Newsday TV Book, August 28-September 3, 1977.

This week's cover is interesting in that two of the actors seen promoting their new show, On Our Own, were no longer in the cast by the time the show made it to air. Georgann Johnson (at left) and Michael Tucci got the boot, and there is nary a mention of it on the intranets (although I did find this cover reproduced on a site dedicated to old sitcoms).

The nuts-and-bolts article by Lisa Shea offers lots of info on stars Bess Armstrong and Lynnie Green, and some on producer Sam Denoff (and his earlier writing partnership with Bill Persky).

Mets fans who watched the games on WOR 9 back in the day will enjoy seeing the reference to Kiner's Korner in this issue's TV Line. Devotees of Jean Stapleton's singing will likewise be stoked, although that particular demographic may be entirely limited to H.M. of New Hyde Park.

Here are the Sunday morning listings (for fans of Wonderama and Marshall Efron) and afternoon (for Abbott & Costello and Bowery Boys enthusiasts). The latter page also features an appearance by a classic...

Obscure Long Island Advertising Character:

The noseless preggo fashionista for Dan Howard's Maternity Factory Outlet! That chick musta been Catholic--she was knocked up for my entire childhood!

Here's late Sunday too, with Monty Python and David Susskind (spotlighting mistresses and Hitler buffs), plus the usual delightful movie reviews by the redoubtable John Cashman.

Some Monday evening listings are accompanied by an ad for Elaine Powers Figure Salons, which encouraged clients/friends to "face fall's fashions unafraid" (although I'd mostly be afraid of the two women who dressed that poor gal like Gumby).

I include the Tuesday afternoon listings mainly for the Suffolk County Center for Hypnosis ad, with its serving of cartoon cheesecake.
(I suppose I could give the Taylor Business Institute's pencil-surfers an OLIAC shout-out, as they were used in ads for many years, but really, who gives a shit.)

Amidst the daytime programming is an editorial Gary Viskupic illustration for a show that asked grave questions about the energy crisis--concerns which, fortunately, have all been resolved since. Phew, glad we don't have to worry about that mess anymore!

Now I present the four-page section at the center of the Book, which I guess is called "Enjoy Life More... A Guide to Long Island's Finest in Dining, Catering, Entertainment." I would list all the participating advertisers for easier searching, but it's a lot. I'll just trust that all the Old Gerlich's fanatics out there will find this, one way or another. (A dropping of Sal Casper's name should help, too.)

As far as the slogan for Ming's goes, yep, you read that white--uh, right...

This Bell Systems ad for the network movie The Man in the Iron Mask is easily found online, but not in this wide format, which I think makes it even eerier.

I know there are two questions on your mind right now, so I'll answer them: No, Blogger is not letting me center some of these paragraphs for some reason, among other formatting headaches it's currently giving me; and yes, there will be a reference to my hometown of Plainview in this issue--and there it is, dead last in the wedding ads! VIP Formals, woot-woot!

Here's all day Saturday.

And now, two terrific ads I have apparently never scanned before, which seems impossible. Without further ado, I present the birdlike intensity of vocal coach extraordinaire Perry Ames, and the avant-garde precision hair designs of Visible Changes (and by "visible," they evidently mean "hilarious").

The Crosswords puzzle is headlined by American (but born in Japan) comic actor Goro Suzuki. He changed his name to avoid prejudice... from the Chinese? So sayeth Wikipedia, anyway.
The "Back to School" ads are always bittersweet, recalling fondly the autumns of youth, but also inevitably reminding one of school, which blew like a stormy October afternoon.
Dollar Shoe was even open late going into that Labor Day weekend. Can you imagine school shoe-shopping with your mom while it's getting dark out? It sounds like a fluorescent-lit dream I may have had, one that precariously verged on low-grade nightmare...

That's all for now--I'll see you in the past real soon!