Six Degrees of Separation: The Guys from Freaks and Geeks

It only lasted for 18 episodes as compared to "Beverly Hills 90210," the longest running tv show about high school in broadcasting history which ran from 1990-2000 (?!) and lasted 292 episodes.

But, it seems like "Freaks and Geeks," a dramedy about high school outcasts, has now surpassed the show about popular kids, in terms of pop culture popularity. The show, which came on the air in 1999, is frequently aired on IFC.

Amazingly enough, three of the show's male leads, James Franco (pictured top), Seth Rogen and Jason Segel have become A-list actors. None of them have actually been in a movie with Kevin Bacon that distinction does belong to the show's female star Linda Cardellini  was in the film "Super" (2010), a superhero parody with Bacon.

Franco is two degrees removed from Bacon as he starred in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011) which also featured Sanjo Bennett who was in the Atom Egoyan-directed film "Where the Truth Lies" (2005) with Bacon.

John Francis Daley, who was played Sam, the youngest main character on the show, was in "View from the Top" (2008) with Mark Ruffalo who was in the steamy film "In the Cut" (2008) where Meg Ryan bared all; that films also featured Bacon.

Joe Flaherty (pictured bottom), who is now surprisingly 72 years old, was a star on the Canadian skit show "SCTV" in the 1980s, played Sam's father on "Freaks and Geeks." He was in Nothing Personal (1980) with Maury Chaykin who was also in "Where the Truth Lies."

Lastly, Rogen was in "You, Me and Dupree" (2006) with Matt Dillon who was in "Loverboy" (2005) with Bacon.


SIDEBAR: We were shocked and saddened to hear that Joe Bankhead (1941-2007), a Salt Lake City, artist, writer and chess enthusiast died only a few months after we met him at the Coffee Garden by the Tower Theater on 9th Street. Tragically, Bankhead died while he was blogging as his trailer , unbeknownst to him, was leaking carbon monoxide. Bankhead was the subject of a blog entry here way back on May 30, 2007.

http://politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com/2007/05/salt-lake-city-discoveryjoe-bankhead.html

http://www.ifc.com

http://www.oracleofbacon.org

http://www.bacontoday.com

http://www.ilovebacon.com

Salt Lake City Discovery...Joe Bankhead

Have you ever noticed that you meet some of the most interesting folks you've ever met while you are on the road? Though I don't travel as much as my mother Lila Sullivan, who is now reportedly in Hannibal, Mo., I do periodically get out of the two states I live between.
My last venture was to Salt Lake City, Ut. One of my favorite movie theatres after the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., is the Tower Theater in the 9th and 9th section of SLC. And, before going to see a midnight screening of "Swiss Family Robinson" there, I went over to The Coffee Garden.
It was there that I came across Joe Bankhead who travels between Utah, New Mexico and Texas. Bankhead is an artist, philosopher and semi-professional chess player. I once played chess fairly regularly until a 9-year-old girl who proved to be the Virginia state championship in her age group beat me as I was playing chess at a local club in Roanoke. I played a game of chess with Joe as well. It was the same result (I lost), but it was much less humiliating than losing to the girl.
Thanks to the internet, I have actually been able to keep in touch with Joe. I read his semi-monthly newsletter as I was traveling back from Utah. And, now as it turns out, he has his own blog.
So, I am using my blog to promote his blog with the full realization that if he can post youtube videos I may lose one of the two or three people who come to my blog regularly......I am of course one of those people too!
In his blog, Joe describes himself in the following way:
"I have been studying and learning everything I could find about the Total Human Being for many more years than I want to admit........."
For Joe's blog, you can go to:
http://transformationfreedom.blogspot.com/