From Ozzie & Harriet to the Kardashians
Recently, I discovered that Pluto TV has all the episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. You have Pluto if you have a smart TV. So that’s become my new nightly routine, watching them until the warmth and nostalgia eventually breaks down my chronic insomnia. It was a remarkably well done show, starring really talented people.
Ozzie Nelson was a former popular big band leader, as well as a star athlete. He played several instruments, including the banjo. Harriet was the primary vocalist for Ozzie’s band. They had two sons, David and Ricky, who both appeared on the show as themselves. It was a personal look into their private lives, with some scripts taken from real life events. David projected kindness, and was the big brother anyone would want. Even better than Wally Cleaver. Ricky, though, was the star of the family, and the television series. In the early episodes, he was featured playing the drums. Before long, Ozzie- who was in full control of their careers, realized that he had the first modern teen idol on his hands. Sinatra, Elvis, didn’t appeal primarily to teenage girls. Ricky Nelson did. He paved the way for Fabian, and Frankie Avalon, Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, the Jonas Brothers. But Ricky was by far the most talented of them all.
Ozzie began inserting performances by his youngest son, with his trademark “Rick” guitar, singing his latest number at the end of nearly every episode. It was a brilliant marketing strategy, and helped Ricky to sell millions of records. Ricky’s band was renowned, especially lead guitarist James Burton, who is still alive and playing music. Keith Richards, among others, was said to be a huge fan of Ricky’s music, and especially loved the guitar work of Burton. The shows are a blend of long antiquated family values and humor, and music that holds up really well. Many of the scripts were written by Ozzie’s brother Don Nelson, so this was really a family affair. When David married actress June Blair, she was cast as his wife on the show. Shortly after that, Rick married Kristin Harmon, and she also became his onsc
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
