Well, I waited as long as I possibly could. I now MUST post the BOTB Results.
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The third and final part of my 'James Dean BOTB Contest' took place [link> HERE. It was between 'ROCK ON' (David Essex) and 'JACK & DIANE' (John 'Cougar' Mellencamp), and it wound up being a huge disappointment.
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The last thing I wanted was a tie. Imagine watching a full season of the NFL or MLB and at the end, the Super Bowl or World Series was declared a tie!
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I kept waiting, hoping that someone -- anyone -- would show up at the end to vote for someone -- anyone -- and break this tie. But, alas, it was not to be and I just couldn't wait any longer.
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Nevertheless, I appreciate every one of you who took the time to visit, comment, and cast a bote. Thanks, all y'all!
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(I'm listening to some [link> Tiny Tim while writing this, just to make me feel a wee bit o' better about this mess. Tiny Tim always puts a smile on my face! And later, I'm gonna get drunk and watch 'Pinocchio'... and that ain't no lie!)
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David Essex jumped out to an immediate 5-1 lead but... the lead didn't last.
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Final Tally:
David Essex = 7 votes
John 'Melon' Cougarcamp = 7 votes
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As much as I really dig 'Jack & Diane', my vote went to 'ROCK ON' by David Essex. There is just so much I love about that song. First of all, it's REAL Cool! I mean, it's just plain cool. It would be cool even if it didn't mention James Dean, the king of Cool. And as I previously described it, 'Rock On' sounds like a super-duper-slowed-down James Brown 'FUNK' song. But wait! There's more!...
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Aside from the repeated mention of James Dean (my acting hero), in the lyrics of 'Rock On' there's also a mention of 'Summertime Blues'. That song was by Eddie Cochran who has always been my favorite Rock artist from the 1950s. I love Eddie and still listen to him regularly. After a thorough, many-years-long study of it, I came to the conclusion that Eddie Cochran's 'Sumertime Blues' was the very first Punk Rock song (or more accurately, the very first Proto-Punk Rock song). 'Summertime Blues' was the first truly anti-establishment song I've ever found -- it was anti-parents, anti-boss, and anti-government (but with a sense o' humor, which I'll always have).
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References to James Dean and Eddie Cochran in the same song! OF COURSE I voted for THAT! Hullo-oooo!
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Here's another Fun Fact:
Although I did own a red leather James Dean-inspired motorcycle-type jacket when I was in my early twenties (as seen in the M*A*S*H photos I displayed), that wasn't really my favorite leather jacket. In fact, I eventually gave the red leather jacket to my buddy Kelly "Andy" Anderson (who committed suicide in 1986), because my more basic black leather jacket was my favorite and the one I practically lived in for a decade or more.
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Here's me wearing that black leather jacket (sans a pin) at the Statue of Liberty in 1983:
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At different times, I wore a single pin on that black leather jacket, and there were only 3 pins that I ever deemed worthy enough of being displayed on that leather jacket:
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1) The first one was a black & white Eddie Cochran pin.
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2) Later, I replaced the Eddie Cochran pin with a Lone Wolf pin.
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3) And lastly, I replaced the Lone Wolf pin with a black & white James Dean & Julie Harris pin. This pin was handmade for me by my acting buddy, Marty "Party" Brumer. I think Marty cut the picture out from a Fox Venice Theatre or Nuart Theatre flyer advertising their showing of 'East Of Eden'. I LOVED that pin -- it was literally one-of-a-kind -- and I still own it to this very day. Marty Brumer was killed by a car thief in 1989, but the James Dean pin he made for me remains one of my all-time most cherished possessions.
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Here's me wearing that almost-famous black leather jacket (WITH my handmade, one-of-a-kind James Dean pin) in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1985:
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In the previous post, I showed y'all pictures of me on MASH during my "Dog Tag Years". I'll close this disaster with a few mo' pics of me on a few mo' shows:
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[Me, at far-far right ("in the vest, is it?"), as a member of The Shamrocks, the idiotic Irish gang on the ridiculous show 'Hill Street Blues'.]
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[Me, at right, playing the part of a martial arts gang member on the idiotic show 'CHiPs'.]
