Sad to find out via Twitter that Curly of the Harlem Globetrotters passed away. He was definitely one of the iconic members during the peak popularity in the Seventies. Back then the Globetrotters were quite conspicuous:
- They first appeared on Scooby Doo
- Then they had their own cartoon which followed the rote Hanna-Barbera Josie and the Pussycats stories
- A live variety show for kids in which they did skits, taught life lessons, sang and had weekly guests. The only one I remember was Ted Knight.
- They were an annual feature on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. My brother and I often would catch this Saturday afternoon episode for the antics of Curly, Meadowlark and Goose.
- I remember seeing them on The White Shadow in which they convinced one of the characters to go to college because they all were college graduates.
- I never saw them on The Love Boat, but I did endure the Gilligan’s Island special. I think they had to win or else Mr. Howell lose the resort to an evil scientist using a robot team that stole the Globetrotters’ basketball prowess.
- Their last hurrah before the Eighties was a cartoon in which they transformed into superheroes in which most resembled the Sixties’ The Impossibles.
Best of all, when I was a kid, I got to see Curly live in 1978 when he and the team played their straight-men team (the Washington Generals) at the Assembly Hall. He and Meadowlark were even funnier in person. They were on right at the starting lineup announcement. They did all the gags we’d seen on TV and Curly was a hell of a ball handler. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of his techniques are practiced by some of today’s point guards. He did it without needing traveling to be amended to five steps instead of one too…you all know who I’m ripping on.
Thanks for everything Mr. Neal. You were a great contribution to my childhood via cartoons, sports and comedy. As an adult, you helped push Civil Rights forward in an indirect manner because you promoted basketball’s popularity worldwide!