77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (3 Viewers)

[Rustifer]

This past week's episodes are all pretty good examples of the show, which is remarkable for a show on its last legs. Three more episodes and then we are into the sixth season, which I think is better than advertised. Five weeks from now, we'll be back to the first season!

Rob--do you know for a fact that MeTV will be returning to season 1 of 77 SS? If so, that will be the third rotation of the series on the channel. Not that I mind, but I was kinda hoping that it would get replaced with either Hawaiian Eye or Surfside 6. I can write just as extensively on either one of those.

 

[Gary16]

Rob--do you know for a fact that MeTV will be returning to season 1 of 77 SS? If so, that will be the third rotation of the series on the channel. Not that I mind, but I was kinda hoping that it would get replaced with either Hawaiian Eye or Surfside 6. I can write just as extensively on either one of those.

If it’s true then the show must be getting viewership even at 4 am. The fact that it even went immediately thru a second cycle indicates popularity since some MeTV shows just come and go. But look at all the ones that never rest including Perry Mason, Matlock, Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith, etc. So long may 77 repeat.

 

[Rustifer]

The "Left Field Caper" is another outlier 77 episode in the series where the storyline has little to do with the detectives' handiwork and more about the co-stars' dilemmas.

JR Hale, who most likely eats magic toadstools for breakfast each morning to achieve his eternal happy go-lucky attitude on life, is a volunteer umpire for a little league baseball team. One kid on the team, Danny (Ronnie Dapo) has JR worried in that his parents never show up for any of the games. (On an aside, those dads that do show up are all in business suits. I'm assuming this is a Saturday afternoon event, so suits are the attire of choice? When I was in little league, my dad showed up in shorts, a Northwestern U. t-shirt and flip flops. And yes, that would've been around 1962.)

Danny lives with his mom Helen (Diane Ladd) and has on-going questions about his absent Dad (Ed Nelson)--whom Mom has tirelessly addressed as 'dead' although the man, Dave, has actually been in jail for some vague crime not fully explained. However, Dave has recently been released and makes a beeline for a strip club to see Flame (Grace Lee Whitney), a dancer in the club who has an on-going friendship with Helen. Helen is employed at an insurance company, so I'm not sure of the logical connection between her and Flame--who is sufficiently tarted up so we are not mistaken as to the nature of her profession.

Diane Ladd, Grace Lee Whitney, Ronnie Dapo

Dave is looking for Helen, who has since changed her name, so that he can see his son Danny. Gangster George (Aaron Saxon) learns that Dave is out of jail and is convinced he'll want serious retribution since George fingered him in the crime. George figures he'll get Dave first. Following all of this? In the meantime, Helen's boss is all gooey-eyed over her, adding to complexity of the plot. She's not interested, and neither am I at this point.

Danny decides to play sick to escape school for the day, and thus free to wander he goes first to visit the building's super, Mr. Jenkins, who always has cookies for Danny. Since it's 1962, this practice does not raise the kind of red flags as it would today. Danny then wanders over to Bailey & Spenser to look up his friend JR and ends up stealing Jeff Spencer's lighter because, well, he's just lonely for attention.

It all comes to a head when Dave finds Danny playing in the street, but before he can introduce himself, lurking George hits the gas on his car and smashes poor Dad into road pizza. George then loses control and wrecks into a lamppost. Police arrive to arrest him and, sadly, Dave is DOA.
We end up back at the baseball field at Danny's game where the B&S gang is loudly rooting for the team, and Helen is now happily accompanied by her doting boss. She apparently has learned to play ball herself.
Grace Lee Whitney, who has appeared in several 77 SS episodes, has an absolute throw-away part in this story. Not sure why it was even written in.

Gary has pointed out that WB created a few of these episodes as trial runs for some of their contract players and possible new series ideas. This sure has the look of one of those.

NOTE: Bo Belinski has a cameo at the end of this story. He was the first pitcher in Los Angeles Angels' history to throw a no hitter, and did so in his rookie year. He was later known as the "playboy pitcher" due to his handsome looks and his romantic liasons with Ann-Margret, Tina Louise and Connie Stevens-- just to name a few. He ended up marrying Playmate of the Year Jo Collins. Being such a cool dude, it was fitting for him to make an appearance on 77 SS.

 

[Rustifer]

If it’s true then the show must be getting viewership even at 4 am. The fact that it even went immediately thru a second cycle indicates popularity since some MeTV shows just come and go. But look at all the ones that never rest including Perry Mason, Matlock, Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith, etc. So long may 77 repeat.

