Change Your Image
jimmyallen
Reviews
The Lux Show: Episode #1.33 (1958)
A Lively Musical Show
"The Lux Show starring Rosemary Clooney" was a fast moving half hour variety show that opened with Ms. Clooney singing one of the latest hit songs. A frequent guest usually at the end of the show was her husband Jose Ferrer, who would drop by (and in one episode to celebrate her birthday along with their children). A young Don Adams was a frequent skit contributor, and Boris Karloff made two appearances (one on Halloween) and was surprisingly funny and witty, with special effects having his "head" going back and forth on a pingpong table.
The show was broadcast from Hollywood in color. This specific episode of May 29th, 1958 featured "Comedian Lou Costello as Rosemary's guest", per TV Guide statement. Lou is featured as a parks department employee who has just completed painting a park bench with fresh green paint. He goes to get the "Wet Paint" sign, and as he returns, to his horror, a rather plump woman in a business suit with her nose stationed deep into her paperback novel, suddenly sits down on the park bench. The camera pans to a flummoxed and exasperated Lou, thinking, "what can I do in this situation"? Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Lou, the woman suddenly rises, and starts walking down the sidewalk with all green stripes on her suit, nose still transfixed in the novel. The rather plump woman continues sashaying her big rear end with the stripes on it, and the camera zooms up to Lou Costello's face. The look on Lou's face as his eyes widen and his lips quiver, is something that can be best imagined by fans of the late comedian. Mr. Costello still needs to get credit for his work on the Rosemary Clooney show for this May 29th, 1958 episode, which is not included under his body of work, and perhaps should be listed between his Steve Allen appearances, and his September 1958 appearance on the GE Theater.
Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour (1970)
My Feelings Regarding Pat Paulsen
I was so happy to watch to watch all 13 episodes of "Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour". I hadn't seen it since I was in High School, but remember it as a hilarious light hearted comedy show. For over 10 years, I had written to all the video companies to please release the show to the general public, and it's finally happened!
The review "I Can't Pat" is entirely too mean spirited as if there is something personal involved here that we don't know about. Pat maintained topical humor-- the skit with Hubert H. Humphrey, the recurring themes of "Mr. Science" (Pat being flirtatious with a girl with large breasts while trying to get rid of her friend Bob Einstein), "Hobby Hut", and "Then Came Paulsen" was about as far as you could go, innocently enough, with comedy in 1970, and for me and many others, it worked. It was a sad day when Pat aired his last show in April 1970.
Pat Paulsen not being a popular comedian? I just have to give the one example-- when Pat did the water safety film for the American Red Cross he took his speedboat through the water at Florida's Cypress Gardens and the everyday people in the stands cheered Pat, and Pat with his big smile, waved back to them. That was one of my happiest moments for Pat. The saddest was when I read in the newspapers in late 1996 that our great comedian, with a photo of him smiling with his family, was fighting a deadly form of colon cancer.
The DVD released regarding Pat's one and only show will help us remember what a great comedian he was, with all the great facial expressions and deadpan delivery with his clean and contemporary humor. I am very happy and all I can say is "it's about time" for Pat to be remembered!