The Umbrella Fonzie Experience

is that it?

2007-08-30T19:19:00.000-06:00

i hope that the last episode we saw of the two coreys is not the final episode of the series. if so, what a letdown! they just get into a fight, haim (addict, freak, psycho, dirty pig) leaves and the feldmans (strangely normal) are just there at the house? laaaaaaaame.

DOC SAVAGE Book Terror In The Navy PB 1969 Robeson #33 - (eBay item 160047076437 end time Aug-28-07 11:43:09 PDT)

2007-08-17T10:19:00.001-06:00

DOC SAVAGE Book Terror In The Navy PB 1969 Robeson #33 - (eBay item 160047076437 end time Aug-28-07 11:43:09 PDT)

SHAFT & BIG SCORE 2 DVD Set Blaxploitation Roundtree - (eBay item 160112406230 end time Aug-28-07 12:48:10 PDT)

2007-08-17T10:19:00.000-06:00

SHAFT & BIG SCORE 2 DVD Set Blaxploitation Roundtree - (eBay item 160112406230 end time Aug-28-07 12:48:10 PDT)

SHAFT'S Big Score Vintage Movie Book Blaxploitation PB - (eBay item 160102100304 end time Aug-28-07 16:24:16 PDT)

2007-08-17T10:18:00.000-06:00

SHAFT'S Big Score Vintage Movie Book Blaxploitation PB - (eBay item 160102100304 end time Aug-28-07 16:24:16 PDT)

Emergency Vintage TV Book 1972 FREE SHIPPING Series NBC

2007-08-17T10:09:00.000-06:00

Emergency!

By Chris Stratton

Vintage Television Tie-In Paperback Book

NBC TV Series

Publisher: Popular Library

1972

UBER-RARE!!!

Condition: See Scans For Cover Condition - Complete And Intact - Solid Binding - Book Square - Glossy Covers - Small Red Mark At Upper Edge Of Pages - Text Clean - Small Tanning Mark Inside Front Cover- Overall, A Nice And Rare Collectible!

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

2007-08-15T13:05:00.000-06:00

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

The coolest music for kids that I have heard...and seen!

TV Talk Book 1976 Kotter Laverne Shirley FREE SHIPPING - (item 160068637877 end time Aug-26-07 17:32:57 PDT)

2007-08-15T08:39:00.000-06:00

TV Talk Book 1976 Kotter Laverne Shirley FREE SHIPPING - (item 160068637877 end time Aug-26-07 17:32:57 PDT)

GLAM ROCK Music DVD Roxy Music T Rex Sweet Lulu Cassidy - (item 160112405904 end time Aug-28-07 12:46:59 PDT)

2007-08-15T08:38:00.001-06:00

GLAM ROCK Music DVD Roxy Music T Rex Sweet Lulu Cassidy - (item 160112405904 end time Aug-28-07 12:46:59 PDT)

Belle & Sebastian Music DVD Fans Only Matador Indie - (item 160112405729 end time Aug-28-07 12:46:24 PDT)

2007-08-15T08:38:00.000-06:00

Belle & Sebastian Music DVD Fans Only Matador Indie - (item 160112405729 end time Aug-28-07 12:46:24 PDT)

Rat Patrol #3 Vintage TV Book 1967 FREE SHIPPING PB ABC - (item 160142272184 end time Aug-27-07 04:27:10 PDT)

2007-08-15T08:37:00.000-06:00

Rat Patrol #3 Vintage TV Book 1967 FREE SHIPPING PB ABC - (item 160142272184 end time Aug-27-07 04:27:10 PDT)

Room 222 #3 Vintage TV Book Love FREE SHIPPING PB 1971 - (item 160142872528 end time Aug-29-07 06:47:08 PDT)

2007-08-14T15:01:00.000-06:00

Room 222 #3 Vintage TV Book Love FREE SHIPPING PB 1971 - (item 160142872528 end time Aug-29-07 06:47:08 PDT)

Boy Named Charlie Brown Vintage Peanuts Book 1971 PB - (item 160133406028 end time Aug-29-07 16:01:12 PDT)

2007-08-14T15:00:00.000-06:00

Boy Named Charlie Brown Vintage Peanuts Book 1971 PB - (item 160133406028 end time Aug-29-07 16:01:12 PDT)

Pit & The Pendulum Vintage Movie Book Poe Vincent Price - (item 160122786688 end time Aug-28-07 17:01:30 PDT)

2007-08-14T14:59:00.000-06:00

Pit & The Pendulum Vintage Movie Book Poe Vincent Price - (item 160122786688 end time Aug-28-07 17:01:30 PDT)

Mod Squad #4 Vintage TV Book FREE SHIPPING 1969 PB Spy - (item 160142591114 end time Aug-28-07 08:59:41 PDT)

2007-08-14T14:58:00.000-06:00

Mod Squad #4 Vintage TV Book FREE SHIPPING 1969 PB Spy - (item 160142591114 end time Aug-28-07 08:59:41 PDT)

YUKI Vintage Book Kirkbride 1969 Pan FREE SHIPPING PB - (item 160133694030 end time Aug-30-07 15:16:59 PDT)

2007-08-13T19:03:00.000-06:00

YUKI Vintage Book Kirkbride 1969 Pan FREE SHIPPING PB - (item 160133694030 end time Aug-30-07 15:16:59 PDT)

Captain Kangaroo Vintage Golden Book FREE SHIPPING 1973 - (item 160091817462 end time Aug-30-07 15:19:41 PDT)

2007-08-13T19:02:00.000-06:00

Captain Kangaroo Vintage Golden Book FREE SHIPPING 1973 - (item 160091817462 end time Aug-30-07 15:19:41 PDT)

Space 1999 Year 2 #1 Vintage TV Book FREE SHIPPING PB - (item 160142872529 end time Aug-29-07 06:47:09 PDT)

2007-08-13T19:01:00.000-06:00

Space 1999 Year 2 #1 Vintage TV Book FREE SHIPPING PB - (item 160142872529 end time Aug-29-07 06:47:09 PDT)

Dusty Ayres Book Purple Tornado 1966 Corinth FREE SHIP - (item 160146930565 end time Aug-19-07 20:45:18 PDT)

2007-08-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

Dusty Ayres Book Purple Tornado 1966 Corinth FREE SHIP - (item 160146930565 end time Aug-19-07 20:45:18 PDT)

Seducer Vintage Book 1961 Flora FREE SHIPPING Monarch - (item 160146924151 end time Aug-19-07 20:15:22 PDT)

2007-08-13T18:59:00.000-06:00

Seducer Vintage Book 1961 Flora FREE SHIPPING Monarch - (item 160146924151 end time Aug-19-07 20:15:22 PDT)

Elmore Leonard Western 5 Book Lot Gunsights Valdez +3 - (item 160146880413 end time Aug-19-07 17:32:42 PDT)

2007-08-13T18:58:00.000-06:00

Elmore Leonard Western 5 Book Lot Gunsights Valdez +3 - (item 160146880413 end time Aug-19-07 17:32:42 PDT)

Colonel Sun James Bond Book 1969 Markham FREE SHIPPING - (item 160146716733 end time Aug-19-07 08:17:24 PDT)

2007-08-13T18:57:00.000-06:00

Colonel Sun James Bond Book 1969 Markham FREE SHIPPING - (item 160146716733 end time Aug-19-07 08:17:24 PDT)

Where The Old West Stayed Young Book Burroughs 1962 HC - (item 160147203976 end time Aug-20-07 17:38:12 PDT)

2007-08-13T18:56:00.000-06:00

Where The Old West Stayed Young Book Burroughs 1962 HC - (item 160147203976 end time Aug-20-07 17:38:12 PDT)

Dean Martin Roasts 7 VHS Lot Sinatra Reagan Lucy Hope - (item 160146893223 end time Aug-19-07 18:19:15 PDT)

2007-08-13T18:55:00.000-06:00

Dean Martin Roasts 7 VHS Lot Sinatra Reagan Lucy Hope - (item 160146893223 end time Aug-19-07 18:19:15 PDT)

Welcome to Extinct Attractions. The number one site for theme park history.

