Week of June 29, 1972
The Supreme Court strikes down as “cruel and unusual punishment” most of the
nation’s death penalty laws. In California - the decision raised the question of the
legality of an initiative on the November ballot to restore the death penalty. The
decision by the Supreme Court spares the lives of 600 condemned prisoners.
John N. Mitchell resigns as director of President Nixon’s reelection
campaign. “...I have found, however, that I can no longer do so on a
full-time basis and still meet the one obligation which must come first:
the happiness and welfare of my wife and daughter. They have
patiently put up with my long absences for some four years, and the moment has
come when I must devote more time to them.” Mitchell’s successor is Clark
MacGregor, a former five-term Minnesota congressman who has served as
counsel to the President for congressional relations.
President Nixon announces that there will be no new draftees assigned to duty in
Vietnam and that 10,000 more U.S. troops will be withdrawn from South Vietnam
during July and August, bringing forces there to a total of 39,000 by September
1.
In downtown Anchorage, Alaska - a car is observed going
around in circles. When the car was stopped, a fellow
popped out and said - “Hi, I’m Steve McQueen and I’m
having a good time in your little two-bit town.” A cop arrested
the actor, who was booked for reckless driving and posted a
$250 bail.
New - the Volkswagen Baja Beetle ... looks like a Beetle but
comes with these extras:
Mag-type wheel covers ... Halogen fog lamps ... Baja racing stripe .. . Walnut
dash kit ... Bumper guards ... steering wheel cover ... “superior speed shifter ...
tapered tipped exhaust pipe. “And with all these extras, the Baja is only slightly
more than the basic Beetle or Super Beetle.”
American challenger Bobby Fischer ends his boycott of
the world chess championship and flies to Reykjavik,
Iceland for the first match against Russia’s Boris
Spassky.
The Health Insurance Institute recommends a new
treatment for insect bites - meat tenderizer. “A solution of
a quarter teaspoon of tenderizer and a tablespoon of
Week of June 29, 1972
water rubbed into the skin at the site of the sting stops virtually all pain within
minutes.”
President Nixon says this week that he does not favor use of “Ms” in place of Mrs
or Miss when referring to woman. “I don’t like it.”
Actor Elliot Gould is ordered to pay $6,501 in damages to a Hollywood freelance
photographer in a battery suit. “I never struck or hit him in any way” said the actor
in a non-jury trial. “I was very careful to put him down as gently as I could.” The
photographer had sought $200 thousand damages in the civil battery suit. He
had testified that Gould grabbed him by the neck strap of his camera, hit and
bounced him against a parked car.
Actress Peggy Lipton of “The Mod Squad” tells an
interviewer about Frank Sinatra: “He turns me on ... He’s
got more charm than any man I have ever been out with
before.” Frank and Peggy met at a Hollywood party given
by producer Aaron Spelling. She was just about to walk
out when Frank walked up to her and said, “Would you let
an old man buy you a cup of coffee?” That led to dinner a
short time later at an Italian restaurant. “Frank’s the kind
of person who wouldn’t dream of letting you light your
own cigarette. I feel very special, protected and pampered
when I’m with him. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”
Bestsellers -
The Word - Irving Wallace
My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
Captains and the Kings - Taylor Caldwell
Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach
The Winds of War - Herman Wouk
O Jerusalem! Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
I’m OK - You’re OK - Thomas A Harris MD
The Boys Of Summer - Roger Kahn
A World Beyond - Ruth Montgomery
In sports - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hammers his
653rd career home in. The home gives Aaron 1,992 runs
batted in - passing Lou Gehrig for second place on the all-
time list (Gehrig with 1,991)... Willie McCovey of the San
Francisco Giants hits grand slammer #14 in a game against
the Dodgers.
Week of June 29, 1972
Tuesday Night Television -
CBS - Jerry Reed Show, Hawaii 5-0, Cannon
NBC - The Ponderosa, NBC Action Playhouse, Special-Stars and Stripes Show
ABC - The Mod Squad, Movie, Marcus Welby, MD
PBS - Debut-Evening At Pops, Forsyte Saga. Doin It
The Ponderosa - Candy is jailed in the small town of Stillwater as a prime
suspect in the murder of a rancher and his family. Lorne Green, Dan Blocker,
Michael Landon and David Canary.
