Daily Dirt: Fonzie was a force, Cheryl Ladd was an angel and Laverne and Shirley stunk

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024

Telly Savalas went from “Who loves ya, baby?” to being the godfather of Jennifer Aniston … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,045 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Ahh … remember the 1970s? Cable television was still in its infancy, satellite TV was a generation away and no one had even heard of something called a streaming service.

In some ways, life was much simpler back then, especially when it came to selecting what we were going to watch on our TV sets each evening. That was a period when network TV programs still dominated. Most of our family viewing was provided by the Big Three — CBS, NBC and ABC. Fox had not yet been born.

Let’s look at the top 10 programs (and a few extras) from the 1977-78 viewing season, which arguably featured most of the decade’s most memorable programs:

• 1. “Laverne and Shirley,” ABC: I tried to like this show. I tried to laugh at the incredibly stupid humor. My wife (at the time) and I had numerous arguments over the quality of this program. Forty-seven years later, my opinion has not changed. It was — and remains — terrible, although I still enjoy saying “Lenny and Squiggy.”
• 2. “Happy Days,” ABC: The best theme song, the best central character (Arthur Fonzarelli, also known as “Fonzie”) and the anchor of ABC’s prime-time dominance. Sorry, “Laverne and Shirley,” but this show was funny.
• 3. “Three’s Company,” ABC: Let’s be honest, we only watched this program because of Suzanne Somers.
• 4-tie. “60 Minutes,” CBS: As hard as it is to believe, this was already the ninth season of this Sunday night anchor. 
• 4-tie. “Charlie’s Angels,” ABC: This was Cheryl Ladd’s first year as an angel, joining Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson following the departure of Farrah Fawcett-Majors.
• 4-tie. “All in the Family,” CBS: At this point, its best years (in a creative sense) of “All in the Family” were behind it, but Archie and crew remained a juggernaut.
• 7. “Little House on the Prairie,” NBC: At the time, many viewers had no idea Michael Landon had a TV life before this family classic. For me, he’ll always be “Little Joe” on “Bonanza.”
• 8-tie. “Alice,” CBS: I always felt this show fell under the same heading as “Laverne and Shirley”: Predictable and just not funny.
• 8-tie. “M*A*S*H,” CBS: My favorite character on this program was always Maj. Frank Burns (Larry Linville).
• 10. “One Day at a Time,” CBS: Well-written and with some surprisingly adult-themed episodes. I always believed Bonnie Franklin was perfect as the mother of Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli.

Other notables

• 13. “Soap,” ABC: When this program debuted in September 1977, it was the absolute funniest show on television. To say it was ahead of its time would be the understatement of the ages. Unfortunately, it only maintained its edge for that inaugural season.
• 16. “Monday Night Football,” ABC: This was when the TV booth consisted of Howard, Frank and Dandy Don.
• 27. “Welcome Back, Kotter,” ABC: The program that gave us John Travolta.
• 32. “Starsky and Hutch,” ABC: I loved this show, especially the Huggy Bear character portrayed by Antonio Fargas. This series was one year away from ending its five-year run.
• 42. “Dallas,” CBS: The fan base for this famed series was still developing. It was years away from the “Who shot J.R.?” controversy.
• 65. “Bob Newhart Show,” CBS: I wouldn’t argue with anyone who claimed either of Newhart’s sitcoms were the funniest in TV history.
• 72. “Police Woman,” NBC: Two words: Angie. Dickinson.
• 86. “Kojak,” CBS: Who loves ya, baby?

2. Did you know (Part 107) …

• Clyde Tombaugh, the scientist who discovered Pluto, is the great uncle of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
• The late actor Telly Savalas of “Kojak” fame was the godfather of “Friends” actress Jennifer Aniston.
• Bruce Glover, the villain in the James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever,” is the father of Crispin Glover, who was Marty McFly’s father in “Back to the Future.”
• Three-time Super Bowl-winning defensive back Ty Law of the Patriots is the nephew of former Super Bowl running back Tony Dorsett of the Cowboys.
• Robert Jones, a former sparring partner of heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis, was the father of famed actor James Earl Jones.

3.  The following pitchers have the most Opening Day starts in MLB history:

• Tom Seaver (1968-86): 16
• Walter Johnson (1910-26): 14
• Steve Carlton (1972-86): 14
• Jack Morris (1980-93): 14
• Randy Johnson (1992-2006): 14
• Robin Roberts (1950-66): 13
• Roger Clemens (1988-2003): 13
• Grover Alexander (1912-1929): 12
• Bert Blyleven (1972-90): 12
• Justin Verlander (2008-20): 12

If Verlander can manage to stay healthy and hang around a few more years, I would think he has an opportunity to be No. 1 on the following list — or at least part of the roadblock at No. 2:

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Best advice I’ve had all week: “They said follow your dreams, so I went back to bed.”

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. If you want to debate his choices of television shows, it will have to wait until after the Ohio State football team beats the life out of Akron today.