Silly trivia

[highloon]

Over the years, I've noticed little things in Coach that are kind of interesting. This may sound silly to mention, but here they are:

The music playing at Martha's Roadhouse in Fergus Falls is the same music used in an earlier episode when Luther tests out a new set of speakers and blows out the windows in the teamroom.

As mentioned in another thread, the theme music for the Drewer's Coffee commercials is the same music playing at the charity ball at the end of the flashback episode of how Hayden and Christine met.

Like Beth Grant, there's another actor who was used in several episodes. I don't know his name, but he played the sheriff in Fergus Falls, the Highloon's assistant, and the best friend of the deceased stadium custodian, Alby Turwilliger. A very funny actor.

Bill Faggerbakke is a big Tom Jones fan, and would often entertain the audience in between takes with his rendition of "Delilah." This led to the producers' decision to include it in the teaser for the face lift episode.

The Burleigh home is also the home of the Munsters. It's true!

In the two Las Vegas episodes, the one live show that Hayden and friends attend, is the same exact show.


Useless information, to be sure, but hopefully somewhat interesting. Anybody have any more useless trivia?

[Janice]

Great stuff highloon! I only know the obvious stuff.
Shelley Fabares was the only actress to appear in 3 movies with Elvis Presley, and he's quoted as saying she was best actress he'd ever worked with.
Sad one, but Jerry Van Dyke lost his daughter in November of 1991, to suicide.
Craig T. Nelson has a real passion for golf. Here's an interesting article I found on the web.
http://www.golfjournal.org/features/...ember/back.asp

[Big Coach Fan]

Interesting..

I never knew about Jerry Van Dykes daughter.. that's very sad

[highloon]

I've neve mentioned this, but during the run of Coach, I worked at Universal Studios as a tour guide. I had a chance to talk to the actor who played the pizza delivery boy in the ep where Dauber moves into Luther's complex. It was right before that ep that the suicide incident occurred. He also told me that there was no audience during the taping of that episode, at Jerry's request. All the audience reactions were added in post production.

I mention this as a tribute to Jerry's professionalism and incredible acting ability. If you've seen the episode, you know that Jerry is definitiely at his funniest and craziest. No one would ever know what he was going through at the time. I have tremendous respect for the man.

[Brian Damage]

That's all very interesting stuff, thanks for the info.

[Janice]

Originally posted by highloon
I've neve mentioned this, but during the run of Coach, I worked at Universal Studios as a tour guide. I had a chance to talk to the actor who played the pizza delivery boy in the ep where Dauber moves into Luther's complex. It was right before that ep that the suicide incident occurred. He also told me that there was no audience during the taping of that episode, at Jerry's request. All the audience reactions were added in post production.

I mention this as a tribute to Jerry's professionalism and incredible acting ability. If you've seen the episode, you know that Jerry is definitiely at his funniest and craziest. No one would ever know what he was going through at the time. I have tremendous respect for the man.

Thanks for sharing your story. I can only imagine what Jerry Van Dyke was feeling at that time in his life. I'm sure a number of other actors would have taken a leave of absence, but the fact that he went on illustrates what a good person he is and speaks to his strong work ethic.
A tour guide at Universal? That sounds like fun. I'm sure you saw many actors. Did you ever sit in the audience of Coach or any other shows?

[highloon]

Hey Janice,

I got hired as a Universal tour guide in 1991, when Coach was really popular. I was already a huge fan and knew that the show was filmed at Universal. So, when I was hired, I took advantage of the policy that tour guides were given special priority at sit-com tapings, and were always guaranteed a good seat, as long as they made arrangements one week in advance. I immediately started making my reservations for Coach. In fact, I did it weekly at first, until I was politely told that I was abusing my priviledge, and needed to start pacing myself! In any event, some of the tapings I was there for include the episode when Luther wants to move next door to Hayden, when Hayden attends a men's therapy group, when Luther catches the legendary fish, "Gus", when Shirley becomes Howard's secretary, and when Hayden and Christine almost get married in Kentucky.

Being there live was great fun. The bloopers were always a kick, and the cast always made the audience feel like part of the show. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun. Eventually, I got to meet Jerry, who just happened to be standing outside his dressing room one day, as I was returning from the studio cafe. That was neat. Needless to say, these are great memories. Meeting even just one cast member of Coach was a treat, although meeting Elvis will always be my greatest memory!

[Janice]

Okay highloon, that does it. I'm jealous, lol.
That's a great story and good for you. It's cute how you were told to cool it with requests to be in the audience. That would be me. They'd have to give me the hook for sure, lol.
How nice you got to meet Jerry. He's seems like the nicest man. I can just sort of tell.
It seems to me that the set of Coach was a peaceful one. I never read any negative press which indicated otherwise. Then again, I wasn't a fan during the show's original run, so I didn't pay attention to anything related to Coach.
We've all read about trouble of the sets of Three's Company, Roseanne, Cheers for a while, even All In The Family. I don't want to get gossipy here, but I am curious if things ran smoothly on the Coach set.
I notice in the credits that Craig T. Nelson was executive producer and directed many episodes so he made sure he had creative control which was a smart move for him.
I wonder if the cast members keep in touch. The chemistry with Craig with Jerry, Shelley and Bill appears so genuine, that I can't help but wonder if they get together now and then.
I guess my secret's out. I'm nosy.
If you ever feel like sharing your story, I'd love to hear about your meeting The King. I loved Elvis. His death floored me...a terrible ending to a spectacular career. I've often thought of the music we never got to hear.

