Cheech and Chong

Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong define the 70's and 80's generation of hippies, free love and the drug culture.

They became a successful comedy team by releasing many successful comedy albums and starred in a series of low-budget commercials before releasing a series of cult classic feature-length movies.

My first recollection of Cheech and Chong was their all-time most famous line "Dave's not here," from their self-titled debut album. When they came to the local university to do a show, I was there . . . and never laughed so hard in my life. They were fresh new talent with a rude audacity that was almost unbelievable back in the day.

Little did we know that these two unknown rude and funny guys would end up becoming the symbol of a movement that was soon to take over my generation and change us forever.


The following is the original trailer for the 1978 movie, Up In Smoke that became a cult classic, followed by Cheech and Chong's Next Movie in 1980 and Nice Dreams in 1981.






Cheech and Chong released their album Get Out of My Room in 1985, which included the novelty hit song, "Born in East L.A." (based on Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.") which was followed in 1987 with a film of the same name which Cheech Marin played the starring role.

Cheech Marin performed voice parts for several animated feature films, including Disney's Oliver and Company (1988), The Lion King (1994), and Cars (2006).

Marin also starred in various comedy films and in several television series . . . Nash Bridges (which featured Chong in one episode and treated fans to "Dave's not here, man", to which Marin replied "Let's not go there") and The Golden Palace, as well as a recurring guest role on Judging Amy, the part as a bartender in the film Desperado, as well as other roles in successful Robert Rodriguez films, and has a recurring role in the popular ABC series Lost.

Tommy Chong also pursued a solo career, starring in such comedies as Far Out Man, co-starred on the FOX Television series That '70s Show in which he played Leo, a burned-out hippie very similar to his character in the movie Up in Smoke. He also made a cameo appearance in the U.S. Bicentennial movie spoof The Spirit of '76 and was in Dave Chappelle's 1998 comedy film Half Baked.




“Free Love” was a part of the hippie culture . . . meaning loving all people as sisters and brothers . . . but didn’t this culture usher in the sexual revolution? Free Love and the Flower Children is a post I wrote in my blog PeaceLoveHappiness.

Click here to go to that post. Please comment . . . I'm curious about other opinions on this subject!

Hula hoops . . . awesome childhood memories

The hula hoop . . . a plastic toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs, or neck . . . what a fabulous fad it was . . . Wham-O sold 25 million hula hoops in the first four months and over 100 million in the first year it was released.

It is no wonder we didn't have the weight problems back in the day since hours were spent outside in the Florida heat and humidity, sweating profusely and perfecting the art of keeping the hula hoop up. The big challenge for me, my brother and friends was to see who could keep the hula hoop up the longest . . . and we were pretty good!

The dogs even loved the hula hoop! We always had at least five dogs at a time that stayed in the back yard who tried to get in on the action. You know how dogs are, they always think it is about them :) After getting caught in the hula hoop a few times, they quit trying to jump into the action. Dogs are so funny . . . they used to mess up our games of jump rope too!!

Even the adults got into the action and loved to hula hoop . . . we had many a good time with the endurance competitions . . . it is awesome family fun that really did bring our families together since everyone loved it.

Wham-O again struck it lucky with another toy fad . . . the release of the Frisbee after the hula hoop fad wore down . . . much to the delight of dogs everywhere . . . now they can really participate!


Even more facts and history about the hula hoop . . . click here.

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George Carlin: Thoughts on aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21 YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!




HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :

Life is not measured by the
number of breaths we take,
but by the moments
that take our breath away.

The Midnight Special

The original late night rock n roll show on Friday nights . . . a weekly ninety-minute live concert series that followed The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, returning as a regular series on February 2, 1973 running through May 1, 1981 . . . guest hosted by a variety of celebrities, but most notably, Wolfman Jack who also served as announcer and did occasional guest interviews.

The Midnight Special was created and produced by Burt Sugarman and aired on NBC, replacing the "test pattern" that typically ran on our television screens after The Tonight Show.

Back in the days of network television with no idea of what cable television had to offer with MTV and VH1, The Midnight Special brought music lovers in touch with the musicians who made those songs we listened to on the radio . . . giving a face to the sound. Other than a handful of television shows that only showcased the very popular singers and groups lipsynching to our favorite pre-recorded songs, The Midnight Special was the first of its kind of television show, featuring those musicians in a concert-like setting.

