WLS Channel 7 - 13 Queens Blvd. - "For Better or Worse" (Opening, 1979)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 04 Oct 2016
• views: 151

Here's the opening (and first few minutes) of the premiere episode of 13 Queens Blvd., "For Better or Worse," as aired over WLS Channel 7. This short-lived sitcom - about a diverse group of middle-class residents at a Queens, New York apartment complex, and referred to as 13 Queens Boulevard by both IMDb and Wikipedia - ran on the ABC Network until July 24th 1979, lasting only eight episodes (plus one that never aired). It starred Eileen Brennan (a year before the Private Benjamin movie, and a few years before the TV series adaptation thereof) and Jerry Van Dyke (formerly of My Mother, the Car and later of Coach) as happily married couple Felicia and Steven Winters, and also featured Marcia Rodd as divorcée Elaine Dowling (she had been the original Carol Traynor in an All in the Family episode that served as the pilot for Maude; that role would be played in the subsequent 1972-78 series by Adrienne Barbeau), Helen Page Camp as Mildred 'Millie' Capestro, Susan Elliot and Louise Williams as her daughters Helen and Jill, Karen Rushmore as Camille, and Frances Lee McCain as Lois. (All except Ms. Elliot and Ms. McCain were seen in the opening credits.) The show was created by Richard Baer, developed by Bud Yorkin, Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turteltaub (all of whom were previously involved with Sanford and Son, What's Happening!! and Carter Country), and produced by their TOY Productions concern. Includes: Station ID / promo for The 3:30 Movie presentation of "Kisses For My President" [1964] for Thursday, March 22nd (voiceover by Al Parker) Brief shot of sheet with writing: "13 Queens Blvd. - #5-TQB-79 - 'For Better or Worse' " Taxi bumper, with notice that it will return two weeks from this date at this time (voiceover by Bill Owen?) Opening titles, beginning with bird's-eye shots of Triborough Bridge and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway(?) and going from there, with shots of the major stars and supers with info on the series' creator and developers (does anyone have any information as to the theme song and who wrote and sang it?) Series bumper, with sponsor billboard for Gillette, makers of Dry Idea roll-on anti-perspirant ("It Doesn't Make You Wet, So It Doesn't Make You Wait") (voiceover by ?? - sounds almost like Jim McKay of ABC Wide World of Sports fame) Commercial: Dry Idea anti-perspirant - (C) The Gillette Company 1979 Commercial: Gillette Trac II Microsoft Blades (was this where Bill Gates got the idea for the name of his computer company?) - with George S. Irving as salesman with a bad hairpiece, trying once again to pitch inferior razors to a customer after the product is sold out - "A Better Shave" (ending voiceover by ??) First five-plus minutes of Act I (though not shown, this episode was written by Margie Peters and Linda Marsh and directed by Kim Friedman) This aired on local Chicago TV on Tuesday, March 20th 1979 during the 9:30pm to 10:00pm timeframe. About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television: The Museum of Classic Chicago Television's primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s and early 80s, primarily) recorded off of any and all Chicago TV channels; footage which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical purposes. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, and to view more of the 4,600+ (and counting) video clips available for viewing in our online archive, please visit us at: http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/index.php?contentload=donate