Raymond Burr

In the post-holiday season, I've been catching up on my reading. If you follow my blog closely you know I have been reading my new Morrissey encyclopedia (click here to see that post). I've also recently completed this 2009 biography of actor Raymond Burr entitled "Hiding in Plain Sight" by Michael Seth Starr.

Friends who know me know I've been obsessed with watching the late 1960s-early 70s TV series Ironside for the past year or more. I've discovered that the police drama shares many similarities with the current hit TV series House, M.D. Another reason I love it is this fabulous theme song:

Anyway, my passion for Ironside and Raymond Burr is obnoxious enough to have made it into a newspaper interview I did last fall when I was promoting my book tour. (click here to see that interview).

DVD box cover

Unfortunately, neither of Raymond Burr's long-running TV series Perry Mason nor Ironside has a Christmas-themed episode. However, Burr does star in an episode of the dramatic anthology series, Family Theater. The 1952 episode entitled "A Star Shall Rise" is a dramatization of the story of the Three Magi following the bright star in the sky, looking for the prophesied newborn King. Told from their perspective, the three travelers find themselves in Jerusalem asking for any news and contacting King Herod for what he may know about the baby. They follow the star to Bethlehem, meet the humble mother and offer their gifts to the baby. Raymond Burr plays Balthazar. In addition to Burr, the guest stars include Anthony Caruso, Richard Hale and Jay Novello.

Part 1 of "A Star Shall Rise"

Part 2

This episode is also available for viewing on the above mentioned DVD release Rare Christmas Classics, Volume 2. Of course, this Christmas TV episode and many others are covered in my encyclopedia of Christmas television programs and movies, Tis the Season TV.

Groundhog Day: The Jamie Foxx Show

Trailer for 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

Last year on February 2nd, I blogged about three made-for-TV Christmas movies that adapted the plot from the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Click here to see that 2010 posting.

This year I'd like to share a TV episode that also adapts its plot from that much-beloved Bill Murray classic: the 1998 holiday episode "Christmas Day-Ja Vu" from The Jamie Foxx Show.

cast left to right: Garrett Morris, Christopher B. Duncan, Garcelle Beauvais, Ellia English with Jamie Foxx in the center.

Actor/comedian Foxx plays Jamie King, an employee living and working in his family's hotel while he pursues a career in music. This third season holiday episode of the popular sitcom sees Jamie King planning to go skiing over the holiday with friends rather than spending time with his family. However, he finds himself re-living Christmas Eve over and over until he learns his much-needed lesson to stop being so selfish. Here, Fate is personified in the guise of Santa Claus, insisting that King become more generous and giving this Christmas. Though crammed into a half-hour format, this episode’s concept seems to work.

This episode is directed by Amanda Bearse, a very successful TV director. She may be more familiar to TV viewers for her acting work, playing the character of the next door neighbor Marcy on the long-running TV series Married...With Children. It's a small world.

Though this episode is not yet released on DVD, The Jamie Foxx Show is currently airing in syndication on BET and Centric.

Black History Month: Roots: The Gift

I've borrowed the above image because it reminds me that Black History Month is a celebration of contributions to American history and culture made by African-Americans. This is a topic I'd like to return to several times this month to highlight several of the best Christmas programs which feature African-American characters and their holiday stories in movies and on TV.



I'd like to open Black History Month tipping my hat to the 1988 Christmas movie Roots: The Gift, directed by Kevin Hooks. This television movie is an expansion of a storyline from within the original Roots TV mini-series involving the characters Fiddler and Kunta Kinte. Of course, Roots is the 1970s mini-series adapted from author Alex Haley's award-winning book which narrates his ancestors lives from their kidnapping in Africa into slavery up through the years into the 20th century.

The plot of Roots: The Gift focuses on Kunta Kinte’s efforts on Christmas Eve 1775 to shuttle slaves to freedom on the developing underground railroad. The titular gift refers to the hope for freedom found in the spirit of the slogan from the Revolutionary War raging in the North: “Live Free or Die.”

There are many inspiring moments: Kunta refusing to be humiliated, bridled and ridden as a camel in a childrens' Nativity pageant; Fiddler deciding to join the group of escapees; the arduous trek through the snow towards freedom; and, the hope of a new baby born along the way.

The cast includes: Louis Gossett Jr. as Fiddler; LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte; Avery Brooks as Cletus Moyer; Michael Learned as Amelia; Shaun Cassidy as Edmund Jr.; Kate Mulgrew as Hattie; and, Jerry Hardin as Dr. Reynolds.

Director Kevin Hooks

Roots: The Gift was directed by veteran TV director and former actor, Kevin Hooks. My favorite TV role of his was as the character Morris Thorpe on The White Shadow. As a child he also starred in the Christmas TV movie, J.T. Click here to read my previous posting about that phenomenal movie. Hooks is currently working as one of the most busy TV executive producers and directors on such shows as Detroit 1-8-7, Human Target, and until recently Prison Break.

