Wild Wind Matches

Slept in so late, it was well into afternoon before I finally got moving. Had brunch quickly, then took the laundry downstairs. Listened to the original cast of The Wiz while I ate. While not as funky-urban as the subsequent film version, there's many charms to be had here. Stephanie Mills makes a charming Dorothy with her lovely "Be a Lion" and "Home," Mabel King really dives into "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," and Andre De Shields' Wizard crackles with sleazy desperation.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then worked on moving the remaining cast album CDs to the case I bought from Amazon while listening to The Wiz and the original cast of Dreamgirls. I do wish they hadn't cut so much of the score for this cast album! You do get some good songs, including Jennifer Holliday's Tony-winning performance of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," but not a great sense of what this was like onstage. You do get a few numbers that didn't make it into the film, notably "Ain't No Party" for Lorrell (Lorette Devine). 

Brought the laundry upstairs, then finished the night with dinner and the second half of that Match Game Black History Month marathon. Nipsey Russell is probably the most popular black performer to appear on the show. He was known as the Poet Laureate of Television for the witty poems he would toss out, usually at the beginning or end of a show. Along with George Kennedy, he's my favorite man to have sat in the first male ingenue seat regularly. He played well and had no trouble dealing with Brett's flirting. 

Clifton Davies, who is about to play the patriarch in the new CBS daytime soap opera Beyond the Gates next week, was another frequent favorite in the first seat. He was probably the most laid-back semi-regular. Very little ruffled his feathers, including Gene's occasional "back of the bus" comment and the bad Confucius jokes that now has the second nighttime episode banned from the airwaves.

There were other black panelists on the show, too. Comedian George Kirby showed off his hilarious collection of voices in 1974. Gail Fisher, the secretary from Mannix, also turned up early in '74, as did goofy Laugh-In comedienne Chelsea Brown and Good Times mother figure Esther Rolle. Rolle's screen son Jimmie Walker relished the rare chance to sit in Charles' seat when he was late for two tapings in 1975. Mabel King appeared on a rather underpowered week in 1978, and didn't seem overly thrilled to be there despite getting to show off her terrific voice. Arsenio Hall always had a great time on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, whether he was needling Gene or jumping into the "canal" behind the risers. 

Tough Scoey Mitchilll was a regular from 1974 until 1981. Truth be told, he didn't always look like he wanted to be there. In fact, he often seemed downright grumpy. He did get to show off his splendid physique in 1981 when Gene tore the T-shirt he wore that advertised an LA radio station before he realized he was giving both the women on the panel and in the audience a free show. They ended up taping the shirt back together. No wonder Brett always enjoyed flirting with him.

Celebrate more of the best black performers in Hollywood with this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Month with Special Celebrity Moments (Part 2)

And...whew! I'm glad I was off today. The weather was crazy. It was sunny when I got up, but by the time the marathon was going, clouds had moved in, and the wind suddenly whipped into a frenzy. At one point, the lights blinked, and we lost the internet. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened since then, but I can still hear the wind howling outside and rattling the house.