In radio news - Bob Crane (standing)
goes back to radio - but only for one
week. He’ll be filling in for Dick
Wittinghill - his former archrival on
KMPC (710) in Los Angeles beginning
July 5. Wittinghill and Crane battled it out
for the morning ratings in Los Angeles
from 1956 to 1965, when Crane left to
star in “Hogan’s Heroes.” His radio
listeners still talk about him. Crane’s
interest is still acting “I’d never go back to
radio full time. What I’d eventually like to
do is my own TV talk or variety show, but
I’ll always act.” Crane says he doesn’t
need the money - “I’ve got 25% of
Hogan’s Heroes and I’ve already made a
lot of money out of it. I’m in good shape.
It’s just that I have to plunge into what I
want - all the way.” This is the first time Crane has been back on the radio since
he left station KNX in the summer of 1965. Crane said he began taking a liking to
Wittinghill when he left his own morning radio show and the two today are good
friends.
Other radio news - Casey Kasem counts down the biggest hits of the rock era
(1955 to present) on the syndicated “American Top 40.” Here are the top in
order:
The Twist - Chubby Checker
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
I’m a Believer - The Monkees
All Shook Up - Elvis Presley
Week of June 29, 1972
Don’t Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
Love Letters In the Sand - Pat Boone
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
16 Tons - Ernie Ford
The list was tabulated from Billboard Magazines’ chart action.
Pop music this week in 1972 -
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Outa-Space - Billy Preston
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
Troglodyte - Jimmy Castor Bunch
Candy Man - Sammy Davis Jr.
Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius
Brothers and Sister Rose
Rocket Man - Elton John
Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast - Wayne
Newton
I Need You - America
Sylvia’s Mother - Dr Hook and the
Medicine Show
(Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All - The Fifth Dimension
Brandy - The Looking Glass
I’ll Take You There - Staple Singers
How Do You Do - Mouth and
MacNeil
Nice To Be With You - Gallery
Amazing Grace - The Royal Scots
Dragon Guards
It’s Going To Take Some Time - the
Carpenters
I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren
Someday Never Comes -
Creedance Clearwater Revival
Isn’t Life Strange - The Moody Blues
Week of June 29, 1972
Top Albums -
Exile On Main Street - The Rolling
Stones
Harvest - Neil Young
Thick As A Brick - Jethro Tull
Joplin in Concert - Janis Joplin
America - America
First Take - Roberta Flack
Manassas - Stephen Stills
Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway -
Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
Eat A Peach - The Allman Brothers
Band
Graham Nash/David Crosby -
Graham Nash, David Crosby
A Lonely Man - The Chi-Lites
History Of Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
Procol Harum Live In Concert with
the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra - Procol Harum
At the movies
Play It Again, Sam - Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy
Prime Cut - Lee Marvin & Gene Hackman
Hannie Caulder - Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin,
Jack Elam, Christopher Lee
The Possession of Joel Delaney - Shirley MacLaine
The Other - Uta Hagen Diana Muldaur
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo
Montalban
Alfred Hithcock’s Frenzy - Jon Finch, Alex McCowen, Barry Foster, Billie
Shitelaw, Anna Massey
What’s Up Doc? -
Barbara Streisand, Ryan
O’Neil, Kenneth Mars,
Austin Pendleton and
introducing Madeline
Kahn
Ben -
Clockwork Orange -
Walt Disney’s
Bedknob’s and
Broomsticks - Angela
Week of June 29, 1972
Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall
Junior Bonner - Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker,
Barbara Leigh, Ben Johnson
Duck, You Sucker - Rod Steiger, James Coburn
Shaft’s Big Score! - Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn
The War Between Men and Woman - Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, Jason
Robards
Slaughterhouse Five - Michael Sacks, Ron Liebman, Valerie Perrine
Skyjacked - Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, James Brolin, Jeanne Crain,
Roosevelt Grier, Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Uggams