Lubbock Avalanche-Journal from Lubbock, Texas • Page 80

Morning, Februory 8. 1976 For PasV Exploited In Hit TV Shows (EDITOR'S NOTE art many reasons for tho curnnt succtss ol TV programs rosurrcctod from past. TtMy obviously exploit a public yearning for Itie old days, television executives say. They also cost less to purchase ttian new TV series and are therefore more profitable.) By LEE MARGULIES LOS ANGELES (AP) Question; What's black and white and makes money? Answer; Resurrected 1950s television series. Reflecting the nostalgia boom that permeates much of pop culture in the 70s.

more and more TV stations are resurrecting 20- year-old shows to fill out iheir program schedules. And many arc earning healthy profits. Consider: most popular program in Los Angeles at 7 weeknights is not Walter Cronkite and the CBS News, John Chancellor and the NBC News or Harry soner and the ABC News. the seemingly immortal "I Love which first went on the air in 195L Studios reports that reruns of Mickey Mouse first appeared in 1955, have been so successful this past year that 130 new episodes will be filmed for 1977. New York City, more than one million people watch and Groucho Bet Your each night.

Everywhere you turn the dial it seems a show you thought never sec Depending on where you live. It is currently possible to watch such TV classics as and Jack Benny Lone Little Tin and Phil Silvers Knows It to Dead or and That George Faber of Viacom Enterprises, a major distributor of television programs, expresses the feelings of many TV executives when he speaks of these old shows. think a certain amount of nostalgia involved, but a certain amount of professionalism, he says. a show is good, it matter if it was made in 1950, 1960 or 1970 still But they always appreciated, observes Hal Cranton, a vice president at MCATV, which syndicates Band Derives Moniker From Detective Novel By JAMES A. LEWIS NASHVILLE.

Tenn. (UFM) Hans Bouwens was reading a cheap, paperback detective novel one night hi 1969 in his native Holland He was reforming his music group and trying to decide on a name In the story there was a character named Geroge Baker Bouwens decided then and there to call his group George Baker He and the other five members of his band recorded which has become a hit on the country music charts In an telephone interview from his home in Holland, Bouwens expleined; that time I read in some (heap detective story the name George Baker Selection and I thought that might be a g(X)d name for our Bouwens said He said (white dove) is a about a poor farmer who works hard ail day and then sits by a tree and dreams of being a white bird with its freedom Bouwens. 30. who wrote the song, has been an established recording artist in his own country for a number of ears He said he got the idea for the song from reading books about South America. The entertainer said he decided to change the name of his group from Invention because that title gave the impression that it was soul music only.

He characterizes his style as 'happy I never thought would go in country he said. was very suprised that the country mu- -sic stations began playing it. It not really country music in my opinion I try to write music that will be acceptable to most people with happy lyr- ir-5 He said country music is verv in Holland now We have a number of country music stations here. At the moment We have many (ountry music groups here and it is very much on the radio Bouwens said he is very familiar with country music and his favorite country singers are Johnny Cash and VIerle Haggard. He also said he has a lot of country records.

He said he recently bought a number of old hits by Slim Whitman and is considering recording some of them has already sold three million copies in Europe and at last count Warner Bros Records said it had sold nearly in the A spokesman said the record was 74 on country chart two weeks ago. said it was a a fast riser. He the was leased three times in the United States, the first a cut version of the original, the second a shorter version. He said the record did not begin to sell until the twiginal was released Some country music station in Georgia picked it up and what got it Bouwens said. Bouwens, the lead singer in the group, lives in a country bungalow not far from Amsterdam where he sails and rides horses when not on the road The other members of his troupe are Jacques Grueter, George Thes.

Jan Hop. Martin Schoen and Lida Bond, the onlv female member SONDAf TDESOAY SPEGIHl RIBEYE STEAK DINNER Broiled To Order Served with; Butter, Baked Potato, Tossed Green Salad, Texos ORDERS TO GO 2101 BROADWAY -762-849B SevHH men on a dHtJlh defying expedition. tell the shocking story of the world's 'most intriguing SASQUATCH The Legend of Bigfoot Presented by North American Productrom. Oregon. Ltd.

