The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

When I first embarked on a career in communications, I was fully aware that I would have to work most holidays.

While I have met a lot of people in this industry who feel the complete opposite, I also happily acknowledged that as the low man on the totem pole when I first started out, I would probably be working ALL holidays.

And I did…for nearly ten years. And didn’t complain once.

My family has always been completely understanding that work may sometimes infringe on the normal “family times.”  Shortly after I got married, I negotiated a completely fair and reasonable arrangement for all the times I would have to spend away from home (aka, on the first day that I did NOT have to work, I am completely obligated to do whatever my wife tells me to do.)

Hey, whatever it takes.

One of my many benefits for working at RCN is that I don’t miss nearly as much time around the holidays as I used to. And even when I do, I usually get the chance to work from home for most of them, so I can at least be near some of the fun family activities that are going on.

For example, Labor Day traditionally coincides with the first Monday of the high school football season, which is the day to start gathering rosters, putting requests for information in with the coaches, athletic directors and support staff. Experience shows that you cannot simply wait until Tuesday to get started preparing for that weekend’s football game.  My experience has also helped in that I have developed great relationships with local football head coaches, so a call later Labor Day afternoon to these gentlemen is not looked at as an intrusion on their time either, but usually a friendly conversation in which I also get the information needed.

If New Year’s Day falls on a day before a high school basketball game, it’s also imperative you start working on getting your information BEFORE New Year’s Eve (most teams have a holiday tournament between Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s difficult to “cheat” and work too far ahead in advance) and then get in a quick conversation with coaches on New Year’s Day before putting the finishing touches on my game prep and disseminating the information to the graphics operators, statisticians, replay operators and other members of our production crew before truly settling in and enjoying that holiday.

Not the most festive way to ring in the New Year, but again, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything.

Perhaps the most hectic working holiday tradition has been the Memorial Day weekend.  Normally that Saturday/Sunday/Monday features several (and starting last year with the new expanded playoff system, no less than eight) high school baseball semi-final games.  In addition to running around the area to watch and make notes on these games and making contacts for accumulating the team’s info (since it’s the playoffs you can’t work ahead), the fun REALLY starts Monday afternoon and night.  This is when you have to compile/follow-up/edit/reproduce all the information to send it out to the crew to prepare for the district championship games, which sometimes start as early as the very next day.

Again, not complaining…just stating the facts, and I relish the challenge each year.

When people who don’t know me very well ask what my plans are for these holidays, especially Memorial Day, I simply say I have some work commitments and kiddingly refer to these working days off as my “forgotten holidays.”

Like a lot of the athletic directors and coaches who I have been speaking with over the last two months during the pandemic, I’ve been doing quite a bit of reflection about the situation we are in and taking stock of the time NOT spent running around frantically during these traditionally busy times…like what normally happens this week.

Coming from a military family, my father and grandfather instilled in me a very deep sense of loyalty and honor for Memorial Day and Veterans Day in remembering what is the true meaning of what these holidays.

One of my proudest early moments in my television career –  one that helped me win an award  – included being a host and producer of a public affair television show.  And one of the most memorable moments from that show included a feature I did on a group called the “Sons of the Revolution.”

Each year on Memorial Day weekend, these groups of dedicated individuals travel around to known cemeteries in Eastern Pennsylvania that house veterans of any war and perform a ceremonial service, complete with Taps and a 21-Gun Salute.

While each individual service never takes more than 30 minutes, it’s hard not to be moved by the experience and is something I feel everyone should experience at least once.  When I did the story, most of the participants were well past the retirement age, yet featured so much palpable energy, I would find it difficult for any witnesses not to be inspired by their efforts.

We followed this group around to three different cemeteries before compiling more than enough interview and b-roll footage to make for a very compelling video package.

Following our third service and after thanking the gentlemen for their hospitality and their own tremendous service, I left feeling an incredible sense of pride for my country, along with an obligation that it would not be the last time that I attended one of these events.

