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Night of the Living Dead

October 26, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

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.

As we countdown to the Astound TV Network’s special Halloween Marathon (24 hours of specialty Halloween-based movies and shows, starting at 9am on Monday, October 31st), we focus this week on one of the all-time classic horror films!

There are quite a few classic horror films that provided the genesis to a seemingly endless supply of successful film series, sequels and spin-off ideas.

But one of the biggest “landmark” films of the genre was Night of the Living Dead.

The film’s producer/director/writer/editor George Romero graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and embarked on a career in the film industry in the early 1960s.  His first job was directing and producing industrial films and commercials for television before he decided to venture into horror films.

He teamed up with his friends John Russo and Russell Streinder to form their own production company, The Latent Image, later to be called Imagine Ten, and wanted to capitalize on the flurry of scary films that remained popular during the 1960s.

Originally written as a horror-comedy under the title Monster Flick, the concept was reworked several times by Romero and Russo.  Ultimately, the final concepts involved a young man who runs away from home and discovers rotting human corpses scattered across a meadow that aliens use for food.  “Flesh eaters” and reanimating human corpses were also thrown into the script, with several of these last-minute ideas paving the way for later-produced sequels years later.

The film initially had trouble getting picked up by film studios, with rejections including calling the script “too cornballish.”  

Undaunted, Romero took $6,000 and found ten partners to also invest the same amount to raise money to produce the film independently.

Money was still an issue when it came to shooting the actual film locations and sound stages.  Several shooting sites consisted of condemned buildings scheduled for demotion, cemeteries or structures that needed significant renovations.

Chocolate syrup drizzled over bodies were used for blood and roasted ham and other donated meats were used for body parts and charred flesh.  Most costumes consisted of items found in second-hand stores and others were bought on the cheap from Goodwill.

Also because of budget constraints, Romero had to use cheaper 35mm film to shoot.  Ironically, critics praised the decision to use lower quality video to give the film a “grainy” feel and enhance the scary aspects of the film’s content.

Romero also caught a break casting university professor-turned-actor Duane Jones in the starring role.  Jones found the writing low-brow and the unintelligent dialogue insulting and refused to read the lines as written.  Instead, he rewrote much of the dialogue on his own.

Co-star Judith O’Dea also didn’t like her lines and stated in several interviews that both she and most other cast members actually AD-LIBBED most of the lines throughout the entire shooting of the film!

Another unique aspect of this movie: the film distributors originally would not send the pictures out with the ending they shot and insisted that Romero and his team re-shoot the final sequences.  They stated that moviegovers would not accept the ending as-is and ordered that a “Hollywood” ending be inserted.

Romero refused and the film’s ending stands today as it was originally intended.

To say that the film proved to be a success and has withstood the test of time would be an understatement.  In addition to originally grossing more than $30 million at the box office (on an original budget of $114,000), the film was deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1999.

We will look at more of Duane’s starring performance in this film and his trailblazing legacy in a future blog entry here at the “Showplace.”

In the meantime, be on the lookout for Night of the Living Dead along with other Halloween holiday favorites coming up as part of Monday’s 24-hour “Halloween Takeover” marathon on ATVN.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, 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.

“Regular Season Finale” Polls

October 24, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

There’s a lot to talk about on this week’s “SportsTalk” show this Thursday at 7pm on the Astound TV Network and we have a special guest to do it with us.

ATVN’s Okezie Alozie, who has been busy working the sidelines for us most weeks on our high school football broadcasts, will be on to talk about his new career with us, his thoughts on the high school football season, early predictions on the playoff possibilities as well as sharing his own experiences and “things to watch for” in this weekend’s Freedom/Liberty game (Okezie is a former standout running back / linebacker from Freedom HS who will also be broadcasting with me this Saturday).

Alozie will also talk about broadcasting last week’s game for us, which included many of his Patriots fans welcoming him back to his former home field, Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

You can email me with your question or comment about local football and we may read it on this Thursday’s program. 

