The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of  RCN 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 RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

If you want to see one of cinema’s greatest on-screen pairings, backed by a tremendous supporting cast, in front of a majestic Paris setting, a gorgeous Henry Mancini score and one of the most riveting climaxes to a movie in the 1960s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better film than “Charade.”
The film stars legendary actors Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn, Ned Glass and others.

(Stars Grant and Hepburn)

“Charade” starts off with a beautiful pan shot of the countryside, the stillness shredded by the sound of a fast-moving steam engine, a body ruthless tossed off the train and a haunting extreme close-up into the eyes of the dead body, all in the first 30 seconds before rocking the audience into the movie’s famous opening theme song.

Viewers quickly learn that the widow, Regina “Reggie” Lampert (Hepburn) really didn’t know her new groom very well when she is told by the police that her husband had many aliases.  She is further startled to learn her husband not only sold all of their belongings but is the owner of a great deal of money, which three other seedy-looking characters (Kennedy, Colburn, Glass) claim is theirs.

In comes the charming Grant (we won’t spoil things by telling you his name) to try to help Reggie, who is quickly targeted by everyone else, including the CIA (no spoiler here either) as the only logical owner of the cash, but she claims she had no idea of its existence in the first place.

Adding to the web of lies, her new confidant turns out to have his own series of aliases, and questionable motives for trying to help Reggie.

The film’s tone rapidly alternates between humorous moments, romance, intrigue and mystery.  As suspects begin getting bumped off it leaves very little downtime before having all questions resolved in its edge-of-your-seat finale.

“Charade” received numerous Academy and Golden Globe Award nominations (winning several) and is one of the few films ever listed simultaneously on the American Film Institute’s top 100 moments in the often conflicting movie categories of comedy, romance, thrillers and murder mysteries … AND places in the top 100 film scores.

Plus, the funeral scene is one of the funniest “macabre moments” you may ever witness.

Oh by the way, the film was also directed by yet another cinema legend, Stanley Donen, whose long line of iconic films includes “Singing in the Rain,” “On the Town,” “Royal Wedding,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” and many others.

“Charade” is a must-see and will be featured in the RCN-TV Movie Vault on Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 p.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

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

When the government ordered massive shutdowns in March due to the coronavirus, I was literally putting the finishing touches on my blog post that was going to run that week, when I received word that our studio would be closed for the near-term.

It was even more disappointing because, that Thursday, I was really looking forward to our “SportsTalk” program — having a terrific blend of wonderful people on the show, discussing some very important issues.

As concern for the virus continues and we get deeper in the calendar – with people’s scheduling becoming more hectic with other responsibilities – it’s becoming doubtful that we will be able to have all of the people on the show at the same time that we were going to have on for that particular day. While we will probably have at least most of them on, at different times on upcoming shows, I just thought it was going to be a great blend of personalities and views, all on the same episode, that may not come together again as I would have liked.

So I’m going to do something a little different for this week and present the blog that I had written for that week, as is, right up until I heard the news — just to give you a taste of what might have been if everything came together just perfectly.

By the way, we will not have a shortage of firepower on this week’s show as some of the guests listed below will be on Thursday’s program. Others will be on upcoming shows over the next several weeks.

Also, for this Thursday, we will have District XI Football Chair Jason Zimmerman on to give us some insights on the road ahead for high school sports’ recovery and potential timetables for the fall football season.

But now, enjoy the blog entry as it would have been – right up until it prematurely came to an abrupt stop.

*****

Original Title: “Women in Sports Recognition”

While it’s not yet an officially “recognized” month, there has been a movement in recent years to have one month emphasize the importance of women’s contributions in the ENTIRE world of sports.  The goal of this initiative ranges from more actively promoting women’s sports programs in participation, recognition and promotions to featuring coaches, broadcasters and administrators in traditionally male-dominated areas, as well as encouraging more women to enter these fields.

