clean the Pool Verde – the pool maintenance got away from me and is a lovely shade of green. The filter is a lovely shade of green too. The pool guy said I needed to remove the filter and shock the water . (hey water: you are adopted- big enough shock?) Once all the algae settled from the shock, I was gonna vacuum the crud. The pool guy said: better to lose some water than mess around trying to salvage it.
wash the patio – apparently the rains have ceased being an everyday/all day happening. Instead the pattern has settled into the “normal.” This means less mud tracked onto the patio and a good scrubbing is in order.
wash the car – hasn’t been done since we bought it. Rain knocks off the surface dirt, but I figure once every couple months I should give it a good scrub.
take a shower – I didn’t last night because I was pooped. Was planning on being wet most of today and knew that a nice shower would wrap up the day nicely.
shave my face – I try to shave daily since I retired. Sometimes I forget. Yesterday, I forgot.
All my big plans went out the window – or down the drain – or whatev.
We didn’t have any water after about 9 a.m. We don’t know exactly why, probably never will.
Just: NO WATER…
I’m gonna have to find out the guy in charge of water and give him a nice tip. Great excuse for not accomplishing a damn thing today.
The Dick Van Dyke Show debuted October 3, 1961, fifty years ago. (Yes you are THAT old if you remember this as must-watch TV and will watch every re-run again and again.)
Surprising to me was the history of The Dick Van Dyke show and the convoluted route it took to finally get aired. The show was shot with the title Head of the Family and an entirely different cast. Rob Reiner was a known writer for Sid Caesar, and hatched the idea for a sitcom, with him appearing in the leading role.
Agent Harry Kalcheim, shopped the Head of the Family pilot script around, and actor Peter Lawford wanted to front the money to shoot the pilot. Once Reiner sent a script to Lawford’s father-in-law and supplier of the cash, Joseph P. Kennedy, Reiner was given the green light. The pilot was shot in December of 1958 in New York, with Reiner starring as Rob, Barbara Britton as Laura, Gary Morgan as Ritchie, Sylvia Miles as Sally, and Morty Gunty as Buddy. And then … nothing. The pilot failed to sell for the Fall 1959 season, and for the next year, Reiner thought the project was dead. But Kalcheim refused to abandon the show. He presented the pilot episode to another client of his, producer Sheldon Leonard.
Leonard realized this diamond in the rough and spotted immediately the one flaw: Leonard was not a sitcom actor, he was a sketch comedian.
Recasting the Dick Van Dyke Show proceeded and went smoothly until it came to casting Laura Petrie, the female lead. Many actresses auditioned, but it was Danny Thomas who remembered a cute button nosed girl “with three names” who tried out for the role of his daughter on Make Room for Daddy. (She was rejected because Thomas thought no one would believe her button-nose compared to Thomas’s honker.)
Tuesday, October 3, 1961, the premiere of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Reiner suggested the new title, following Sheldon Leonard’s tradition of naming a show after its star. Though no longer the lead in front of the camera, Reiner’s leadership behind the camera resulted in the classic sitcom of the 1960s.
The critics loved The Dick Van Dyke Show, but low ratings almost caused the program to be canceled after one season! Sheldon Leonard used his powerful influence to squeeze out four more seasons.
The show ended its run on June 1, 1966 with episode “The Last Chapter,” in which Alan Brady is set to star in and produce a television show based on Rob Petrie’s autobiographical novel.
Here are my recollections and recommendations for the Best and Worst of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Best Opening Credits
Best Costume Design for Lead Female
Worst Kid Actor
Best Guest Appearance
Best Flashback Story
Best Musical Number
Best Theme Song
Best Re-occuring Line
Best Opening Credits:
Dick Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie’s perfectly executed pratfall over the ottoman, and then later, his light-footed skip to the left to avoid tripping.
Best Costume Design for Lead Female:
Laura Petri’s Capri pants are what most people remember. I remember with the fondness of most 15 year old boys the top she often wore with the Capri pants. It was the plain white top with no seams or buttons in front which highlighted her pointy cone-bra. (OK, looking back her breasts were not THAT pointy, but I like my memory better.)
Worst Kid Actor:
Hands down, the worst kid actor – perhaps EVER – was Larry Mathews as Richard “Ritchie”Rosebud Petrie. The kid could not deliver a line without that smug little smirk, knowing that he was about to deliver a laugh line. Compared to the other kid actors: Tommy Rettig as Timmy in Lassie, Jerry Mathers as The Beaver, and the best kid actor of all time, Ron Howard as Opie Taylor, Larry Mathews deserved to be hit by a school bus and replaced by a pooch.
