For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows, key names in the “Golden Age” of entertainment history and legendary cinematic performances.

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I hope all our readers are enjoying the nicer weather recently after this past winter season. We also hope that everyone has been enjoying reading background insights and little-known information about our classic programs, specials and movies on the Astound TV Network over the last several months.

Now it’s time to test your knowledge by taking the bi-annual Classic Video Showplace “Spring 2023” edition of our quiz.

See how you do answering the following questions and then check out the answers listed below.

Have fun!

1. Boxer-turned-actor Coley Wallace portrayed what legendary heavyweight fighter, who held the championship title longer than any other boxer in history?
2. Who is regarded as being the first African American television show host in history?
3. Who was regarded as the most popular comedic actress in films in the 1930s, only to have her life tragically cut short in a plane crash during World War II?
4. Jack Palance held the record for longest “drought” between winning Academy Awards for 39 years before that “honor” was broken by what actor in 2006?
5. Speaking of Palance, what was the nickname of his Oscar winning role in “City Slickers?”
6. What controversial, yet legendary, performer won the 1945 Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal as a divorced mother in the title role of “Mildred Pierce?”
7. What actress starred in “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane” who was later immortalized in a song written by Kim Carnes?
8. What unlikely “horror comedy” film acted as a springboard to launch the long cinematic career of Ava Gardner?

Answers:

1. Joe Lewis
2. Ethel Waters
3. Carole Lombard
4. Alan Arkin
5. Curly
6. Joan Crawford
7. Bette Davis
8. “Ghost on the Loose”

You can see many of the above mentioned classic films and television shows on our current programming lineup here on ATVN. To see the full listing of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

Don’t forget to keep checking back to the Showplace for more classic trivia and little-known bits of information about some of the greatest shows and movies of all time.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

First, a programming note for this week’s “ATVN SportsTalk” show, live on Thursday at 7pm.

This week will be our annual show featuring this year’s inductees from the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame.

Among this year’s inductees include:

James Terwilliger – Quarterback at East Stroudsburg South HS ’03; Quarterback at East Stroudsburg University ’07; Coached (assistant/head) at a variety of local Lehigh Valley high schools; Coached at East Stroudsburg University since 2015 and Head Coach 2018 to present.

Bret Comp – Played football at Newport HS, Perry County ’83; US Marine Corps 1987- 88, East Stroudsburg University ’93; Teacher at Wilson Area HS 1998 to present; Coached (assistant/head) at the following East Stroudsburg South HS, Wilson Area HS (PIAA State Champions), Parkland HS.

Levi Brown – Played football Liberty HS ’08 (All State), Temple University ’14; Baltimore Ravens.

Frank D’Angelo – Principal/Director and served as Interim Superintendent at Easton Area HS, Professor at Bloomsburg University BS’83, M.Ed’85, Ed.D Northcentral University ’06; PIAA Official for 42 years (Baseball, Basketball and Football); League assignor for many leagues and organizations in the sport of: football, baseball, and boys/girls lacrosse; served as a member of the District XI Committee as the Officials Representative.

Scot Dapp, Boyertown HS ’69; West Chester University BS ’73; University of North Carolina Master; Head Football Coach Moravian College ’87 to 2010.

Tom Redding , Alllentown Central Catholic HS ’66; Shippensburg University BS ’70; Kutztown University M Ed ’73; BASD teacher 35 years; Coached Football at BECAHI, Liberty HS, Broughal MS; and PIAA Official in Football and Baseball.

We’ll discuss more about this year’s induction class and the upcoming banquet honoring these representatives on Thursday’s program.

Also, if you missed last week’s show featuring the District XI 6A baseball champions from Liberty High School, the show is now available on Video-On-Demand, which is free for all Astound Broadband video customers.    Now, we continue our countdown of the best highlights of the past year for games aired on ATVN.

1. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Northampton (1/23)

2. Astound Sports: Emmaus vs. Easton (1/23)

3.  Astound Sports: Catasaqua vs. Bangor (12/22)

4. Astound Sports:  Bethlehem Catholic vs. Liberty (12/22)

5.  Astound Sports: Allen vs. Dieruff (12/22)

Check back each week for more of the top highlights from our games from the season right here at “The SportsTalk Shop.”  For copies of these and other productions on the Astound TV Network, you can call 610-443-2909.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

The first few weeks of the spring season have been met with a lot of postponed games, because of poor field conditions, rain or a forecast for it.  This has led to a lot of rescheduling, which has affected our Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show guest lineup.

After a little reshuffling, we are proud to announce that on this week’s program, we will have Andy Pitsilos and members of the Liberty baseball team–the defending District XI 6A champions–in our studio this Thursday at 7pm.

