Season Two Gilmore-isms

2-01   Sadie, Sadie

Bobby Flay - Celebrity chef made famous for the restaurant Mesa Grill but perhaps better  known for his Food Network show Hot Off The Grill With Bobby Flay.

         Cher, Greg Allman - The singer Cher was married to Allman Brother Greg for nine days in 1975. They later reconciled, then divorced in 1977.

             Cujo - Rabies infested canine from the Stephen King novel and film.

             J. Edgar Hoover - Hoover was appointed head of the FBI in 1924 and held the position until his death in 1972. He was known for keeping extensive files on politicians, celebrities, and others.

       “Mencken’s Chrestomathy”  - A collection of writings by Baltimore journalist H. L. Mencken.

             Sadie - Reference to a married woman, from the song “Sadie, Sadie,” which was in the Broadway musical (and later film) Funny Girl, Barbara Streisand’s debut.

             Sally Field Movie - Reference to the 1991 motion picture Not Without My Daughter.

             Stephen Hawking - Famous scientist and author of the groundbreaking A Brief History of Time.

             Zelda Fitzgerald - Wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. She eventually went crazy and was institutionalized.

2-02   Hammers And Veils

             A.J. Benza - A former gossip columnist for the New York Daily News, he hosted the now cancelled E! Mysteries & Scandals.

         Bob Vila - Host of This Old House home improvement program.

             Boca Burger - Meatless soy-based hamburger substitute, found in your grocer’s freezer aisle.

             Castro - Fidel Castro overthrew the Batista government of Cuba in 1959 and established a Communist state.

             The Damned - English punk band formed in 1976. Their debut album Damned Damned Damned was released six months before The Sex Pistols’ debut Never Mind the Bollocks.

         “The full-on Diana” - Reference to Princess Diana and her famous fairy-tale wedding.

             Mother Teresa - Famous Catholic nun who served the poor of Calcutta; she founded the Missionaries of Charity and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She was also very short.  

            Princess Grace - Grace Kelly, the American actress and star of Rear Window, retired from show business when she married Prince        Rainier III of Monaco. She died in 1982 in an automobile accident.

          Thelma & Louise - Ridley Scott’s 1991 film follows Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) traveling cross-country, escaping the law, and driving off a cliff into the Grand Canyon.

          “Who’s On First” - Popular Abbot and Costello routine concerning a baseball team and the confusion over player names.

            Xuxa - Brazilian children’s television host who wore revealing outfits, she briefly hosted an American version of her show in the early nineties.

2-03     Red Light on the Wedding Night

            Billy Jack - 1971 film in which an ex-Green Beret karate expert fights to save an American Indian school from social injustice.

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl - Sid and Marty Krofft-produced Saturday morning show about two super-heroines played by Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis.

           Guy Fawkes Day - In England in 1605, a group attempted to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament by tunneling under the House of Lords and igniting two-and-a-half tons of gunpowder. Fawkes, the explosives expert, was captured and killed. Today in England, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated with fireworks and a bonfire on which an effigy of Fawkes is burned.

           Jan - Jan Brady, often beleaguered middle child of The Brady Bunch.

             Mensa - Mensa is an organization for people with high IQ’s.

             Mussolini - Benito Mussolini ruled Italy as a fascist dictator from 1922 to 1943.

             N’Sync - Formerly a popular boy band.

             Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Todd - Actress Taylor was married to   producer Todd in 1957 until his death a year later. She married actor Burton in 1964 and divorced him a decade later. They were remarried for a year in 1975.

             Them! - Science fiction film featuring giant ants that take over America

             Tony Manero - Character played by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

  2-04   Road Trip to Harvard

             David Lynch - Eerie filmmaker of Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks fame.

            “Forget it Jake. It’s Chinatown.” - Famous and fatalistic last line from the film Chinatown.

            Freud - Sigmund Freud was the Austrian inventor of psychoanalysis.

            Liberace - Famously flamboyant pianist and entertainer.

             Midnight Express - Drug-smuggling movie written by Oliver Stone.