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We have had a number of great sports broadcasts over the last month, including last Friday’s latest chapter in the Bethlehem Rivalry series, featuring Freedom beating Bethlehem Catholic 24-13.

Here are highlights of some of our recent broadcasts on the Astound TV Network:

  1. Astound Sports: Easton vs. Allentown Central Catholic (9/22)

  1. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Nazareth (9/22)

  1. Astound Sports: Parkland vs. Freedom (9/22)

  1. Astound Sports: Emmaus vs. Allentown Central Catholic  (9/22)

 

It’s a busy weekend for us coming up as we will broadcast the “last chapter” in this year’s “Battle of Bethlehem,” which features not just the Liberty and Freedom football teams but the biggest halftime band spectacular, complete with all of Bethlehem’s junior schools’ bands participating with the high schools’ musical groups.  It is a great event that we invite you to see in person at least once in your life, but if you can’t make it to the game this year, be sure to check it out this Saturday at 7pm on ATVN.

Preceding that will be one of the biggest high school regular season contests of the year–not just in the Lehigh Valley, but in all of Pennsylvania.  ATVN will broadcast Parkland versus Emmaus live on our network, plus our production will once again air on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, available to all residents in the Commonwealth.  (FYI: this will be the first time in PCN’s history that any one cable television station (us!) broadcasts TWO “games of the week” in one season for them.

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Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

  1. Freedom
  2. Nazareth
  3. Emmaus
  4. (tie)  Northampton / Parkland 

Eligible Teams from our viewing area (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

  1. Northern Lehigh
  2. Southern Lehigh
  3. Northwestern
  4. Notre Dame-GP

Eligible Teams from our viewing area (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to our website for next week’s poll results and come back frequently for any changes to our ongoing broadcast schedule information as we embark on the playoffs.

 

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.

George C. Scott

October 20, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

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.

 

You will probably have a chance to see George C. Scott in his iconic role as “Patton” in the film of the same name, traditionally shown around Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the Independence Day holidays.

But there is a much different side to Scott’s acting career in his role as Edward Rochester in the classic story told in the 1970 film Jane Eyre, which you can see on ATVN.

The story revolves around Eyre’s character (portrayed by Susanna York, who would go on to play Superman’s birth mother in the 1976 motion picture Superman)–an orphan who is hired to serve as a governess for Rochester–an English manor lord.  The two eventually fall in love and decide to marry, but Rochester houses a dark secret from Eyre.  When Jane discovers this enormous secret…well, no spoilers here–you’ll have to watch the film for yourself!

Scott’s role as Rochester was not unlike many of his performances as strong-willed characters.  For this role he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actor in an Anthology, Movie or Limited Series.  But Scott’s life was filled with extraordinary accomplishments.

According to David Sheward’s book, “Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott,” this legendary actor was born on a kitchen table in the small town of Wise, Virginia.  After a four-year stint with the Marine Corps from 1945 to 1949 and a brief venture into journalism, Scott developed the acting bug and quickly ascended to becoming a lead actor on the Broadway stage.

Before the 1950s were over, he captured his first Academy Award in Otto Perminger’s Antonomy of a Murder, which also starred James Stewart, Eve Arden, Lee Remick, Murray Hamelton and Orson Bean.

Scott owned the 1960s, starring in long-running shows on Broadway and classic films like Dr. Strangeglove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Love The Bomb, The Bible: In the Beginning, The Crucible and others.  He was also a highly sought after television guest star, appearing in some of the 1960s most popular shows like Ben Casey, The Virginian, The Naked City, The Road West and frequently appeared on Bob Hope’s celebrity specials.

