Newsday TV Book, December 23-29, 1973.

I've previously written a post using this TV Book, along with the Christmas 1983 issue, in a sort of compare-and-contrast a decade apart. Now, however, I thought I'd give it a post of its own.

We'll start, as ever, with the cover, the second Christmas issue in the TV Book's history.
Seen here about a season-and-a-half into Maude, Bill Macy (born Wolf Martin Garber) looks every bit the meshuggeneh goy in his festive sweater and scarf, Santa hat, and gypsum snowman.

For whatever reason, after just one year of printing holiday wishes from celebrities both national and local, the Long Island newspaper chose to skip it this year, instead having Macy create a wish list for both the characters of his show and the actors. My favorite thing about it is that, in conjuring an imaginary gift for Bea Arthur, he invents the DVR and Turner Classic Movies!

Here's a double dose of TV Line for you--must be Christmas!

The Sunday schedules include an angelic Viskupic close-up on that year's Boston Pops program, plus a whole mess o' seasonal shows for "Christmas Eve Eve."

Monday (Christmas Eve) was the big day in my home, presents exchanged that night, with some years turning into an all-night rager! (Well, that's how it felt as a kiddie when I'd look at the electric clock over the refrigerator to see that it was three o' damn clock in the morning, pretty exciting stuff...) Christmas Day follows, natch.

At the center of the issue was a two-page spread of ads for LI establishments offering a hot New Year's Eve, including my hometown's Camelot Pub (in the Plainview Pickwick Motor Inn), plus a few in nearby Hicksville and Westbury.

**Don't forget--you can click on any of these pics to enlarge and clarify.**

Here's Friday evening, with a Viskupic caricature of Nelson Rockefeller (or his big ol' noggin, anyway).

Here's all day Saturday, with a couple of belated Christmas treats sprinkled in.
(The tennis close-up illustration, by the way, is by Michael Killelea, Art Director for Newsday around this time. He keeps a Facebook page and a website devoted to his lovely plein air watercolors.)

You must be on the "nice" list, because Santa left the whole dang Quick Guide!

AND a bonus article about Joe Franklin? Man, I don't even want to know what you did to rub St. Nick the right way... especially if it involved actual rubbing!

That's all, folks--I hope you're enjoying the season, and if the Ghosts of Christmas Past help you do it, then dig around in this blog--it's downright haunted by them!
Merry Christmas!