2007-08-08T12:49:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Extinct Attractions. The number one site for theme park history.

I encourage you Walt Disney theme park fans to check out this site. It is one of the coolest things I've seen out there. They film documentaries about attractions at the different Disney parks, with an emphasis on the classic rides that are now closed or have been changed. They have loads of interviews with the people that helped develop the attractions, as well as audio cds that correspond to the audio from the rides. 5 star site!!!

Thief In The Night Distant Thunder 2 VHS Lot FREE SHIP

2007-08-08T12:21:00.001-06:00

A Thief In The Night And A Distant Thunder

2 VHS Tape Lot

These Classics Are OUT OF PRINT - Get Them Both In One Free Shipping Transaction

Condition: Both Tapes And Covers In Very Good Condition

Knight Rider Vintage TV Coloring Book Hasselhoff Extravaganza

2007-08-04T09:08:00.000-06:00

Get your Hasselhoff on with some exciting and vintage Knight Rider coloring books! Up for sale and auction are 4 UNUSED coloring and activity books from 1983-1984. I KITT you not, this is a great deal...

Click Here

And Here

The next 2 are going up on auction tonight, so check back.

E$

Matt Roloff, What Have You Done?

2007-08-02T09:57:00.000-06:00

The Time Has Come, Jenny Jefferson...Part 1

2007-08-01T17:17:00.000-06:00

We were watching Six Feet Under last night, and there upon the screen was Jenny Jefferson (Belinda Tolbert). I thought, man, you really don't see many of the surviving Jeffersons on TV anymore. You might catch Sherman Hemsley or Marla Gibbs doing TVLAND shows, like the new Back To The Grind, but that's about it these days. Oh, what I wouldn't give to see the second (phoney) Lionel in a Geico ad. Anyhow, it made me realize that I really haven't done a proper post on the Jeffersons. This is one of my all time favorite TV shows. Sure, I've seen all of the episodes numerous times - and I do mean numerous - but I feel that you reach a new dimension of enjoyment when you become that familiar with a piece of entertainment - or art, for you highbrows. So I don't want to just rehash the usual stuff that you see all of the time on "retro tv" sites, etc. I want to give you a glimpse of my, um, well, no, obsession is a bit strong, but, well, ok, maybe, but, you know, my interest in the show.

I'll start with Bob Dudno. Don't remember him, do you? That's because he really wasn't on the show. He was a co-worker that Tom Willis would sometimes tell stories about. I guy that worked with him at Pelham Publishing. Bob was always besting Tom, much to his chagrin, even if it was just grabbing the last creamer when Tom was ahead of him in line for coffee. Usually a retort with a play on his last name followed: "Oh, he claims not to have known, but Dudno Did Know!!" A real laugh riot, see?

I also enjoy the multi-part episodes that featured the Jeffersons traveling. They went to Hawaii, Los Angeles and on a whodunit cruise with famous mystery novelists. There was also a one part episode in Atlantic city. The afficianado will note that Garrett Morris, playing George And Louise's "step-son" Jimmy, appeared in both the Los Angeles and Atlantic City travel-eps. Greg Morris from TV's Mission Impossible joined them on the former as Jimmy's cousin.

The whodunit cruise featured Russell "the professor" Johnson and Edie McClurg as famous mystery novelists. I like this one because George has to pose as one of the famous novelists to be on the cruise. He comes up with great fake book titles like, "In By 9, Dead By Five" and "Bloodstains, No Problem." See, he was a dry cleaner. Another laugh riot. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, "The Stiff Wore Starch."

We'll pick up here next time...

Vintage TV Guide February 2-8, 1974 Dom DeLuise Of Lotsa Luck

2007-08-01T08:11:00.001-06:00

Vintage TV Guide

February 2-8, 1974

Cover: Dom DeLuise Of Lotsa Luck

Article On Jason Robards

Publisher: Triangle Publications

Condition: See Scans For Cover Condition - Intact And Complete - Crossword Not Worked - 2 Pages Missing From Back Article Section

Please Feel Free To Ask Questions!

Vintage TV Guide 9/5-11 1970 LUCY Ball Elizabeth Taylor

2007-07-30T07:50:00.000-06:00

Vintage TV Guide September 5-11, 1970

Cover: Lucy Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton

Publisher: Triangle Publications

Condition: See Scans For Cover Condition - Intact And Complete - Crossword Not Worked - Small Tear At Upper Edge Of Pages

Please Feel Free To Ask Questions!

TV Guide Vintage Christmas Issue 1972 Partridge Family

2007-07-29T10:58:00.000-06:00

Vintage TV Guide December 23-29, 1972

Cover: Christmas Issue

* Includes A Fab Article On The Partridge Family's Visit To King's Island Amusement Park In Cincinnati, Ohio. The Family Was There To Film An Upcoming Episode For Their Television Series, Starring David Cassidy. The Classic TV Fan Will Note, That The Rival Brady Bunch Filmed An Episode There, As Well. Who Can Forget The Mad Dash Through The Park, Everyone Passing That Yogi Bear Poster Off Like A Relay Race. Also, Please Note That The Park Was Sponsored By Hanna-Barbera, Creators Of The Banana Splits, Who Incidentally, Can Be Seen Roaming Through The Park In The Brady Bunch Episodes. This Adds Further Credence To My Long-Held Belief That There Is An Odd Connection Between The Banana Splits And The Brady Bunch. You Might Notice That Both Bananas And Bradys Do Indeed Come In Bunches. At The Risk Of Over Illuminating, I Can Not Go Without Mentioning That Sid And Marty Krofft Designed The Banana Splits Costumes For Hanna- Barbera. They Were Also The Creative Geniuses Behind The Epically Bad Brady Bunch Variety Hour. Are You Starting To Put It All Together?

Publisher: Triangle Publications

Condition: See Scans For Cover Condition - Intact And Complete - Crossword Not Worked - Notice Creasing And Small Tear At Front Cover Staple - A Few Pages Have Some Notes In Pen

Please Feel Free To Ask Questions!

Ladies And Germs, Er, Gentlemen - We Have A Winner!!

2007-07-28T08:37:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Linda SS !! She is the winner of our Dog Days Of Summer blog contest. We had over 100 entries from many fine folks. Thank you to all of you for taking an interest. Stay tuned, we will have another contest soon. In the meantime, please check out Mums The Wurd for great products for children and their parents. They routinely run excellent contests, so give them a look.

E

Contest Ends Tonight!

2007-07-27T07:47:00.001-06:00

Get those contest entries in! We will pick the winning entry tonight at 10pm CST. We have had such a good response so far, we will surely do it again soon.

E

Gidget

2007-07-26T18:10:00.001-06:00

Sandra Dee was the original actress to portray surf-crazy teen, Gidget Lawrence, but my money's on Sally Field for making Gidget so, well, Gidgety. Dee was great in the movie, but Field gave us the most consistent and longest-running portrayal on the 32 episodes of the TV show. By the way, the actual Gidget is the daughter of the man who wrote the book, Frederick Kohner. If you have not read the book, you might give it a shot. It's not nearly as campy and bubblegum as the small and big screen adaptations. It was actually considered a bit salty for it's time.

A bunch of sequels to the original film were made with different actresses, most notable being Deborah Walley. There were even some made for TV films and an attempt at a 1980's television series. None of these were very good, but Gidget Goes Hawaiian starring Walley is a pretty fun film.

This post is dedicated to our dogs, Gidget and Moondoggie...

E

Requiem for Aaron Spelling. - By Troy Patterson - Slate Magazine

2007-07-26T15:28:00.000-06:00

Requiem for Aaron Spelling. - By Troy Patterson - Slate Magazine

Contest!!