Scott would also go on to star as iconic characters after 1970, including Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Benito Mussolini in Mussolini: The Untold Story, Fagin in Oliver Twist, The Beast in 1976’s Beauty and the Beast, Sherlock Holmes in They Might Be Giants, the controversial Juror #3 in the 1997 remake of 12 Angry Men, and even returned to his role as Patton in the biopic’s sequel, The Last Days of Patton.

But arguably his two greatest movie contributions came in 1970 when both Patton and Jane Eyre were released.

Be on the lookout for Jane Eyre coming up this Monday at 9am on ATVN.

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.

 

Amirah Moody

By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

This is our annual “parade” week here at the Astound TV Network. Our crew members are busy providing coverage of local Halloween activities and community events to our viewers. This is also the week where our SportsTalk show, and our weekly high school football polls, take a week off.

However, this is a special week as we would like to introduce the newest member of the ATVN Sports staff. Amirah Moody is a former high school standout now in college and will be starting to take on several different roles within our broadcasting family.

  Today, she takes over the keyboard here at “The Shop” and shares a bit of information about herself and her views on how participating in sports has played a role in her life.

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Ten years ago, I played volleyball for the first time, not knowing this would be the sport that would help shape me into the person I am today. My mom was my coach and she taught me the basics of volleyball: how to pass, set, underhand serve, not to fear the ball, and to have fun. She introduced me to the sport I love to play and that has become so integrated into my life. I played soccer and basketball for a few years, tried out dance and gymnastics, but nothing stuck or felt right like when I was playing volleyball.

During high school I realized that volleyball is not about how strong or how fast you are, it’s about your mindset and you must have a strong mentality when playing the game. I graduated from Bethlehem Catholic and played for them all four years. I was nervous trying out for the high school team, so nervous and scared I would make a mistake. This caused me to make millions of mistakes and all I could think about were the mistakes I was making. My high school coach told us to shake off our mistakes and I started to learn how to have a “next ball mentality”.

My attitude shifted from self-deprecation to self-actualization, and I try to always remember that volleyball is a game of mistakes, but it is all about what you do with that mistake. Do you stress about that one mistake and become fearful of making another one, or do you think about how you can do better for the next ball? By understanding this, it not only helped me as an individual player and the teams I was a part of but this “next ball mentality” also helps me in school and everyday life.

Everyone makes mistakes; being able to learn from them and move forward is the best way to handle them.

Being a student athlete in the Lehigh Valley gives you a lot of connections to coaches, both high school and college; trainers; and players from other schools; which broadens the opportunities and experiences you could have in the future. I have had opportunities to help coach at local summer camps, guest play for local travel teams, had babysitting jobs for local coaches, provided individual training to young up-and- coming volleyball players; the list goes on and on.

Now I am a senior at Muhlenberg College, and my current head coach is the same coach I had when I was 14 years old playing travel club volleyball for CrossCourt Volleyball Club. I feel privileged to have had Coach Rob as a coach at the beginning of my competitive volleyball career and now also during my last competitive year playing my senior year in college. While attending and playing at college, I have been offered so many opportunities and endured many experiences that helped shape the person I am today.

Throughout my ten years of playing volleyball, I had many coaches, all with different coaching styles and personalities. These differences helped me, as my coaches have all been people I look up to and who have helped me learn how to work with different types of people. I had the opportunity to coach volleyball for CrossCourt Volleyball Club the past three years and it was an amazing experience. I knew who I wanted to be as a coach because of the coaches I had throughout my career. I learned a lot as a coach the last three years and my love for volleyball grew even more. Looking into the future, I will continue to coach and help young volleyball players learn the life lessons I have learned over the years while also playing the game they love!

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Please join us in welcoming Amirah to our communications family!

 

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.

 

Erin Gray

October 12, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

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.

 

It’s hard to have been a young TV viewer from the late-1970s through the early-1990s without coming across the versatile performances of Erin Gray.

Erin was born in Honolulu in the territory of Hawaii (it wasn’t officially made a state until a few years after her birth).  She moved in with her grandparents when she was eight due to her parents’ separation.  A few years later she entered the field of modeling.