The Midnight Special made way for television shows such as Friday Night Videos, which ushered in the video music generation on network television made popular by the MTV cable television channel which took music lovers to a different level never seen before . . .

I miss those days of early MTV and The Midnight Special. It was an exciting era of an new generation that changed the way music lovers enjoyed their music and those awesome musicians who made the music.



Not only did they feature the most popular musicians of the time, but also comedians, like one of my favorites, Freddie Prinze . . . I sure do miss him!




Midnight Special Episode Guide

Gilda Radner . . . It's Always Something

Gilda Radner, an Emmy Award winning American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the original cast of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In my opinion, she was one of the great comic geniuses of the 20th century.

Radner began her career as the weather girl for college radio station and In 1975, Gilda was the first person ever cast for "Saturday Night Live" and was one of the original "Not Ready For Prime Time Players". She stayed on SNL for 5 years, from 1975 to 1980.

On this show, she created characters like Emily Litella, nerd Lisa Loopner, Baba Wawa, a talk show host with a speech impediment and my favorite . . . loudmouthed Roseanne Roseannadanna. A phrase the character Rosanne used all the time remains a part of my every day vocabulary . . . "It's Always Something" . . . because it is. She captured the absurdities of life and made a joke of it.



She became a star . . . Radner had mixed emotions about the fans and strangers who recognized her in public. She sometimes became angry when she was approached, but upset when she wasn't. Gilda left the show in 1980 and married actor Gene Wilder, whom she met on a movie set and fell in love with nearly on the spot.

A short while after, Gilda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, went through lots of chemotherapy and treatment, and finally her doctors told her that she was in remission. In this period of time, Gilda wrote her autobiography called "It's Always Something," about her battles with cancer. However, cancer was found in her liver and her lungs after a more comprehensive check a while later. Now it was too late to do anything.

Radner's death at 42 of ovarian cancer helped increase public awareness of the disease and the need for earlier detection and treatment.


Gene Wilder had this to say about her death:

"She went in for the scan – but the people there could not keep her on the gurney. She was raving like a crazed woman – she knew they would give her morphine and was afraid she’d never regain consciousness. She kept getting off the cart as they were wheeling her out. Finally three people were holding her gently and saying, "Come on Gilda. We’re just going to go down and come back up." She kept saying, "Get me out, get me out!" She’d look at me and beg me, "Help me out of here. I’ve got to get out of here." And I’d tell her, "You’re okay honey. I know. I know." They sedated her, and when she came back, she remained unconscious for three days. I stayed at her side late into the night, sometimes sleeping over. Finally a doctor told me to go home and get some sleep. At 4 am on Saturday, I heard a pounding on my door. It was an old friend, a surgeon, who told me, "Come on. It’s time to go." When I got there, a night nurse, whom I still want to thank, had washed Gilda and taken out all the tubes. She put a pretty yellow barrette in her hair. She looked like an angel. So peaceful. She was still alive, and as she lay there, I kissed her. But then her breathing became irregular, and there were long gaps and little gasps. Two hours after I arrived, Gilda was gone. While she was conscious, I never said goodbye."

Her funeral was held in Connecticut on May 24, 1989. In lieu of flowers, her family requested that donations be sent to The Wellness Community. Her gravestone reads: Gilda Radner Wilder - Comedienne - Ballerina 1946...1989.

By coincidence, the news of her death broke in the early afternoon (Eastern Standard Time) of the Saturday that Steve Martin was rehearsing as the guest host for that night's season finale of Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels and the writers, including Mike Myers and Phil Hartman, had not known she was so close to death. They scrapped one of their planned skits and instead, Martin introduced a video clip of a 1978 skit in which he and Gilda made fun of an old Hollywood romantic couple's dance. He cried during his introduction.

Along with a world of other faithful fans, I'm missing Gilda so much . . . she was an awesome funny lady with a cute little face and a sparkling personality that shined through her smile.

Pillsbury Dough Boy

Remember these television commercials
and his silly little laugh?

I'm downsizing my life and selling most of
my vintage collections of "stuff" . . . this
cute Pillsbury Dough Boy is currently listed
in my eBay store . . . if you are interested

click this link:

SORRY, I HAVE SOLD THE PILLSBURY DOUGH BOY


Some videos to take you back . . .

Dancing Pillsbury Dough Boy

1970's Pillsbury Television Commercial

The Leave It To Beaver boys