'The Sex Symbol' was scheduled for a March TV showing on a Sunday in 1974 when unexpectedly the network pulled the movie out of the advertised timeslot. "I thought the movie was ready and I waited a long time for this. It's the finest thing I have ever done," Connie Stevens expressed. Instead 'The Sex Symbol' was postponed until September to be shown. Producer Douglas S. Cramer revealed certain scenes had to be cut "so that Connie Stevens comes off more like a Candice Bergen type and less like a Raquel Welch character." Based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, Connie played an enigmatic Hollywood star. Observers believed Douglas' decision had political overtones because of Connie's character alleged romance with a U.S. Senator. The original 2-hour movie was cut to 90 minutes. Connie made the observation, "Marilyn Monroe, always the child in search of love, in search of her own identity. I can identify too easily with what she went through...If I understand Marilyn Monroe, it's because I've experienced so many of the same disappointments, rejections and hurts."
In sport Chris Evert finished 1974 winning 15 tournaments including the French Open and Wimbledon and was ranked the No. 1 woman player. She turned 20 in December and made the comment, "I don't want to be Cinderella in sneakers anymore but I don't want to be another woman tennis player either. I know I'm not a girl any longer but I don't think I'm a woman yet. I don't want to be a grownup now. I'm happy at 20. I think I've got the best of both worlds." Of tennis, the 1974 U.S. Open champion Billie Jean King made plain, "Six years ago there were only 9 women pros and we had no idea how far we could go and in what direction. Today there are over 250 women clamoring for membership in the Women’s Tennis Association...If the game was still the same as it was when I was an amateur I would not be playing today. It's getting tougher and tougher to win these days because the young players are much more eager to beat you."
In music, 'The Way We Were' was one of the hottest songs on the charts. "At her best," pianist Glenn Gould acknowledged, "Barbra Streisand is probably the greatest singing actress since Maria Callas." Barbra started out performing in nightclubs at the Greenwich Village in the 1960s. "This girl had to become a great star. Anybody could see it," one observer predicted. By 1964 the star was born. Barbra told '60 Minutes' at the age of 7, she foresaw her destiny. "It just had to be. There was no other way for me to be." At 21, she was already the world's best-selling female artist on long-playing record. After seeing one of her shows, she received a fan mail from Frank Sinatra, "You were magnificent." Talking to 'Life' magazine, she voiced, "What does it mean when people applaud? I don't know how to respond. Should I give 'em money? Say thank you? Lift my dress? The lack of applause - that I can respond to. It tears me up! But I can never understand why people laugh or cry when I sing...." Barbra concluded, "My success? The only way I can account for it is that whatever ability other performers have, I must have it plus...I can appeal to everybody."
Hoping to move towards more family-friendly programs the network screened the telemovie, 'Senior Year' in 1974 which was intended to be the pilot for a weekly series aimed at replacing the 'Sonny And Cher' show. Set in the 1950s, the movie followed the romance of 2 high school sweethearts. Critics noted the similitude of 'Senior Year' to 'Happy Days'. But whereas 'Happy Days' was light-hearted, 'Senior Year' adopted a more serious approach to its storytelling. When it became a weekly series, CBS renamed 'Senior Year' to 'Sons And Daughters'. "Bittersweet memories of growing up. We've all been 'Sons And Daughters'" was the catchphrase. Gary Frank explained, "There are facets of Jeff Reed and Anita Cramer (played by Glynnis O'Connor) which applied to people that age today and in any decade actually. There are things Jeff Reed experiences that everyone in that age group experiences - the pain, the frustration, the fear and the tremendous growing up and learning period that those years provide." In one scene, Anita's mother told her, "Things are just not that black and white." To which she replied, "You've raised me in black and white."
