Grayson, Harlan, Ilya and Napoleon

[Gothick]

Fans,

Kosmo alerted me that Decades is doing a Man from UNCLE marathon tomorrow (Sunday July 2), and that Grayson Hall's episode is scheduled to be run at 12 Noon Eastern DST.  I didn't check the schedule but I did see a page for the UNCLE binge on what they have up on their site for tomorrow.

Grayson's story, "The Pieces of Fate Affair," is like a conglomeration of several major Sixties epiphenomena. Scripted by cult writer Harlan Ellison, the premise lampoons Jackie Susann and her scandalous best-seller VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.  Grayson's character was based on woman sci-fi novelist and critic Judith Merrill (and Merrill was not amused, which meant that this one episode was banned from syndication for many years).  Grayson appears in a chic red and black couture outfit, hosts a literary cocktail party, skewers a "psychedelic poet," and tells the head of THRUSH that there's really no observable difference between being a critic and a professional assassin.

It's good stuff--if I had a signal, I'd be tuning in!

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I saw that on Friday they ran several TMfU eps but none of them were Grayson's - it didn't even dawn on me that the might be doing an entire binge of the show this weekend. Thanks for the heads up, Gothick (and Kosmo).

It's just too bad that Decades never seems to run Grayson's The High and the Deadly Affair from The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. - I'd love to able to record it so as to a have a copy of it of my own...

[Gothick]

Grayson's role on the GIRL FROM UNCLE episode isn't all that noteworthy.  But she appears in the early scenes in a white lab coat and it's kind of uncanny since she was cast as Dr. H just a few months later.  And she's in a lot of shots in the later part and has a couple of good lines.  The Harlan Ellison script was a much better part for her.

The ones I desperately wish would show up are "Back to Back" with Shelley Winters and Grayson as an imperious resort manager on the BOB HOPE CHRYSLER THEATER of '65, and Grayson's episode of the legendary Peter Falk series TRIALS OF O'BRIEN in '66.  It's unclear to me whether either of those still exist in the respective studio vaults since there has been no sign of either in many years.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Didn't some of Grayson's scenes in TGFU take place on a plane? I could swear I remember that...  And I seem to remember something about a bird...

[Uncle Roger]

I definitely remember scenes of Grayson on a plane, though I'm not sure if the scenes were from Man or Girl From UNCLE.

[Gothick]

Yes, most of the action of "The High and Deadly Affair" was on board a plane.  That was why it was "high and deadly," lol.  April was disguised as a stewardess (the old word for a flight attendant).  And yes, there was a bird.

There were some fun character actors on hand in addition to Grayson and Murray Matheson.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I never watched the TMfU or TGfU when they were originally on - I guess they were on opposite something I liked. And I had no idea that Grayson had ever been on either. So just imagine my reaction when at some point around '69 or '70 TGfU started playing in syndication in my area after DS, and low and behold Grayson showed up. To say I was surprised would be an understatement! But I've never been lucky enough to catch that ep again since then...

I know many have criticized TGfU as not being as good as TMfU because it was supposedly "campy". I don't know about that because I've never compared them and I haven't seen TGfU in almost 50 years. Plus, I was probably 13/14 the last time I saw it. But I credit the show with making me a fan of Stephanie Powers - and I really enjoyed her chemistry with Noel Harrison. But if I ever do see the show again, maybe I will wonder what it was that I ever saw in it. Who knows?

[Uncle Roger]

I'm the opposite. I much preferred Girl from UNCLE, probably because of its campier tone. And camp it definitely it was! With Broderick Crawford playing a villain named Soyil Irosion to Boris Karloff as the evil Mother Muffin in drag! To April Dancer and guest star Stan Freberg being held captive in a giant toaster! This really has my name all over it.
And, for those who may be interested, all episodes of the series, including Grayson's are available on YouTube. Note there is a $1.99 charge.

Oi, oi, oi, my Bulgarian babies!

[Gothick]

GIRL FROM UNCLE is a bit of an oddity, even by the standards of 1967.  Most of the episodes are wildly campy, but there are a few, particularly the earlier ones, that are played straight.  There's this one that features Wally Cox as a professional killer.  It was a really well written story and Cox turned in a subtle, rather creepy performance. 

"My Bulgarian Baby" and Mother Muffin are definitely out there, but the campiest of them all might be this one with Margaret Leighton as this insane Countess determined to become the #1 THRUSH agent.  I've played that one maybe three times in recent years.  A friend of mine sent me the entire series from old 1980s syndication broadcasts about five years ago. 

Would still love to get the pro DVD set but every time I check, it's priced really high.

I saw Stefanie Powers do a this play in which she portrayed Tallulah Bankhead a few years ago.  The play is called LOOPED.  And the weird thing about it is the set-up is Tallu has to re-loop a line of dialogue for DIE, DIE MY DARLING, the 1965 Hammer film she did opposite--Stefanie Powers.  Stefanie was astonishingly good in the role.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But you know, there were different levels of camp in '60s TV. For instance, I could never get into the camp of Batman. Yet no one could say The Wild, Wild West wasn't campy, but it was a totally different type of camp, and it's a type I could get into. In fact, I watch TWWW almost every week on MeTV and thoroughly enjoy it - but I never watch their showings of Batman.

I'm guessing that since I definitely enjoyed TGfU, it's not of the Batman camp variety and closer to TWWW...

[dom]

I didn't realize this was a different Grayson episode than the one they played last time. I am disappointed I missed it.