A Valentine's Day Celebration Of An Iconic Romance Novel

by George Haloulakos

   This February 14th not only marks our celebration of Valentine's Day but also the 50th anniversary of the publication of Erich Segal's Love Story, a best-selling romance novel later made into a full length motion picture the very same year starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.  At 131 pages, this slim, hardbound book stayed for 41 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, reaching Number One!  Love Story is romantic, humorous and tragic.

   The story of two young people -- Ollie and Jenny -- from entirely different backgrounds who fall in love, marry and then face the daunting challenge of self-financing Ollie's law school education is one that reflected the pop culture of the 1960s.  Ollie comes from a very wealthy New England family while Jenny is the only child of a Rhode Island baker.  Since Ollie's parents oppose the marriage, this leads to an estrangement.

   Set in Boston and New York City, our romantic duo not only survive but thrive as Jenny teaches private school while Ollie graduates 3rd in his law school class, thereby receiving-and-accepting a job offer from a respectable New York law firm.  With the wind seemingly at their backs, tragedy strikes as Jenny is diagnosed with Leukemia and the prognosis is terminal.  Ollie seeks financial relief by reaching out to his estranged father who while lending his son the money, is not told about the grave situation at hand.  Just prior to her passing, from her hospital bed Jenny tells Ollie to not blame himself and to please hold her tight before she passes away.  When Ollie's father discovers that Jenny is extremely ill, he travels to New York City but by the time he reaches the hospital, Jenny has passed.  Ollie's father apologizes to his son.  Ollie replies with something Jenny taught him: "Love means never having to say you're sorry..." and then breaks down in his father's arms (noting that he had never cried in front of his father until that very moment).

   This romance novel, despite receiving rather scathing if not harsh reviews, was an immediate commercial success.  Moreover, despite critics saying Love Story did not qualify as literature, found to their surprise that the book actually helped fuel increased interest in reading, especially with young people from 8th grade on up!  The book became such a wildfire commercial success and pop-culture phenomena that it was made into a full length motion picture and released on December 16, 1970  -- just ten months after it was published!

   The theme song ("Where Do I Begin?") for the film version of Love Story was a huge success, especially the vocal rendition by Andy Williams.  Erich Segal, the author of Love Story, helped contribute to the film's success by recommending Ryan O'Neal for the role of Ollie.  Segal had worked with O'Neal in the 1968 film "The Games" which profiled various Olympic marathon runners in a fictionalized account of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  Interestingly enough, Segal himself was an accomplished competitive runner!

My favorite memory of Love Story has nothing to do with either reading the book myself or watching the film in person.  While I enjoyed both the book and the film, my favorite moment occurred in my 8th grade English class where a female classmate was doing an oral book report before the entire class.  She concluded her report with a deeply moving, poignant reading of the closing pages in which Jenny passes away in Ollie's arms, which then follows with Ollie's reconciliation with his father.  Even now, nearly 50 years later, I get misty eyed when I recall what I believe was one of the very best readings I have ever witnessed.  Her heartfelt reading inspired me to read the book and then see the movie.  The theme song from the film later became my mother's favorite!

Love Story is not merely a pop-culture relic from the late 1960s / early 1970s, but a stirring reminder on why we celebrate Valentine's Day and how love transcends all generations.  As the song title says ... "Love Makes the World Go 'Round."

Please join us in celebrating Valentine's Day on February 14th, along with the 50th anniversary Love Story by sharing memories of the book or movie by posting to the Galaxy Facebook page (and be sure to "Like" us when doing so), or via e-mail to the GNN web site.  Likewise, I am always receptive to hearing from our wonderful Galaxy audience and/or connecting via LinkedIn.
View my LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-protodn-george-haloulakos-cfa-bab6b43  

Whoa, Nellie! Remembering Dick Lane, Wrestling and Roller Derby

by George Haloulakos

HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all!  And for those of you who view the New Year as the beginning of the 2020s, HAPPY NEW DECADE!  Whoa, Nellie!  Where has the time gone?  Hopefully, it has been the basis for creating wonderful memories!  Using the exclamatory phrase "Whoa, Nellie!" provides a Maginot Line for baby boomers and their remembrance/association of how this became part of the boomer lexicon.