Best Guest Apperance:
Jerry Van Dyke as Rob Petrie’s bashful brother, Stacy Petrie, who becomes an extrovert entertainer only when he is sleepwalking. He appeared on March 21, 1962 in I Am My Brother’s Keeper and the following week in The Sleeping Brother. Carl Reiner makes his first on-camera appearance as Alan Brady in this episode.
Best Flashback Back-story:
How Rob and Laura met. Cute story called Honeymoons are for the Lucky. Rob is in the army, Laura shows up on base as part of the entertainment. It aired March 4, 1964.
Best Musical Number:
The Christmas Special that aired on December 18, 1963. I Am a Fine Musician…
Best Theme Song:
You can hum the tune, but did you know it has lyrics???
So you think that you’ve got troubles?
Well, trouble’s a bubble
So tell old Mr. Trouble to get lost!
Why not hold your head up high and
Stop cryin’, start tryin’
And don’t forget to keep your fingers crossed.When you find the joy of livin’
Is lovin’ and givin’
You’ll be there when the winning dice are tossed.
A smile is just a frown that’s turned upside down
So smile, and that frown will defrost.And don’t forget to keep your fingers crossed
Bud-ump bump!
Best re-occuring line:
Ohhhhhhh Rooo-obbb.
Enjoy the reruns on TVLand… and look for the classic episodes – the Best and the Worst of Dick Van Dyke. Submit your ideas… and what would be a “Best of” without bloopers.
We buried Oliver last Friday because of advanced Autoimmune Disease. He had the symptoms for years, it just went undiagnosed.
heart murmur
chewing his front feet
itchy skin
We treated Oliver constantly for these problems. We tried prescribed treatments and over the counter stuff and home remedies… nothing solved his problems because he had a disease and these were the indicators.
Oliver finally crashed after suffering for years.
I woke up one morning to a puddle of very bloody urine. Our vet suspected the disease right away, but ran a battery of tests to eliminate other problems. She even consulted with the university vet school. She gave him blood transfusions – and took him home to see to his care and treatment.
She was always cautiously optimistic.
Last Friday, I got the bad news.
Oliver was not responding to treatment. His own body was attacking his blood cells. He was dying.
I called Nancy immediately and we decided that the time had come to say goodbye.
Oliver died in Nancy’s arms.
I’ll never forget walking into the vet’s office where she sat broken-hearted with Oliver at her side. When Nancy spoke there was a brief flick of Oliver’s tail of happiness to hear his master’s voice.
James Oliver Crowell was always “Nancy’s dog.”
We adopted him when he was five because she wanted a “lap dog.” Oliver was the only pure-bred among us and had the AKC papers to show it. He was a handsome fella. Big eyes, stubby little nose, wonderful light brown and white coat. His face was perfect… unlike many Shih Tzus… Oliver’s teeth didn’t show when he was at rest.
As dogs go, Oliver was more of a cat. He just loved to find a high perch and curl up. On top of a pile of clothes, a pillow, my briefcase, etc. Anything that would give him some prominence in the room – Oliver wanted to be there.
It was clear that Oliver had been abused by a man. For the first year or two, he didn’t want much to do with me. I got my first dog bite from Oliver. He needed some meds, and he dove under the bed to escape. I reached under to get him and pulled back a bitten hand.
After a while, Oliver learned to purr. Of course, it was his soft, low growl to let me know that I was nearing his break-point. I could get him to “purr” by sitting down beside him and giving him a gentle jostle. The more I jostled, the more he “purred.” He never bit me again. He knew I was his friend.
But Nancy was his idol. Oliver shadowed her. She put a small bed at her feet in the sewing room and he would curl up and snooze. If she moved, he moved. He would follow her from room to room, if not on foot, with his eyes.
But the most endearing part of Oliver was his hug when we returned home. The other dogs would rush to sniff and lick. Oliver would stand up on his hind legs and reach his front paws up to Nancy for a hug with a wide-mouth grin on his face. We never captured a picture of his grin… but it was a classic.
No more hugs from Oliver.
No more purring.
No more enthusiastic tail-wags.
Goodbye Oliver boy.
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Update: I’m not sure I have his AKC name right… no matter. He was Oliver.
I’m not going to mess around rotating the pictures right now. I’m too sad.
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Update 2: one more memory: Oliver’s cue to do his “duty” was “Oliver, let’s go to the mailbox…” He was the ONLY dog we owned that was allowed to walk off leash to the mailbox. He never took a direct path. Eventually I would walk with him to the mailbox, then to the corner where he would turn and head toward the garage. He would ALMOST poop on command… “Oliver! C’mon let’s go!!!” often got him circling to do #2.