In a world of DVR abundance, I doubt if many of us are actually watching at 4:00 a.m. Wayyyy too early for a martini.

 

[Gary16]

In a world of DVR abundance, I doubt if many of us are actually watching at 4:00 a.m. Wayyyy too early for a martini.

But Nielsen rates delayed viewing too so if enough dvrs are recording and playing back later...

 

[Rustifer]

TIDBIT

An interesting article from the San Antonio Express, Sept. 10, 1965 annotated:

For five years, Roger Smith was one of TV's top favorites as the star of 77 Sunset Strip. When the series ended, he took a six month vacation "happy not to be working". He then got a bee in his bonnet to become a movie star. "I discovered," he admits, "that I had made an impact on the public but not on the 20 or so people who run the movie business. Their reaction to my five years on TV was, 'So what? You've never proved yourself as a ticket seller'." Ouch.

"Really, I couldn't get arrested. I didn't realize my position because things came so easy for me in Hollywood. I signed a two-week contract and it lasted 8 years." Roger thought it was a cinch business, but it turned out not to be. "You can fall as fast as you rise", he found out. He considered whether to continue as an actor or become a professional pilot, a crop duster. "The job paid well and I had learned to fly after spending a year out of work". But he just couldn't shake show business.

Life took an upturn when Smith landed the lead in a road company of "Sunday in New York". He also worked up a nightclub act, playing the Hungry I in San Francisco and even in Mexico City, where he did the whole show in Spanish. "During 7 months in nightclubs, I made more than I did in a year's worth of acting."

Shortly after this article appeared, Roger Smith landed the title role in the TV series "Mr. Roberts". He thought it was a "good omen". It lasted but one season.
He later married Ann-Margret which lasted 50 seasons, so I wouldn't call him particularly unlucky...

 

[Rustifer]

But Nielsen rates delayed viewing too so if enough dvrs are recording and playing back later...

Cool beans. Wonder if Nielsen can tell how many of us are playing it back during cocktail hour? I'd like to think I'm in good company.

 

[Rustifer]

Enjoying as always the many informative, entertaining and downright funny posts in this thread.

Russ, your analysis and dissection of all things 77 is wry and sly! You really should write a book about the lasting and effortless cool of 77 Sunset Strip, it's lingering sociological influence on America etc., or at least, it's hold upon our ageing "middle aged" imaginations...grease for peace!

Rob, your Father using Efrem Zimbalist jr. as a role model for you is most interesting! My Father likewise had great regard for him, both from 77 Sunset Strip and continuing into his long running service on The FBI. By about season 5 of that show, it was starting quite late on a school evening for this delicate and hormone-ally exhausted teenager, and I sometimes fell asleep during Act IV, much to the chagrin and disappointment of my Father. He considered this to be outrageous if I fell asleep while Inspector Erskine's .38 special was just warming up. I was letting down our hero (and law enforcement) by checking out while Efrem was battling La Cosa Nostra and the Commies! In my defense I had probably been awake for about 15 hours by this point in the evening and was likely dealing with post concussion syndrome from Football, ha, ha...but in my household, Inspector Erskine and Director J. Edgar Hoover were defenders of the faith, ha, ha...

Thanks, Randy, for your encouragement. High praise indeed coming from such a prolific and well-liked participant in this forum as you are.
As far as writing a book on the subject, that sounds suspiciously like work. Blah to that.

 

[criblecoblis]

Rob--do you know for a fact that MeTV will be returning to season 1 of 77 SS? If so, that will be the third rotation of the series on the channel. Not that I mind, but I was kinda hoping that it would get replaced with either Hawaiian Eye or Surfside 6. I can write just as extensively on either one of those.

I'm just assuming that it will, based upon Me-TV's usual procedure. They generally don't change the schedule between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so that would suggest that we will be getting back to Season 1. I frankly hope I'm not wrong, and the show stays on for a good long while. While I'm eager to see those other shows, I'd rather Me-TV replace some of their other shows with them.

 

[criblecoblis]

An interesting article from the San Antonio Express, Sept. 10, 1965 annotated:

For five years, Roger Smith was one of TV's top favorites as the star of 77 Sunset Strip. When the series ended, he took a six month vacation "happy not to be working". He then got a bee in his bonnet to become a movie star. "I discovered," he admits, "that I had made an impact on the public but not on the 20 or so people who run the movie business. Their reaction to my five years on TV was, 'So what? You've never proved yourself as a ticket seller'." Ouch.

