Heroes of the Small Screen

Back in the seventies, Norman Lear created a somewhat controversial soap opera parody called Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. That program was set in the fictional hamlet of Fernwood, USA, one of whose denizens was the rather nasty Garth Gimble, who had a twin brother named Barth (both were played by Martin Mull). Barth was the host of a locally produced TV talk show in Fernwood called Fernwood 2 Night, which became the summer replacement (remember those?) for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. On the show, Barth had an announcer/sidekick (ala Ed McMahon on the Tonight Show) named Jerry Hubbard (Fred Willard playing exquisite cluelessness in his inimitible way), and it is Mr. Hubbard I mostly want to celebrate in this space today with the following clips. You may feel free to laugh at the other characters as well, and be sure to also dig the crazy sounds of Happy Kyne and the Mirthmakers::