Forgotten Hits Unabashed Plug

I wasn't asked but being the big Monkees fan that I am I have to give this plug to Forgotten Hits. Beginning Sunday March 30th Forgotten Hits will be running their interview with Bobby Hart. With his business partner Tommy Boyce he was a producer and songwriter for the Monkees and many others. They even had there own career as performers and had a few hits. There biggest was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite?" They even appeared on shows like "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie." When casting for the Monkees they were even considered to be made members of the group. Instead they produced the first album for them and wrote their theme song and the beautiful "I Wanna Be Free." To hear it from Bobby himself go to Forgotten Hits starting on March 30th.

Maybe next time I will give someone a bashed plug instead of an unabashed plug.

Martin and Lewis in Three Ring Circus

As readers of this blog know I have recently watched many of the Martin and Lewis films. These were from the library edition of the Martin and Lewis Collection vol. 1 and 2. However, these collections are not complete. I know they are missing At War With the Army and Three Ring Circus. I have recently seen At War With the Army so I wasn't looking forward to that but I was hoping to see Three Ring Circus as it has been years since I have seen it. These are glaring omissions and needed to have been included. I have found AT War With the Army on some cheap DVD's but I can't find Three Ring Circus anywhere. Well I can't find the complete movie but I have found some clips on You Tube. I will post one here each day. Now the talking in the scenes are in a foreign language so these posts will stick to the slapstick comedy and the singing. Perhaps I will post videos of both singing as these movies reminded me of how well both men could sing. No surprise with Dean but I forgot how good a voice Jerry had when he did sing. Even in his funny voices he could harmonize well. Here today is a clip from You Tube called My Favorite Clown from Three Ring Circus.

The Batman Mystery Club

Superman had his own radio show and it was a huge hit. He even met Batman and Robin on his show. So was the Batman Mystery Club a spin off of that show. Hardly, it came years later and this is the only episode of the show produced. It says on the show it is the 103rd meeting of the club but the first 102 meetings as well as #'s 104 and on were never produced. This episode was a pilot for a series and it never got beyond that. Superman has been a hit on radio, TV, movies and even been the subject of a Broadway play. Batman has been a hit on TV and in movies but never on radio or to my knowledge been a Broadway play.

Anyway if you want to hear the only radio show that starred Batman and Robin click on the player to listen.

Classic TV Commercials and PSA's

Here is a video with clips of different old TV commercials and PSA's.

Clean Your Monitor Screen

Here is a site that will help you efficiently clean your monitor screen. Click here to try out this revolutionary new cleaning system or click on the title above.

Banana Splits Club

The Banana Splits were sponsored by Kellogg's and their comic book adventures were published by Gold Key. This ad was in all Gold Key comics in 1969 as a way to judge how popular the group was with children.

Mr. Terrific Opening

Here is the opening to the late 1960's superhero sit-com Mr. Terrific.

The Jerry Lewis Show

I am a student of broadcasting and have long heard that Jerry had his own talk show. I have always wanted to see it but never been able to. Thanks to the internet and You Tube I now get to see episodes of many shows that were canceled before I could see them. Over at Classic Television Showbiz you can see the above clip of Jerry's talk show and more. It was the episode that aired the day it was announced that the show was canceled and Jerry is not happy about it. Thanks to WFMU's Beware of the Blog for pointing this out.

Anniversary

Well today is my wedding anniversary so don't expect more postings then this on here. I will say if you need a slipcover and live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area then you can click on Custom Slipcovers and see if they can help you. That is my wife's business and you can consider that an anniversary gift if you will by just clicking on the site. If you use their services or or link to it on your site that would be great also.

Believe it or not

Believe it or not I have started another blog. I was looking for a letterhead to use on Plastic Man Platitudes. I was having a hard time finding it and I thought I may not be the only one. So I decided to start Comic Book Letterheads. Not much there right now but I hope it will grow.

Martin and Lewis on radio

It seems I am in a Martin and Lewis mood this week. So here they are on their own radio show. Oh by the way don't play the first one. It didn't turn out too good and it sounds like the chipmunks. The second one is pretty good.

Martin and Lewis Scared Stiff

I have been watching a lot of Martin and Lewis movies on DVD lately. Not only did it provide me with some good clean fun but I also saw that Scared Stiff, their obligatory comedy team meets ghost movie, is full of pop culture icons. Not only does it have Dean and Jerry but it also stars Lizbeth Scott, Carmen Miranda, George Dolenz (Father of the Monkees Micky Dolenz) and a cameo by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I never thought that many pop culture icons would be in Scared Stiff as it is one of the least known of the duos films. Above is the film trailer.

Here is a scene where Dean sings with Carmen.



Here is a scene with Dean singing to Lizbeth Scott. The man he is talking to at the beginning of the scene is George Dolenz.



I tried to find a video where they met Hope and Crosby in the film but no luck there. If I do find it I will post it here.

Blue Beetle On Radio

For those of you old time radio fans here is the origin of the Blue Beetle on radio from 1940.

A message from DC Comics Publisher

Here is a message from DC's publisher in 1977. She explains why they started putting out their Dollar Comics at that time. That was a huge price jump at the time and it also shed some light on why some of the writers and artist at the time thought comics wouldn't be around in the 21st Century. Click on the picture and read it.

Showcase Presents: The Suicide Squad Vol. 1

I just found out that Suicide Squad, the version written by John Ostrander and art by Luke McDonnell and Karl Kesel, is coming out in May. I believe that it will be in the middle of the month.
I read almost the entire series that lasted 66 issues and it was great. The stories were usually continued into each other so to have them all in one is a good deal even if they are in black and white. The artwork for the paperback edition has not been released yet but I have given you a look at the cover of the first issue in the series.

For those of you who have never read or heard of the series here is the idea behind it. Some mission are too dangerous to risk the lives of good men. So they offer criminals a chance at freedom. They take on the mission and, if they live, they get to go free and they have to keep the squad secret from the public. They never did trust Captain Boomerang so they always tried to find ways to keep him in the squad. It was sort of like the Dirty Dozen meets Mission: Impossible. I highly recommend this book.

Larry Norman and I Wish We'd All Been Ready

I said if I ever figured out how to make embedded music on this site that I would make the first one to be of Larry Norman's song I Wish We'd All Been Ready available. Well here it is. I would like to thank Kent of Forgotten Hits for pointing me in the direction of Divshare. However, I wasn't able to make that work with their free service and my funds are limited. This one with Google I think will work quite well for my finances.

Archie's Funhouse

Here is a video of the just released Archie's Funhouse. This was really the TV version of Archie's Joke Book. Now was the Joke Book selling so well they gave it a TV show or did they do it to boost circulation of the book? I always loved how they superimposed the real live kids coming into the theater and Archie and his friends were on stage preforming.

I Am Legend

I Am Legend with Will Smith arrives on DVD on March 18th. You can pre-order it at Amazon.com today.

Monkees Promo Material and Merchandise

Here are some Monkees Promo material and merchandise I found on Foxytunes.com.

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Poster

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

DID THE MONKEES REALLY PLAY THIS GUITAR?

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Game

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the Monkees car

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Season 1 DVD

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the monkees newest set!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey, its the Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey Were the Monkees Earrings

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

IN MY HOUSE: Tiger Beat featuring The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Part of My Monkees Collection

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Secrect Society of Super-Villains

You can pre-order the Showcase Presents: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume 1. It comes out later this year. I have heard that it is coming out in May. The above is the cover of the first issue of the book when the comic book came out. I don't have any info on what the Showcase Presents artwork will look like yet.