You may remember last year at this time I featured Melanie Newman, a relatively new broadcaster who, along with Susan Cool, became the first all-female broadcast team for a major sports franchise (a Red Sox Minor League team) in the country.

Newman, by the way, was recently named to the Baltimore Orioles broadcasting team, making an incredible ascension from the low Single-A Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues within one year’s time–yet another example of what amazing excellence can be achieved when women are given an opportunity in sports.

With SportsTalk co-host Keith Groller unavailable for several shows over the next few weeks, I dare say we have a very special individual to work the co-hosting chair.

Joetta Clark-Diggs, a four-time Olympian, 11-time USA All-American, inducted into the United States’ Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009 and owner of track times that are still ranked among the best in the world, will be joining me on the program once again to discuss different topics of interest.

This week’s guests include members of the Saucon Valley girls track team to discuss defending their record shattering times set at last year’s Pennsylvania state competitions in Shippensburg. Among them will be Joetta’s daughter, Talitha, who already has earned some major hardware in her very young career.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN 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 RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In a career filled with tremendous individual accomplishments too lengthy to list in a single blog entry, Frank Sinatra’s performance in the 1954 thriller, Suddenly, is probably one of his greatest, underrated works as an actor.

After a decade of multiple number one hits and rave reviews as a happy-go-lucky leading man on the silver screen, Sinatra’s film career dipped in the early part of the 1950s.

But with a starring role in the iconic film, From Here To Eternity, Sinatra was back in the public eye and had the screen credit to play possibly the biggest “departure role” of his career.

In Suddenly, Sinatra’s character is John Baron, a psychopathic killer disguised as a government agent and a paid assassin who’s hell-bent on shooting the President of the United States of America at any cost.

Baron leads a small group of henchmen who ruthlessly take over an innocent family’s house, located next to the train tracks that will be escorting the President through the sleepy town of Suddenly, California.

Baron and his thugs take hostages and show no mercy in this gritty film, with many twists-and-turns in this fast-paced 75-minute flick.

This film further deepened “‘Ol’ Blue Eyes”’ range as an actor and was part of over a dozen highly successful films in the 1950s which further advanced his already successful singing career.

Two interesting bits of trivia concerning Suddenly.  An ill-conceived idea of colorizing this film in the mid-1980s went awry when they mistakenly painted Sinatra’s eyes brown throughout the film.

A less humorous antidote: Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to purchase and destroy all copies of this film as well as the 1962 classic, The Manchurian Candidate, after a rumor surfaced that Lee Harvey Oswald watched both of these films before deciding to shoot President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Both films starred Sinatra with plot lines involving assassination attempts, although he handled the protagonist duties in Candidate.

Suddenly also stars Sterling Hayden (the crooked Captain McCluskey in The Godfather) and is a must-see for Sinatra followers and fans of thrill-seeking film noir works alike. 

Suddenly is featured on the “RCN Movie Theater/Retro Special” on Wednesday, May 13, at 9pm and Saturday, May 16, at 8:30pm on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

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

Gary Laubach stole my thunder in his blog the previous week in which he talked about the new technology we started using in our first “all-remote” edition of the “RCN SportsTalk Show.”

In observing the health requirements and mandated safety procedures of the times, we started broadcasting the show with all of our guests remaining in their homes.

For our next “SportsTalk” show, we took things up a notch. Utilizing my RCN high speed internet (a huge shout out to my colleagues out in the field keeping it going strong), the show originated from my home to connect with members of local high schools spring sports programs.

In scheduling that episode’s guest list, I thought the experience would be therapeutic for our guests as coaches and players could express their frustrations in talking about their seasons being cancelled but additionally give viewers some unique perspectives on how they are dealing with their canceled seasons during the pandemic.

Another benefit of this particular program was allowing senior athletes to not only break the monotony of their quarantine but also to reveal some very heartfelt stories about their playing days, with some realizing that their sports careers have already come to a premature end.

