Is it obvious his name is a combination of Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson?

I always noticed that he says "I rib you not," as Paar said "I kid you not." Today I noticed that he also caws like a crow like Allen.

Then there is the playwright from experimental theater, Thornton Alsbury, which blends Thornton Wilder and Edward Albee, and possibly a 3rd name I'm not aware of. Post-modern before post-modern was a thing.

Very good! There's also playwright Harper Worthington Yates in "Baby Fat," who seems to be a combination of Harper Lee and a screenwriter named George Worthing Yates.

Given the above it's not too big a stretch to think Ray Murdock, the TV interviewer who got Rob to say he bases some sketches on Laura's odd behavior, is a parallel to Edward R. Murrow.

Probably the game show host who got Laura to admit Alan is bald, named Johnny Patrick, had a parallel too.

Very good! There's also playwright Harper Worthington Yates in "Baby Fat," who seems to be a combination of Harper Lee and a screenwriter named George Worthing Yates.

Strother Martin played Harper Worthington Yates with a definite resemblance to Tennessee Williams.

https://i.imgur.com/TVq3Ugf.png

It's interesting: it's said a lot that the show has stayed fresh because they tried to stay away from topical references, but there are some if you look for them.

Very broad, oblique cultural references are there but nothing limited strictly to it's own time. No Johnson or Kennedy references, other than the name of Rob's dream car, the XKG-JFK-400 Roadster.

Very broad, oblique cultural references are there but nothing limited strictly to it's own time. No Johnson or Kennedy references, other than the name of Rob's dream car, the XKG-JFK-400 Roadster.

There’s an episode (Sam Pomerantz Scandals) where a guy does a run of impressions of then current celebrities, including JFK.

There’s an episode (Sam Pomerantz Scandals) where a guy does a run of impressions of then current celebrities, including JFK.

And they named the comic Danny Brewster, which sounds like Lenny Bruce.

The Stevie Parsons epi is in now and it occurs to there might also be a Merv Griffin tie-in. Didn't Merv have different guest co-hosts with him for a series of shows? (I know Mike Douglas did that with John and Yoko years later.)

The Stevie Parsons epi is in now and it occurs to there might also be a Merv Griffin tie-in. Didn't Merv have different guest co-hosts with him for a series of shows? (I know Mike Douglas did that with John and Yoko years later.)

Arthur Treacher was Merv's sidekick, I think pretty steadily. It looks like Merv hadn't been on long before the Parsons character was created.

Oh. Well then. Screw that.

What did Buddy's line, "succoTASH" mean, delivered wide-eyed and with a wave of the hand beside his face, as if he'd touched something hot? I don't remember that word used as slang and I haven't seen other examples from the time.

Sylvester the Cat said "sufferin' succotash!" Maybe a very mild oath for people who didn't use real cuss words.

Sylvester the Cat said "sufferin' succotash!" Maybe a very mild oath for people who didn't use real cuss words.

Ah. A Sly reference.

Given the above it's not too big a stretch to think Ray Murdock, the TV interviewer who got Rob to say he bases some sketches on Laura's odd behavior, is a parallel to Edward R. Murrow.

Probably the game show host who got Laura to admit Alan is bald, named Johnny Patrick, had a parallel too.

The "Coast to Coast Big Mouth" game show host could be a reference to Johnny Olson, a popular Goodson-Todman game show announcer. Around this time both To Tell The Truth and What's My Line?, two shows he announced, were popular on CBS.

"Baby Fat" was on again tonight, and it got me wondering if there was a playwright c. 1960 who took his German Shepherd to rehearsals. Haven't located one yet, though it seems Edward Albee was crazy about dogs.

Very broad, oblique cultural references are there but nothing limited strictly to it's own time. No Johnson or Kennedy references, other than the name of Rob's dream car, the XKG-JFK-400 Roadster.
There was a JFK reference in one episode; THE SAM POMERANTZ SCANDALS. In the scene where that comedian is doing impressions for Rob and the others in the hotel lobby and Buddy says "Do the president;do JFK!"

There was a JFK reference in one episode; THE SAM POMERANTZ SCANDALS. In the scene where that comedian is doing impressions for Rob and the others in the hotel lobby and Buddy says "Do the president;do JFK!"

Right, that's been pointed out to me, thanks. I should never say never on the internet but that impression was delivered by a guest star who was portraying an entertainer who specialized in voices. I just learned Len Weinrib, the actor who played Danny Brewster, had a hit single in 1962 called "Prez Conference" which we can assume was an impression of JFK, so it would have been expected that he would employ the talent for which he may have been best known at the time.

"Baby Fat" was on again tonight, and it got me wondering if there was a playwright c. 1960 who took his German Shepherd to rehearsals. Haven't located one yet, though it seems Edward Albee was crazy about dogs.

I don't know enough about the theater to even make a guess but wasn't there a writer who was famous for always having their cat with them? I don't know.

"The Man From Emperor" aired tonight, Emperor being the name of a successful bachelor magazine whose publisher Drew Patton tries to lure Rob into writing for him. "Drew" is obviously a reference to Hugh Hefner, but why the surname Patton? Why not something that sounds like Hefner like Refler? Anything.

In searching out info, I ran across this on IMDb. It's unrelated to my query, but a fun fact and another example of infrastructural slyness of the DVD writing.

The voice of Sam, the receptionist who announces Rob's arrival at Drew's office, was supplied by Mary Tyler Moore. This is a reference to her role on the series 'Richard Diamond, Private Detective' as the answering service operator Sam, whose full face was never shown.

Given the above it's not too big a stretch to think Ray Murdock, the TV interviewer who got Rob to say he bases some sketches on Laura's odd behavior, is a parallel to Edward R. Murrow.



Murdock episode was on Decades again today. I decided to look up Murrow: he actually did interviews with Sid Caesar and Danny Thomas. At 1:50:00 here, Murrow asks Thomas how much of his material comes from his real home life:

https://youtu.be/xsokOsNGDl0

"Love Thy Other Neighbor" has the play "Solid White Zebra.". Could be the musical comedy, "Solid Gold Cadillac" (1953) and the novel "Ice Station Zebra" (1963). The white part is pretty common.

Sort of like how the one episode where Sheldon Leonard appears in, his name is Max Calvada?

Calvada being the production company that made the series.

My favorite episode, BTW

Sort of like how the one episode where Sheldon Leonard appears in, his name is Max Calvada?

Calvada being the production company that made the series.

My favorite episode, BTW

He is excellent in so many shows doing guest appearances !

As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, especially gangsters or "heavies". His trademark was his especially thick New York accent, usually delivered from the side of his mouth. (He would often pronounce th as t and would say er as oi, thus he would pronounce earth as oit.)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502766/

In "Talk to the Snail," Rob calls his agent, George Shapiro. Carl Reiner was related by marriage to agent George Shapiro, who represented Reiner and eventually represented Jerry Seinfeld and Andy Kaufman.

I never noticed before: in "Remember the Alimony," Rob tells Laura he'll do his "Andy Russell impression" in the hotel room. Per Wikipedia, Andy Russell "was an American popular vocalist, actor, and entertainer of Mexican descent, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music. He sold 8 million records in the 1940s singing in a romantic, baritone voice and in his trademark bilingual English and Spanish style."