Vacation 2008: Day 7 - A long way from Denver

Nothing too elaborate today, just a pair of curious celebrity homages to the bespectacled golden-haired prince of the 1970's easy listening pantheon, courtesy of The Muppet Show...


Jim Nabors - Thank God I'm a Country Boy (from Episode #1.6; June 8, 1976) - Well, golleeeee! Sadly, Frank Sutton's heartfelt rendition of "Annie's Song" has been lost to the sands of time.


Cheryl Ladd - Sunshine on My Shoulders (from Episode #3.24; May 10, 1978) - The voice of an Angel (and a one-time Pussycat, too).

Halloween Countdown: October 19 – to brighten up even your darkest night

In the pantheon of horror movie icons, one man stands head and shoulders above the rest, and that man is Vincent Price.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not dismissing the popcult influence or impact of Chaney pater, Lugosi, Karloff, Cushing, Lee, or Carradine, all genre icons in their own right. But more than anyone else, Price served as unofficial spokesperson for all things spooky for generations of impressionable children, including yours truly, with an unrivaled media presence over the course of several decades. (Boris Karloff came closest, at least in the North American market, but he passed away not long after the wave of 1960's monster mania hit.)

While other actors and actresses worried about being typecast, Price seemed to seize his mid-career shift from suave leading man to the horror genre's to-go guy with gusto in everything from advertisements to films to voiceover work to teaching those damn Brady kids a well-deserved lesson. (Oh, Oliver...) Because of his popcult ubiquity, Price's unmistakable voice, urbane yet menacing -- with just the right hint of wryness -- ranks up there with Paul Lynde's in recognizability for folks in my age bracket.

I'd have a hard time deciding which of Vincent Price's films I enjoy the most. The Raven (co-starring Karloff and Peter Lorre), The Haunted Palace (a solid adaptation of Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward), and Theatre of Blood (with the lovely Diana Rigg) are all high on the list. Witchfinder General is also a favorite, if a bit too grim for casual viewing.

I'm especially fond of the two Dr. Phibes films, with their trippy Art Deco-inspired art direction and dark comedic undertones, but if push came to shove, I'd have to go with Tomb of Ligeia, one of the lesser films in the Vincent Price/Roger Corman "Poe Cycle." It's a flawed film (even by Roger Corman standards) in many respects, but Price looks so damn cool in those anachronistic wraparound sunglasses. (The BoingBoing kids would call them "steampunk," but then they'd also call a pot of geraniums with a copper coil stuck in the dirt "steampunk.") It also features the best two lines of dialogue ever spoken in the history of the dramatic arts:

I tried to kill a stray cat with a cabbage, and all but made love to the Lady Rowena. I succeeded in squashing the cabbage and badly frightening the lady.

I feel your pain, brother. I've been in that same situation more times than I care to count.

Seriously, is there anything in 30 Days of Night that could possibly top that?

Vincent Price & The Muppet Monsters - You've Got a Friend (from The Muppet Show, Episode #1.19; October 19, 1976) - In which the hidden connection between Carole King and the gothic rock scene is finally revealed.

(Special thanks to Mikester for providing the scan of the Shrunken Head ad.)

and look what it's done so far

I've been trying to reorganize my popcult archives these past couple of weeks, in hopes of wresting a modicum of order from the chaos borne of laziness and neglect. While I have made some progress, the process has gone slower than anticipated because I keep getting distracted as I rediscover things I completely forgot I had, like a complete run of taped episodes of The Muppet Show.

I know there are fans out there whose devotion to the series rivals that of the most rabid Trekkie, but my familiarity with the characters barely extends past the principal cast, and is mostly rooted in syndicated repeats watched in hour-long blocks on Sunday mornings sometime during the first Reagan administration. The show remains as fresh and entertaining to watch now as it did then, but what has really captured my attention while reviewing the assortment of episodes has been the roster of guest stars over The Muppet Show's five seasons. The show featured a truly unparalled collection of contemporary and veteran performers that provides an excellent glimpse into the the entertainment scene of late 1970's, as well as reaffirming my argument about the cross-generational awareness engendered in the young'uns of my era towards the character actors and comedians of yesteryear.

The wide-open nature of the list of Muppet Show guest stars (from Alan Arkin to Bob Hope to Linda Lavin to James Coburn) and the fact that nearly all guests participated in at least one musical number might lead one to reasonably expect a fair number of Golden Throat-worthy moments over the course of a hundred and twenty episodes. Such was the skill of Jim Henson and company at assessing the strengths and limitations of the guest performers, however, that those moments were few and far between, with non-musical oriented stars like James Coburn or Sylvester Stallone having the vocal weight carried for them by their colorful Muppet co-stars, or buried in the mix of comedic spectacle.

So rather than rake a few celebrities over the coals on the basis of performances from three-odd decades ago, here are some interesting (and offbeat) numbers lifted direct from the show. The sound quality may be iffy in places, but that's the nature of the game in dealing with old video recordings.

Twiggy - In My Life (from Episode #1.21; November 9, 1976) - Beatles covers are a tricky business, but the real "World's First Supermodel" (Sorry, Janice!) does a creditable enough job with this bittersweet ode to times past.

Lynda Carter - The Rubberband Man (from Episode #4.19; January 29, 1980) - Wonder Woman takes on The Spinners!

Debbie Harry & Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection (from Episode #5.9; August 4, 1980) - "Union City Green"? Another one of those popcult artifacts whose discovery makes me think for a moment or two that all these years spent sifting the dustbins of history have been entirely worth the effort.