Initially, I thought doing the show from my home might be an advantage over our usual setup. Instead of trying to find interesting guests who had to be available on Thursday between 6 to 8 p.m., I suddenly had great flexibility in scheduling.

Sure enough, the first three groups I contacted were eager to be on the show.  When hearing what time would work for them…the first said mornings work best, the 2nd said another day at 2pm was ideal and the third said they’re not available until sometime after 5pm.  Normally this would be a major problem, but now, this was not an issue.

The days leading up to the program recording date were rather nerve-wracking for me. I have been spoiled for the last 15 years of having eight or more incredibly capable crew members putting all the technical aspects of the show together.  While grateful to be given the responsibility to try something new, I realized I now was pretty much on an island by myself.  Any significant technical glitch would reflect badly upon my ability to be the pseudo – director / audio person / cameraperson / floor manager, et al for this project.

I had actually been testing the equipment for weeks with various people, some who had utilized similar technologies while picking their brains in order to properly prepare for this first day of recording.  As a television veteran, I also knew that I had to prepare for every possible thing that could possibly go wrong. (Murphy’s law frequently applies in TV productions:  “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.” The trick is not to let people know at home that it does.)

But very early in the proceedings, I started to realize something I had never considered before.  Let me explain.

One aspect of hosting the show that I feel I have done a very capable job of over the years is to make guests feel relaxed. Well-established speakers can easily sit down and talk on a live television show for 60 minutes without hesitation.  I realized very early in my career that even veteran athletic directors, administrators and other people who do a fair amount of public speaking on their own, can very easily freeze-up when the bright lights click on.

I relish the challenge of having people arrive at our studio, terrified by the thought of the TV cameras focusing on them when they first arrive, and making sure they thoroughly enjoy the experience and want to return again by the time the show is over.

But by utilizing the equipment from my home to connect with high school athletes speaking from their own living rooms, I could sense right away how relaxed they were and how quickly they opened up and expressed their feelings and revealed heartfelt stories.

Although I’d like to think I come up with some pretty good questions from time to time, they made my job rather easy this week, wasting no time in providing emotional responses for the situation they and many other student-athletes are dealing with right now.

I also like to think a great interviewer knows when to be a good listener while helping them to find ways to express themselves as they deal with their own stresses.  Again, a skill I’d like to think I have an abundance of, was hardly necessary on this occasion.

When one of the coaches called me immediately after we completed recording this week’s show to thank me for the opportunity, I didn’t pause in my response.  I told him that it was not only a very enjoyable experience for me as an interviewer, but probably, in terms of evoking emotional stories, one of the best shows we have done, and the kids themselves deserve all the credit.

I know coming into a television studio and sitting under the bright lights for an hour is a unique experience not very many people ever have the opportunity to experience.  I look forward to the time we can do the show again, live, with guests joining me in the studio.

But I think this week’s program shows that there is also something extra special in talking with people in their natural environment.  One that can provide even greater personal insights we might not have gotten otherwise.

Either way, it’s nice to know that we here at RCN TV keep finding new ways of serving our customers, especially during these unusual times in our society.

You can see last week’s “SportsTalk” show featuring local high school athletes and coaches discussing how COVID-19 has affected their sports seasons, through RCN’s Video on Demand.

We’ll be continuing our “all – remote” editions of the program for at least the next few weeks.  Coming up this Thursday, Tom Housenick of The Morning Call will sub for my usual co-host, Keith Groller, to talk about Major League Baseball’s hiatus and rumors concerning its return, plus high school wrestling off-season news.  We will also have Mike Hofmann, a local historian, previewing his new book on high school football.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN 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 RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

Very few actors can say they were a bigger box office draw that Humphrey Bogart in the 1940s and early 50s.

He starred in several films regarded as the greatest of all time and won his first Academy Award in what many called the ultimate on-screen pairing with Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen, in 1951.

In 1999, the American Film Institute designated Bogart as the greatest male film actor of cinema’s “Classic Era.”

