tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post4737827778614177148..comments2024-03-17T07:25:56.478-04:00Comments on Thrilling Days of Yesteryear: Mayberry Mondays #64: “The Harp” (11/30/70, prod. no. 0310)Ivan G Shreve Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04067177808320053382noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-40026344012881045762012-11-12T13:52:54.714-05:002012-11-12T13:52:54.714-05:00In September 1963, Leonid Kinskey appeared, very b...In September 1963, Leonid Kinskey appeared, very briefly, in the second segment of "5", the season premiere of the drastically rebooted <i>77 Sunset Strip</i>.<br /><br />This was when Jack Webb had taken over Warner Bros TV from Jack Warner's son-in-law Bill Orr, with the charge of getting away from the superslick series that WBTV had been doing for ABC throughout the '50s/'60s.<br /> As part of that, Webb ordered that 77SS drop all of its regular cast, with the sole exception of Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and move him away from the title address and into Los Angeles's famed Bradbury Building (in an interview, Webb said that they were keeping the now-geograpically incorrect title because "it's presold").<br /><br />To properly launch the 77SS reboot (not a term of the time, but I can't think of what they called it in '63), Webb and his new producer William Conrad (yes, <i>that</i> William Conrad) put together a five-part miniseries (See what I said about "reboot" above) entitled "5", written by Harry Essex and directed by Conrad. This took Stu Bailey around the world in a tough-guy-style whodunit far removed from the old finger-snapping 77SS.<br /><br />The first episode was introed by the numeral "5" slowly growing on screen, as George Fenneman solemnly intoned:<br /><br /><i>Beginning tonight, and for the next five weeks, in this hour, you will see the following stars in something new on television.<br />In alphabetical order:</i><br /><br />And then the screen would show a full-face closeup of each actor: Fenneman would announce the role, and the actor would state his/her name, so:<br /><br /><i>In the role of Thomas Allen:<br />"Luther Adler"</i><br /><br />And so on, a total of about 25 actors, ending with Efrem Zimbalist.<br /><br />What caught my eye at the time (I was just short of my thirteenth birthday) was that among the alphabetical guest stars - right in between George Jessel and Peter Lorre - <br /><br /><i>As Pete Kramer:<br />"Leonid Kinskey."</i><br /><br />Unless I'm mistaken (and part of me hopes I am), this was the only time Kinskey got actual Guest Star billing on any TV show.<br /><br />Ther were newspaper ads for "5" with head shots of the actors, and Leonid Kinskey was right there in the middle of all of them (some of the others were Richard Conte, Tony Bennett, Burgess Meredith, William Shatner, Brian Keith, Llotyd Nolan, Ed and Keenan Wynn, and a bunch of others I'll remember right after I hit Publish).<br /><br />Anyway, since this posting is a tribute to Leonid Kinskey. I'd thought I'd throw that in.Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-52869389762101248082012-11-11T16:55:15.905-05:002012-11-11T16:55:15.905-05:00Chris Vosburg provided some info:
Also, a last ad...Chris Vosburg provided some info:<br /><br /><i>Also, a last add on Kinskey from the Personal Quotes section of his IMDB page on why he turned down a regular part on "Hogan's Heroes": "The premise to me was both false and offensive. The Nazis were seldom dumb and never funny."</i><br /><br />I suspected that was probably the reason. While I applaud Mr. K for his principles, I'm pretty sure <b><i>Hogan's Heroes</i></b> was a sitcom and not a documentary.<br /><br />Oh, and from the generous <b><i>Perry Mason</i></b> trivia provided it appears that I mixed up my Chrises (Chrisi?). For some reason I thought Mr. Riesbeck was the Mason connoisseur, and it would seem that appellation must fall to Mr. Vosburg. I sincerely regret the error.Ivan G Shreve Jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04067177808320053382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-78221927638070740392012-11-07T09:53:27.621-05:002012-11-07T09:53:27.621-05:00I remember seeing Kinskey (uncredited) in a Jack B...I remember seeing Kinskey (uncredited) in a Jack Benny episode where he's a dance instructor with Don Wilson as a student. He was a hoot there, too. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-9955085045172126612012-11-06T12:57:12.099-05:002012-11-06T12:57:12.099-05:00Also, a last add on Kinskey from the Personal Quot...Also, a last add on Kinskey from the Personal Quotes section of his IMDB page on why he turned down a regular part on "Hogan's Heroes": "The premise to me was both false and offensive. The Nazis were seldom dumb and never funny."Chris Vosburgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-46704870939943050722012-11-06T12:52:24.912-05:002012-11-06T12:52:24.912-05:00Leonid Kinskey did a Perry Mason ep TCOT Tsarina&#...Leonid Kinskey did a Perry Mason ep <i>TCOT Tsarina's Tiara</i>, playing one "Vyacheslav Gernov" and was a hoot in that one as well, though I confess I don't remember how he figured in the plot.<br /><br />He kept cracking me up in the courtroom scenes, in the multiple reaction shots the show liked to do, in which they'd show a second or two of each of the players in the gallery while Perry was zeroing in for the reveal, and every time they'd show Kinskey, his face was all screwed up into that bizarre and funny just-bit-into-a-lemon expression he demonstrates to Sam in the above screencap when he's checking out the harp's tuning. Hilarious!<br /><br />Also, I'm having difficulty believing that the "down-on-his-luck harp teacher answering the door with noose in hand" scene came out of the MRFD writing staff, because as you say, it's awfully dark, and wickedly funny, and the writing on MFRD was so determinedly light and well, not-so-funny.<br /><br />So I wonder if Leonid himself didn't come up this sight gag, and the "boy scout" line that goes with it. It does seem his style of humor, that's for sure.<br /><br />And since Alice apparently made it to the recital with a fully working harp, I am forced, so help me, to conclude that Emmett actually was able to repair the unsprung pedal.<br /><br />Congratulations, Emmett. Now about that tuning job...[sound of overwound harp strings snapping: pong! pong! pong!]Chris Vosburgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-73412758363272422692012-11-06T10:55:41.754-05:002012-11-06T10:55:41.754-05:00I FINALLY looked it up, and my memory was not fail...I FINALLY looked it up, and my memory was not failing me: Alice Cooper really did tell Dinah Shore that the band took the name from Ghostley's character, though Wikipedia seems to think the Ouija board story is the real truth. Since their first album was 1969, it's possible Ghostley's character may have been named after the band.<br /><br />Brr. Now that's a thought.<br /><br />I really like Kinskey, though I think he got shafted a lot playing Russians during the Cold War era.<br /><br />I also saw Jack Dodson in something! I'll be posting about it soonish. It was pretty exciting.<br /><br />Unlike this episode. Thank the gods for your snark, otherwise I'd have chewed my own foot off by the end.Staciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250238254417726987noreply@blogger.com