All Hail...Shari Lewis??!!??

What happened to Lamb Chop? Did Shari Lewis sacrifice her little lamb puppet to the Devil? This is from a book published in 1965 entitled Folding Paper Masks that the li'l woman found at the library. She brought it home for me, knowing that I'd get a kick out of this Satan mask. It makes me nostalgic for a simpler time, when a beloved children's television show hostess could show her allegiance to the dark lord and fly the devil horns without fear of repercussion. Good times, good times…

Speaking of Knights in Satan's Service, I watched a lousy KISS video over the weekend. KISS Exposed is from 1986, and I paid a quarter for it at the library book sale - quite the bargain, as I got at least 30 cents of enjoyment out of it. Mainly it's a collection of old performance clips with some then contemporary joke interview portions; these are filmed at what is supposed to be Paul Stanley's house, which naturally is overflowing with scantily clad and topless women. I bought it for the older "makeup" era footage. I loved KISS when I was a kid, and still have a soft spot for some of those songs and their over-the-top cartoon image. A few goodies are included - Deuce, Strutter, Detroit Rock City, I Stole Your Love, Ladies Room, I Love It Loud - all good stupid fun. The downside is the "post-makeup" videos that, for me, were a chore to sit through. God, this is some dire stuff - Lick It Up, All Hell's Breakin’ Loose, Uh! All Night, Tears Are Falling…garbage, every last one of them. The low point has to be Heaven's On Fire, in which Gene Simmons keeps pointing down at his crotch when the chorus is sung. Uh, Gene, if it feels like you're "on fire" down there you might want to see a doctor. What I find most interesting is how the focus in the band changed once the makeup came off. During the makeup era, Gene was definitely the focal point and front man. Once the makeup came off, Paul really took center stage. I've read that Gene was a bit embarrassed once the makeup came off, and who can blame him - he went from being "the demon" to "Hasidic looking guy in a really bad wig that looks terrible in spandex." These guys made a lot of money; couldn't he have afforded a better wig?

We also watched a 1976 made-for-TV movie that has somehow eluded me all of these years, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. I remember when it came out; I would've been about 9 years old. It stars John Travolta, and this was made about the time he was first finding fame as Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter. He's playing a 16 year old named Tod (who looks well over 20) with no disease immunities. Therefore, he is forced to live in a sterile environment where he spends his days wearing running shorts and bad knit hats, peeping at neighbors through his binoculars, playing with his pet mouse, and occasionally disco dancing. His dad is played by Robert Reed, and the passage of time is shown by having his clean cut appearance turn into a bad perm and mustache combo (wow, just like on The Brady Bunch!). Tod falls in love with the horse riding girl next door, throws a temper tantrum at a 4th of July picnic, goes to school in an awesome space suit, and has a pushup contest with some jock dude. Oh, and he meets some hippie kids who befriend him; he watches them spark a doobie on the football field while he claims to be from another planet to freak out their stoner witch asses. (One of the hippie chicks is played by P.J. Soles; she would soon become a cult movie legend playing Riff Randell in Rock 'n' Roll High School.) The movie ends with Tod venturing out of his plastic bubble- in his flowing white shirt with his hair blowing in the breeze he looks almost Christ-like as he communes with nature for the first time. Then he kisses the girl next door, they hop on her horse, and ride off as the credits roll (gee, I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone). I guarantee you there won't be a dry eye in the house. Well, that might be the case if the movie wasn't so overly dramatic, heavy handed, and downright corny. But dang, that spacesuit was awesome - almost like something Ace Frehley would've worn when he was in KISS…