And in 1953, Bogart teamed with another screen legend, Peter Lorre, Academy Award winning director John Huston, multiple-Oscar nominated actress Jennifer Jones, Bernard Lee (the original “M” in the James Bond movie series) and one of the sexiest leading ladies of the era, Gina Lollobrigida, in one of Bogart’s last films, Beat The Devil.

(Beat The Devil stars, from left, Jones, Bogart and Lollobrigida)

The film was originally intended as a sequel of one of the greatest film noir flicks of all time, The Maltese Falcon.  However, shortly after co-writers Houston and Truman Capote started the screenplay, they changed direction and instead wrote a spoof of Falcon and similar films of the genre.

Unlike later parody films, the plot is interesting and the comedic lines nicely accompany the storyline with neither getting in the way of each other. While not a typical film style for any of the leading stars, the actors generally received positive reviews for their performances.

Bogart got in a real-life car crash during the production and had to have several of his lines dubbed over in order for the film to be completed on time.

The actor they hired to double Bogey’s voice?

The then-unknown actor Peter Sellers who, among other great films, became the genius behind The Pink Panther movies. (Can you tell which scenes he was in?)

Though nearing the end of his legendary career, Bogart was still clearly on his game, following up this film up with his Oscar-nominated performance in The Caine Mutiny.

Film critic Roger Ebert included Devil in his “great movie” list and singles it out as perhaps the first ever successful “camp film” in cinema history.

Beat The Devil will be featured in the RCN Movie Vault on Thursday, May 7, at 9:00 am.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

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

Twenty-four-hour, all-sports radio stations have had an interesting few weeks trying to come up with new topics to discuss when there are literally no new topics in sports to discuss.  One program I heard recently on Philadelphia’s 94 WYSP (the station where I covered the Eagles for eight years) did bring up a Baseball Hall of Fame discussion, which led to a debate on who should and should not be in.  Among the names discussed includes one of the most positive personalities that I have ever met.

I have met, talked with and interviewed hundreds of very interesting head coaches in my day.

Among the professional head coaches and managers that I have interviewed: Doug Peterson, Andy Reid, Ray Rhodes, Larry Bowa, Gabe Kapler, Ryne Sandberg, Brett Brown, Mo Cheeks, Larry Brown … to name a few.  But I would be hard- pressed to find a more genuine and likeable pro sports coaching personality than former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

When I (and just about any other media member—save Howard Eskin) have had a chance to speak with Charlie about, well, anything, he was as accepting and as gracious as any person you could ever find.  He treated all members of the media the same and never gave anyone a hard time for a question he didn’t particularly like…something you can’t often say when dealing with people who have accomplished as much in a career as Manuel did.

In the Delaware Valley, he’s now a legend.  Winning a World Series will do that for most managers.

Manuel was on a list of 10 candidates but fell short of being elected into The Hall last December by the new “Today’s Game Era Committee,” and Phillies fans have been making a push for his name to return—with even more support—again to this year’s ballot.

Sadly, if pressed for an answer, I would have to agree that Manuel should NOT be enshrined, and if I was on any of the groups that have that power (of which there are too many—which is a subject for another blog entry) I’m afraid I would not vote him in.

Why?

A look at the facts…

Manuel won just one World Series.  In all, he won six league division titles and two pennants—all with seriously loaded offensive lineups.  While his ability to reach and connect with players, both on and off the field, was one of his best attributes, it’s hard to quantify that into the numbers game that is so key to getting that extra boost necessary to put you into the elite that is found in Cooperstown.

Instead, Manuel will more likely be remembered for that likeable, good-natured human being trait that I mentioned at the outset of this passage, than any extraordinary number or statistic you could provide in his defense.

The Hall of Fame is a place reserved for strictly the best of the best, based purely in terms of the game of baseball at the highest level and the Shrine is filled with people who had less than admirable personality traits.