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[Me, at center, taking notes while Fonzie tells us guys how to pick-up-girls on the moronic, shark-jumping show 'Happy Days'. The image quality is very poor, but that's apropos, because the show was incredibly low-quality, too!]
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Well, thanks again to ALL O' YOUZ for showing up and attempting to promote a winner in my 'James Dean BOTB Contest'. Sadly, there was no winner. What we had was a tie -- which is like kissing your sister, or so I've been told (by my Brother... the sick bastard! ;-)
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Anyway, I intend to return here on December 1st for a traditional Christmas BOTB installment. I hope to see you here again for that. Until then...
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Bless And Be Blessed!!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
[link> LEARN THE HOLY BIBLE IN 15 MINUTES!
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I'll take your tie over my musical slaughter. We had about the same number of votes in our contests but mine were heavily weighted in the more well-known factor--a Battle mistake that I've made more than once.
ReplyDeleteI have little to say about any TV programming from the seventies and eighties since I didn't watch that much network primetime back then. But from what I've seen I'd likely agree with your low assessments of the shows you mentioned. But I still don't watch many shows--not many at all.
I never owned a leather jacket until my present wife bought me one for Christmas of 2000 or somewhere around there. I rarely wear it unless it's cold enough, which doesn't happen all that much. And now that I rarely leave the house I'll wear it even less. That jacket will stay in good shape for years to come I'd say.
Hope you get more comments on your results post that I did. I'm starting to wonder if there is really much point to the results posts. But I'm starting to feel that way about blogging and a lot of other things as well.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
LEE ~
DeleteYeah, honestly, your outcome didn't surprise me. Using a Billboard #3 hit against an almost completely unknown non-mainstream type of song is just begging for a blowout, if not an outright shutout.
I think the DC5's 'Because' against Bread's 'If' might have been a pretty close contest.
I don't like a BOTB tie anytime but I especially hate it when it comes at the end of a 3-installment playoff series. It just feels like I wasted 3 months worth of Battles for an official "No Decision". It'll probably be a cold August day in Phoenix before I ever do a BOTB series playoff again.
Yeah, there has been a LOT of garbage TV shows -- even during what was overall a relatively good couple of TV decades like the '70s and '80s.
Although it's not my favorite TV series of all time, 'FRASIER' (at my #2 spot on the list) was absolutely brilliant! The writing and performances were downright amazing, even by my own (IMO) exceptionally high standards.
I recommend you check out 'THE WONDER YEARS', which I've been revisiting recently. They did a great job of capturing the growing-up events, thoughts, and feelings from the same era in which we were both in our formative years.
Another '80s show that is easily in my Top 5 all-time is 'MOONLIGHTING'. My Ma turned me onto it when it first aired, and although the first couple episodes I saw didn't exactly grab me, by the third episode I viewed, I had completely locked into the main characters' personalities and enjoyed the show immensely!
No one could really and fully appreciate the 'Moonlighting' episode 'ATOMIC SHAKESPEARE' from Season 3 unless they had first seen most of the episodes in Seasons 1 & 2. But having seen nearly all of the preceding episodes, I came to the conclusion (which I still hold today) that Moonlighting's 'ATOMIC SHAKESPEARE' was the single greatest episode from any TV series EVER!
>>... I'm starting to wonder if there is really much point to the results posts.
BOTB Results posts have never generated many comments. I suspect it's because most of the time, voters don't really have much emotional investment in the outcome. They'll vote for a song when faced with a choice but, like me (the vast majority of the time), they don't really care much which song wins. Voting results aren't going to change their opinions. I still like checking on the Results (and will be by your blog to comment tomorrow), but I think the FUN is in offering an opinion while the Battle is ongoing - overall Results be damned.
~ D-FensDogG
You were in the jumping the shark episode?..hahahaaa. Sorry but....hahahaaa. Ok, I think the battle was a great one because it was a tie. I have my black suede jacket with the fringes and I love it.
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteGOL!! (Guffaw-Out-Loud!!)
No, No, NO!!
I was definitely NOT in the shark-jumping episode of 'Shitty Days'. ;^D
That shit had already happened BEFORE I began my professional life in HollyWEIRD.
I just did a Google search and found that the episode where Fonzie jumped the shark aired on September 20, 1977 (a date that will live in infamy!!)