At 14, she won a major modeling competition, earning her first professional assignment in St. Louis, Missouri.  At 17 she made her television debut as a dancer on the program Malibu U.

She briefly attended UCLA but left to return to modeling in New York where she also pursued television gigs.  By the age of 25 she was regarded as one of the top television models and was earning over $100,000 per year.

Over the next few years she won guest appearances on shows such as Maude, The Rockford Files, BJ and the Bear and Police Story.

By the age of 28 she landed a co-starring role in the original sci-fi classic Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.  

According to Filmbug.com, Gray thought her character made a landmark accomplishment as she was cast as a colonel, which she said was the first time a woman on television was placed in charge of men.  She was quoted as saying that her character “sparked a new idea that women can be in charge, too.”

She followed that performance with another leading role in a show geared at younger TV viewers.  The comedy Silver Spoons was the show that launched Ricky Schroeder into superstar status in the early 1980s as a teen heartthrob.  The entire cast was on NBC’s Today show a few years ago, marking the 25th anniversary of that show’s pilot.  On that reunion program Gray and all her cast members recalled that the on-screen chemistry was real and the four lead characters have remained great friends to this day.

For the next decade, Erin would have recurring roles or guest star on some of the biggest television shows of the time period, appearing as Monica Johnson, who was Mitch (David Hasselhoff) Buchanan’s boss on Baywatch and as Jenny Hayden on another sci-fi show, StarmanJust some of her guest spots on popular 1980s television shows included: The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hotel, Hunter, Simon and Simon, Vega$, Magnum PI, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote, LA Law, Evening Shade, The New Lassie, Burke’s Law, Jake and the Fatman, Silk Stalkings and Superboy.

She also starred on the big screen in one of the popular “Jason” horror serial films, Jason Goes To Hell, as well as co-starring in the Kenny Rogers film Six Pack.  Gray also starred in one of the Perry Mason television specials: The Case of the Avenging Ace.

She also co-wrote a book entitled, “Act Right,” which lends advice to new actors and tips for people looking to get into the performing arts.

In the later 1990s she transitioned away from acting and became a casting agent, a profession in which she remains active to this day.  However, over the last two decades, she has appeared occasionally in television shows, web series and lending her voice to video games.  She did star in another big screen production – the 2011 movie Dreams Awake.

To catch Erin Gray during the peak of her on-screen popularity, tune in and set your DVRs for her starring performance in 1980’s Coach of the Year, airing this Tuesday morning 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.

Football Polls & Tennis Honors

October 11, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

Before we take a look at our high school football poll this week, we’d like to spotlight one of the sports that doesn’t get nearly as much attention.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference recently conducted its fall championship tournament (hats off to Allen High School Athletic Director Randy Atiyeh for taking over the chair of this position and running a smooth tournament!).

The first round of the district was also held this past week (chaired by Catasauqua’s Tom Moll).

Here are the final brackets of all the champions in the different categories of this fall’s events…

 

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It certainly was an interesting weekend of HS football on ATVN last weekend.  This weekend should be another good pairing as we have a battle of the #1 and #3 teams in our poll facing off against each other on Friday night.  We also have a suddenly streaking Parkland team playing a Bethlehem Catholic squad that, when on their game, have played very well this year.

Before we look at this week’s high school football polls….. first, here are the details on our polls if you are new to our blog.

We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are breaking the two polls down into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “crossover” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents on their schedule.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

  1. Emmaus
  2. Freedom
  3. Nazareth
  4. Northampton
  5. Parkland

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

  1. Northwestern
  2. Northern Lehigh
  3. Southern Lehigh
  4. Notre Dame-GP

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

 

Be sure to check back to our website for our weekly polls and check our upcoming broadcast information frequently for any changes for our ongoing sports schedule throughout the fall 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.

Africa Screams

October 6, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

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.

