Yesterday's Television or Today's?

"Armchair Playhouse" slipped into my mind the other day. I thought of how it often featured Loretta Young in some supremely dramatic role as a misunderstood or mistreated young heroine that in the end is finally rescued or understood--rather like the sixties version of Lifetime. My cousin Lynne was caught up in enjoying those in the afternoons of one entire summer. She would sit in the living room with her mother and a glass of iced tea watching them and getting teary eyed.
Oh, the things we watched on television for entertainment! Who didn't tune in to "Dialing for Dollars" and hope that the host would call your household when he selected that random number to call and see if you were watching. I can almost remember his name. I believe it was Freddy something, a local celebrity. In those days the local weathermen and newscasters were real celebrities. Johnny Beckman, Guy Sharp, who that lived here back then wouldn't remember you? Our family was fortunate enough to have had Linda Faye, the local weather girl, attending our church.
The show, "Dialing for Dollars" always featured lots of scary movies. There were plenty of Draculas, werewolves and subtitled Japanese film monsters repeating themselves in some variation.
A show that was most enjoyed when all family members participated was "Let's Go to the Races." Lollie would have collected game cards from the local grocery with the numbers of the horse each of us would be rooting for printed on them. Anyone that would have won would have had to share their profits though. We just knew we would win! It was often so close! Seemingly always neck-in-neck in the final stretch, they would be, with our family jumping and yelling, "Come on there, Mr Bojangles! Get a move on!" "Go Ten Fold! You can do it, boy!" Inevitably to change into that, "Oh no!" "Oh, that was so close!"
"Live Atlanta Wrestling" with who my brother and I referred to as Chief Little Eagle, but who was actually known as Chief Don Eagle, Mr. Wrestling and other southeast wrestling circuit celebrities, in white and black masks indicating whether they were bad or good guys, would come on afterward. It was broadcast live from Atlanta's Civic Auditorium -- the building later was renovated to become Alumni Hall on the Georgia State University campus. Interestingly enough, it was the same building I worked in when I first was employed at Georgia State years later in 1987. Watching the show was another of our routines. Lollie would allow us to watch it, even enjoy watching it witg us except for on those occasions that my Uncle Jack would be wrestling. If he were to get hurt, she didn't want to see us traumatized. Our Uncle Jack wrestled as Darrell Cochran -- The Ox. He wasn't famous or even widely known. He claimed this was due to the fact that he was a good guy and for the most part the bad guys were paid more and promoted more hardily. His main job was as a fireman, but he did continue wrestling for many years. Many more, unfortunately, than Aunt Bennett stayed married to him.
All the innocence of that time comes back in a wave of nostalgia when I think of time spent watching "The Popeye Club" with it's Ew-ey goo-ey bag contest-- all the brown bags on a rotating lazy Susan had prizes except the one filled with broken eggs and shells, a cup of flour, a bunch of melted chocolate, a dollop of honey and more oo-ey goo-ey ingredients. Which one would the blindfolded child put his hand in? A stack of crackers stuffed into each contestants mouth and the winner would be the child who could whistle first or the piles of mixed up shoes, first one to get theirs on is the winner were enthralling entertainment at the time. Knowing this helps to keep me a little less judgmental, a little more forgiving of the reality shows of today. In some ways we haven't come that far or gone significantly downhill and television is certainly one of them.