77 Sunset Strip (1958)

[ferkco]

Chick or dude Kookie looks much better than Justin Timberlake, besides he was first so who looks like who. Kookie only looks like Justin Timberlake if he was to finish up a round of chemotherapy treatments. Truth.

[wolfhh21]

oh yes im remember - nice

[countingmx]

@NoisevillePoop Yes, there is no denying. Artists borrow, and well they should. Even true originals, ironically. Take Aaron Paul, one of today's character masters.

[InfoWarsTV1]

You don't understand. It's not like that. She just doesn't have a name.

And one eye.

[aaaredskin]

Ed Byrnes was such a no talent hack.....and yet he actually thought he was a star....

[MrRonnieG]

A 1958 Ford Thunderbird........snap, snap.

[hammerogod]

1 Word: Kookie

Only reason I watched the show.

Well...that and the cars.

One episode (at least) showed Kookie's car.

It was what you would expect.

[countingmx]

Christopher Walken seems to have borrowed a page from Byrnes's heavy-lidded, sedated, breathless, melancholic, uptalking acting style.

[TheBabyboomkidof53]

everyone bombbard warner brothers with demands they release 77 sunset strip,hawaiian eye,surfside 6,bourbon street beat , maverick,cheyenne, colt 45,  sugarfoot,bronco and all the rest on dvd. they have all the rights to them and the cheapos wont issue unless demand is peak.

[inkey2]

@TheBabyboomkidof53 for the life of me I never understood why WB did not jump at the chance to release all these great TV shows on video. The private bootleggers were making a fortune selling this stuff on ebay etc. My guess is the people who make these decisions at WB are under 50 years old and have no idea how hot this show was

[TheBabyboomkidof53]

@inkey2 latest I heard is they want to make another theatrical release of 77 sunset strip, and might release the old tv show at the same time. but, remember they remade maverick, into a film with eddie murphy (it was a flop)but they didn't issue the old show. also time/warner has their own online store they sell their old shows on now.they finially released "cheyenne season 2" almost five years after season 1. WB is a tightlip co.hard to get information from them, or on them from insiders.

[dog1701]

@TheBabyboomkidof53 Acutally, Maverick, with Mel Gibson, did pretty well at the box office from what I understand. However, The Wild, Wild West with Will Smith did poorly because it was a sorry movie and I guess political correctness wouldn't let them make Miguleto Loveless a dwarf. Sure you're not getting the two movies confused?

[MsKelly1968]

I love this show, and I love Edd Byrnes. Classic shows like 77 Sunset Strip are soooo much better than a lot of the shows on TV nowadays. A lot of TV shows these days are just not family-friendly. Too much talk about sex, and too many words that you never would've heard on TV back in the late 50's/early 60's! I grew up in the 80's, and even back then, TV was more family-friendly that it is now. What's happened to television?

Edd Byrnes is such a cutie! What a smile that guy has!

[jdcc061]

People don't notice it but that star's left leg being longer than the other makes it into a upside down pentagram...which only goes to show that the Devil is in Hollywood.

[1400deadwood]

''and another cool cat bit the dust' - such ginchy dialog even us squares dig it

[TheMichguff]

Darn they didn't show him combing his hair. I always liked that part.

[TheShotgunslade]

I went to a movie fair in london and watched six box sets of season two recorded direct from tv , sell out in TEN minutes! Why oh why do warner not seem to realise the value of their tv archive? I love wot i've seen so far. Thanks for posting.

[ForeverYoung58]

Kookie's beatnik lingo is hilarious.

[thenegas2008]

1 of my favorite shows back then im 64

[rainstormz28]

Poor Kookie..they had to let him go...with all that vitalis and alcohol in that doo of his..warner brothers was paying a fortune in fire insurance in case he got too close to those hot lights...just a rumor I heard...

[JQbono]

Wow...listening to Kookie gives me hope for todays youth...he really didn't sound that much different than some of these wierdo accents I'm hearing nowadays : )

[inkey2]

Edd Byrnes aka Kookie......made very, very, little money from this series. Before he was on 77 he accepted a 5 year contract from warner Bros. that at the time sounded pretty good for an unknown actor....as I remember from his book about $250 a week. Then........he hit it big on 77 and the entire run of the show they refused to up his salary because he signed the earlier contract

[frenchgirl10]

he was such a cutie

[RichieEastside]

I don't think I understood a single syllable of that exchange.. :S

[elc1960]

"Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb!" Connie baby, you don't want that comb - it's covered with Brylcreem and smells like second hand smoke.

[tbirdtim]

I was at a La Salsa (fast food Mexican restaurant) in Malibu back in the early 90s, and the guy in front of me in line was Ed Byrnes -- my wife recognized him. He was a fairly unassuming, seemingly nice guy. We talked about menu items. His car was a beat up RX7.

