There was a place that I used to call my home away from home and that was the International Student Centre at the University of Toronto. I started there as a volunteer to help out with the welcoming of foreign students in the fall and ended up as the main receptionist there for a few years. In between those two positions, I was the usual Tuesday night guy behind the front desk where I took care of things after the main staff had gone home. There were the usual clubs (such as the Society of Creative Anachronism) that booked rooms in the ISC so I got to know them well, and even better, some of my friends from the Japanese-Canadian Students' Association dropped by to hang out by the desk. Even when I did lock up, we sometimes went out for a late dinner in Chinatown 10 minutes' walk away. Good times!
I appreciated being part of a social hub like that, but perhaps the seed for that idea came years previously with an NBC sitcom called "Cheers" that had a run of more than a decade starting from September 1982. I remember the original commercial for the series; it just had one amiable fellow who looked like he was about to hit a classy downtown bar on a dark stage simply describing this upcoming situation comedy called "Cheers" which promised to be something a little out of the ordinary.
And it turned out to be so. "Cheers" was about the humourous goings-on within a Boston bar run by former Bosox pitcher Sam "Mayday" Malone. For the first several years, everything basically took place within the comfortable old-style trappings of Cheers the bar among the regular customers who came in for a pint or ten. The above video shows the very first scene from the very first episode, and I still had to catch myself laughing.
One absolutely faithful barfly at Cheers was the lovable Norm Petersen played by George Wendt. He would always burst through the door and then everyone in the bar would yell "NORM!!" in greetings before a brief snarky exchange. It was sad to hear of Wendt's passing yesterday at 76. He's been in other projects although I believe that he preferred performing on the stage, but I will always remember him as ever-imbibing Norm.
Yup, this is an atypical Reminiscings of Youth although we'll have the regularly scheduled one tomorrow but since I enjoyed "Cheers" in the early years especially when Shelley Long and Nicholas Colasanto were part of the cast, I wanted to pay tribute to Wendt. Plus, since hearing about his death, the theme song has been playing in my head frequently.
As you know, I have lavishly included TV theme songs from my childhood and youth within the ROY series, and I think this one for "Cheers" is up there with the best. Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart-Angelo were the ones behind "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" with the former singing the song. Anchored by a piano that sounds as if it belongs to a bar like Cheers, Portnoy gives this truly sympathetic delivery and the equivalent of an arm around the shoulder as if helping a buddy in the blues and inviting him for a round on him at their beloved drinking establishment where the rest of the guys are waiting.
A full version of the song was released by Portnoy in early 1983. Of course, my condolences go to Wendt's family, friends and many fans. NORM!! So, at around the time that "Cheers" came out, what was up at the top of Oricon? I have the Top 3 from September 27th 1982.
1. Aming -- Matsu wa (待つわ）
2. Hiromi Go -- Aishuu no Casablanca （哀愁のカサブランカ）
3. Mio Takagi -- Dance wa Umaku Odorenai （ダンスはうまく踊れない）
I remember Cheers! I was way too young to understand it, but my father used to watch it, and Night Court. I think they came on back-to-back. The only song from September 27, 1983, on the list that I knew was Aming's Matsu wa (待つわ. However, I do Mio Takagai's performance of ダンスはうまく踊れない is very moving, plus since I am not a great dancer, the title resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. If I'm not mistaken, both "Cheers" and "Night Court" were indeed back-to-back as part of the Must-Watch-Thursday night lineup on NBC back then.
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