Also, if you missed last week’s show (which is now available on Video-On-Demand), we had training tips, clinics and other exercise and workout programs that are now available to improve sports performance–for athletes of all ages.

Now, we continue our countdown of the best highlights of the past year for games aired on ATVN.

1. Astound Sports: Notre Dame vs. Saucon Valley (2/23)
   
2. Astound Sports: Bethlehem Catholic vs Easton (2/23)
   
3. Astound Sports: East York vs. Allentown Central Catholic (3/23)
   
4. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Garnet Valley (3/23)
   
5. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Freedom (2/23)
   

Check back each week for more of the top highlights from our games from the season right here at “The SportsTalk Shop.”  For copies of these and other productions on the Astound TV Network, you can call 610-443-2909.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We had a lot of fun this past basketball/wrestling season bringing you all the sites and sounds of a number of scholastic sports events.

We also welcomed some new faces to our on-air sports staff and appreciate their added contributions and unique insights for all of our broadcasts this year!

Over the upcoming weeks we’ll continue to post highlights of the best plays from our games this year, along with passing along honors and awards given out from the previously played sports seasons.

But today, we are going to post pictures of our new broadcast teams out and about at sports venues and locations from across the Astound TV Network’s coverage area.

Enjoy!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

The high school winter season finally came to an end last weekend.  While no local teams again made the championship round this year, there were still plenty of outstanding games and more than the usual share of highlights from the past season.

On last Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show, we looked back at the top moments, players and lasting memories from the winter season with ATVN analysts Brittany Thomas and John Leone.  This show is available to Astound Broadband customers to watch at any time On-Demand, along with the last two months’ worth of games we broadcast on the Astound TV Network.

Today, we begin our countdown of the best highlights of the past year aired on ATVN.

1. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Emmaus (2/23)

2. Astound Sports: Notre Dame vs. Northwestern Lehigh (2/23)

3. Astound Sports: Pocono Mountain West vs. Parkland (2/23)

4. Astound Sports: Allentown Central Catholic vs. Emmaus (2/23)

5. Astound Sports: Southern Lehigh vs. Saucon Valley (2/23)

Check back each week for more of the top highlights from our games from the season right here at “The SportsTalk Shop.” Also, join us on this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show at 7pm on ATVN as we turn the page to the spring season.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace is featuring prominent female-driven classic programs and women who “changed the game” and made a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

As we featured last week here at “The Showplace,” Rose Marie’s career started while performing on a vaudeville stage at three years of age and then made her national radio debut singing less than a year later.

For several decades she had successes in various mediums and entertainment venues.  In 1960, she thought she realized her biggest accomplishment when TV creator/writer Carl Reiner asked her to star in a television sit-com show, later to be titled, The Dick Van Dyke Show.  However, after the first several episodes Marie quickly learned that her on-screen character would not be the featured role she was promised and, instead, would be a more supportive role to a relative newcomer to television, Mary Tyler Moore.

On the channel “TV Land’s” website which features a number of “legend” interviews, Reiner recalls a conversation in which he told Marie that the audiences “wanted to see Mary Tyler Moore’s legs and not [Rose’s] legs” as to the reasoning why the change in the direction of the show.

Though she felt betrayed and considered quitting the program, Rogers reasoned that she was still serving as a landmark character, portraying a woman working in a traditionally male-dominated profession.  Marie decided to continue working on the show to serve as a societal gamechanger and to provide a role model for women to look up to on television.

Following that show’s five-year run, Marie quickly found more work as another formidable on-screen female presence on The Doris Day Show, which ran for another five seasons.  Rose also became a regular (and frequently earned the honor of being a “center square”) on the wildly popular Hollywood Squares game show, hosted by Peter Marshall for 14 years.  She also continued performing and singing for several years back in Las Vegas while also touring around the world with Rosemary Clooney and others.

Rose continued to make guest-starring appearances on popular TV shows throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including S.W.A.T., Adam-12, Kojak, Remington Steele, Wings, Suddenly Susan, The Hughleys, The Tracey Ullman Show, The Love Boat and Caroline In The City as well as guest starring in the Cagney and Lacey reunion show.

Her voice talents were used again later in her career, portraying the “voice” of the infamous (and still deceased) Norma Bates (Norman’s mother) on Gus Van Sant’s version of Psycho and also as a regular on the cartoon series Garfield from 2008-2013.  She also appeared with a number of her Dick Van Dyke castmates in various television roles, including The Alan Brady Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show: Revisited.

It was also on the Dick Van Dyke: Reunion show in 2004 in which she revealed she had been approached by many women who said her “Sally Rogers” character inspired them to work in many male-dominated fields or to go into jobs in which hiring a woman was “unthinkable.”

