• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Classic TV Shows Question

V

valkyrie777

Friend of mine and I were discussing classic TV shows. He stumped me with a few of them...then, he couldn't tell me more about them other than their names! Does anybody know more about them? Thanks.

1) "Crunch & Des" 2) "SeaHunt" and 3) "The Life Of Riley".
 
> Friend of mine and I were discussing classic TV shows. He
> stumped me with a few of them...then, he couldn't tell me
> more about them other than their names! Does anybody know
> more about them? Thanks.
>
> 1) "Crunch & Des" 2) "SeaHunt" and 3) "The Life Of Riley".

I don't know the answer about number 1 but I do know about 2 and 3.

Sea Hunt starred Lloyd Bridges and lasted from 1957 to 1961 in syndication. One of the many aspects of the show that it showed various scenes underwater.

The Life Of Riley first started out in 1949 on the DuMont Network with Jackie Gleason played Chester Riley. This lasted one season with Jackie Gleason. In 1953,William Bendix(who also was Riley on radio as well) took over the role and the show lasted until 1958. The show basically was about Chester Riley and his constant troubles at his job and at home with his wife and kids.
 
> Friend of mine and I were discussing classic TV shows. He
> stumped me with a few of them...then, he couldn't tell me
> more about them other than their names! Does anybody know
> more about them? Thanks.
>
> 1) "Crunch & Des"

http://diverlink.com/seahunt/

and 3) "The Life Of Riley".

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/lifeofriley/lifeofriley.htm>http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/lifeofriley/lifeofriley.htm</a>
<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> > Friend of mine and I were discussing classic TV shows. He
> > stumped me with a few of them...then, he couldn't tell me
> > more about them other than their names! Does anybody know
> > more about them? Thanks.
> >
> > 1) "Crunch & Des" 2) "SeaHunt" and 3) "The Life Of Riley".
>
>
> I don't know the answer about number 1 but I do know about 2
> and 3.
>
> Sea Hunt starred Lloyd Bridges and lasted from 1957 to 1961
> in syndication. One of the many aspects of the show that it
> showed various scenes underwater.
>
> The Life Of Riley first started out in 1949 on the DuMont
> Network with Jackie Gleason played Chester Riley. This
> lasted one season with Jackie Gleason. In 1953,William
> Bendix(who also was Riley on radio as well) took over the
> role and the show lasted until 1958. The show basically was
> about Chester Riley and his constant troubles at his job and
> at home with his wife and kids.
>
Crunch And Des was a 1955 syndicated series starring Forrest
Tucker as Crunch Adams and Sandy Kenyon (don't think it's the
one on CNN) as Des. The two ran a charter-boat service in
the Bahamas. Whether it was filmed there, I have no information.
The show was also called "Charter Boat" and "Deep Sea Adventures."
(Source: Vincent Terrace's "Complete Encyclopedia of Television,
1947-1976.")

There was a revived Sea Hunt, syndicated in the 1987-88 season.
Mike Nelson was now played by Ron Ely, and his boat was called
the "Sea Hunt," hence the show's title. Mike had a daughter,
Jennifer, played by Kimberly Sissons (who?), who accompanied
him on missions. The underwater scenes were filmed in the
Bahamas, the rest in British Columbia. (Brooks and Marsh)

The Gleason version of Life Of Riley played on NBC (I know,
I've seen it listed as DuMont because Gleason did Cavalcade
Of Stars there) Tuesdays at 9:30 (ET) in the 1949-50 season
(Brooks and Marsh).
Gleason got the job because Bendix's studio, RKO, wouldn't
let him do television, although they allowed him to continue
the radio version of Riley (Gleason filled in when Bendix was
on location filming somewhere and couldn't make it back to L.A.).
The only problem was that Gleason's portrayal of Riley went
against the public's image of the character as played by Bendix
since 1943. Gleason's Riley was no wimp; in fact, I see him
as an embryonic Ralph Kramden. The production values are not
the greatest, but if a Gleason episode turns up on DVD or
TV Land, it's worth checking out, if only for the historical
value. And keep an eye on the guy who plays Riley's buddy
Jim Gillis on the Gleason version; although not primarily a
comedian, Sid Tomack often steals the show from Gleason (Tom
D'Andrea, Gillis on the Bendix version, is also not bad).
Side note: in 1955 Tom D'Andrea was appearing with Hal March
on another series, The Soldiers, so Riley got a new best
friend, Calvin Dudley, played by George O'Hanlon. Don't
recognize that name? He was the voice of George Jetson.
(D'Andrea returned in 1956.)
 
The early 1949 Version with William Bendix

Is being sold at the Dollar Stores, for a Dollar! I thought everybody knew Sea Hunt?. It was so famous & painful to watch, I hated it, saw it everyday!
 
