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Grand Master B - Self-proclaimed nickname of teenager Bud Bundy from the
sitcom MARRIED WITH...CHILDREN/FOX/1987-97. To impress women in hopes of getting
a date, Bud Bundy transformed himself into a rapping streetwise persona called
Grand Rapper B. Bud's Sister Kelly, however, called him rather the Grand Master
Virgin considering Bud's not so illustrious career with the opposite sex. See
also
"Spud" and
"Toad Boy"
Grant Naylor - "Grant Naylor" is the collective name used by writers Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor, the creators of the British sci-fi series RED DWARF. They wrote
and produced Series 1 through 6, and wrote (individually or as a team) all of
the Red Dwarf novels. In 1996, Rob Grant resigned as co-producer/co-writer of
the show. Rob Grant, and Doug Naylor worked for three years in the mid-eighties
as head writers of the satirical puppet series Spitting Image which spawned a
spin-off number one song single called "The Chicken Song." It was composed by
Philip Pope and released in 1986 by Virgin Records. the "Grant Naylor" team also
wrote Radio Four's award-winning series Son of Cliche. Rob Grant has continued
to write solo including a science fiction comedy for Sky One called The Strangerers
[released in 2000] about inept aliens invading Earth and a special
5-part sitcom for ITV called Dark Ages.
Grasshopper - Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) on the western
adventure KUNG FU/ABC/1972-75 was called "Grasshopper" by Master Po (Keye Luke),
a blind monk who taught him from the day he was adopted by the Shaolin
monastery. Once Master Po asked the neophyte Caine to close his eyes and relate
what he heard. Sitting by a pond, the boy heard the obvious sounds of water, and
birds in the trees. "Do you not hear the grasshopper at your feet?," asked
Master Po. Caine looked to the ground and was astonished that the blind man had
discerned the location of such a tiny insect. From that day Master Po called the
boy "Grasshopper." Years later on a religious pilgrimage, Master Po was
callously murdered by the Royal Chinese Nephew. In defense of his Master, Kwai
Chang Caine killed the nephew and was forced to flee China to America. Caine
called the blind Master Po, "Old Man." See also -
"Old Man" and
LANGUAGES & PHRASES -
"Kung Fu"
Gray Ghost, The - The military adventure THE GRAY GHOST/SYN/1957 featured
Confederate Major John Singleton Mosby (Tod Andrews) who conducted daring raids
against the Union Army during the 1860s. He received his name because he was so
elusive. The series was based on the books "Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders" by
Virgil Carrington Jones about an actual young lawyer who joined the 43rd
battalion of the first Virginia Cavalry and soon became a successful Civil War
guerrilla fighter. The real Major Mosley (who died in 1920) served in the US
Congress.
Great Bird of the Galaxy, The - The nickname of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of
the sci-fi adventure STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69. The term first appeared on episode
No.6 "The Man Trap" when ship's navigator Sulu (George Takai) said "May the
Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet" to yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee
Whitney) after she brought him food to eat.
Great Non-Rehearser, The - The oversized comedian Jackie Gleason who starred on
CAVALCADE OF STARS/DUM/1949-52, THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW/CBS/1952-70, and THE
HONEYMOONERS/CBS/1955-56 was known to hate rehearsing long hours in preparation
for his comedy routines. Fortunately, his photographic memory enabled him to
commit an entire script to memory in a matter of a couple hours. This ability
and his dislike for rehearsing earned him the nickname of "Great Non-Rehearser."
The chemistry among his talented cast was so spontaneous that his lack of
rehearsal was never a real handicap. Rarely, during a live performance did
Gleason forget a line. However, when this happened he had prearranged codes for
his actors to pick up on. One code was rubbing his stomach in a circular motion.
When used the cast would ad-lib their parts and help save the scene. Once on THE
HONEYMOONERS during moment of confusion Gleason left the stage via the bedroom
door. Audrey Meadows then casually walked off stage looking to find Jackie. This
left Art Carney alone on the stage. Undaunted Carney began to look in the prop
refrigerator on the set and found an orange. Sitting down at the Kramden's
kitchen table, he skillfully peeled the orange for the next few minutes. His
quick thinking saved the scene and the audience was none the wiser. See also
-Macaroni"
and "The Rock"
Great One, The - The talented comedian Jackie Gleason was dubbed the "Great
One." However, this nickname does not refer to his physical size rather his
intelligence. One night at the Stork Club, Orson Welles was discussing
Shakespeare with Jackie Gleason (both were drinking buddies). Welles purposely
misquoted a line from "Aeschylus" and Jackie Gleason corrected him. To which
Welles replied, "You're the Great One!"
Great Stone Face, The - Reacting rather than acting, Robert Stack's performances
as FBI agent Eliot Ness on the crime drama THE UNTOUCHABLES/ABC/1959-63 earned
him the nickname "The Great Stone Face." His performances were likened to
statuary. He later starred on the successful UNSOLVED MYSTERIES/NBC/1987-2002 that
focused on dramatic recreations of such topics as missing persons, and unsolved
mysteries. Ed Sullivan, a deadpan journalist-turned-host of the successful
Sunday night variety show THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW/CBS/1948-71 was also called "The
Great Stone Face" & "The Old Stone Face" by reviewers.