2007-07-25T08:27:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all that have entered our contest, so far! There's still time, so keep the entries coming. We are enjoying reading all of your comments about why you like vintage items. We obviously have a fondness for all things vintage here at The Umbrella Shoppe. Like most of you have said, vintage items have a warmth and unique quality that you just can't replicate with new items. They all have stories to tell - past, present and future. Thanks again!

Elliott

What's Happening Now!

2007-07-24T18:41:00.000-06:00

Why do I like this show? I really can't offer a good alibi, so I won't even try. Man, I love this show.

E$

Dog Days of Summer Give-Away!!!

2007-07-24T12:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to The Umbrella Shoppe Blog, a division of our eBay store, Umbrella Shoppe Collectibles! We specialize in vintage collectibles-books, records, coloring books, dvd sets (of vintage programming!), and more!

Now...here's what you'll win when you enter the Umbrella Shoppe Contest-ANYTHING out of our store that's $15 or under + free shipping! ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE-just leave a comment & tell us why YOU love vintage and leave your blog and/or email so we can contact the winner! Head over to the store so you can be prepared with what you want when you WIN! This contest will end July 27th at 10 PM, CST.

GOOD LUCK!!! If you have questions, email me - umbrellarecords[at]gmail.com

Thanks to Rocks in My Dryer for sponsoring this totally groovy idea!

there will never be another gene rayburn

2007-07-15T20:22:00.000-06:00

today we were watching match game, and i realized that the days of the jovial, pleasant game show host are over. howie mandel, bob saget (desperate for a job much?) and regis don't compare!

someone, bring back this man and his skinny microphone! the world needs another gene (and for that matter, another bert and another allen!)

Tababa

2007-06-24T19:24:00.001-06:00

Ben Vintage Movie Book

2007-06-17T19:27:00.000-06:00

BEN (Where Willard Ended...)

By Gilbert A. Ralston

Vintage Movie Tie-In Paperback Book

Based On Cinerama Film

Bantam - Special Book Club Edition

5th Printing

Good Condition

More Vintage Books:

Visit My eBay Store

Please See Photos

WE COMBINE SHIPPING TO SAVE YOU MONEY!!

it gets better?

2007-06-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

are you telling me that the series finale of six feet under is as good as the season finale year 3? wow.

Pinktoes Vintage Book Chester Himes FREE SHIPPING PB

2007-06-06T18:11:00.000-06:00

This oldie from Chester Himes, Pinktoes, is up for auction at my Ebay Store, Umbrella Shoppe Collectibles. This is a Dell paperback book of the original Paris edition. Bidding starts at $9.98 and comes with FREE USPS media mail shipping within the USA.

The Hard Boiled Detective: Stories From Black Mask Magazine 1920-1951 Ebay Store

2007-06-06T18:03:00.000-06:00

Up for auction in my Ebay store is this compilation of hard-boiled detective stories from Black Mask Magazine entitled, The Hard Boiled Detective. These stories, published between 1920 and 1951, are edited, with introduction, by Herbert Ruhm. It is a first edition from 1977 on the Vintage Books imprint. Bidding starts at $9.98 and, as usual, comes with FREE USPS media mail shipping.

McCoy Vintage TV Book Tony Curtis

2007-06-02T12:14:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow evening, I am listing a rare copy of McCoy, a vintage television series tie-in book. The NBC series stars Tony Curtis (Persuaders, Some Like It Hot, Etc.). This is a very nice copy. Check out my Ebay store, Umbrella Shoppe Collectibles, for more vintage TV books.

Who Loves Ya baby?
E$

San Antonio Spurs, Baby...Dynasty

2007-05-31T07:26:00.000-06:00

Make that "4", Timmy. The San Antonio Spurs are on their way to a fourth NBA finals appearance since 1999. It could very easily have been 6 by now, but we won't get greedy. Defense, teamwork and the absence of superstar egos, apparently add up to a championship caliber team - year after year. Are you listening, NBA? It's not about one guy that can score 70 points in a game (and then still not make the playoffs). It's not about jersey sales and cell phone commercials. It's not about billionaire owners and private jets for the team. It's not about tattoos and shoe endorsements. It's about the old-school. It's about a singular focus on winning. Keep it up fellas. E$

Just Wanted To Use This Picture

2007-05-29T20:58:00.001-06:00

Charles Nelson Reilly Dies at 76

2007-05-29T08:23:00.000-06:00

OH NO!!!!

MSN - News - Actor Charles Nelson Reilly Dies at 76

We will miss you, CNR...

Fonzie...I'm Sorry...

2007-05-28T19:56:00.000-06:00

Hey Fonz. I am sorry for neglecting you, but life is hard sometimes. I guess you know that, huh? Anyway, I wish I could fix a bike like you. Or start a jukebox with a "RAP!!!" of my fist. You rule, dude. Seriously. I love you Fonzie. I really really love you. AYYYYYY....Sit on it! Turkey!

Why do I profess love to a TV character, you might ask? Don't think I haven't heard it before. You and all of your "reality" and such. Truth is, I love George Jefferson way more. And then there is Jack Tripper...

Still here, huh? Sorry. You must forgive me. I have seen a lot of TV. Ahhh, grab that "too much" from the tip of your tongue, and you answer me this: Do you know what the Grand Poobah is? I rest my case.

Ok, off to other news..."scientists" have discovered a way to "translate" the DNA patterns of protein in our blood into musical notes that are pleasant to the human ear. please let that sink in a while....now tell me the sky is falling...that's right, it will enable the sightless to study these patterns by listening...sky is falling...

in less "weighty" news...I have, of late, really been into "Alice" lately. It's not really about "Kiss My Grits!", though Flo is key to the entertainment value in general, but the magic lies in the show's opening credits. Picture a brown 1970's station wagon on some god-forsaken desert highway in Phoenix. Cue drum beat and smooth wah guitar. And then, "Early to rise, Early to bed...." Sung in the sassiest of sassy broadwayesque vamping vampitude. Linda Lavin, Alice herself, belts out a gem that Ethel Merman would get misty at. The best part of the song, BY FAR, is when she nails this couplet: "There's a new girl in towwwwwwwn and she's (uhh!) lookin' good! There's a fresh - freckle-face! in the (wait) neighborhood!" I don't know, maybe it's just the evening breeze, but I feel a little misty, myself. No one does "sass" like you, Linda Lavin. Will you return? And not just as "The Nana" on the, now defunct, O.C. No, we need you as "Alice" once again. Don't scoff! I mean this. We need "Alice" more than ever. She raised "Tommy" all by herself, after her truck-driving hubby up and died. That's right, baby, "single parenthood" on the TV. Ok, well. I fear I have run afoul of the common bounds of discourse already, if not by the use of the word "vampitude", certainly by my desperate plea to Linda Lavin to reenter our collective pop culture psyche. Have I made my point yet? Please, I must go finish an episode of Maude.

caught ya reading still. pretty strange, wouldn't ya say? Still reading THIS?

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$ Does

The following are the words to each version of the theme song. For the first 6 seasons, there was a new variation, although several had the same lyrics. Where applicable, click on the season number to hear the theme song.

Seasons 1 & 2 (4 variations, the short version was used occasionally during
             season 3 when Philip McKeon wasn't on that episode, although
             this was after it started airing on CBS daily in the morning,
             E! shows two episodes with this version):

Early to rise, early to bed.
In and between I cooked and cleaned and went out of my head.
Going through life with blinders on, it's tough to see.
I had to get up, get out from under and look for me.
*There's a new girl in town and she's looking good.
*There's a fresh freckled face, in the neighborhoood.
There's a new girl in town, with a brand new style.
She was just passing through,
but if things work out she's gonna stay awhile....ba ba bum bum bummmm
(the two short versions omitted the lines marked with a *)


Seasons 3 & 5 (three variations, 2 of them for season 3):

Used to be sad, used to be shy
Funniest thing, the saddest part is I never knew why...
Kickin' myself for nothin' was my favorite sport
I had to get out and start enjoyin' 'cause life's too short
There's a new girl in town, 'cause I'm feelin good.
Get a smile, get a song, for the neighborhood
there's a new girl in town on her own two feet
and this girl's here to say
with some luck and love life's gonna be
so sweeeeeeeeeet!