Dick Lane chats with "The Destroyer"

  Much younger baby boomers typically associate this phrase with former ABC sports announcer Keith Jackson but more seasoned boomers with a longer time line know that "Whoa, Nellie!" was actually coined by Dick Lane a longtime Southern California announcer who called play-by-play action for roller derby and wrestling from the late 1940s through the early 1970s.  [In fact, Mr Jackson himself acknowledged/credited Mr Lane with coining this phrase that both gentlemen used in their long, distinguished professional broadcasting careers.] For those who grew up in the Los Angeles area, Mr Lane is specifically remembered as the lead announcer for the Thunderbirds team Roller Derby on KTLA Channel 5 and Championship Wrestling on KCOP Channel 13.  These events were broadcast from the Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles (built in 1924 and one of the few wrestling/boxing arenas still in existence from that golden era -- albeit now as a Korean-American evangelical church).  My father was friends with Mr Lane as both were members of the same lodge and I recall hearing personal accounts on how Mr Lane could make a simple dinnertime conversation a hyper-kinetic event with his energy, charm and genuine interest in people -- especially his fans, old and young alike!

The Olympic Auditorium

   Long before wrestling became a worldwide multi-media mega-billion empire, Mr Lane's signature calls helped elevate wrestlers like Jim Londos, Gorgeous George and Andre the Giant into legendary status while furthering the popularity of the sport.  Similarly, Mr Lane did the same with popularizing Roller Derby worldwide (especially in Australia and Japan) as the LA Thunderbirds reached a peak attendance of over 50,000 for an exhibition match in Chicago's Old Comiskey Park (September 1972).  Fittingly, in the same year, Mr Lane played himself as a roller derby announcer in Raquel Welch's memorable film "Kansas City Bomber."

  Mr. Lane was posthumously inducted into the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" Hall of Fame (1996) and the Southern California Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (2002).  The Grand Olympic Auditorium where Mr Lane demonstrated his broadcast excellence, remains an iconic landmark that transcends its Los Angeles locale, for I would guess that members of the Galaxy audience can relate to similar buildings that once existed in large and small towns alike all across the continental USA.  Even if you did not see such a building in person, you no doubt saw something just like it in Rod Serling's "Requiem For a Heavyweight" or the film noir John Garfield movies from the 1940s, or classic TV shows like "Route 66" and even the Sly Stallone "Rocky" film series that began in 1976.  The Grand Olympic Auditorium and Mr Lane are indelibly associated with a Los Angeles from an earlier period in our history - often eliciting images of smoke-filled arenas -- but transcend space and time as we are reminded of lifetime memories that have now become priceless treasures.

Please join us in celebrating the New Year by sharing memories of wrestling, roller derby and Dick Lane by posting to the Galaxy FACEBOOK page (and be sure to "like" us when doing so) or via e-mail to the GNN web site.  Likewise, I am always receptive to hearing from our wonderful Galaxy audience and/or connecting via LinkedIn. View my LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-protodn-george-haloulakos-cfa-bab6b43 

A Very Mayberry Christmas

by George Haloulakos
It has been a longstanding tradition here on the Galaxy Nostalgia Network to pay tribute to the Holiday Season through our podcasts and this monthly blog. This year, we pay tribute to one of the best and perhaps one of the most beloved episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show." Aired on the CBS Network on December 19, 1960, "The Christmas Story" was the eleventh episode of season one and the only Christmas episode in "The Andy Griffith Show" complete series. A little known bit of trivia about this wonderful Yuletide episode is that it featured actress Margaret Kerry, who was the model for the Tinkerbell character in the 1953 Walt Disney animated feature “Peter Pan”.

Here is a summary of this sparkling episode: On Christmas Eve, Mayberry's curmudgeon and retail store owner Ben Weaver insists that Sheriff Andy Taylor jail moonshiner Sam Muggins. Andy complies with this request as Ben has physical evidence to support his charge of law breaking but also incarcerates Sam's wife (played by the aforementioned Margaret Kerry) along with their young son and daughter since they all had knowledge of Sam's moonshining.

 The story takes a most charming turn as Andy, Barney Fife, Ellie Walker, Aunt Bee and Opie decide to relocate their Christmas party to the Sheriff's office / jail so that the Muggins Family can celebrate the Nativity. They bring along a sumptuous feast with all the trimmings plus a Christmas tree. Everyone, including the Muggins Family, is decorating the tree while singing Christmas carols. Barney even dresses up as Santa Claus!