             Rizzo - Troublemaking character played by Stockard Channing in the movie Grease.

             Space pen - Bullet-shaped pen developed by NASA for use in space.

            The Valley Girl Song - Novelty song that parodied San Fernando Valley culture, or lack thereof, performed by Moon Unit Zappa.                                           

2-05   Nick & Nora - Sid & Nancy

             Breakfast Club - John Hughes film about ill-behaved kids and their Saturday detention.

             Dodger - The character of the Artful Dodger from Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist.

             Dr. Laura - Dr. Laura Schlesinger, television talk show           host and self-help guru.

             Fellini - Italian filmmaker renowned for his offbeat, sometimes surreal sequences.

             Fredo - Ne’er-do-well son of Don Corleone in The Godfather who bemoaned his lack            of power and respect.

            Kabbalah - An aspect of Jewish mysticism that is an offshoot of traditional Judaism, Kabbalah is frequently             misused by non-Jews and has been recently made famous by celebrities such as Madonna and Demi Moore.

            Mojo - British music lover’s guide to essential rock recordings.

            Nick & Nora - Dashing, martini-sipping husband and wife characters from The Thin Man film series.

            Riff - Leader of the New York City teenage gang The Jets in the musical West Side Story, Riff’s death is the event that causes hero Tony to commit murder.

            Sid & Nancy - Not so dashing, heroin imbibing bass player in The Sex Pistols and his equally besotted girlfriend.

2-06   Presenting Lorelai Gilmore

Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke and Gloria Vanderbilt - High society heiresses all three.  *Hutton* was the heir to the Woolworth fortune who was married famously seven times, at one point to Cary Grant.  *Duke,* the daughter of American Tobacco Company founder and Duke University benefactor James Buchanan Duke and a famous collector of art and antiquities.  *Vanderbilt,* a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family and most famous as a spokeswoman for high-end blue jeans.

           Battlebots - Television series on Comedy Central in which remote controlled robots attempt to destroy one another.

         George and Martha - Alcoholic, argumentative couple from the film and play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

         Lily Tomlin / John Travolta Movie - Moment By Moment, a film starring John Travolta      and Lily Tomlin as a couple in a May-December romance that was both a critical and           box-office disaster.

        “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” - Quote from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, which stars Patrick Swayze and Gilmore Girls’ Kelly Bishop.

         Shecky - Shecky Greene, comedian and actor.

2-07   Like Mother, Like Daughter

        Anne Sexton - American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967 and later lost a lifelong battle with mental illness and committed suicide.

      Cosa Nostra - Another term for the mafia.

       Fat Albert - Character from the 1970’s cartoon by Bill Cosby.

       Gary Mule Deer - Comedian who frequently opens for  Johnny Mathis.

       Sandra Day O’Connor - The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

      Snow White and Rose Red - Fairytale popularized by the Grimms that tells the story of        sisters Snow White and Rose Red, named for the two rose bushes in their mother’s garden, one bearing white roses and the other red.

      Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a novel by Rebecca Wells that became a feature film.

         Zsa Zsa Gabor - Glamorous beauty and sometime actress best remembered for slapping a Beverly Hills policeman in the 1990’s.

2-08  Inns & Outs of Inns

    “Danger Will Robinson! Danger!” - Famous robot line by Robbie the Robot from the TV series Lost In Space.

      Glitter - Mariah Carey’s 2001 box office disaster.

        John Birch Society - A United States radical Right organization originally established in 1958 to fight the influence of Communism on American life.

       Monticello - The Virginia estate of founding father Thomas Jefferson.

      “Phasers on stun.” - Refers to the non-lethal setting of a standard issue phaser in Star Trek.

        Sulu - Captain Hikaru Sulu, the character played by George Takei on TV’s Star Trek.

 Van Gogh - 19th Century Impressionist painter famoous for cutting off his own ear.

2-09   Run Away, Little Boy

          Ab Fab - Reference to British comedy  series Absolutely Fabulous.

            The Beav - Nickname of the character played by Jerry Mathers in the series Leave It To Beaver.

