Thursday, December 29, 2016

Jumpin' a General in downtown Detroit? Count us in!!!!

Oh, we are soooooo there, when two of our favorite things come together ... "The Dukes of Hazzard" and Deeee-troit!!! Who would've ever thought someone would jump a blazin' orange General Lee right downtown in the city we love? But it's happening, in February, as part of Autorama.


On Friday, February 24, at 11:45 a.m., just 15 minutes before the opening of the show for the weekend, the Northeast Ohio Dukes will offer up a stunt show on Atwater Street behind Cobo Center, where the show is being held. This will reportedly include a jump of a General Lee car. Plus, Autorama will feature Catherine (Daisy Duke) Bach and Tom (Luke Duke) Wopat greeting fans on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Woo-hoo! See ya there!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Merry Christmas! A blast from the past from BRBTV

Many thanks to our buddy Grigg for fishing this one out of a used bookstore for us. We remember those celebrity "year" books that were popular in the '70s and '80s, geared toward younger readers, where you could learn more about your favorite TV or movie stars. (Yea, yea, there's the Internet for that now, but this really takes ya back ...)



"TV Superstars '82" by Ronald W. Lackmann (Weekly Reader Books) profiles a whopping 64 stars in a slim paperback -- 192 pages. That's about three pages each, with black-and-white publicity photos. It's soooooo super-cool. The actors from "The Love Boat," "M*A*S*H," "Happy Days," WKRP in Cincinnati," "The Greatest American Hero," "Little House on the Prairie," "Alice," "CHiPs," and so many other shows we love, including the shows we cover here at BRBTV ...

Some fun tidbits rising up from the pages:

"Dallas"
  • Larry Hagman once had the juvenile lead in a production of "South Pacific" in London, which starred his mother, Mary Martin.
  • Patrick Duffy was 6'2" and 195 pounds at the time.
  • Linda Gray as a child attended school across the street from the MGM studios where "Dallas" was filmed and would stand out there after school to meet stars.
  • Victoria Principal was studying to be a chiropractor at Miami Dade Junior College when she decided to go into acting after recuperating from a car crash.
  • Barbara Bel Geddes at the time lived in a "beautiful country house in Putnam Valley, New York."
  • Charlene Tilton was 5' tall and 95 pounds. Yea, you probably knew that one.
  • Leigh McCloskey studied acting at the Julliard in New York under John Houseman.
  • Ken Kercheval collected a bunch of stuff, including the glass he became known for later.
  • Steve Kanaly worked as a manager and instructor at a trap and skeet shooting club frequented by celebs before his break on "Dallas."



"The Dukes of Hazzard"
  • John Schneider was overweight and unpopular in high school. (OK, wha???? We know that's a cliché among celebs, but again ... what?) When he was 16, he dieted during summer break from school and thinned down.
  • As a boy in Lodi, Wisconsin, Tom Wopat's original singing audience were the cows in the barn. He excelled in sports and other activities in high school, and his father is quoted as saying, "It was very important for Tom to win all the time. In his last year in high school, Tom even played football with a broken bone in his ankle."
  • Catherine Bach is quoted as saying, "I empathize with Daisy. She's my kind of people. She knows how to enjoy herself, and she's always ready to give everything she has to help out in whatever big problem comes up. And she's a bit reckless. That's me, too. I enjoy that. I like taking chances, not only in my acting life but in real life, too."

The merriest of Christmases from BRBTV !!!!

Friday, December 16, 2016

A big Season 4 of Terrific TV Toys awaits! Meanwhile, here's the episode guide to Season 3!

On December 17 of last year, we offered an episode guide of the first two seasons of Terrific TV Toys, the series that gives you a look up-close and personal at toys celebrating the wonderful vintage TV shows we love. Since then, BRBTV has knocked out a huge Season 3 of the show.

We kicked off this past year with a big Bionic Blitz, then ran an even bigger Bat-Blitz throughout the ensuing months, marking the huge 50th anniversary of the 1966 "Batman" TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. That Bat-Blitz was in 22 whopping parts, 22 figures from Figures Toy Co.! We also marked the 50th anniversaries of "Star Trek" and "The Green Hornet." All of this took us from episode 51 through episode 89 ... whew! ...

