Who loves you......Willie?

It is always fun to watch classic TV and see how the world has changed. The clothes. The cars. The way people talk. The events in the news that they decide to rip off. It is hilarious.

I am continuing my Kojack binge and I got to episode 3 of Season 1. It is a convoluted rip off of the shooting of Joe Colombo at the Columbus Day Rally of the Italian American Civil Rights league. Of course they changed everything. They made it at a street fair. The Don being shot wore a vest and wasn't hurt. Instead of the Gallo's trying to kill Colombo to get his turf it was this own Mafia guy setting himself up to blame a rival. They only kept one element. A black guy shot the Mafia guy.

But that was not what was really fun. It was the language.

At the beginning of the episode Captain McNeil goes to Kojack "What do expect from these schvartzers." Hilarious. The Yiddish epithet for blacks like Moolie in Italian. He just comes out and says it on a prime time TV show. Funny shit.

Later they roust a bunch of black guys. One of them runs and Stravos grabs him and goes "Where you going Wille? Calm down Willie. Take it easy Willie." I laughed my ass off.

You see Willie is what the cops and the fireman of the 1960's and 1970's called black guys. Universally that is how they referred to them. Whenever we would be in a bar and the older guys would tell a story it was all Willie did this or Willie did that. I think it was sort of a back handed compliment to Willie Mays.

Man this episode took me back. Bell bottoms. Long Hair. Willie.

It is like a time machine.