Are the Young Man on Warehouse 13 and the Boy on the Honey Nuts Cheerios Commercial Brothers?

“I’ve been watching Warehouse 13 on television. On the last few shows there has been a young man who resembles the boy on the new Honey Nut Cheerios commercial.  Are they brothers?”  This is not the first time a patron has asked the staff of the Newton Falls Public Library about someone who has appeared on television.

We first needed to find the names of the actors.  Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com, is a very useful source for questions pertaining to the movie and television industry.  The entry for Warehouse 13 had an entry for each of the episodes.  Season 4, Episode 19, July 1, 2013 All the Time in the World had photographs for all the actors.  Our patron identified Josh Blaylock, who played Nick Powell, as the actor for which she was looking.  The trivia given for him said that he was born and raised in Texas and has an older brother.  This made it unlikely that the actor in the Cheerios commercial was related, as he was much younger.

The commercial was not listed in this database, so we used a search engine to look for “Honey Nut Cheerios 2013 commercial.”  This led us to the additional words “reverse psychology” that we added to the original list.  We found it at ispot.tv.  The young actor is Griffin Gluck.  We returned to IMDB to find more about Griffin.  He is 10 years younger than Josh and is from Los Angeles, so they are not brothers.

Did Sally Field and Whoopi Goldberg star in "David Copperfield"?

“I think there was a television version of David Copperfield starring Sally Field and maybe Whoopi Goldberg.  I think it was done in the late 1990s or early 2000s.  Does the library have a copy for borrowing?”  Often patrons ask the Newton Falls Public Library staff to assist them in finding a particular movie, book, or CD, so we were happy to help this patron. 

There was no DVD or VHS tape of this particular movie in our shared Clevnet catalog.  We looked for more information about it at the Internet Movie Database’s website. The search result showed that it was a 2000 Hallmark Entertainment movie.  While Whoopi Goldberg was not in the cast, Sally Field had the role of Aunt Betsey Trotwood and Hugh Dancy was the adult David Copperfield.

We looked to see if Hallmark’s David Copperfield was available for viewing somewhere, and found it on YouTube.  We informed our patron that he would be able to view it at this website.

I was wondering about the experts on the Weather Channel

“I was wondering about the experts on the Weather Channel; they are often referred to as doctor.  I was wondering what kind of doctorate degrees they have.”  The Newton Falls Public Library staff enjoys investigating such questions for our patrons.

The simplest way for our staff member to find this information was to go directly to the Weather Channel’s website, www.weather.com.  Their page, Our Meteorologists & Personalities, shows 34 individuals. Looking at their credentials, most have bachelor’s degrees in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science.  Dr. Greg Forbes is their severe weather expert. The website does not say for what is doctorate was earned, but from the following information given: “B.S. in Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, M.S. and Ph.D., University of Chicago.  Studied under Dr. T. Theodore Fujita [a severe weather expert],” one thinks it may also be meteorology.

Does Turning Off TV During Commercials Save Electricity?

“By turning off TV at each advertisement would I save electricity, prolong the life of the TV, or would this do harm?”  The Newton Falls Public Library staff is always interested in money saving ideas.

Energy usage certainly depends on the television owned. A chart of energy efficiency at CNET

shows HDTV power consumption costing yearly anywhere from $10.59 for the calibrated settings on a 32” Sharp LCD to $108.07 for a 58” Panasonic plasma television. But this did not tell us if the cost would go up or down by turning it off frequently.

Unable to find the exact information for our patron online, we decided to contact a television repair business. Our staff phoned Portage Electronics in Ravenna. They informed us that each time the power button is pushed it creates a 5 volt spike of electricity, which in time will burn out the microprocessor. They recommended that turning it on and off would cause more damage to the television than would save her money in electricity.

We did find that conversely avoiding the viewing of commercials can save you money. “According to Boston College sociologist Juliet Schor, ‘Television viewing results in an upscaling of desire. And that in turn leads people to buy.’ Her study found that every additional hour of TV viewing per week boosts spending by roughly $200 a year.” 

It seems that leaving your television on during commercials will protect it, saving you money in repairs. Leaving the room or muting the commercials when they come on will keep you from being tempted to spend money.

I Need a Picture of Durward Kirby

“I need to find a picture of Durward Kirby.” That is a name some of the more mature Newton Falls Public Library staff members have not heard in a long time. Since the patron wanted a photograph to take with him, our search started online. While searching, we discovered that two spellings seem to be used, Durward Kirby and Durwood Kirby.

Curious to see if there was some information in the library’s collection, the staff examined the book Television: the first fifty years by Jeff Greenfield. There was no listing for Durward Kirby, but knowing from the Internet search that he was the sidekick of television host Gary Moore, the staff looked at the pages listed for him. Beneath a photograph of Carol Burnett, Kirby, and Moore, Greenfield states the “One of the most successful variety shows of the late 1950s starred Garry Moore, an amiable performer of no particular talent. His announcer, sidekick, and commercial spokesman, Durwood Kirby, was of similar dimensions.” [Television, p.43.]

Total Television by Alex McNeil includes Durward Kirby’s television history. In 1950 he cohosted Sunday at the Bronx Zoo with William Bridges. That year was also the first time he teamed up with Garry Moore, on the radio show Club Matinee. In 1951 he cohosted Guest House with Oscar Levant, and later in the year moved to the Garry Moore Show until 1958. From 1961-1965, he cohosted The New Candid Camera with Alan Funt. 1966 found Kirby again with Moore on his show.

The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows by David Schwartz, Steve Ryan, and Fred Wostbrock lists Durward Kirby as replacing Oscar Levant as host on General Electric Guest House, a celebrity game show. The show lasted about 8 weeks; Kirby hosting the last 6.  In 1955, Kirby was the announcer for the game show, Make the Connection that was on for 3 months.  That year he was also the announcer for Who Said That, a news quiz show.

We located a selection of photographs online for our patron. BookSteve’s Library  not only has a picture of a young Durward Kirby; it includes a photograph of a Kentucky historical marker commemorating Kirby’s August 24, 1911 birthplace in Covington. At the website Find a Grave  there is also a photograph of Kirby with Garry Moore and one of his headstone. Kirby died March 15, 2000. Internet Movie Database gives additional interesting information including his birth name, Homer Durward Kirby and trivia about him, such as “The generally amiable announcer and second banana shocked his fans in November 1961 when he threatened to file suit against the producers of "The Bullwinkle Show" (1961). The moose and squirrel were involved in an epic multi-part adventure involving a search for the elusive Kirwood Derby.”

I'm Having a Problem with My Cable Company

“I’m having a problem with my cable company and can’t resolve the issue. I was told to contact my local franchise authority, but I can’t seem to locate a contact number. Can you help me?” Many of the Newton Falls Public Library staff also have cable service and were curious to see what could be found to assist this consumer.

Doing an Internet search of “local franchise authority cable Ohio” brought up the link [www.szd.com/media/news/media.1194.pdf] to the article Local Franchising of Cable Television in Ohio: A Review of SB 117 by Greg Dunn, Attorney, Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn. In the article it states “In the future, cable franchising in Ohio will be referred to as video

service authorization (VSA). The Ohio Department of Commerce will ultimately handle all of the cable television licenses (i.e. franchises) in Ohio.”

Taking this information, we searched Ohio.gov and found www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa. The page about Video Service Regulation includes links to the article Consumer Service Standards and File a Complaint. The latter link was for the flyer, The Cable Consumer Hotline [www.com.ohio.gov/admn/docs/admn_Cablehotlinecomplaint.pdf]. This had the information our patron needed for contacting someone about her problem.

• “Call toll free (800) 686-7826, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

(The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Call Center will answer

your call and pass the information along to the Department of Commerce.)

(TTY/TDD: 1-800-750-0750)

• Fax a copy of the completed complaint form to (614) 644-1469.
• Email the completed complaint form to VSA@com.state.oh.us.
• Mail the completed complaint form to:

Ohio Department of Commerce

Attn: Video Service Section

77 S. High Street, 23rd Floor

Columbus, Ohio 43215

A copy of the complaint form is available at:

http://www.com.ohio.gov/admn/vsa/complaint.aspx”

What Was the Last Name of the Children in the Movie E.T.?

“What is the last name of the children in the movie E.T.?” “A friend and I have a bet. He said that Rocky was Sylvester Stallone’s first movie? I don’t think so.” “Two different people played the husband in the old TV show, Bewitched. Who were they?” “I was listening to a show on XM Radio called the Green Hornet. Can you tell me anything about it?” Movie, television, and radio trivia questions are always fun for the staff of the Newton Falls Public Library.

The first question involved using Internet search engines, Google and Metacrawler. The results included links to many movie related sites. According to The Internet Movie Database, the last name of Elliot’s family in E.T. was never given. Looking at some of the other sites, including the official twentieth anniversary website, found no information to contradict IMDb.

The Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz has a great deal of information about Sylvester Stallone’s early career. He worked as an usher in New York City’s Baronet movie theater and in 1970 he appeared in the nude in the off-Broadway play, Score. Katz also lists Stallone’s first movie appearance as being in 1970 in Party at Kitty and Studs/The Italian Stallion. This was followed by two unbilled bit parts in Bananas (1971) and Klute (1972). He was in about 5 other movies before starring in Rocky (1976). Wikipedia [http://www.wikipedia.com/] also lists 2 additional films in 1970. In Lovers and Other Strangers he appeared as an extra and had a starring role in No Place to Hide. More information about Stallone and his filmography can also be found at www.allmovie.com.

Bewitched not only had two actors playing the role of Darrin Stephens, there were two actresses in the role of Gladys Kravitz. The library’s copy of The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Show by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh gives information about shows from 1946 to 1991. Darrin was played by Dick York from 1964-1969 and Dick Sargent from 1969-1972. The nosy neighbor, Gladys was played by Alice Pearce from 1964 until her death in March 1966. Sandra Gould took over as the character through 1972.

Tune in Yesterday: the ultimate encyclopedia of old-time radio 1925-1976 by John Dunning is filled with information about the shows, characters, plots, actors, etc. The Green Hornet first appeared in 1936. Britt Reid, a slightly flamboyant newspaper publisher, fights crime as the Green Hornet along with his faithful valet, Kato. Some interesting trivia about the show - the Green Hornet and the Lone Ranger were creations of George W. Trendle. He linked the two story lines together; Britt’s father was Dan Reid, nephew of the Lone Ranger. For listeners from 1936 – 1952, this would have been a modern version of the popular western with a car named Black Beauty instead of the Ranger’s horse, Silver.