TV myths

[bpatrick]

There's an urban legend about a kids' show host who had cut to a cartoon and didn't realize that his mike was open, saying something like "that oughta satisfy the little bastards", or something to that effect.

That story came from radio. Supposedly, Uncle Don Carney on WOR NewYork said it, thinking the show was off the air. The story became especiallypopular because Kermit Schaefer included a clip of Carney supposedly sayingit on one of his "blooper" albums. The fact is, it never happened. Schaefer"recreated" it using either himself or an actor. The story was eventuallytraced to a kids' show host in Baltimore who had never even heard UncleDon, since WOR didn't get into Baltimore, and had made the whole thing upfor some cheap publicity. I'm sure if Uncle Don had said it, he'd have beenlooking for a job the next day, but his daily show and his Sunday-morningshow on which he read the comics lasted for years.

 

[bk77]

There's an urban legend about a kids' show host who had cut to a cartoon and didn't realize that his mike was open, saying something like "that oughta satisfy the little bastards", or something to that effect.

That story came from radio. Supposedly, Uncle Don Carney on WOR NewYork said it, thinking the show was off the air. The story became especiallypopular because Kermit Schaefer included a clip of Carney supposedly sayingit on one of his "blooper" albums. The fact is, it never happened. Schaefer"recreated" it using either himself or an actor. The story was eventuallytraced to a kids' show host in Baltimore who had never even heard UncleDon, since WOR didn't get into Baltimore, and had made the whole thing upfor some cheap publicity. I'm sure if Uncle Don had said it, he'd have beenlooking for a job the next day, but his daily show and his Sunday-morningshow on which he read the comics lasted for years.

Not sure about now but for years WOR radio could be heard in Baltimore even though I doubt they had many listeners there, at least not the same as Buffalo's WKBW and New York's WNBC and WABC and the only reason these stations had any listeners at all in Baltimore ( and elsewhere besides their home markets for that matter ) was due to their top 40 formats since Baltimore's then top 40 stations like WCAO and WFBR had a difficult time making it ouside of city limits at night. Of course this was pre-FM ( WLPL ) though.

 

[zman]

We can't forget the bert and Ernie are gay and are going to be married on a future episode of Sesame Streethttp://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/gaymupp.htm

 

[mleach]

We can't forget the bert and Ernie are gay and are going to be married on a future episode of Sesame Streethttp://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/gaymupp.htm

I heard the same thing about Batman & Robin, Felix & Oscar ( Odd Couple ), Lucy & Viv ( Lucy Show ) and Lenny & Squiggy and even Leverne & Shirley. Actually you can apply this rumor towards any show where two members of the same sex live together since despite us living in "modern times", there are still those out there who really believe that there is no such thing as two unrelated single same-sex adults who live together and are NOT sexually active with each other.Somewhat TV related, the "story" about Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors getting married that was rumored to have happened in the early 70s. People to this day believe it !!Come to think of it I think this rumor was the reason why Nabors lost his variety show back then.

 

[ixnay]

"The Flintstones" was sponsored by Winston cigarettes, and commercials aired with Fred and Barney smoking their favorite brand. The cartoon story did NOT have the men smoking.

But there was one episode, the one set right after Pebbles was brought home, where Fred offers Barney a fatherhood *cigar*. There the boys are, puffing away, until Nurse Frightenshale takes the stogies away. I watched The Flintstones a lot on WKBS-48 Phila. during my 70's puberty/adolescence. WKBS aired all 166 episodes - during the afterschool (and sometimes the beforeschool] hours. ixnay

 

[Braves2005]

The Flying Nun: Back in 1968,Sally Field was pregnant with her first son and the show was going into its 2nd season. After it was found out that Sally was pregnant in real life,it was rumored that the Catholic church had a field day with this and that the church was trying to get either the show cancelled or replace the star of the show. So to make things right and not expose the pregnancy,the show's producers had Sally do things like in one episode they had her hide behind plants. This happened in the first few episodes of the 2nd season until her son was born.That Girl: It is rumored that Marlo Thomas did not want her character Ann and Donald together in the same bedroom kissing or anything else because it wouldn't have looked very good for younger viewers.

 

[bpatrick]

And then there's the infamous exchange between
Groucho Marx and a woman with nineteen kids
on You Bet Your Life. According to the story,
Groucho asked her why she had so many kids.
"Because I love my husband," she answered.
Groucho shot back, "I love my cigar, too, but
I take it out of my mouth once in a while."

