Pepino envy
“The Many Sides of Pepino” — Tony Martinez (1920-2002) on Del-Fi Records. Here’s the singing debut of Pepino from the popular TV show “The Real McCoys”. On ABC from 1957 -1963. Starring Joan Blondell (“A Tree Grows In Brooklyn), Walter Brennan (Three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor), Richard Crenna (“Our Miss Brooks”), Kathleen Nolan, Butch Patrick (soon to become Eddie Munster) and Tony Martinez (above) as “Pepino”.
This show predates my TV days and I don’t think I even saw the reruns. I’m kinda sorry I missed it.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:19 am
It was a typical ’50s early ’60s show, easier to watch than Beverly Hillbillies, one episode featured Israeli Bombshell Ziva Rodann, and of course we remember Walter Brennan’s recording career. I would buy this album although I’d wonder just how listenable it would be. I liked Pepino, and the rest of the cast.
June 11th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
I loved The Real McCoys…and I agree with Mr.Henry…it was better than the Beverly Hillbillies…why is it that The Real McCoys is never mentioned in retrospectives by ABC nor CBS…it was a hit at the time and won several Emmys…and yet never a word…why is that?
December 8th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
Here’s a bit of interesting trivia: Tony Martinez was, in fact, a musician before he was an actor, but not a guitar player (although he did play many other instruments, especially marimba). The folks at Del-Fi records asked him to pose with a guitar on the cover because they thought it was the sort of instrument that the character Pepino would be most likely to play. Here’s an old clip of him with his band, pre-McCoys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8v1wlLjGvY