WA2K Radio is now on the air

it bein' saturday nite, maybe somethin' a bit raunchy would not be out of place

I been up, I been down.
Take my word, my way around.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.

I been bad, I been good,
Dallas, texas, hollywood.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.

Take me back way back home,
Not by myself, not alone.
I ain't askin' for much.
I said, lord, take me downtown,
I'm just lookin' for some tush.

been busy, busy, busy

but i'm back, as is a2k i notice

couldn't pass by a thread about francis, without playin asong

Lady Is A Tramp

She gets too hungry, for dinner at eight
She loves the theater, but doesn't come late
She'd never bother, with people she'd hate
That's why the lady is a tramp

Doesn't like crap games, with barons and earls
Won't go to harlem, in ermine and pearls
Won't dish the dirt, with the rest of those girls
That's why the lady is a tramp

She loves the free, fresh wind in her hair
Life without care
She's broke, but it's ok
Hates california, it's cold and its damp
That's why the lady is a tramp

Doesn't like dice games, with sharpies and frauds
Won't go to harlem, in lincolns or fords
Won't dish the dirt, with the rest of those broads
That's why the lady is a tramp

Why, Mr. Turtle. Welcome back. Better not let J.M. hear you play that one. :wink:

I know some risque songs, M.D. They're not totally taboo on our radio.

Remember this one?



(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction Lyrics
by Rolling Stones


I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm drivin' in my car
And that man comes on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm watchin' my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no girl reaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm ridin' round the world
And I'm doin' this and I'm signing that
And I'm tryin' to make some girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
'Cause you see I'm on losing streak
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no, I can't get no
I can't get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction

letty :
here is the one who wants you to take his letter to lucille !
he's a good old brit , btw .
hbg



and he has another song ready !

What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
Pussycat, Pussycat
I've got flowers
And lots of hours
To spend with you.
So go and powder your cute little pussycat nose!
Pussycat, Pussycat
I love you
Yes, I do!
You and your pussycat nose!
What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
Pussycat, Pussycat
You're so thrilling
And I'm so willing
To care for you.
So go and make up your cute little pussycat face!
Pussycat, Pussycat
I love you
Yes, I do!
You and your pussycat face!
What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
What's new pussycat? Woah, Woah
Pussycat, Pussycat
You're delicious
And if my wishes
Can all come true
I'll soon be kissing your sweet little pussycat lips!
Pussycat, Pussycat
I love you
Yes, I do!
You and your pussycat lips!
You and your pussycat eyes!
You and your pussycat nose!

Hey, listeners, I'm missing things all over the place.

And there's our dj, playing Francis from the movie Pal Joey. Welcome back, honey. That's one he really could swing, Canada.

Then there is this beautiful ballad by old "blue eyes"

Lyric Title: But Beautiful
Sung By: Frank Sinatra

Love is funny or it's sad
Or it's quiet or it's mad
It's a good thing or it's bad
But beautiful
Beautiful to take a chance and if you fall, you fall
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all
Love is tearful or it's gay
It's a problem or it's play
It's a heartache either way
But beautiful
And I'm thinking if you were mine, I'd never let you go
And that would be but beautiful, I know.

i see we were discussing things risque

they don't come more risque than mr. porter

(I'm) Always True To You in My Fashion

If a custom tailored vet
Asks me out for something wet
When the vet begins to pet--I cry Hooray.

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

I've been asked to have a meal
By a big tycoon in steel,
If the meal includes a deal, accept I may.

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

There's an oil man known as Tex
Who is keen to give me checks.
And his checks, I fear, means that Tex is here to stay.

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

From Ohio Mister Thorn
Calls me up from night till morn
Mister Thorn once cornered corn and that ain't hay

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

From Milwaukee Mister Fritz
Often dines me at the Ritz
Mister Fritz invented schlitz and schlitz must pay

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

Mister Harris, plutocrat, wants to give my cheek a pat
If the Harris pat means a Paris hat, pay, pay!

But I'm always true to you, darlin', in my fashion
Yes, I'm always true to you, darlin', in my way.

My goodness, folks. These Canadians are a "fast" bunch, no?

Ah, yes, hbg. I know Tom Jones and his pussy cat. Let's hope tomorrow the hawk and the speckled pup will play.

While our studio was shut down, I did some research on Bob Nolan. That guy was Canadian and extremely talented and well educated.

My mom loved this one:

I'm a roaming cowboy riding all day long,
Tumbleweeds around me sing their lonely song.
Nights underneath the prairie moon,
I ride along and sing this tune.

See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn.

I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

Morgen
Ivo Robic & The Songmasters

[Music by Peter Mosser]

Morgen, Morgen
Uuuuuuuuuuu
Morgen, Morgen
Lacht uns wieder das Glück
Gestern, gestern
Liegt schon so weit zurück
War es auch eine schöne schöne Zeit
Morgen (Morgen), Morgen (Morgen)
Sind wir wieder dabei
Gestern (gestern) gestern (gestern)
Ist uns heut einerlei
War es auch eine schöne schöne Zeit
Sind wir heut auch arm und klein
Sind wir heut auch ohne Sonnenschein
Sind wir heut auch noch allein
Aber Morgen, Morgen, Morgen, Morgen, Morgen

Morgen, Morgen
Lacht uns wieder das Glück
Morgen, Morgen
Kommt die schöne Zeit zu uns zurück

---- Instrumental Interlude ----


Morgen (Morgen) Morgen (Morgen)
Wird das alles vergehen
Morgen (Morgen) Morgen (Morgen)
Wird das Leben endlich wieder schön

