Telly Savalas – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Randy Jurgensen Discusses the Passing of His Friend, Sonny Grosso– SNMS Presents: The Side-Cast

“They say Eddie Egan (aka Popeye Doyle) stepped on the gas and that Sonny Grosso would step on the brake- no… Back then, Eddie was the Doberman Pinscher and Sonny held the chain.” -Randy Jurgensen

Randy Jurgensen has lived an amazing life. The former NYPD Homicide Detective, Korean War veteran turned film consultant, producer, writer and actor worked on some of the biggest cases in New York City’s history and also some of the biggest and most important films of the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s.

With the passing of his lifelong friend and former NYPD partner Sonny Grosso, Randy sat down exclusively with Dion Baia to discuss the loss of someone who was also able to seamlessly transition into the film industry, becoming a producer, actor and writer, and most memorably was played by Roy Scheider in the 1971 classic, The French Connection. Randy unpacks his friendship with the legendary detective and film icon, and discusses their intertwining careers that involved some of the most notorious cases in NYC‘s history. He talks about the memories he’s never disclosed publicly, and his recollections of some of the biggest films they worked on together. He chats about how Sonny got his nickname “Cloudy“, and how Eddie Egan got the nickname “Bullets” and “Popeye“. He also explains their singular contributions to the original Godfather film. Along with the amazing stories, Randy also relays the biggest regret Sonny had about The French Connection movie. It’s an incredibly insightful, fascinating and exclusive interview that you’ll only find here, on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS!

Check out our exclusive interviews with retired NYPD Homicide Detective turned producer, actor and film consultant Randy Jurgensen about his days as a cop, and his incredible history with some of the most classic films of all time!

Go pick up a copy of Randy‘s amazing book, Circle of Six: The True Story of New York’s Most Notorious Cop Killer and the Cop Who Risked Everything to Catch Him.

The very iconic photo of the finale of The French Connection– Randy can be seen over Gene Hackman‘s right shoulder.

Click here to see Randy on April 20, 1972, moments after being hit in the back of the head by a brick thrown off a roof, during the Harlem riot that occurred after the shooting of Officer Phil Cardillo in Nation of Islam Mosque No. 7.

Check out this short Documentary starring Retired Detective Jurgensen.

Here, here, here and here are behind the scenes shots of Randy on set on The Godfather, during the scene where Sonny is assassinated.

Check out Randy in The Godfather poster, up in the top right corner.

Here’s Randy at the end of Maniac, with real life partner Jimmy Aurichio!

Have a look at another picture from Cruising, with Randy center, interrogating Al Pacino, with Paul Sorvino standing against the wall.

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Category: audio commentary, Books, Celebrities, Classic, Crime, Film, History, Interview, News, Police, Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Exclusive, Side Cast, Television | 1 Comment

January 17

Nighthawks, 1981

Welcome to the 2020 season of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers. J. Blake and Dion Baia decided to go way down the alley and kick off the year with a personal favorite for the duo, a film that became a gritty, New York cult classic. The boys are tackling the Sylvester Stallone classic Nighthawks, from 1981.

Dion and Blake unpack the many stories revolving around the making of this movie, from an original two and a half hour cut that was severely chopped down to scale back the gore and remove the lead character background subplots, to the stories of the tension onset told to them by SNMS‘ old friend, retired NYPD Detective turned actor, producer and film consultant, Randy Jurgensen. The fellas are taking the Christmas tree down and putting the decorations away for this season opener in and all new 2020 edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And thank you Moose!

And please check out Skillshare!

EXTRAS!

Check out our exclusive interviews with retired NYPD Homicide Detective turned producer, actor and film consultant Randy Jurgensen about his days as a cop, and his incredible history with some of the most classic films of all time!

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Category: Action, Celebrities, Classic, Crime, History, Police, Thriller | 2 Comments

November 8

The Muppet Movie, 1979

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Blake and Dion are covering a classic that is turning 40 this year, Jim Henson‘s masterpiece, The Muppet Movie, from 1979!

