Fun Friday!

I know. I am a horrible blogger, but since I started working on my new work in progress, the blog ideas just haven't been coming. This is one I had in the "archives" waiting until I found all of the pictures.

If you've ever visited my website, you've seen this photo of me taken when my father brought home our first television.

(Check out that wallpaper in my parents' first apartment. Lord, have mercy!)

I don’t exactly remember when my father brought our very first TV home (1952/1953?), but as the photo above testifies, I was completely enamored with the walnut-encased floor model. And I must admit, sometimes I still am.

My favorite shows when I was little were Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Lassie, the Ed Sullivan Show, Howdy Doody and Superman.

    

At that time, there were NO black people on television, with the exception of Rochester and Amos & Andy, characters I'd rather not remember.

 

As the years went on, I became an avid fan of both dramas, variety shows, and comedies. I’ll never forget when Nat King Cole debuted on the air, I remember my mother and grandmother almost having a conniption. The first black person to have his own TV show!

He opened the doors for the Flip Wilson Show and In Living Color. Years later, Diahann Carroll appeared on the screen as Julia, the first sitcom featuring a black woman that wasn't a maid.

Julia had an adorable child and lived a normal life with a normal job. That show paved the way for Cosby and Living Single.

As a pre-teen, one of my favorite pastimes on Saturday was watching Chiller Theater with "the cool ghoul," John Zacherly as host.

 

I think watching Chiller Theater, Creature Features, and monster flicks like Rodan and Godzilla developed my love for the offbeat and slightly gory and is the reason why I can’t get enough of True Blood today.

Okay, now that you know how old I am, next week I'll share my current TV addictions with you.