Russ, thank you for this fascinating and informative article. I was deeply curious to know what was going on with Smith in the interregnum between 77SS and Mister Roberts.

By the way, I believe that I've neglected to mention that there is an episode of Mister Roberts on DailyMotion:

.

 

[criblecoblis]

The "Left Field Caper" is another outlier 77 episode in the series where the storyline has little to do with the detectives' handiwork and more about the co-stars' dilemmas.

While I think this is one of the more pedestrian episodes in most respects, I like to watch it because, as a lifelong Angels fan, I love the fact that "No-Hit Bo" is in it.

In this, the show's producers were showing their even-handedness between the two LA baseball teams. Sandy Koufax appeared in S02E18 "Ten Cents A Death," playing a policeman.

Speaking of Koufax, we saw him at a restaurant in Pasadena about a month ago. He is in astoundingly good shape. If I didn't know him, I'd say he was about 50, tops.

 

[criblecoblis]

Somewhere in the dim recesses of my memory bank I seem to recall that Efrem's friends and colleagues actually did address him as 'Eff.' I think I remember seeing an interview with his FBI co-star William Reynolds where he referred to him as such.

Thanks once again for the knowledge! This reminds me of a bit from Mary Tyler Moore. Rhoda is introducing Phyllis to someone (I forget who) as "Phyllis." Phyllis says to this unknown person, "My young friends call me 'Phyll.'". Rhoda responds, "And her really young friends call her 'Ph.'"

 

[Rustifer]

TIDBIT

How Jacqueline Beer Had to Overcome a Major Handicap to be on 77 Sunset Strip

In 1954, Jacqueline won the title of “Miss France” and represented her country in Long Beach’s international beauty contest. It was a title she endeavored to conceal when she decided to try becoming an actress. “I felt that if I advertised that I was “Miss France”, it would go against me. People in the movie and television business think that if you’re a beauty contest winner, you cannot be a good actress.”
Through some friends she met in Hollywood, an interview was arranged with a Paramount talent scout. It did not go well. “I got the brush off,” she claimed.

Now, I’m not sure how accurate this is, but Ms. Beer states that as she was walking off the lot afterwards, she passed under the window of producer Don Hoffman (I could find no info on this guy). Taking but one look at her, he rushed out of his office and said “You’re under contract!” After appearing in two Paramount movies, “Screaming Eagles” and “Little Boy Lost”, she made some freelance appearances on “Maverick”, “Playhouse 90” and the “Bob Cummings Show”. But the option to pick up her contract--by this time in the hands of Warner Bros.--was not exercised. Jacqueline was downhearted. Maybe she was too pretty to be an actress. In 1955 after being off the Hollywood grid, she married Jean Garcia-Roady and resigned herself to a real-life role of housewife and mother living in La Jolla.

When Warner Bros. called her three years later to see if she would consider one day’s work that “might develop into something”, she turned them down flat. After talking to her husband who considered that the two-line, one day role might be “fun”, she reluctantly accepted. It resulted in her 5 year iconic portrayal as Suzanne Fabray, switchboard operator-receptionist on 77 Sunset Strip. “It was ideal”, she says. “On one week, I’ll work one day. Another week, three days. Sometimes I even skip a week. It gives me so much time to be with my family.”
So much for the handicap of being beautiful.

NOTE: A chunk of this info I got from an interview in Bert Resnik’s column, Independent Press-Telegram, April 1963.

 

[Rustifer]

While I think this is one of the more pedestrian episodes in most respects, I like to watch it because, as a lifelong Angels fan, I love the fact that "No-Hit Bo" is in it.

In this, the show's producers were showing their even-handedness between the two LA baseball teams. Sandy Koufax appeared in S02E18 "Ten Cents A Death," playing a policeman.

Speaking of Koufax, we saw him at a restaurant in Pasadena about a month ago. He is in astoundingly good shape. If I didn't know him, I'd say he was about 50, tops.

How lucky you were to spot him! At 82, Sandy is looking quite dapper. Both he and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. are examples of how all of us wish we could look when we reach that age...

Sandy Koufax, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

 

[Rustifer]

Russ, thank you for this fascinating and informative article. I was deeply curious to know what was going on with Smith in the interregnum between 77SS and Mister Roberts.