[terriblita308]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, didn't  the actor who played Kookie also played Vince Fontaine in the movie Grease?

[elc1960]

@terriblita308 You win!

[hifidistortion27]

sha-boom!

[frankd1965]

@hifidistortion27 Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Looks like Inspector Lewis Erskine from the classic series "The FBI"

[JubalCalif]

Strictly from wowsville, daddy-o! If Kookie (the hippest of the hep cats on the Sunset Strip) had been any more cool, he'd have been frozen! Thanks for posting this fascinating clip! :)

[slinky460]

I was 9 years old back then. My younger sister thought Kookie was the "most". People used to plan all week to see TV shows like this. Now you have a hundred plus channels and the TV is just background noise so you don't have to listen to the neighbors dog bark.

[zeak62]

To young 2 smoke LOL

[The6000Sabre]

Love the '58 T-bird

[JubalCalif]

What language is that parking lot attendant speaking??? Am I going to have to call up Maynard G Krebs for a translation???

[elc1960]

@JubalCalif LOL - good luck getting Maynard on the blower, man. Like, he's digging the scene in the afterlife, listening to a hot live jam with Maynard Ferguson, Satchmo, Dizzy & Bird, ya dig? Strictly from Deadsville, Daddy-O!

[JubalCalif]

@elc1960

Ha! Your droll comments were strictly from yuksville, daddy-o! Thanks for giving me a much needed laugh, fellow hep cat! And may you have a cool & groovy Thanksgving my friend! :-)

[elc1960]

@JubalCalif Thanks, hep cat. Keep it on the mellow side and have a swingin' Thanksgiving yourself, Dad!

[JubalCalif]

@elc1960

Thanks so very very much!

:-)

[ModGirl1967]

WTF did Kookie say to Stu at the beginning???

[GwaiiEagle1]

Don't smoke in the car, man!

[annsafron]

I was nine years old when this aired, but it's cars like that that caused the oil crisis. Gas was so cheap the car manufacturers cared nothing about energy conservation.  Like it never going to run out, man!

[shanghaibenny2]

You couldn't ad lib this kind of dialogue even, if you tried hard.

[shanghaibenny2]

Sha-boom, Kookie!

[jason75]

Have not seen this show since I was a kid, holy hannah I must be getting old.

[Steelyking6725]

Haircuts

[BestOf90sCCM]

'harshly' lol

[Juliaflo]

Oh, Tubees, have you heard?

A big-screen remake of 77 Sunset Strip is in the works.

Here's to NOT seeing it when it comes out.

[ModGirl1967]

@Juliaflo If it happens (let's hope not) most likely it will be chock full of cussin' and lots of nearly naked chicks and juvenile sexual references from beginning to end.

[elc1960]

@ModGirl1967 How much you wanna bet the character "Kookie" will become a wanna-be rapper?

[PRINCEMOORE]

Even Kookies car was cool. I can't remember what it was but it was cool.

[dowopper51]

He had a T-Bucket.

[rentslave]

Kookie was the 1950's version of "The Situation".

Haven't these episodes fallen into the public domain yet?

[novaboy49]

I once had a 58 Tbird, but it was a hardtop. Dino's restraunt was located next to 77 Sunsetstrip, but I think the address was fictional. The actual building was a modeling school.

[novaboy49]

My favorite TV program when I was in high school.

[hebneh]

Kookie had his moment of fame in about 1958. Problem was, the character was so exaggerated that his popularity flared up fast and then cooled down just as fast.

"77 Sunset Strip" spawned a string of Warner Bros. detective shows that all had memorable theme songs. None of the programs attained this one's popularity, though - "Hawaiian Eye", "Bourbon Street Beat", and "Surfside Six".

[Juliaflo]

Those of you who think American Life TV is a mess now, raise your hand.

[MrsAdely]

Efraim Zimbalist...WHAT A MAN !!!!

Forget Clooney and Depp....^^

[txmcxlx]

Eddie Brandt and Spike Jones did justice to this show with their record Omnibust in 1959.

[ZoneIII]

Thanks for the memories. Has this been released on DVD? If not, where did you find it?

[100pianoplayer]

Kookie !!! Just too cool Dad!!

[100pianoplayer]

@100pianoplayer

[RainJetSprinklers]

Lend me your comb.

[rojeryeswithaj]

hahah good

elvis style

[mary1raymond]

I had the biggest crush on Kookie as a little kid. Thought he was the hottest.

He wasn't. Yuck! Hell, Efram Zimbalist was a much better-looking man!

