Video Page 2

 T.H.E. CAT

I was looking at a montage of obscure old TV themes on You Tube when I came across this gem! I had completely forgotten about it. I used to watch this programme when it was on TV originally in the 1966/67 period and I loved it. It looked cool then and it still looks cool now over 40 years later! Here in the U.K. it was shown on ITV, which in the London region meant Rediffusion. At that time TV would finish by about midnight and T.H.E. CAT was shown in the last hour late in the evening. It has been likened to another series IT TAKES A THIEF (1968) starring Robert Wagner but I can also see some similarity with the roles portrayed in MAN IN A SUITCASE (1967) and the much later EQUALISER.

The show only ran for one series and is thought to have been ahead of its time because it was one of the first series to feature martial arts as a type of fighting system used by the "hero". The boom in martial arts films and TV only came later largely thanks to Bruce Lee.

Interestingly, I now realise that there are connections with the man who did so much to make this genre popular. Lee was also trying to break through in 1966 in another series THE GREEN HORNET. He also liked the music of Lalo Shifrin who composed not only the theme tune for T.H.E. CAT but many others including MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (1966), THE MAN FROM UNCLE (1966), BULLITT (1968) and the soundtrack to Lee's crowning glory ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). And I now realise there is a similarity of style in all of these pieces of music!

But, more than that, in the build up to the main fight scene in ENTER THE DRAGON, Lee adopts a similar style of dress and movement to Robert Loggia (the star of T.H.E. CAT), complete with rope, as shown in the opening sequence to the first episode

TO KILL A PRIEST in the clip on the left! The difference being that Lee's fight is far more arduous and with far more adversaries!

As for Robert Loggia, the name meant nothing to me but as soon as I saw this clip, I realised I'd seen him down the years in numerous films and TV shows but looking much older! In fact, he started acting in the 1950's and he's still going strong today at the age of 78 and has roles in several new films currently in production or awaiting release.

Apparently, Loggia performed his own stunts in T.H.E. CAT but I can't see how he could have done the walk on the tightrope himself! The photo on the left is Robert Loggia as he looks now.

NEVILLE KING AND ARTHUR WORSLEY

This clip is from Paul Merton's PERFECT NIGHT IN programme which went out on the BBC some time ago. I've used this because it's the only clip that I could find which shows two of my favourite venriloquists from the 1960's/1970's, Neville King and Arthur Worsley. Good choice Paul! They were special because of the gimmicks they used as Paul explains and as you can see for yourself. Worsley died in 2001 but Neville King is still very much alive - see the colour photo below on the left.

There were a lot of good ventriloquists on TV in the sixties. Terry Hall and Lenny the Lion, Ray Allen and Lord Charles who I probably confused with Arthur Worsley's dummy Charlie Brown as they were a bit similar. There was also Dennis Spicer (see black and white photo) who was tragically killed in a car crash after appearing in the Royal Variety Show in November 1964.

I must have seen at least one of these performing live in Bournemouth in the 1960's as we used to go to variety shows there in the summer but I can't remember. I do remember that I saw some of our greatest comedians like Arthur Askey, Morecambe and Wise and Tommy Cooper!

I first saw Neville King on THE GOOD OLD DAYS TV programme in the 1960's and I was amazed to find that not only does this show still live on at the same venue in Leeds (though not on TV these days) but that Neville, now aged 81, recently appeared there in Octobe 2008! Apparently, he now lives in the US but still comes over to the UK to do the occasional show.

SEE www.cityvarieties.co.uk for more details.

The real question is, though, if he still appears with the "old boy" dummy, which one now looks the older! They must look similar!