30 Retro 1970s TV Facts We Got From A Guy Who Supposedly Worked on ‘The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour’

Sepia-toned facts comin’ atcha!
30 Retro 1970s TV Facts We Got From A Guy Who Supposedly Worked on ‘The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour’
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This one goes out to all our Boomer and Geriatric Gen-X readers lookin’ for a hit of that sweet, sweet nostalgia. 

Apologies for the word “geriatric” back there. It wasn’t meant as a dig or anything. It’s actually just the term for people at the older end of a generation. If it makes you feel any better, the people who whipped up this list are Geriatric Millennials! 

Wow, how did Baby Boomers come out of this sounding the youngest? Anywho, if you weren’t offended enough to click elsewhere, here are some groovy and far out facts about ‘70s TV…

James Evans

JAMES EVANS GOOD TIMES CRACKED.COM John Amos's constant complaints about too much J.J. and his dy-no-mite brought a call from producer Norman Lear. Big John, I got some good news and some bad news. The good news? The show was picked up for another season. The bad news? You won't be with us.

The General Lee

PING Golfer Bubba Watson SHIN owns the General Lee. a MILLE Over 300 Dodge Chargers were trashed during the run of The Dukes of Hazzard, but Watson has the original - the one that shows up in the opening credits. Не had the confederate flag painted over in 2015. 01 CRACKED.COM

The Dukes of Hazzard

CRACKED.COM Во and Luke Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard were called Grady and Bobby Lee Hagg in 1975's Moonrunners. Writer/director Gy Waldron changed the names and turned his own movie into a hit series.

Robert Reed

ROBERT REED BRADY BUNCH CRACKED.COM A classically trained actor, Reed hated being America's dad. Не complained about scenes so unfunny that even a laugh machine would balk and drank during lunch breaks to cope. His gripes led to producers plotting to kill off Mike Brady.

Good Times

CRACKED EDDIE MURPHY OWNS A PAINTING FROM THE 1970S SITCOM GOOD TIMES. developed by NORMAN I R A replica of the painting sold at auction for 16 million dollars.

The Brady Brunch

CRACKED.COM The Brady Bunch The kids didn't have a toilet. Family TV was very restrictive-viewers should never imagine that the Brady kids ever needed to relieve themselves, based on the set design of the kids' bathroom.

Laverne and Shirley

LAVERNE & SHIRLEY SECRETARY SET GACTION to - - United - 9 kg 79 HAUTHONY - You - Laverno TV SERIES Shirley TM secretary set - 12345638 ANIELEE Sof CRACKED.COM 1/11/11 AA ANDER UNC - SOLD - NY THAT MADE - NONG - KONO - Laverne and Shirley worked at a brewery, which would have made an infinitely more fun play set.

Henry Blake

HENRY BLAKE M*A*S*H SI GRACKED COM Blake was one of the first major sitcom characters to die, rather than being recast or written out of a series. Most of the cast didn't know Blake's fate until moments before filming the scene when Radar announces the sad news.

Mary Tyler Moore Show

CHUCKLES MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW CRACKED.COM Chuckles the Clown was leading a parade dressed as Peter Peanut when he was tragically shelled to death by a rogue elephant. With a can't-stop-laughing funeral, it's the classic episode of a classic sitcom, at one point ranked #1 on TV Guide's list of the Top 100 Episodes of All Time.

Cher

The First Belly Button After half a decade being denied Barbara Eden's navel in I Dream of Jeannie, America got to see Cher's, like, all the time, on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. CRACKED.COM

M*A*S*H

The First Male Nudity Radar went whole-hog on a 1973 episode of M*A*S*H, when he lost his towel while evading a sniper. CRACKED.COM

Joe Namath

Joe Namath THE BRADY BUNCH CRACKED.G COM Bobby hatches an elaborate scheme to bait Joe Namath into his bedroom by faking a terminal illness. Think Make A Wish Foundation meets To Catch A Predator.

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show

The Flintstones THE PEBBLES AND BAMM-BAMM SHOW CRACKED.COM As you can tell from Pebbles' hair bone and Bamm's turtle fedora, this show was all about putting hats on hats: beloved prehistoric babies, except they're in high school now, and also they're rockstars.

The Hulk

CRACKED.COM Jaws from James Bond was almost the Hulk. Richard Kiel was the first actor to be painted green for the pilot of The Incredible Hulk. Не was replaced by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno after a few days, as Kiel, big as he was, wasn't bulky enough to make a good Hulk.