51. Steve Austin figure by Bif Bang Pow!
52. Bigfoot figure by Bif Bang Pow!
53. Fembot figure by Bif Bang Pow!
54. Dr. Rudy Wells figure by Bif Bang Pow!
55. Oscar Goldman figure by Bif Bang Pow!
56. Bionic Transport and Repair Station by Kenner
57. '66 Batman figure by Figures Toy Co.
58. '66 Robin figure by Figures Toy Co.
59. '66 Riddler figure by Figures Toy Co.
60. '66 Joker figure by Figures Toy Co.
61. "Dynasty" Barbie dolls -- Part 1, Alexis
62. "Dynasty" Barbie dolls -- Part 2, Krystle
63. '66 Bruce Wayne figure by Figures Toy Co.
64. '66 Dick Grayson figure by Figures Toy Co.
65. '66 Penguin figure by Figures Toy Co.
66. '66 Egghead figure by Figures Toy Co.
67. Some goodies from "ALF"
68. "Dukes of Hazzard" coloring book
69. '66 Shame figure by Figures Toy Co.
70. '66 Mad Hatter figure by Figures Toy Co.
71. Scooby-Doo Kids' Meal toys by Wendy's       
72. Marie Osmond doll by Mattel
73. '66 Bookworm figure by Figures Toy Co.
74. '66 Mr. Freeze figure by Figures Toy Co.
75. '66 King Tut figure by Figures Toy Co.
76. '66 Alfred figure by Figures Toy Co.
77. J.R. Ewing ornament by Hallmark
78. Terrific TV Toys on Wheels: The Mystery Machine
79. '66 Batman "Surf's Up" variant figure
80. '66 Joker "Surf's Up" variant figure by Figures Toy Co.
81. '66 Chief O'Hara "Surf's Up" variant figure by Figures Toy Co.
82. '66 Barbara Gordon "Surf's Up" variant figure by Figures Toy Co.
83. "Star Trek" anniversary special with Vina figure by Playmates
84. "Green Hornet" anniversary special with playing cards by Ed-U-Cards
85. Wonder Woman Barbie doll by Mattel
86. '66 Batman with removable cowl by Figures Toy Co.
87. '66 Chief O'Hara figure by Figures Toy Co.
88. '66 Barbara Gordon figure by Figures Toy Co.
89. '66 Batgirl '66 figure by Figures Toy Co.

So now we look forward to a great Season 4 of the show! We're kicking it off with yet another 50th anniversary in January ... can you guess what that will be?????

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas from BRBTV!

Friday, December 09, 2016

John Schneider plans another Niagara Falls date, as well as a new CD

Thanks to Phyllis for the updates on John Schneider, Mr. Bo Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard" ...

Schneider will be meeting fans at the Niagara Falls Comic Con in Niagara Falls, Canada, on June 2-4, 2017.  For more information go to http://niagarafallscomiccon.com/.

Our country boy also will be meeting fans at the Southern Wheels 'N Motion Car and Truck Show in Tullahoma, Tennessee, on June 17, 2017.  For more information call 931-455-8096 or 931-247-2663.

John's new CD "Ruffled Skirts" will be available soon.  Please continue watching his store for that item.  Items are available at http://www.studiostore.us/ and at https://johnschneiderstudiostore.myshopify.com/.

Monday, December 05, 2016

Sad news: Van Williams dies at age 82

We'd heard it earlier, but the confirmation just came through. Our condolences to the wife and family of Mr. Van Williams, known to us as the great "Green Hornet" of the 1966 TV series. He was a gracious man that this author had the privilege to interview, and he will be missed by fans everywhere.

Read more at Variety's website.

The cause of death is stated as renal failure, although the star had been struggling healthwise for at least a couple years and lamented to me that he had stopped doing the cons he had enjoyed so much. He loved meeting fans.



Images from Wikipedia / public domain.