The boys also unpack the ground-breaking Sesame Street program which is also sharing a birthday, turning 50 this year, and the backstory of getting the show on the air in 1969. They track Jim Henson’s journey through public television to the hugely successful Muppet Show, and to the 1979 Movie. So come on down as Dion and Blake jump into their 1951 Studebaker Commander and hit the road, on this all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out the hilarious 1978 Camera Test footage of Jim Henson and Frank Oz taking their characters to the English countryside!

Have a look at the extended scene at the El Sleezo Cafe!

Take a look at the extended chase scene!

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Category: Celebrities, Childrens, Classic, Comedy, Disney, musical, Television | LEAVE A COMMENT

June 29

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, 1974

Welcome to another all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! With the hot summer months upon us, J. Blake and Dion Baia have decided to cover a classic- a movie they’ve been talking about doing since year one of the podcast. This week the boys are hitting familiar territory -the gritty 1970’s- and chatting about the amazing Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw film, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, from 1974!

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 poster

After having a brief discussion about “trigger warnings,” Dion and Blake jump right in and can’t gush enough about their mutual love for this seldom remembered cinema gem. They unpack the backstory of the film, the history and climate of New York City of the era and why all this is integral to the movie’s plot. They analyze the absolutely amazing cast of actors, the tight story, and they breakdown the phenomenal score by David Shire. So, grab your subway maps, your subway motorman car “keys” and your train timetables, because the fellas are taking you back to one of the greatest eras of cinema -the 1970s- and one of its best examples, right here on an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Please take a listen to the absolutely fabulous score by composer David Shire!

Have a look at the original trailer to this classic film!

Take a gander at these great alternate posters for the film, HERE and HERE!

As discussed in the podcast, PLEASE check out these EXCLUSIVE interviews with former NYPD Homicide Detective turned Hollywood legend Randy Jurgensen, as he discusses and lays out this era in both cinema and the country (particularly in New York City), of the late 60’s and 70’s. Must listens for any film or history fans.

Here’s the original trailer for the 1998 television adaptation of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3!

And lastly, have a listen to the 1994 Beastie Boys song Sure Shot, where not only due the B Boys name check this week’s movie, but also give shout-outs to Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, Kojak, John Woo, Rod Carew, Lee Perry, Vaughn Bode and Cheech Wizard, and good old Ma Bell… all in one tune. Impressive.

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Category: Action, Adventure, Books, Classic, Comedy, Police, Thriller | 1 Comment

July 7

Spider-Man, 1977

Welcome True Believers to another all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are talking a character that is a personal favorite of the boys- particularly J. Blake -and with a new film hitting theaters this week, what better time then to discuss a certain New York City Web-Slinger! That’s right, your ‘friendly neighborhood Spider-Man‘ is the topic and his journey through television with an emphasis on the 1977 TV movie entitled just Spider-Man, and the live-action series that blossomed out of that movie pilot, The Amazing Spider-Man, which ran from 1978 to 1979.

Spider-man

With such a huge topic to cover, the boys initially set out to only talk the 1970’s live-action series but decided they needed to touch on the original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon series that ran until 1970, as well as the first live-action appearance of the character which appeared on of all places, PBS, on 1970’s series The Electric Company. They also felt compelled to discuss the little known, but amazing (no pun intended… or maybe it was…) live-action Japanese TV show entitled Spider-Man (or Supaidâman) that ran from 1978-1979, coinciding with the live-action America series. The fellas do touch upon the other iterations of Spidey in his various animated forms but set up the conversation by going into how much of an influence the character was for Blake growing up, even as far as a very young Blake (with the help of his Mom) submitting Spider-Man artwork to Marvel in hopes of becoming an artist there. The boys then go through the history of the character: summing up comics in the Golden Age, specifically pre and post war; Timely / Atlas Comics’ evolution into Marvel Comics; and Stan Lee‘s fight to breakout of the then-standard storytelling molds for comic books of the day, to be able to tell new kinds of stories that humanize the characters portrayed within. From the 1967 cartoon and appearances on The Electric Company, they dive deep into the 1977 TV movie ‘Backdoor Pilot‘ (as it was called), to the last two-part episode of that series in 1979 called The Chinese Web, released theatrically later as The Dragon’s Challenge overseas. They also breakdown the pilot to the 1978 Japanese show and try to put into words how much the Japanese show blew their minds… So could it be argued that Spider-Man‘s origin story is in fact more tragic than Batman‘s? How does the life-action adaptations from the 70’s hold up? And just how freaking amazing is the Japanese show really? Well make sure you grab some extra web cartridges, your camera and pack a lunch, cause we’re swinging through the glass and cement canyons of New York City this week in an all new and exciting installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Excelsior!!!

