I dunno... I can be a traffic dodger without being hit by a car. Getting your draft status changed, or arranging a deferment ahead of time, is effectively "dodging" the chance of being drafted.
I thought about that... and Eddie wrote his piece much earlier than I selected the Tarzan article. But they aren't really contradictory. The actual term "superhero" wasn't used until Superman came along, but Tarzan WAS the first "pop icon to attain global saturation." Tarzan had no super powers, another term that didn't come along until Superman. However, Superman benefited from the multimedia marketing strategy Tarzan followed.
The first superhero? From your story about Edgar Rice Burroughs and Tarzan yesterday: "In short order, Tarzan became a superhero, the first pop icon to attain global saturation. As such he was the forefather of Superman and more recent real-life marvels such as Michael Jordan. Before Tarzan, nobody understood just how big, how ubiquitous, how marketable a star could be." - John Taliaferro, Tarzan Forever
"She Works Hard for the Money" wasn't on the "Bad Girls" album. It was released four years later off of the album...wait for it..."She Works Hard for the Money".
That appears to me to be one of those "correlation does not mean causation" things. It's hard to believe that watching a TV show causes teenage girls to be more likely to get pregnant, but it's rather believable that both activities could stem from a certain style, or lack of, parental involvement.
What I remember most about Murder She Wrote are the reaction shots. They would shoot a scene and then cut in the actors doing some sort of cloying facial contortion. The women in the background of the photo are a perfect example of that sort of over acting.
There are not many actors who can claim icon status for two of their characters - here are the only ones that come to mind, though I'm sure I've forgotten others:
Raymond Burr Don Knotts Andy Griffith Bill Daily Ann B. Davis Larry Hagman
I omitted cartoon characters. I'm on the fence about Fred Gwynne & Al Lewis, and while some might include Lucy or Newhart, even though I love them both, I would not. I also would not count Patty Duke (Patty & Cathy), Barbara Eden (Jeannie I & II), etc.
Eddie, great article! I have a helpful bit for you: Only two of the Barris-built four Batmobiles were actually used on the show. The #1 car was metal, and built from the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. It was used for 99.99% of the show. In one episode, "The Contaminated Cowl," the #4 dragster Batmobile can be seen in two scenes inside the Batcave. You can check out the 1989 Cinefanstique issue where they interviewed Batman stunt double Hubie Kerns, or 1966batmobile.com for verification. Thanks again for the article.
Adam West visited my college in 1990. I asked him why the camera was frequently tilted in scenes so that people appeared to be standing at a 30 degree angle. He said that this was only done when villains were shown, to indicate that they had warped minds and were literally crooked. This may be common knowledge to fans but I had never heard the explanation before.
When asked about the Batman movie, with Michael Keaton, West said he thought it should have been titled "The Joker."
Eddie, thanks for your story. It sure made me reminisce!
TV's Batman holds a special place for me. Mainly due to the fact that I grew up in Pasadena, California. The house they used for The "Wayne Manor" was not too far from where I lived and I would pass it all the time, sneaking a peek through the bushes to see if I could see anything.
One of the neatest memories I have was when a friend of mine (who was 17 years older than me at the time) would take me boating during the summer. My parent were poor, and this gentleman would treat me like one of his own kids. Well, this one Wednesday we got down to the beach and launched the boat. We had just gotten out and low-and-behold I looked over and saw the "Bat Boat" in the water! A little ways down the beach, they were filming the Batman movie. You could see Adam West and Burt Ward in their costumes as the big mirrors and boom mic were following them. Then, all of a sudden I heard something above which jarred me a bit. It was the Bat Copter! I guess they were bringing it in to use in the filming. What a thrill! I was about 12 or 13 at the time and what an impression it made on this lad.
From that point on, I was hooked on the TV series. As for today's movie remakes of Batman (Dark Knight, etc.) - I don't care for them. I even gave up going to see the new ones when they come out because MY Batman, no matter how cheesy, was original crime-fighter that I hold close to my heart as a kid.
Because I loved it so much as a child I dedicated myself to watching every episode on DVD. After three seasons of watching him yell accusations at Samantha and the rest of the family I couldn't take it anymore. I realized my childhood favourite was nothing more than a domestic squabble with magic thrown in. Remove the magic and add some love and you have That Girl.
"In short order, Tarzan became a superhero, the first pop icon to attain global saturation. As such he was the forefather of Superman and more recent real-life marvels such as Michael Jordan. Before Tarzan, nobody understood just how big, how ubiquitous, how marketable a star could be." - John Taliaferro, Tarzan Forever
There are not many actors who can claim icon status for two of their characters - here are the only ones that come to mind, though I'm sure I've forgotten others:
Raymond Burr
Don Knotts
Andy Griffith
Bill Daily
Ann B. Davis
Larry Hagman
I omitted cartoon characters. I'm on the fence about Fred Gwynne & Al Lewis, and while some might include Lucy or Newhart, even though I love them both, I would not. I also would not count Patty Duke (Patty & Cathy), Barbara Eden (Jeannie I & II), etc.
When asked about the Batman movie, with Michael Keaton, West said he thought it should have been titled "The Joker."
TV's Batman holds a special place for me. Mainly due to the fact that I grew up in Pasadena, California. The house they used for The "Wayne Manor" was not too far from where I lived and I would pass it all the time, sneaking a peek through the bushes to see if I could see anything.
One of the neatest memories I have was when a friend of mine (who was 17 years older than me at the time) would take me boating during the summer. My parent were poor, and this gentleman would treat me like one of his own kids. Well, this one Wednesday we got down to the beach and launched the boat. We had just gotten out and low-and-behold I looked over and saw the "Bat Boat" in the water! A little ways down the beach, they were filming the Batman movie. You could see Adam West and Burt Ward in their costumes as the big mirrors and boom mic were following them. Then, all of a sudden I heard something above which jarred me a bit. It was the Bat Copter! I guess they were bringing it in to use in the filming. What a thrill! I was about 12 or 13 at the time and what an impression it made on this lad.
From that point on, I was hooked on the TV series. As for today's movie remakes of Batman (Dark Knight, etc.) - I don't care for them. I even gave up going to see the new ones when they come out because MY Batman, no matter how cheesy, was original crime-fighter that I hold close to my heart as a kid.
On his gravestone, it says "I told you I was ill".