Season 4

Used to be sad, used to be shy
Funniest thing, the saddest part is I never knew why...
Kickin' myself for nothin' was my favorite sport
I had to take off and start enjoyin' 'cause life's too short
There's a new girl in town, 'cause I'm feelin good.
Get a smile, get a song, for the neighborhood
Things are great when you stand on your own two feet
and this girl's here to say
with some luck and love life's gonna be
so sweeeeeeeeeet!

Seasons 6-9:
I used to be sad, I used to be shy
Funniest thing, the saddest part is I never knew why...
Kickin' myself for nothin' was my favorite sport
I had to take off, start enjoyin' 'cause life's too short
There's a new girl in town, 'cause I'm feelin good.
Get a smile, get a song, for the neighborhood
Things are great when you stand on your own two feet
and this girl's here to say
with some luck and love life's gonna be
so sweeeeeeeeeet!

Oh Yeah. Still Reading.

Lionel Is Dead

2007-05-24T06:22:00.000-06:00

Before he was 30, Mike Evans acted in two classic 1970s sitcoms and helped create a third.

Evans, who played Lionel, Archie Bunker's and George Jefferson's unflappable foil in All in the Family and The Jeffersons and went on to cocreate Good Times, has died.

Evans succumbed to throat cancer last week in Twentynine Palms, California, his family told the Los Angeles Times. He was 57.

Evans was still a Los Angeles City College student when the young actor won a recurring role on All in the Family as Lionel Jefferson, the (black) next-door neighbor of the (white) bigot Bunker.

Evans appeared on more than two dozen episodes of the top-rated sitcom from 1971 to 1975, his character almost always managing to vex Bunker more with his point of view than with the color of his skin.

On The Jeffersons, an All in the Family spinoff that debuted in 1975, Evans was initially a series regular, Lionel's even-keeled nature required to contrast with the volcanic nature of his "honky"-spouting father, George Jefferson.

Evans left The Jeffersons after its first season, just as Good Times was embarking on its third.

Good Times, cocreated by Evans and Eric Montee, a writer friend from the actor's L.A. City College days, was an All in the Family spinoff, one generation removed. It focused on Florence Evans, the former maid on direct All in the Family descendant Maude, her family, their housing-project digs in Chicago and Jimmie Walker's "Dyn-o-mite" catchphrase.

Good Times was produced from 1974 to 1979. Even during its run, Evans continued to act, costarring on the short-lived 1976-77 Danny Thomas comedy The Practice.

After Good Times ended, Evans returned to The Jeffersons, replacing Damon Evans (no relation) who'd replaced him for four seasons.

Evans left the show again in 1981 after Lionel split with his wife, the daughter of the Jeffersons' neighbors, the Willises, but continued to pop up on the sitcom until its 1985 sign-off.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Evans had only one post-Lionel acting role, a 2000 guest bit on Walker, Texas Ranger. Of more recent ventures, the Times reported he "invested in real estate in Southern California."

Monte, Evans' Good Times cohort, was profiled by the Times this week for his efforts to pull out of a dive that left him living in a Salvation Army shelter. An earlier profile on Monte, published by the newspaper last April, briefly quoted Evans, who talked about how his partner got funnier "if he would start drinking cheap wine."

Born Nov. 3, 1949, in North Carolina, Evans also appeared on Love, American Style, The Streets of San Francisco and the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man.

Cinnamon Girl

2007-05-22T17:57:00.001-06:00

Commancheros Movie Book On Ebay

2007-05-22T06:34:00.001-06:00

Today we present to you, The Commancheros, a vintage western movie tie-in paperback book. The movie stars John Wayne and Stuart Whitman. Penned by Paul Wellman and published by Pocket Books, this little gem is a 2nd printing from 1961. Click here to see my Ebay listing.

We have over 200 movie tie-in books in our Ebay store, Umbrella Shoppe Collectibles, along with over 150 television tie-in books, lunch boxes, vintage Halloween costumes, and more. We accept offers on nearly everything and offer FREE MEDIA MAIL SHIPPING where applicable.

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Where there is time to waste, there most certainly is an internet connection...

2007-05-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

Where there is ______, there more than likely is ______.

Study this template. It unlocks many truisms in this little culture of ours. Think about music. Par example: Where there is a Journey record, there more than likely is a Foreigner record. Let's try another one: Where there is UB40, there more than likely is Simply Red. Eagles Greatest Hits?? Good chance of seeing Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits. Matchbox 20, you say?? Third Eye Blind should be right there. Jesus Jones?? EMF.

Let it guide you. Let it inspire you. Let it keep you away from that rabid Rick Astley fan.

Please.

Who Loves Ya Baby?

give this woman a xanax

2007-05-14T20:19:00.000-06:00

amy roloff just needs to CHILL already. oh my gosh! this woman can not give her husband or her kids a break...ever!

i know amy's had some hardships...but she needs to settle down. matt and his cronies even remodeled a barn and called it the men's crisis center to have a break from her! and guess what? she griped about that! amy, just take a deep breath and relax, man (but discipline jacob already! he's horrible!)!

OMG...Jacob

2007-05-10T09:20:00.000-06:00

Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob.....

Lost has blown my mind once again. Who/what is Jacob? Is Ben the intermediary between Jacob and the rest of the Others? Is Ben threatened by Locke's ability to hear Jacob? Is he keeping his people ignorant and powerless because of some maniacal - messianic - ego -trip - thing? What about the damn hatch??

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Photo Of The Day!

2007-05-09T18:13:00.000-06:00

The old Helsinki dog park routine...

Real Time

2007-05-09T18:03:00.000-06:00

In a world where pancakes are reading material, we have a summer house in Hawaii. We grow all kinds of herbs and flowers in our tiki-laden backyard paradise. We take long trips in our 70’s style RV unit. Inside is all kinds of avocado green and television sets. A year-round Christmas tree stays on board. It really can be Christmas eve whenever you want it to be. We drink pepsi from glass bottles outside and taste the summer air in every swig. There are grass-carpeted ditches to play in. There are sidewalks that are their own worlds. There is plenty of daydreaming and night dreaming. The evenings hold the promise of a movie of the week. Make the best of your commercial breaks. There is no Tivo here. Only real time. Everything in real time. No computers or cellular telephones. No pagers. No DSL. No satellite television. Welcome to vhf and uhf. I’ll let you in on a secret: uhf is where it’s at.

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$ Does

Welcome Back...

2007-05-09T07:33:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a while since we had a new post. Power failures and flat tires slowed me down a bit. So, to ease us back into The Umbrella Fonzie Experience, here are some old friends.

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Good Saturday!

2007-05-05T13:04:00.000-06:00

GO SPURS GO!!

2007-05-04T18:26:00.000-06:00

Oh Hells Yeah! Timmy is coming for you, Phoenix...

Related NBA Joy:

NBA.com Warriors Upset Mavs to Clinch First-Round Series

And, yes, Mark Cuban Sucks!

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

we love ben franklin

2007-05-03T21:39:00.000-06:00

what would we do without electricity? we'll post about it tomorrow...

we're back on!

temporarily disabled

2007-05-03T15:36:00.000-06:00

our power's out...and it could be up to a week before it's back! not cool! in the meantime, go visit this site to bone up on schoolhouse rock!

so far, the power's been out for 22 hrs. two more before we have to dispose of everything in our fridge, and 26 before the same thing happens to the freezer. blah.

Ebony, Ivory And Jade A.K.A. Foxforce!