Great Voodini, The - Funny man Chuck McCann starred on the short lived summer
comedy variety series HAPPY DAYS/CBS/1970 as "The Great Voodini," the world's
clumsiest escape artist. Chuck McCann later starred with Bob Denver as one of
two NASA food workers who got locked into a space ship that accidentally
launched into outer space on the live-action Saturday morning series FAR OUT
SPACE NUTS/CBS/1975.
Great Wounder, The - Dennis Farina, who played Lt. Mike Torello on the police
drama CRIME STORY/NBC/1986-88 was nicknamed "The Great Wounder" by his fellow
police officers when he worked for the police department in the days before he
took up acting as a career. During his eighteen years on the Chicago police
force, every time he "pulled out his gun to shoot someone, he'd shoot them in
the butt or the thumb" (TV Guide 2/6/88). Farina was born in the Italian section
of Chicago. He left law enforcement in 1985 to pursue acting full-time. He was
introduced to acting when his former supervisor, who had left the Chicago police
to pursue a career in writing, got him a small role in the movie Thief (1981).
He later was cast as an FBI agent in the Michael Mann film Manhunter (1986).
Farina was fully self-taught actor. He later returned to TV in the fall of 1998
on the CBS series BUDDY FARO, as a 1960s gumshoe come out of retirement. See
also -
"Johnny Pizza"
Green Grocer, The - Nickname of Joe Carcione, a smiling Italian-American who
owned and operated a produce house in San Francisco and who became nationally
known as "The Green Grocer" when he hosted short TV spots recommending what was
fresh and in-season in the world of fruits and vegetables. Born on Halloween
1914 in San Francisco, Carcione was the second child of Peter and Catherine
Carcione. At age 18 he began working at his father's produce market arriving
each day at 5:00 AM. Joe's wholesale import/export business had made him a
wealthy man but he was unaffected by the material possessions. At the time he
was asked to do a TV spot for a local San Francisco station in 1974, Joe had
already written a newspaper column, two books and hosted a local call-in radio
program. His segments (aired nationally) were shot (five at a time) in his
market where he used some old benches and a card board box for his stage. His
sense of humor and cheery outlook on life carried through to his viewers and
made him an instant celebrity. Joe's catch phrase was "But I wanna tell ya'
folks" He signed off each segment with "I'm Joe Carcione, your Green Grocer with
your tip for the day." He celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with Madeleine
Ahern (a.k.a. "Babe") in 1987. Joe died of cancer in August of 1988. He left
behind three children and nine grandchildren. His smile and warmth will be
missed.
Green Hornet, The - The secret identity of Britt Reid (Van Williams), crusading
editor of the Daily Sentinel on the crime drama THE GREEN HORNET/ABC/1966-67.
With his faithful manservant, Kato (Bruce Lee) Britt Reid in the guise of the
Green Hornet battled organized crime. See -
INSECTS:"The Green Hornet"
Grizzly Adams - The adventure series THE LIFE & TIMES OF GRIZZLY
ADAMS/NBC/1977-78 featured James "Grizzly" Adams (Dan Haggerty) a bearded
mountain man who lived in the American West of the 1800's with a black grizzly
bear called Ben. The series was loosely based on the story of a man by the name
of James Capen Adams who was known to stroll into the town of San Francisco with
two unleashed grizzly bears at his side.
Guardian of the Safety of the World See -"Captain
Midnight"
Gun That Won The West, The - Nickname used to describe the Colt.44 revolver as
well as the Winchester .73 rifle. See also -
WEAPONS
Gunner - Personal nickname of actor Tom Arnold. He earned his moniker when he
worked at a meat packing plant in Ottumwa, Iowa. One of the jobs at the plant
required that the arriving hogs be killed and hung up to drain out their blood.
Tom's method of killing the hogs was a gun to the back of the head. Once he was
in a rush to go to lunch so he killed eight hogs and left them on the floor
without draining the blood out of them. Unfortunately, the Federal inspectors
came by and condemned the meat. Tom, of course got in trouble for the incident.
Gunny - The military nickname of Sergeant Alva Lucille "Gunny" Bricker (Beverly
Archer), the sour-faced female Marine staff officer on the sitcom MAJOR
DAD/CBS/1989-93. Another "Gunny" was William "Gunny" Davis (Jonathan Winters), a
retired Marine gunnery sergeant on the sitcom DAVIS RULES/ABC/CBS/1991-92. He
once translated the meaning of USMC as Uncle Sam's Miserable Children.
Gus-isms - A reference to one of the many nicknames given to Burton "Gus" Guster (Dulé Hill), the reluctant black partner of Shawn Spencer (James Roday) on the detective comedy PSYCH/USA/2006+. Shawn and Gus have been friends since childhood. As adults, they joined forces to form a detective agency called 'Psych,' so named because of Shawn's uncanny ability to see things at a crime scene that others don't. It's as if he's psychic, but he's really not; he's just very observant.
During their many cases, Shaun referred to Gus (a pharmaceutical sales rep) by a number of silly nicknames. Here are just a few:
- Chocolate Columbo
- Felicia Fancybottom
- Galileo Humpkins
- Gus "Silly-Pants" Jackson
- Lavender Gooms
- Longbranch Pennywhistle
- MagicHead
- Ovaltine Jenkins
- Santos
- Shutterfly Simmons
- Spellmaster
- Squirts MacIntosh
- SuperSniffer
- Weepy Boy
Shawn Spencer also had a few nicknames, including:
- Capt. Crunch
- Chief Inspector
- The Amazing Psychman
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