This year I did some research and was happy to find that this group is not only still fully operational but continues to perform services in Eastern PA–albeit limited somewhat this spring due to the Coronavirus and social distancing constrictions.  Included in this year’s event was with a special tribute to two World War II veterans on the 75th anniversary to the end of that conflict.  While I don’t think my twelve-year-old son got as much out of the experience as I did, I sincerely hope it’s something that sticks with him for a while and an event that he will not soon forget.

It also made me realize that 15 years had passed between me making that initial commitment to return to see these special people’s ceremonies and returning to witness another one in person.

While we have a whole new brand of modern day heroes keeping us safe during this pandemic, Memorial weekend is also a time for reflection and a reminder that, no matter what else we have going on, we should set time aside in our lives to honor and salute the brave men and women who courageously gave the ultimate sacrifice in serving our great nation.

Shame on me for sometimes forgetting this message.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In 1931 media mogul Ed Sullivan invited Jack Benny to guest host his national radio program.

Benny opened the program by saying, “This is Jack Benny.  I’ll pause while everyone says, Jack who?”

Following that appearance, Benny never went more than a few months without being on either a radio or television program, until his death on December 26, 1974.

The television version of his “Jack Benny Program” debuted on a Los Angeles TV station in 1949 as an hour long special.  This was followed by a regular 30-minute show continuing until 1965 when Jack decided to cut back and just do semi-regular hour-long “specials.”

But before he even appeared on the small screen, Jack was the most well-known radio character in the medium’s history, finishing with the best “Hooper Ratings” (before Nielsen came along) for many years in the 1930s-40s.

Unlike many radio personalities, Benny found a smooth transition to television and was a perennial ratings favorite in the 50s and early 60s.  Even though Benny himself wasn’t convinced it would work as he continued to do his radio show simultaneously with his TV program until 1955.

He was known in show business as the “comedian’s comedian” and even his harshest critics had to admit his comedic timing was impeccable.

To what did Jack attribute his success and longevity on radio and TV?

According to his memoir, “Sunday’s at 7,” Benny believed it takes about five years for an audience to become familiar with the characters, therefore allowing you to play around with his/her idiosyncrasies.  Once an audience becomes familiar with you, you can have a regular storyline while mixing in the comedy according to each actor’s quirks and personalities.  It also allowed for ongoing jokes that could follow characters from week to week and allow its writers to build ongoing bits of humor that could continue to get more outrageous as the series went on.

When he made the transition to television, the nation had already fallen in love with his cast, including Benny’s “professional” traits.  Jack’s most frequent characters on his television show were his sarcastic wife Mary, his quick-witted valet Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, singer Dennis Day, who was naive to a fault, his rotund but lovable announcer Don Wilson, voice genius Mel Blanc and character actor Frank Nelson, whose running gag was playing a different character on each appearance.

Jack had found success on radio playing a character who was incredibly cheap, vain and self-absorbed — complete opposites of the person he was in real life.  His reasoning was that everyone either has or knows someone who exhibits these foibles, so why not poke fun at them?  Years later, TV creator/producer Larry David would say almost the same thing about his greatest accomplishment, “Seinfeld,” following many familiar characteristics seen on the Benny show.

There’s many great stories to uncover and ways in which Benny broke new ground during this program’s 16-year run on TV.  We’ll delve into that discussion in another blog entry at a later time.

Meanwhile, it won’t take you five years to become familiar with the “Benny” players.  You’ll find that Jack and his talented team of writers developed timeless comedy (and great timing in the performers’ delivery) that is still incredibly funny over 70 years later.

“The Jack Benny Program” currently airs Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. on RCN TV.

To see the full listing of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other other agency, organization, employer or company.

Over the winter, Jesse Dougherty, Washington Nationals Beat Writer for the Washington Post, sent me an early copy of his new book, “Buzz Saw.”

His book chronicles the unbelievable run the Nats had last year, including their amazing mid-May transformation from cellar-dwellers to the eventual World Series champions.

The official book’s release was in late March, to coincide with what was supposed to be Major League Baseball‘s Opening Day.