2007-05-02T16:08:00.000-06:00

Please explain to me why there is an apostrophe in "Mamas" on the cover? This is taken from the back of the video box:

"You're better off dead when they start blasting lead! Ebony, Ivory, and Jade! Killing is their trade! With fist, foot, and blade, they can lick any man ever made! 3 foxy mamas who've got what it takes and know how to use it! 3 masters with a thousand ways to kill! Jump back, Jack, fo' yo' skull is cracked!
Skin of bronze! Muscles of iron! Fists of steel! The ultimate gladiators in the final arena! Angels of vengeance on a massacre marathon!
Lusting bursting babes ripe with the fruits of desire! In slaughter or seduction they score!
FOXFORCE! They turned them loose! Three sisters got soul they can't control! Back to back they face death! When their blood gets hot you're on the spot! Skirting disaster! Flirting with fate! Dancing with death!
FOXFORCE! 3 spittin' kittens on a roaring rampage of revenge! Whipped into a blazing frenzy of violence! A raging ride through hell! From olympic contenders to bloody defenders! From the first burst to the last blast! .38 caliber kittens spitting death as they claw their way to freedom!
Warm hands! Cold triggers! Blazing death! They're women! They're warm! They're wildcats! FOXFORCE! Rapid fire frenzy erupting in a .45 caliber climax! Flashing fists of fury strike like vipers of vengeance! You haven't a prayer when they leap through the air! Ebony, Ivory, and Jade can lick any man ever made!"

eBay: Space 1999 DVD Set 2 FREE SHIPPING Gerry Anderson TV

2007-04-30T17:15:00.000-06:00

Vintage Science Fiction Television At The Umbrella Shoppe!

eBay: Space 1999 DVD Set 2 FREE SHIPPING Gerry Anderson Program

eBay: Yokai 100 Monsters DVD FREE SHIPPING

2007-04-30T17:09:00.000-06:00

Weird Stuff Under The Umbrella!

eBay: Yokai 100 Monsters DVD FREE SHIPPING

Lou Reed, Transformer & Other Glam Essentials

2007-04-30T14:27:00.000-06:00

Please give this a listen. David Bowie and fellow Spider, Mick Ronson, are at the helm. Songs about Andy Warhol, make-up, jealousy, and the lovely seediness that Lou seems to channel straight from NYC. Give the Velvet Underground a spin if you have not already. While you're at it, check out the king of glam, Marc Bolan of T. Rex. You will thank me later. Bolan was England's first pop sensation in the wake of the Beatles' demise. We are talking SUPERSTAR across the pond. But then again, don't the Brits seem to always have superior rock and roll sensibilities? Yes they do. What is wrong with us? OK, you give us The Beatles and Bowie? Here's Hall And Oates...

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Mark Cuban: On The Brink Of Elimination

2007-04-30T09:32:00.000-06:00

Saturn 3...I Beg You To Watch This

2007-04-30T09:23:00.000-06:00

PLEASE. Please. P L E A S E! PLEASE. Watch The Movie, Saturn 3. Picture this: 1980, Farrah Fawcett, KIRK Douglas, Harvey Keitel and a killer robot named Hector. Isn't this enough for you? No? Still not convinced? Robot chasing Farrah through dimly lit corridors and ductwork. More? Crushing moral dilemma: man vs. machine. Trying to be like Star Wars and Alien. Are you watching yet?

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Big Wheel

2007-04-29T18:14:00.000-06:00

So, today someone asked me if I had ever owned a Big Wheel. I got one for my 6th birthday. I rode that thing until the front wheel literally split in half. I loved that it had a handbrake on the side so you could do skids around corners. I used to pedal really quickly down my driveway and then when I got to the bottom I would pull the brake to hear that awesome sound of fat plastic tires scraping against cement and also to experience the feeling of spinning in a circle! I remember when the Green Machine came out shortly after the Big Wheel. I hated that thing because it was too complicated to steer. Stick shifts? Come on! It also felt like you were laying down while riding it. And don't even get me started on the Inchworm! That thing required too much footwork and took forever to get anywhere! The Big Wheel was definitely where it was at!

Preach it Brother!

2007-04-27T10:24:00.000-06:00

AMEN.

Movie Reviews For Amiable, If Not A Trifle Demanding, Space People From Outer Space

2007-04-26T10:24:00.000-06:00

I thought the "I Don't Feel So Good" post was fun, so let's do another, shall we? This time the subject is movies!!! Specifically, let's pretend that we have been conquered by very amiable space people. We really dig them, so we want to "turn them on" to some great flicks! Come up with a top 5 and perhaps some supporting commentary. Feel free to ad pictures and links!!!!

Elliott Begins:
Most of you know that movies are not my specific pop culture addiction. I'm a little more TV/music, but I love me a good film. So, cut me some slack if I don't come off like some Ingmar Bergman freak...Ethel Merman, perhaps....

I'll start with my favorite comedy, OFFICE SPACE:

Start Here

Ok, good. Wasn't that funny?

Why, you ask, does this movie make my coveted top 5??? If for no other reason, watch it for the Michael Bolton character, played by the John Ritter-esque, David Herman. The scene where he let's loose on the office printer, set to the sounds of "gangsta" rap, is GOLDEN!!!

This movie is so right on the mark about the absurdity of corporate cubicle hell. All of your favorite co-workers are featured! It's memorable, quotable and re-watchable. "Hey Peter! They're showing the breast exam..."

Next on the list is a horror film that I only recently saw - The Wicker Man.

Check out this original trailer from 1973.

If you have not seen this, do so.

If you have seen this, I bet you still think of it sometimes.

Ok, the inevitable has come. STAR WARS !!!! I can not resist it's charms. I was seven when the first movie came out. I was a boy. Do the math. Also, I think the groovy space people would dig it.

Good Vs. Evil. Action. Sarcasm. Lasers. Robots. Darth Vader. What more, I ask you?? Besides, the Star Wars television holiday special is such an enigma in and of itself. Who remembers that one??? It was on TV after Star Wars, but before Empire, I think.

Next is a concert film, but a film nonetheless! And what a concert film it is...Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars with David Bowie. The thing was shot with poor sound and lighting, which gave it a really other worldly quality that truly suited the whole alien motif. The current DVD release has considerably cleaned up sound and video. This is a great document of the British Glam phenomenon. Watch for covers of The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground.

Lastly, you begging space people, is a touching love story, where the will to survive is what it takes to push yourself to the next level and feel no pain and kick some ass. In other words, ROCKY.

Joe Adds:

We come in peace, and here are five movies I'd like to share with them there green-skinned fellas. Keep in mind, of course, that I have a decided bent towards the genre film:

1. The Changeling: In order to acclimate the aliens to what real fear feels like, there are several points in this movie that suffice. The poor child's disembodied voice, piano notes played by the ether, visions of violence in the attic, and that goddamned red bouncy ball. Classic ghost story/haunted house chiller of the first order.

2. Stand By Me: No matter what age, generation, color, creed, or gender, every human of the last half of the twentieth century can identify with this film. Taken from a novella by Stephen King, Stand By Me tackles issues that most people, at one time or another, have faced growing up: parental apathy, ignorance, or downright neglect, the loss of a beloved family member, the quest to define oneself to oneself and in the eyes of others, the awkward journey from childhood to adolescence and beyond, facing the bully...and winning, and feeling a sad, nostalgic ping for those close friends left far behind so long ago. In some way, I think everybody's childhood can be seen in this movie. Everybody's got that body next to the train tracks, symbolizing the end of their innocence.

3. Murder on the Orient Express: In my humble opinion, there is NO better way to spend three hours in front of a TV or film screen than this absolutely epic Sidney Lumet adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic. Honestly, it is the best mystery story that I have ever read, and this movie adaptation does the book absolute justice. Every time I watch it, I catch something new, some nuance, that hadn't registered before. And the cast! Good Lord, the cast. Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Michael York, and on and on. If you are truly ignorant of the plot and the solution to the crime, and honestly guess the correct solution before Poirot has it, then you are lying. Mystery doesn't get better than this movie, and movies rarely do, either.

4. High Fidelity: Never have adult relationships and the American/British (it's based on a Brit novel) male's fascination with popular music come together so sweetly. I almost included Almost Famous, but I think High Fidelity is a much more fun treatment of music's influence on the life of the man-child than Cameron Crowe's masterpiece. Through all of John Cusack's and Jack Black's histrionic bullshit, the message is clear. Happiness, especially romantic bliss, cannot be found in song lyrics, or words of any kind. Relationships evolve on their own, no matter what Of Montreal or The Kinky Wizards are singing about.

