Tag Archives: Gloria

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Throwback Thursday: “Gloria” (1984)

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I think we can all agree that “Gloria” is the least remembered of the “All in the Family” sequels. It ran for a single season on CBS in 1984. I seem to remember it leaning a little too far into melodrama, and too little into the over-the-top antics of “Archie Bunker.” (Nobody I knew ever called “All in the Family” by its proper title back in the day; the kids just called the show “Archie Bunker.”)

Anyway, the opening theme here is such an odd little 80’s chestnut that I couldn’t resist sharing it.

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Throwback Thursday: Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” (1982)

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Weird world — Laura Branigan wasn’t the first vocalist to perform her signature song, “Gloria” (1982).  It was originally an Italian pop song performed in 1979 by Umberto Tozzi.   (That’s the second video below.)

Anyway, for a lot of people in my age bracket, this remains a quintessential 80’s tune.  Branigan even performed it in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the year it was released.  I still remember people commenting about how beautiful she looked.

If you’re wondering whatever happened to Branigan, there’s a bit of a sad postscript here — she died in her sleep at a relatively young age, 52, from an undiagnosed brain aneurysm.  By that time she’d become a fellow Long Islander; she’d been living in East Quogue.

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“Fear the Walking Dead,” but Crave the Next Episode!

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The pilot of AMC’s prequel to its little known zombie tv show was just great!  I’d give it a 9 out of 10.

It looks as though “Fear the Walking Dead” will be a smartly scripted horror drama with relatable, realistic, three-dimensional characters — something I think “The Walking Dead” has often stumbled with.  (Other fans strongly disagree, of course.)  The cast was quite good across the board — but especially Frank Dillane, whose performance as a heroin addict with tragic recognition was just outstanding.   And “Fear” shows fans of the zombie horror sub-genre exactly what the vast majority of movies fail to examine — what happens when an epidemic is in its infancy.  No, there are none of the zombie “swarms” that are the bane of Rick Grimes and company, but the “slow burn” horror here delivers nicely.

I am on board with this.

Hey … when Dillane’s addict character starts screaming at the character of “Gloria” in the abandoned church, am I the only one who started humming Laura Branigan’s “Gloria?”

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