 

While the comedic pairing of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello is best known for its radio editions of the hit patter-comedy routine, “Who’s on First,” the duo also had a string of successful hits on the big screen.

Arguably, the pair’s biggest movie success came in the 1949 comedy Africa Screams.

Abbott and Costello had already been a success on stage since 1935 and spent the next several years adding appearances on popular radio shows as guest stars.  In 1941 after getting rave reviews as Fred Allen’s “summer replacement,” they earned their own radio series.

Their success on radio paved the way for a series of money-making motion pictures throughout the next two decades.  The pair made an incredible 24 movies between 1941 and 1948 before embarking on “Africa.”  Among the best received films during this time period includes Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, One Night In The Tropics, Buck Privates, Buck Privates Come Home and The Naughty Nineties, in which the team duo stole the spotlight when the film featured a retooling of their “Who’s On First” routine.

As the decade was coming to a close, the pair wanted to embark in new territory and incorporate some other popular names of the era, as well as include new settings to their popular comedic formula.

Famed animal trainer and circus mogul Clyde Beatty, along with his famous performing animals, was brought into the mix.  Also added to the cast was popular boxer Max Baer (as “Grappler” McCoy)  and Shemp Howard, who was looking to branch out from his “Three Stooges” success and enhance his star power as a solo performer.

The film also marked the first time that Abbott and Costello worked with Hillary Brooke and Joe Besser — both actors would later become part of the ensemble cast for the duo’s television series.  Besser and Howard would also share time working as part of the “Stooges” franchise over the next few years.

The picture itself was not without issues.  

According to the book, “Abbott and Costello in Hollywood” by Bob Furmanek, the movie’s subplot regarding the affectionate gorilla was originally presented as a female simian pursuing Costello. However, the Breen Office censors that enforced the Production Code in Hollywood at that time demanded that the gorilla’s gender be changed because they felt a female gorilla’s pursuit of a man would be on par with bestiality.

Years later, the original nitrate stock negative of the film had decomposed, but the nitrate fine grain was still serviceable. Furmanek, an author and historian, had obtained the rights to the original print in the 1980s and had it transferred to 35mm for preservation purposes.

This film was also unique in that Abbott and Costello had gone out on their own to independently finance their film for the first time while relying on the “United Artist” umbrella created by Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin to help with the distribution of the movie. 

Africa Screams turned out to be a huge success, grossing over $1.5 million in its release (while working with a budget just under $500,000) and paved the way for other successful releases over the next two years, including Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff, Abbott and Costello In The Foreign Legion and Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man.

The success of “Africa” also spawned the creation of the popular “Abbott and Costello” television show, which boasted solid ratings for four years before a reoccurring rift would once again develop between the pair–ultimately separating them for good.

We’ll have more on the sometimes strained relationship and little known facts about the legendary pairing of Abbott and Costello in an upcoming blog entry here at “The Showcase.”  Meanwhile, you can watch Africa Screams by tuning in or setting your DVRs to ATVN this Tuesday at 9:00 am.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on the Astound TV Network, 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 ATVN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Polls Week 6: Colonial’s Turn

October 3, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

First of all, my thanks to the people who approached me this past week thanking us at ATVN for featuring the Colonial League last week on our broadcasts.

I’ve heard workers with vast experience in customer relations say that people will not hesitate to approach you with concerns or issues they are having, but it takes a lot to get people to take the time to give praise when you do something they like.

If that theory is true, we must have made a lot of people happy last week!

The Astound TV Network featured a pair of Colonial League teams–Northwestern and Saucon Valley–as our featured Friday night live game.  We also devoted most of last week’s SportsTalk show to discussing issues in the Colonial-Schuylkill “co-op.”

It was our pleasure to feature those teams and talk about the outstanding players in that league (as well as talk about a very competitive league playoff race shaping up).  It is our hope to focus on those teams even more going forward and we hope to see some of these teams go far in the state playoffs!