You can see Rose Marie in her classic role of “Sally Rogers” in episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, which is part of a regular rotation of classic television shows on ATVN’s Classic TV Showcase, seen every Tuesday at 9am on the Astound TV Network.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace is featuring prominent female-driven classic programs and women who “changed the game”, making a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Rose Marie’s contributions to the entertainment industry might be as far reaching as any woman:

• She began performing on a vaudeville stage at the age of THREE!
• At the age of FOUR, she was performing regularly on a popular NBC radio show.
• She was a child actor in the silent film era of movies.
• She was one of the youngest singers to record a publicly sold song – at age 5!
• According to her quote in The Hollywood Reporter, she was the first on-camera woman to go “toe-to-toe in a man’s world.”
• She portrayed several strong-willed, successful working female characters as both a regular and a guest star on multiple television shows in the late-1950s and throughout 1960s.
• Her work in the industry spanned NINE DECADES!

She was born Rose Marie Mazzetta on August 15, 1926 in New York City to Polish-American Stella Gluszcak and Italian-American vaudeville performer Frank Mazzetta.

Her mom would regularly take her to vaudeville shows as a baby and she soon began singing for her neighbors, who eventually had her enrolled in a talent show just after her third birthday.  Adopting the stage name of “Baby Rose Marie,” her performances on the stage quickly attracted an NBC Radio Network executive, who signed her to a seven-year contract.

Because her improbably strong, bass-sounding voice sounded more like a 30-year old than a little girl, NBC quickly booked her on a national tour.  People could see for themselves this incredibly talented five-year old performing live.

Rose also started in silent films as a child actor, but got more popular with “talking” pictures, starring as herself and showing off her vocal chords, in addition to some acting performances.

As her career continued into adulthood, she would frequently perform in nightclubs and lounges–many of which were owned by mobsters.  Rumors of close relationships with Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel began circulating, with Marie a featured performer at Siegel’s popular Flamingo Hotel and Lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 1960, Carl Reiner was desperately trying to retool a failed television pilot called “Head of the Family” to sell to a network and was looking to add some star-power to bolster its appeal.  Executive Producer Sheldon Leonard felt they needed to add a strong-willed character for the role of “Sally Rogers” to the show that eventually would be titled The Dick Van Dyke Show.  According to “The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book,” Leonard claimed Marie was the only one who could play that character.  (The book also gives credit to Rose for suggesting Morey Amsterdam for the role of Buddy Sorrell, whom she had known since she was 11 years old).

According to her online interviews, Marie claims that she was enticed to the role because of a promise that the show would be “co-centered” around her.  Furthermore, she was intrigued by the pitch of her character being a strong woman having success in a man’s world.  The role mirrored the real-life persona of comedy writing legend Selma Diamond, the lone female writer on the popular TV show, Your Show Of Shows (Diamond would become more well known to audiences as the first, wise-crackling bailiff on Night Court before her death).

Once the “Van Dyke” show was launched, the on-screen chemistry between the fictional husband-wife combination of Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore garnished more on-screen time, which meant less time for Rogers.  Marie quickly went to show the show’s original creator to complain about being misled about the premise of the show co-centering around her character, along with the slowly decreasing number of lines that were being scripted for her each week.

After having great success throughout her career, this was the first time she was “passed over” for someone younger than her.  She had reached a crossroads in her career and seriously contemplated leaving the “Van Dyke” show after the first season.

We’ll have more on her decision and her road ahead next week here at “The Showplace.”

In the meantime, you can see Rose Marie as “Sally Rogers” on The Dick Van Dyke Show, as part of a steady rotation of classic television shows on ATVN’s Classic TV Showcase.  Tune in or set your DVRs for it each week at 9 am on Tuesdays mornings on the Astound TV Network.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

It seems an annual tradition that when the state playoffs start up, soon thereafter begins the increasingly hostile debate on whether boundary and non-boundary schools should be competing within the same state tournament in the PIAAs.

​Such was a topic of debate on a recent edition of ATVN SportsTalk…

Recently within District XI, we’ve had non-boundary schools once again dominating the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District XI playoff championships.  ​ The debate gets louder and more heated as more and more non-boundary schools dominate competition and scores become more and more lopsided (no boundary school has defeated a non-boundary school in the last eight years of District XI competition and a school like Executive Education Charter school has won it every year of its existence). 

Over the last few years we have had a number of politicians, school administrators, current and former coaches and athletic directors and other people in the sports world weighing in on this issue.  With no easy resolution ever in sight, the only thing people seem to agree on is that it will take an act of legislation to change what is currently in place at the state level.