Even though he sent me the book in early January, as has been my tradition over the last several years, I usually save reading my non-basketball reading material, fictional and nonfiction, until after the high school basketball season ends.  I try to take a few days to recover from one of our busiest times of the year.  One of my favorite things to do to reset my batteries is to enjoy some good reading material.

Please understand. I really like to enjoy reading and take my time, stretching it out over a several days to thoroughly enjoy the experiences.

Ironically, because of other projects and taking on new duties as we adjust to our “new normal,” I put reading this book on the back burner in lieu of developing new ways of going about our businesses in the wake of the coronavirus.

But this weekend I blocked out significant time out to delve into this book – as a fan of Jessie’s writing, I knew I would thoroughly enjoy it.

I was definitely not disappointed.

“Buzz Saw” is a raw, realistic view of the Nationals season, looking largely from the viewpoint of General Manager Frank Rizzo. Starting from the previous offseason, the book goes through the turbulent and downright bleak first six weeks of the season. Dougherty provides insights on the Nationals front office and everything Rizzo and Manager Dave Martinez were going through, including a more negative than normal Washington fan base.

A large part of the book deals with the time in and around May 24th – when the Nats as a team hit rock bottom in more ways than one.  The team was having significant health issues, including Martinez’s own hospitalization.

The book may not be for younger baseball fans, complete with realistic and frank conversations between management and players.  It is very comprehensive, discussing the players’, coaches’ and media’s perspectives, the fans’ views and includes an incredible attention to detail while recollecting the key moments during the Nationals season.

Jesse had promised me he was going to be a guest on “SportsTalk” again during spring training to talk about the 2020 edition of the Nationals baseball and give his expectations for the new season.

Those plans have been put on hold until we get some better news on the health front and get closer to the official restart of baseball’s preseason workouts (hopefully sooner rather than later.)

Until then, baseball fans, whether a Washington baseball fan or not, you will thoroughly enjoy this inside look on MLB’s reigning champions and their improbable run from worst to first within a four-month span.

Enjoy!

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We will have another “all remote access” live edition of RCN SportsTalk this week. Among our guests includes long-time Bethlehem Catholic Baseball Head Coach / Athletic Director Mike Grasso, talking about all the highs and lows during his amazing 45-year career, which came to a premature end this spring.

Over the next few weeks, we will also have conversations with a few other head coaches in the RCN viewing area (all of them with at least 20 or more years at their current school) who are retiring this spring.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of  RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

If you want to see one of cinema’s greatest on-screen pairings, backed by a tremendous supporting cast, in front of a majestic Paris setting, a gorgeous Henry Mancini score and one of the most riveting climaxes to a movie in the 1960s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better film than “Charade.”
The film stars legendary actors Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn, Ned Glass and others.

(Stars Grant and Hepburn)

“Charade” starts off with a beautiful pan shot of the countryside, the stillness shredded by the sound of a fast-moving steam engine, a body ruthless tossed off the train and a haunting extreme close-up into the eyes of the dead body, all in the first 30 seconds before rocking the audience into the movie’s famous opening theme song.

Viewers quickly learn that the widow, Regina “Reggie” Lampert (Hepburn) really didn’t know her new groom very well when she is told by the police that her husband had many aliases.  She is further startled to learn her husband not only sold all of their belongings but is the owner of a great deal of money, which three other seedy-looking characters (Kennedy, Colburn, Glass) claim is theirs.

In comes the charming Grant (we won’t spoil things by telling you his name) to try to help Reggie, who is quickly targeted by everyone else, including the CIA (no spoiler here either) as the only logical owner of the cash, but she claims she had no idea of its existence in the first place.

Adding to the web of lies, her new confidant turns out to have his own series of aliases, and questionable motives for trying to help Reggie.

The film’s tone rapidly alternates between humorous moments, romance, intrigue and mystery.  As suspects begin getting bumped off it leaves very little downtime before having all questions resolved in its edge-of-your-seat finale.