5. Basquiat: Artists suffer and toil and become famous and suffer some more and make more art and become more famous and suffer still more greatly, produce greatness, and then they're gone. And then we blink, and wonder what has blinded our vision for that brief and glorious moment in time. That was JMB.

Peter adds:

ok. so i work in at a university library and have access to over 4700 dvds and i have seen zillions of films, but for you my visiting friends i will give specifics:

5. Sixteen Candles

This film is the epitome of the 80s teen shenanigans. great fashion. John Cusack! A character named Long Duk Dong! Brilliant comedy bits.

4. The Birds

I like this film because it's believable and creepy without being over the top. The best scene in the movie is when Tippi Hedren is waiting in the school yard for classes to dismiss. As she sits, birds start quietly flying in and sitting behind her on swing sets, monkey bars and telephone wires. She is completely unaware of this until she slowly turns around and there are literally hundreds of birds sitting there waiting on her to move. Yikes!

3. Memento

The attractive thing about this film is that it's all out of order. You need to be focused when watching this though because if you don't pay attention then you'll miss important elements. Definitely a scholarly film!

2. Mulholland Dr.

David Lynch is the master of creating disturbing characters and disturbing scenarios. I don't know what the hell this movie is supposed to be
about, but that's why i love it so much. I always discover something new when watching it and it never becomes boring. Plus Naomi Watts is nekkid in it! wooohoooo!

1. The Graduate

The musical composition and visual components of this film are extremely admirable. Add to it and relationship between a younger man and older woman and you get delicious moments of sophisticated comedy and drama. I think the editing techniques were way ahead of its time.

Honorable mentions: Buffalo '66, American Beauty, The Shining , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Girl Next Door

Laura adds:

Jeesh! Almost all of mine have been mentioned here...

1) Grease-i, quite literally, watched this movie every single day of 5th grade. i'm not the only person who did this either. i think there must be some sort of weird trend with young girls and this movie. we love it. we flock to it. we go to the anniversary releases and sing every song. i loved the 50s fervor that swept the nation in the 80s and i LOVE this movie. the music, the way too old actors, the drag racing! it was all great! i can recite every line-yes, i know it's annoying...sorry. my grease record is one of my most prized possessions-something passed down to me from my parents that they've owned since i was ONE! i went with them to see this in the theater in 1977 when i was approximately one. they also have a cassette tape of me, 2 years old, singing, "look at me, i'm sandra dee, lousy with virginity!"...klassy! it's just in my blood. grease IS the freaking word.

2) American Beauty-i went to see this movie by myself in the theater. when it was over, and elliott smith's version of "because" came on when the credits rolled, i just sat there, slack jawed. had every middle class american's life really just been captured on celluloid? yes. this movie was amazing. finally, i appreciated that i was one of the weirdos, therefore, i was, in reality, somewhat normal. the abused son capturing the paper bag blowing in the wind and seeing the tumultuous beauty...still sits with me.

3) Almost Famous-"one day, you'll be cool." several years later, the young boy that heard these words is on tour with "stillwater", a fictional, badass, 70s rock band. this movie totally captures a vibe that, as someone born in the late 70s, never thought i'd feel. i can't hear tiny dancer without getting the nostalgic feeling of riding on the tour bus with stillwater...it's as if i was there.

4) Hands on a Hard Body-this documentary chronicles the 1995 contest held in longview, TX (actually, it's now defunct, because a contestant in 2005 went seemingly crazy, broke into a K-Mart, stole a shotgun, and committed suicide). the cast of characters includes the wise soothsayer: benny perkins, the religious zealot: norma, the toothless janis and her husband who sports a cardboard hat reading "go baby go". just try and imagine for a moment 24 small town folks trying to keep one hand on a nissan hard body truck for as long as possible. yeshhh, it's as funny as it sounds. this may still be available through netflix or blockbuster total access, but i checked amazon just now and original dvds are going for as much as $200!!!

5) High Fidelity-when this movie came out, my husband and i had not been dating long. i remember leaving the theater and him saying something like "it's really strange seeing a movie that captures your life so perfectly." it does, and that's why i love it.

MumsTheWurd!: Vintage Is The New "Old"

2007-04-25T18:40:00.000-06:00

MumsTheWurd!: Vintage Is The New "Old"

Phil Spector's Appearance

2007-04-25T16:01:00.000-06:00

Can someone out there please tell me what is going on with Phil Spector's appearance? He looks like a post-menopausal librarian. Maybe it's part of his defense. "I don't know what you are talking about Judge. I didn't murder anyone. I've been stacking books the past 40 years."

Beatles Alpha Omega CD Compilatons

2007-04-25T09:32:00.000-06:00

I am listening to this Beatles compilation called, The Beatles Alpha & Omega. It comes in 2 volumes of 3 cds each. Imagine, a total of 6 cds full of every imaginable (yes, Imagine is on there) Beatles song, along with songs from the early solo careers. It apparently was released right after the Beatles broke up, but has been long out of print and hard to find. Check it out in The Umbrella Shoppe. It's cool, it goes from songs like I'll Follow The Sun to I Am The Walrus to Bangladesh. Face it, the Beatles will always BE.

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Oh man, Oh Yoko just came on...

Goober (George Lindsey) vs. Gilligan (Bob Denver) @ WWWF Grudge Match

2007-04-24T17:05:00.000-06:00

Goober (George Lindsey) vs. Gilligan (Bob Denver) @ WWWF Grudge Match

YouTube - Nanny and the Professor TV show intro

2007-04-22T15:16:00.000-06:00

YouTube - Nanny and the Professor TV show intro

Shaft & Shaft's Big Score! 2 DVD Set

2007-04-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

Good Sunday Morning To Ya!

I put some DVDs up for auction in The Umbrella Shoppe last night, including this nice Shaft/Shaft's Big Score! double feature. Check here for the details.

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$

Game 1, Spurs-Nuggets, Tonight On TNT

Brady Kids Cartoon!!!

2007-04-21T15:38:00.000-06:00

Not many people remember this cartoon. It wasn't very good, no, but still, it was the ANIMATED BRADY BUNCH KIDS AND SOME BIRD WITH A WIZARD'S HAT!!!!!

Office Space Fans Look Here!!!

2007-04-21T13:16:00.000-06:00

Please view this:

New On The Television Horizon

2007-04-21T11:10:00.000-06:00

I hope all of you out there in TV Land are doing well. Exciting things are on the horizon! NBA playoffs begin today. GO SPURS GO! Spurs face the Nuggets in round 1, starting tomorrow evening on TNT.

A new season of Little People, Big World is underway on The Learning Channel. What are the Roloffs up to now? Will there be anymore trebuchet mishaps? Will Amy chill out and stop being so mean to Matt? Probably not.

We are giving "Thank God You're Here" a try. It's a new comedy improvisation show on NBC. So far, it has been hit and miss. A little more miss than hit, actually. There have been some exceptions, like Harland Williams, and some surprises, like Star Trek's George Takei. This show depends completely on the talent pool, so let's try a little harder than Mo'Nique and Shannon Elizabeth.

I hope What About Brian comes back for another season. I guess it is kind of Felicity for the 30ish set, but come on, it's from the LOST people!! We have loved it thus far. It's good to see Barry Watson back at the very least...

More Later...

E$

To Tell The Truth...

2007-04-19T14:13:00.000-06:00

KITTY CARLISLE HART: 1910-2007

Actress, singer, 'To Tell the Truth' star

Steven Winn, Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Kitty Carlisle Hart, the supremely elegant actress, singer, arts advocate and TV personality who enjoyed one of the longest and most varied career runs in U.S. arts history, died Tuesday in New York at age 96. She had been ailing since a bout with pneumonia in December, according to her son, Christopher Hart. A scheduled San Francisco appearance in March had been canceled.

