interview with Sherwood Schwartz, conducted shortly before he died.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 11.14

Beer Birthdays

Philip Kling (1818)

John H. Stahl (1825)

Gary Sink (1962)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Louise Brooks; actor (1906)

Aaron Copland; composer (1900)

Claude Monet; French artist (1840)

McLean Stevenson; actor (1929)

D.B. Sweeney; actor (1961)

Famous Birthdays

Leo Hendrik Baekeland; chemist, inventor of Bakelite (1863)

Sandahl Bergman; actor (1951)

Stephen Bishop; rock singer (1951)

Boutros Boutros-Ghali; UN secretary-general (1922)

Wendy Carlos; composer, keyboardist (1939)

Prince Charles; British royalty (1948)

Josh Duhamel; actor (1972)

Robert Fulton; inventor (1765)

Fred Haise; astronaut (1933)

Robert Ginty; actor (1948)

Brian Keith; actor (1921)

Veronica Lake; actor (1922)

Charles Lyell; British geologist (1797)

Joseph McCarthy; politician, commie hunter (1908)

Jawaharlal Nehru; Indian politician (1889)

P.J. O'Rourke; writer (1947)

Dick Powell; actor (1904)

Condoleezza Rice; politician (1954)

Run (a.k.a. Joseph Simmons); hip-hop singer (1964)

Laura San Giacomo; actor (1962)

Sherwood Schwartz; television producer (1916)

William Steig; illustrator, writer (1907)

Patrick Warburton; actor (1965)

Yanni; Greek new age musician (1954)

James Young; rock guitarist (1949)

Buckwheat Zydeco; zydeco accordionist (1947)

[boomgers]

¿Cuál es el precio que pagan las mujeres por sus sueños?… “La Mujer En El Lago”

Cuando la desaparición de una niña conmociona la ciudad de Baltimore el Día de Acción de Gracias de 1966, las vidas de Maddie Schwartz y Cleo Sherwood convergen en una encrucijada fatal.

Maddie Schwartz es un ama de casa judía que intenta deshacerse de un pasado secreto y reinventarse como periodista de investigación.

Cleo Sherwood es una madre que navega por los bajos fondos políticos del Baltimore negro mientras lucha por mantener a su familia.

Estas vidas dispares no parecen tener conexión al principio, pero cuando Maddie se obsesiona con la misteriosa muerte de Cleo, se abre un abismo que pone en peligro a todos los que las rodean.

Estreno: 19 de julio de 2024 en Apple TV+.

Creada, producida, escrita y dirigida por Alma Har’el, la miniserie cuenta con las actuaciones de Natalie Portman, Moses Ingram, Y’lan Noel, Brett Gelman, Byron Bowers, Noah Jupe, Dylan Arnold, Josiah Cross, Mikey Madison, Pruitt Taylor Vince, David Corenswet, entre otros.

Detrás De Cámaras

[bitter69uk]

Happy 90th birthday to the fabulous actress, singer, Playboy playmate, Frederick’s of Hollywood catalogue model and alluring atomic-era sex kitten Tina Louise (née Tina Blacker, 11 February 1934). Louise is, of course, best remembered for portraying movie star Ginger Grant on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island (and following the death of Dawn Wells – aka Marianne – in 2020, she’s the last surviving cast member). Show biz lore holds that the role of Ginger was originally offered to (and rejected by) Jayne Mansfield, but Mansfield’s most recent biographer Eve Golden says she found no evidence of this in her research (and argues “for one thing, Jayne rarely turned down a paying job – certainly not one that would turn into a three-year gig)”. And as Gilligan creator Sherwood Schwartz always maintained, “I knew I wanted a gorgeous tall redhead. Why red, I don’t know but that’s what I wanted.” The admirably durable Louise played Appassionata Von Climax in the Broadway production of Lil’ Abner, released an album of tinkly cocktail jazz (It’s Time for Tina) in 1957 and later made a vivid impression as one of The Stepford Wives (1975).

Ginger

[hotfanfics]

Gilligan's Island: "The Cream in My Pie!"

Based on: Gilligan's Island by Sherwood Schwartz

Rating: 14+

Mary Ann rewards The Professor with her coconut cream pie, however, tension starts to rise between the two.

With only the two of them alone on the other side of the island, Mary Ann, clad in her usual sexy farm girl outfit, which includes her pink crop top and, of course, her sexy pair of those incredibly tight and extremely short pair of blue short shorts:

Mary Ann: You know Professor, you and I have never spent enough time with each other, so it's nice to be on the other side of the island with you for once.

Professor: I'm excited to get to know more about you Mary Ann!

Mary Ann: You'll love my coconut cream pie!

The Professor starts to notice Mary Ann for once in his life, getting a great look at her form in said skimpy clothing. As Mary Ann is stirring the batter, her tight plump butt is shaking as she's mixing, which Professor takes a gander at, amazed at how much Mary Ann's short shorts accentuate her buttocks.

Professor: Wow! I must've been working to hard to notice Mary Ann and her wonderful assets!

Mary Ann: Now, let me just grab the coconut!

Mary Ann accidentally splashes coconut water on herself, making her dripping wet and she drops the coconut.

Mary Ann: AH! Oh my goodness! I'm all wet! Let me just grab the coconut off the floor!

Mary Ann bends over with her butt way up in the air, where Professor gets a great view of Mary Ann's plump juicy buttocks. It's impressive to think how short her short shorts are and how they truly make her legs look longer, much to Professor's delight and sexual arousal.

Professor: Boy! That Mary Ann is built! (looks down at his crotch) Oh no! She's a friend of mine, I can't do this now! Oh, but she's so shapely! Such great legs she's got, and an amazing butt! Control, professor! Control!

The Professor gets up, as Mary Ann is still bending over, the sound unzipping pants is heard and Mary Ann is shown with a shocked look on her face! Realizing that The Professor has jabbed his erect penis into Mary Ann's tight plump buttocks, making a hole in her short shorts.

Mary Ann: Oh! Oh my! Oh my goodness! Why Professor!

Professor: I couldn't help it, Mary Ann! I just never noticed how unbelievably sexy you are! More so than Ginger!

Mary Ann: Oh, Professor! I'm so flattered you felt this way about me, respectively! I was wondering when one of you boys would finally start giving me attention!

The Professor continues to be intimate with Mary Ann, until the two orgasm and feel relief from one another!

Mary Ann: (sultry voice) Let's keep this little secret between us, Professor! That's what I usually mean by saying if you want my coconut cream pie!