As far as if there will be anything that ever changes on a local league or regional level, stay tuned over the coming months to see what develops.

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Now here’s highlights of recent sports broadcasts on ATVN, with many of these games still available to watch for free for Astound video customers at anytime!

​1.  Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Freedom (12/22)

2. Astound Sports: Liberty vs. Freedom  (1/23)

3. Astound Sports: Blue Mountain vs.  Bethlehem Catholic (11/22)

4. Astound Sports:  Parkland vs. Freedom (11/22)

Check back in a few weeks for more samples of the best plays from this past high school winter sports season, along with some final thoughts on the season gone by!

Also, don’t forget to check out this weekend’s schedules of PIAA state basketball playoff games on our website to see which games will be broadcasting on our network.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

I had the honor this past weekend to represent Astound Broadband at the 63rd Annual National Football Foundation-Lehigh Valley Chapter 2023 football scholar athletes awards ceremony held this year in Bethlehem, PA.

Each year, the “NFF” helps college-bound student athletes who make outstanding contributions both on and off the football field.  The awards are determined by organization members and local coaches and use a 40/40/20 percentage formula (for academic, athletic and charitable work, respectively). These awards are made available to every public, private and charter high school with a football program in the District XI region, which incorporates Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties.

Additionally, financial awards are also granted for outstanding accomplishments made by local colleges within the district footprint.

I’ve had the privilege of announcing the games of, as well as speaking with, a number of this year’s scholarship recipients and it was great to see so many young people’s great efforts, in multiple ways, get rewarded at this year’s event.

Here are some of the images taken from this year’s award ceremony presentation…

The major award winners in this year’s event were…

Small School Winner: Allentown Central Catholic High School – Griffin Patridge

A 6’2”, 185 lb. outside linebacker and wide receiver, he ranks in the top 19% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned All-State and First Team All-Conference defensive honors, while serving as team captain. He is the Student Government President, participates in various school sponsored clubs, and is the School Representative for the EPC Student Athletic Character Council. 

Big School Winner: Pleasant Valley High School – Oluwafeola Olaniyan

A 5’10”, 180 lb. outside linebacker and fullback, he ranks in the top 3 %of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, National Honor Society member, and is a state qualifier in the Supply Chain Management test for FBLA. He earned All-Conference First Team offensive and defensive honors, while serving as a team captain. He is the Future Business Leaders of America Vice-President, Key Club Treasurer, and Red Cross Blood Drive Host. He has performed over 500 hours of volunteer work.

Ed Watto Award Winner: Nazareth Area High School – Devin Tavares

A 5’8”, 165 lb. cornerback, he ranks in the top 6% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He is a member of various school sponsored clubs, serving as a club officer, is a Class Officer, and participates in varsity track and field. He volunteers with his church as a Sunday School Teacher assistant, the Red Cross, a Blood Drive, Giving Tree, Nazareth Open House, a youth football camp instructor, and is a volunteer waiter for a local club. 

Coach Michael “Guut” Gurdineer Award – Nate Kemmerer (Parkland High School)

Honorary Award for the Outstanding Lineman of the Lehigh Valley Award selected by the Northampton Area High School Football Staff.

For more information or to become a member of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation, you can go to caringcent.org/nff/chapter

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we start our look back at the top teams and plays that you saw on the Astound TV Network this winter, a quick programming note.

Coming up on this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk our guests will be Head Coach Dave Lutz and members of the District XI 6A champion Easton Area girls basketball team.

The Red Rovers have been one of the most dominating teams in our area over the last few years–not losing a single regular season game the past two seasons.

They face some strong competition coming up when they play their first state playoff game this Friday against Unionville and they also have traditional state powerhouses like Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Ryan, Spring-Ford, Red Lion and other strong programs, not to mention potential rematches with local rivals Liberty and Nazareth, who also advanced into the PIAAs from our viewing area.

Watch the show live or set your DVRs to see and hear some of the top girls basketball players in the state on ATVN SportsTalk, this Thursday at 7pm!

And…don’t forget to check out this weekend’s schedules of PIAA state basketball playoff games on our website to see which games will be broadcasting on our network.

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Now here’s highlights of recent sports broadcasts on ATVN, with many of these games still available to watch for free for Astound video customers at any time!

​1. Astound Sports: Nazareth vs. Freedom (12/22)

2. Astound Sports: Liberty vs. Freedom  (1/23)

3. Astound Sports: Blue Mountain vs.  Bethlehem Catholic (11/22)

4. Astound Sports:  Parkland vs. Freedom (11/22)

5. Astound Sports:  Parkland vs. Nazareth (11/22)

Check back in a few weeks for more samples of the best plays from this past high school football season, along with some final thoughts on the season gone by!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.