John Van Nostrand: Some things need to continue

Dec. 7—I never thought about it at the time, but if I did I wish I would have asked.

For those who saw our front page story about the death of television and movie producer Norman Lear, I thought the timing of a couple of his works were interesting. When he was filming "Cold Turkey" in 1969 in Adair County, it was about the same time the concept for his 1970s hit TV show "All in the Family" was still on paper.

I wasn't fully aware of "All in the Family" until my older brother had reruns on years after the show ended. But pay close attention to the "All in the Family" theme song. There is a reference to not one, but two, Iowa natives; Herbert Hoover and Glenn Miller. Sure, the setting of the show fit as characters Archie and Edith are part of the Great Depression/World War II generation. Hoover, the 31st president and born in West Branch, was in office during the Great Depression and got the blame for it. (Was he the first president to be linked to the status of the nation's economy?)

Miller was born in Clarinda and had a stellar career in Big Band music before and during the war. Unfortunately, he also died during World War II. Lear also served in World War II.

I listened to Lear when he spoke at the 30th anniversary of "Cold Turkey" in September 1999 in Greenfield. He seemed to enjoy his experience with Iowa and its people at the time.

I've wondered if the lyrics of the theme song of "All in the Family" were inspired by Lear's time in Adair County. Did he want some kind of Iowa reference and found the perfect two knowing the characters of the show?

Speaking of things to watch...

I admit, I was not one of the masses who binge watched anything and everything during the pandemic. I still haven't watched one episode of "Tiger King." I have no plan to either. I did run into a show called "Kim's Convenience." I liked it. And I think the entertainment media was accurate in its description as a modern version of "All in the Family." A Korean family with older children owns a convenience store in Toronto, Canada.

Maybe my wife's favorite movie was also a Lear-related project and reminded me of another thing that Hollywood should try again. "The Princess Bride" is a clever comedy based on the stereotypical bedtime story of good vs. evil and the boy and girl live happily everafter. I like the movie because of its appearances by its collection of actors from Billy Crystal to Peter Falk to Andre the Giant. Mike Myers was brilliant with those kind of guest appearances on his early 1990s comedy movies "Wayne's World."

Those casts remind me of "The Love Boat" television show that ended before the release of "Princess Bride." "The Love Boat" had its set cast, including Fred Gandy from Sioux City, who got into politics after acting. "The Love Boat" balanced on the soap opera/comedy theme but I thought it was great who they got to be on an episode; Andy Griffith, Eddie Albert, Milton Berle. The list goes on. I think fans liked it because they were anticipating who would be on.

My television and movie viewing are limited and I'm probably too picky with what I like. Wife Jennifer and I say we should have included in our wedding vows about agreeing on not agreeing we like the same stuff. Kind of like being in sickness and in health.

What might help me get into movies is something like "Siskel and Ebert." They wrote movie reviews for competing Chicago newspapers and starred in their own television show doing the same. I remember it being on Saturday afternoons when I was in school; which I thought was great timing if you were inspired by the show to watch a movie that night.

Siskel and Ebert had great chemistry with each other on the show and I thought explained their opinions very well. We don't have that today. Our online lives and society has Rotten Tomatoes, a website with movie reviews as the quality of movies is given a number. That doesn't help me nearly as much as Siskel and Ebert did. I want dialogue. I want a fun, healthy, clever, engaging exchange of information.

I doubt Siskel and Ebert's vibes can be duplicated today.

And I doubt Hollywood will have another Norman Lear.