Tag Archives: Steve Allen

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The Bootleg Files – Computability: How to Make the Most of Your Home Computer

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BOOTLEG FILES 891: “Computability: How to Make the Most of Your Home Computer” (1984 educational home video starring Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Only available on VHS.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Woefully outdated production with no reissue value.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

Forty years ago, many Americans were spending the holidays getting acquainted with a remarkable gift: their first home computer. But for those at the dawn of the digital age who only knew about computers from science-fiction films, the machines posed a complex challenge.

In 1983, comedian and talk show host Steve Allen teamed with his wife, actress Jayne Meadows, on a record album called “Everything You Wanted to Know About Home Computers,” which provided a pleasant introduction to how home computers work and how people can get these machines to work for them. The record, which was produced by Casablanca/Polygram Records, received a Grammy Award nomination and it inspired the creative talent involved to adapt the material into an educational video with an accompanying glossary.
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The Bootleg Files: Down Memory Lane

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BOOTLEG FILES 727: “Down Memory Lane” (1949 compilation film of Mack Sennett comedy shorts).

LAST SEEN: In a truncated form on YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

By the late 1940s, silent movies had mostly disappeared from public viewing. Some Charlie Chaplin shorts occasionally turned up in kiddie matinees and museums and film societies would sometimes dust off an old print for one-time screenings. But for the most part, the films created prior to rise of “The Jazz Singer” were rarely on the big screen.
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