Newsday TV Book, October 8-14, 1972.

Hey, happy Columbus Day! Unless you're Native American, in which case: Hey, sorrowful Genocide Day!

But enough politics--let's leave that shit to Rump and Killary, haw haw! We got nostalginatin' to do and here's Ben Murphy and Roger Davis of Alias Smith and Jones to help! (Click pics for largeness.)

Davis was evidently a versatile guy. He played multiple characters on Dark Shadows, the most boring Gothic horror soap opera ever. Then, before replacing poor Pete Duel in this series, he was its narrator and, in one episode, a guest bad guy. His greatest achievement, in my eyes, was being married to Jaclyn Smith (or "Jacklyn Ellen Smith" as she's called in the article) for ten years--only to divorce, however, in the midst of her Charlie's Angels heyday.

That article was written by Carol Burton, who now steps back into her role as editor of the TV Line column, this week fielding questions about Groucho's alleged return to game show hosting, Capricorny Rod Serling, the possibility of obtaining a large color poster of Billy Joe Royal, whether Maxwell House's Emma used to be a witch, and if Zsa Zsa is Eva or vice-versa.

This is the E.F. Hutton commercial mentioned. (I have it in my own collection of commercials, but this is not an upload from my personal YouTube channel.) J. Paul Getty's level of enthusiasm suggests he's doing this ad at gunpoint. His final wave might be my favorite closing to any commercial ever.

Speaking of commercial breaks, here's a few random ads to bug ya...

A year before playing Kojak for the first time, Telly Savalas copped to Visions, a TV movie that aired on Tuesday against Marcus Welby and gentle Filipino aborigines. (Some great John Cashman reviews in the late-night, as usual...)

The NBC Wednesday daytime line-up may have had changes due to sports, and here we have an example of how Newsday addressed such uncertainties. Did you know WOR (channel 9) had a Spanish-language serial, Brothers of Courage, airing at noon at this time? Neither did I, because I was three-and-a-half and it was on against Felix the Cat. (I have found no references to this show anywhere, either under that title or its possible Spanish title, "Hermanos de Coraje.")

Nothing really special about this ad, I just enjoy vintage holiday clip art. But you do have to appreciate a lamp store that stays open until 9 o'clock three days a week--now there's dedication to interior illumination and decor...

In this ad for Farmingdale's Pix Photographic Enterprises, the Pix Cowboy is replaced by a photographer who looks like a Dick Van Dyke-ish Bob Dobbs. The Thursday special close-up highlights PBS' "Orpheus in Hell," taken from French television. Oh, THAT'S why everyone hates PBS!

Here's Saturday night, with its wonderfully detailed descriptions of programs both first-run and many-times-rerun. The Mary Tyler Moore Show synopsis makes me want to watch it right now. Astonishingly, I probably can. (Yep, it took me fifteen seconds of DuckDuckGo-ing to find it on Hulu.) Ironic, how the everyday miracles of the present can facilitate veneration of the past. (Master Po only wishes he had said that!)

No back cover this week, so I'm off to see if I can find that "VD Blues" special that's listed at ten--I'm in the mood for some warm Coco!
 (Next week: Shelley Fabares!)