Rant #3,775: "Julia"

I remember that way back when, almost 60 years ago, there was a supposedly groundbreaking TV show that you just had to watch, in particular if you lived in a community like I did.

The show was "Julia," and it starred Diahann Carroll as a nurse in a dental office raising her son as a single parent, as she was a Vietnam War widow.

The sitcom ran from 1968 to 1971, was pretty much a light comedy, and otherwise, it was really nothing with nothing.

But in 1968, it was revolutionary 

Carroll played perhaps the first regular black character in a sitcom who was a bit more than just a stereotypical part of the cast.

She was the show's star, worked in a position other than a maid, and she spoke her mind on numerous issues germain to the time period.

Nearly 60 years later, you cannot imagine how groundbreaking this show really was.

Of course, Carroll was beautiful and talented, but it went way beyond that.

She was shown as a regular person trying to make ends meet, like all of us do.

She lived in an integrated apartment complex. Her son's best friend was white, and most importantly, Julia was on the same plane and level as everyone else, and equal to everyone else.

I lived in Rochdale Village in South Jamaica, Queens, back then, an integrated development where, at least for a couple of years, we lived as the real-life neighborhood representation of the world "Julia" portrayed.

I just remember that it seemed everyone in the 20-building development--my family too--watched the show when it premiered on NBC, and the next day, everyone was talking about it, like we all talked the day after The Beatles were on "The Ed Sullivan Show" for the first time, just a few years earlier.

Everyone could relate to the Julia character, no matter what color, what background or what ethnicity you were.

And Carroll, just a few years before she became even more of a household name as Dominique Deveraux in "Dynasty," was terrific in the title role, although after two seasons, she wanted more.

Evidently, Carroll tired of playing such a "goody goody," and in the final season, the show had her leading protests and rabble rousing a bit more--which turned off both white and black viewers, leading to its cancellation.

Why do I bring this all up?

Yesterday, I did my work and had a few moments to riffle through my records to look for one to digitize 

For whatever reason, I went through the "Cs" of my 45 RPM singles collection, and what record hit my eye?

A single from kid actor Mark Copage.

He played Julia's son Corey in the series, and his best friend, you might remember, was Michael J. Waggedorn, the neighbor's kid.

Of course, Carroll had a long and successful musical career, but Copage had this 45, although I do believe he is on a couple of other recordings made perhaps just prior to or just after the "Julia" years.

"Will It Be Me" was the "A" side, a sugary pop confection that bore absolutely no resemblance to what Michael Jackson was putting out in 1971.

The "B" side, "Who Can I Turn To (For Questions and Answers)," is more of the same, and the single tanked as "Julia" was itself fading from view.

Copage went on to an off and on career as a director and actor, and at 63 years of age, he is still active.

But that single ...

As you can see above, he was a cute kid, but music--or at least vocally--was not his forte.

Funny, I bet you hadn't heard the name "Marc Copage" for decades before I brought it up here ...

But needless to say, he once was one of the stars of one of the most important sitcoms of its generation, becoming the first black kid star on TV.

Interesting that that baby face was looking right at me, isn't it?

He won't help me today, as i have another infernal meeting to cover, so my day is shot ...

But at least I have that Marc Copage record in my collection to listen to when I get a chance.

https://youtu.be/KG5cQUXqoY0?si=srSg4z5d3Xiqs-TE