MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SCREENING SERIES, THE:
HELLO, GOOD-BYE, PACKAGE 1
Summary
Hello, Good-bye presents three months of pilots,
premieres, and final programs from the annals of
episodic television. Although it is by no means a
definitive collection, this screening series showcases
many of the most remarkable episodes ever to open or
close a television series. Included are programs and
footage that have rarely or never been aired, such as
screen tests by John Travolta and Farrah Fawcett-Majors
for "Welcome Back, Kotter" (Travolta got a part;
Fawcett-Majors didn't); Rod Serling's pitch to potential
sponsors on behalf of "The Twilight Zone"; and the
bizarre 1999 Ben StillerÐdirected pilot "Heat Vision and
Jack," starring cult favorites Jack Black and Owen
Wilson. Mostly, however, this screening series is about
the familiar. It reminds us of the power of the medium
of television to help viewers fall in love with
characters like Mary Richards, the Beaver, and Alex P.
Keaton -- and then to force them to adjust when they
must confront life without Hawkeye Pierce, Larry
Sanders, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Kimble, and the staff
at St. Eligius.
Hello Classics
These pilots and premieres introduced classic television
series or characters; most contain rarely seen footage
or are rarely seen themselves.
"ItÕs a Small World" (Leave It to Beaver)
Jerry Mathers (the Beaver) and Barbara Billingsley (mom
June) are on hand, but Ward and Wally (later played by
Hugh Beaumont and Tony Dow) are portrayed here by
different actors. Harry Shearer ("Saturday Night Live,"
"The Simpsons") appears as the Eddie HaskellÐlike
Frankie Bennett, while Haskell himself is nowhere to be
found. (1957; 20 minutes)
"Make Room for Daddy: Danny Meets Andy Griffith"
("The Andy Griffith Show")
City slicker Danny Williams (Thomas) butts heads with
"hayseed" Sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith) in this pilot
for "The Andy Griffith Show." Ronny Howard makes his
first appearance as Andy's son Opie; Frances Bavier, who
went on to portray Aunt Bee, appears as a guileless
widow whom Andy helps. (1960; 30 minutes)
"The Monkees"
Packed with free-form romps and exuberant rock 'n' roll
sequences, this pilot initially failed to impress teen
focus groups. Given twenty-four hours to persuade NBC
to pick up the series, the creators spliced
black-and-white screen tests of Davy Jones and Michael
Nesmith into the episode, lending the program a vŽritŽ
feel and giving viewers new insights into the
personalities of "the boys." (1966; 25 minutes)
"Welcome Back, Kotter" (premiere and screen tests)
Included with the premiere of this sitcom about a
wisecracking Brooklyn teacher are screen tests for four
of his slacker students ("Sweathogs") -- John Travolta
(Vinnie Barbarino, called Eddie Barbarini in the
audition), Robert Hegyes (who wound up playing Epstein
but tests here for Barbarini), Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs
(Washington), and Ron Palillo (Horshack) -- plus tests
by Marcia Strassman and Farrah Fawcett-Majors for the
part of Gabe Kotter's wife Julie (which went to
Strassman). (1975; 40 minutes)
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 2000
- RUNNING TIME: 1:49:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:64551
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Acting; Comedy; Television - Casting
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- For "It's a Small World":
- Brian Levant … Executive Producer, Writer
- Peter V. Ware … Supervising Producer
- Fred Fox … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Richard Lewis … Producer, Original "Leave It to Beaver" segment
- Lori Motyer … Associate Producer
- Frank R. Saperstein … Director
- Jerry Hopper … Director, Original "Leave It to Beaver" segment
- Joe Connelly … Writer, Original "Leave It to Beaver" segment
- Bob Mosher … Writer, Original "Leave It to Beaver" segment
- Barbara Billingsley … Cast, June Cleaver
- Casey Adams … Cast, Ward Cleaver
- Paul Sullivan … Cast, Wally Cleaver
- Jerry Mathers … Cast, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
- Richard Deacon … Cast, Mr. Baxter
- Diane Brewster … Cast, Miss Simms
- Joe Kearns … Cast, Mr. Cockran
- Harry Shearer … Cast, Frankie Bennett
- Tony Dow
- For "Make Room for Daddy":
- Louis F. Edelman … Executive Producer
- Sheldon Leonard … Producer, Director
- Jay Sandrich … Assistant Director
- Arthur Stander … Writer
- Earle Hagen … Music (Misc. Credits), Music scored and conducted by
- Herbert Spencer … Music (Misc. Credits), Music scored and conducted by
- Danny Thomas … Cast, Danny Williams
- Marjorie Lord … Cast, Kathy Williams
- Rusty Hamer … Cast, Rusty Williams
- Angela Cartwright … Cast, Linda Williams
- Andy Griffith … Cast, Sheriff Andy Taylor
- Howard, Ronny (See also: Howard, Ron) … Cast, Opie Taylor
- Francis Bavier … Cast, Henrietta Perkins
- Frank Cady … Cast, Will Hoople
- Will Wright … Cast
- Bill Baldwin … Cast
- Rance Howard … Cast
- For "The Monkees":
- Bob Rafelson … Producer
- Bert Schneider … Producer
- Mike Elliot … Director
- Paul Mazursky … Developed by, Writer
- Larry Tucker … Developed by, Writer
- Allyn Ferguson … Music by
- Tommy Boyce … Composer, "Let's Dance On" written by , "I Wanna Be Free" written by
- Bobby Hart … Composer, "Let's Dance On" written by, "I Wanna Be Free" written by
- The Monkees … Music Group
- David Jones … Cast, Davy
- Dolenz, Micky (see also: Braddock, Mickey) … Cast, Micky
- Michael Nesmith … Cast, Mike
- Peter Tork … Cast, Peter
- Paul Mazursky … Cast, the TV Interviewer
- Larry Tucker … Cast, Dr. Turner
- Bing Russell … Cast, Rudy
- Van Ness, Jill … Cast, Jill
- St. John, Richard … Cast, Mr. Russell
- Robyn Millan … Cast, Vanessa
- Joe Higgins … Cast, the Guard
- June Whitley Taylor … Cast, Mrs. Russell
- For "Welcome Back, Kotter
- James Komack … Executive Producer, Writer
- Alan Sacks … Producer, Created by
- Michael Manheim … Associate Producer
- James Komack … Director
- Gabriel Kaplan … Created by
- Peter Meyerson … Developed for television by, Writer
- John B. Sebastian … Theme Music by, Performer, Music composed and performed by
- Gabriel Kaplan … Cast, Gabe Kotter
- Marcia Strassman … Cast, Julie Kotter
- John Sylvester White … Cast, Vice Principal Michael Woodman
- Robert Hegyes … Cast, Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein
- Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs … Cast, Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington
- Ron Palillo … Cast, Arnold Horshack
- John Travolta … Cast, Vinnie Barbarino
- Fawcett-Majors, Farrah (See also: Fawcett, Farrah)
- Robert Hegyes
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
- Gabe Kaplan
- Ron Palillo
- Marcia Strassman
- John Travolta