************************************

One More Sunrise (Morgen)
Leslie Uggams

[English lyrics by Noel Sherman]

(One more sunrise)

One more sunrise
One more day to get through
One more sunrise
One more day without you
And those lips that I knew could never be true

One more (one more) sunrise (sunrise)
Now the heartaches begin
Wond'rin' (wond'rin') wand'rin' (wand'rin')
Through the places we've been
Hopin' that I can keep my sunny-side grin

Though our love is dead and gone
In my heart it still lives on and on
Feel like some poor dyin' swan
Tired of flyin', tryin', day by day I'm dyin'

One more sunrise
One more day we're apart
One more sunrise
One more daybreak for a breakin' heart

One more sunrise
One more daybreak for a brea-a-kin' hear-ear-ear



Leslie Uggams appeared on TV's "Sing Along With Mitch"
And later played Kizzie in the "Roots" mini-series

more classic cole

You're The Top

At words poetic I'm so pathetic
That I always have found it best
Instead of getting 'em off my chest,
To let 'em rest - unexpressed.
I hate parading my serenading,
As I'll probably miss a bar,
But if this ditty is not so pretty,
At least it'll tell you how great you are.

You're the top! you're the Collosseum,
You're the top! you're the Louvre Museum,
You're the melody from a symphony by Strauss,
You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare Sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse!

You're the Nile! You're the Tow'r of Pisa,
You're the smile, of the Mona Lisa!
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop!
But if baby I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

You're the top, you're Mahatma Gandhi,
You're the top! you're Napoleon brandy,
You're the purple light, of a summer night in Spain,
You're the National Gallery, you're Garbo's salary,
You're cellophane!

You're sublime, you're a turkey dinner,
You're the time, of the Derby Winner,
I'm a toy balloon that's fated soon to pop;
But if baby I'm the bottom you're the top!

You're the top, you're a Waldorf salad
You're the top, you're a Berlin ballad
You're the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire
You're an O'Neill drama, you're Whistler's mama, you're camembert

You're repose, you're inferno's Dante
You're the nose, on the great Durante
I'm a mazy lout who is just about to stop
But if baby I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

as i stated on the sinatra thread, they don't write em like this anymore

Don't Get Around Much Any More

Missed the Saturday dance
Heard they crowded the floor
Couldn't bear it without you
Don't get around much anymore

Thought I'd visit the club
Got as far as the door
They'd have asked me about you
Don't get around much anymore

Darling, I guess my mind's more at ease
But nevertheless, why stir up memories

Been invited on dates
Might have gone but what for
Awfully different without you
Don't get around much anymore

ella's version of lady is a tramp

The Lady Is A Tramp
Ella Fitzgerald

I've wined and dined on Mulligan Stew, and never wished for Turkey
As I hitched and hiked and grifted too, from Maine to Albuquerque
Alas, I missed the Beaux Arts Ball, and what is twice as sad
I was never at a party where they honored Noel Cad (Coward)
But social circles spin too fast for me
My "hobohemia" is the place to be

I get too hungry, for dinner at eight
I like the theater, but never come late
I never bother, with people I hate
That's why the lady is a tramp

I don't like crap games, with barons and earls
Won't go to Harlem, in ermine and pearls
Won't dish the dirt, with the rest of the girls
That's why the lady is a tramp

I like the free, fresh wind in her hair
Life without care
I'm broke, it's o'k
Hate California, it's cold and it's damp
That's why the lady is a tramp

I go to Coney, the beach is devine
I go to ballgames, the bleachers are fine
I find a Winchell, and read every line
That's why the lady is a tramp

I like a prizefight, that isn't a fake
I love the rowing, on Central Park lake
I go to Opera and stay wide awake
That's why the lady is a tramp

I like the green grass under my shoes
What can I lose, I'm flat, that's that
I'm alone when I lower my lamp
That's why the lady is a tramp

########################

]b]A few additional verses from the "Ella In Berlin" CD[/b]

Girls get massages, they cry and they moan
Tell slender Ella to leave me alone
I'm not so hot, but my shape is my own
That's why the lady is a tramp

The food at the Kopensky is perfect, no doubt
I couldn't tell you wha the Ritz is about
Drop a nickle in, and coffee comes out
That's why the lady is a tramp

Like the sweet, fresh, rain in my face
Diamonds and lace, no got, so what?!

for Frank Sinatra, I whistle and stamp
That's why the lady is a tramp

She's a hobo
She's a scamp
She's a no-good kinda tramp
That's why the lady is a tramp

here's my goodnight song

One For My Baby (And One More for the Road)

It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place
Except you and me
So set 'em' up Joe, I got a little story
I think you should know
We're drinking my friend, to the end
Of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road

I know the routine, put another nickel
In the machine
I feel kind of bad, can't you make the music
Easy and sad
I could tell you a lot, but it's not
In a gentleman's code
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road

You'd never know it, but buddy I'm a kind of poet
And I've got a lot of things I'd like to say
And if I'm gloomy, please listen to me
Till it's talked away
Well that's how it goes, and Joe I know your gettin'
Anxious to close
Thanks for the cheer
I hope you didn't mind
My bending your ear
But this torch that I found, It's gotta be drowned
Or it's gonna explode
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road

Papa "Denny" Doherty Dies at 66 of Abdominal Aneurysm
Playfuls.com
by Iuliu Blaga. Canadian singer and songwriter Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty, aka "Denny" Doherty, one of the founding members of The Mamas & The Papas, died Friday at his home in Mississauga, near Toronto, of an abdominal aneurysm

all the leaves are gone
and the sky is grey

edgar, I am so sorry to hear that, Texas. I always loved The Mama's and the Papa's.