“Charade” received numerous Academy and Golden Globe Award nominations (winning several) and is one of the few films ever listed simultaneously on the American Film Institute’s top 100 moments in the often conflicting movie categories of comedy, romance, thrillers and murder mysteries … AND places in the top 100 film scores.

Plus, the funeral scene is one of the funniest “macabre moments” you may ever witness.

Oh by the way, the film was also directed by yet another cinema legend, Stanley Donen, whose long line of iconic films includes “Singing in the Rain,” “On the Town,” “Royal Wedding,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” and many others.

“Charade” is a must-see and will be featured in the RCN-TV Movie Vault on Friday, May 22nd at 7:30 p.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

When the government ordered massive shutdowns in March due to the coronavirus, I was literally putting the finishing touches on my blog post that was going to run that week, when I received word that our studio would be closed for the near-term.

It was even more disappointing because, that Thursday, I was really looking forward to our “SportsTalk” program — having a terrific blend of wonderful people on the show, discussing some very important issues.

As concern for the virus continues and we get deeper in the calendar – with people’s scheduling becoming more hectic with other responsibilities – it’s becoming doubtful that we will be able to have all of the people on the show at the same time that we were going to have on for that particular day. While we will probably have at least most of them on, at different times on upcoming shows, I just thought it was going to be a great blend of personalities and views, all on the same episode, that may not come together again as I would have liked.

So I’m going to do something a little different for this week and present the blog that I had written for that week, as is, right up until I heard the news — just to give you a taste of what might have been if everything came together just perfectly.

By the way, we will not have a shortage of firepower on this week’s show as some of the guests listed below will be on Thursday’s program. Others will be on upcoming shows over the next several weeks.

Also, for this Thursday, we will have District XI Football Chair Jason Zimmerman on to give us some insights on the road ahead for high school sports’ recovery and potential timetables for the fall football season.

But now, enjoy the blog entry as it would have been – right up until it prematurely came to an abrupt stop.

*****

Original Title: “Women in Sports Recognition”

While it’s not yet an officially “recognized” month, there has been a movement in recent years to have one month emphasize the importance of women’s contributions in the ENTIRE world of sports.  The goal of this initiative ranges from more actively promoting women’s sports programs in participation, recognition and promotions to featuring coaches, broadcasters and administrators in traditionally male-dominated areas, as well as encouraging more women to enter these fields.

You may remember last year at this time I featured Melanie Newman, a relatively new broadcaster who, along with Susan Cool, became the first all-female broadcast team for a major sports franchise (a Red Sox Minor League team) in the country.

Newman, by the way, was recently named to the Baltimore Orioles broadcasting team, making an incredible ascension from the low Single-A Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues within one year’s time–yet another example of what amazing excellence can be achieved when women are given an opportunity in sports.

With SportsTalk co-host Keith Groller unavailable for several shows over the next few weeks, I dare say we have a very special individual to work the co-hosting chair.

Joetta Clark-Diggs, a four-time Olympian, 11-time USA All-American, inducted into the United States’ Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009 and owner of track times that are still ranked among the best in the world, will be joining me on the program once again to discuss different topics of interest.

This week’s guests include members of the Saucon Valley girls track team to discuss defending their record shattering times set at last year’s Pennsylvania state competitions in Shippensburg. Among them will be Joetta’s daughter, Talitha, who already has earned some major hardware in her very young career.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

In a career filled with tremendous individual accomplishments too lengthy to list in a single blog entry, Frank Sinatra’s performance in the 1954 thriller, Suddenly, is probably one of his greatest, underrated works as an actor.

After a decade of multiple number one hits and rave reviews as a happy-go-lucky leading man on the silver screen, Sinatra’s film career dipped in the early part of the 1950s.

But with a starring role in the iconic film, From Here To Eternity, Sinatra was back in the public eye and had the screen credit to play possibly the biggest “departure role” of his career.

In Suddenly, Sinatra’s character is John Baron, a psychopathic killer disguised as a government agent and a paid assassin who’s hell-bent on shooting the President of the United States of America at any cost.

