The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 34

EntertainmentArts 14 Home Sunday Newi Journal, Wilmington, December 26, 1976 Barbara TV 0 1 debates and the ftM jt few tions they own 15 in all, all in major cities. And earlier in the month, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled against the "family hour" policy the networks and the National Association of Broadcasters began in the fall of 1975 in response to rising public protest about sex and violence on TV early at night when kids were up. The judge said the policy violated the First Amendment. He didn't bar each network from adopting its own "family hour" policy. But he said they couldn't make AP Jaclyn Smith (left), Farrah Fawcett Majors (center) and Kate Jackson are the trio of lady gumshoes in "Charlie's Angels," ABC-TV's private-eye show.

Its success helped ABC to dominance in the new season's ratings. fore the ruling, the man the industry called the "father of the family hour" Arthur R. Taylor abruptly quit his job as president of the CBS broadcast empire he'd run since 1972. CBS sources said Taylor, 41, a soft-spoken man who pushed for industry adoption of the "family viewing" policy, was ousted because of a personality clash with CBS board chairman William S. Paley, 75.

The sources emphasized, though, that his ouster wasn't related to either the "family hour" or the unexpectedly poor new-season showing in the ratings by CBS, traditionally No. 1 in the Nielsens. Taylor was succeeded by John D. Backe, 44, president of CBS's publishing group. The high-level shift made headlines, but drew nowhere as much interest as the much-publicized shift of Barbara Walters from NBC's "Today" to ABC for a record $1 million annual salary.

Miss Walters, 45, left to become the first female co-anchor of a weeknight news show, and went to work with veteran anchorman Harry Reasoner last Oct. 4 on the "ABC EveningNews." Miss Walters, whose contract also called for her to do feature specials each year, came to her new job preceded by massive publicity that helped boost ratings of ABC's news show her first week on it. The show, third in ratings before she joined it, still is third against CBS and NBC, but ABC officials say the program's ratings are improving. They also say they won't attempt any assessment of whether the improvement is as great as they expected until the end of 1976. By JAY SHARBUTT Associated Press Television, 1976: The year Barbara joined Harry, the year the young president of CBS, abruptly quit, the year the controversial "family hour" suffered a setback in court, the year of the first nationally-televised presidential debates since 1960.

It was the year ABC, third-ranked for years, spurted to dominance in the new season's ratings, thanks to such hits as "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley" and a new private-eye show with a trio of lovely lady gumshoes "Charlie's Angels." It was the year NBC's two-part showing of "Gone With the Wind" in November made the 1939 movie classic the most-watched program ever run on TV it was seen in nearly 34 million homes. It was the year that ABC's "RICH Man, Poor Man" did so well in the spring ratings that NBC and CBS also scheduled series based on novels for the fall "Best Sellers" on NBC, 'Executive Suite" on CBS. A trend, but a greater trend, to situation comedy was evident in the networks' fall schedules a total of 25 comedies, compared with only 15 two seasons earlier. But there was little laughter in network legal departments in 1976. In late November, the Justice Department urged the Federal Communications Commission to see if CBS, NBC and ABC domi- hate program decisions of their nearly 600 affiliates.

It also urged an investigation into whether the networks should be forced to sell some or all of the television sta- There was little laughter in network legal departments during the year. such a policy part of an industry code of conduct. CBS, ABC and the NBC said they'd appeal; NBC said it wouldn't. There was no immediate change in the family fare the networks offered in the first hour of prime time each night.and industry observers didn't expect any trend to violent shows early at night to occur. Indeed, David Rintels, head of one of the three Hollywood guilds that fought the "family hour" in court, said after the landmark ruling: "We did not bring this suit to open any floodgates of vulgarity or violence.

We bought it because we oppose censorship. We do not view our victory as a mandate for violence and we trust the networks will not either." Ironically, just a few weeks be was TV's only Western, NBC's "The Quest." NBC also axed "Gibbsville," which only had been on the air since Nov. 11: "Gemini Man;" Dick Van Dyke's variety show, and the network's Wednesday TV movie series. There also was uncertainty about the fate of a new NBC cop show, "Serpico." Although on Dec. 7 an NBC spokesman confirmed trade reports the series had been cancelled, a week later he said the series "is being continued as of now." But he didn't know at the time if this meant "Serpico" would last a full season.

CBS dispatched five shows. Two were the new "Ball Four" and "Spencer's Pilots" series, and three returning series, "The Blue Knight," "Tony Orlando and Dawn" and "Doc." what it's like to he Arnold orshack Knows Marilyn Beck year of high school, "I really was Horshack." But he stopped short of giving up everything. "I got so deeply involved in theater arts that my friends said to get out of drama or get out of the clique. "When I chose to drop out of the clique, I ended up having four very lonely years of high school. Like Horshack, who's been ostracized by Kotter's students for doing his own thing, "I was so into theater that I was considered different by the other kids.