Ah, yes, dj, California Dreaming.

Speaking of dreaming, folks. I guess I had better lay me down for tonight.

Thank you all for being here. You are wonderful people.

Goodnight.

From Letty with love

When i wake up early in the morning

Lift my head, i'm still yawning
When i'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (float up stream)

Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where i am - i'm only sleeping

Everybody seems to think i'm lazy
I don't mind, i think they're crazy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find there's no need (there's no need)

Please, don't spoil my day, i'm miles away
And after all i'm only sleeping

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time

Lying there and staring at the ceiling
Waiting for a sleepy feeling...

Please, don't spoil my day, i'm miles away
And after all i'm only sleeping

Keeping an eye on the world going by my window
Taking my time

When i wake up early in the morning
Lift my head, i'm still yawning
When i'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream (float up stream)

Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leave me where i am - i'm only sleeping


I'm Only Sleeping
Beatles

Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors. My, my aren't we zipping right along now?

edgar, that was a great song by the Fab Four, Texas, and thanks to all the wonderful music last evening, I was only sleeping until Diana Krall awakened me this AM with that lovely song from the movie, "True Crime".

Love it, folks, so let's hear it, shall we?

Was there something more I could have done?
Or was I not meant to be the one?
Where's the life I thought we would share?
And should I care?
And will someone else get more of you?
Will she go to sleep more sure of you?
Will she wake up knowing you're still there?
And why should I care?
There's always one to turn and walk away
And one who just wants to stay
But who said that love is always fair?
And why should I care?
Should I leave you alone here in the dark?
Holding my broken heart
While a promise still hangs in the air
Why should I care?

Telly Savalas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Telly Savalas (January 21, 1922 - January 22, 1994) was an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actor whose career spanned four decades. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1963 for his supporting role in Birdman of Alcatraz. He also starred with Burt Lancaster in The Young Savages and The Scalphunters. For the course of his long career, he was best known for his work playing the title role in the popular 1970s crime drama, Kojak, and for also playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. He co-starred with Angie Dickinson in the 1971 film, Pretty Maids All in a Row.








Early life

He was the second oldest of five children born to Greek American parents Christina Savalas, who was a New York City artist, and Nick Savalas, a Greek restaurant owner, as Aristotelis Savalas in Garden City, New York. He had his first job at age 10 as a newspaper boy, when he constructed a shoeshine stand made of crates. When he entered Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York, he initially only spoke Greek, yet he learned English and graduated in 1940. After graduation from high school, he worked as a lifeguard, but on one occasion, was unsuccessful at rescuing a man from drowning; this would haunt Savalas for the remainder of his life. When he entered Columbia University School of General Studies, Savalas took a variety of courses such as English, radio and psychology, later studying at Manchester University in England. At that time, he fell in love with radio and television, which led to his interest in acting. He graduated in 1946. Savalas also gained life experience with a three-year stint (1943-1946) in the Army during WWII, working for the U.S. State Department hosting the "Your Voice of America" series and then at ABC News before beginning an acting career in his late 30s. Before he would get to any of that, starting at age 30, Savalas's next job was that of a popular radio talk show host at a coffeehouse in New York City. On one of his shows, he invited actress Ava Gardner, to guest-star, on the air, and the two "clicked" as they both enjoyed the longest conversation about a party Ava would ever have.[citation needed]


Pre- and early television work

At first, Telly was an executive director and then senior director of the news special events at ABC, Savalas then became an executive producer for the "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports", where he gave Howard Cosell his first job. Savalas first acted on the TV show Armstrong Circle Theater (1959) and then on the series "The Witness" as Lucky Luciano, where actor Burt Lancaster "discovered" him. Savalas was cast opposite Lancaster's idealistic D.A. in the melodrama The Young Savages (1961). He moved on to play a string of heavies, winning acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the sadistic Feto Gomez in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). After portraying Pontius Pilate in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), he chose to remain completely bald and this signature look, somewhere between the comic and the ominous, stood him in good stead in the years that followed.

Savalas was memorable in The Dirty Dozen (1967), the seminal ensemble action film by director Robert Aldrich, and reappeared as a different character in two TV movie reprisals. He also appeared as star in two classics, Kelly's Heroes (1970), and The Scalphunters (1968), a western that revealed the absurdity of racism during the Civil Rights movement. His career was transformed with the lead role in the celebrated TV-movie The Marcus Nelson Murders (CBS, 1973) where the pop culture icon of Theo Kojak was born. Savalas polished his hard-boiled image to a brilliant sheen over the long run of Kojak (CBS, 1973-1978). During those years, he co-bought racehorse Telly's Pop, recorded many albums, including "Telly" (1974) and "Who Loves Ya, Baby" (1976) and directed and wrote the film Beyond Reason (1977). After the very popular series ended, Savalas reprised the Kojak persona in several Kojak-based TV-movies, furthering his public canonization. One of Savalas' brothers, George Savalas (known professionally for a time simply as 'Demosthenes') played the character 'Stavros', a sensitive , wild-haired, quiet, comedic foil to Kojak's street-wise humor in an otherwise dark dramatic TV series.


Life after Kojak

Throughout his life, Telly Savalas was a charismatic creative writer, director, and producer. He won the Emmy, the Peabody, and Golden Globe Awards. In 1990, the city of New York declared "The Marcus-Nelson Murders" as the official movie of New York City, and awarded Telly with the Key to the City. He was also a strong contributor to his Greek Orthodox roots through the Saint Sophia and Saint Nicholas cathedrals in Los Angeles, and was the sponsor of bringing electricity in the '70's to his ancestral home, Yeraka, Greece. His mother, Christina, was a world recognized contemporary of Picasso, and he himself released several records, the most remembered was his version of "If", that was #1 in Europe for 10 weeks in 1975.

Many people do not know that Telly was a world-class poker player, degreed in psychology; a motorcycle racer, and lifeguard. He appeared in over 80 movies. In his capacity as Producer for "Kojak", he gave many stars their first break, as Burt Lancaster did for him. He was considered by those who knew him a generous, graceful, compassionate man.

In the late 1970s Telly Savalas narrated three travelogues titled Telly Savalas Looks at Portsmouth, Telly Savalas Looks at Aberdeen and Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham. These were produced by Harold Baim and were examples of quota quickies which were then a requirement that cinemas in the United Kingdom had to show a share of films produced in the United Kingdom alongside those produced by Hollywood. Excerpts of Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham can be seen at [1] and [2].

In the 1980s and early 1990's, Telly appeared in commercials for the Players' Club Gold Card.


Prolific character actor
Prior to being a successful movie star on the big screen, Savalas became one of the most charismatic and beloved character actors of all time during the late 1950s and the 1960s, where he made his very first guest-starring role on an episode of Armstrong Circle Theater, in fact, he appeared on the show, twice. He also made 54 more guest-appearances between 1959-1967 in most of these shows, Naked City, King of Diamonds, The Aquanauts, The Untouchables, Burke's Law, Combat!, The Fugitive, Bonanza, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The F.B.I., and the classic The Twilight Zone episode Living Doll among many others. He also had a recurring role as Brother Hendrickson on the popular crime drama series, 77 Sunset Strip, as his career already launched.


Acting career

Kojak

Undoubtedly Savalas' most famous role was that of the tough detective Kojak on television. Lt. Theo Kojak was a bald New York City detective who had a fondness for lollipops and whose trademark line was, "Who loves ya, baby?" Reportedly the lollipop gimmick was added in lieu of having the character smoke. Savalas himself was quitting smoking and the lollipops may have been his own trick for defeating his habit[citation needed]. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, two years in a row, and won the Emmy in 1974. He was also nominated for Golden Globes, four times in a year, and won between 1975 and 1976. In 1974, prior to starring on Kojak, he also became a singer, proving that he sang just like that of Frank Sinatra, his old pals (Don Rickles and Angie Dickinson) would even watch him sing the songs that Sinatra did. In 1978, after a 5 season run on the air, and 111 episodes, CBS had decided to cancel the show due to low ratings and Savalas wasn't very happy about the show's demise.


Telly's brother George played the recurring role of Detective Stavros. And also starring on Kojak, was an unfamiliar actor, former train conductor and waiter from the Queens suburb of Jackson Heights, Kevin Dobson, who played the role of Kojak's trusted and closest young partner, Det. Bobby Crocker. The on-screen chemistry of both Savalas & Dobson would become an instant success of the 1970s, and they remained good friends even after the show's cancellation. For most of the 16 years after Kojak, Dobson kept in touch with Savalas and maintained a close, personal friendship until Savalas's death. In addition, Dobson also went on to gain greater fame in the popular prime time 1980s soap opera, Knots Landing. As a result of Dobson working on another successful series, he did not appear in the majority of the Kojak TV movies. The only time that both Savalas & Dobson would later be reunited for one last time on-screen, was when they both appeared in the 1990 movie Kojak: It's Always Something where Kevin's character was a lawyer, instead of a police officer.


Personal life

Savalas was married three times. In 1948 right after his father's death from bladder cancer, Savalas married his college sweetheart, Katherine Nicolaides. They had a daughter, Christina (named after his mother), (born 1950). In 1957, after Katherine filed for divorce after she found out from Telly that he was running away to flee from debtors. She also urged him to moved back to his parents' house during that same year. While Savalas was going broke, he founded the Garden City Theater Center in his native Garden City, New York, area. While Savalas was working with future actors, Marilyn Gardner, a theater teacher, met and fell in love with him. The couple was married in 1960. The following year after the wedding, the couple gave birth to a daughter, Candace (born 1961). A second daughter, Penelope, was born in 1963.

In 1969, while working on the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Savalas met another woman (Sally Adams), and left his family behind. He met Adams in England while on vacation starring in that movie, and just several years later, after she gave birth to Nick (born 1973), Gardner filed for divorce from Savalas in 1974. His stepdaughter, (Adams' daughter, Nicollette Sheridan of Knots Landing and Desperate Housewives fame, born November 21, 1963) is an actress, and his goddaughter, (Jennifer Aniston of Friends fame, born February 11, 1969), is also an actress. His son Nick did voice acting and produced the voice of the character Stavros on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.[3]

In 1977 during his last working days of Kojak, he met Julie Hovland, a travel agent from Minnesota, and the two started dating. By then he was 60, they were married, and had two more kids: Christian & Ariana.

Telly Savalas was the best friend of fellow Greek-American actor, John Aniston, and he served as god father to his daughter, Friends actress, Jennifer Aniston.


Quotes

Telly: "Who loves ya, baby?" (Source: tellysavalas.com)

Telly: "We're all born bald, baby!" (Source: tellysavalas.com)

Telly on being offered the role of Kojak: "I'll do The Marcus Nelson Murders, but I don't want to do a series. How can I do the one role? I mean, I have to varify my life. My life is a variety, I can't be stuck with one character. It won't sell." (Source: A&E Biography)

Telly on when wanted to act for money: "Someday, they're going to find me out and send me home." (Source: A&E Biography)

Telly on the Player's Club card: "You my friend can use some fun. Big fun!"