"It was a special kind of time. It was a widest period of innocence the country had known," producer David Levinson remarked. "We've just finished with the war. We really have nothing to worry about except ourselves, our home, our 2 cars, our television set. For those of us who were teenagers, the clothes on our back." When 'Sons And Daughters' went on air in September 1974, the show was up against 'Little House On The Prairie'. It was apparent 'Sons And Daughters' was in dire straits. And after 2 months floundering in the ratings game, the network unsurprisingly announced the show would be dropped in favor of a variety show featuring Tony Orlando and Dawn. "I suppose in hindsight it's easy to look back and say, 'Hey didn't we dress funny then or didn't we behave peculiarly then. But it wasn't peculiar to us at that time,'" David reasoned.
In sport Chris Evert finished 1974 winning 15 tournaments including the French Open and Wimbledon and was ranked the No. 1 woman player. She turned 20 in December and made the comment, "I don't want to be Cinderella in sneakers anymore but I don't want to be another woman tennis player either. I know I'm not a girl any longer but I don't think I'm a woman yet. I don't want to be a grownup now. I'm happy at 20. I think I've got the best of both worlds." Of tennis, the 1974 U.S. Open champion Billie Jean King made plain, "Six years ago there were only 9 women pros and we had no idea how far we could go and in what direction. Today there are over 250 women clamoring for membership in the Women’s Tennis Association...If the game was still the same as it was when I was an amateur I would not be playing today. It's getting tougher and tougher to win these days because the young players are much more eager to beat you."
In music, 'The Way We Were' was one of the hottest songs on the charts. "At her best," pianist Glenn Gould acknowledged, "Barbra Streisand is probably the greatest singing actress since Maria Callas." Barbra started out performing in nightclubs at the Greenwich Village in the 1960s. "This girl had to become a great star. Anybody could see it," one observer predicted. By 1964 the star was born. Barbra told '60 Minutes' at the age of 7, she foresaw her destiny. "It just had to be. There was no other way for me to be." At 21, she was already the world's best-selling female artist on long-playing record. After seeing one of her shows, she received a fan mail from Frank Sinatra, "You were magnificent." Talking to 'Life' magazine, she voiced, "What does it mean when people applaud? I don't know how to respond. Should I give 'em money? Say thank you? Lift my dress? The lack of applause - that I can respond to. It tears me up! But I can never understand why people laugh or cry when I sing...." Barbra concluded, "My success? The only way I can account for it is that whatever ability other performers have, I must have it plus...I can appeal to everybody."
Hoping to move towards more family-friendly programs the network screened the telemovie, 'Senior Year' in 1974 which was intended to be the pilot for a weekly series aimed at replacing the 'Sonny And Cher' show. Set in the 1950s, the movie followed the romance of 2 high school sweethearts. Critics noted the similitude of 'Senior Year' to 'Happy Days'. But whereas 'Happy Days' was light-hearted, 'Senior Year' adopted a more serious approach to its storytelling. When it became a weekly series, CBS renamed 'Senior Year' to 'Sons And Daughters'. "Bittersweet memories of growing up. We've all been 'Sons And Daughters'" was the catchphrase. Gary Frank explained, "There are facets of Jeff Reed and Anita Cramer (played by Glynnis O'Connor) which applied to people that age today and in any decade actually. There are things Jeff Reed experiences that everyone in that age group experiences - the pain, the frustration, the fear and the tremendous growing up and learning period that those years provide." In one scene, Anita's mother told her, "Things are just not that black and white." To which she replied, "You've raised me in black and white."
"It was a special kind of time. It was a widest period of innocence the country had known," producer David Levinson remarked. "We've just finished with the war. We really have nothing to worry about except ourselves, our home, our 2 cars, our television set. For those of us who were teenagers, the clothes on our back." When 'Sons And Daughters' went on air in September 1974, the show was up against 'Little House On The Prairie'. It was apparent 'Sons And Daughters' was in dire straits. And after 2 months floundering in the ratings game, the network unsurprisingly announced the show would be dropped in favor of a variety show featuring Tony Orlando and Dawn. "I suppose in hindsight it's easy to look back and say, 'Hey didn't we dress funny then or didn't we behave peculiarly then. But it wasn't peculiar to us at that time,'" David reasoned.