I was treated as a bohemian." It was to be a drama professor named Dr. Nafe Katter who would be coincidentally and indirectly instrumental in Ron's casting in "Kotter." "When I started at the University of Connecticut, my grades dropped badly. My family wasn't encouraging me to pursue theater, and I needed direction." By ANDEE BECK Hooray! ABC's "Welcome Kotter" character, Arnold Horshack, is finally being accepted by his Sweathog classmates as lone of the gang and no one's more thrilled about it than actor And not just because 22-year-old Palillo portrays the whimpy, New York-accented student of benefo-lent Mr. Kotter but because he knows first-hand what it's like to be an Arnold Horshack. "Horshack is a real a true romantic, the underdog.

And above everything "else, he needs acceptance from his peers. "He used to get all A's at one point," Ron analyzes, "but when you look and act like him, and get beaten up after school a lot, it becomes tough to concentrate on studies. And," he adds, "he's given up a lot to be liked." Short, brown curly hair capping a slight 5-feet-7 frame, Palillo says that he too once gave up a lot to be accepted by his peers. Measuring in at 4-feet-8 inches until his senior 4 t- 1, AS A. 7 jsrrnsrw After Miss Walters left "Today," NBC brought in new faces for the show.

It named Tom Brokaw, 36, NBC's former White House correspondent, as the show's host. It was the major on-air change in the show. In October, after a summer-long talent search, NBC also brought in Jane Pauley, 25, a Chicago TV reporter-anchorwom-an with only four years in broadcast news, to be the new First Lady of "Today." New series have a high mortality rate and the first half of the 1976-77 season proved no exception. Of 14 weekly programs canceled, 11 were new, and more cancellations were expected by year's end. Among the first-seaon victims leading "I looked in the mirror and realized he was probably right." With a smile he suddenly raps on the table and says, "Knock on wood things are just terrific." A person far more pleasant and less obtrusive than his "Kotter" character, Palillo has a tendency to be theatrical yet terribly sincere.

And when he makes a statement so overused in show business "I've neve gone into the business for money, just to entertain" somehow one is compelled to believe him. "My philosophy is that an actor's first duty is to entertain. I consider it a service, especially when I get thank-you letters from kids who are like Horshack, underachieves who have to fight to be liked." It's only secondary that an actor teach through his roles, says Ron, but he goes on to defend the teen-oriented show that has been criticized as portraying underachieves as heroes. 'Welcome Back, Kotter, isn't (Stage Lights musical hoedown pleasantly entertaining. Barry Bostwick, who plays Lockhart, earned a Tony nomination for a quite different type of role that of Danny Zuko in "Grease." Rhonda Coullet is an attractive Rosamund and Barbara Lang, as her mean stepmother, gives a virtuoso performance in a role that lends itself to broad comedy.

Donald Saddler's choreography is in the country dance idiom and the rough barn-like setting is quite appropriate. Mississippi residents can well take umbrage at the backwoods types depicted, particularly Goat, a simpleton, and his weak-minded mother. The musical is performed without intermission. In many respects it reminds one of "Diamond Spurs," a western musical based on the life of Jesse James, produced a couple of seasons ago. Two of the playlets in "California Suite" are "cerebral," depending largely on their characters to develop and maintain interest.

The other two are broad farces that would warm the heart of Mack Sennett. An engag-. ABC banished only four shows, all new Bill Cosby's Sunday variety series, "Mr. T. and Tina," "Holmes and Yoyo" and "The Nancy Walker Show." But it brought Miss Walker, whom it had lured away from CBS's "Rhoda" show, back for a second try in midseason.

It said Miss Walker, who played a Hollywood talent agent in her flop series, would return in late January, cast as what ABC called a "den mother" to 12 Las Vegas showgirls in another comedy series. And veteran actor Abe Vigoda, cast as the dour detective in ABC's "Barney Miller," was spun out of that comedy into his own, a show called "Fish," where he plays the same detective in a new setting. me. Playing Horshack has also been fulfilling, but there's another creative force that has to be let out. I want to show people I can also do heavy roles." That could be a desire delayed if the "Horshack" spinoff series in development gets off the ground.

It could also cement him in a Horshack mold forever. That's something Palillo isn't worrying about for the moment. Instead, he's turning his attention to such areas as he fan mail he's been getting. Ron's thrilled and amazed by the girls "who are picking up on me as a sex symbol" and who send pictures of themselves posed in bikinis. He's well aware of and delighted by the opportunity "Kotter" provides to exercise his acting talents.

