Albert Merrill School - 1978 NYC Commercial

[NYCNorthNJ777]

Wow! Remember this commercial!

[M0RGaN98]

Call and see what happens! o_O

[crystalcrystaly2]

I made it through Albert Merrill School 1980 and still working 28 years going strong. Miss the classmates.

[uszoninyc]

So... what IS 'Jimmy Randolph' doing hanging out at Columbus Circle?

My 'favorite' is @ (31sec) when she's staring STRAIGHT at cue cards, off-camera.

My mom STILL says (when she's asked her phone number): 'TRafalger7....'

[macro16]

well it was the 70's

[macro16]

Jimmy Randolph spends his off time staring at the fountain at Columbus Circle

[bubbagaw]

@macro16 Ha! Was just thinking the same thing... and is that garbage strewn about?

[THOMKALLOR]

"someday that'll say, AMY!"

[natom1956]

Jimmy Randolph played the fed who took Mary Tyler Moore to jail when she had refused to name a source in a Mary Tyler Moore episode.

[ezrareinstein]

Go team Venture!

[GaryPeterson67]

I remember my buddies and I would say "Of course!" like the guy in this commercial. I'm 43 and remember back in the '70s and '80s watching old sitcom reruns on WPIX, WOR and WNEW and seeing this commercial, APEX Tech, Garden State Brickface, Carvel's Cookie O'Puss and many more. I never thought decades later they would become touchstones to my childhood. Thanks for posting this and, to quote Ol' Ski Nose, thanks for the memories!

[MattTheSaiyan]

I wonder how many people who watched this commercial still work in the computer industry. (I do, however, know someone whose been a computer programmer since the mid-1980s. A lot's changed since then, and even more since 1978!)

[brideshead1921]

This is classic.. i used to wach this as a kid... i think for many people who got into computing at that time, it led to amazing opportunities in the coming computing boom in the next 20 years!

i'm now looking for the TCI commercial... "It all started the day I enrolled in the Technical Career Institute..."

[kagato23]

@brideshead1921 Hate to tell you, but it was a horrible institute that accepted people who couldn't possibly pass or understand the courses, and would then send them off with fake resumes as their sad version of career services. The place was finally sued by a poor old man who was conned out of all his savings.

[brideshead1921]

@kagato23 that's sad to hear.

[uszoninyc]

@kagato23 ALL those 'schools' here (and elsewhere, I'm sure): Apex, Robert Fiance... ALL of 'em just wanted to get you in the door, and sign up.

Question: I haven't walked around 6th ave, lo 20's in a coupla years. Last time I was there, the APEX school was still going (though, they were on the news - fire, if I remember right). Are they still around now?

Whoever said Jimmy was the fed who busted MTM: GREAT memory!

[kagato23]

@uszoninyc nonetheless, when you take somebody who doesn't know english and can't possibly understand instruction... you are not a good school. Some level of ethics is required.

[dkers007]

I was very little, but I definitely remember this one. Brilliant!

[cheesegod1337]

how... do you call that number?

[trainluvr]

@cheesegod1337 since you have such cool favorites, I'll reply to your comment about The Albert Merril School phone number. Local phone calls were 7 digits before 1984, so all of NYC was inside of the 212 area code.

[richard1113]

@cheesegod1337 In the past phone numbers were shorter as the area code was not required for local calls. The "CIrcle" part of the phone number was used to identify an area/neighborhood. For example, Murray Hill (MH), Circle (CI), etc. These referred to letters on the phone dial. The number 2 referred to letters ABC, 3 for DEF, 4 for GHI and so on. So, this number would be 245-3500.

[kaboodleent]

What was he watching... traffic in the beginning?

[JimR541]

He was looking at the fountain and statue across the street.

[kaboodleent]

Brilliant! It does not get any better than this!

[Lectronimo]

I still remember almost all of Jimmy Randolph's lines after 24+ years. Even as a kid in the 70s and early 80s, I thought the exchange telephone number was incredibly anachronistic and couldn't figure out why they'd still be using it.  But it was distinctive, and probably accounts for why I remember that phone number to this day. What a thrill seeing this again!

[questprobe]

Here It Is Amy!!!

My life is now complete. Thank you for posting this.

[KissPunk77]

He sounds like MORGAN FREEMAN

[GreenBeardsRevenge]

He's a nice man!

[bojIM4201]

THATS MY NAME!!!

[coolitababy]

CIrcle 5. I miss the old phone numbers...they had character.

(formerly REgent 7)

[benonemusic]

Thank you for posting. A strong memory from my childhood. Hope Jimmy Randolph is doing well!

[Dreaded88]

Whatever happened to Technical Career Institutes?

[StukInBuf]

Whatever became of the Apex Tech School and the guy who said, "We can't call you; call us today"?

[taiwanbrownshow]

its still open... unlike this school

[Wa3ypx]

I want to be a key punch operator

[madpapi]

i think amy was just trying to get some big black dick, shes clearly horny for him

[myrurgia]

I sure do remember this!

[wilbar2922]

Amy is adorable

[EarlSnohomish]

It's amazing how certain commercials stick in your memory cells after all these years. This is one of them.

IIRC, it only aired on WPIX, primarily during the morning and early afternoons weekdays.

BTW, I remember seeing Jimmy Randolph in an old "Taxi" episode years ago.

[salpolizzi]

Nefty73, I know what you mean alot of this stuff brings back memories of NYC in the 70's.

[rb3807]

Scuse Me, are'nt you that dumbass spokesman for the Albert Merrill school?

That's right I am.HAAAHAAA! LOVE IT! Do a google search on it and you'll

discover the whole school was a scam!!!

[emank1965]

Yeah, I wish I knew that before going to that school, I went in October 1984 and graduated in 1985 and you know what my job was after school, Messenger! Wow what a ripoff, the stuff they train you on was so outdated for example the IBM 360 was a computer setup from the late 60's, we did not train on anything new, I can say that they only thing I got out of the classes was keyboarding, they started me on my way to typing, no surprise they closed shortly after 1985!

[flannagan11]

Cool to see Columbus Circle pre-Time Warner Center, and crazy to see telephone exchange names still in use in the late 1970s.

[Jimbokett]

Education GRANT? Education LOAN?

I LOVE THIS COMMERCIAL!!!!!!!!

[nycartstardotcom]

Operator, get me PEnnsylvania 6-5000

brooklynramblings dot blogspot dot com / 2006 / 06 / operator-get-me-pennsylvania-6­-5000_27

[JimR541]

Now I need to see the commercial for the "Ritz Thrift Shop" where you don't need a million to look like a million.

[wojohowsky]

OMG, the Ritz commercial has been stuck in my head forever! The one where the woman is riding the bus and the woman in the furs replies "oh, thank you". I am so damn old.

[JimR541]

Thats the one.

[spectrefourtwenty]

omg, i do remember seeing this when i used to cut out of school and watch tv during the day

[trainluvr]

so, did you make anything of yourself?

[spectrefourtwenty]

nah, i just went to apex technical school, since the guy on tv wasn't able to call me- i had to "take the first step"

[EarlSnohomish]

"nah, i just went to apex technical school, since the guy on tv wasn't able to call me- i had to "take the first step""

At least you got a free set of tools. :-)

[spectrefourtwenty]

lotta good they did me...I work in an office today!

[EarlSnohomish]

:-)

[allergicdandelion]

@trainluvr That would be a no.

[VIEWMANCY]

I REMEBER THIS ONE, BABY!