Sadly, we also had to send some time on last week’s program talking about more tragedies in high school sports–and in our viewing area in particular.

So far already this school year, we have lost two scholastic athletes who died because of senseless crimes committed (at Whitehall and Allen high schools) and a teacher’s aide (at Dieruff High School) killed because of reckless driving.

There have been several football programs in Pennsylvania that have canceled their seasons due to  “undisclosed reasons,” which unfortunately usually occurs when kids (allegedly) commit acts so over-the-line that the school must take quick action as punishment and perform lengthy investigations.

Other schools are canceling sports programs due to lack of interest and not being able to field enough students to participate.  Also, we’ve had a couple reports of students (who happen to be on sports teams) bringing guns to school.

Meanwhile, many games are getting scrapped or rescheduled due to a desperate lack of officials.  At last week’s District XI press conference, instead of leading off with information on the new playoff formats or some of the other positive things going on in high school sports, a good amount of time was spent by local administrators begging for more people to get involved in local sports to referee or umpire games.

We are going to start seeing some rather drastic changes to scheduling local sports playoff games soon–due mostly because there simply aren’t enough officials to have games being played at their “normal” times.

I myself have had several opportunities a number of years ago to decide on whether I wanted to work in the sports or news areas of communications–and I picked the former because I really didn’t want to deal with all the negativity that comes with the latter.

Unfortunately, sports on many levels is dealing more with “news-related” types of stories right now, and it has certainly darkened what once was a very promising local sports season.

Hopefully things change around very soon.  I would love to spend more time on the positive things going on in our viewing area and deeply hope we don’t have any more tragic events affecting our sports communities for a long time to come!

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Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

  1. Emmaus
  2. Freedom
  3. Nazareth
  4. Central Catholic
  5. Northampton

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

  1. Notre Dame-GP
  2. Northwestern
  3. Northern Lehigh
  4. Southern Lehigh

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

 

Be sure to check back to our website for our weekly polls and check our upcoming broadcast information frequently for any changes for our ongoing sports schedule throughout the fall 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.

Everett Sloane

September 30, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

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.

 

Everett Sloane is another one of those names that may not be familiar to video audiences now, but chances are you have seen him in a prominent classic film or television show.

Everett was born on October 1, 1909, in Manhattan, New York.  At the tender age of seven he was featured as Puck in the Manhattan Public School production of Williams Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream and caught the acting bug.  

He worked in a traveling production company until making his New York stage debut in 1928, but took a full-time job as a Wall Street ticket runner.  The famous crash of 1929 cut his Wall Street salary in half, so Sloane delved deeper into the entertainment industry to earn a living and began work doing radio plays.

The “Crash” turned out to be fortuitous for Everett as he became a hit in the new medium and ended up performing in over one thousand radio productions throughout his career, including recurring roles on elite shows like The Inner Sanctum and as the comic relief cab driver on The Shadow.

One of his biggest “breaks’’ was working for Orson Wells’ immensely popular Mercury Theatre, which produced not only some of the most popular shows in the late 1930s but produced the infamous “War of the Worlds” teleplay that spooked the nation into thinking that aliens from Mars were actually invading Earth!

Wells signed a movie production contract with RKO Pictures and incorporated many of his veteran voice actors in his films.  Sloane made a splash in his film debut (to say the least!) with Citizen Kane, the movie regarded by many as the greatest film of all time.

In it, Sloane played Charles Foster Kane’s (portrayed by Orson Wells) confidant and business manager, Mr. Bernstein.  Sloane was featured as both his “older self,” retelling stories from his perspective of Kane’s life, as well as appearing in the flashback sequences through the picture.  Despite the film’s controversies and the alleged attempts to blackball members of the film’s cast and crew, Sloane quickly found work in the theater, performing in over one hundred stage productions of Richard Wright’s Native Son.

