Batstuff # 22

The Harry James Orchestra--The Lonely Bull

Contrary to popular belief today, the Big Bands did not go quietly when rock 'n' roll arrived. Here we have the great trumpeter Harry James with his big band in '66, legendary drummer Buddy Rich backing him up and the song is Herb Alpert's hit, THE LONELY BULL. Like his mentor, Benny Goodman, James still appeared onstage regularly throughout the world into the seventies and was no stranger to television, often showing up on HOLLYWOOD PALACE,

Queen of Blood

Take a couple of small time actors (Dennis Hopper and John Saxon), a "washed up" star (Basil Rathbone) and special effects scenes from not one but two Soviet sci-fi productions, throw in a blacklisted Czech actress in weird makeup and publicize through FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine and you've got the recipe for QUEEN OF BLOOD, a surprisingly effective film from early '66! Note that there was even a novelization which was published by Greenleaf Classics, a company known for sleazy porn novels, and it actually featured an intro from FM's Forrest J. Ackerman.

Samantha Meets Ben Franklin

Here we have one of my all-time favorite sitcom episodes--or rather two of them--as seen in 6 chapters, uncut except for the original sponsor bits. MY FRIEND BEN was the first color episode of BEWITCHED that was filmed (although not the first aired) and is just a delight. It tells the story of Aunt Clara accidentally bringing Benjamin Franklin into the 20th Century. The follow-up, SAMANTHA FOR THE DEFENSE, is also quite wonderful and features a lovely closing speech from the Founding Father himself.

Above is Part One--Look for Part Two linked at the end from the corresponding uploader ad take about 45 minutes to go though all 6 parts. THIS was 1966 TV comedy at its best--heartwarming, magical and hilarious.

Daredevil '66 Original Art

This is the original art of the splash from what was probably the very first issue of DAREDEVIL I ever saw as a child.

That Girl-A-Thon

If your area has ME-TV, today from 11 to 5 pm ET they're running a mini-marathon of their latest acquisition--my all-time favorite sitcom, THAT GIRL, which premiered in '66!

Laredo

Watching a marathon of LAREDO On cable this morning. LAREDO premiered on TV in 1965 and ran into 1967 so it was on all trough '66. It was a good, colorful western, spun off from THE VIRGINIAN, but it had a light-hearted feel to its characters. Stars were Peter Brown (formerly of LAWMAN), William Smith (later of scores of exploitation films and biker movies) and, stealing the show every episode. Neville Brand. Brand, like Audie Murphy, was a highly decorated World War II hero who became a cowboy star. Unlike the baby-faced Murphy, however, Brand was an ugly cuss but he could do comedy or menace equally well and here his comedy highlighted  spirited performances every episode.