            Billy Graham - A Southern Baptist minister and evangelist who received attention for his extended work in Los Angeles and preaching tours around the world. Graham later found friends amongst high-ranking politicians and Presidents.

            Chang and Eng - Conjoined (Siamese) twins in the 1800’s, they achieved notoriety in circus freak shows before settling down in North Carolina and collectively siring 21 children.

            Emily Post - The unchallenged authority on manners and decorum.

            Martha Stewart - Domestic guru whose empire includes a magazine, a television series and a line of housewares, and whose advice on inventive homemaking has led her to great fame and fortune.

            On The Town - 1949 film based on the Broadway musical by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, which starred Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly as sailors on leave who go out for a night in New York City and meet up with Betty Garrett and Ann Miller.

            Stalin - Infamous bald dictator of Marxist/Communist Russia.

2-10     Bracebridge Dinner

         Anne Heche’s alien language - Reference to the actress’ claim that she lived much of her life through an alternate personality from another planet, whom she called Celestia and who was able to communicate to God through her own secret language. 

            Bogarting - Synonym for “hogging” or “monopolizing.”

            Chuck Mangione - Jazz flugelhorn player best known for his 1978 soft-rock instrumental hit Feels So Good.

            Ernest Builds A Snowman - Reference to bumbling movie character Ernest P. Worrell, played by the late Jim Varney.

            Pixies reunion - Legendary rock band The Pixies were a notoriously quarrelsome group who suffered a nasty breakup in 1993. Although a reunion was rumored at the time of this episode’s airing in 2001, it seemed unlikely until the band in fact reunited in 2004.

            Tammy Faye Bakker - Ex-wife of televangelist Jim Bakker, Tammy became involved in her then-husband’s scandal and is best remembered for wearing an excessive amount of mascara.

2-11   Secrets and Loans

          The Algonquin - Hotel and site of the famous Algonquin Roundtable, where Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker and other literary luminaries gathered to drink and converse.

            The Coreys -Former child stars, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman co-starred in such films as Dream A Little Dream and License To Drive.

            Coyote Ugly - World-famous saloon in downtown Manhattan known for its cheap drinks, all-Country jukebox, and scantily-clad female bartenders who dance on the bar. The establishment eventually inspired a chain of theme bars and a feature film.

            “Exene wannabe” -Exene Cervenka sings with early eighties and still existing LA punk outfit X.

            “Nico obsessed” - The late Nico achieved prominence as a singer with The Velvet Underground.

            Robert Benchley - A humorist, drama critic and film actor who was a famous contemporary of Dorothy Parker

2-12   Richard in Stars Hollow

          The Judds - Country music group consisting of Wynona Judd and her mother Naomi. Though not part of the group, Ashley Judd is part of the family.

            Patricia Krenwinkle - A member of the Charles Manson “family” and one of his murdering emissaries, Krenwinkle was involved in all seven Manson murders and is currently imprisoned in California.

2-13   A-Tisket, A-Tasket

          Andy Hardy - All-American boy-next-door character played by Mickey Rooney in a series of movies co-starring Judy Garland.

            Boy In the Plastic Bubble - Television movie first broadcast in 1976 that starred John Travolta as a boy forced to live in a plastic isolation bubble due to his non-functioning immune system.

            Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy - Reference to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his     dummy, Charlie McCarthy.

            From Here To Eternity - 1953 film most memorable for its scene of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing on the beach as the waves washed over them.

            John Cleese - Member of British comedy troupe Monty Python. Amongst his stock of characters was “The Minister of Silly Walks.”  Also starred in the comedy "Faulty Towers."

            Lenny Bruce - Brilliant comedian known for his controversial (profanity-laden) performances and resulting harassment from the law.

2-14   It Should've Been Loreali

          The Barrymores - Family of actors that includes Lionel, Ethel and Drew.

            Chairy and Captain Carl - Chairy (a giant, plush, talking chair) and Captain Carl (one of the Playhouse gang, played by Phil Hartman) were characters on Pee Wee’s Playhouse.