Ben Weaver, secretly watching from the window outside the jail, observes this Yuletide joy unfold and is deeply moved as well as transformed by the Christmas spirit. Weaver concocts several! unsuccessful schemes to get himself arrested so he can join the party. When Andy realizes this, he arrests Ben and then the TV audience witnesses the two men arriving at the jail with a suitcase full of wrapped gifts from Ben's retail store for everyone, including the Muggins Family. Ben is welcomed by one and all while enjoying the food and drink at the party. Andy releases the Muggins Family as there is no longer any evidence of wrongdoing. Reason? Ben is shown in the closing moments of the episode asleep in one of the jail cells after having finished drinking the jug of Sam's moonshine!
This Holiday episode from a classic TV show is one of many examples seen in other television series in the same era that remind us of the reason for the season. In this instance, we are able to witness in the span of less than 30-minutes why programs like "The Andy Griffith Show" continue to resonate in our hearts as they remind us of the importance of showing goodness, kindness and love to one another.

Please join us in celebrating the Holiday Season by sharing your favorite classic TV memories featuring a holiday-based theme by posting to the Galaxy FACEBOOK page (and be sure to "like" us when doing so) or via e-mail to the GNN web site. Likewise, I am always receptive to hearing from our wonderful Galaxy audience and/or connecting via LinkedIn.
View my LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-protodn-george-haloulakos-cfa-bab6b43https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-protodn-george-haloulakos-cfa-bab6b43

NFL Centennial

by George Haloulakos
This year marks the centennial anniversary of the National Football League (NFL) and we celebrate this great event through the prism of the amazing 21-year career of quarterback Earl Morrall (1934-2014).  Morrall is an NFL legend as indicated by his different monikers: King of the Comebacks, the Best of the Back-Ups and the Champion of the Understudy.   Any one who has played football at any level or in any venue knows the importance of the quarterback (QB) position, and can relate to the enormous competition to be the signal caller.  Morrall exemplified the preparation and commitment to excellence we all strive for, especially in sports.  By his own words he said that "when you get the chance to do the job, you have to do the job."  Morrall showed why it was prudent to be prepared at a moment's notice for such an opportunity.

Morrall elevated the importance of the understudy, and much more.  During the first twelve years of his NFL career he was a backup QB for the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and New York Giants.  In an era of legendary NFL QBs (Bobby Layne, Norm Van Brocklin, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, et al) Morrall showed himself to be a competent, efficient professional always ready to take the helm when needed if the number one signal caller was unable to play.  When Morrall joined the Baltimore Colts, his legend unfolded.  Taking over for an injured Johnny Unitas in 1968, Morrall led the Colts to an NFL Championship while earning MVP and All-Pro honors.  Two years later, he again came off the bench to replace an injured Unitas, this time in Super Bowl V, to lead the Colts to a last second victory thereby winning the World Championship!  Two years later, this time with the Miami Dolphins, Morrall took over as the QB from the injured Bob Griese and helped lead the Dolphins to an undefeated season plus win a playoff game.  While Griese returned as the starter for the AFC Title and Super Bowl games to cap the Dolphins' first World Championship, Morrall continued to work closely with head coach Don Shula (who was his former coach while playing for the Colts) in what can best be described as an informal but active player/coach role.  Having Morrall available to immediately step into the QB role enabled the Dolphins to not only achieve the only perfect season in NFL history, but go on to repeat as back-to-back Super Bowl champs the very next season!   Following his NFL career, Morrall mentored legendary collegiate QBs Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde at the University of Miami thereby passing along the art of quarterbacking to a new generation.

Ironically, in this the 100th year of the NFL, there has been a rash of injuries to a rather large number of star QBs, thereby again elevating the importance of having a good substitute in the wings.  It would seem that NFL teams are all now eagerly searching for this generation's Earl Morrall just in case the situation requires an effective substitute to step in.  Earl Morrall showed what it means to be a leader and a great team player.  Don Shula described Morrall as an "intelligent quarterback who's won a lot of ball games for me."  There have been a lot of NFL QBs who are heroes of the game.  While heroes get remembered, legends never die.  Earl Morrall was a legend, and now almost 50 years since his stellar gridiron accomplishments, we salute this Galaxy Good Guy as one of the best to ever play the game, albeit in a back-up role!

Please join us in celebrating the centennial anniversary of the National Football League by sharing your favorite NFL football memories with us by posting to the Galaxy FACEBOOK page (and be sure to "like" us when doing so) or via e-mail to the GNN web site.  Likewise, I am always receptive to hearing from our wonderful Galaxy audience and/or connecting via LinkedIn.
View my LinkedIn profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-protodn-george-haloulakos-cfa-bab6b43  

Baby Boomer's "Comedian Laureate" Passes Away

Tim Conway, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his role in "The Carol Burnett Show," died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles after a long illness, his publicist, Howard Bragman, said. He was 85. His wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side.
Conway also starred in "McHale's Navy" and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for "Spongebob Squarepants." An Ohio-native, Conway credited his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path to laughs, with his deadpan expression and innocent, simple-minded demeanor.

