Ahab - Nickname FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) called her father on the fantasy drama THE X-FILES/FOX/1993-2002. Ahab was the tyrannical captain who sought the White Whale in in Herman Melville's classic 1851 novel Moby Dick. Her father called Dana "Starbuck" after the able lieutenant in the same novel. See also DOGS: "Queequeg"  and- "Starbuck"

Alan Smithee - Generic pseudonym (anagram for "The Alias Man") used in the television and movie industry to identify a director who worked on a film project but did not want his or her real name used on the screen credits of a film which may prove to be a bomb or too controversial. The Alan Smithee moniker was a "parachute for artistic heartbreak." Before a director can "take a Smithee," however, he must first take his case to the Director's Guild (who created Alan Smithee in 1969) and convince them that their artistic vision of the film project has been destroyed through interference by others. When the motion picture Dune (1984) originally directed by David Lynch was broadcast on television, the special 190-minute TV print credited the director's job to Alan Smithee.

All-American Boy, The - The youthful actor Dick Jones was given the title of the "All American Boy" when he appeared on the western adventure THE RANGE RIDER/SYN/1951-52 in the role of Dick West, the teenage sidekick of frontier crime fighter, the Range Rider (Jock Mahoney). Astride their trusty steeds Rawhide and Lucky (Dick's horse), the Range Rider and Dick West roamed the Southwest of the 1800's maintaining law and order.

Amazing Psychman, The - See "Gus-isms"

America's Favorite Couple - The proud title bestowed on popular radio/television celebrities Ozzie & Harriet Nelson when they played themselves for eight successful seasons on radio and then on the sitcom THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE & HARRIET/ABC/1952-66. The program featured an "All American Family" headed by Ozzie, the fun-loving father and Harriet, his wife who was always in the midst of some domestic duty, like vacuuming carpets or preparing meals for her two sons, David and Eric "the irrepressible Ricky" Nelson. The program's plotlines were simple clean-cut tales of day-to-day living devoid of topics of sex and drugs. However, Rock 'n Roll became a popular theme during the boy's teenage years when Ricky performed his version of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'." It made him an overnight teen idol and sold one million records. Of course, these musical interludes were welcomed by Ozzie, (a retired bandleader) and Harriet (a former band singer) who jumped into the entertainment whenever they had the chance. On the 1973 syndicated series OZZIE'S GIRLS, the Nelson's continuing their role as "America's Favorite Couple," rented out their boy's room to two college coeds Susie Hamilton (Susan Sennett) and Brenda Mackenzie (Brenda Sykes).

America's Favorite Cowboy - The nickname of cowboy star Gene Autry who starred in a series of Republic feature films playing a guitar and singing ballads in between fighting the bad guys. He made his debut in the 1934 film In Old Santa Fe. In the 1950s he made a transition to the new medium of television with his own syndicated western series THE GENE AUTRY SHOW/CBS/1950-56 (produced by his own Flying A Production Company). With his sidekick Pat Buttram, Gene rode the dusty trails of the Southwest on his horse Champion and helped those in distress. His theme song was "Back in the Saddle Again." In 1955, fifty-six of his old black and white western movies were repackaged into 60-minute format and syndicated to television by MCA-TV Syndication. Gene Autry (Probably best known for singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") died of Cancer on October 2, 1998 at the age of 91.

America's Number One "Boing" Private Eye - Self-proclaimed title of the marionette police inspector who protected the fictional town of Doodyville on the 1950s children program THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW/NBC/1947-60. The Inspector's character was a by-product of an accident which damaged a duplicate copy of Howdy Doody's wooden head. During transport via airplane, the puppet head split while stored in an un-pressurized part of the cargo hold. Not able to use the damaged duplicate head, a new one was created. However, it did not match to the original Howdy Doody puppet head, and so it was fitted with a mustache, a dark suit of clothing and christened "The Inspector." In 1952, unknown to the residents of Doodyville, the Inspector decided to run against Howdy Doody for the job of PRESIDENT OF ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS, disguised as the mysterious MR. X. Losing on election day, the Inspector unmasked himself and made a special announcement. From that day forward he was to be known as John J. Fadoozle, "America's Number One "Boing" Private Eye.

