News of the Week: Late-Night TV, Ray Bradbury, and Do You Remember Krumbles?

Are Late Night Talk Shows Coming to an End?

I hope so.

I don’t have anything against late night talk shows. I have fond memories of watching Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Tom Snyder, and Dick Cavett. But the late-night hosts of today aren’t Johnny, Dave, Tom, or Dick.

What’s wrong with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers? Well, they’re not the above hosts, for one thing. But beyond that, they’re too political. I mean outwardly political, in a partisan way. Sure, the old-school hosts made political jokes in their monologues too, but they were equal opportunity offenders, and the jokes/guest line-ups later in the show rarely drifted into the political.

I used to love when guests came on and they weren’t even plugging a new project! They were just there to entertain. This is almost unheard of now (but we do get lots of reality show stars).

Can today’s hosts be funny? Of course! There’s some good writing on the shows. But they’re often too obvious and the shows just aren’t worth staying up for (or even recording to watch later). I understand that times change, but late-night shows used to be appointment TV just before you went to bed. Now you can watch the “highlights” on YouTube. The shows are easier to watch now (and therefore also easier to skip).

And it’s not the age of the hosts, as if I’m too old to appreciate the “younger” humor. Colbert is 60. Kimmel is 56, Meyers is 50, and Fallon will be 50 in a few weeks.

Carson was 36 when he took over The Tonight Show and ended his run at the age of 66. So, he was in his 40s and 50s during the show’s heyday. But being in your 40s and 50s in the 1960s-80s was a lot different than being that age today.

Maybe one of the networks will just rerun old Johnny or Dave shows every night, uncut, just as they aired before. I’d stay up to watch those.

Anyway, I’m not the only one who thinks late night shows might not last much longer. The New York Post thinks so and so does Jimmy Kimmel.

Tarantula Warning!

Killer bees. Murder hornets. Disease-carrying mosquitoes. Weird beetles. The list of bugs we have to worry about keeps growing. Now we can add tarantulas.

The baseball-sized spiders may soon be invading the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Get ready! It’s mating season and the males are looking for a partner (but then again, aren’t we all?).

Here’s actual local news footage from the small town of River Falls.

Uploaded to YouTube by Corrinthe

Does It…Taste Like Chicken?

Have you ever wanted to eat an ice cream sandwich that looks like a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken? Well, now you can!

A Post Writer You Should Read

It’s not a giant spider but it’s equally big.

I’m talking about the giant reptile in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, a 1953 movie I rewatched recently. It’s based on the short story by Ray Bradbury of the same name (later titled “The Fog Horn” in some collections), first published in the June 23, 1951, issue of the Post. Yup, the classic monster movie was based on a Post story.

1953 was a busy year, movie-wise, for Bradbury. He also wrote the screenplay for another classic, It Came from Outer Space.

Other stories that Bradbury wrote for the Post include “The World the Children Made” (later titled “The Veldt”), “Juggernaut,” “Summer in the Air,” and “The Magic White Suit” (later made into the 1998 film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit). And he didn’t just write for the Post; he was a member of the fiction advisory board.

Bradbury would have turned 104 yesterday. Here’s a 2009 interview with the author that accompanied “Juggernaut.”

RIP Phil Donahue, Alain Delon, Greg Kihn, Jack Russell, John Aprea, Jay Kanter, Charlie Moss, and Betty Ballantine

Phil Donahue was a pioneering daytime talk show host. He hosted his show for almost 30 years, taking it from a local Dayton, Ohio show in 1967 to the last episode of his nationally syndicated series in 1996. He died Sunday at the age of 88.

Alain Delon was an iconic French actor who appeared in Le Samouraï, The Leopard, Plein Soleil, Mr. Klein, The Eclipse, and The Swimming Pool. He died Sunday at the age of 88.

Greg Kihn was known for such hits as “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song.” He died last week at the age of 75.

Jack Russell was the lead singer of the rock band Great White, known for such songs as “Rock Me” and “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” In 2003, they were on stage at The Station nighclub in Warwick, Rhode Island when their pyrotechnics started a fire that killed 100 fans. He died last week at the age of 63.

John Aprea was a veteran, prolific actor who appeared in such movies as The Godfather Part II, Bullitt, and The Stepford Wives, as well as TV shows like Matt Houston, Full House, The Gangster Chronicles, and American Heiress. He died earlier this month at the age of 83.

Jay Kanter was the agent for several classic Hollywood stars, including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Marlon Brando. He later produced several popular movies in the ’70’s and ’80s with Alan Ladd Jr. and also Mel Brooks. He died earlier this month at the age of 97.

Charlie Moss produced the “I ♥️ NY” advertising campaign in the 1970s/’80s along with the “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz” ads for Alka-Seltzer. He died earlier this month at the age of 85.

Robert Weatherwax was part of the family that trains Lassie. He died last week at the age of 83.

If Betty Ballantine’s last name sounds familiar, you probably know it from the paperback books she helped introduce. Ballantine was the first to publish Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. She died in February at the age of 99.

This Week in History

Hawaii Becomes 50th State (August 21, 1959)

The Act that President Eisenhower signed was officially titled “An Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii Into the Union.”

The World Wide Web Released to Public (August 23, 1991)

Thanks, Tim Berners-Lee. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be printing these columns and handing them out on the street corner.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Kellogg’s Cereal (August 21, 1948)

I had most of those cereals, but…Krumbles? According to Mr. Breakfast, the cereal came about from Kellogg’s trying to create a shredded wheat biscuit cereal. Instead, the pieces just crumbled, and the rest is history.

If you read the comments at the Mr. Breakfast link, it seems a lot of people loved the cereal and really miss it.

Tuesday is Banana Lovers Day

You can add bananas to cereal, of course, or you could make these desserts (or do both, there’s no one that can stop you!). But you better make them now, in case they vanish forever.

Sally’s Baking Addiction has a recipe for The Best Banana Cake, All Recipes has these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Taste of Home has a recipe for Banana Split Brownies.

And from the pages of our sister publication The Country Gentleman come several recipes, including Baked Bananas, Banana Croquettes, Banana Pie, and Banana Pudding.

That’s from a 1917 article titled “When Food Costs Soar.” I guess some things never change.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

U.S. Open (August 26)

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray won’t be there this year (Nadal is injured and Murray retired after the Olympics), but everyone else will be. ESPN will have ball-to-ball coverage, with Tennis Channel replaying the matches.

Frankenstein Day (August 30)

It’s called that because it’s the birthday of writer Mary Wollstonecraft. (It rolls off the tongue better than “Mary Wollstonecraft Day.”)