BOOTLEG FILES 944: “That’s Life” (1968-69 television series starring Robert Morse and E.J. Peaker).
LAST SEEN: Bits and pieces are scattered on YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It is complicated
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: None.
Earlier this week, I was very sad to learn about the passing of actress E.J. Peaker. She was a vivacious blonde who came to prominence in the late 1960s by playing the perky dress shop salesgirl Minnie Fay in the film version of “Hello, Dolly!” and as the female lead in a strange television sitcom called “That’s Life.”
Everyone knows “Hello, Dolly!” and just thinking of Peaker in her scene-stealing moments gives me great happiness. But “That’s Life” was unknown to me. It only ran for a single 26-episode season on ABC from 1968 into 1969 and then abruptly vanished, never to turn up in reruns or any home entertainment format.
The concept for “That’s Life” was bold and experimental for its era. It was a sitcom about the evolving relationship between two young people, played by Peaker and Robert Morse. In the course of the series, they meet, fall in love, get married, become parents, and deal with the trials and tribulations of life together. But what made “That’s Life” very unusual was having the cast break into song – six tunes per episode. Three of the songs were covers of pop music standards and three were original works created for the show.
The show was also unusual for having a considerable input of guest stars. Some of the stars who showed up could be found in any number of 60s programs, such as Sid Caesar, Jackie Vernon, Tim Conway and Paul Lynde. But others were nice surprises, such as The Turtles, Mahalia Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Terry-Thomas, Shelley Winters, Dick Shawn, and Agnes Moorehead. Rodney Dangerfield, whose comedy career was just starting to take off, had a recurring role as Morse’s co-worker.
To be frank, I cannot provide an in-depth critical analysis of “That’s Life” since none of the complete episodes are available for online review. It is not a lost show – the full episodes with the commercials survive intact – but it is impossible to re-release them until the music rights are cleared up. And with six songs per episode over a 26-episode span, that will take a lot of time, energy and money to clear up – especially for a show that was considered a flop.
Why didn’t “That’s Life” find success? It is difficult to imagine that the competition pummeled it – ABC slotted it for Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, opposite “60 Minutes” on CBS and the second half of “NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies.” And while the program never cracked the Top 30, neither did such shows as “Get Smart,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “Star Trek” or “Hawaii Five-O” – and those shows are considered classics today.
From the clips that are available via unauthorized uploads to YouTube, the show comes across as awkward and contrived. The musical numbers are either silly or weird, with vain attempts to put on a Broadway show-stopper or try to catch a contemporary vibe. One particularly embarrassing segment online has the show’s stars joining the Doodletown Pipers (a multiracial pop ensemble) in a bland rendition of “A Little Help from My Friends.” Equally strange is Agnes Moorehead singing (well, sort of) while treating Morse like a child, even instructing him to blow his nose in her handheld tissue.
However, the concept works when old pros who know how to create alchemy by turning leaden material into comic gold are on camera. This includes Ethel Merman doing the “Think Pink” tune from “Funny Face” and Paul Lynde doing an original song called “People” that plumbs his misanthropic persona while taking a swipe at Barbra Streisand. Videos for those scenes can be viewed below.
But the big problem with “That’s Life” was the very obvious lack of chemistry between Peaker and Morse. Truth be told, I was not a fan of Morse’s 1960s work, and I find his attempts to be winsome or cute to be annoying. But Peaker, who was adorable in “Hello, Dolly!”, came across as flat and dull in “That’s Life.” Yes, she’s very pretty and has a decent singing voice, but she doesn’t generate any sparks in the clips that are available for review. The show’s failure may have doomed her from going on to A-list stardom – although, in fairness, she had a long and respectable career as a working actress in films and television.
Of course, maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way. Take a look at some of the available clips from “That’s Life” and share your comments on this page. And if you recall the show from its original run, please let us know what you thought of it back in the day.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: While this weekly column acknowledges the presence of rare film and television productions through the so-called collector-to-collector market, this should not be seen as encouraging or condoning the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copyright-protected material, either through DVDs or Blu-ray discs or through postings on Internet video sites.
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