America's Oldest Living Teenager - The host of ABC's AMERICAN BANDSTAND from 1957-89, the youthful-looking Dick Clark (also called "The World's Oldest Living Teenager") has been a favorite with America's Rock n' Rollers for almost five decades. Early in his career, Clark discovered that because he looked 10 years younger than his age, he was unimpressive as a news commentator. However, that same look paid off when he became host of the popular teenage program AMERICAN BANDSTAND. His youthful image is linked to his youthful attitude. He stays ahead of the trends by reading teen magazines and prefers the company of younger friends because they are vibrant and not yet jaded by life's experiences. With seemingly unlimited energy he has become the first person to host three programs simultaneously on all three networks including AMERICAN BANDSTAND, TV'S BLOOPERS AND PRACTICAL JOKES, and the $25,000 PYRAMID. Besides being responsible for over 7000 hours of television productions, Dick Clark finds time to count down the minutes till midnight on his annual NEW YEARS ROCKIN' EVE event from Time's Square, and to open a chain of Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grills-located in such cities as Kansas City, Indianapolis, Reno, Nevada, Columbus, Ohio and the original in Miami, Florida. His recipe for success is "Great food, generous portions, unique setting, and lots of entertainment. The Rock and Roll memorabilia displayed at the restaurants included vintage photos and contracts signed by "Bandstand" stars; Chubby Checker's checkered boots; Prince's "Purple Rain" tour jacket, and the world's largest electric guitar (weight: 1,865 pounds). David Letterman from LATE NIGHT satirized Dick Clark's ubiquity and declared he should be forced to step down and give some one else a chance. The only other personality to come close to Dick Clark's record was Arthur Godfrey. In the 1950s he was the only person on television to have two top rated programs running simultaneously in prime time for an extended period (8 1/2 seasons). On Mondays viewers could see him on ARTHUR GODFREY'S TALENT SCOUTS/CBS/1948-58 and then on Wednesdays on ARTHUR GODFREY AND HIS FRIENDS/CBS/1949-59. TRIVIA NOTE: In 1956 Dick Clark insisted that the dance floor be opened to African-American kids in an attempt to integrate black and white teenagers. Today he displays a huge poster in his office that reads "Don't Play Negro Records" to remind young African-Americans visitors of the heavy dues that their parent's generations endured to get them where they are today. Dick Clark Productions is located at 3003 Olive Street in Burbank, California. See also "The Bandstand Cover Girl"

America's Sweethearts of Song - The Lennon Sisters (Dianne, Peggy, Kathy, and Janet) were collectively known as "America's Sweethearts of Song." Beginning with the 1955 Christmas Eve program of THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW/ABC/1955-71, the talented brood of young singers melodically raised their voices in song each week until 1968, when they chose to leave the program. They were first brought to the attention of Lawrence Welk while his son was dating Dianne Lennon. Their Lennon Sister's first song was "He" with an arrangement borrowed from the McQuire Sisters. During the 1969-70 season, the Lennon Sisters costarred on the ABC network musical variety program JIMMY DURANTE PRESENTS THE LENNON SISTERS. The following season they were regulars on the musical variety program THE ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW on the NBC network from 1970-71. TRIVIA NOTE: Silent film star, Mary Pickford and the McQuire Sisters were called "America's Sweetheart."

America's Press Conference of the Air - The NBC network public affairs program MEET THE PRESS known as "America's Press Conference of the Air" began on November 6, 1947 and is the longest running network television program. Originating from Washington, DC, the weekly program aired on Sundays (since 1965) features a panel of reporters who interview a leading public figure. MEET THE PRESS was created for radio in 1945 by Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak as a promotional advertisement for American Mercury magazine.

American Gladiators - The syndicated program THE AMERICAN GLADIATORS (first aired in 1989) featured a group of muscle-bound athletes who competed in very physical "king-of-the-mountain" type challenges including rope climbing, dodging tennis ball cannon fire, and rolling huge metallic spheres. At the opening of each program the announcer boldly proclaimed: "From Universal Studio, the Samuel Goldwyn Company presents AMERICAN GLADIATORS. Selected from a nationwide search, twenty men and women have come to Hollywood to challenge our force of American Gladiators for a single honor, to become American Gladiator champions. Now here are your American Gladiator Champions" The following is a list of participants over the years: Blaze (Sha-ri Pendelton), Gemini (Michael Horton), Hawk (Lee Reherson), Lace (Marisa Pare), Nitro (Dan Clark), Gold (Tonya Knight), Laser (Jim Starr), Thunder (Billy Smith), Ice (Lori Fetrick), Turbo (Galen Tomlinson), Viper (Chuck Berlinger), Diamond (Erika Andersch), Malibu (Darren McBee), Titan (David Nelson), Tower (Steve Henneberry), Sabre (Lynn "Red" Williams), Sunny (Cheryl Barldinger), Zap (Ray Hollitt), Storm (Debbie Clark), Sky (Shirley Eson), Elektra (Salina Bartunek), Siren (Shelley Beattie) and Jazz (Victoria Gay).

Ancient, The - The name of an elderly Shaolin priest who ran a local apothecary shop in Chinatown on the police drama KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES/SYN/1993-97. The Ancient (played by Kim Chan) was well versed in the martial arts and possessed mystical powers. His herbal mixtures helped save many in the community including fellow Shaolin priest and friend Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine).