To the best of my knowledge, Roots: the Gift is not available on DVD yet. However it does still pop up on TV. Because of the prestigious reputation of the Roots mini-series, this TV movie is also fairly easy to find on VHS at libraries across the country as well. A find worth seeking.

Big Love Christmas

The Henrickson family ice skating at Christmas

Last night's episode of the HBO hit family drama brought it's first Christmas episode "Certain Poor Shepherds." This is Big Love's fifth and final season of the melodrama about the polygamous family. I've watched this show since its beginning--I love the ensemble cast which includes Chloe Sevigny as Nicky, Mary Kay Place as Nicky's mother Adaleen, Grace Zabriskie as Bill's mother Lois, Bruce Dern as Lois' husband Frank, Harry Dean Stanton as the prophet Roman Grant who is also Nicky's father, and even Sissy Spacek played a regular character last season. And of course, Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin as Bill, Barb and Margene. There's a whole lot of crazy happening on that show and it's fun to watch it unfold each week.

Margene, Bill, Barb and Nicky--too bad the fourth didn't stick around!

On last night's episode, the Henrickson experienced--no surprise--an unhappy holiday. Nicky's mother, Adaleen, and Bill's mother, Lois, both joined the family for Christmas but each brought the burden of their own dramas: Adaleen is nearing sixty years old but pregnant from bizarre fertility treatments and Lois has recently been officially diagnosed with dementia. The family is still reeling from Bill's recent election win of Utah's Senate and his public disclosure of their secretive polygamous lifestyle. But amongst all the dramas, conflicts and obstacles to a peaceful Christmas, Margene emotionally erupts to reveal a secret that seems to challenge not only Bill's public image but the foundation of the Henrickson marriages. We'll have to keep watching to see how this plotline plays itself out.

Ep. 46: Inside the Episode

Though the Henrickson's polygamous family doesn't look like most of our families, they still experience a troubled and difficult Christmas not too unfamiliar from many of our own Christmases. Hopefully, your holidays aren't made difficult by too many wives and too many lies. But our compassion for the Henricksons in this episode may come from a very human understanding about how the melodrama often doesn't take a break conveniently for December each year. This episode also reminds us of the multiple car collision on the highway that you slow down to watch and can't take your eyes away from.

One final comment: this is becoming more and more common--have you noticed? Christmas-themed episodes are being broadcast for the first time not just at holiday time but throughout the year. This Christmas Big Love episode is being first released in January and last season's Mad Men Christmas episode was first released in the summer (August, I think). As cable shows continue to grow in popularity, no longer bound to the old traditions of Fall schedules and Winter replacement line-ups, we're seeing more and more holiday-themed episodes running year round. So keep your eyes open and let me know when you see a Christmas episode released outside of December.

The Littlest Angel

In January, I was shopping in Cleveland, OH in a very cool vintage shop and found this LP. I probably paid too much but I don't care. This is the soundtrack to one of my favorite Christmas TV specials, The Littlest Angel. This two-hour special was a Hallmark Hall of Fame production based on the popular children's book authored by Charles Tazewell. It is also a musical and features songs sung by Johnny Whitaker, Fred Gwynne, Tony Randall, Connie Stevens and Cab Calloway, among others.

In The Littlest Angel, child actor Johnny Whitaker plays the young angel Michael who doesn’t like Heaven very much. The unhappy eight year-old angel is homesick, he doesn’t know how to fly and he’s much younger than the other angels. His guardian angel, Patience, tries to help him get flying lessons and to fit in so he can enjoy paradise, but to no avail. Michael is eventually allowed a brief return to his earthly home to retrieve his favorite box of things which includes: a dog collar, several broken birds eggs, a couple of river stones, a feather and a butterfly. Once he’s back in Heaven, all the other angels are busy preparing for the birth of God’s son and planning their gifts. While the other angels have made precious gifts befitting royalty, Michael has nothing to offer except his favorite box of treasures. Although he’s embarrassed by its inadequacies, he humbly shares his most prized possessions. However, God is pleased with Michael’s generosity and turns the humble gift into the bright Star of Bethlehem.

the album's back cover

If you can get over the fact that Michael is a homesick little dead boy who is unhappy with being sent to Heaven, then the story can be sweet. This version of the popular Christmas story was originally produced on videotape and so it lacks the image quality of a filmed production. However, the casting is superb and more than makes up for the low image quality and budget chroma-key special effects.

Moreover, who would have known that actor Fred Gwynne, fondly remembered for his patriarchal role as Herman Munster on the 1960s TV series, The Munsters, would have a lovely singing voice? (Anyone who has seen the Christmas episode of Car 54, Where Are You? which also includes Gwynne singing--that's who!)

