You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: What was the Welsh saying expressed by Tom Jones at the end of his weekly show in the 1960s? What does it mean?
A: Ah, Tom Jones. A huge star in the 1960s, he is still part of the pop culture world in his 80s, with his newest recording released in 2021. In addition, a current Toyota commercial with Joneses – Tommy Lee, Leslie and Rashida – used Tom’s “It’s Not Unusual” as its music. From 1969 to 1971 he hosted “This Is Tom Jones,” a musical variety show; a native Welshman, he ended the show by saying, “Gwyn eich byd a dymunaf i chwi lawenydd bob amser,” which one of my TV reference books translates as “May you always be well and be happy.”
Q: We need more laughs these days! One silly show that made me smile was “The Gong Show.” Do you know if it is coming back? The host alone is worth watching the show.
A; The deeply weird “talent” program “The Gong Show” originally aired in 1976-80 with Chuck Barris (known mainly as the man behind “The Dating Game” and other shows) as the best-remembered host. Oddly talented people performed for a panel of judges (among them Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr and Rip Taylor) who could either give them a score or “gong” them to stop their performance. There was also a revival of the series in late ‘80s without Barris. But you may be thinking of the most recent version hosted by Tommy Maitland, a character played by comic actor Mike Myers, which arrived in 2017. (Barris, by the way, had died earlier that year.) It ran for about 20 episodes across two seasons, but there has not been a new telecast since 2018. So I would not look for more.
Q: Is the next season of “The Amazing Race” in production and when can we expect it to air?
A: I’d expect the racers to get to work soon. CBS on March 9 announced an order for a 34th round of the adventure competition as part of its lineup in the 2022-23 season. At the same time, it picked up new seasons of “Tough as Nails” (which, like “Amazing Race,” is hosted by Phil Keoghan), “Survivor” and “Secret Celebrity Renovation.”
Q: I am wondering about the actors in a movie I saw in 1954 or so. It was an English movie and as an emotional teenager I cried my eyes out. I believe it was called “The Girl Who Couldn’t Quite.”
A: That is the correct title of a 1950 movie based on a play of the same name. It involves a tramp helping a young woman who is unable to smile. Elizabeth Henson played the girl, Ruth, with Bill Owen as the tramp, Tim. The cast also included Betty Stockfeld and Iris Hoey.
Q: I am wondering if actress Lynn Hamilton is still living. She played a neighbor on “The Waltons” and I thought she had a beautiful smile.
A: Hamilton is apparently still with us at the age of 91. She has had a long acting resume. Her first screen role was in John Cassavetes’ film “Shadows” in 1959. She played Fred Sanford’s girlfriend Donna Harris on “Sanford and Son,” and was in “Roots: The Next Generation,” “Rituals” and other TV productions. She was also a regular theater performer including with a one-woman show, “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” She was married to the poet and playwright Frank S. Jenkins for more than 40 years, until his death in 2014.
Q: Whatever happened to the mob movie “The Irishman,” with Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and others? It hit the streets for about a week and then disappeared? Were there bad reviews? I’m really curious.
A: The 2019 movie directed by Martin Scorsese was not really made for theatrical showings aside from a few to make it eligible for Oscar consideration. (It manages to get 10 nominations but no wins.) The streaming service Netflix agreed to put up the reported $100 million budget Scorsese said he needed and so obtained the main rights to show the film. You can still find all three-and-a-half hours of the movie on Netflix along with a conversation among Scorsese, Pacino, DeNiro and Pesci. It has also been released on Blu-ray and DVD in a lavish Criterion Collection package.
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