Sorry Ladies, No More Kisses From Corporal Newkirk

Richard Dawson, the British-born actor best remembered both for his portrayal as Cockney World War II prisoner of war Corporal Peter Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes and his duties as the Emmy Award-winning, female contestant-kissing host of Family Feud, passed away on Saturday night at the Ronald Reagan Memorial Hospital in the Los Angeles area at the age of 79.


Mr. Dawson had suffered from complications related to esophageal cancer.


Corporal Newkirk was one of several Allied prisoners in a Nazi POW camp who hoodwinked their captors and run the place themselves.


In the original Family Feud, which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1985, Richard became noted----or more appropriately----notorious for kissing all the female contestants.  At the time the show ended in 1985, the show's executive producer estimated that the emcee kissed somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000."


In fact, Richard, whose first wife was the late British actress Diana Dors, actually married a contestant and promised her that he'd never kiss another contestant.


The series was revived in 1988 as The New Family Feud, hosted by comedian Ray Combs.  Six years later, Richard returned but lasted only one season(but, true to his word, never did kiss any contestants).

Lee Rich, TV Producer Who Created John-Boy And J. R., R. I. P.

Lee Rich, the creative force behind Lorimar Productions, which produced two iconic----and totally opposite dramatic shows-----The Waltons and Dallas (and its' spin-off Knotts Landing), passed away last Thursday in Los Angeles at age 93.

Goodbye, Kids!

Here are excerpts from the final episode of the old Howdy Doody show, episode #2343, which aired on September 24, 1960, including the show intro (including the original NBC Peacock), the mid-show network ID, the final segment which included Clarabell's first word, the final credits, and even a promo for the program that replaced Buffalo Bob, Howdy, and the gang from Doodyville, the Shari Lewis Show.

Say, Kids, What Time Is It?

Time for fun and bloopers on the old Howdy Doody Show with Buffalo Bob Smith.

Another One From The Ole Television File

Here is the intro to a cartoon series entitled The Super 6, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1966.





The series aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1966-69. The last two seasons saw only reruns. This was during the era of animated superheroes on network television. We've even got the old NBC Peacock to open things up. Enjoy.

From The WTF Department...

I did not know that the Lifetime cable network cancelled Denise Austin's show.

What a freaking bummer!

At least ESPN Classic airs reruns of Denise's shows from the 1990s.