But I distinctly recall that the second production I ever worked on (which was just 1 or 2 days after the first production I ever worked on) was the movie 'BIG WEDNESDAY':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Wednesday
And that movie was released on May 26, 1978, which means it was probably filmed in late '77, but probably earlier than the infamous September 20, 1977 date.
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Alright, alright... digging a bit deeper just now, I found that the TV series 'James At 15' (and later renamed 'James At 16') first aired on September 5, 1977, and I *DID* work on that show A LOT -- before I became a regular on MASH. In fact, after awhile, I became the stand-in for Lance Kerwin (the show's star).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_at_15
But I'm not sure if I worked on the pilot episode of 'James At 15'. If so, then, yeah, I guess I *WAS* working in HollyWEIRD at the time Fonzie infamously jumped the shark (while wearing his leather jacket!) Damn! What a fuckin'-- er... I mean, "phuqin'" stupid show! I adore the movie 'AMERICAN GRAFFITI', but I *ALWAYS* hated 'Happy Days'.
I would *NEVER* admit to working on the Shark-Jumping episode, even if I had (which I *promise* you I proudly did *NOT*!)
I did, however, work on 'Happy Days' a good number of times later. And there were (only) three things I liked about working on 'Happy Days':
1) It was filmed before a live audience, which made it feel like performing in a play, rather than on a closed studio set.
2) It was filmed at Paramount Studios which was...
3) ...just across the street from 'Astro Burger', which had the biggest 'n' best onion rings EVER!
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4) [*yeah, I just thought of a 4th reason I liked working on 'Happy Days'*] There was a gal named Lisa Ayres who, because of her 1950s/'60s look and innocent attitude style, often worked on 'Happy Days' also. And I definitely had a *thang* for Lisa.
~ D-Fens DogG
(too cool fer shark-jumpin'!)
POSTSCRIPT:
A leather jacket with fringes will ALWAYS be cool! I had one (or maybe even two) myself, once-upon-a-time ago.
Hahahaha! I MAY just suffer through the shark jumping episode again sometime just to see your youthful visage! It would be a sacrifice, though.
ReplyDeleteSixgun Mc.
And Big Wednesday! I have not seen it since it came out, but I remember really liking that movie. That one you can be proud of!
Actually, your whole Hollywood experience sounds very interesting and cool to be able to have in the memory bank.
I think I briefly owned a leather jacket. But it was during those silly days of the early 80s when people had Flock of Seagulls hair (not me) and very short, strangely-cut leather clothes. I always felt I looked stupid in it. Actually, I always have felt I looked stupid in anything. The sad thing is that I look even stupider wearing nothing... so I have to wear stupid clothes.
SIXGUN McPUNK
DeleteSecretary of the Shameless Punks Society ~
Going back and re-reading what I wrote in my caption for that 'Shitty Days' photo, I can now see why y'all keep thinking that I worked on that infamous episode of 'Shitty Days'. The caption said what I wanted to express, but apparently I could have worded it more clearly.
I want to make this very clear right now, however:
Although I *DID* work several times on the shark-jumping TV series 'HAPPY DAYS', I *NEVER* worked on the "shark-jumping" *EPISODE* of 'Happy Days'!! Anyone who watches the "shark-jumping" episode with the expectation of seeing me somewhere in it is going to be disappointed by both, my absence and by the show itself. I do not recommend anyone torture him/herself unnecessarily. In other words: I ain't in it, and just say "No" to the shark-jumping episode of 'Happy Days' -- and every other 'Happy Days' episode as well!
In fact, I had run across that expression "jump the shark" many, many times, for years, and didn't even know where the term originated. I understood the meaning of it (i.e., something that had deteriorated deplorably) but I had no idea this meme was even from a TV show I had worked on several times. Finally, one day, my curiosity got the best of me and I looked into the genesis of this expression. Then seeing that it was from an ep of Fonzie jumping a shark (while wearing his leather jacket - UHP!...), I made it a point to watch that episode... once. And once was more'n enough.
I couldn't begin to tell anyone what the primary storylines were of the 'Happy Days' episodes that I worked on way back then, all I know for certain is that "shark-jumping" one was not amongst 'em (I'm exceedingly pleased to say!)