Deaths of relatives and his own last days

After Savalas came back to reprise his role on Kojak in the 1980s, he started losing close relatives. George Savalas, his brother who played Detective Stavros on the original Kojak series, died in 1985 of leukemia; he was 60. And 4 years later, Christina, his mother who had always been his best friend, a supporter, and a devoted parent, died in 1989. Later that year, Savalas was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He refused to see a doctor until 1993, when he didn't have much time to live. While fighting for his life, he continued to star in many roles, including a recurring role on The Commish. Savalas died on January 22, 1994, one day after his 72nd birthday. He died of complications of prostate cancer at the Sheraton-Universal Hotel in Universal City, California. He was interred at the George Washington section of Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. Julie's and Telly's family were joined by the many mourners at a funeral in a Roman Catholic Church, including those of, Angie Dickinson, Nicolette Sheridan, Jennifer Aniston, Sally Adams, Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, and several other Telly's Kojak co-stars, Kevin Dobson, Dan Frazer & Vince Conti. His first two wives, Katharine and Marilyn, arrived with their own children, as did his third wife, Julie. Brother Gus attended the funeral, but longtime friend Burt Lancaster didn't attend the funeral because of his own failing health. He died just 9 months after Savalas' death.

Paul Scofield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE (born 21 January 1922 in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex) is an English actor of stage and screen.

He began his stage career in 1940, and was soon being compared with Laurence Olivier. He has won several awards for his stage appearances, including a Tony Award for the original stage version of A Man for All Seasons, and was Salieri in the original stage production of Amadeus in 1979.

Scofield won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons (1966). He played the title role in Ben Jonson's Volpone in Peter Hall's 1977 production for the Royal National Theatre.

In 1994 he starred in Quiz Show, a film directed by Robert Redford about the quiz show scandal in the United States in the 1950s. Scofield played Mark Van Doren, father of Charles Van Doren, the man at the center of the scandal, and received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He has rejected the offer of a knighthood on three occasions, but was appointed CBE in 1956 and became a Companion of Honour in 2001.

Scofield is also a voice actor and narrated a radio version of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia which was put out by Focus on the Family.

Benny Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Born 21 January 1924
Southampton, England
Died 20 April 1992
Teddington, England

Alfred Hawthorn Hill (21 January 1924 - 20 April 1992), better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor & singer, best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show. Since its debut in 1969 his television show has been sold to over 140 countries worldwide, with viewership in the millions.[citation needed]



Beginnings

Alfred "Alfie" Hill was born in Southampton, where he and his brother attended Tauntons School. During the Second World War Hill was one of the scholars evacuated with the school to Bournemouth School, East Way, Bournemouth. After leaving Tauntons School, Hill worked variously as a milkman in Eastleigh, bridge operator, driver and drummer, before he finally got a foot in the door of the entertainment industry by becoming an assistant stage manager. Inspired by the 'star comedians' of British music hall shows, Hill set out to make his mark in show business. For the stage he changed his first name to 'Benny', in homage to his favourite comedian, Jack Benny. Hill began appearing at working-men's clubs and Masonic dinners before graduating to nightclub and theatre jobs. Hill had auditioned for Soho's famed Windmill Theatre (home of Revudeville, a popular show of singers, comedians and nude girls), but he was not hired. Benny's first job in professional theatre as a performer was as Reg Varney's straight man, beating a then-unknown Peter Sellers to the role.


Private life

Benny worked compulsively and had only a few friends, although colleagues who knew him closely insist that he was never lonely, but content with his own company. He never married, although he did propose to two women ?- one the daughter of a British writer ?- and was rejected by both. He never owned his own home, nor even a car, instead preferring to rent a small flat in Teddington, a convenient walking distance to the Teddington Studios, where he taped his shows. His mother lived with him until her death shortly before his. Travelling was the one luxury he consistently permitted himself. Hill became a first-degree Francophile, enjoying frequent visits to Marseilles. Until the 1980s, he could enjoy the anonymity of France's outdoor cafes, public transport, and socializing with local women. Besides mastering French, Benny also could 'get by' speaking German, Dutch and Italian in his travels. Hill's overseas holidays were often gathering missions for comedic material, some newly inspired by foreign surroundings, or borrowed from regional acts. Hill was a distant relative of the Australian actress and singer Holly Valance (Hill's cousin being Valance's grandfather). Following his death, rumours circulated that despite his celebrity and on-air lecherous characterisations, Hill was very shy when it came to women, and he may have died a virgin.


Early career

Between the end of the war and the dawn of television, he worked as a radio performer. His first appearance on television was in 1949 in the television programme Hi There. He continued to work intermittently until his career took off with The Benny Hill Show in 1955 on BBC Television. Recurring players on his show during the BBC years included Patricia Hayes, Jeremy Hawk, Peter Vernon, Ronnie Brody, and his co-writer from the mid-1950s to early 1960s, Dave Freeman. He remained mostly with the BBC through 1968, except for a few isolated sojourns with Associated TeleVision in 1957-1960 and again in 1967. He also had a short-lived radio programme, Benny Hill Time, which ran on BBC Radio's Light Programme service from 1964 to 1966. In addition, he attempted a sitcom anthology, Benny Hill, which ran for three series from 1962 to 1963, in which he played a different character in each episode. In 1964, he played Nick Bottom in an all-star TV film production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.


Films and recordings

Benny Hill's film credits include parts in nine films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), in which he played the relatively straight role of the Toymaker, The Italian Job (1969), and finally, a clip-show film spin-off of his early Thames shows (1969-73) called The Best of Benny Hill (1974).