Perhaps then, it is only fitting that Charlie will probably not be among them.

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

For over 100 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 and legendary cinematic performances.

People probably best remember Ginger Rogers as the other half of the greatest on-screen dancing team of all time.

But you may not know that Rogers also carved out a pretty significant leading lady persona starting in the late 1930s through the 1940s and starred in some very interesting flicks.

One of her top roles was a film called Heartbeat, directed by Sam Wood (The Pride of the Yankees, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, A Night at the Opera).

Initially, when starting her solo career, Rogers made the mistake of trying to cast herself with more reserved and less-known leading men. This backfired when, for one of her first starring films, she asked for a virtually unknown actor by the name of James Stewart to co-star in the film Vivacious Lady.  Stewart ended up stealing the spotlight despite Rogers participating in one of the most vicious on-screen fights of the time period.

(Stewart would receive his first Academy Award nomination in his very next film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, followed by an Academy Award-winning performance in The Philadelphia Story the next year.)

Rogers did not make that same mistake in Heartbeat. Her co-stars were Basil Rathbone (who starred many times as the titular character in the Sherlock Holmes film series) and Adolphe Menjou (the star of the Charlie Chaplin classic A Woman in Paris.)

Rogers stars as Arlette, a young and rather inexperienced pickpocket who gets adopted into the professional thieving world by Professor Aristide (Rathbone).  On her first assignment she is caught by a wealthy ambassador (Menjou) and is forced to partake in yet an even bigger game of deception.

The film is a wonderful blend of comedy and romance, complete with a very fulfilling twist in the end.

Heartbeat was one of Rogers’ great films during her solo years, sandwiched around classics like Tom, Dick and Harry, I’ll Be Seeing You, The Major and the Minor, Kitty Foyle and Bachelor Mother.

She would also return to co-star with Fred Astaire one last time a few years after Heartbeat in the production, The Berkeleys of Broadway.

Heartbeat will be featured in the RCN TV Movie Vault this Sunday, April 26,  at 4 p.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

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

It’s been a tough year so far in 2020, with bad news continuing last week for sports fans in our viewing areas.

Obviously, the Coronavirus and the resulting postponements and cancellations is the big story in both sports and the world in general.  

The PIAA last Thursday canceled both the winter HS championships and the entire spring sports season, which has made our high school broadcasting campaign come to a premature end.  (although we are going to have a TON of things to talk about on upcoming “SportsTalk” shows.)

So as we reached the end of the scholastic season, yet are only one-third of the way through 2020, we’ve already had some very big events in our viewing area that will stick with me for quite some time.

Here’s a few of my memories and thoughts on 2020 so far…

1) The passing of Rocky Groller

While he had been sick and in declining health for almost a year-and-a-half, it was still a shock when, very early in the new year, Sports Talk co-host Keith Groller’s dad passed away – a few hours before we were going to do our first show of 2020.

I had crossed paths with Keith’s dad off and on for several decades.  Every time I ran into him I always remarked how congenial and thoroughly entertaining he was to me and the people around him and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of sports.

Some will remember him for his athletics at Allentown High School.  My initial thoughts, however, were of his work serving the community for most of his adult life as a local firefighter.

When Keith called me to tell me the news late that afternoon, and with very little time to do a detailed dedication segment on that day’s show, I quickly drove up Airport Road to take a snapshot of his beloved East Side Fire Station and did an impromptu tribute to Keith’s dad. 

Rocky obviously got a much greater and more detailed send off a few days later in print and at his funeral from his son, but it was an incredibly emotional way to start off our year.

2) The Lack of Attention for Swimming Teams

With basketball and wrestling taking the lion’s share of the media and fans’ attention every winter sport season, the sport of swimming is largely overshadowed in terms of getting publicity.

I featured a few swimming teams on SportsTalk this winter, including an Emmaus team that was breaking all kinds of records and will probably continue to do so with many of this year’s athletes returning for next season.