Baron leads a small group of henchmen who ruthlessly take over an innocent family’s house, located next to the train tracks that will be escorting the President through the sleepy town of Suddenly, California.

Baron and his thugs take hostages and show no mercy in this gritty film, with many twists-and-turns in this fast-paced 75-minute flick.

This film further deepened “‘Ol’ Blue Eyes”’ range as an actor and was part of over a dozen highly successful films in the 1950s which further advanced his already successful singing career.

Two interesting bits of trivia concerning Suddenly.  An ill-conceived idea of colorizing this film in the mid-1980s went awry when they mistakenly painted Sinatra’s eyes brown throughout the film.

A less humorous antidote: Sinatra unsuccessfully attempted to purchase and destroy all copies of this film as well as the 1962 classic, The Manchurian Candidate, after a rumor surfaced that Lee Harvey Oswald watched both of these films before deciding to shoot President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Both films starred Sinatra with plot lines involving assassination attempts, although he handled the protagonist duties in Candidate.

Suddenly also stars Sterling Hayden (the crooked Captain McCluskey in The Godfather) and is a must-see for Sinatra followers and fans of thrill-seeking film noir works alike. 

Suddenly is featured on the “RCN Movie Theater/Retro Special” on Wednesday, May 13, at 9pm and Saturday, May 16, at 8:30pm on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other other agency, organization, employer or company.

Gary Laubach stole my thunder in his blog the previous week in which he talked about the new technology we started using in our first “all-remote” edition of the “RCN SportsTalk Show.”

In observing the health requirements and mandated safety procedures of the times, we started broadcasting the show with all of our guests remaining in their homes.

For our next “SportsTalk” show, we took things up a notch. Utilizing my RCN high speed internet (a huge shout out to my colleagues out in the field keeping it going strong), the show originated from my home to connect with members of local high schools spring sports programs.

In scheduling that episode’s guest list, I thought the experience would be therapeutic for our guests as coaches and players could express their frustrations in talking about their seasons being cancelled but additionally give viewers some unique perspectives on how they are dealing with their canceled seasons during the pandemic.

Another benefit of this particular program was allowing senior athletes to not only break the monotony of their quarantine but also to reveal some very heartfelt stories about their playing days, with some realizing that their sports careers have already come to a premature end.

Initially, I thought doing the show from my home might be an advantage over our usual setup. Instead of trying to find interesting guests who had to be available on Thursday between 6 to 8 p.m., I suddenly had great flexibility in scheduling.

Sure enough, the first three groups I contacted were eager to be on the show.  When hearing what time would work for them…the first said mornings work best, the 2nd said another day at 2pm was ideal and the third said they’re not available until sometime after 5pm.  Normally this would be a major problem, but now, this was not an issue.

The days leading up to the program recording date were rather nerve-wracking for me. I have been spoiled for the last 15 years of having eight or more incredibly capable crew members putting all the technical aspects of the show together.  While grateful to be given the responsibility to try something new, I realized I now was pretty much on an island by myself.  Any significant technical glitch would reflect badly upon my ability to be the pseudo – director / audio person / cameraperson / floor manager, et al for this project.

I had actually been testing the equipment for weeks with various people, some who had utilized similar technologies while picking their brains in order to properly prepare for this first day of recording.  As a television veteran, I also knew that I had to prepare for every possible thing that could possibly go wrong. (Murphy’s law frequently applies in TV productions:  “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.” The trick is not to let people know at home that it does.)

But very early in the proceedings, I started to realize something I had never considered before.  Let me explain.

One aspect of hosting the show that I feel I have done a very capable job of over the years is to make guests feel relaxed. Well-established speakers can easily sit down and talk on a live television show for 60 minutes without hesitation.  I realized very early in my career that even veteran athletic directors, administrators and other people who do a fair amount of public speaking on their own, can very easily freeze-up when the bright lights click on.

I relish the challenge of having people arrive at our studio, terrified by the thought of the TV cameras focusing on them when they first arrive, and making sure they thoroughly enjoy the experience and want to return again by the time the show is over.

