Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Forgotten TV; THE REAL MCCOYS




Why is it I remember these old tv theme songs better than the plots? This show, a favorite of mine as a ten year old, was on from 1957-63 and starred Walter Brennan as the family patriarch who brings his son (Richard Crenna) his wife and their three kids to California to farm.  A very nice evocation of a rural family that predated and prefigured The Waltons. You might also think ahead to THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, but this was a different kind of show-played less for laughs than smiles.

10 comments:

Jerry House said...

Tony Martinez, who played hired hand Pepino, also wrote and performed four songs on the 1956 Bill Haley classic ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK.

J F Norris said...

If there were a game show called NAME THAT TV THEME you and I would be two great contestants, Patti. My warehouse of a memory is overloaded with TV themes and TV commercial jingles. I still remember the words as well as the tunes to extremely obscure themes like "It's About Time", the time travel spoof about astronuats stuck in the caveman age. "The Real McCoys" is a bit before my time, though. I don't ever recalling seeing it even in a syndicated rerun.

Charles Gramlich said...

I only vaguely remember that this existed. I never watched it.

Part of the reason you remember the song well is recognition. When you hear it, it comes out for you. If you watched the episodes again, many elements would jump out at you too because of recognition.

Anonymous said...

I watched it too. Jackie loved the show. Before MCCOYS Richard Crenna (a real favorite of Jackie's) was on OUR MISS BROOKS as Walter Denton and before that was on an early - and very silly - episode of I LOVE LUCY.

I remember the theme song too, by the way. It was like BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND in that it told the story of the show, surely one of the earliest shows to do that.

Jeff M.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the kids were not Crenna's - they were his younger sister and brother, though his wife (Kathleen Nolan) did serve as a parental figure for them.


Jeff M.

Todd Mason said...

Well...when did you also fall into the habit of doing other things while not actually watching tv?

But, indeed, hearing a theme at least every week for years can help...

(saunters off, whistling the theme to MEDICAL CENTER, a series I essentially never watched, but my mother would, when my parents' bedroom adjoined mine)

Anonymous said...

My husband was always amazed that I knew all the words to the "Bonanza" theme song. It's because my best friend's brother had it on a 45 (the song on the flip side was "Ringo"). We'd play it over and over, laughing at the lame-o lyrics, but it's stuck in my head for all eternity now!

Deb

Anonymous said...

dum da da dum da da dum da da dum, Bonanza!

Am I close?

Well done, Deb. I'm not sure if I should admit to knowing the words to the "My Mother the Car" theme song.

OK, I found the Bonanza lyrics and I must admit, I didn't know them.


Jeff M.

Anonymous said...

Hoss and Joe and Adam know
Every rock and pine.
No one fights, works, and eats
Like those boys of mine.

Don't get me started!

Deb

Cap'n Bob said...

I watched TRM every week. Their neighbor, George McMichael (played by Andy Clyde) was once a sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy. And George's sister, played by Madge Blake, was also Larry Mondello's mother on Leave It to Beaver.

Tony Martinez was a big music/acting star in Mexico. I had the misfortune of seeing one of his movies. I'm not saying he was short, but he had to look up to see Alan Ladd's forehead. Seeing this little guy as a romantic leading man just didn't work, and having him sing and dance every ten minutes didn't help, although he had talent.