In 1965, Petula Clark became the first UK female artist to have a US #1 hit during the rock and roll era, with “Downtown”. Before her, Vera Lynn had a #1 US hit with “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart” in 1952.
The word “downtown,” as a term for a city’s center, or central business / cultural area, is primarily a North American term. The Oxford English Dictionary gives a first citation for the term in reference to Boston, from 1770, though it is also theorized that the term was first coined in reference to New York City, and Manhattan.
An episode of the popular American comedy Seinfeld had the characters puzzling over the meaning and geography of the Petula Clark song “Downtown.” George Costanza (Jason Alexander) was, at the time, working for the New York Yankees.
The Petula Clark song “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” would seem to be understandable to New Yorkers, but in Britain a subway is not a train but an under-street pedestrian crosswalk. There is no confusion about the next line, “Don’t stand in the pouring rain”, however.
Since I got ninja’ed with a post mentioning “Kingsman Reef” I edited to add “Kingston Trio.”
In play: Loudon Wainwright III gives homage to New York City’s “Uptown”
Downtown is where it’s at, I don’t doubt that
But today I can do without I’m getting sick of the slums
I’m tired of dodging the bums
And all the freaks are freaking me out
Today we ruin the roach, today we conquer the crab
Today we bring the bedbug down
Watch me, baby, hail a taxi cab
You and me are going uptown
“Uptown Girl” was a song written by Billy Joel, released in 1983. It was originally written about Joel’s then girlfriend Elle Macpherson, but eventually became associated with his future wife, Christie Brinkley.
1960’s supermodel Pattie Boyd, married to and divorced from George Harrison and Eric Clapton, met property developer Rod Weston in 1991.The couple were married on April 29, 2015 in a ceremony held at the Register Office in Chelsea Old Town Hall, London. Weston was quoted as saying, “It’s almost our silver anniversary so we thought we had better get on with it.”
1960’s British supermodel Twiggy, known for her excessive thinness, is more properly known as Dame Leslie Lawson (née Hornby). She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to fashion, to the arts and to charity. She was gazetted under her married name, Lesley Lawson.
After modelling, Twiggy enjoyed a successful career as a screen, stage, and television actress. Her role in The Boy Friend (1971) brought her two Golden Globe Awards. In 1983 she made her Broadway debut in the musical, My One and Only, for which she earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
In the Blues Brothers movie, Twiggy played “The Chic Lady” that Elwood Blues meets at a gas station and sets up a date to meet her later. He doesn’t make it, however, what with the police chase and all. She is last seen waiting for him by her car at the appointed time and place.
The Blues Brothers, released in 1980, set the record for most cars destroyed in a production, with 103. That record stood for 18 years, until the making of The Blues Brothers 2000, which was released in 1998 and destroyed 104 cars. That record lasted until 2009, when 112 cars were destroyed during the making of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
In the linear notes to his 1965 satirical song Buy A Gun For Your Son, Tom Paxton notes that “Little boys have doll now. Do they even want to play with dolls” This was an obvious reference to the G.I. Joe craze of the time.
Actor Tom Poston was primarily known for comic roles; according to USA Today, Poston appeared on more sitcoms than any other actor. A longtime friend of Bob Newhart, Poston appeared regularly on three of Newhart’s series: The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, and Bob.
At the time of his death in 2007, Poston was married to actress Suzanne Pleshette, who had played Newhart’s wife Emily on The Bob Newhart Show.
Suzanna Pleshette and Tom Poston were lovers at the beginning of their careers. Both moved on and married other people, and then married in 2001, after their respective spouses had died.
Pleshette’s previous husband of 32 years, Tommy Gallagher, was a successful businessman in the oil and energy industry.
On the February 11, 1995, episode of Saturday Night Live which was hosted by Bob Newhart, the episode’s closing sketch ended with a redux of Newhart’s final scene, in which Bob Hartley again wakes with his wife Emily (special guest Suzanne Pleshette) and tells her that he had just had a dream of hosting Saturday Night Live. Emily responds, “Saturday Night Live, is that show still on?”—this during a period when SNL was heavily criticized for its declining quality.
One of those periods, anyway. From the 4/11/81 Weekend Update transcriptwith Al Franken, announcing Dick Ebersol’s hiring to produce the show:
A recurring joke among his foes during the Presidency of Richard M. Nixon, Republican of California (1969-1974) ran, “Dick Nixon before he dicks you.”
When Pat Paulsen, a deadpan comic who regularly appeared on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, “ran” for President in 1968, he used the slogan “I’ve upped my standards. Now, up yours.”
Pat Paulsen once appeared in black face, and it didn’t garner half the outrage as when Ted Danson did the same thing. Among those who weren’t outraged was Whoopi Goldberg, who urged Danson to do it. Later, Goldberg would appear in white face for a movie role.
Among many other roles over the course of his career, Ted Danson has played a detective (The Onion Field, his screen debut), a barkeep (Cheers), a state trooper (Fargo), a doctor (Becker) and a dog (Grosse Pointe).
He and Whoopi Goldberg broke up just a month after his notorious blackface appearance at the Friars Club.
Ted Danson has been married three times, but none of his wives were named Whoopi Goldberg. His first marriage was to actress Randy Gosch; they were married in 1970 and divorced in 1975. His second marriage, in 1977, was to Cassandra Coates, but that marriage ended in 1993 when Danson was having an affair with Goldberg. Danson was married for the third time in 1995 to actress Mary Steenburgen and they remain married today.
It is rumored that Danson’s divorce from Coates cost him 30 million dollars.