[highloon]

Boy, what a can of worms you opened with your last post, Janice. Let me see if I can respond without being too longwinded. First of all, regarding the set of Coach, from what I was able to observe, everybody did seem to get along quite well. The only tension that occurred was during the filming of the ep where Luther wants to move next door to Hayden. Craig and Jerry were goofing around so much that finally the director that week, Alan Rafkin, got a bit annoyed with them, and expressed it in front of the audience. Of all the tapings I attended, that was the only time that I observed tension on the set. I think you're right. When it comes to Hollywood, no news is good news. With all the paparazzi and columnists on the prowl, surely any ego clashes or fighting would have been discovered and printed somewhere, especially regarding a show as popular as Coach was. I truly believe that it was a happy set with players that respected each other and enjoyed working with each other.

Now, regarding Elvis, this is the can of worms I was referring to. The whole Elvis thing started with my Dad. Being a big fan himself, he used to listen to Elvis all the time. Well, when I was around four or so, I started enjoying his music, as well. It got to the point where Elvis was all I would listen to. Well Dad saw what a big fan I was becoming, so he decided to take me to Las Vegas to see Elvis live. I was five when we took the trip. We saw him at the Hilton and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had my souvenir concert program in my hand during the whole concert and at one point, Dad decided to see if he could help me meet Elvis. He gave me a pen and told me that he was going to help me get to the foot of the stage. This was accomplished by handing me to the woman next to me, who passed me on the person next to her and so on until I was at the stage. At that point, Elvis had just finished singing my favorite song at the time, "Burning Love", and was taking a quick break to sip some water. I decided this was the right time. I hopped up on stage and walked over to him and asked for his autograph. He laughed and got down on one knee and playfully talked to me for a few moments, and finally signed my program. I asked him to sign the cover, but he jokingly protested and asked why it was important for him to specifically sign the cover. I explained that that was where my Dad told me to tell him to sign it. He busted up and said, "This kid's even crazier than I am." Then he signed the program and I went back to my seat. So that's the story. I've been a huge fan ever since. In fact, the reason I discovered Coach was because I was flipping through channels and happened to see Luther talking about his new video, "The Search for Elvis". I thought it was great, and I was hooked from that point on.

I guess I never quite got over the experience of meeting Elvis or the love of Elvis' music because, currently I make my living here in Las Vegas as, you guessed it, an Elvis impersonator. I perform almost daily at the Elvis-A-Rama museum, recreating every era of Elvis' career, from the 50's to the Army to the movie years to the '68 black leather to the jumpsuit 70's. It's a labor of love and I'm having the time of my life keeping Elvis' memory alive. This is the whole reason I left California and came here. Thankfully, I have a wife who supports me 100% and is proud of what I do. This is a very sincere tribute to Elvis with an emphasis on accuracy and respect for the man as an artist. It's not played for laughs, in the least. Anyway, if you and your hubby are ever in the area, be sure to contact me there, and I would be happy to arrange complimentary tickets for both of you.

'Told ya it was going to be longwinded!

[Janice]

My reply won't be so long though, lol. Thanks for sharing your Elvis story. That's quite a treasure of a memory. Imagine if that was on tape...maybe it is somewhere.
It's terrific that you followed your dream and that you're keeping the memory of Elvis alive. I'd love to see your act. If I ever make it back to Vegas, I'll be sure to look you up. I love Elvis, but I have a friend who is obsessed with him. She goes to Graceland every year for her birthday. I buy her Elvis calendars, address labels, everything Elvis. I even got her that dashboard Elvis for her car that was in a car commercial.
My favorite Elvis era musically is the 70s. My favorite Elvis song is Suspicious Minds.
It was a nice touch on Coach having Luther so fixated on Elvis. I notice Christine makes a few references to him as well.
Here's the gossip in me, but it's a widely accepted story that Shelley and Elvis had quite a fling. This is really no big deal as they were both single at the time. Lucky Shelley.

[highloon]

I'm glad you got a kick out of my last post. Yes indeed, it's a great memory. Funny you should pick Suspicious Minds for your favorite song, because it's mine, too! Out of 739 songs, that's your fave? Who knew? Like you, my favorite songs are from the 70's, particularly from '69 to about '71. There was just something about his voice during that period that was especially rich and full. Just listen to songs like "Kentucky Rain" or "Wonder of You", or just simply watch the documentary, "That's the Way it Is",and you can hear something that's so different from what came before and what came after.

As far as Shelley and Elvis having a fling, I'm quite sure you're correct. As is the testimony of Elvis' entourage and close friends, during the 60's, he was quite the playboy and had a habit of inviting his female co-stars over to his trailer and dating them during the production. I'm sure Shelley was no exception, being one of the most attractive females he ever co-starred with.

Anyway, yes I have always enjoyed the Elvis references in Coach. They even named one of the eps "Love Me Tender" as you might know. The best Elvis ep is the sports convention in Memphis with all the Elvis stuff in the hotel room. As far as dialogue goes, my favorite is when Luther and Hayden talk about Luther's purchases of Elvis memorabilia, like his Elvis towel("It's not just a towel. It's a sweaty towel. It's Elvis' sweat!) or the bag of hair he almost purchased, allegedly belonging to Elvis ("but they couldn't guarantee it"). Just another in a long list of reasons why Coach is awesome!

Thanks for being such a big fan of the King!

[Big Coach Fan]

Remember when Christine was talking to Kelly about her younger days when she dropped out of college? At first when she mentioned she was a groupie to a musician my first thought was that they would be referring to Elvis.. but I think it was to John Denver.. go figure.

[Janice]

Originally posted by Big Coach Fan
Remember when Christine was talking to Kelly about her younger days when she dropped out of college? At first when she mentioned she was a groupie to a musician my first thought was that they would be referring to Elvis.. but I think it was to John Denver.. go figure.

I thought they were heading in that direction too, but alas, it was John Denver's Rocky Mountain High.