[howlinblues]

AGH THE 1958 FORD GOLD FLASH FAIRLAINE I DIG IT MAN AND EFREM ZIMBALIST TO HIS DAD...IT WAS THE 50,s I WAS ONLY 6 WHEN THIS SHOW WAS ON THE TALK WAS COOL ...BEATNIK TALK FOR ALL U ...Y...GENERATION CREEPS TODAY.

[mycjl96]

I love discovering something "new". The weatherman on CBS in SLC, UT mentioned this show so I looked it up. How funny, the slang is so foreign to me. I am a 70's & 80's child and I have to listen closley to what they are saying. I think ever generation is just trying to set themselves apart from the previous generation. It's not that they are less intelligent, on the contrary, they are very inventive in being able to come up with "lingo" that has not already been used.

[ZoneIII]

The lingo used in this show was greatly exaggerated. I was around then and nobody actually talked like this. This is when the words "cool" and "hip" came into usage but nobody talked like Cookie. That was one reason why the show stood out at the time. If people actually talked like that, it wouldn't have stood out.

[melollylolly]

totally cool-this show--i was a kid in grade school when this was on the air--i used to watch it with my older sisters--whom were in high school-they adored "kookie" and --at least people could understand the lingo--today's kids sound like they are brain-dead

[grainofsandfan]

It's so sweet, the dialogue; some of it is still be spoken today.

[ag6186]

How about "I jingled his pad. He's sacked out in the feathers!"

[6motion6]

Kookie's hair could provide a new source of oil for the US. Hope his head won't leave a major carbon footprint

[Seastorm21]

These people sound socially retarded.

[Frank4268]

YOU are retarded you ignoramus!

[MrDavidleonhardt]

iiii

[bobnadon]

SUPER VIDEO.

[56BUICKRiviera]

Got to mellow down.

[JET997u]

Dig the hair styles. Way cool.

[Knoedelhans]

Efraim Zimbalist...what a man...^^^^

[terrorterminator]

1958 T-Bird: "SWEET"

[inkey2]

I read Edd Byrnes book. Apparantly he got a royal screwing from Warner Brothers. He was originally contracted at about $250 a week (before he became really famous) on a 5 year contract .(pretty sure it was 5 years) Shortly after signing on he became a pop-teen-super star but still only got 250 bucks a week for years. I highly suggest reading his book. If you loved 77 sunset strip...it is well worth reading. An easy read.....very ejoyable.

[problem49]

I wouldnt let that incoherent dork park my toilet seat.

[01KravenMoorehead]

You first!

[tuxguys]

The pivotal moment of this clip? The two finger-snaps by EZ, jr., indicating "once more, in english, please?" Knock-out cool how that was incorporated in the theme...

[saunders49]

Edd Byrnes was an original choice for the John Wayne movie "Rio Bravo." He was also under consideration to play JFK a role that Cliff Robertson was eventually given. I understand that Sinatra also wanted him for "Ocean''s Eleven." Merv Griffin offered Byrnes the hosting spot in "Wheel of Fortune," but Edd's alcoholism caused him to lose that job.

[cruiser1947]

Thanks for posting this video! I remember my friends and I trying to do "Kookie talk". One magazine had a list of the words that Kookie said and what they meant. We tried to memorize that stuff to be cool.

[CJurasin]

cruiser: How about posting as many of those "Kookie sayings" that you can remember and then their meanings? I remember the show too, and he was (as the girls would say) "The Ginchyest"..... ;-)

[Ridgid]

Kookie Kookie lend me your comb...!1

[68blues]

Now i'm no dialogue writer but if Stu Bailey had said to Kookie "Kookie, you gibbering bastard" it would have made the scene more memorable.

[roscoe008]

I wish people did talk like that. In my neighborhood today they beat rocks together and bark like dogs.

[barflewk]

Thank God no one really talked like that back then.

[CJurasin]

Beats the heck of how they talk and act today!!! Ever get a glimpse of MTV crap??? Total GARBAGE!!!

[pleasecho2]

It's been a long time since white guys were cool

[roscodawg]

Edd Byrnes actually started out on the show as a guest actor. He was a murderer. But later signed on as a regular, the parking valet.

[inkey2]

to roscodawg: I just want to add to your your statement for those that are not familiar with Kookie trivia: Kookie got his foot in the door for "77" playing the part of a killer in the pilot "movie" titled "Lady on the run". The pilot was not even called "77Sunset Strip and the only detective was Stu Bailey. The movie is absolute required viewing for "77" fanatics.

[mikekorz]

They should make this into a movie...

[barflewk]

Warner Bros ruined Byrne's career by holding him to his bit part and refusing to let him do two movies he was asked in on, Ocean's 11 and the Magnificent 7. To make him happy they wrote him in as a partner of Zimbalist, wearing a suit instead of parking cars, and fans of his Kewl parking attendant persona dropped off. Ruined the show.

