I went to college in upstate New York, up near Buffalo- along the Southern Tier. Far away from home on Long Island, same state but an 8 hour drive. Sometimes longer, sometimes much longer. Maybe I'll tell some of those travel stories one of these days. I'm sure after another year or two of therapy I'll be able to deal with saying it out loud.
During the previous post, i touched on TV watching, misspent days and nights with Jim and Tammy Bakker and the PTL club. This conjured up some other cathode ray memories;
On one of the local stations in Buffalo, I kick my self, I can't remember which, they were network affiliated , but that was mostly in the evening ,during the day, they were on their own. There was one middle aged gent, (again, a pox on me, I can't remember his name) who was the weather man , he was also the host of the bowling show, and the host of the High School Quiz Show and the host of the afternoon show for the kiddies. They certainly got their moneys worth with this fella. He probably swept up the studio at night as well.
Love Local TV.
Of course not all "Local" Tv is out in the Hinterlands. New York had it's share, The great kid shows of the 60's, Sandy Becker, Chuck McCann, Sonny Fox. Officer Joe Bolton was always a favorite- I loved that they used a cop to host the Three Stooges, he was there in case things got out of hand. Can't forget Capt. Jack McCarthy, I forget what show he hosted, I want to say Popeye, but that's too easy. Once a year on St. Patricks Day, Capt. Jack would be the host/commentator of the parade. God love him, he knew every person who marched in the parade by first name and had a personal anecdote to share about each and everyone.
To my mind though, the single greatest personality to appear on NY TV was Stanley Siegel. Some of you are nodding in approval, others shaking your head in disgust and the majority are asking, "WHO?"
Ah, Stanley. To say he was one of a kind doesn't do him justice. To say that he was the perfect embodiment of the nervous breakdown that the City was going thru during the late 70's is just about right.
He was on for an hour starting at 9am, the Regis spot. When the show started it was basic daytime talk show fare, some opening remarks, a guest or two- someone selling a self help book or a TV star , maybe a recipe, maybe a clown from the circus...... you get the idea.
As the days and months passed things started to change, e or de volve, depending on how you felt about Stanley. As time passed the show became without question THE STANLEY SIEGEL SHOW! There was one topic every day; Stanley and how he viewed the world. The opening remarks became a rambling discourse about what he did since he saw us last. This would go on for a half hour. If he played tennis, which he did a lot, we heard about it. If he was having trouble with his Girlfriend, which he did a lot, we heard about it.
Good, Bad, warts and all, and more warts, We heard about it. In detail. Seemingly, with nothing left out. It was beyond train wreck- it was riveting. I used to be late to work because I couldn't drag myself away- I eventually got one of those radios that had TV band and a bunch of us would listen in the morning as the kiddies arrived (camp counselor).
It reached a point where one day a week , for about 20 minutes he would have his therapist on and Stanley would lie down on the couch and have a session , live on the air. No Holds barred.
A polarizing figure- you either loooooved him or detested him, there was no middle ground. I loved him. Here's one reason why and this will sound odd- there were times when it would get so uncomfortable that I would have to turn him off. I couldn't watch anymore, it was too raw, It was like Curb Your Enthusiasm x 100. BUT, how many other shows get you so involved, so invested in what's happening? Not many in my experience.
My favorite Stanley Memory- It was during a snowstorm, much like the blizzard that just passed,and the powers to be extended his show for an hour or two. The weatherman would come on and give updates , but Stanley had three hours to fill. Thank goodness he had guests that day, Eartha Kitt and Freddie Fender. Did Stanley stay in the studio and spend time with his guests? No, he put on his coat and hat and gloves and took a camera into Central Park and talked to the people out in the park during the storm. He got into a snowball fight with a bunch of kids, occasionally they would cut back to the studio and Eartha and Freddie were sitting on the set. (which I believe was a few bales of hay and a fence, I guess because Freddie was considered a country act) Freddie had his guitar and he and Eartha were singing bits of songs, oblivious to the camera.
They would cut back and forth, Stanley in the park, a weatherman, Freddie and Eartha.
Oh , it was glorious.
The lunatic had taken over the asylum
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