"I think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and a little bit of the South, too," he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. "For some reason, we're just more laid-back, more understanding. ... And Midwesterners have a kinder sense of humor."

Starting with the 1975–76 season, Conway became a regular on The Carol Burnett Show, after having been a frequent guest for the show's first eight seasons.[10] Conway's work on the show earned him four Emmy Awards — one for writing and three for performance, one of which was before he became a regular. Two of Conway's memorable characters on the Burnett Show were:[citation needed]

The Oldest Man, whose shaggy white hair, slow speech, and shuffling gait ran counter to the much-needed energy levels of the various occupations in which he was usually found. His comic inability to get said jobs done — usually with slapstick results to himself and, with many an ad-lib — both frustrated and "broke up" his fellow sketch performers.
Mr. Tudball, a businessman whose intentions of running a "ship-shape" office were usually sunk by the bored indifference of his secretary, Mrs. Wiggins (Burnett). Although the character was widely thought to be Swedish, Conway used a Romanian accent learned from his mother.[18] For example, his attempts to pronounce his secretary's name came out as "Mrs. Uh-whiggins". He also used this accent for other characters, such as an inept dentist.
Conway could also get results with no dialogue, such as in a sketch in which he played a tired businessman seeking restful sleep in his hotel — and pestered by a housefly, created only by a sound effect and Conway's gazing after it. After much struggle, he manages to get the fly out of the room through the window; after returning to bed, he hears a persistent knock on his door, gets up to answer it, and opens the door, letting the fly (who was doing the knocking) back in.[citation needed]

Another skit, also without a word from Conway, featured him playing Simba, a lion raised by humans then released to the wild (based on the lioness Elsa in the film Born Free). Conway, told of the upcoming eviction from the comfortable home, caused Burnett and Harvey Korman to break up with an interminable process of packing to leave.[citation needed]

A prime example of his ability to make his co-stars laugh uncontrollably involved Lyle Waggoner as a captured American airman, with Conway as a stereotypical blond-haired Gestapo agent charged with his interrogation. Stating that "the Fuhrer" had taken particular interest, Conway produced a small Hitler hand puppet. Conway suggested to the puppet that singing might relax Waggoner's character to the point he is willing to talk. In a long, drawn-out fashion, the Hitler puppet (Conway providing a falsetto voice, with German accent) sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and with each passing verse, Waggoner loses more of his composure, finally laughing hysterically when puppet-Hitler screeches, "FEE-FI-Fiddely-I-O!".[citation needed]

Conway remained a regular cast member of The Carol Burnett Show until the program's run ended, in 1978

Remembering Glen Campbell

American singer Glen Campbell passed away on August 8, 2017, after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.  He was 81.  He is remembered not only for his numerous songs he performed, but also for his acting, songwriting, guitar playing, and television hosting work over the years.   Among Campbell's hits are "Gentle on My Mind", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights".  Glen's earliest work was as a session musician working with many famous artists such as Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Jan and Dean, and Elvis Presley just to name a few.  He was also part of the original "Twelve String Guitar" playing with Doug Dillard, Rod Dillard, and Dean Webb. 

Additionally, Glen Campbell was an actor and television host, appearing in such films as "True Grit", "Norwood", and "Any Which Way You Can".  His television work also was numerous, hosting his own show "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour", and making guest appearances on such shows as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Donny and Marie Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack.  Additionally he appeared on numerous TV specials and made for TV movies.

For many of us growing up in the Baby Boomer years, Glen Campbell was a part of our childhood and our youth.  His songs take us back to another time and another place.  The Wichita Lineman is still on the line...and always will be.  We remember Glen and will share memories of him and his music in an upcoming episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site. 

Remembering Mary Tyler Moore

TV icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away on Wednesday, January 25, 2017, after being hospitalized in Connecticut. She was 80. Mary Tyler Moore is best remembered for her starring role as Laura Petrie on the "Dick Van Dyke Show", and her role as Mary Richards on the "Mary Tyler More Show".  In addition, she appeared in television commercials, motion pictures, and as a guest on many TV programs.  Baby Boomers have a special relationship with MTM.  She was a very prominent part of our growing-up years.  On an upcoming episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site, we'll look back on the life and career of this girl "Who Could Turn the World on with Her Smile".  Join us for this tribute to one of our favorite actresses.