By the way, I believe that I've neglected to mention that there is an episode of Mister Roberts on DailyMotion:

.

I can now see why the show lasted only one season, even though pretty standard comedy for the era.
Interesting, but slightly obnoxious, use of yellow stripes across the screen to highlight the actors' credits...

 

[cadavra]

TIDBIT

How Jacqueline Beer Had to Overcome a Major Handicap to be on 77 Sunset Strip

View attachment 47207

In 1954, Jacqueline won the title of “Miss France” and represented her country in Long Beach’s international beauty contest. It was a title she endeavored to conceal when she decided to try becoming an actress. “I felt that if I advertised that I was “Miss France”, it would go against me. People in the movie and television business think that if you’re a beauty contest winner, you cannot be a good actress.”
Through some friends she met in Hollywood, an interview was arranged with a Paramount talent scout. It did not go well. “I got the brush off,” she claimed.

Now, I’m not sure how accurate this is, but Ms. Beer states that as she was walking off the lot afterwards, she passed under the window of producer Don Hoffman (I could find no info on this guy). Taking but one look at her, he rushed out of his office and said “You’re under contract!” After appearing in two Paramount movies, “Screaming Eagles” and “Little Boy Lost”, she made some freelance appearances on “Maverick”, “Playhouse 90” and the “Bob Cummings Show”. But the option to pick up her contract--by this time in the hands of Warner Bros.--was not exercised. Jacqueline was downhearted. Maybe she was too pretty to be an actress. In 1955 after being off the Hollywood grid, she married Jean Garcia-Roady and resigned herself to a real-life role of housewife and mother living in La Jolla.

When Warner Bros. called her three years later to see if she would consider one day’s work that “might develop into something”, she turned them down flat. After talking to her husband who considered that the two-line, one day role might be “fun”, she reluctantly accepted. It resulted in her 5 year iconic portrayal as Suzanne Fabray, switchboard operator-receptionist on 77 Sunset Strip. “It was ideal”, she says. “On one week, I’ll work one day. Another week, three days. Sometimes I even skip a week. It gives me so much time to be with my family.”
So much for the handicap of being beautiful.

NOTE: A chunk of this info I got from an interview in Bert Resnik’s column, Independent Press-Telegram, April 1963.

Either she misremembered the name or the reporter misheard it. It was undoubtedly Don Hartman, who was a long-time writer-producer at Paramount, working frequently with Bob Hope (he co-wrote the first three "Road" pictures).

Mike S.

 

[Rustifer]

Either she misremembered the name or the reporter misheard it. It was undoubtedly Don Hartman, who was a long-time writer-producer at Paramount, working frequently with Bob Hope (he co-wrote the first three "Road" pictures).

Mike S.

Good to know. Thanks for the clarification, Mike.

 

[criblecoblis]

I can now see why the show lasted only one season, even though pretty standard comedy for the era.
Interesting, but slightly obnoxious, use of yellow stripes across the screen to highlight the actors' credits...

I agree that the episode is pretty weak. I think the concept was a loser from the beginning. In a sitcom setting, the character of Mister Roberts is doomed to be reactive and anodyne, and thus unavoidably boring. The character of Ensign Pulver is the natural focus, the instigator of action. Now, if they had gotten Edward Byrnes to play Pulver, they might have had something.

I will say that Richard X. Slattery did a superb job as the captain. He showed just the right mix of bluster and pathos. He reminds me very much of my Dad's description of his own captain when he was a first officer on a similar type of ship to Mister Roberts' in WW II.

 

[Rustifer]

I agree that the episode is pretty weak. I think the concept was a loser from the beginning. In a sitcom setting, the character of Mister Roberts is doomed to be reactive and anodyne, and thus unavoidably boring. The character of Ensign Pulver is the natural focus, the instigator of action. Now, if they had gotten Edward Byrnes to play Pulver, they might have had something.

I will say that Richard X. Slattery did a superb job as the captain. He showed just the right mix of bluster and pathos. He reminds me very much of my Dad's description of his own captain when he was a first officer on a similar type of ship to Mister Roberts' in WW II.

Love the descriptors "reactive and anodyne", "bluster and pathos". You catapulted over my Indiana University education in a single bound.

 

[Mysto]

Love the descriptors "reactive and anodyne", "bluster and pathos". You catapulted over my Indiana University education in a single bound.

I love the video games at Bluster's and Pathos but I've never been to reactive and anodyne's. I don't think we have any around here.