Now there are still people around who swear
they saw that exchange. Problem is, the
woman was on the show in 1948,
before You Bet Your Life moved from radio to
television. Groucho alternately confirmed and
denied the story over the years. Most of what
I've read seems to confirm that the incident did occur,
but that director Bob Dwan deleted it from the
broadcast tape (it would have raised a few
eyebrows in the '40s).

 

[genius]

Rumor had it in the early 90s that daytime actress Eileen Davidson was really a man. Appearantly, there was a transgended model named Tula who was on Donahue. From what I understand, Tula looked like Davidson, thus the myth spread like wildfire!

 

[bk77]

When Showtime was producing Q*ueer As Folk , two rules had to be followed...

1. none of the male actors could be shown sporting a lot of body hair, tattoos, goatees, and beards , nor could they been driving a motorcycle as America will not accept a gay man who, well acts "too straight".

2. also the name "bruce" could NOT be used on QAF. This is a far cry from the 70s when whenever the subject of homosexuality was brought up, the name "Bruce" wasn't far behind.

On a similar note I do remember reading where the character of Bruce Banner on the Incredible Hulk was renamed "David" for this very reason.

Also back in the 60s and well into the 70s New York DJ Bruce Morrow "Cousin Brucie" was under pressure from WABC radio to change his name on air to something else so the listeners would not get the wrong idea. Of course Morrow never did so I have doubts this myth is true.

 

[Ultimajock]

...the "CBS airing X-rated movies" in the '70s is actually true, but not in the manner most people thought it would have been. Around 1974, CBS bought the TV rights to the 1969 Italian picture LA CADUTA DEGLI DEI (THE DAMNED), co-starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, from Warner Bros. It's about a decadent and wealthy German industrialist family who are early supporters of the Nazi regime, and it includes some incredibly kinky shenanigans between family members. Because of this, the picture was given an X rating by the MPAA upon its initial American art house release in December 1969, even though that version was itself edited down from the original Italian release cut. (A version that was further cut was submitted to the MPAA in 1979 and recieved an R rating.) Although the film was so heavily edited for TV that a CBS official joked it should really be retitled "The Darned," and run by CBS only in its late movie slot against Johnny Carson on NBC and "Wide World of Entertainment" on ABC, the story got around through the Pat Robertson/Jim Bakker types that "CBS was going to start showing porn movies." That was never the case, and DEEP THROAT has yet to be shown on premium cable, let alone broadcast television...

 

[MHB]

There was a rumor along about 1980 or so -- that CBS was going to start showing soft porn on its late-night movie lineup. I even remember the anchor of the CBS affiliate in Syracuse doing an editorial -- assuring people that was *NOT* going to happen , and if CBS did such a thing, ch. 5 would never show them.

Version I heard about that time was that ABC/CBS/NBC would all start showing "nudity and explicit sex acts" after midnight.

 

[mleach]

When Showtime was producing Q*ueer As Folk , two rules had to be followed...

1. none of the male actors could be shown sporting a lot of body hair, tattoos, goatees, and beards , nor could they been driving a motorcycle as America will not accept a gay man who, well acts "too straight".

I was at a party a few years back in Virginia and one of the guests worked at one of the big studios.
I remember he was telling us about some script that was being shopped around for a possible TV sitcom called "Bears" about two gay guys who had moved away from the big city and trying to adjust to life in the suberbs. The "joke" was that these two gay guys weren't into broadway shows and other typical "gay" stuff and both guys looked/talked more like Toby Keith rather than Paul Lynde. The sitcom was supposed to have been taken place in Fort Collins, Colorado.

I don't know if this is still being shopped around now, but at the party I heard that the big reason why nobody picked it up was the "Will & Grace-QAF" image of the gay man and how this sitcom would break away from this image. In other words, hetrosexuals ( and even some homosexuals ) would have a hard time watching two gay guys watching ESPN rather than getting tickets to see a Babs/Cher concert.

 

[LKellerIII]

When Showtime was producing Q*ueer As Folk , two rules had to be followed...

1. none of the male actors could be shown sporting a lot of body hair, tattoos, goatees, and beards , nor could they been driving a motorcycle as America will not accept a gay man who, well acts "too straight".

I believe #1 - whoever cast Q as Folk and Showtime's series about lesbians (the title escapes me at the moment) seemed to be obsessed with finding the most beautiful actors possible - I guess it was part of their effort to cast homosexuality in a positive light. I know a lot of Gay men and women, and in reality - they're just as flabby, hairy and/or tatooed as the rest of us, of course...at least over the age of 35. I don't believe #2 - why would a show that pushed the envelope in showing in showing sex acts be worried about offending...whom? ...straight bikers?