Hill's audio recordings include "Gather in the Mushrooms" (1961), "Transistor Radio" (1961), "Harvest of Love" (1963), "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)" (1971), among many others. He also appeared in the video of the song "Anything She Does" by the band Genesis.

Hill's song, Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West), on the Best of Benny Hill album made the UK Chart as Christmas Number One Single in 1971. A link to the lyrics is provided in the External Links section of this article.


The Benny Hill Show

In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to Thames Television, where it remained until its cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials.

The Benny Hill Show featured him in innumerable mostly short sketches (often portraying a leering, lecherous, never quite succeeding yet charming protagonist), along with Thames Television show regulars Henry McGee, Bob Todd, Jackie Wright, Nicholas Parsons (in the early years), Jenny Lee-Wright, Rita Webb and others. He was very versatile and appeared in many different costumes as male and female characters. Slapstick and double entendre were his hallmark. The show was criticised by some for being sexist, but Hill replied by pointing out that the female characters were all intelligent and kept their dignity, while the men chasing them were all buffoons.

He used sped-up film ?- also known as 'Undercranking' ?- and sight gags to create what he called 'live animation' and he masterfully employed techniques like mime and parody. The show typically closed with a sped-up chase scene involving himself and a crew of scantily-clad women, a takeoff on the stereotypical Keystone Kops chase scenes.

He was also a skilled composer and singer of patter songs. Here is an example of his doggerel:

Roses are reddish
Violets are bluish
If it weren't for Christmas
We'd all be Jewish.
The theme song, "Yakety Sax", which has gained a particular cult following on its own, was written by Boots Randolph. Apart from the theme tune, another signature of the show was the enthusiastic announcer intro: "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!" (The announcer was often cast member McGee.)

Hill was a pioneer in realising the ability of the television camera to create illusions and also how it could be used for comedic value. For example, in a murder mystery farce entitled "Murder on the Oregon Express" from 1976 (a parody of Agatha Christie's classic Murder on the Orient Express), Hill used both clever editing and camera angles ?- as well as his own knack for impersonations ?- to depict a Quinn Martin-like TV "mystery" featuring Hill in the roles of 1970s American TV detectives Ironside, McCloud, Kojak, and Cannon (as well as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot). This also serves as a possible indication of Hill being canny enough to realise that American audiences would identify better with his shows if he had some humour that was derived in some part from their popular culture. During his television career, Hill performed impersonations or parodies of American celebrities and fictional characters, ranging from The Six Million Dollar Man to Starsky and Hutch to Kenny Rogers, to The A-Team, to Cagney & Lacey. His own country's celebrities did not escape his comedic eye either: Hill also delivered impersonations of such British stars as Michael Caine (in his Alfie role), newscasters Reginald Bosanquet, Alan Whicker and Cliff Michelmore, pop-music show hosts Jimmy Savile and Tony Blackburn, musicians Roger Whittaker and Engelbert Humperdinck, his former 1960s record producer Tony Hatch, and Irish comedian Dave Allen. On a few occasions, he even impersonated his former straight man, Nicholas Parsons.

The show was first broadcast in the United States in January 1979 and screened there with a series of re-edited half-hour programmes culled from the ITV specials. The US versions of his show have far less risqué material than those which were aired in the UK. The show was awarded the 'Special Prize of the City of Montreux' at the Rose d'Or festival in 1984.

Hill later recorded some shows for US television, and in 1977 produced a special in Australia whose contents found their way into scattered episodes of the US half-hour syndicated edits.


Hill's repertory group

It should also be taken as a testament to Hill's character as a person (as well as his talent as a performer and writer) that many of his cast and crew stayed on with him for years, in some cases from the moment they first appeared on his show. Henry McGee and Bob Todd are the primary examples of the male cast members who remained with Hill for the long term, while long-running female colleagues included Jenny Lee-Wright (who would later go on to become a top Foley artist in England), Bella Emberg, and Hill's Angels Louise English and Sue Upton. In a related note, Upton ?- in book excerpts posted on her official site ?- stated that contrary to the leering schoolboy air he often presented on TV, Hill was a model of kindness and courtesy to all his performers, particularly the female performers. She related how Hill would never force a female performer to do or wear something she wasn't comfortable with (and how outside of work, he was like a family member to her husband and two children). On her own site, Louise English related how, after her time on the show ended when it was cancelled, Hill would come to see her in every performance she did on stage. In one of the books written about Hill, Jenny Lee-Wright related the time she was on holiday in New York and happened to mention to a customs agent at the airport that she worked with Hill, and was then driven to a local television studio to answer questions about him on an interview show.

Ironically, though many of his cast and crew became just as recognisable as Hill himself, few if any of them capitalised on their fame to move on to larger-scale projects. Some possible minor exceptions could be made for Jackie Wright (who was rumoured to have an offer for an American comedy presented to him shortly before his death) and long-time Hill's Angel Louise English (who once received a fan letter from Burt Reynolds, praising her skills and beauty). However, the primary example of an exception to the rule would be Jane Leeves, who, years after having been a Hill's Angel, became famous for her portrayal of Daphne on the American comedy Frasier. Going further back, to BBC days, another future U.S. TV star, Susan Clark (of Webster fame) , appeared on one of Hill's 1965 specials.