The crowning moment for this sport is the PIAA championships when, for perhaps the only time in these student-athletes’ lives, their efforts are broadcast on television by the Pennsylvania Cable Network (RCN down position 97).

Sadly, in a year in which there were so many positive stories to report for this sport and many schools across the state represented, the health issues caused the stoppage of the championship meet the day before they were to take place.  The seniors who should have ended their high school careers with their greatest moments in front of their biggest audience, missed out on that golden opportunity.

3) My “Encore” Shows

One of my more enjoyable tasks over the last month has been to go back through some of our older SportsTalk shows and pick out some fan favorites.

Since the program started, I’ve tracked which shows our viewers have commented on the most and frequently have people request to see shows broadcast again (of course, our more recent programs are available through audio podcasts here on the website for you to hear for yourself at any time.)

In going back through my records, I’ve stumbled across some great memories of the wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to talk with and were honored they came in to share their own experiences with us.

It’s made me even more happy that I have gotten quite a few comments from viewers catching these shows over the last few weeks.  I appreciate people reaching out to tell me that they either missed that particular show the first time but were glad they caught it this time, or people telling me they really enjoyed seeing these programs again. 

Thanks to all of you for your feedback!

4) The Nazareth Girls Basketball Team

For the first few months of 2020 at every opportunity I had, I pointed out what an abundance of talent we have for girls basketball in Eastern Pennsylvania this year.

My statements in January and February proved true as, for the first time in decades, we had no less than three teams advance to the PIAA quarterfinals – all three were still alive when the PIAA postseason was stopped.

We had several great teams on SportsTalk this winter for both girls and boys basketball as well as wrestling and girls and boys swimming and diving (and for the record, all were very appreciative and sent some wonderful thanks of appreciation for being on).  By far the most emotional responses I received, both in “print” and through phone calls, was from the Nazareth community.

The Blue Eagles were riding an emotional rollercoaster after coming within a whisker of beating Bethlehem Catholic for the EPC title.  They continued their run by going to double overtime (with several dramatic last-game shots) to win the District 11 title. This was followed by two more State playoff wins, which made this year’s team a record-setter on several levels…only to have their quest for gold come to an abrupt halt. 

That’s why I decided to ask Head Coach Rich Bickert and his players to come into our studio.

When I schedule guests for shows, I always try to balance a number of variables and not just feature the teams/sports conversations that would automatically grab everyone’s attention.  One of those variables is to be a resource for our viewers and to act as an arm for them for expression. Clearly, they not only earned the opportunity for recognition with their outstanding season but our efforts at RCN to feature them touched a nerve and did more than simply talk about some great basketball.

As we have all said and thought over the last few months, it’s been an “interesting” year. I’m hoping for the rest of 2020 we will have quite a bit more positive memories to reflect upon.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN 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 RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances. 

(Donlevy, left, portraying Super Spy Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment)

Spy thriller fans will probably argue forever about whether Sean Connery, Roger Moore or Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever.

Barry Nelson initially played the “Jimmy Bond” character in an episode of TV show Climax entitled “Casino Royale”.  But you can make a strong argument that Brian Donlevy was the first actor to play a 007-esque character on the screen several years earlier.

Donlevy starred as the suave and sophisticated undercover spy in the early 1950s classic television show, Dangerous Assignment, where he was sent to exotic locations to complete impossible missions, using wit and fighting techniques (along with some unique technological gadgets) in order to save the world from villainy.

Right down to a quick opening teaser before the credits (over a decade before the first full-length Bond film, Dr. No) the format for the on-screen spy film was born.  Shortly after the introduction, Steve Mitchell (Donleavy) would report to his supervisor’s office (there was no “Moneypenny” yet) who would outline his upcoming mission, give key facts about the plot and supply him with the technology and inside information necessary for defeating his nemesis for that evening’s program.