            Dr. Dre - Founding member of rap group N.W.A. and producer for Eminem, he was sentenced to house arrest and slapped with an ankle bracelet in 1996.

            Jack Kevorkian - Advocate for physician-assisted suicide.

            Pee Wee Herman - Paul Reubens’ character, the eccentric star of children’s television series Pee Wee’s Playhouse and feature film Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

            “Rabbit boiling on the stove?” - One of Glenn Close’s modes of revenge in the film Fatal Attraction.

            Sephora - National chain of all-encompassing make-up stores.

            “Whack you with a cannoli...”     Lorelai: “In the corner, the mafia table where nobody can sneak up behind you and whack you with a cannoli.”    Rory:  “Whack you with a cannoli? Oh, because he left the gun and took the cannoli.” - Reference to Pete Clemenza’s line of dialog in The Godfather: “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli,” spoken just after the murder of one of his associates.

2-15   Lost and Found

           “Calgon, take me away.” - Famous motto for women’s bathing salts..

            Euell Gibbons - Spokesman for the vegetarian lifestyle as being beneficial for longevity, died of natural causes in his early sixties.

            “I Like Ike” - Campaign slogan of Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America from 1953-1961.

           Ida Morgenstern - Overbearing mother character played by Nancy Walker on the sitcom Rhoda.

            Mel Brooks - The comedic genius behind Young Frankenstein, The Producers and Silent Movie.

            “Patience, Grasshopper.” - Famous quote from the television series Kung Fu, starring David Carradine.

            The Shaggs - All-girl garage band whose sloppy 1960’s recordings have achieved classic status.

            The 2000-Year-Old Man - In which Mel Brooks, as the 2000-year-old man, is interviewed by Carl Reiner.

            Unabomber - Ted Kaczynski, a loner who lived in a Montana shack, is in prison for mailing explosive packages

2-16   There's the Rub

          Chicken Ranch - Legal brothel in Nevada.

              Driving Miss Daisy - Film starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman  about a chauffeur and his demanding passenger.

            Luca Brasi - Don Corleone’s go-to henchman from The Godfather.

            Ted Nugent - A rock musician and guitar showman, Nugent is responsible for a few memorable tunes such as Cat Scratch Fever, and is well-known for his support of hunter’s rights. If it walks, crawls, swims or flies, Ted’s gonna shoot it.

2-17   Dead Uncles and Vegetables

          Colossus of Rhodes - A statue of the patron god Helios that stood at the entrance to the harbor of the island of Rhodes in Greece until an earthquake destroyed it in 282 B.C. Commonly known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

            David and Lisa - Reference to a play by James Reach whose title characters did not like to be touched.

            Lady Godiva - The Saxon lady who, according to the legend, rode through the streets of Coventry on her horse naked with only her long hair covering her.

            Library of Alexandria - Founded at the beginning of the third century B.C., The Royal Library of Alexandria is believed to have been the largest library in the Mediterranean world.

            Patricia Hearst and the SLA - Heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in the early seventies by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and brainwashed into assisting in a bank robbery.

            Pop Rocks - A candy first introduced to the public in 1975 from which small amounts of carbonation are released, causing a popping sensation in the mouth and a sizzling noise.

            Romanoffs - The last royal family of Russia; all died by firing squad when the Communists took over.

            William Holden - Late, great movie star of such films as Bridge On the River Kwai, Sabrina and Sunset Boulevard,             Holden won an Oscar® for Stalag 17.

2-18   Back in the Saddle Again

          Bhagavad Gita - Sacred Hindu text known for its length and complexity.        

            Bobby Fischer - Former world chess champion who reached the height of his fame at age 15 when he defeated the Russians and became a Cold War hero.

            Geneva Convention - A diplomatic conference held in Geneva in 1949 at which the standard rules for the treatment of prisoners of war were agreed on.

            Godot - The character who never shows up in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting For Godot.

            Gomer - Reference to Gomer Pyle, a character played by Jim Nabors in a television show of the same name.