Sloane then returned to Hollywood and starred in another Wells’ production of the movie Journey Into Fear, with fellow Citizen Kane cast members Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead and Ruth Warrick.

Among his other film highlights include starring in Marlon Brando’s film debut, The Men, The Prince Who Was a Thief with Piper Laurie and Tony Curtis, Patterns with fashion icon Van Heflin and later in a reunion with Wells in The Lady From Shanghai and Prince of Foxes.

When Everett turned his attention to television he continued to have immediate and continual success by guest starring on some of the greatest shows of all time.  

His TV appearances include Bonanza, The Andy Griffin Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gunsmoke, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Perry Mason.

He also did voiceovers in cartoons and narrated the 1965 movie, Hercules and the Princess of Troywhich turned out to be his last role.

Everett was diagnosed with glaucoma and, fearing he would go blind as a result of it, took an overdose of barbiturates and died in his sleep on August 6, 1965.

He was 55 years young. 

You can see Everett Sloane in the 1956 film Patterns (this Tuesday at 9am on ATVN) as well as his guest starring roles in Bonanza and other TV classics 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.

 

Mimi Griffin & Weekly Polls

September 26, 2022 By Chris Michael Leave a Comment

If you are a sports fan, you probably have heard the name Mimi Griffin before.

If you haven’t, here are just some of her accomplishments as listed on the “bio page” of inductees on the National Collegiate Athletic Associations’ Hall of Fame website:

  • Griffin is considered to be the first broadcast expert for women’s basketball
  • She served as the “face” for women’s basketball in its early television exposure and laid the foundation and groundwork for women’s basketball on television
  • She was the National Director of Promotion for Women’s Athletics for Converse from 1983-85
  • Griffin was the ESPN primary women’s basketball analyst from 1983-1999 and was the color analyst for the NCAA Women’s Final Four from 1985-1991
  • In 1990, she was the first woman color analyst for a NCAA men’s tournament game on ESPN.
  • In 1991, she became the first woman to broadcast the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on CBS Sports
  • Griffin was the Championship Director of the US Senior Open in 1992, 2000, and 2022 and was the Championship Director of the US Women’s Open in 1995 and 2009
  • She was the Director of Marketing and Championship Administration for the US Open in 1995 and 1998
  • She was the 1994 WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Award winner
  • In 2009, Griffin was named one of the “Best 50 Women in Business” by Pennsylvania Governor and the Department of Community and Economic Development

And now, she is joining ATVN!

Enshrined in the NCAA’s Hall of Fame in 2014, Mimi is joining our sports family as an announcer and will be giving her valuable expertise and vast basketball insights on our winter sports broadcasts.

I have had the pleasure of working with Mimi for a number of years–first back in 2009 when she was the Championship Director for the US Women’s Open held at Saucon Valley Country Club.

Our paths crossed again this summer when her organization successfully presented this year’s US Senior Open held at the same location.

Mimi has always been one of the most professional and successful people that I have had the pleasure of meeting, working with and interviewing on several occasions.  She also has a passion for basketball and for promoting student-athletes successes – a trait that many of our current ATVN announcers also possess and look to do each time they put on the microphones.  

While Mimi is still the CEO of her own business, MSG Productions, whose responsibilities include producing and overseeing major golf championships across the country, she is excited about the opportunity to get back into the broadcasting industry.

We are very lucky to have her join our staff…and our viewers will be fortunate to have one of the world’s greatest basketball minds giving analysis on our broadcasts this winter.

Keep checking back to “The SportsTalk Shop” as we unveil more news about our sports coverage and additions to our ATVN Sports family in the coming weeks!

*****

Below we have our weekly high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

  1. Emmaus
  2. Freedom
  3. Nazareth
  4. Central Catholic
  5. Northampton

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

  1. Notre Dame-GP
  2. Northwestern
  3. Northern Lehigh
  4. Southern Lehigh

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

 

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.

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