From there, Mitchell would travel the world, charm women (his delivery paralleled Humphrey Bogart more than any actor who would later handle the role of Bond) and escape death-defying predicaments, with some rather uniquely choreographed fight scenes.  Like almost every James Bond film, Mitchell always won the day and featured were very intriguing storylines and exciting climaxes worth watching.

Guest stars included Hugh Beaumont who, within a couple years, would find success as Ward Cleaver on the classic Leave it to Beaver series, and Harry Guardino, who also guest starred in over a hundred television programs spanning a four decades career, in shows ranging from Studio One to Murder, She Wrote.

Another guest star includes a rare TV performance by Paul Frees who performed many commercial voice-overs and created famous cartoon voice. He was even regarded as the original “man of a thousand voices” (according to “The A to Z of Old Time Radio”) while working in the same time period as venerable voice master Mel Blanc.

Despite having success on NBC Radio, the show initially failed to grab a network television sponsor. Donleavy invested his own money and produced the first 39 episodes before the series was eventually picked up and later distributed by NBC Television.

Assignment additionally produced a total 167 radio programs made both before and after its run on the small screen.  It was also unique in that it was one of the first shows to have success in the syndicated market, decades before shows like Baywatch, Star Trek: The Next Generation and others began utilizing this valuable outlet.

Years later, TV comedy Police Squad, which spoofed many great spy and police-driven classics, paid homage to this Donleavy-led program by poking fun at a few of the show’s quirks, and even titled one of its initial episodes, “A Dangerous Assignment.”  Fans of Frank Drebin may want to revisit these shows to get a glimpse of the inside jokes. 

You can see the premiere episode of Dangerous Assignment as it debuts on the RCN TV spring schedule this Friday at 11:30 am.

To see the full listing of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

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

The local principals, athletic directors and, in some cases, the newly created “High School Coaches Association” have given permission to release information on the first set of high school sports all-stars from the past winter sports season. The High School Coaches Association was formed by local coaches after the Colonial League administrators chose not to participate in creating league all-star teams this year.

First, here are the All-Star basketball team members for the Colonial League:

1st team

*Abe Atiyeh (Moravian Academy), *Brendan Boyle (Notre Dame-Green Pond), *Daryl Coleman (Southern Lehigh), *Kody Kratzer (Palmerton), Nate Owens (Bangor), Jihad Range (Wilson)

(* identifies unanimous choice)

Note: Saucon Valley high school declined their votes.

2nd team

Chris Andrews (Southern Lehigh), Patrick Foley (Salisbury), Justin Hosier (Palmerton), CJ Miles (Bangor), Zach Moyer (Northern Lehigh), Derek Troxell (Catasauqua)

Honorable Mention

Liam Carey (Palisades), Connor Fehr (Pen Argyl), Luke Hallman (Northwestern), Nick Henry (Northwestern), Kyle Hoff (Southern Lehigh), Jared Jacobs (Notre Dame-Green Pond), Derelle McKinney (Wilson), Abel Saft (Moravian Academy), Bobby Snyder (Palisades), Quintin Stephens (Salisbury).

Here is the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s All-Star listing for local wrestling…

Congratulations to all the local wrestling for their honors this year.

I will continue reaching out to athletic directors and league and district administrators over the next few weeks trying to recognize as many All-Stars as we can in our Pennsylvania and DC markets.

Keep checking back to “The Sports Talk Shop” each week for those lists!

PROGRAMMING NOTE:

For this Thursday’s edition of “Sports Talk,” we are going to bring back one of the most popular spring sports shows we’ve ever done.  It will be our “Former High School Baseball Coaches” show, featuring some of the winningest baseball managers in eastern Pennsylvania history.  I know I had a lot of fun hosting this program and our guests told me after the show they had a ball being on.  (One coach just thanked me again for having him on when I saw him a few weeks ago at a basketball playoff game.)

If you missed this program when it originally aired or wanted to hear some great stories involving some really good baseball coaches and players, be sure not to miss it.