What I recall about 'Big Wednesday' was being on the set one day (or maybe even two days) for a bar scene. But they never even did get around to filming that bar scene while I spent a day or two sitting around on the set. I guess the production had fallen behind schedule. So basically, I don't think I appear anywhere in 'Big Wednesday'. I got paid "money for nothing". But the chicks weren't free; those I still had to pay for.
;^D
>>... I think I briefly owned a leather jacket. But it was during those silly days of the early 80s when people had Flock of Seagulls hair (not me)
Oh, yeah, that was right about the time I gave up on Rock and really got deeply into the Blues, which was the gateway drug to Jazz, for me.
As I got older and found my own unique "voice" more and more, I came to the realization that I was no longer "a leather jacket" kind of guy. So, one day many years ago, I donated my almost-famous black leather jacket to a Goodwill store in Phoenix, Airheadzona. Presumably, today someone is walking around wearing my old black leather jacket, having no idea that it once spent a full night in a Mexican jail. (That's where I met Dr. Johnny Fever, and we both agreed to always eat our meals over our respective kitchen sinks.)
~ D-FensDogG
'FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS'
Well, double "haha," then.
DeleteI thought your denial of being in the shark episode was disingenuous. I was SURE you musta been in it and am sorry to hear you are not! That would be quite a credit to put down on the ol' resume! Like saying you were in "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or "Showgirls."
Six
SHEBOYGANBOY McSIXGUN ~
DeleteHmmm... 'Showgirls' -- have you mentioned that one before? I don't recall seeing it. (Sounds like I oughtn't.) As you know, however, I loves me and owns me some 'PLAN 9...'
Have you seen 'THE ROOM' (2003)? Brother McBeer Boy turned me onto that one. Possibly the worst movie ever. (Makes 'Plan 9' almost look like 'Citizen Kane'.)
~ D-FensDogG
'FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS'
Leather jackets are definitely cool, especially the ones with fringes. (There's a memory!) I'm surprised you got a tie! I thought for sure, Rock On would win by a landslide, but then, I'm biased. ☺ Fun to see your showbiz pics. CHiPS and Happy Days were silly shows, but the Fonz was a memorable character. (Also, Erik Estrada was good eye candy!)
ReplyDeleteDEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~
Delete>>... Leather jackets are definitely cool
Like the word "cool" itself, leather jackets will NEVER go out of style. (Unlike Rock 'N' Roll, which is just a passing fad. ;^)
Actually, prior to posting this Battle, I was pretty sure that 'Jack & Diane' was going to slaughter 'Rock On'. But I was never the least bit concerned about a shutout because I knew for absolute certain that and YOU and I were both going to vote for David Essex.
Thanks for stopping by to check out the BOTB Results.
Yeah, 'CHiPs' and 'Happy Days' were fuc-- er... I mean, phuqin' stupid shows! :^D
I worked on a lot of really bad stuffs, but also a few good stuffs over my 7 years in Hollyweird. A job was a job; a job was money and bills paid, etc. At one time or another (and sometimes very, very often) I worked on almost everything that was being filmed from mid-1977 through 1983. It wasn't until 1984 that I finally went out and got "a real job".
I can't begin to remember everything I was in anymore. All the of the aforementioned shows, plus 'One Day At A Time'. (Valerie Bertinelli was some serious eye-candy for me. I can't believe she settled for Eddie Van Halen when she could have had ME! ;-)
There was a TV show called 'Alice', and I still remember working on one episode of that in which I was in jail with Vic Tayback, who played the cook, Mel. Other than being in jail with Mel, I couldn't begin to tell you what year that was or what the main plot of the episode was.
Then there were a bunch of movies, like 'And Justice For All', 'The Fury', and... bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
The very last job I did in Hollyweird was on an episode of 'Dream On', in which they filmed my hand playing the part of Martin Tupper's hand (star: Brian Benben) moving chess pieces around a chessboard. After that, I got a job in a movie rental store in L.A. Believe it or not, that LAST job on 'Dream On' was probably my favorite in Hollyweird, because I was a HUGE fan of 'Dream On' at that time. I was absolutely thrilled that I was going to get to do something on my then (current) favorite TV series!
Thanks again for stopping by, Debbie!
~ D-FensDogG
'FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS'