A long-sought-after treasure of Careyana has been found! It’s Timothy’s Halloween commercial for Sambo’s restaurants, first aired on NBC-TV on October 29, 1980. Who is that at the very beginning, appearing from behind a newspaper as Frankenstein’s monster? I think we all know who! Happy Halloween, everybody!
In what is turning out to be my annual Halloween pic, here once again is Timothy costumed as Frankenstein’s monster for the legendary early 1980s Sambo’s commercial that has apparently disappeared into the ether. It’s become my personal Holy Grail of Careyana. (Many thanks to Romeo Carey for including this in the work-in-progress documentary! That’s him on Tim’s left.)
Wishing you all a bang-up Halloween, just as Tim would have celebrated it! Stay safe and have fun!
In what is turning out to be my annual Halloween pic, here once again is Timothy costumed as Frankenstein’s monster for the legendary early 1980s Sambo’s commercial that has apparently disappeared into the ether. It’s become my personal Holy Grail of Careyana. (Many thanks to Romeo Carey for including this in the work-in-progress documentary! That’s him on Tim’s left.)
Wishing you all a bang-up Halloween, just as Tim would have celebrated it! Stay safe and have fun!
The Timothy Carey Experience wishes all you guys and ghouls out there a fantastic Halloween! Apparently this time of year was quite the production at the Carey household. There were spooky decorations everywhere, scary sounds on the stereo, and Timothy handing out candy and delightfully scaring the neighborhood kids. Probably not dressed like this, however.
This great picture is all we have right now of one of the most highly sought-after pieces of Careyabilia there is – the commercial he did for Sambo’s Restaurant sometime in the early 1980s, advertising their new late-night hours. I would give my eye teeth to see it. Have a wonderful Halloween, everybody!
As Halloween approaches, we take another look at Hugo, hulking castle minion, in Francis in the Haunted House (1956), directed by Charles Lamont. Here he calmly assess the situation with Helen Wallace, Virginia Welles, Charles Horvath (holding the empty suit of armor) and (I’m fairly certain) Paul Cavanagh.
Horvath was one of the top stuntmen in Hollywood, brawling his way through countless films and television shows from the late 1940s until his death in 1978. He and Timothy had uncredited roles in Joseph M. Newman‘s The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959). And like Tim, he worked with John Cassavetes late in his career, in A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
We close Halloween Week, in which we’ve been featuring screen shots of Timothy looking super-creepy, with probably the creepiest one of all. This is the final look he gives Seymour Cassel before he drives off into the night in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976). Legend has it that the inspiration for this “gangster smile” was Tim’s pet eagle.
When one of Tim’s characters grins at you, you know you’re in deep trouble. It’s the predator baring his teeth before the attack. Run for your life!
We continue our theme of Timothy looking scary for Halloween Week with this chiller from The Devil’s Gas (1990), the surreal short directed by his son Romeo. Professor Petro’s student is having a very strange hallucinatory dream… Or is he???
Tim looks like a Dia de los Muertos skeleton here! Get ahold of Romeo at Absolute Films and order yourself a copy of this gem today!
Halloween greetings to one and all! I’ve posted both of these before, but they’re the scariest ones I could come up with for today. First up is the trailer for Francis in the Haunted House (1956), the closest thing to a horror film that Timothy ever appeared in (unless you count Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy, heh heh). Tim can briefly be glimpsed here as Hugo, hulking castle minion. Narration by the great Frank Nelson of “Yyyyyeeeeeessssss???” fame; the voice of Francis and of the ghost by the equally great, if not legendary, Paul Frees, who would go on to provide the voice of The Snake in The World’s Greatest Sinner (1962).
Next we have the infamous “Atta boy Mike” scene from Head (1968). It’s weird, it’s creepy, it’s ridiculous, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! Enjoy!
Tim as Frankenstein’s monster, from the long-lost Sambo’s commercial of the early 1980s
We continue our “scary shots for Halloween” theme with this great one from “The Resurrection of Carlini,” the episode of The Greatest American Hero that debuted on November 19, 1982. The late magician Carlini’s deranged assistant Blanchard is hiding from our heroes.
This shot shows off three of Tim’s greatest attributes – his hair, his forehead, and his eyes. Approach at your peril!
On a more serious note, our hearts and prayers are with all of those devastated by the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and those assisting with the relief efforts. Stay strong – help is on the way.
Since this is Halloween Week, and Timothy was a big fan of Halloween, I’ve been searching my collection of screen caps for reeaally scary pics which I will be featuring all week! Here’s a good one. It’s from the Profiles in Courage episode “Andrew Johnson,” which first aired on February 28, 1965. Tim is a rabble-rouser by the name of Hartwick, leading a gang of ruffians out to commit mayhem on President Andrew Johnson (Walter Matthau). He was moving around so much during his big scene that it was difficult to capture him. This one came up, and it was so weird and freaky that I just had to save it.
Creepy, huh? There’s more to come – stay tuned!
The Timothy Carey Experience 