But by utilizing the equipment from my home to connect with high school athletes speaking from their own living rooms, I could sense right away how relaxed they were and how quickly they opened up and expressed their feelings and revealed heartfelt stories.

Although I’d like to think I come up with some pretty good questions from time to time, they made my job rather easy this week, wasting no time in providing emotional responses for the situation they and many other student-athletes are dealing with right now.

I also like to think a great interviewer knows when to be a good listener while helping them to find ways to express themselves as they deal with their own stresses.  Again, a skill I’d like to think I have an abundance of, was hardly necessary on this occasion.

When one of the coaches called me immediately after we completed recording this week’s show to thank me for the opportunity, I didn’t pause in my response.  I told him that it was not only a very enjoyable experience for me as an interviewer, but probably, in terms of evoking emotional stories, one of the best shows we have done, and the kids themselves deserve all the credit.

I know coming into a television studio and sitting under the bright lights for an hour is a unique experience not very many people ever have the opportunity to experience.  I look forward to the time we can do the show again, live, with guests joining me in the studio.

But I think this week’s program shows that there is also something extra special in talking with people in their natural environment.  One that can provide even greater personal insights we might not have gotten otherwise.

Either way, it’s nice to know that we here at RCN TV keep finding new ways of serving our customers, especially during these unusual times in our society.

You can see last week’s “SportsTalk” show featuring local high school athletes and coaches discussing how COVID-19 has affected their sports seasons, through RCN’s Video on Demand.

We’ll be continuing our “all – remote” editions of the program for at least the next few weeks.  Coming up this Thursday, Tom Housenick of The Morning Call will sub for my usual co-host, Keith Groller, to talk about Major League Baseball’s hiatus and rumors concerning its return, plus high school wrestling off-season news.  We will also have Mike Hofmann, a local historian, previewing his new book on high school football.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

Very few actors can say they were a bigger box office draw that Humphrey Bogart in the 1940s and early 50s.

He starred in several films regarded as the greatest of all time and won his first Academy Award in what many called the ultimate on-screen pairing with Katharine Hepburn, The African Queen, in 1951.

In 1999, the American Film Institute designated Bogart as the greatest male film actor of cinema’s “Classic Era.”

And in 1953, Bogart teamed with another screen legend, Peter Lorre, Academy Award winning director John Huston, multiple-Oscar nominated actress Jennifer Jones, Bernard Lee (the original “M” in the James Bond movie series) and one of the sexiest leading ladies of the era, Gina Lollobrigida, in one of Bogart’s last films, Beat The Devil.

(Beat The Devil stars, from left, Jones, Bogart and Lollobrigida)

The film was originally intended as a sequel of one of the greatest film noir flicks of all time, The Maltese Falcon.  However, shortly after co-writers Houston and Truman Capote started the screenplay, they changed direction and instead wrote a spoof of Falcon and similar films of the genre.

Unlike later parody films, the plot is interesting and the comedic lines nicely accompany the storyline with neither getting in the way of each other. While not a typical film style for any of the leading stars, the actors generally received positive reviews for their performances.

Bogart got in a real-life car crash during the production and had to have several of his lines dubbed over in order for the film to be completed on time.

The actor they hired to double Bogey’s voice?

The then-unknown actor Peter Sellers who, among other great films, became the genius behind The Pink Panther movies. (Can you tell which scenes he was in?)

Though nearing the end of his legendary career, Bogart was still clearly on his game, following up this film up with his Oscar-nominated performance in The Caine Mutiny.

Film critic Roger Ebert included Devil in his “great movie” list and singles it out as perhaps the first ever successful “camp film” in cinema history.

Beat The Devil will be featured in the RCN Movie Vault on Thursday, May 7, at 9:00 am.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Twenty-four-hour, all-sports radio stations have had an interesting few weeks trying to come up with new topics to discuss when there are literally no new topics in sports to discuss.  One program I heard recently on Philadelphia’s 94 WYSP (the station where I covered the Eagles for eight years) did bring up a Baseball Hall of Fame discussion, which led to a debate on who should and should not be in.  Among the names discussed includes one of the most positive personalities that I have ever met.