Hart, also known as Kitty Carlisle, is remembered for her role as the romantic musical heroine of the 1935 Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera" and she sang in the 1948 U.S. premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera "The Rape of Lucretia." Her long run as a panelist on the CBS game show "To Tell the Truth" made her a regular presence in the country's living rooms from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Hart's great talent, however, was not her own performing skills, but rather a faultless instinct for making the most of her own radiant charm, formidable intelligence and impeccable sense of style. Like an expert director or accompanist, Hart made everyone and everything else shine more brightly in her reflected light. She turned personality and her own glowing personal magnetism into an art form, most notably as an arts funding official and activist.

"She was always charming and very tough and very engaging," said San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, who had been a friend for decades. "I don't think Kitty Carlisle Hart was upstaged ever, by anybody, in spite of the huge personalities who surrounded her." Thomas said he knew only two other women who could "plant" themselves in a room with the same authority that Hart did. "One was Ethel Merman, and the other was Pamela Harriman."

"I can't think of anybody left who really knew the great creators of the 20th century," said Michael Strunksy, trustee of the Ira Gershwin estate and nephew of Ira Gershwin's wife Leonore. "She was the lifeline to the Gershwins, to Rodgers and Hammerstein and everyone right through to Steve Sondheim."

Kitty Carlisle married playwright Moss Hart in 1946, after turning down a proposal, as she repeatedly said, from George Gershwin. The couple had two children. When her husband died in 1961, Kitty Carlisle Hart was just getting started. She spent 20 years (1976-96) as chair of the New York State Council on the Arts and received the National Medal of Arts in 1991.

She appeared in the self-referential role of a society dowager in the 1993 film "Six Degrees of Separation" and in her 90s, took to the cabaret circuit. Her touring one-woman show of song and reminiscence, "Here's to Life," played the Plush Room in San Francisco in 2006, when Hart was 95. In that 70-minute act, she sang tunes by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and others and remembered an encounter with Harpo Marx when he was wearing only a towel.

One of Hart's greatest and most sustained achievements came as an unflagging lobbyist for government arts funding. Gracious and gifted with a perpetual museum-quality smile, she could also be blunt. "The funding problem has always been difficult," she told The Chronicle in 1996. "Now it's become impossible because the climate of the country has changed. And I don't understand it. The rich people have more money. Now we're turning into a country of yahoos. It's very distressing."

Born Catherine Conn in New Orleans on Sept. 3, 1910, Kitty Carlisle found her stage name in a phone book and studied singing in Paris and acting in London. She made her Broadway debut as Prince Orlovsky in "Die Fledermaus" in 1933. She appeared in three films, including "She Loves Me Not" with Bing Crosby, the following year. By the time of "A Night at the Opera" in 1935, her brief Hollywood career had already peaked. Hart first sang at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967, reprising her "Die Fledermaus" debut, and spent two decades as a regular panelist on "To Tell the Truth." Hart, who never had a styled hair out of place, looked as fabulous in a blindfold as she did in full-dress evening wear. Thomas said she was "one of the great party-givers in New York. No door was ever closed to her."

In addition to her son, Christopher, a Los Angeles theatrical director, Hart is survived by a daughter, New York physician Catherine Carlisle Hart, and three grandchildren.

Chronicle news services contributed to this report. E-mail Steven Winn at swinn@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Romper Room

2007-04-19T10:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, who out there watched Romper Room? I am curious, because I really never saw this program very often, but heard about it all of the time. That seems strange to me, so I thought I'd take an informal survey....

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane

2007-04-18T15:12:00.000-06:00

I remember seeing this movie on network television, on a weekend afternoon. I've always been a Jodie Foster fan. It's a 70's thing. Anyway, JEESH, this is a creepy movie! It's a French movie. Their sensibilities are a little different, let's just say. Martin Sheen plays a really disturbing pedophile. There are bodies in basements and plenty of inclement weather. I would recommend this for weekend viewing. Perhaps when it's raining...

Who Loves Ya Baby?
E$ Does...

happy lost day!!!

2007-04-18T06:27:00.000-06:00

a co-worker told me yesterday that she read that LOST is about to get much more "lord of the flies"-like...yessssssssssssssss...that will be awesome! we've constantly got the LOST itch that we just can't scratch! last week was superb and left us begging for more! while 75% (rough estimate) of modern day programming sucks, even though we have 8,672,007 channels to choose from, there are a few keeping the small flame of hope we have going.

cheers to LOST, for taking a lackluster, piece of coal, at the beginning of the season and turning it into a diamond!

Marvin Zindler!!!

2007-04-17T16:49:00.000-06:00

Does anyone remember Marvin Zindler, newscaster? I do. And he haunts me every now and again. His voice was kind of Muppety and loud, I believe....

Wouldn't it be great...

2007-04-17T06:09:00.000-06:00

if people dealt with problems like cartoon characters?

for example: jerry is constantly giving tom "the business", and tom's always getting upset, huffing around, looking for a way to get jerry. he concocts some great scheme...and as it's playing out, instead of jerry getting squished by the flagpole tom's set up to fall on him, tom runs smack dab into the ironing board on the way there, and the iron falls straight on his behind, where he's hairless for about 2 seconds.

i think it would be funny if people got so mad that their head literally exploded, but instead of being gross, their head pieces turned to confetti, and everyone around that mad person threw a party (afterall, who can pass up fresh confetti!?!), instead of being upset by the mad person!!!

What Makes a Great Sitcom?

2007-04-16T17:39:00.001-06:00

This article takes a look at the falling-off of the 4-camera sitcom format, and the five elements that combined to make all the great shows of the past. Where'd they all go?

read more | digg story

will i always dislike brenda?

2007-04-15T21:48:00.000-06:00

we watched an episode of six feet under tonight where they all recall their final interactions with their dad the last time they saw him before he died...

sfu is just a very realistic show...if you've seen it, you know what i'm talking about. how do you want your last interactions to be with people before you die? just an interesting topic to chew on...

Tot Blooded Check It and See!

2007-04-15T17:23:00.000-06:00

So as I was assorting my tater tots on a baking pan this afternoon, I began thinking about how this food item is so freaking awesome. I mean, come on, it's a crispy tater molded into a shape of a giant eraser! I can remember back in 7th grade that many a boy's eyes would light up when taters tots were on the school lunch menu. It also meant that you had better be on your guard. You see, the middle school that I went to, the boys didn't play nice in the lunch room. If you took your eyes off of your tray, you could easily get your tots swiped by a fellow classmate. Therefore, on tater tot day, if you looked around the cafeteria, you would see a lot of arms tightly wrapped around trays. I remember one of my fellow classmates used to go as far as licking each tater tot just so he could have a more relaxed lunch. Well, I have been eating tater tots ever since and have tried several brands over the years including an organic brand by the name of Cascadian Farms, but nothing can beat the flavor and texture of the Harris Teeter brand tater tots. If you don't have a Harris Teeter in your town, then sadly, my friend, you are truly missing out.....

The Wisdom Of Balboa

2007-04-15T12:55:00.000-06:00

Rocky Balboa once said, "It's not how hard you can hit, but how many times you can get hit hard, and still keep moving forward." Damned if he wasn't right...

I Don't Feel So Good

2007-04-13T13:35:00.000-06:00

Elliott Begins: Do you remember staying home from school when you were a kid? You may have been sick. You might not have been. But you remember the feeling, don't you? When you were young enough to still be taken care of by your parents. When they got your medicine and made sure you took it. When they gave you comfort food and Sprite. That's what I mean. The early morning segment was always dreamy. Maybe I slept a little, on and off, while keeping a sleepy eye on Mighty Mouse. But I always caught the "Bozo Show" that featured the fan favorite "Grand Prize Game" where a kid pitched ping pong balls into buckets for, what seemed to me like, piles of treasure and gifts. I always wished that I could get on that damn show and put the ping pong ball in every bucket with ease.