[1400deadwood]

Kookie may have been a Kool Kat on the show but his reputation in real life ain't so kool.

[kolst8406]

The actor wasn't a good guy?

[1400deadwood]

"The actor wasn't a good guy?"

I do not know for a fact that he is a bad guy. All I hear is rumors that he talks down to certain fans at nostalgia gatherings. But these are rumors so far as I know.

As for his portrayal of Kookie - it certainly was a great portrayal. I would have greatly enjoyed seeing the character evolve. And I'm sure he would have done a great job of presenting him on stage or on screen.

[kolst8406]

Thanks. I went to page 2 of this video and found out more details about his conduct.

[vydeoynkhorne]

Mr Byrnes was certainly nice to me today (sept 18 08) at the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia convention, extremely cordial and friendly. Very down to earth

mike brown

[1400deadwood]

"Mr Byrnes was certainly nice to me"

That's GREAT to see!

I have always admired his great work on 77 SS and have also hoped that those rumors were just that -- rumors.

Blessings to you, his fans, and to him!

[18yellowroses]

I like this show.

[KellyGiftShop]

I remember when I was little, ..We had this song. 77 sunset strip, open your barn door and let it drip. OH! And "whistle while you work, hitler is a jerk..eeenie meenie pull his weeine , now it doesn't work' Am I the only one?

[stringalongmike1953]

No. You are not the only one.

[mathewknight]

In recent years, Edd Byrnes (born Edward Byrne Breitenberger) threatened to sue actor Edward Burns if he did not change his name. This is ironic because unlike Edd Byrnes, that is Edward Burns' actual birth name.

Lately, Edd Byrnes spends his recent years traveling, selling autographed pictures at car shows at various locations

[mathewknight]

However, recent reports cite that because of his rude and unprofessional behavior toward fans, car enthusiasts, and his charging above average rates for his autographed pictures, many car shows have banned Mr. Byrnes. In fact, the president of Kustom Kemps Of America vowed never to use Edd Byrnes again at any of his car shows because of Mr. Byrnes' unacceptable behavior and high rates.

[mathewknight]

Several sources state that on October 25th 2007 at the Blast With The Past car show in Denison Texas, that Edd Byrnes started yelling obscenities at a little girl and her father for videotaping in his direction. Mr. Byrnes claimed that he "did not want people coming around recording him and his pictures for free, (without paying him) and then making movies about him".

[mathewknight]

It was reported that Edd Byrnes made the child cry, who had recently seen the movie Grease and had only wanted to meet him. Witnesses claim that Mr. Byrnes left a very bad impression on them. This in fact, was reported on both local news (CBS and NBC affiliates) KXII and KTEN, as well as the Herald Democrat Newspaper

[ldavelewis]

koookie, kookie, lend me your comb

[k4nbc]

Like wowsville baby. Totally Koolsville dad.These chicks just fall at my feet when I comb my hair.Dig that ride! Its boss.

[KellyGiftShop]

ROTFLMAO! I was born in 58. I wonder if my mother talked like that! This is just great!!

[ncarolinaluv]

That is fn' hilarious, KellyGift!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where do you did this stuff up?

[KellyGiftShop]

I hope I never sound "real harshly" .I might the "cool cat" that bit the dust! TooFunny!! I Love it!

[KellyGiftShop]

SHABOOM!

[1400deadwood]

... another cool cat bit the dust ...

What dialogue!

[JannieRosen]

Smoke up, Kookie: they're grrreat!

[Knugabug]

Warner Bros. jacked every contract player on the TV stages for tens of thousands....not as bad as Universal cooking the books on James Garner later....he got drilled by Jack & Lew fer a few millions.

[saunders49]

Remember this like yesterday! Kookie...you're the ginchiest!

[theblob2007]

Did this show always have this kind of hepcat talk in it? I think that would get annoying after a while.

[davidcassidyjnr]

Kookie had the coolest job: Parking cadillacs all day.

[LaraJulija1shoW]

What's so cool about parking cadillacs?

[lakeviewviking]

every episode of 77 Sunset strip:"This is a dangerous case where we tempt death at every corner; let's get that hopped-up greaser who parks cars for a living in on it!"

[HickysBoy]

HAHA! One of the funniest comments on YouTube. thanks for the chuckle!

[rojeryeswithaj]

hahah yes 77 Sunset Strip series with Efren Zimbalist Jr i remember tks for digging this up

[MrIronose]

So very out it's in-or is it the other way around? Thanks for taking me back to my childhood.

[oranger2525]

hey daddy-oh!

[wayne441944]

brill,man

[64098]

He's the maximum utmost!!

[arpo37]

oh Kookie, you send me, even now!