The opening alone is different. The gentle sounds of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" plays while Dave says to his car-full of friends (we fanatics identify as Merrill Markoe, Rich Hall, and Wil Shriner) "Boy, what a good-looking day."
"Did you see that sign, David?" asks Rich, as Dave continues to take it all in. We're back in the midwest, small-town living, just as Dave grew up with, and you can tell even in the comedy (and though it's for a TV show, a brief visit) he loves it.
Wil points out Black Angus cows which Dave replies "Wow, look at those dogs. 2-ton dogs." Rich reads the letter that won the contest, which includes this point: "Small towns do exist, and we do enjoy ours. We would like to share it with you and your audience."
"Now, when we get in this house, you gotta be very careful not to bust anything." Dave tells the crew. A very high crane shot (one that would make Johnny LaRue proud) shows 2 cars (Dave's Crew, and Frank Owens and the rest of the David Letterman Symphony Orchestra) stop along a dirt road to a house.
Everyone rushes inside, and Dave stops to tell the viewers that we're in the lovely countryside of Eastern Iowa, just a couple of miles from Cresco. These are the winners of the contest to host the show in their own home: The Goldsworthy family: Howard, Jane, and daughters Greta and Gina. Beyond meeting the family and showing the sights of Cresco, Cloris Leachman and her daughter Dinah Englund are the guests, along with the rest of the gang.
After meeting the family, Howard Goldsworthy points out items which are not normally in their yard: all these people, a new electricity pole, and a production truck, which we can see bearing the original ESPN logo!
The camera very quickly pans along the yard to show the scenery while Dave asks them what life is like in Cresco. Jane points out there are a lot of things to do, "sometimes more than the city." Dave can't help but ask "Like what?" and she mentions card parties, snowmobiling in the winter, and the wonderful people. Howard describes the 80 acres they have, which Dave follows up if there is anything special they'd like to do that day. Howard replies "I'd like to eat that turkey cooking in there!"
As Dave enters the house we see some folks sitting in an adjacent room looking at a monitor - yes, it brought out everyone to the Goldsworthy home. Dave moves to the living room, the band begins the theme, and away we go.
Just the mere set-up sends the show into a commercial break, and we see Frank playing the family's upright piano. Going to break, we also have the running question to Cresco residents: Have you ever tried Winky's Cow Paste? He asks one farmer who replies, as one would "I don't know if I ever have or not."
Jane's parents are in the front row as well, and the audience, if a bit bewildered by the whole thing, applauds as needed.
Cloris comes out from the kitchen to talk of life as a child in Iowa, and as both speak of the beautiful landscape, Dave remarks that they might just do the show here every day, which again sends the living room audience into great applause. The sight of a TV show apparently interests the local wildlife as you might be able to see in the background:
Life was hard growing up in the country during the depression, so any way out of that, mentally or otherwise, helped Cloris cope. Piano lessons and the like were just part of it, all leading to her entering Northwestern and her acting career.
Another Cresco local, this time a teen, is asked about Winky's Cow Paste.
Dinah comes out with some prompting from Cloris, who Cloris claims is here so that she won't be alone. Dinah, at the time was in her early teens, says she'd like to be a dancer. Asked if they'll stay for the rest of the show, Cloris hopes so: she wants some of the dinner cooking in the kitchen.
Later in the show, Dave reminds the family they'll also receive a RCA video recorder and a television, leading us to a tour of the town.
Sheriff Gary Cleveland not only works in the jail, he lives there, too. He considers living there "very comfortable" and he's not nervous while a prisoner is there as well. As sheriffs go, Gary's responses are to the point. Noticing a BBQ near the front, Dave asks if he ever has prisoners join him in a cook-out. "No, sir."
Next, while looking through a park in town, Dave shows the various statues, including one, which...
Well, it defies description, especially since there IS no description. He asks the locals if they know, but most of them don't, leading to more confusion.
A teen: "I think it's a bomb."
A farmer: "This is a water mine sitting on top of a coal cart."
A man: "I don't know what that is."
A kid: "A statue."
Next to it, is the centennial time capsule. Asking residents what's inside draws the same kind of response. One local, however, does know there's a photo of her inside, from that centennial celebration, as she won the pancake race.
"Well, they give you a hard, dry pancake, and an iron frying pan, and in fact we ran down this park, and flipped it 3 times. I was able to flip it 3 times and run the fastest. As a prize, I received an electric can opener."
Dave next visits the Total Look Beauty Salon in Cresco, still around 35 years later. The Total Look in Cresco today, as shown by owner Pam Burnikel, is a long, curly perm. The model likes it: easier for the winter.
Finishing the tour, we visit Ellen Church Field, named after the first female flight attendant. Wil comes out and talks about flying in there from Kansas City, where he made a video for NBC's pregame coverage of the World Series. "I think you missed a lot of the activity because when I flew in, boy, 747's backed up."
We end the show with Cresco Stupid Pet Tricks. We have a dog that's willing to be spun in the air. a poodle that can jump over a pole between his owner's legs:
...a 4 month-old goat walking through a hoop, and finally, a hog "doing a strip act" for its owners Matthew and Maria Ryan. The pig escapes immediately, and then takes a wizz on the Goldsworthy's lawn. Long ago, Matthew put the clip on YouTube, and thankfully, it's still around. Screen captures will not do this any good:
Dave thanks the family once again for their help, and we close the show by walking around the streets of Cresco. Ed Clark, the secretary of the chamber of commerce for Cresco, joins Dave for a walk down south Elm street. Regular folks and dignitaries for the city are there, all excited to meet Dave. Dave asks what's next for Cresco, and the president of the chamber of commerce states "We're hoping we can save the David Letterman show." Dave glumly replies "Let's focus on something more realistic. How about casino gambling?"
We finish with a look inside the car of Keith and Sherry (Sheri?) - newlyweds fresh from the church. Dave asks where their off to, and they say they're going to Tower Club to drink some beer.
What a finish.
Afterwards:
In my quest for finding Dave morning shows, this for many years was the most elusive, with few details provided other than the town. I finally was able to find a polite collector who had a copy - the quality wavered quite a bit, but no complaints here.
The participants:
In 1990, Wil was a guest on Late Night, and showed Dave a photo which was quickly snatched away. "You might as well show it" Dave said as the audience egged him on. Here's Wil's pic:
Earlier this year, on the occasion of Dave's retirement, the Des Moines Register caught up with Jane Goldsworthy. It's not only a great look back in time, but fun to read their memories and thoughts 35 years later. As Jane said, "It's nice as average Joes to have a little claim to fame."
(Tomorrow, the finale. Thanks for reading.)
No comments:
Post a Comment