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Show 7gqo5o,Q--7 By Buck Biggers BING CROSBY We interrupt for this important message... BING AND PERRY: How many of you are old enough to remember the days when folks across the nation argued about who was the better crooner, Bing Crosby or Perry Como? Well, if you remember those days, and if you are still arguing, CBS and NBC provided a wonderful way to assist you in finding the answer: Two Specials for December, each unique, each delightful. The first is Bing Crosbys White Christmas Special" on CBS Wednesday, Dec. 1, and the second is Perry Comos Christmas in Austria on NBC Monday, Dec. 13. Whether it's for crooning or for Christmas, both Mr. Cs are terriric. Do you have a favorite? ON THE INSIDE: Gemini Man, NBCs second attempt to make viewers accept an invisible man series, lasted only for n some episodes. Today, if you drop in at NBC, the hallway conversations would lead you to believe that the only people who supported Gemini Man have all departed from the network; no one left to blame for putting on this piece of lunacy. Nonsense. The program people now in charge are fully to blame. They knew that last season an invisible man series had failed (one which and starred a fine actor like David McCullum). They had seen the Ben Murphy pilot of Gemini Man" (which was such a junvemle piece of twaddle that even intelligent-childrelaughed). Yet to a man the program department insisted on comparing Gemini Man with ABCs Six Million Dollar Man and thereby claiming it would be a hit. Think of the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted and think of the many unique show ideas rejected because NBC's top programmers would rather go with a poor copy of an existing series than to stick their collective neck out for something new and possibly worthwhile. This is precisely the sort of programming that has given television its poor half-doze- ut n PAGE 8 TV WEEK reputation. So dont try to run from the blame on this one, guys. You deserve it. LOOKING BACK: That much repeated question now being asked Ron Howard about "Happy Days doesnt he mind that Henry Winkler (the Fonz) now gets all the laughs reminds Ron of the days when he played the son on The Andy Griffith Show. Says Ron, Everyone used to ask Andy that same question about Don Knotts. But Andy went right on letting Don take the laughs, and his series kept running for years.. ..That sad break-u- p of the Burt Bacharach-Angi- e Dickinson marriage due to Angie's career reminded us of the statement this lady made soon after she got her first big screen break as Feathers in the movie Rio Bravo." Said Angie then, "The ultimate purpose of a girl is to make a man feel like a man. How times Change! IDLE CHATTER: These personal items are red hot. They were passed to us in a bowl of chili at the NBC commissary... Lome Greene, best known for his role as Ben Cartwright on "Bonanza," once played the violin on the Tonight show! (An obvious attempt to show there is more than one string to his bow). ..The Lennon Sisters insist that while visiting their Uncle in Ojai, Calif., they saw an Unidentified Flying Object! (According to our records, this is the first square UFO sighting on record)... Betty Garrett, Mrs. Babish on Laverne & Shirley, always wears a wig on the show even though she has 3 Vi feet of real hair!. ..Robert Stack, star of ABCs Most Wanted series, has such a busy schedule according to the network that he turned down "a week of golf with Bing Crosby and an evening with Princess Grace of Monaco! (By golly, this man is more wanted than the crooks on his series). Until next time, look happy. |