Let's see, I vividly remember game shows being on the television in the mid-morning period, when you still felt like you had a million days off from school. I also remember the unpleasant interruptions from the news and then, inevitably, the dreaded soap opera. Uggghhhh!! That meant two things to me: 1) it would be a few hours till a sit-com of some sort - perhaps, Too Close For Comfort! - and 2) that I had, what seemed, about 5 minutes until school started. Oh yes, I always stumbled upon Gomer Pyle, USMC at the most inopportune times. The late afternoon usually featured cartoons or action shows. Perhaps CHiPs or Johnny Quest....

Ok, you get the idea. Using the magic of Google, I am going to give various people collaborative access to this document. Each person will read and add to the document. We can also share editorial thoughts about the document as it develops. Don't want to say too much more. Let's just go with it, shall we?

Peter Adds:

Staying home sick from school always felt surreal. Even though the living room couch was the exact same couch I always lounge on and watch television shows, it just felt really different. Probably because it was loaded down with blankets and pillows and had a little metal fold out table next to it equipped with 7-up, crackers, and sometimes medicine. It was weird hearing the telephone ring because I knew there was no way it was for me. If the doorbell rang, I knew it had to be the mailman or UPS man delivering something. Sometimes my mother would have one of her lady friends come over and visit and I always felt embarrassed being on "display" in my den of sickness dressed in pajamas. Her friends would always give me that sympathetic look and I would always be eager to hear what they were talking about in the other room. In Middle school I had a lot of stomach issues, so when I would get up, I would feel pretty good thinking I could go to school. So I would clean up, get dressed, put on my shoes and make my bed. I would go downstairs and get something to eat and with that first bite, I realized that I really didn't feel well. So after a few minutes of debate, I asked my mom if I could stay home. She would say yes and I remember how strange it felt to take my shoes off again and get undressed. It felt really wrong. It's like my clothes were saying..."what are you doing? you just put me on?" Don't get me wrong. I appreciated staying home, but for that short moment I felt really displaced. I always hated when it became 3pm because the whole appreciation for being at home was almost over. I would always creep to the window and watch as my school bus pulled up and let everyone off. It was an interesting perspective to see what all my friends looked like getting off the bus. I would always look to see what they were carrying to see if I missed anything interesting that day. Yes, being home sick was comforting even though at times it involved vomiting or a plethora of nasal discharge, but being home sick post 6pm was the pits!

Sarah adds:

I know what you mean about the "post 6 p.m." time of a sick day -- it was kind of a let down at that point because everything different about the day is suddenly over, similar to the post unwrapping of presents on Christmas day. That always leaves me a little down...My strongest memory of staying home sick came when I was much older, about 16 or 17. I had skipped school the previous day (with my parent's permission -- never as fun) because my older cousin, who was visiting from Kentucky, and I were going to the beach. Well, the Florida sun was especially harsh on my fair skin that day, or perhaps it was the fact that I didn't use sunscreen. Either way, I went home with a horrible, horrible sunburn, blisters and all. My out-of-town cousin, on the other hand, was nicely tanned. That night, I attempted to join my family at a Mexican restaurant but felt so bad (sun poisoning, I'm guessing) that I retired to our van (a lovely grey and blue van complete with captain's chairs and decorative stripes) to sleep for the rest of the night. Needless to say, I was in no shape to go to school the next day and had to stay home sick. Karma's a bitch.

Elliott: What Peter said about the couch is dead on. It always seemed different when it was awaiting your sick arrival. Yes, it always sucked when it got to 3pm and you knew everyone else was off too. The day just felt different....Darker. Mashed potatoes were a tried and true sick food. Especially when homemade.

I do recall Leave It To Beaver being on a lot. You'd be sailing smoothly over the TV waves and then, BASHO!! You smack dead into Gomer Pyle, USMC...

Laura: Staying home sick for me had it's good and bad points. Good: Channel 41 showed great shows up until about 11 AM. The lineup didn't change for about 10 years either. We got The Brady Bunch, The Munsters, Green Acres, Leave It To Beaver, etc. I always made sure to catch The Price is Right also...sadly though, for me, I got the slew of 80s game shows, which consisted of very lame shows like "Scrabble". Bad: My parents didn't have cable. Can anyone fill me in on what it was like to have a sick day with cable? Were there movies on that were good? Did you watch the Nickelodeon lineup? I got lucky sometimes and got to spend my sick days with my grandparents who had cable. Grandparents were always the BEST when you were sick. The sympathy your parents couldn't muster up? You were SURE to get it with the grandparents. Oranges sliced for you, ice cream, orange juice-made in the blender so it was frothy...The best sick day I could ask for was always a sick day over at the grandparents house. If I was home, it was no cable and when I got older, I was left alone to fend for my sick self...except I do vividly remember once when I was sick, my dad came home, and while I was asleep on the couch that had been transformed into my own personal infirmary, my dad started vacuuming.

Good Times.

Peter adds:

Even though we had cable when I was home sick, I kept it to the local channels because I didn't want my mom to think I was having too good a time. Although, there was this one time she had to go to the post office and I switched over to MTV and watched about an hour of it. It was the first time I had ever seen that channel. I still remember that video too. It was April Wine, but I don't remember the name of the song. All I remember is that they were playing in the back of an 18 wheeler! By the way, Laura, don't you talk about the game show Scrabble! The sound effects were priceless! :)

Dobes

2007-04-12T21:44:00.000-06:00

LOST - Left Behind - Interesting Screencaps and Easter Eggs

2007-04-12T17:15:00.001-06:00

I stumbled upon this Lost site today....

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Classic Game Show Clips...Including Scrabble!

2007-04-12T16:55:00.000-06:00

Check this out, game show fans....

WIN A DAN ZANES CD! Contest At Mumsthewurd.com

2007-04-12T12:03:00.000-06:00

Check out family blog, Mumsthewurd.com, for a new contest to win a DAN ZANES Children's CD. As a parent, Dan is one of the few that I actually like to listen to. Very authentic. Very real. We're not talking The Wiggles. It's good folk/rock family fun. Dan was a member of the rock group, The Del Fuegos, in his earlier days. We have his cds and concert DVD - all good. So go to Mumsthewurd.com and give it a shot! Who Loves Ya Baby? E$

Coming soon on ''Lost'': The Big Answers!

2007-04-11T12:08:00.001-06:00

Doc Jensen, hints at what you can expect to learn.

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4 8 15 16 23 42

2007-04-11T08:59:00.000-06:00

It's Wednesday, and in the Umbrella House, that means LOST! Yep, we're still hanging in there. I guess there is already shark-jumping talk about Lost. What do you think? I'm still interested, so far, but I felt a little let down when the "hatch" was abandoned. I mean, this seemed to be the center of the Lost universe for so long!! Remember how you felt when you first realized there was an apartment in there?!?!?! Those kind of "what the heck?" moments seem to be fewer and farther between, but when they saw Jack playing football in that Brady Bunch-looking backyard, well, that came pretty close.

I still want to know more about Hugo, those numbers, and that guy in the institution that kept mumbling them over and over. I am hoping that the creators of the show don't cop out Twin Peaks-style....That would suck....

Who Loves Ya Baby??
E$ Does, That's Who...

Edward Gorey Meets Jim Henson

2007-04-10T20:31:00.001-06:00

The Boggart, Monster Blood Tattoo and Edward Gorey's The Doubtful Guest

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New Movie Trailer: Paul Feig's Unaccompanied Minors

2007-04-10T20:28:00.001-06:00

The Theatrical Trailer for Paul Feig's Unaccompanied Minors is now online. Feig is the much celebrated creator of the cult television series Freaks and Geeks. The movie is based on a segment of NPR's This American Life which aired on January 6th 2001. In a nine-minute radio segment, Susan Burton told the story of how she was snowed in at Chicago's

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Marie Osmond to divorce

2007-04-10T15:05:00.001-06:00

Singer Marie Osmond, 47, and record producer Brian Blosil split after 20 years of marriage...

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