Re: The early 1949 Version with William Bendix

> Is being sold at the Dollar Stores, for a Dollar! I thought
> everybody knew Sea Hunt?. It was so famous & painful to
> watch, I hated it, saw it everyday!
>
Why was it painful to watch? The only problem many people
saw was that Lloyd Bridges' character, Mike Nelson, always
dived alone, something a skin diver never does. Unless,
of course, you're talking about the stories.

As for Life Of Riley, Jackie Gleason did the 1949 version.
William Bendix did not start playing the role on television
until 1953. As I pointed out, Bendix did do the radio version
even while Gleason was doing the television show.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 11/29/05 02:55 PM.</FONT></P>
 
Ever see Dusty's Trail?

> Is being sold at the Dollar Stores, for a Dollar! I thought
> everybody knew Sea Hunt?. It was so famous & painful to
> watch, I hated it, saw it everyday!

Which Dollar Stores? I enjoyed Life of Riley and Sea Hunt.
(In daytime or late-nite TV reruns years later, of course.)

Watch for Dusty's Trail, a really bad (but very funny) remake
of Gilligan's Island on a wagon train, starring Bob Denver.

It's also in Dollar Stores. Or maybe it was Wal-Mart.

Congrats on #2001.

73s from 954<P ID="signature">______________
Have You Seen <font color='#aabbcc' size='+1'>South Florida Radio History</font> lately?</P>
 
The early 1949 Version with William Bendix

In 1953 William Bendix would take his radio show character Riley to television. However in 1949 fans were treated to a movie version of the show. About Sea Hunt, the stories were weak, and next to any Art Clokey production (just saw a Davey and Goliath on TBN, almost lost my mind) Sea Hunt sucked!


> Why was it painful to watch? The only problem many people
> saw was that Lloyd Bridges' character, Mike Nelson, always
> dived alone, something a skin diver never does. Unless,
> of course, you're talking about the stories.
>
> As for Life Of Riley, Jackie Gleason did the 1949 version.
> William Bendix did not start playing the role on television
> until 1953. As I pointed out, Bendix did do the radio
> version
> even while Gleason was doing the television show.
>
 
Madman 2001, a Space Odyssey!

Dollar Tree. I think Dusty's trail is there too?

> Which Dollar Stores? I enjoyed Life of Riley and Sea Hunt.
> (In daytime or late-nite TV reruns years later, of course.)
>
> Watch for Dusty's Trail, a really bad (but very funny)
> remake
> of Gilligan's Island on a wagon train, starring Bob Denver.
>
> It's also in Dollar Stores. Or maybe it was Wal-Mart.
>
> Congrats on #2001.

Thank you, it all started with a single post, just a few years ago!


> 73s from 954
>
 
Re: Ever see Dusty's Trail?

> Watch for Dusty's Trail, a really bad (but very funny)
> remake
> of Gilligan's Island on a wagon train, starring Bob Denver.
>
> It's also in Dollar Stores. Or maybe it was Wal-Mart.
>
I found it in Wal-Mart. It also stars Forrest Tucker. I found it very painful to watch - I kept waiting for Agarn or the Skipper to jump out of the bushes!
 
Re: The early 1949 Version with William Bendix

> In 1953 William Bendix would take his radio show character
> Riley to television. However in 1949 fans were treated to a
> movie version of the show. About Sea Hunt, the stories were
> weak, and next to any Art Clokey production (just saw a
> Davey and Goliath on TBN, almost lost my mind) Sea Hunt
> sucked!
>
>
I had forgotten about the movie version of Riley. As for Sea
Hunt, about the only thing anyone remembers is the underwater
photography. Syndicated adventure shows in those days weren't
long on story quality (see Adventures Of Superman, seasons
3-6).
> >
>
> >
> >
>
 
Re: Ever see Dusty's Trail?

> > Watch for Dusty's Trail, a really bad (but very funny)
> > remake
> > of Gilligan's Island on a wagon train, starring Bob
> Denver.
> >
> > It's also in Dollar Stores. Or maybe it was Wal-Mart.
> >
> I found it in Wal-Mart. It also stars Forrest Tucker. I
> found it very painful to watch - I kept waiting for Agarn or
> the Skipper to jump out of the bushes!
>
After all, both Dusty's Trail and Gilligan's Island were
created by Sherwood Schwartz, and the characters on Dusty's
Trail were essentially one-on-one counterparts to the ones
on Gilligan's Island. Dusty's Trail is one show I consciously
avoided when it aired in '73.
 
Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol, Rin Tin Tin, and Robin Hood

I was a kid when Sea Hunt was on in the late 1950's and enjoyed the show, also Highway Patrol with Brodrick Crawford. If I recall correctly Sea Hunt came on Saturday evenings at 7pm on Philly's WCAU channel 10. I believe Highway Patrol was a weeknight show also on WCAU, but I'm not really sure, that was a long time ago. However, a show that would entertain a kid might not be so entertaining to a 54 year old. I've discovered when watching some old show I used to like from back then (having bought some of the old shows on DVD at a Dollar store or catching on TV Land on cable), and finding it not as great as I remembered. So I might not find Sea Hunt or Highway Patrol as enjoyable as I did then.

