Quick Hits For November 20, 2009; Ms. "O" Says She's Done, Craziness at "The Q" and Other Fun Stuff

Its Friday and time to throw some stories and links at you that may be of interest. from the sublime to the ridiculous, and all points in between, with some QUICK HITS

(1). To those of you who may have been asleep for the past twenty five years and have some catching up to do, you'd better hurry- Oprah Winfrey will be giving up her daily talk show in 2011 after a quarter of a century. She is expected to make the announcement today (Friday 11/20/09) on her show.

I've said in other entries we throw the term "icon" around too loosely- very often it is used regarding a person or thing that is trendy, one which appears to have staying power but often doesn't. There are few true icons, symbolic of an era in our history or pop culture; Lincoln, Elvis, The Babe....both first and last names are not necessary, one will suffice.

Oprah is among that elite, not just because of her place in television history but what she has meant to our culture and to her greater history as a nation. In the 1980's THE COSBY SHOW gave us a middle class African American family that became THE ideal American family of the era. And Oprah Winfrey came on the scene to become America's talk show host. Ms. Winfrey zoomed to the top and has stayed there for 23 years. She broke down barriers in this nation, and became a figure as important in our racial history as Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson, or Bill Cosby. She came to us when a generation came of age in which color didn't matter anymore, and in doing so she became possibly the most influential person in the United States, and an international mega personality symbolic of an era....in other words, an icon.

For more on this story, click here.

(2). Great moments in TV censorship- Lucy and Desi can't say the word "pregnant" when "Lucy Ricardo" is carrying "Little Ricki"; Mary Tyler Moore's "Mary Richards" character is changed to single woman from divorcee shortly before production starts on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW because CBS was afraid America would reject a divorced woman. MASH takes place in a battlefield hospital with thousands of casualties- but no blood; in ALL IN THE FAMILY the Bunkers couldn't say the word or show a toilet, but we could always hear Archie flushing whenever Mike was looking for him; Barbara Eden couldn't show her naval in I DREAM OF JEANNIE; and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE- the list is too long. There have been chapters of books devoted to the battles SNL's writers and performers have had with NBC's standards and practices people.

And now its time to add another chapter to The Pantheon of Censorship. Its from our Jersey Girl pal Linda Moss on her Homeshoppingista blog. This one involves the folks at QVC. Linda reports that during the NARS cosmetics launch on QVC show host Lisa Robertson was forbidden to say out loud the name of one of the line's blushes.

The name of the product was ORGASM.

To add to the craziness she also reports that the word ORGASM was allowed on the screen, but could not be spoken out loud.

Then there was the fallout from the viewers, with some very interesting stuff happening on the QVC forums....

You can read more about at homeshoppingista.com.

(3). More from Miss Moss. Some have wondered "whatever happened to Judy Crowell?" Judy was a former QVC host who moved on to rival HSN with husband Paul Deasy to rival HSN a few years ago, and then both left HSN a few years ago. Linda is reporting that Judy will be debuting the Judy Crowell Collection fashion line of ShopNBC in the near future. Husband Paul Deasy has already made the move to the Minnesota based electronic retailer with a jewelry line. Check Linda's story by clicking here, and click here for more on Paul and Judy at PaulDeasy.com.

(4) From the world of sports, a sad story. Stefanie Spielman, wife of former NFL and Ohio State star Chris Spielman, has died at age 42, losing 12 year battle against breast cancer. She was thirty years old and pregnant when first diagnosed with the disease in 1998. I remember reading her story years ago, and that Chris left the NFL to stay home to care for her and their kids, and how he shaved his head when Stefanie's hair fell out after chemo.

The irony of her death coming on the heals of this week's mammography controversy involving new guidelines isn't lost on me. Her death was not in vain. Maybe her's is a cautionary tale that all women are vulnerable, not merely those of a certain age.

My condolences go out to the Spielman family.

(5). Just one more item in a parting shot this morning. I wonder if John McCain can relate to Mary Shelly's fictional Dr. Victor Frankenstein just a little more. Both gave birth to an out of control creature- the doctor's became the subject of countless movies, the Senator's is now on a nationwide book tour....and I'm not talking about Meghan.



"Its alive!!!!"

Quick Hits For November 11, 2009, or "Beauties and The Greek"

Phyllis George

1. Did you ever use the self checkout at supermarkets or discount store, and get into an argument with the disembodied Voice that's "instructing" you what to do next? It happened to me this afternoon- and I lost. I really thought The Voice was being condescending and I sent an email to the store manager. I just hope there's a Voice with a better attitude next time I use that self scanner.