*(This podcast was recorded prior to the passing of Stan Lee’s wife, Joan. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to Mr. Lee and his family.)

EXTRAS:

Take a look at Blake’s Turkish Spider-Man poster for the theatrical release of The Dragon’s Challenge, signed by Stan Lee! AND here is the American edition of that same poster.

As brought up in the podcast, here is a link to the Society of Illustrators‘ current exhibit on The Art of Spider-Man.

Check out the original 1977 ‘Backdoor Pilot’ TV movie that greenlit the 1970’s series, courtesy of YouTube!

Here’s Stan Lee talking about why he disliked the 1978-79 American television series.

Have a look at the great opening for the 1978-79 Japanese series, with subtitles!

And if you didn’t believe the boys about the awesomeness of the Japanese series, have a look at this trailer for it’s re-release from Marvel.com!

For anyone who didn’t know or forgot this existed, please check out the full video of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, from 1986, starring Stan Lee and John Buscema!

Also discussed in the podcast, have a listen to Michael Bublé‘s great big band cover of the 1967 animated series theme, which starts as Sing Sing Sing and segues into Spider-Man. And to the show how popular this rarity must of been overseas, check out this live version with stage show, on Italian TV!

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Category: Action, Adventure, Animation, Classic, Comic Books, DC Comics, Marvel, Serial, toys | 2 Comments

April 14

Raise the Titanic, 1980

Can it be? Is it already that time? Why yes, it’s another edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week marks the 105th anniversary of the R.M.S. Titanic sinking, and having a resident expert at SNMS on the ocean liner and disaster that occurred in 1912, J. Blake and Dion Baia figured they’d pay their respects by covering a film based on the widely popular Clive Cussler novel that took the real-life event and turned it into a McGuffin for a Cold War-era espionage, intrigue, and deep-sea adventure filled story! Yes, the boys are diving to the bottom of the Atlantic this go around to take on the juggernaut Raise the Titanic, from 1980!

Raise the Titanic

This becomes the ‘conspiracy theory episode‘ for the Blake and Dion, as they jump right in and layout some ‘alternate facts‘ that have recently come to light as to the real details concerning this great ship’s sinking, in an attempt to: A.) Explain to you what you didn’t know about that faithful night; B.) What you couldn’t have known, concerning facts that have been virtually ignored for over 105 years, and C.) Tell you what they never wanted you to know, surrounding the sinking of the White Star Line ocean liner. The boys unravel an elaborate and long-winded story (boy, Dion sometimes can go on, and on, and on, and-) that only recently has been getting some traction within scientific and Titanic-historian circles, which was supposedly buried for fear of international scandal in a pre-WWI era. After this extensive yarn, the boys then jump head-first into Raise the Titanic, by going into the background of mega-author Clive Cussler and what led to his decision of not working again with Hollywood (after this movie) for almost 30 years. Dion and Blake also go into why this film ended up being the most-expensive film to date, and why this could be a great example of why the industry completely embraced CGI technology in the following decade, versus shelling out millions of dollars for practical effects. They also talk about the glorious soundtrack by composer John Barry and the speculation about the fate of this and other works of art that become deemed “lost.” So why did the movie flop at the box office? Why did the film’s budget skyrocket and almost triple, with the model and water tank costing 1 million more than it cost to construct the actual RMS Titanic in unadjusted 1912 dollars? Only recently declassified, what was the real reason oceanographer Robert Ballard was out snooping around in the Atlantic in the first place? How does the final film version of Raise the Titanic differ from the original novel? And most importantly, are the facts as you know it about the Titanic‘s sinking that fateful night the real story ? Well, if you want to know or not, the fellas put all the pieces together for you this week in another enthralling edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!