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Showing posts from July, 2012

Two Legends Arrived on the Same Day, a Few Years Apart(594)

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July 26, 1895 - August 27, 1964 July 26, 1909 - August 17, 1979 In Memoriam Remembers: Gracie Allen & Vivian Vance

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July 25, 1923 - July 22, 2008 Four years later... In Memoriam Remembers: Estelle Getty

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Happy Birthday! Don Knotts (1924) Paul Burke (1926) At Rest: Basil Rathbone (1967) Herb Edelman (1996) Robert Young (1998)

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Happy Birthday! Pat Hingle (1924) At Rest: Jack Warden (2006)

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Happy Birthday! Harriet Hilliard (1909) Hume Cronyn (1911) Red Skelton (1913) Dolph Sweet (1920)

Celebrating a Long Life and Career (589)

Born: April 29, 1917 A great actress has left us after a long and wonderful career.  She graced the stage, silver screen and television sound stage...her most memorable films include Three Little Girls in Blue in 1946, Gentleman's Agreement in 1947, All About Eve in 1950 and High Society in 1956.  She received an academy award for Gentleman's Agreement. On television she appeared on such shows as "The Ed Wynn Show", "The $64,000 Question", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "What's My Line?", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "The Mike Douglas Show", "Lux Video Theatre", "The United States Steel Hour", "Climax!", "Dr. Kildare", "Burke's Law", "The Fugitive", "The F.B.I.", "Columbo", "Fantasy Island", "As the World Turns", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Archie Bunker&#

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Two very important performers passed away on July 9th. Veteran movie and television character actor Charles Lane (January 26, 1905) died on this day in 2007.  It would be impossible to try and list all of his screen credits...he was on everything from "I Love Lucy" to "The Burns and Allen Show" from "Green Acres" to "Mister Ed" to "Bewitched" to "Maude" to "Soap" and a lot in between.  Some film credits include It's A Wonderful Life, Miss Grant Takes Richmond  and many many others.  I must note that the actor lived to be 102 years old, that is simply amazing - in 2005 he was honored at the TV Land Awards for his 100th birthday and upon accepting his award he remarked "If you're interested, I'm still available."  The wonderful Isabel Sanford (August 29, 1917) died on this day in 2004.  She is best remembered as the sassy Louise "Weezy" Jefferson on "All in the Family" from

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Happy Birthday! Craig Stevens (1918) At Rest: Howard Duff (1990) Dick Sargent (1994) June Allyson (2006)

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Happy Birthday! Merv Griffin (1925) Janet Leigh (1927) At Rest: Buddy Ebsen (2003)

Remembering the Mayberry Favorites (585)

With the recent passing of Andy Griffith I thought I would take a moment to remember other cast members from "The Andy Griffith Show" who have left us since the show's conclusion in 1968. The cast included..... Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee Taylor (1902-1989) Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fyfe (1924-2006) George Lindsey as Goober Pyle (1928-2012) Howard McNear as Floyd Lawson, the barber (1905-1969) Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump (1933-1995) Jack Dodson as Howard Sprague (1931-1994) Hal Smith as Otis Campbell (1916-1994) Hope Summers as Clara Edwards Johnson (1896-1979) Paul Hartman as Emmett Clark (1904-1973) Ron Howard (Opie Taylor), Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle), Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) and Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker) are all that remain with us from this classic cast.

Mayberry's Finest (584)

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June 1, 1926 - July 3, 2012 The beloved lawman on "The Andy Griffith Show" and the sharp minded lawyer on "Matlock" - the entire world feels this loss... In Memoriam Remembers: Andy Griffith

Remembering the Cast of "Make Room for Daddy" / "The Danny Thomas Show" (583)

It was one of the longest running family sitcoms in television history.  Right there along side "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", "Father Knows Best" and "My Little Margie" it was one of the most beloved programs of the day.  It began on ABC as "Make Room for Daddy" on September 29, 1953.  After 120 episodes the title changed to "The Danny Thomas Show" and in 1957 the program moved to CBS.  After a healthy eleven year run the show ended on April 27, 1964 after producing 351 episodes total.  In 1970 a majority of the cast returned for the show "Make Room for Granddaddy" which lasted from 1970 to 1971 producing 24 episodes.  The cast was headed up by Danny Thomas who played nightclub entertainer Danny Williams.  Jean Hagen played his wife Margaret, Rusty Hamer played his son Rusty and Sherry Jackson played his daughter Terry.  Jackson played Terry from 1953 to 1958 followed by Penny Parker who played the role from