Guest stars and musical guests

Over the years, Benny Hill had relatively well-known actors and actresses who appeared as guests on the show, some of whom were already famous on other TV and radio programmes, including Don Estelle (It Ain't Half Hot Mum), Paul Eddington (The Good Life; Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister), Paula Wilcox (The Lovers, Man About the House), Patrick Newell (The Avengers), Hugh Paddick (Round the Horne), Kathy Staff (Crossroads, Coronation Street), actress/singer Trisha Noble, entertainer Dilys Watling, stage and TV actress Stella Moray, gardener Percy Thrower, Carry On regular Liz Fraser, former Move lead singer Carl Wayne, and others. In the 1980s, as the climate of political correctness continued to grow, two of these former guests ?- Eddington and Wilcox ?- refused to allow the respective editions in which they appeared to ever be shown on British television again.

His show, in its first decade on Thames TV, also had an interesting (and often eclectic) array of musical guests. One of the more famous examples was Kiki Dee, who appeared on one of his black-and-white shows in 1971, a few years before her first big hit "I've Got the Music In Me." Other famous musical guests included Anne Shelton, who appeared on both his BBC and Thames shows; former Seekers lead singer Judith Durham; and The Mike Sammes Singers. Back in the BBC days, Alma Cogan, Cleo Laine and Petula Clark made appearances on the show, as did Dusty Springfield when she was part of the folk trio The Springfields. Hill was also big on Spanish music acts, and gave the first major exposure to groups such as Luis Alberto del Parana and Los Paraguayos on his show.

With few exceptions, most of the musical numbers did not make it to the US syndicated series.


Criticism and cancellation

In 1989 Thames Television dropped Hill, claiming a major decline in ratings, although the large cost of each episode has been stated as the official reason and Thames wanted to start production on Mr. Bean but couldn't if they were making The Benny Hill Show.

At the time some argued that the show was the victim of political correctness, others that the style of comedy was simply very dated. 1980s British comedy stars such as Ben Elton were also dismissive of Hill's penchant for using pretty girls in his shows, supposedly in a sexist way. Though Hill's characters were made to look ridiculous and lecherous, and the butt of the joke, a lot of viewers didn't think of his shows as being sexist at all. Thames' final broadcast of a brand new Benny Hill show attracted more than 12 million viewers across the ITV Network. One reason often cited was that his character's constant leering at attractive women was less charming as he grew older. Another factor cited was a massive drop in quality and standards of the show itself over the course of the 1980s.

One criticism that could unfortunately be fairly levelled at Hill was his tendency to re-use jokes, gags and scenes from show to show. One example of this recycling would be an often-seen parody of washing-up liquid advertisements (usually called "Fairly Liquid", in reference to the Fairy Liquid brand of detergent). Hill, along with an actress, would play mother and child (with Hill as the child, kneeling next to the actress in order to appear smaller). Hill, playing the child, would remark as to the softness of the mother's hands, thanks to the brand of detergent; Hill's character would then become increasingly mischievous, to the point of angering the "mother", who eventually slapped him. He would then proclaim words to the effect of "her hand's not soft...it's bleedin' hard!" This particular parody first appeared during Hill's tenure at the BBC and appeared subsequently at various times during his time at ITV.

Another often seen joke on Hill's shows would feature Hill playing a rude waiter at a restaurant, serving a customer wine. The customer (usually Jackie Wright) would sip the wine and then grimace and indicate that it was unsuitable. Hill's waiter would agree, walk away...and then shuck the label off the bottle and replace it with a different one, returning to the customer and refilling his glass, after showing him the "new" bottle. To complete the joke, the customer would then sip the "new" wine and proclaim his delight. It is debatable as to whether the reuse of the same jokes during his television career was the result of creative bankruptcy, or some belief that the jokes were old favourites, being presented over and over again in the manner of a band performing an audience's favorite songs.

A more politically insensitive criticism that could be leveled at Hill was the unfortunate use of racial stereotypes in the early years of his show. For example, Hill often portrayed a Chinese man, who squinted through thick glasses and used phrases such as "stupid iriot" and "good evening everybloody" (as a foil to this character, Bob Todd would often play a stereotypical Indian, clad in Nehru jacket). Hill also would do roles in heavy make-up designed to make him look black (usually African or Jamaican in origin, with an exaggerated accent to match); in contrast, the shows featured black performers only rarely and infrequently (and when they were featured, many times it was in stereotypical "jungle" costumes; however, it should also be noted that in sketches featuring these characters, the black characters were usually featured as being intelligent and articulate, while the white characters were presented as dull-witted).

Another example of Hill using stereotypes for humour could be found in his ability to impersonate accents. Hill used this skill to portray characters of various national origins, usually broadly painted in stereotypical fashion. German characters rolled their R's to a ridiculous extent; American characters were either apparently from the Bronx or from the Southern U.S., with the attached time-worn stereotypical behaviours; and Irish characters spoke with such a strong brogue as to be unintelligible on first listen. A notable example of this featured Henry McGee as a talk show host interviewing two Irish brothers (Hill and actual Irishman Jackie Wright):

Hill: (speaks what sounds like) They found his bacon, hot in the pork.
McGee (confused): His bacon...?
Hill: His bacon hot. His hot he wears for bacon!
McGee (comprehending): Oh, his biking hat!
Whatever the reason for being cancelled, the board of Thames Television was unaware of the decision and attempted to entice Hill back. Hill's friend and producer/director, Dennis Kirkland, was furious and persuaded Hill to go to Central Independent Television to make a new series of programmes.


Celebrity fans

The English comedian Charlie Chaplin who died in 1977 and the American singer Michael Jackson were avid fans of Hill's work: Jackson found time to visit Benny in hospital when Hill was recovering from a heart attack in February 1992. Hill had previously discovered that his childhood idol Chaplin was a fan when he was invited to Chaplin's home in Switzerland by Chaplin's family and discovered that Chaplin had a vast collection of Benny's work on video. Apparently, Hill and Dennis Kirkland (a friend, and director of Hill's show for many years) were the first people outside of family to be allowed into Chaplin's private study.

Radio and TV show host Adam Carolla has also claimed that he was an avid fan of Benny Hill and that he considered Hill "as American as the Beatles." Indeed, during an episode of The Man Show, Carolla performed (in what was billed as a tribute to "our favourite Englishman, Sir Benny Hill") in a slightly more risqué takeoff of the "undercranked" sketches that Hill popularised. Carolla played a rude and lecherous waiter?-a role Hill essayed numerous times in his shows ?- and the sketch featured many of the staples of Hill's shows (including a Jackie Wright-esque bald man, as well as the usual scantily clad ladies).

In a documentary (Benny Hill: The World's Favorite Clown) filmed before Hill's passing, a variety of celebrities (Burt Reynolds, Michael Caine, John Mortimer, Mickey Rooney, and Walter Cronkite, among others) expressed their appreciation of and admiration for Hill and his humour (and in Reynolds' case, the appreciation extended to the Hill's Angels as well).


Death

Hill's health began to decline in the early 1990s. Weighing 17 stone (238 lbs or 108 kg) at 5 feet 10½ inches (1 m 80 cm) tall, he suffered heart problems related to his obesity. On February 11th, 1992, doctors told him that he needed to lose 28 pounds, and recommended a heart bypass. He declined, and was diagnosed a week later with renal failure.

Benny Hill died on or about April 20th, Easter weekend 1992, alone in his flat at 7 Fairwater House, Twickenham Road, Teddington, at the age of 68. On 24 April, concerned neighbors had called the police, who then found the deceased Hill sitting in his armchair in front of the television. On the day that Benny Hill died, a new contract arrived in the post to him from Central Independent Television.

The cause of death was listed as coronary thrombosis. (His death closely coincided with that of another British comedy icon, Frankie Howerd, who died on April 19th aged 75.)

He was buried at Hollybrook Cemetery near his birthplace in Southampton. In October 1992, following rumours that he was buried with large amounts of gold jewellery, an attempt was made by thieves to exhume his body. However, when authorities looked into his open coffin the following morning, there was no treasure within it, and consequently, only the culprits know for sure whether anything valuable was inside. Hill was re-buried with a new coffin lid and a solid slab placed across the top of the grave. These circumstances were similar to that of Romy Schneider after her burial.


Last will

In Hill's will, he had left his estimated £10 million (GBP) estate to his late parents. Next in line were his brother Leonard and sister Diana, neither of whom he had enjoyed the closest of relationships with, and both of whom were also deceased. This left his seven nieces and nephews, amongst whom the money ?- approximately £7.5 million ?- was divided. A note was found among his belongings assigning huge sums of money to his close friends Sue Upton, Louise English, Henry McGee, Bob Todd and Dennis Kirkland, but because it was neither signed nor witnessed, the note had no legal standing.


Legacy of reruns/DVDs

The Benny Hill Show is currently airing in one-hour portions (not corresponding to the original hour-long format), twice nightly on BBC America (Dish Network channel 135/DirecTV channel 264/Comcast channel 162).

The syndicated version consists of 111 half-hour episodes, re-edited from the original hour-long specials made by Thames Television and screened on Britain's ITV network three or four times a year. Half-hour edits also appeared on ITV, although the contents may be different from the syndicated US versions.

There is far less DVD material currently available in the UK, although in 2005 the Thames specials began to appear uncut on Region 2 DVD sets, each representing one year and entitled The Benny Hill Annual, as of October 2006 going up to 1979.

In 2004, the same year Benny Hill started airing on BBC America (originally in two half-hour shows), the Thames specials began to appear uncut on Region 1 DVD sets for the USA, by A&E Home Video, entitled Benny Hill: Complete And Unadulterated. The first three sets are called "The Naughty Early Years." And unlike the UK sets, each set package represents multiple years of the shows in order of the original airings:

Set One shows the episodes from 1969-71 (with the three black-and-white episodes never-before seen in the US).
Set Two shows the episodes from 1972-74.
Set Three shows episodes from 1975-77.
Set Four was released under the name "The Hill's Angels Years" with episodes from 1978-81.
Set Five (Also subtitled, "The Hill's Angels Years") was released September 2006 showcasing episodes from 1982-85.
Set Six will be released in January 30th, 2007. This set will showcase the last episodes from 1986-89.
It is unknown if any collections of his various specials will be released.


Is Benny Hill Still Funny?

On 28 December 2006, Channel 4 broadcast the documentary Is Benny Hill Still Funny?. The programme featured an audience that comprised a scientific cross-section of young adults who had little or no knowledge of Hill's comedy style. The aim was to discover whether or not the "politically incorrect" criticism of Hill was valid to a generation that enjoyed the likes of Little Britain, The Catherine Tate Show and Borat. The participants were asked to watch a 30-minute compilation that included examples of Hill's humour from both his early BBC and later Thames shows. The responses were continuously measured and the results demonstrated that nobody took offence at any of the sketches shown. In addition, the "appreciation" figure was revealed to be very respectable, which would have guaranteed a series commission had it been a modern television pilot programme. Hill's silent "Wishing Well" sketch was discovered to be the most popular. Alternative comedian Ben Elton, a harsh critic of Hill in the 1980s, was interviewed in the programme. Although still having reservations on certain aspects of Hill's sketches, Elton admitted he was an admirer of Hill's talent and abilities as a comic performer.