THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
LOCAL TV BITS and pieces to snack on while you count down to Monday's Oscar telecast:
Tom Terrific is in it for the long haul - A reader buzzed me on Infoline (640-5555, Category 3333) to ask if hunky WTKR anchorman Tom Randles is under long-term contract to Channel 3.
News director Barbara L. Hamm informs me that Randles is half way through a four-year contract. That means hands off to TV head hunters from bigger markets who are looking to swoop down on Norfolk and steal him away.
Robert Stack wants to know if you have seen this man - Tonight at 8 on NBC, ``Unsolved Mysteries'' takes up the story of Fernando Zapico (alias Carlos Garcia), who has been charged with defrauding individuals and businesses in Hampton Roads. The Internal Revenue Service also wants a piece of Garcia.
Garcia, believed to be in his 70s, will be pictured as the consummate con artist on NBC tonight. And his con worked in states other than Virginia, said an NBC spokeswoman.
After NBC re-creates Garcia's scams, the network will appeal to viewers to help bring him into custody.
And don't forget to add more insulation - Who is that man with a megaphone in downtown Norfolk shouting suggestions to office workers? Who is that man who wants us to pull down the shades and reduce cooling costs?
It's the same dude seen at the lighthouse at Fort Story in Virginia Beach pushing outdoor lighting for safety's sake. He is ConserVision Man, the star of Virginia Power's 15-second energy-saving TV tips.
ConserVision Man (Joe O'Connor) is scheduled to return to South Hampton Roads for a week starting April 7 with more hints for reducing your cooling and heating bills.
Do you know that a roast cooked in a microwave requires 90 percent less energy than if it were cooked in a gas or electric oven? My question, Mr. ConserVision Man, is who wants to eat a roast cooked in a microwave?
Microwaves are for popping pop corn, period.
Here's your chance to be known as a big tipper - It's spring again and that means it's time for the annual Celebrity Night to benefit the Hampton Roads Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. The committee rounds up local politicians; sports heroes; TV, radio and newspaper types to wait on tables at several Hampton Roads restaurants.
All tips go to charity. I'm dying to see WTKR meteorologist Duane Harding in an apron.
It really is just a coincidence - A few days after the star of the classy NBC series ``St. Elsewhere'' committed suicide, Peninsula independent station WPEN (Cox Cable Channel 62) announced that it would begin running the shows this spring.
It's a fresh opportunity to see the fine work of the late Ed Flanders, who played the noble Dr. Donald Westphall.
WPEN is also adding ``Boogies Diner,'' a fairly cool sitcom about kids who work in a mall. MTM Worldwide Distribution, an arm of the Virginia Beach company that operates The Family Channel, put the series into syndication.
Forrest Gump's mom never had a box of Whitman's, obviously - With the Oscar telecast almost upon us, and a new wave of Forrest Gumpmania about to wash over the land, I had this thought: Gump's mom says life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get.
In the boxes of yummy Whitman's Sampler chocolates, there is a guide to the goodies printed inside the cover. You always know what you're getting, Forrest. by CNB