Angel - Nickname of a mysterious 242-year-old vampire (David Boreanaz) who popped up from time to time to help a 16-year-old Valley girl named Buffy battle supernatural creatures on the occult fantasy BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/WB/1997-2003. Both Angel and Buffy quickly fell in love despite their destiny to be apart (he's a vampire; she kills them). On the detective drama THE ROCKFORD FILES/NBC/1974-80 Stuart Margolin appeared as Angel Martin, the slimy con-man and hustler friend of private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner). The police drama NASH BRIDGES/CBS/1996-2001 featured a weird street person named Angel who dressed in a white robe and sported a pair of huge feathered angel wings.

Angel Cups - The affectionate nickname of Marcy Rhodes (Amanda Bearse), given to her by her husband Steve (David Garrison) on the sitcom MARRIED WITH...CHILDREN/FOX/1987-97. Marcy called Steve "Sugar Tush." See also "Chickenlegs"

Angel-face - Carmine Ragusa's (Eddie Mekka) affectionate term for his semi-steady girlfriend Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) on the sitcom LAVERNE & SHIRLEY/ABC/1976-83 set in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Shirley's nickname at work (Shotz Brewery) was "wait-for-the-wedding-night-Feeney." Shirley's mom nicknamed her "Dimples." Shirley eventually married an Army medic stationed overseas named Walter Meany. See also "The Big Ragoo"

Angels See - FACELESS FAVORITES: "Charlie's Angels"

Animal - Los Angeles Tribune photographer, Dennis Price (Daryl Anderson) from the newspaper drama LOU GRANT/CBS/1977-82 was given the nickname "Animal" by his fellow employees because of his unshaven, unkempt appearance. Animal was formerly a combat photographer in Vietnam. "Animal" was also the name of a puppet-like character that appeared on THE MUPPET SHOW/SYN/1976-81 who wildly banged the drums for the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band and screamed "Animal needs WOMAN!" The sitcom HERMAN'S HEAD/FOX/1991-93 featured a character called "Animal," a fat, overindulgent, beer drinking party animal who was the personification of the character's emotional state known as "Lust" that resided inside Herman's head with other cerebral counterparts (Intelligence, Anxiety and Sensitivity).

Animorphs  See CREATURES

Archangel - Code name of government operative working for the FIRM on the aviation adventure AIRWOLF/CBS/USA/1984-88. Archangel (actually Michael Archangel) was in reality Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (Alex Cord) who recruited Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent) to retrieve a top secret helicopter named Airwolf that was stolen from the government. With a name like Archangel, it was only natural he would dress in the obligatory white suit, shoes, hat, cape and carry an eloquent walking cane. He was assisted by several gorgeous females including: Gabrielle (Belinda Bauer); Marella (Deborah Pratt); Lydia (Sandra Kronemeyer); Amanda (Kandace Kuehl) and Rhoda (Leigh Walsh). TRIVIA NOTE: The biblical archangels in Christian beliefs were: Chamuel, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Zadkiel, and Zophiel.

Art Fern - One of the comic characters first played by Johnny Carson in 1971 on THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON/NBC/1962-92. As the Art Fern skits unfolded an announcer's voice (Ed McMahon) intoned "It's time once again, friends, for the Mighty Carson Art Players. One of the mainstays of daytime television is the late-afternoon movie. It's usually hosted by the happy-go-lucky bigmouth who's very happy to bring you the film feature, but a lot happier to bring you more commercials than you can find up Eighth Avenue. And now, your host...Art Fern." Art Fern, the mustachioed host of the Tea Time Movie began by saying "Hello Southland friends" and then proceeded to introduce wacky films, assisted by a dumb but well endowed blond known as the Matinee Lady (Carol Wayne) who suffered Art's groping fingers and sexual innuendoes during the films. Art Fern hosted such films starring "Jack Lemmon, Jack Haley, Hayley Mills, the Mills Brothers, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and Spawn the Wondercarp in Dracula Gets Bombed on a Wino; or "Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Junior Gilliam, Stu Gilliam, Stu Erwin, Irwin Corey, and Spurt the Wonder Skunk in Gidget Takes On Fort Ord; and "The Jackson Five, The Four Tops, The Three Stooges, The Doublemint Twins, and Furball the Wonder Cat in Tarzan Breaks His Loincloth. To find the locations of the businesses that sponsored the Tea time Movie Art Fern directed his viewers saying "How do you get to (Fill in business name). Take the Ventura Freeway to another freeway until you get to the Slauson cutoff. Stop the car. Get out of your car. Cut off your Slauson. Get back in your car and travel until you come to ...the fork in the road." See also " The Matinee Lady "

Attila the Nun - Sister Agnes (Priscilla Lopez) was a streetwise nun who worked with the poor in a downtown Baltimore mission on the sitcom IN THE BEGINNING/CBS/1978. When Father Daniel McCleary (McLean Stevenson) was assigned to work with her, their philosophies clashed and he soon labeled her "Attila the Nun."

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