Customer Reviews

Thanks for Tuning In

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3 star:		(1)
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Wow!! I read this in one sitting it was so interesting. This is the full story from beginnng to end - 198 pages with a dozen or so pages of rare pics from the beginning thru the end.

Bill is completely honest and very detailed about his reminices and tells it all. Makes the show seem even more special once you know all the behind the scenes stuff that is presented in this book.

You'll read about:

- How the Wallace character was created by Bill in junior high
- His early desire to just make people laugh for a living
- How Ladmo came to join the show
- Who named him 'Ladmo'
- How the Gerald character was created
- Bill's very cruel recurring practical jokes on poor Pat
- How and why each of Pat's characters were created
- Many recounts of the verbatim dialouge from early and classic skits
- The chaos and violence of Geralds first public stage show appearance
- Why Ladmo was fired from the show
- Why Pat McMahon was fired from the show
- Why Bill finally decided to end the show
- The Ladmo Cookie
- Why Ladmo quit speaking to Bill and Pat for a year after the show ended
- Details behind the last days of Ladmo and suicide death of Mike Condello that shortly followed
- Many other stories of all of the behind the scenes fun, the stage shows, the Ladmo Burger joints, Legend City shows, the Hub Kapp frenzy, Grudgemeyer, the national syndication of the show, the old time movies, the Ladmo sports movies, Salt River Navy Band, and more.

This book is an amazing testament to persistance and of finding your place in the world. Recommended for anyone who shared in the fun at anytime over their 35+ years on the air!!! Thanks to Wallace and Long Live Ladmo!!! But Gerald is still a brat...

Thanks For Tuning In by Richard Ruelas (a native Arizonan and metro columnist for "The Arizona Republic") is the story of Bill Thompson who as "Wallace" created Arizona's most celebrated children's television show which was on the air for 35 years -- longer than all other kid's shows in the nation. Readers will learn about a wide-eyed college dropout who grew up the scion of a wealthy family in update New York who decided to reinvent himself out West. Here are also revealed behind-the-scenes details of Thompson's beloved children's show and its characters -- some of which were based on Thompson's own childhood experiences. A welcome and highly recommended addition to the growing library of books about influential and popular American television programming of the mid-20th to late 20th century, Thanks For Tuning In is quite candid about the end of the show, including the deterioration and reconciliation of Thompson's friendship with his partner Ladmo.

Thanks For Tuning In by Richard Ruelas (a native Arizonan and metro columnist for "The Arizona Republic") is the story of Bill Thompson who as "Wallace" created Arizona's most celebrated children's television show which was on the air for 35 years -- longer than all other kid's shows in the nation. Readers will learn about a wide-eyed college dropout who grew up the scion of a wealthy family in update New York who decided to reinvent himself out West. Here are also revealed behind-the-scenes details of Thompson's beloved children's show and its characters -- some of which were based on Thompson's own childhood experiences. A welcome and highly recommended addition to the growing library of books about influential and popular American television programming of the mid-20th to late 20th century, Thanks For Tuning In is quite candid about the end of the show, including the deterioration and reconciliation of Thompson's friendship with his partner Ladmo.

This is a wonderful book about a man with a passion to make people laugh, who ended up doing that and more for 35 years, on the longest-running kids' show ever, and the best! Richard Ruelas is the first to get Bill Thompson, aka Wallace of "Wallace and Ladmo" to open up and tell all (or almost all). Hugely entertaining and great read.

Wonderful memories - I am planning to give this to my 35 year old son on October 13 for his birthday. I will be traveling from Phx to Spokane to visit and celebrate with him and his family.
He was an avid viewer and was in attendance several times. He had his own science of where the Ladmo Bag would be distributed and was right far too many times to call it chance.

Thanks For Tuning In by Richard Ruelas (a native Arizonan and metro columnist for "The Arizona Republic") is the story of Bill Thompson who as "Wallace" created Arizona's most celebrated children's television show which was on the air for 35 years -- longer than all other kid's shows in the nation. Readers will learn about a wide-eyed college dropout who grew up the scion of a wealthy family in update New York who decided to reinvent himself out West. Here are also revealed behind-the-scenes details of Thompson's beloved children's show and its characters -- some of which were based on Thompson's own childhood experiences. A welcome and highly recommended addition to the growing library of books about influential and popular American television programming of the mid-20th to late 20th century, Thanks For Tuning In is quite candid about the end of the show, including the deterioration and reconciliation of Thompson's friendship with his partner Ladmo.

Thanks For Tuning In by Richard Ruelas (a native Arizonan and metro columnist for "The Arizona Republic") is the story of Bill Thompson who as "Wallace" created Arizona's most celebrated children's television show which was on the air for 35 years -- longer than all other kid's shows in the nation. Readers will learn about a wide-eyed college dropout who grew up the scion of a wealthy family in update New York who decided to reinvent himself out West. Here are also revealed behind-the-scenes details of Thompson's beloved children's show and its characters -- some of which were based on Thompson's own childhood experiences. A welcome and highly recommended addition to the growing library of books about influential and popular American television programming of the mid-20th to late 20th century, Thanks For Tuning In is quite candid about the end of the show, including the deterioration and reconciliation of Thompson's friendship with his partner Ladmo.

Thanks For Tuning In by Richard Ruelas (a native Arizonan and metro columnist for "The Arizona Republic") is the story of Bill Thompson who as "Wallace" created Arizona's most celebrated children's television show which was on the air for 35 years -- longer than all other kid's shows in the nation. Readers will learn about a wide-eyed college dropout who grew up the scion of a wealthy family in update New York who decided to reinvent himself out West. Here are also revealed behind-the-scenes details of Thompson's beloved children's show and its characters -- some of which were based on Thompson's own childhood experiences. A welcome and highly recommended addition to the growing library of books about influential and popular American television programming of the mid-20th to late 20th century, Thanks For Tuning In is quite candid about the end of the show, including the deterioration and reconciliation of Thompson's friendship with his partner Ladmo.