2. I don't care if its on ESPN. Poker is NOT a sport.

3. And neither are dog shows.

4. However...speaking of ESPN and poker...kudos to ESPN and their 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries. They never cease to impress. This week's entry was The Legend of Jimmy the Greek. I feel sorry for those who are too young to remember or had never seen or heard legendary members of the sports landscape like Howard Cosell or Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder. Jimmy was an oddsmaker who's appearances on the 1970's and '80's iconic version of CBS's The NFL Today took sports betting out of the back room and gave it a sort of legitimacy in America's living rooms. He was a larger than life figure, who's rise and sad downfall are chronicled in this film by director Fritz Mitchell.



The film has remembrances by cohorts Brent Musburger, Phyllis George, and Irv Cross, as well as friends like Miami radio and TV personality Hank Goldberg. The Greek was from Steubenville, Ohio, where one of his boyhood neighbors was one young Dino Crocetti, better known as Dean Martin.

(An Update 11/12/09- I was checking out some of the search queries and some people wanted to know more about the Dean Martin-Jimmy The Greek connection. They indeed did know each other back in Steubenville from childhood. WFAN radio's Mike Francesa, who used to work for Jimmy on THE NFL TODAY, took it a step further. On his radio show Mike told his audience that Jimmy once told him that young Dino used to beat up the even younger Jimmy on a regular basis when they were kids. If that was the case you could say they knew each other- intimately. And if it was an embellishment by The Greek, its still a helluva good story.)

And the poker connection? Jimmy emceed the very first WORLD SERIES OF POKER on TV.....way back in the early 1970's!

5. More on Jimmy The Greek. Here's an audio podcast from WFAN's Mike Francesa in New York talking to former NFL TODAY producer George Veras about life with Jimmy. Mike worked for Jimmy the Greek in the early days of the NFL TODAY, and was kind of a go'fer for The Greek when he was a kid. A GREAT listen. Give it a few minutes, its very revealing. You think Indian casinos are a recent phenomenon? Jimmy was on to it years before it happened.

6. Still more on The Greek, and original NFL Today on CBS. On ESPN"s Monday Night Countdown the old CBS crew of Brent Musburger, Phyllis George, and Irv Cross made a return in a remarkable recreation of the old show's opening moments. Joining them are current co-hosts Chris Berman and Tom Jackson.



7. And just to prove the theory of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION- even in an obscure part of the blogesphere of which I am The Lord and Master- did I mention that the aforementioned Phyllis George was Miss America, 1971, and was at one time the First Lady of Kentucky? Well, youngin's....now you know. Which leads us (drumroll please!) to a former Miss West Virginia.

Kim Parrish, former QVCer, HSNer, and current fashion designer and children's author moves on to ShopNBC on Friday the 13th (11/13 7-9 PM EST) with her latest creations from The Kim Parrish Collection. I don't think the rumor that this Renaissance woman has taken up ice sculpture is true- being that she will now be working in the Twin Cities- but its early. I'll check with Linda the Homeshoppingista...she'll know.

And throwing in this little "reminder" gives me the excuse to post that incredible head shot.

8. And speaking of ShopNBC's corporate sister NBC, the latest skinny is that the ratings for the Jay Leno Show are sinking faster than a rock. It looks like this "great experiment' might be failing- big time. NBC didn't want to lose Leno to a rival network, and thought it could save money over ordering scripted series by giving Jay the 10-11 PM block Monday thru Friday....but it seems to be a concept that wasn't really well thought out by all involved. There have been rumors that local affiliates aren't happy with the situation, and are seeing ratings for their 11PM news hurt by a poor lead in from Leno.

Personally, I was trying to think about when the last time I watched NBC for anything other than SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. And that was probably the ER finale last spring. The once formidable Thursday night juggernaut that lasted for close to two decades is long gone, the LAW and ORDER franchise jumped the shark when (pick one) Jerry Orbach or Jesse L. Martin left the show, and the reality program they have is less than real.

That's one fading peacock they've got there.

9. The "joy" of living in New Jersey. Just when you think its safe to put the TV back on because the election for governor in New Jersey is all over and there won't be any political ads for awhile, guess again. New York's governor David Patterson has started his ad campaign last week. If the CIA needs something to get the Al Qaeda detainees to talk, just let watch the political ads we're bombarded with nonstop. They'll flip....and probably give up Mom and Dad as well.

10. In conclusion....here's a "thank you" shout out to all veterans past and present. If you haven't done anything yet to show your appreciation to our men and women in uniform, please do so. They like to hear it (trust me, many moons ago I was one of them)....and they deserve it.