Lauren Bacall For High Point Coffee!
Peter Frechette vs. Josh Charles!
Peter Frechette, featured in this episode, is a 2-time Tony-Award-nominated actor, with many stage credits. People of a certain age may best remember him in one of my favorite awful movies, “Grease 2:”
Here he is with his husband, stage and TV director David Warren (they have been together since 1988):
Mr. Frechette is NOT TO BE CONFUSED with actor Josh Charles, known for “Dead Poets Society,” “Sports Night,” and “The Good Wife.” (OK, maybe I’m the only one who made this mistake. Whatever.)
[ EXTRAS ] Classic Tootsie Pop Commercial!
[Extras] Candice Bergen!
In this clip, she surprises Burt Reynolds with a song in “Starting Over,” the 1979 debut film of writer-director James L. Brooks. This song was written by “They’re Playing Our Song” writers Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager. Bergen was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the film, but lost to a young newcomer named Meryl Streep for her performance in “Kramer vs. Kramer. “
And in response to Cameron’s question about what she did before “Murphy Brown,” here is a perfect and short re-cap of her career as of 1989 for a Barbara Walters interview. (Among her ‘forgettable’ film roles in the 1970s were memorable appearances on “Saturday Night Live”… where she cut her comedic teeth before “Starting Over.”)
She most recently starred in the 2018 film “Book Club” with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Mary Steenburgen.
[ EXTRAS ] “Empty Nest” Failed Backdoor Pilot
This episode of The Golden Girls (Season 2, Episode 26) was an attempt to create a vehicle for Rita Moreno and Paul Dooley as new empty-nesters. (Read a very funny detailed review of it here.) It didn’t work, so the whole thing was re-tooled as a Richard Mulligan vehicle, and all that remained was the set and David Leisure as the sleazy womanizing neighbor. (Interesting Fact: the corrected “Empty Nest” ran almost as long as “The Golden Girls!” 170 EN episodes were made, while GG had 180 (not including “Golden Palace” which is often included in syndication packages). You can watch the episode for free with a Hulu subscription here. Ms. Moreno talks about the experience here:
[ EXTRAS ] Denny Terio hosting “Dance Fever!”
With Lyle Waggoner and the late great Rip Taylor!
[ EXTRAS ] Folger’s Coffee!
(And all the MANY verses that precede the well-known chorus:)