In our funny video of the week from Adult Swim, Amy Poehler and Adam Scott recreate the opening of the 1979-1984 TV series Hart to Hart, which starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as the wealthy crime-solving Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. Although such an event does not need any hype to prove it is “The Greatest Event in Television History,” Jeff Probst introduces the Hart to Hart opening remake, which begins around the 13:38 mark, making sure we understand the cultural significance of the event. Check it out.
On June 6 in 1944, during World War II, around 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces crossed the English Channel and landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of Normandy, France. The deadly fight of D-Day thus began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi dominance. By late August of that year, northern France would be liberated and the Allies would defeat the Germans the following spring.
One of the most famous depictions of D-Day occurred in Saving Private Ryan (1998), when the movie opened as the Allies arrive and land on Omaha Beach. The movie tries to capture the horrific and deadly chaos that the soldiers experienced as they made the historic landing.
Recently, CBS Sunday Morning featured a story about the Normandy invasion and some of its dark sides. The piece discusses the destruction of France and, as in almost any endeavor involving a large number of people, notes that some of the soldiers did not act honorably. [2016 Update: Unfortunately, the video is no longer available.]
Of course, the bad acts do not diminish the importance of the victory over the Nazis or the heroism of many others, but we should remember all aspects of the story to understand history. As Rick Atkinson, author of The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945, notes near the end of the video, “war really flays open the soul.”
Many brave souls rose to the occasion after being thrust in a dangerous situation, but some later showed they were not perfect. So on this anniversary of D-Day, we celebrate the victories but also remember the many types of losses that are inevitable when humans go to war.
What will you do to remember D-Day? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Regular readers know that Chimesfreedom is a big Marty Brown fan, with previous posts covering his “lost career,” his recent albums he recorded on his own, and recent videos of an original and a George Jones tribute. Hopefully, tonight was another step in his comeback when he appeared on the first episode of season eight of America’s Got Talent singing Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” (a song we covered previously too).
The audience reaction gives away the result before any of the judges say a word. Unlike another former rising country star Julie Roberts who failed to win over any of the judges on The Voice this season, Marty Brown is moving on. Howard Stern called Brown an “undiscovered treasure,” but we have known he is a treasure for decades. And we are thrilled he is getting the attention he deserves.
We also saw how Brown’s wife Shellie Brown tricked him into appearing on the show. Marty is lucky to have the support of Shellie, who has given us previous reports on Marty’s comeback. We wish them both well in the next round on America’s Got Talent, although regardless of what happens, we hope some music executives saw tonight’s show.
In the excellent baseball documentary The Glory of Their Times (1977), someone once described seeing Babe Ruth when he was a pitcher before he played for the Yankees. After giving a glowing account of the Babe’s arm, the listener paused and then replied, “Wait until you see him hit.” After the judges tonight praised Brown’s cover of the Dylan song, I wanted to say, “Wait until you hear him sing his own songs.”
Knock it out of the park Marty and Shellie.
[September 2013 Update: For our recap of Marty Brown’s entire run and all his appearances on America’s Got Talent, check out our post The Great AGT Rebirth of Marty Brown.] What did you think of Marty Brown’s performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1976, Johnny Cash performed in “A Concert Behind Prison Walls” at the Tennessee State Prison. The video of the full Johnny Cash performance was released as A Flower Out of Place, also featuring performances by Linda Ronstadt, Roy Clark, and Foster Brooks. [May 2016 Update: Unfortunately, the video is no longer available for embedding but you may watch it at this link at iconcerts.]
The Tennessee Prison show was hosted by Glen Sherley who also performed, but the video omits him and he is not listed as a performer on the 2003 CD release of the show. It is possible he was cut from the release because he was the least known performer. But the film editors may have omitted him because by the time the show was released, Sherley had come to a sad end.
Cash met Sherley when Sherley was at Folsom Prison for armed robbery. Sherley, who had been in and out of prisons for much of his life, wrote the song “Greystone Chapel” while at Folsom. After Johnny Cash heard a tape of the song, he surprised Sherley by performing the song at his famous 1968 concert at Folsom Prison with Sherley in the audience. With some help from Cash, Sherley had a brief music career when he left prison, but he struggled to adapt to life outside prison bars and to his new fame. Sherley eventually fell back into drug abuse and shot himself to death in May 1978 at the age of 42.
Here is a video of Sherley performing his song “Greystone Chapel.” The performance appears to have been at the same Tennessee State Prison show, which would have been about two years before his death.
In an upcoming short film, Continuum, Planetery Collective interviews former astronauts who reflect on their unique experiences traveling to space and returning to earth. Check out this overview of the film.
What do you think of the video? Leave your two cents in the comments.
, notes near the end of the video, “war really flays open the soul.”
, also featuring performances by Linda Ronstadt, Roy Clark, and Foster Brooks. [May 2016 Update: Unfortunately, the video is no longer available for embedding but you may watch it at this link at 