I can remember seeing an episode of Rin Tin Tin and Robin Hood (this was a British show). I was excited about seeing both shows I really liked as a kid and now found them to be nostalgic and enjoyed seeing the first five minutes of it just to hear the theme music and the people, but found the stories to not be that entertaining. Ah, time marches on.

> > In 1953 William Bendix would take his radio show character
>
> > Riley to television. However in 1949 fans were treated to
> a
> > movie version of the show. About Sea Hunt, the stories
> were
> > weak, and next to any Art Clokey production (just saw a
> > Davey and Goliath on TBN, almost lost my mind) Sea Hunt
> > sucked!
> >
> >
> I had forgotten about the movie version of Riley. As for
> Sea
> Hunt, about the only thing anyone remembers is the
> underwater
> photography. Syndicated adventure shows in those days
> weren't
> long on story quality (see Adventures Of Superman, seasons
> 3-6).
> > >
> >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
 
Re: Ever see "Dusty's Trail"?

The reason why "Dusty's Trail" is on those one-dollar DVD's is that most of the episodes of that series have fallen into the public domain, or were never (properly?) copyrighted.

"Dusty's Trail" went into first-run syndication. It's my guess is that all three networks turned it down, but creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz was so sure it would become a sure-fire hit that he produced it anyway and got a syndicator to distribute it to local stations, many of whom played it one night a week at 7 or 7:30 P.M. (ET/PT)

Not only did "Dusty's" bite the dust in the Spring of 1974, but so too did Schwartz's most successful series (in terms of popularity during it's original network broadcast), "The Brady Bunch".
 
Re: Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol, Rin Tin Tin, and Robin Hood

> I was a kid when Sea Hunt was on in the late 1950's and
> enjoyed the show, also Highway Patrol with Brodrick
> Crawford. If I recall correctly Sea Hunt came on Saturday
> evenings at 7pm on Philly's WCAU channel 10. I believe
> Highway Patrol was a weeknight show also on WCAU, but I'm
> not really sure, that was a long time ago. However, a show
> that would entertain a kid might not be so entertaining to a
> 54 year old. I've discovered when watching some old show I
> used to like from back then (having bought some of the old
> shows on DVD at a Dollar store or catching on TV Land on
> cable), and finding it not as great as I remembered. So I
> might not find Sea Hunt or Highway Patrol as enjoyable as I
> did then.
>
> I can remember seeing an episode of Rin Tin Tin and Robin
> Hood (this was a British show). I was excited about seeing
> both shows I really liked as a kid and now found them to be
> nostalgic and enjoyed seeing the first five minutes of it
> just to hear the theme music and the people, but found the
> stories to not be that entertaining. Ah, time marches on.

All great shows....Highway Patrol and Sea Hunt were syndicated and came on in early fringe, along with another awesome program, Rescue 8, all three on WXEX-TV8 in Richmond. Two other of my childhood favorites were Sky King and Fury, but I think they came on Saturday mornings in Richmond, but I think they may have been syndicated as well.
 
Re: Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol, Rin Tin Tin, and Robin Hood

I remember Rescue 8, The Whirly Birds (about guys in a helocopter - that's all I remember), Sky King, Fury, Sergent Preston, Superman, The Lone Ranger, all shows I, as a kid really enjoyed. Man kids today have missed out on a lot of great shows, all of it in black and white (at least it was on our B&W TV).

>
> All great shows....Highway Patrol and Sea Hunt were
> syndicated and came on in early fringe, along with another
> awesome program, Rescue 8, all three on WXEX-TV8 in
> Richmond. Two other of my childhood favorites were Sky King
> and Fury, but I think they came on Saturday mornings in
> Richmond, but I think they may have been syndicated as well.
>
 
Re: Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol, Rin Tin Tin, and Robin Hood

> I remember Rescue 8, The Whirly Birds (about guys in a
> helocopter - that's all I remember), Sky King, Fury, Sergent
> Preston, Superman, The Lone Ranger, all shows I, as a kid
> really enjoyed. Man kids today have missed out on a lot of
> great shows, all of it in black and white (at least it was
> on our B&W TV).

Dang! Whirly Birds was the other one I was trying to remember! Another great show. Only three channels back then (at least in Richmond) and TV was great.All in B&W too, except it turns out most of the Superman episodes were in color (and some Lone Ranger) but of course, we only had B&W at our house. They showed Sky King some years ago on CBN Family, and I was surprised at how buxom Penny was. Geez--I'd love to see all those shows again....
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom