WHKK The Series Part 5 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY VIOLET!

TVN: Was it hard getting in touch with the rest of the cast?

RP: Not with Marlin, Chuck and Mike. The four of us kept in touch over the years. I did keep in contact for awhile with Colson and Jeff but lost touch after awhile. I lost touch completely with Steve, Nancy, and Elizabeth after the show was cancelled. I tried to get in touch with them to do the movie but couldn’t find them. Actually I did see Nancy and Elizabeth once. I bumped into Nancy at Burger King and she had just had a baby. That was about 2 or 3 years after the show was cancelled. Around that time I bumped into Elizabeth at McDonald’s. She was just out to eat with some friends. I had just gotten there and she was just leaving.

TVN: Burger King and McDonalds?

RP: I know it isn’t healthy but I like fast food. Chuck once said if the restaurant didn’t have neon lights and chrome Rick won’t eat there.

TVN: Did any comical events happen with the rest of the cast?

RP: Well lets see Chuck was to be a groomsman but got nervous and at the last minute was changed to an usher and suddenly one of the ushers became a groomsman. There was some funny stuff with Mike that resulted in him missing the bachelor party. But everything worked out and we got married.

TVN: Wasn’t that one of the earlier TV Guides that started using more the one cover?

RP: Yes that is one of the collector cover ones. That really started by accident. They first put out one with my wife and I on the cover. But the printer made a couple of errors. One was when he didn’t name the show. It was the WHKK Wedding Reunion Special and he called it the Wedding Special. The other was on the date. The printer put the year on the date and at that time TV Guide didn’t put the year on the cover. They pulled it real fast and put one out with me and the guys on the cover. Actually that was also the first and only time that we made the cover of your magazine.

TVN: Yes and I remember that Mr. Reed had the cover all to himself. You said earlier that you really got married on the reunion movie.

RP: Yes not only was the date of the wedding March 17th in the movie but it was filmed on March 17th. So St. Patrick’s Day really is our anniversary. So on this day I have to say…HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SWEETHEART! I LOVE YOU! 

Let Your Imagination Soar

Remember these types of advertisments. I use to see them all the time back in the late 60's. I However the ones that I saw advertised a submarine that seated 2. I really thought if I ordered one I would get a real sub. I use to live in the couintry at that time across the street from a fishing lake. I dreamed that one of my cousins and I would use that sub and explore the bottom of that lake. Maybe even use to to go over seas to europe. Hey I was only about 6 years old at the time. When I got older and realized they were just cardboard boxes shaped to look like a sub or in the ad above a space ship I was glad I never ordered one of them. Can you imagine expecting a real ship and getting a cardboard box? Talk about a wake up call! At least I saved my parents about $5 by not asking them for the money to get it. 

Jerry Lewis Comic Book

Here is an example of what the Jerry Lewis comic book was like. I you want to get this book you can by going to this site. 

Happy Birthday Jerry Lewis

Today is Jerry Lewis 80th birthday. So Happy Birthday to you. When I was between the ages of 5 and 9 to me the biggest names in movie stars were Dean Jones, Kurt Russell, Elvis and Jerry Lewis. I didn't see any of the movies that he did with Dean Martin till I was older when they reran them on TV. I loved anything that had to do with Jerry Lewis. I saw all his movies mostly when Mom and Dad took me to the drive-in. I was such a big fan of his that one of my memories of my families first trips to Florida was when we first got there and got a room at a hotel. We ate our dinner and watched Rock-A-Bye Baby. On his own Mr. Lewis starred in movies that were either cinema genius or to be kind not that good. Love him or hate him you have to admit that he is a very talanted man who can make people laugh. My favorites were the Patsy, Cinderfella and of course The Nutty Professor. While with Dean Martin DC Comics starred them in their own comic book. When they broke up DC kept Jerry in his own book. Later in the early 70's he got his own cartoon series. I hope they put that out on a DVD boxed set soon. Every labor day he did a wonderful thing by getting entertainers together to raise money to combat MD. For the longest time I watched every year and pledged because an old elementry school friend of mine, Wayne VonGrease and his brother found out that they both had it. It was so bad that Wayne had to leave school because he could no longer climb the stairs. Later I saw in the newspapers that he graduated high school without ever setting foot in the school. This was in the days before home schooling became more normal. When they took the play "Damn Yankees" was on the road my friend Jeff Reeves and I got tickets. He said he knew someone who could get us in to meet Mr. Lewis. If Jeff said he could get us in to meet someone it usually happened. However, this time his show business powers met their match and we didn't get in. We gave then some photos to see if they could get him to sign them but they came back unsigned. Now I don't hold any of that against Jeff or Mr. Lewis. Jerry may not even know that it happened. Since the 70's Mr. Lewis became better known for his temper, his feud with Mr. Martin and medical problems. From what I have heard Mr. Martin and Mr. Lewis made up before Mr. Martin passed away. I am happy that so far it seems that his medical problems are a thing of the past or at least are on their way to his past. Now while I may not agree with how he expresses his anger I am sure in some ways his anger is justified. So here is to you Jerry. Happy Birthday. Thanks for the good times. Thanks for surviving life and have a piece of birthday cake for me.
The above movie poster I got from this auction site.

WHKK The Series Part 4 fiction

TVN: What did you do after the show left the air?

RP: Well we went off in spring of 1985. By the fall of 1985 I had another syndicated show on that I produced and it starred my three cousins and I. It was called Bachelor Party. It only lasted 2 years. By the fall of 1987 I produced 2 other shows. One was a kids show starring my cousin Randy Blankenship called Randy and Friends. The other was starring my cousin Steve Thompson called Me, Myself and I. Randy and Friends ran for 2 years. Me, Myself and I ran for 1 year.

TVN: What happened after that?

RP: Well I kept looking for other shows to produce but couldn’t find any I could sink my teeth into. So I did guest spots on other shows. Then I was asked to produce the WHKK Reunion movie.

TVN: I already know the answer to this but for the sake of our readers who don’t who asked you?

RP: It was PAX TV. The were in the middle of getting the rights to air the reruns and thought that a reunion movie would be nice to have also.

TVN: What gave you the idea to have the movie about a wedding?

RP: Well a lot of the stories on the show dealt with our adventures in dating. I thought our audience should finally see one of the characters getting married. After all what brings old friends together more then a wedding? Well funerals do but I didn’t want anyone of us dying.

TVN: You and your wife wrote the script. What gave you the idea for the plot?

RP: It was pretty much what happened when we got married. Having to find a Church, setting a date etc. The typical wedding stuff.

TVN: What kind of stuff?

RP: Well like we had a hard time setting the date. We finally settled on May. Then when we went to check the date with the church May was all booked up. We went through their calendar and found that March 17th was open. We didn’t know why but we took that date. Then we were reminded that was St. Patrick’s Day. Neither of us celebrated it but when I told her the groomsmen should be in green tux’s she said she didn’t think that was a good idea. Then there was a big storm and the church suffered so much damage that it was unsafe to hold services at the church. It was too late to get another church. The one part of the church that didn’t suffer any damage was the church Gym. So the wedding was held in the Gym.

TVN: The part of the bride was played by your real wife wasn’t it?

RP: Yes! Now most of the movie was scripted but we put a little bit of reality in it as we were actually married on that day.

Continued and concluded in part 5 

WHKK The Series Part 3 fiction

TVN: I notice that a year later TV Guide had your show on the cover again but you were cut out of the picture. Do you know why?

RP: Not really unless they were mad at me for saying Mike should have been on the cover instead of me the last time. I do remember that one as it was the only episode we filmed that was mostly in black and white. Jeff Eldred had a dream that we were all back in the old west. Only the parts with Jeff falling asleep and him waking up were filmed in color. At least Chuck and Mike got on the cover that week. I think that was the last year we were on too.

TVN: Now what was the reason to bring on a new cast member? Was it because you saw that Colson was leaving the show?

RP: No Colson’s departure came as a surprise to everyone. We all thought he was happy with the show. However, his contract was up a few months after Mike joined and he didn’t sign up. Mike was put into the show to make it funnier and give it more energy. Most of the characters on the show had been Christians for quite sometime. What is funnier than watching someone doing the right thing? Watching someone who thinks he is doing the right thing but is not. So we bought Mike on as a recently born again Christian who worked at the #1 album rock station in town. He wants to work in Christian radio so he can use his talents for the Lord, but he still has a few things to learn.
One of my favorite episodes is when he wanted to help with the sales department and sold commercial time to a palm reader. Marlin and Chuck had to go tell her that since it is a Christian station it wouldn’t be right for them to have ads for palm reading. She said she could put a sign up saying it was the church of palm reading. Marlin said “Miss. I could put a sign outside the radio station saying we were a television station. That doesn’t mean that we are one.”
She agreed and took her money back.

TVN: Are there any other favorites that you liked during the run of the show?

RP: Sure there was the one that had Steve Perkins going out on a date with Elizabeth and Nancy at the same time. A favorite scene of mine was when I had to go outside to talk to the guy installing the new satellite dish. A bug flies up my pants leg and the installer doesn’t see it but I can feel it as it flies around and is biting my leg. I practically do a dance around him. He must have been wondering what was this guy eating before. Then I excuse myself to go inside so I can get rid of that bug.

TVN: Did you have any special guest on the show?

RP: Oh yes! Contemporary Christian music was just getting started. Well actually it started in the late 60’s early 70’s era but by the early 80’s it was starting to catch on and become it’s own type of music. Some of our guest were the Imperials, Amy Grant, Twila Paris, Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, Brown Banister. In the last season hardly a week went by with out at least a cameo by someone in the contemporary Christian music field. Word must have leaked out that this may be our last season and they wanted on the show.

TVN: What was you favorite episode with a guest?

RP: That would have to be the Christmas episode from our last season. Since the radio station was a 24 hour business it couldn’t close for the holidays and I had to work on Christmas day. The characters that Twila Paris and Phil Keaggy were playing on that episode came by from my church to cheer me up. I got to sing a duet with Twila Paris while it Phil Keaggy played the guitar.

TVN: What song did you sing?

RP: O Little Town Of Bethleham!
Continued in part 4

WHKK The Series Part 2

TVN: There was a feud that started between you and TV Guide in 1982. Wasn’t there?

RP: I have read that TV Guide called it a feud but it wasn’t. It was really a misunderstanding.

TVN: Wasn’t it over an interview that you did with them?

RP: No that is part of the misunderstanding. I didn’t give them an interview they didn’t even ask me for one. They interviewed Mike Reed who was added to the cast that year. I guess I should clear this up now once and for all. They had interviewed Mike but for some reason I was on the cover of the magazine. You see the title of the interview was the new DJ who puts the Rock in Christian Rock. That was refering to Mike’s new character on the show. However, they wanted a person on the cover that the public already knew. I flat out told them know they should have Mike on it since the article was about him. I saw someone on the set taking pictures and thought it was a friend or the producers so I let him take pictures of me. Next thing I know one of them is on the cover of TV Guide. Mike and I were both upset because we both thought he was going to be on the cover. We called them up and asked them why he was not on the cover. They said they had to have the star of the show on the cover. I told them they should have taken a cast photo then because I am not the star. It is an ensemble cast. Or they could have had Mike and I on the cover together.

TVN: On that cover you look like you are handing something to somebody. Who is it?

RP: Yeah! My cousin Randy was on the set that day. He is a ventriloquist and that week we filmed our homage to Edgar Bergen. Randy was hired as a DJ who did his ventriloquist act on the radio.

TVN: A ventriloquist on the radio?

RP: Well it did work for Edger Bergen.

Continued in Part 3 tomorrow 

WHKK the Series Part 1 fiction

WHKK
Starring Chuck Baker a DJ/Sales Mgr, Rick Phillips who played a DJ/news reporter, Marlin Tester as GM/Program Director, Jeff Eldred as News Director, Colson Leach as a DJ named Spinner, Steve Perkins as an intern, Nancy Turner as a DJ and Elizabeth Tucker as the receptionist.

In 1981 the producers of WKRP wanted to do a spin off. I was supposed to do a few episodes of WKRP. Then I would be spun off onto the new show. The show was a hit and ran for about 4 years. Here is a recent Interview that I did with a magazine called TV Now.

TV NOW: What was the idea to start the show?

Rick Phillips: Well I wasn’t there in the idea phase so I don’t know. I was working in radio at the time and heard they were doing a casting call for a new show so I showed up.

TVN: The show was to be a spin off but you never were on WKRP. What happened?

RP: Well when the network executives saw that the show was going to be about a Christian radio station they backed away from the show.

TVN: Why didn’t they just ask the producers make a change in format?

RP: They did ask them but the producers for some reason were fixed on it being a Christian radio station. Now as a Christian myself I liked the idea but I would have still done the show no matter what format they wanted as long as it didn’t go against my Christian principals.

TVN: I heard they had problems deciding on what to call the show.

RP: Yeah they did. They wanted to call it WGOD to begin with but they thought it might get confusing with 2 shows going by station call letters. Also, they didn’t want to offend any religions.

TVN: What other names did they want to call it?

RP: I remember hearing them mention calling it God On The Air. Someone said that sounded more offensive then WGOD. Finally I told them that there use to be a station in my hometown that was called WHKK. They had to call the station something so they checked it out. Since the station was no longer in business there was nothing wrong with calling our fictional station WHKK.

TVN: Getting back to my original question. What happened with the show when the networks decided they didn’t want to do the spin off?

RP: Well they went into first run syndication. We had just barely enough markets signed up to air the first season of 13 episodes.

TVN: Did they ever address that the show was a spin off?

RP: Yes! One episode Gordon Jump who played Mr. Carlson and Richard Saunders who played Les Nesman came on the show. However, there was some legal problem with the networks since we were not one of their shows. We couldn’t call them Mr. Carlson or Les or Big Guy as that was the property of the network. So we just called them representatives of the station owner. The show did end with a joke about WKRP. Mr. Carlson was there to give some money to Marlin the GM. Marlin said maybe he could now buy that new soundboard for the DJ booth. Mr. Carlson looked at him and said he didn’t think Mama would like that.

TVN: Why did they have you all use your real names?

RP: I don’t know. I know with the Monkees the producers hoped to make them a real recording group. Did they hope we would become a real station?

TVN: Didn’t some of them go by their nicknames too?

RP: Yes we even worked in some of them. Marlin was the oldest of our group and he had a loving caring way with people so we called him Pa. It was explained in the series that even though he was only a few years older then us he took us all under his wing and thought of all of us as his kids. That is why he was called Pa on the show. Colson, like a lot of us, had a background in radio before the series began. At the radio station he was called Spinner. Sometimes to tease him we would call him Spitter. He would get alittle upset and say “It’s Spinner! Not Spitter!” The writers saw this and to his dismay worked it as a running gag into the show. One day we kept calling him Spitter all day long. He didn’t say anything about it but his anger must have been building. When it came time to tape that day we came to a scene where I said “Hey Spitter!” He turned around and was suppose to say his typical response. However, it came out as “It’s Spitter! Not Spinner!” I was stunned. The live audience gave us one of the shows biggest laughs. Colson was so flustered he didn’t know what to say. Finally he said “You know what I mean.” The scene went on and the director kept it in the show.

TVN: Where there any blooper reels of things that were cut out of the show?

RP: As long as we stayed in character everything was kept in the show. If you watch the show you are watching our blooper reel.

Continued in part 2 tomorrow.

A Prayer To Ask Jesus Christ Into Your Heart

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever, believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:16 and 17
king james version
If you know in your heart that you need Jesus Christ in your life. Then pray this simple prayer.
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I invite Christ into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.
If you have done this then you now need to find a Bible believing and preaching church. The links section at the right or below depending on your browser has links to some local churches in my area. You can e-mail them if they are not in your area. They may be able to help you find one in your area.

Today's Bible Verse

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.
Psalm 19:1 NLT

...God created the world out of nothing. Creation was something like the magician pulling a rabbit out of hat. Except God didn't have a rabbit and He didn't have a hat.
R C SPROUL 

Happy Anniversary to Glenn A. Baker and Monkeemania

For those of you who can do math I must apologize. I recently posted that this year was the 26th anniversary of the publication The Monkees Tale. I have corrected that post as last year was the 20th anniversary making this it's 21st anniversary. However, I am on time to wish Glenn A. Baker happy 2oth anniversary on the publication of his book Monkeemania. This was one of the first publications on the Monkees from a major publishing house. It was published by St. Martin's Press in 1986. Other previous publications were by teen magazines or by fans who interviewed the pre-fab four. Mr. Baker works in the music industry. At the time, according to the back of the book, he was Billboard magazine's Australian editor and was responsible for the Monkees Greatest Hits album. Now remember the Monkees were considered a passing fad after the show left the air in 1968. Perhaps the reason it was published on cheap paper and has no color photos was to keep cost down in case the Monkees were just a fad again. They could have done better on the publishing. A fad doesn't keep coming back stronger then ever each time and with more fans then before. The book seems more complete to me then any other as it tells you about the fans overseas in Japan and Australia. It also has a complete discography telling about their records release in the USA and other countries as well as the repressing. Also included are recordings they did before and after the Monkees along with the art for many of the overseas picture sleeves of the 45's.
Other books on the Monkees followed. Some autobiographies by Davy and Micky. A biography of Mike Nesmith called Total Control is a more recent release. Mr. Nesmith himself is a published author with his non-Monkees fiction book titled "The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora." The only one so far not to have a book out is Peter Tork. Hey Pete you should put out an autobiography or something. If you want me to ghost write it drop me an e-mail or get the two men who helped Mr. Baker with this book.