I have met, talked with and interviewed hundreds of very interesting head coaches in my day.

Among the professional head coaches and managers that I have interviewed: Doug Peterson, Andy Reid, Ray Rhodes, Larry Bowa, Gabe Kapler, Ryne Sandberg, Brett Brown, Mo Cheeks, Larry Brown … to name a few.  But I would be hard- pressed to find a more genuine and likeable pro sports coaching personality than former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

When I (and just about any other media member—save Howard Eskin) have had a chance to speak with Charlie about, well, anything, he was as accepting and as gracious as any person you could ever find.  He treated all members of the media the same and never gave anyone a hard time for a question he didn’t particularly like…something you can’t often say when dealing with people who have accomplished as much in a career as Manuel did.

In the Delaware Valley, he’s now a legend.  Winning a World Series will do that for most managers.

Manuel was on a list of 10 candidates but fell short of being elected into The Hall last December by the new “Today’s Game Era Committee,” and Phillies fans have been making a push for his name to return—with even more support—again to this year’s ballot.

Sadly, if pressed for an answer, I would have to agree that Manuel should NOT be enshrined, and if I was on any of the groups that have that power (of which there are too many—which is a subject for another blog entry) I’m afraid I would not vote him in.

Why?

A look at the facts…

Manuel won just one World Series.  In all, he won six league division titles and two pennants—all with seriously loaded offensive lineups.  While his ability to reach and connect with players, both on and off the field, was one of his best attributes, it’s hard to quantify that into the numbers game that is so key to getting that extra boost necessary to put you into the elite that is found in Cooperstown.

Instead, Manuel will more likely be remembered for that likeable, good-natured human being trait that I mentioned at the outset of this passage, than any extraordinary number or statistic you could provide in his defense.

The Hall of Fame is a place reserved for strictly the best of the best, based purely in terms of the game of baseball at the highest level and the Shrine is filled with people who had less than admirable personality traits.

Perhaps then, it is only fitting that Charlie will probably not be among them.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

For over 100 years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

People probably best remember Ginger Rogers as the other half of the greatest on-screen dancing team of all time.

But you may not know that Rogers also carved out a pretty significant leading lady persona starting in the late 1930s through the 1940s and starred in some very interesting flicks.

One of her top roles was a film called Heartbeat, directed by Sam Wood (The Pride of the Yankees, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, A Night at the Opera).

Initially, when starting her solo career, Rogers made the mistake of trying to cast herself with more reserved and less-known leading men. This backfired when, for one of her first starring films, she asked for a virtually unknown actor by the name of James Stewart to co-star in the film Vivacious Lady.  Stewart ended up stealing the spotlight despite Rogers participating in one of the most vicious on-screen fights of the time period.

(Stewart would receive his first Academy Award nomination in his very next film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, followed by an Academy Award-winning performance in The Philadelphia Story the next year.)

Rogers did not make that same mistake in Heartbeat. Her co-stars were Basil Rathbone (who starred many times as the titular character in the Sherlock Holmes film series) and Adolphe Menjou (the star of the Charlie Chaplin classic A Woman in Paris.)

Rogers stars as Arlette, a young and rather inexperienced pickpocket who gets adopted into the professional thieving world by Professor Aristide (Rathbone).  On her first assignment she is caught by a wealthy ambassador (Menjou) and is forced to partake in yet an even bigger game of deception.

The film is a wonderful blend of comedy and romance, complete with a very fulfilling twist in the end.

Heartbeat was one of Rogers’ great films during her solo years, sandwiched around classics like Tom, Dick and Harry, I’ll Be Seeing You, The Major and the Minor, Kitty Foyle and Bachelor Mother.

She would also return to co-star with Fred Astaire one last time a few years after Heartbeat in the production, The Berkeleys of Broadway.

Heartbeat will be featured in the RCN TV Movie Vault this Sunday, April 26,  at 4 p.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.