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R.I.P. Edd Byrnes, the hip Kookie of 77 Sunset Strip
metv.com ^ | 1/9/2020 | MeTV Staff

Posted on 01/09/2020 6:06:10 PM PST by bitt

The comb-loving actor was 87.

The most prominent early use of the term "hipster" was on 77 Sunset Strip, the cool detective series set in Los Angeles. Each week, viewers heard singers belt the following lyrics in the brassy theme tune: "You'll meet the highbrow and the hipster."

The "hipster" of the theme song was Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III, the parking attendant with an obsession with combing his hair. Edd Byrnes portrayed Kookie, and built his fame upon the character, releasing hit pop songs — like "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" — and making appearances all over television. In 1959, "Kookie" turned up in a Coke Time variety show special with Pat Boone and another important hipster of the era, Maynard G. Krebs.

See More

'77 Sunset Strip' has its roots in an underrated 1948 noir movie Thanks to Kookie, hep slang riddled the scripts. The rock 'n' roller tossed off terms like "ginchy," "smog in the noggin" and "long green." Yet 77 Sunset Strip offered more than fashion and hipster speech. The series was the creation of Roy Huggins, the novelist behind the character-driven TV classics Maverick, The Fugitive and The Rockford Files.

(Excerpt) Read more at metv.com ...


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KEYWORDS: 77sunsetstrip; eddbyrnes; hollywood; kookie; obituary
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1 posted on 01/09/2020 6:06:10 PM PST by bitt
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To: Whenifhow; null and void; aragorn; EnigmaticAnomaly; kalee; Kale; azishot; AZ .44 MAG; Baynative; ..

p


2 posted on 01/09/2020 6:06:21 PM PST by bitt (A FRIVOLOUS impeachment vote is a SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY)
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To: bitt

Awwww, I had such a crush on him.


3 posted on 01/09/2020 6:08:14 PM PST by McGavin999 (“Look into it” does not mean dig up dirt, it means find the truth)
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To: bitt

Pouring out a beer for Edd. A Jacqueline Beer.


4 posted on 01/09/2020 6:09:12 PM PST by Rastus
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To: bitt

87 is a good, long run.

RIP


5 posted on 01/09/2020 6:11:44 PM PST by Ken H
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To: bitt
"Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb."
I also had a crush on him when I was 13.
77 Sunset Strip, SNAP! SNAP!

R.I.P. Kookster!

6 posted on 01/09/2020 6:11:55 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: bitt

7 posted on 01/09/2020 6:12:53 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (Democrats only believe in democracy when they win the election.)
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To: bitt

He was great as Vince Fontaine on “Grease” RIP


8 posted on 01/09/2020 6:13:11 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: windcliff

Ping


9 posted on 01/09/2020 6:14:43 PM PST by stylecouncilor (Dreg of Society)
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To: bitt

Got all the Sunset Strip episodes.
Kookie was a significant character in the series.


10 posted on 01/09/2020 6:15:05 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts (M / F) : Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: bitt

Aw... he was a cutie.


11 posted on 01/09/2020 6:15:55 PM PST by MayflowerMadam (God issued a commandment against envy. What others have is not our business. - Star Parker)
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To: bitt

Loved that show, especially the Kookie character.


12 posted on 01/09/2020 6:16:58 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: bitt

Please refrain from abusing the news forum with chat material.


13 posted on 01/09/2020 6:17:51 PM PST by Admin Moderator
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To: bitt

The first host of Wheel of Fortune was Chuck Woolery.


14 posted on 01/09/2020 6:18:18 PM PST by JmyBryan
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To: bitt

RIP Mr. Byrnes. We watched this show, Route 66, and other great programs when we were kids.


15 posted on 01/09/2020 6:18:21 PM PST by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: JmyBryan

“In 1980, when Merv Griffin was creating a new game show to be called Wheel of Fortune, he cast Byrnes as the host in the test pilot. The network asked for another host, and thus Pat Sajak’s career began.”

Chuck WOOLERY ans Susie somebody or other were first.... geez.


16 posted on 01/09/2020 6:20:20 PM PST by Watershed
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To: bitt
Connie Stevens & Ed Byrnes Kookie Lend Me Your Comb

17 posted on 01/09/2020 6:20:29 PM PST by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: bitt

Doyle Brunson was known to call 7-7 down cards”Kookie Burns”. Also from the same period, a 6-6 was a “Martin Milner”.


18 posted on 01/09/2020 6:22:24 PM PST by Slicksadick (We accept the love we think we deserve.)
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To: bitt

Did he ever return Al Bundy’s copy of Big ‘Uns?


19 posted on 01/09/2020 6:25:35 PM PST by lowbridge
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To: bitt

As a young child I watched this on BW TV.

My dad never missed this, the Untouchables or Sugarfoot.


20 posted on 01/09/2020 6:28:46 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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