by G. Jack Urso
Title card from Sooner or Later (1979).
Sooner or Later is Hot Hero Sandwich producers’ Bruce and Carole Hart’s 1979 NBC TV
movie starring rocker Rex Smith and Denise Miller. Smith, as hardcore Hot Hero fans know, performed two songs
in episode 10 backed up by the Hot Hero Band and Miller at the time had just
completed stints as a regular in the series Fish,
the Barney Miller spinoff on which she
also had several appearances as the same character, and later was a regular on Archie Bunker’s Place.
The film aired Sunday, March 25, 1979, at 8:00 PM. It is probably no coincidence that Hot Hero Sandwich was already in pre-production at the time. NBC must have sensed (probably via test screenings) it had a hit on its hands and the Harts could deliver a key demographic. This likely helped convinced NBC to give Hot Hero Sandwich a shot. The film was available on Hot Hero Sandwich Central, but the copyright holder removed it; however, in the short time it was up the movie quickly garnered thousands of hits and was the most-watched video on the channel — a testament to Rex Smith’s ongoing appeal.
Rex Smith sings “Sooner or Later” on episode 10
of Hot Hero Sandwich.
The film’s plot
regards a crush by a young girl (Miller) on her guitar teacher
(Smith) who let's him think she is older than she really is. The film established Smith
as a teen idol and kick-started his acting career. A song from the film, “You
Take My Breath Away,” hit the number 10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Hot Hero Sandwich connections here are
plentiful. In addition to the film being produced by Hot Hero Sandwich's Bruce and Carole Hart the Hot Hero Band's Mark Cunningham plays guitar in Smith's
band in the movie, the music is by Hot
Hero Sandwich theme music composer Stephen Lawrence. The film also features the Hot
Hero Sandwich commercial break announcer Barbara Feldon (see Hot Hero Sandwich Clip Job! The Breaks with Barbara Feldon).
The film also
stars Morey Amsterdam, Judd Hirsch, and Lynn Redgrave.
In an interview
with the Hot Hero Sandwich Project, Hot Hero Sandwich — On the Flip Side with Drummer Mike Ratti, Part II, Mike Ratti
reveals that Bruce and Carole Hart saw Rex perform at Madison Square Garden on
Nov. 10, 1977 (Ratti and Cunningham were band members at the time). Rex was on
tour opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ted Nugent and the MSG concert came a month
after the plane crash that killed two members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and several
other passengers). The Harts were already working on Sooner or Later and decided that Rex would be perfect for the lead.
This lead to the break-up of the band, though Cunningham, Ratti, and this time
with Brissette (who also previously played with Smith), would join Smith for “Superhero”
in 1979 (see below) and then the three were joined by Richie Annunziato for Hot Hero Sandwich which debuted on,
coincidently, Nov. 10, 1979. There’s a lot more to the story, and Mike is a
great raconteur, so check his story at the above link, where one can also find
a clip of Rex’s performance Nov. 10, 1977.
Rex Smith, “Superhero” (1979), with the Hot Hero Band's Robert Brissette
(bass),
Mark Cunningham (guitar), and Mike Ratti (drums).
I admit, a story
about unrequited teenage love wasn’t exactly on my watch list in 1979, but the
film stuck a note with the target demographic, presumably teen girls. The
formula worked and the film and the title song were hits. Smith still retains a
large fan base and it is probably no surprise that the two highest ranking
clips on the Hot Hero Sandwich Central YouTube channel are Smith’s performances on the show.
Go figure.
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