            Napoleon and Elba - French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Elba in 1814.

            Vicious Circle - A term often used to describe the members of the Algonquin Roundtable, the group of literary greats that included Dorothy Parker.

2-19   Teach Me Tonight

          Asaad Kelada - Television director.

            Cocktail - 1988 film in which Tom Cruise plays a cocky New York bartender who earns his popularity through flashy drink-making performances.

            Eve Harrington - Anne Baxter’s character in the classic 1950 film All About Eve who plots to maneuver her way into, then steal for herself, the life and career of Broadway star Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis.

            Lon Chaney Jr. - Character actor whose career was mostly overshadowed by his more famous father, the silent film star Lon Chaney.

            Marianne Faithfull - Famously drug-addicted singer/songwriter who was romantically involved with Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones in the mid 60s.

            Pauline Kael - Influential film critic for The New Yorker magazine.

            Stan Freeberg - Radio comedian, recording artist and influential adman.

            Vanna - Vanna White, the longtime letter-turner for the game show Wheel of Fortune.

            Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? - Cult classic film starring Bette Davis as a former child star long forgotten and Joan Crawford as her more famous actress sister, who is confined to a wheelchair and forced to endure Jane’s torment.

2-20   Help Wanted

          Akira Kurosawa -Japanese film director of such classics as The Seven Samurai and Ikiru.     

            Chachi - Reference to Scott Baio’s character in the television series Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi who started out as a bit of a hoodlum before he fell in with the right crowd.

Don Rickles - Internationally famous comedian often called the “King of Insult” who still plays Las Vegas after working his first gig there in 1959.

         Mickey Hargitay - Father of Mariska Hargitay and 1955 Mister Universe winner who was married to Jayne Mansfield.

        “Next time hold an envelope up to your head before you do that.” - Reference to Johnny Carson’s Tonight Shhow bit, “Carnac the Magnificent” in which Carson held sealed envelopes to his forehead and predicted their contents.

         Sal Mineo - Academy Award®-nominated star of Rebel Without A Cause who is often remembered for his brutal murder in 1976.

        “The tiny fellow on that M*A*S*H program.” - Gary Burghoff ’s character “Radar” O’Reilly was the reliable company clerk on the television series M*A*S*H.

2-21   Lorelai's Graduation Day

         Baz Luhrmann - Film director of Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

            Boone’s Farm - Fruity-flavored wines known for their affordability and popularity amongst young drinkers.

            Hummel - Collectible ceramic figurines, originally the craftsmanship of German artist M.I. Hummel.

            “Lead to our Jumping Frog.” - Reference to The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, a short story by Mark Twain.

          Marcus Schenkenberg - Swedish-born male supermodel.

          Shaun Cassidy - The younger brother of Partridge Family star David Cassidy, singer/songwriter Shaun Cassidy was a seventies teen-idol who later went on to reinvent himself as an actor and television writer/producer.

            Tante - The Yiddish word for aunt.

2-22   I Can't Get Started

          Annie Sullivan - Helen Keller’s teacher, she taught the deaf, dumb and blind woman to communicate.

            Brigadoon - 1954 Broadway musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe about a magical village in Scotland that comes to life for one day every hundred years and the American tourists who fall in love with its residents.

            Girl, Interrupted - Reference to the book by Susanna Kaysen about her stay in a mental hospital that was later made into a film starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie.

            Gloria Allred - High-profile attorney most famous for her pioneering work on behalf of women and minorities, Ms. Allred is currently the President of the Women’s Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund.

            Greg Louganis - Considered by many to be the greatest diver in history, he is often remembered for a diving incident at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 in which he struck his head on     a diving board.

            Hubert H. Humphrey - Vice President to Lyndon Johnson, he ran for President against Richard Nixon in 1968 and was defeated.

            “…writing letters to Jodie Foster.” - John Hinckley, the gunman responsible for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was famously obsessed with actress Jodie Foster. He wrote many letters to her, including one just before the assassination attempt, explaining that he was going to shoot the President in her honor.