Understood- In the 1970s, he seemed inescapable to me, but time passes.
Oh, absolutely. Which is the cause of many of these cultural references we don’t get. There are many from my youth the youth of today would miss. Of course, so many of these shows, books, songs and movies weren’t really actively intended to be timeless (particularly applicable to anything that does topical humor). I know it can seem weird when younger people don’t know what seems like the most basic popular history, but I have to remind myself that I might know some famous people from before my time, but I shouldn’t fall into the trap of expecting young people to know all the famous people from before theirs - or even the particular one that matters to me. And, really, so many of these people I really only became aware of as an adult and only because I have somewhat of an interest in the history of pop culture and these people are part of history rather than relevant to today’s pop culture to me.
I’ve never seen American Graffiti but I know he had a role in that. Back in the '70s there was a music show on weekends called “The Midnight Special”* that I think he used to host.
And then of course there’s Todd Rundgren:
* And speaking of references I didn’t get, I wasn’t aware at the time of the Creedence song that the show took its name from.
Shortly after watching the coin toss scene from No Country For Old Men I saw the parody on The Simpsons I definitely didn’t catch that the first time I saw that episode
Thanks to game shows during that decade I was aware of dozens of celebrities that I had no idea what they were famous for. Fannie Flagg? Arlene Francis?
Kitty Carlisle!
Brett Sommers!
Brett Somers is only “anybody” because her then-husband Jack Klugman was invited on Match Game in the beginning, and he said he would if Brett was on. And she fit in so well that she stayed forever and he never came back.
Fannie Flagg and Patti Deutsch and whoever usually set in the lower left…I have no idea.
And even though he was never carried in my market, Wolfman Jack was inescapable in the 70s. Don’t forget he mostly played himself in American Graffiti. And never forget, unless you’ve never heard it:
See, and I didn’t get the reference to “Howlin’ Hal” - “Curious George” was only the book to me , even my kids are too old to know the TV series.
I can only name two characters from “Curious George”. I didn’t know there were more.
I disagree. Many of those are recognizable by anyone with any Hollywood film knowledge- Bogart, the Marx brothers, Stewart, Three Stooges, Bing, etc. Sure, some are today less famous- but the jokes can still be funny, altho i admit they are funnier if you know most of them.
One of my favorite songs. The Midnight Special.
Well, I have Hollywood film knowledge, and i say (outside of Edward G Robinson or Bogart. and a few others) I don’t recognize half of them. “oomph girl?” Would you recognize Leon Schlesinger just sitting there? Well,no one else would.
But what I said was the behaviors being parodied are too insider. For example, Clark Gable is a horn dog womanizer? Why is Bogart pitching pennies? Why is it important Garbo lights a match on her foot? That’s Hollywood gossip knowledge, not film knowledge. OLD gossip.
No, but I did recognize over half of them. For example-Bogart, the Marx brothers, Stewart, Three Stooges, Bing, and others.
You may recognize them now but how about when you were a young child watching Saturday morning cartoons? The only part of that cartoon I found funny at that age was when that one guy (Bogart) got the pie in the face.
The old WB cartoons were not intended for children. Cartoons were part of every show, so they had to please the adult audience (though they also were aimed to entertain the animator).
In the 1970s we got all of the WB cartoons after school. The worst were the zero context “Let’s make fun of the Warner’s actor’s stable” or parodies of songs nobody had heard in 30 years. The WWII cartoons were over our head and pretty racist but at least the slap stick was funny. I seem to remember these categories being taken out of rotation near the end of the decade.
Yeah, that’s why no kids ever enjoyed them and they faded from existence when theaters stopped showing them. Other than obscure references, like “Hollywood Steps Out”, we understood them fine. Even “Swooner Crooner”, which is very dated, but even if you don’t recognize Bing and Frankie, you can “get” it..
As for references, when Bugs would go to a tv studio and there were all these shows that did fade away after their time that were being parodied, they were confusing. People Are Phoney, You Are There, and call-to-win game shows, or even what a chorus was, that Bugs got his start in show business there. They went over our heads. But still, we laughed. Except for HSO, of course. 
Wikipedia tells me that “Miss Otis Regrets” is actually a parody song. IDNNT. (The cross references are part of the joke). I just heard the Blues, like the songs it was actually a parody of.
The lower right seat – where Flagg and Deutsch usually sat – was typically reserved for a funny, smart female actress or personality, like those two, as well as Marcia Wallace. (Flagg’s biggest career success was years later; she wrote the novel which served as the basis for the film Fried Green Tomatoes.)
The lower left seat was typically reserved for a young, attractive actress, with whom Gene Rayburn could flirt (as it was the closest seat to where Rayburn would sit/stand while the panelists gave their answers), such as Elaine Joyce and Jo Ann Pflug.
The catchphrase “You’ll be Sorry!” originated in a long-forgotten radio quiz show Take It Or Leave It,” and was given life beyond via a Looney Tunes parody. I’m glad for that because it deserves immortality.
Disney’s Aladdin was made for kids, and the Groucho and Peter Lorre references may still track, but not the William F. Buckley. Jaffar was based on Conrad Veidt in The Thief of Baghdad, but that’s not a reference point, just typical Disney pilferage. Veidt, though straight, had starred in 1919’s Different from the Others, perhaps the origin of the take that Jaffar is gay-coded. Not seeing it.