Barry Williams

IF GREG BRADY seemeD A LITTLe OFF WHILE CHECKING OUT THE GROOVY ROWBOAT MIKE BROUGHT Home in THE BraDy Bunch ePISODE LAW AND DISORDER... BARRY WILLIAMS HAD Been SMOKING POT WHen не WAS CALLeD in unexpectedly TO SHOOT THE scene. не WAS so STONED, не DECIDED THAT THIS WAS HIS OPPORTUNITY TO RECREATE HIS CHARACTER In ITS enTIReTY. CRACKED.COM

CBS’ Rural Purge

CRACKED COM In the early 1970s, CBS cancelled all its shows set in the country. Rural shows like Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies made up the bulk of CBS's programming - but their audience skewed old, and execs wanted their network to be young and hip. So they cancelled the lot of them-a move that went down in history as the Rural Purge.

Taxi

Latka Gravas was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder in Taxi's third season. Comedian Andy Kaufman had grown tired of the role, which had its roots in the Foreign Man persona in his stand-up routine. Giving Latka the disorder appeased Kaufman, allowing him to create new personalities for his character. Among Latka's alters was notorious lounge-lizard Vic Ferrari. GRACKED.COM

The Fonz

Fonzie wasn't even billed in the opening credits. The Fonz was written as a clichéd bully, and Henry Winkler outright refused to play him that way. The producers let him have his way, so Winkler went on to turn a bit part into an uber-cool dude who quickly overshadowed the HAPPY DAYS show's real protagonists. CRACKED.COM

Star Trek

MORK & MINDY Mork's jumpsuit was originally a Star Trek costume. It's from The Savage Curtain, the third-to-last episode in the series. CRACKED.COM

All in the Family

st. Paddy's Day in fiction All in the Family The series finale is a st. Paddy's Day episode. This episode revolves around a big party that Edith is trying to help Archie with, and ends with a confirmation of Archie and Edith having a loving relationship, before the show was rebooted as Archie Bunker's Place. CRACKED.COM

Source: IMDb

Albert Brooks

ALBERT BROOKS I REALLY WANT TO DIRECT CRACKED.COM BROOKS CLAIMS NBC WANTED HIM AS SNL'S PERMANENT HOST BUT НЕ WANTED TO MAKE SHORT FILMS INSTEAD. THE SIX НЕ DIRECTED FOR SNL'S FIRST SEASON PAVED THE WAY FOR 'LOST IN AMERICA' AND 'DEFENDING YOUR LIFE.'

Happy Days

Happy Days Ron Howard joined to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Since the government wasn't accepting college deferment for service, Howard auditioned and got the acting job to get a work deferment. CRACKED.COM

M*A*S*H (Again)

The first son-of-a-b* 1979 CRACKED.COM Hawkeye calls a Korean intelligence officer an SOB on an episode of M*A*S*H.

Statler & Waldorf

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM Statler & Waldorf Statler& Waldorf are legends in the puppet insult comedy game. The two debuted in 1975 on the pilot episode of The Muppet Show and after nearly 50 years of throwing insults from the balcony, these 2 old men are still not dead.

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball wrote a full season arc around a skiing accident. HERE'S LUCY GRACKED.COM Four seasons into her follow-up to I Love Lucy, Ball fractured her leg skiing. Season five largely revolved around her sitting stationary in a hospital bed, falling in love with a doctor, and having to rely on dialogue rather than slapstick.

Carrie Fisher

Saturday Night Live put Princess Leia in a gold bikini 5 years before Return of the Jedi In the 1978 episode hosted by Carrie Fisher, Fisher plays her iconic character who drops by a 1950s beach. CRACKED.COM

Farrah Fawcett

CRACKED FARRAH FAWCETT CAUSED A FIGHT BETWEEN THREE BACHELORS. Farrah Fawcett was a contestant on The Dating Game in the 1970s, where three bachelors got into a physical altercation while competing for her attention. It was later revealed to be an April Fool's Day episode, and she chose Bachelor #2, winning an Austrian ski vacation with him.

Redd Foxx

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM Redd Foxx can't get enough Ballantine Beer. allantine - Jennice Quality beer There's nothing particularly funny about an ad proclaiming a beer's big and bright, crisp and light taste. But there's something about Foxx's goofy, beer-drinking grin that makes us want to crack open a can anyway.

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