everyday is halloween

this TV halloween special starring comedian paul lynde is an anti-classic of 1970s variety show kitsch.  fun, yes.  a slog to get thru the whole hour, yes.  & yet, i was 9 years old in 1976.  the rock band KISS looked pretty scary to me.  they didn't sound scary & i can't recall who had the double lp ALIVE!, & later the second live double lp, ALIVE II, but man! i remember rocking out & fascinated by the pictures of the band members in action, like gene simmons' mouth dripping blood after doing his famous fire eater act, & the audience.  looking at those photos & the eager audience members in the stadium waiting for KISS to take the stage you know the air was rank with marlboro cigarettes, stale budweiser, weed, hashish, & patchouli!  

so the band were a perfect complement to lynde's brand of snarky 1970s comedy for a halloween night.  do note the witches that are his costars.  if you were a kid in the 1970s you'll remember witchiepoo, played by billie hayes, from sid & marty kroft's piece of children's TV psychedelia, H.R. Puffnstuf.  the other witch is played by margaret hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from the film The Wondeful World of Oz [1939].

i dare ya.  i double dog dare ya, boils & ghouls to sit down with your favorite beverage, a snack or two, & watch this halloween special all the way thru.  

the show can drag on for a bit.  you will feel that hour pass like a kidney stone.  there may be better badges of bravery than the claim that you watched this television all the way thru without breaking your funny bone  but you will have survived.  & lived to tell the tale.

boo