This is one of my favorite Christmas specials because it includes Johnny Whitaker--whom I adored as a child. I've always had a thing for Whitaker, Billy Mumy and Danny Bonaduce. Yeah, the red-heads were all over television in my childhood. But I'm also a *huge* Tony Randall fan. So I had to buy this album, at any price, when I found it at that vintage shop in Cleveland.

the back cover of the album unfolds to reveal these pop-out images from the TV special

The cast of The Littlest Angel includes: Johnny Whitaker as Michael; Fred Gwynne as Patience; Tony Randall as the philosophical angel, Democritus; music legend Cab Calloway as the angel Gabriel; actress Connie Stevens as the Flying Mistress; James Coco as Michael’s father; and E.G. Marshall as God.

This Hallmark Hall of Fame production was rebroacast in 1970 and 1971 however it can now easily be found on cheaply produced dollar DVDs.

Part 1 of The Littlest Angel

Andy Warhol...and Christmas?

Those of you who were following my adventures while I was on book tour in November and December know that I spent a great deal of time between book signings at art museums around the country. Without any planning, I ended up with an amazing experience dominated by the works of Andy Warhol.

It's true I've been a huge fan of the complex pop icon since the mid-1980s. Perhaps I saw so many Warhols in the various museums I visited because I was attracted to them. Would I have seen just as many works of Henri Matisse or Mark Rothko paintings if I had been looking for those? Probably not. I was blessed to have been scheduled on my book tour to appear in two cities where their museums where holding special, temporary exhibits featuring the works of Andy Warhol.

At the Baltimore Museum of Art, I saw "Warhol: The Last Decade" an exhibit focused on Warhol's body of work after he stopped his filmmaking and returned to painting. These included many more celebrity portraits and his paintings with Jean-Michel Basquiat among others.

I also saw the Indianapolis Museum of Art's "Andy Warhol Enterprises" exhibit which focused on the commercial and business aspects of Warhol and his work. This included his early career work in advertising and window dressing to his prints of dollar bills and consumer products as well as the construction of himself as a commercial product becoming a model and spokesperson in advertisements in the 1980s.

Andy Warhol's Santa Claus from his Myth series

While I did not see the above print of Santa Claus, I did see many other Warhol pieces. I'm not sure I can remember them all now but in Columbus, Georgia, I saw his portrait of President Jimmy Carter's mother entitled Miss Lillian. In Richmond Virginia, I saw Triple Elvis (which is really large!) I also saw several Brillo boxes and Single Elvis at the Akron Art Museum over Thanksgiving when I stopped at home for the holiday. The Akron Art Museum was also hosting the exhibit "Who Shot Rock n' Roll?" a collection of photographs of rock n' roll performers. This exhibit also included a photo of the Velvet Underground with Andy in the composition! I felt like I was seeing Warhol everywhere. And of course, the two major exhibits in Baltimore and Indianapolis.

Thus you understand my passion for Andy Warhol and why I am so excited to include the cult film Silent Night Bloody Night into my books.




A very low-budget horror film, it was unleashed into theaters in 1974. This is your typical Christmas horror movie about incest, ax-wielding serial killers and escaped mental patients. What is atypical about this film is that it features cult film actress Mary Woronov as well as Ondine and Candy Darling who were notable Andy Warhol associates during the 1960s and regulars at The Factory, Warhol’s creative epicenter.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see Warhol's Screen Tests which included Ondine and Candy Darling at the Indianapolis exhibit. If so motivated, I wonder what kind of Christmas movie Andy Warhol could have made?

Morrissey...and Christmas?

One of my best Christmas gifts this year was Simon Goddard's new book Mozipedia. I just can't put this book down! There's more here than anyone should ever want to know about Morrissey and The Smiths yet it's my favorite new thing.

Something I've learned from this book is that while Morrissey takes the view that Christmas is 'very annoying,' (see Mozipedia p. 72 under the listing Christmas), he has also claimed two popular Christmas-themed movies as those among his favorite films. They just so happen to be two of my favorite movies as well.

According to p. 72 of Mozipedia, Morrissey lists Christmas in Connecticut as one of his favorites. No wonder, this 1945 film starring Barbara Stanwyck has been a Hollywood classic for decades. I previously wrote about Barbara Stanwyck's participation in Christmas programs on this blog. Click on the link to read that posting again --> Barbara Stanwyck.

Check out the original trailer for 1945's Christmas in Connecticut

And, according to p. 245 of Mozipedia, Morrissey also names 1942's The Man Who Came to Dinner on the list of his favorite films. This too is a classic Hollywood film that is still popular enough to be shown every year on Turner Classic Movies channel--as is Christmas in Connecticut. Though actor Monty Woolley plays the title character in The Man Who Came to Dinner, it also stars Bette Davis in a rare comedic role. I wrote about this movie last year. Click on the link to read that posting again --> The Guest That Would Never Leave.

The original trailer for 1942's The Man Who Came to Dinner--though it doesn't reflect the chaos and fun of the storyline.

I have to listen to the Smiths' song 'Cemetry Gates' again (it's on The Queen is Dead album). Apparently the lyrics refer to this movie--so says Mozipedia.

What did you get for Christmas?