SOUTH PLAINS CINEMA STARTS FRIDAY ONE WEEK ONLY I LOOP SLIDi SHOWS DAIIY FROM 1 PM Pizza Old Fashion Thick Crust Pizza or our Original Thin Crust. Your Choice Both from the makers of Favorite Pizza this Coupon Pizza Inn- Your any O' OW Thick Crust at menu and Old Fashion Thick Crust Plus ot neirt smaller size wirti equdi mjmber inqradients FREE Volid Thru February 8 1976 B'jy arty gianl. ilrw 'tedium Original Thin Crust Ptzzc at regular menu pnca arxJ receive OHglnai Thin Crust Ptxia Of next smaller sue w(lh equal number ol tngredtenia FRtE TOT-7 PRESENT WITH GUEST CHECiC FAMILY NIGHT BUFFET EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT FROM 6:00 TO 8.30 PM ALL THE PIZZA SALAD YOU CAN EAT FOR $1.79 CHILDREN UNDER 5202 50th 2907 3605 2102 1220 Jack Benny "Leave It to and That He recalls that when color TVs first became popular, black and white was a dirty word. was a time when it revealed either that the station have color broadcasting facilities or that the person had a color set and was more interested in Cranton said. were rather mesmerized by color in those early days.

Some stations have gone back even further than the 1950s for programming. Episodes of Little and Three originally made as short films, are packaged in one-hour blocks. And WGN- TV in Chicago is running the old serials with Buster Crabbe on Sunday mornings. KBHK-TV in San Francisco has held a television festival each of the past two years. designated a comedy night, western night, drama night, mystery night and adventure night, and for seven weeks in a row have shown old programs, among them Led Three Thin and Miss The current large-scale revival of old programs started about a year ago.

when tributors and station executives began noting with surprise the successes Bet Your and Mickey Mouse were enjoying. And those successes which, by the way, are measured not against network prime time programming but rather against non-network afternoon, early evening and late night programming were not just a result of a public yearning for the old days. may have that appeal for some says Harry Trigg, program director at WON in Chicago, which shows Lone Tlli'ATlW TOWN CTRY. CTR, 763-6600 DAILY AT 5:20 7:15 9:15 MATINEES SAT. SUN.

1:20 3:20 ADVANCE TICKETS MS ON 30 TOGETHER AGAIN! FOR THE FUNNIEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR Gene Madeline Marty WiWer Kahn Feldman A RICHARD RQTHIJOUER PRODUCTION RICHARD A ROTH GENE WILDER MORRiSo, MANU mt ATMS BURTRCynOLDS CATHEWMC DC-flC-UVC 2:00 4:25 7:00 9:20 BC-flKHiriSCKI eHMfl BREtlMAfi EiX)te EQflEST JACn CAATTQ OWOi Jbe nmterpiece of bizarre love tloat stunned France. A port rail of loteund submission to disorder senses, MANM THf Arms An AUuu! Artists Reitase NO OME UNOEH AONHTTCO I.D. REQUIRED 2 50 5:00 6 50 9:00 Nobody could dream him up. His incredible bank robbery is all the more because true. CQ TMf 2:10 4:40 7:05 9:30 nvmi Mickey Mouse and if you have children who seen or something like that before, a new item for especially true with something like Mickey Mouse not only attracting the people who watched it 20 years ago but also their children, according to the polls.

There is another factor not to be overlooked in determining how the boom in TV shows came to be, says Walt Baker, program director at KHJ-TV, an independent station in Los Angeles Mrhich airs Tin and Lone Ranger Production costs have risen so much over the last few years that a big city station like KHJ has to pay five to 10 times more for a recently- made series than for an old black and white. station possibly afford to program with only new Baker says. needs low-cost products too for a total progiam schedule financially Despite bountiful interest in the old TV shows, none of them seems likely to challenge Love for staying power. "From the very moment that show always had a big demand for says an executive at Viacom, distributor of the program. THE RAMADA INN SOUTH FEATURES BREAKFAST SPECIALS lUNCHEON SPECIALS inclnding Chiclien fried Steali Others OINNER SPECIALS T-BONE STUK DINNER PRIME RIB DINNER 395 COME BY AND VISIT THE CROSSBOWlOONOE Happy Hour 4 to AI THE TIMM TllfnCnRCli S.

ive. 0 I ik I i Teias iiii THENUK ONE OF THE A brassy, vigorous movie, rich in Man Who Would Be is 9 prince among pictures. IT IS FLAT-OUT ENTERTAINMENT-a headlong story, head-crunching action. -Ceoe ShaM, NBC-TV FUN! HIGHLY Vincent Canby, Tirhes SeaDCoiiieiiiJIciiaelCalOB nmotfiii loin BsKlBi ab live if KKOkmuv im FEATURES: "0ne of the most visually dazzling works in the history of stunningly cinematic it ravishes the eye and enthralls the Diivifj Sifrritt, S' it ''Best Film of Vfriten for the scrmn wiit dtrectfd bf STAHLEY KyBRKK KUBRICKS' NEWEST FILM CQ WANWTHEOTWES 1 STARTS WEDNESDAY.