He's more than content to be on a hit series. "I just thank the Lord for the jobs, take success as it comes. I'm just very happy." And he knocks on wood. The writer is a member of Ms. Beck's staff.

produces plenty of laughs. A more subtle interpretation of the role would be just as funny and not detract as much from the play itself. Miss Barrie is excellent as the confused wife and Leslie Easter-brook merely has to look pretty (and soused) in bed. In "Visitors From Chicago," Weston and Miss Barrie and Grizzard and Miss Grimes are two best-friend couples vacationing together, who discover that the tennis court is thicker than friendship. Their relationship goes rapidly downhill and ends in a shouting, wrestling match that is pure slapstick.

These two plays display plenty of visual humor, but little sentiment and no pathos. Comedy depends more on sight gags and situation humor than on the one-liners for which Simon is justifiably famous. "California Suite" is good not great Simon. It and "The Robber Bridegroom" are unpretentious shows that can make a New York shopping spree a bit more pleasant. Kirk Douglas was to have made his return to the legitimate stage in "Citizen Tom Paine" at The Playhouse next month, but a throat problem has forced postponement for a couple of months and maybe cancellation of the entire project.

in New' York City about underachievers who get away with all sorts of-stunts. It's about those students who, given the right help, can achieve like the rest of the world. "It's because of Mr. Kotter's tutelage," Palillo says, "that Horshack won't wind up being a dishwasher for the rest of his life. "It's because Mr.

Kotter constantly tells his class to pull themselves out of the ghetto, that the development of my character has been tremendous. When the show debuted, Horshack was a caricature of the class idiot. But now he's getting more confident; he's using his mind which is what life's all about." Far from being an underachiev-er, Palillo says he nonetheless has his own battles for success. A primary one is "fighting being stuck with the Horshack identity. Because he's probably the' first TV character of his kind, he's not easily forgotten, and therefore my growth in theater is limited." And while "the money on 'Kotter' is very comfortable," Ron continues, "that's not important to ing quartet of actors brings Simon's latest work to life.

In "Visitor From New York," the divorced parents of a teen-age daughter get together to decide her living schedule. The mother, played by Tammy Grimes, wants the girl, who has spent the summer with her father (George Griz-zard), to return to New York against the girl's wishes. The lines are witty, the situation brittle and the ending poignant. "Visitors From London" involves the same two performers, this time as an English actress, candidate for a film Oscar, and her husband. There is much bandied wit as the actress prepares to attend the awards banquet, and a sudden change in mood as the couple returns later that night she a loser.

Again, the playlet ends on a serious note. In both of these plays, Grizzard and Miss Grimes develop three--dimensional characters. "Visitor From Philadelphia" finds Marvin Michaels (Jack Weston), visiting California for his nephew's bar mitzvah, in a panic when his wife (Barbara Barrie) arrives before Michaels can remove the curvaceous and very drunk blonde from his bed, where she has spent the night. Characters are transparent, the situation is wildly funny and the ending remains in doubt until the wife's final decision. Weston is guilty of overacting throughout, though his grimacing fv Ilk ff 1 mwm ma Jut Ron Palillo It was to be Kr.

Kotter's frankness, however, that would make Ron face his inadequacies and develop his skills. "He not only trained me to lower my voice, which used to be very high-pitch-' ed, but he told me, 'Hey, admit it you're never going to play a By PHILIP F. CROSLAND A sassy musical country hoe-down and a West Coast version of "Plaza Suite" are two non-message shows available to visitors to New York over the holidays. "The Robber Bridegroom" is a country-style musical set in and around a small Mississippi town. Written by Alfred Uhry and based on a story by Eudora Welty, it is played against a background of country music performed by a six-piece, on-stage group of musicians.

"California Suite" by Neil 1 Simon, comprises four playlets, each set in the same Beverly Hills hotel suite, just as his "Plaza Suite" had earlier presented three playlets set in the same suite in New York's Plaza Hotel. After a somewhat confusing beginning, "The Robber Bridegroom" relates the story of Jamie Lockhart, a gentleman robber, welcomed into the home of a rich planter, who sees him as a likely suitor for his daughter, Rosamund. Lockhart encounters Rosamund in the woods and, thinking she's a servant girl, carries her off to his cabin, where he steals her clothes and later seduces her. She falls in love with her bandit. The not-so-novel mistaken-identity theme skips merrily along to a satisfactory conclusion.

It's not the story so much as the ingratiating performances and a whirlwind pace that make this mm V-''. I 1 lw When TM3 mk CIS- 5 Rhonda Coullet ana Barry Bostwick in "The Robber Bridegroom." i 1 1.