Kids in the '70s didn't have the Internet, and it was not yet the era of earnest parents who really wanted to communicate with their kids. So we learned about what the adult world would be like from television, of course.We learned that when we grew up we'd sail around on The Love Boat, with frequent visits to Fantasy Island. If we went to the police academy and were assigned very hazardous duties, someone would take us away from all that. We didn't really know about sex, but from Love, American Style, we could see it involved a brass bed. And of course, we'd hang out at the Regal Beagle.
It's still, somehow, incredibly disappointing for me that the Regal Beagle, the bar of choice on "Three's Company," isn't real. I totally wanted to hang out there, even if it was populated by slightly oily guys like Jack Tripper's pal Larry.* It seemed so grown up, so bubbling over with promise and fun and responsibility. (I felt the same way about Danny's bar on "Quincy, M.E.")
Now of course I see that I mentally made the Regal Beagle into much more of a fun place than the weird little set depicted it as. But every once in a while, I go into a bar that's just a little bit dumpy and yet a little bit everybody-knows-your-name and I think: Is that Mrs. Roper over there?
*Richard Kline, who played Larry, was actually a Vietnam vet and seems to be a stand-up guy.
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4 comments:
Believe it or not there actually is a Regal Beagle here where I live in Virginia Beach, VA. I haven't been there yet but I plan too. Who knows maybe jack and the girls will be there! ha ha
We had a Regal Beagle in Chicago, but I see that it has closed. I never got to go there, unfortunately.
There's a Regal Beagle in Vancouver, BC too. And it's a real hangout kind of place, especially for Sunday post-hangover brunch. A lot like the real thing. http://www.thebeagle.ca/
there's one in Brookline, MA and one in Dallas too.
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