(c)1994

DVD Transfer 105 comes from a tape that I was surprised to run across; as it had been a long time since I had seen this one and would have done earlier if I had found it earlier. These contain a series of recordings from 1994 including the premiere of the made-for-TV movie "The Vernon Johns Story" and a July or August 1994 airing of "Dumbo"

CONTENTS

1. WGNT infomercial ("Cheque Mate: The Game of Princes"; infomercial focused on Jeffrey A. Baker's book examining evidence of a gradual plot toward a one-world government and the subtle erosion of freedom)

2. WGNT Late Movie Intro ("Found Money"; 1983 made-for-TV film starring Dick Van Dyke; Sid Caesar; Michael Earl; Tony Devon; Richard Sanders and Shelley Hack)

3. Acapulco H.E.A.T. (Code Name: Checkmate - Part 2 {S1E2}. Partial recording that was interrupted by a partial 700 Club episode including an interview with evangelist Nicky Cruz of "The Cross and the Switchblade" notoriety)

4. The Vernon Johns Story (sometimes called Road to Freedom) (1994 NBC made-for-TV movie based on the life of the Rev. Vernon Johns {played by James Earl Jones}; who served as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL from 1947-52; though his work in the civil rights movement was largely overshadowed by his successor as that church's pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Co-starring alongside Jones are Mary Alice, Joe Seneca, Tommy Hill, Nicole Leach, Clifton Blake, Cissy Houston {mother of Whitney} and Michael Howell. The film was directed by Kenneth Fink and co-executive produced by Richard Rubenstein and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)

5. WTVZ Sunday Matinee (Dumbo; the 1941 Disney film - released as an attempt to recoup losses from the previous year's "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" - is one of the Mouse House's shortest releases at 64 minutes and featured the voices of Edward Brophy; Verna Felton; Cliff Edwards {best known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket from the previous year's aforementioned "Pinocchio"}; Herman Bing; Sterling Holloway {later the original voice of Winnie-the-Pooh}; the Hall Johnson Choir {Hall Johnson; Jim Cartwright; James Baskett [later Uncle Remus in the long-surpressed by Disney 1946 release "Song of the South"] and Nick Stewart} and Billy Bletcher {among other roles; the original voice of Pete and the Big Bad Wolf}. The film ended up being Disney's biggest hit of the 1940s despite being released less than two months before the Pearl Harbor attack drew America into World War II; but in recent years has been the subject of debate over stereotyping of blacks {mainly owing to the appearance of the crows. Some - among the earliest being longtime Time movie critic Richard Schickel - charged the crows with being based on African-American stereotypes; particularly with Cliff Edwards' {who was white} character - the leader of the crows - originally being named Jim Crow {sharing a name with the minstrel character of the pre-Civil War era before being associated with laws enforcing segregation in the South} before being renamed Dandy Crow in the 1950s; though others - noting that the crows are among the few characters who are sympathetic to Dumbo and eventually help teach him to fly - argued in the crows defense; among them Floyd Norman, the first black Disney animator hired in the 1950s; who wrote an article in 2019 defending the crows titled "Black Crows and Other PC Nonsense". Eventually; Disney would add the film to its Disney+ streaming service; albeit with an "outdated cultural depictions" advisory and limited to ages 7 and up. Additionally; a scene depicting clowns trying to hit the ringmaster up for a raise is based on real-life events; as during production of this film much of the Disney animation team went on strike {Disney was not unionized at the time} - with Walt firing many of the animators involved. Ultimately; Disney - under pressure from the National Labor Relations Board - eventually acquiesced to the animators' demands; but became convinced that the strike was conceived by Communists out to get his studio {apparently believing that was why Disney - after 1942's "Bambi" - would not fully recover until the release of 1950's "Cinderella"}; resulting in Walt - a Democrat until 1940 - becoming more conservative in his political leanings over time and becoming a friendly witness to the House Un-American Activities Commission's investigation of suspicions of Communist infiltration of Hollywood; specifically singling out the strike's ringleader Herbert Sorrell {Sorrell would later be the source of many of the disputed allegations of Walt being an anti-Semite})

6. The 700 Club (partial; interview with personal finance counselor Jody Humber by Terry Meuwseen and an update on the preliminaries of the O.J. Simpson trial; cuts off before Ben Kinchlow's interview of former Time magazine correspondent David Aikman)

7. The Rush Limbaugh Show (starts with a clever intro of Rush shoving a video of an O.J. report out of the way as a sign he wasn't going to let O.J. coverage dominate his show. Featured stories include: former football great-turned-minister Rosey Grier {having met Simpson in prison} being interviewed and quoting O.J. as questioning why there's more media interest in that trial vs. the Rwanda massacres; Rush's theory that the O.J. defense team was playing the race card with their allegations that LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman planting the murder weapon - also accusing the defense team of jury tampering and suggesting the defense was trying to scare jurors away from voting to convict by saying that might trigger a repeat of the rioting following the Rodney King incident; a New York Times article noting that the Religious Right might not be as monolithic in terms of politics and doctrine as previously thought per a New York Times/CBS poll {notably; they'd be as likely to be Democrats as Republicans}; a Meet the Press appearance where Vice-President Gore tries to explain why universal health care was needed {with his use of the phrase "leaky bucket" reminding Rush of embattled Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders}; the Health Care Express bus trips proving a flop {poor turnout, some with heat exhaustion, one of the buses broke down; a strong anti-Hillarycare turnout at one of the rallies in Portland, OR; anti-Clinton supporters chanting "Whitewater" at a Seattle rally - which Rush is quick to point out was a city where 30,000 showed up to one of Bill's 1992 campaign rally})

8. Entertainment Tonight (July 29, 1994. Rare intro where Mary Hart and John Tesh tease upcoming stories on way to the set. Featured segments include: A look at the National Enquirer story alleging several examples of alleged domestic abuse committed by O.J. Simpson to Nicole as judge Lance Ito announces jury selection will begin September 20; ET Gazette {NYPD Blue actress Sharon Lawrence adopting some of Marcia Clark's mannerisms for her character; talk of a possible sequel to the Jim Carrey film "The Mask"; Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and Wynonna Judd announce plans to launch country-themed restaurant chain called "Country Stars"}; a look at the Sylvester Stallone-Sharon Stone film "The Specialist"; a look at Showtime's "Roswell"; a preview of the Steven Spielberg-produced NBC series "Earth 2"; Bob Goen's trip to take hockey pointers from "The Great One" himself, Wayne Gretzky, prior to a charity hockey game; a teaser for an ET Weekend look at the 1995 celebrity swimsuit calendars; Anita Baker's experiences as a mother to two small children as she prepares for a comeback and Julia Roberts - having made the cover of People for her 1-year marriage to country singer Lyle Lovett - being the subject of ET Remembers. Cuts off before the birthdays segment)

9. Acapulco H.E.A.T. (Code Name: Body Double {S1E8}; guest stars include Julie Bowen; Derek Perkins and Alejandro Subirats)

10. Baywatch (Race Against Time {S4E1 or 2 - not sure if this was part 1 or 2 given it's just a few minutes near the end of the tape}; partial recording {tape ran out})