In Memoriam

Happy Birthday! Julian Noa (1879) Sylvia Field (1901) Billie Bird (1908) Olan Soule (1909) Charles Durning (1923) Bettye Ackerman (1924) At Rest: Jonathan Hale (1966) Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1977) Zara Cully (1978) 

Happy Birthday! William Demarest (1892) Michael Fox (1921) Elizabeth Taylor (1932) Mary Frann (1943) At Rest: George Tobias (1980) 

Happy Birthday! William Frawley (1887) Madeleine Carroll (1906) Robert Alda (1914) Jackie Gleason (1916) Mason Adams (1919) Tony Randall (1920) Betty Hutton (1921) Doris Belack (1926) At Rest: David Doyle (1997) 

Happy 100th Birthday! A great man was born on this day one hundred years ago.  Though he was in several productions on radio, stage, television and film I am going to try and just list the most memorable roles he particiapted in over the years.  -The voice of Mr. Magoo -Judge Bradley Stevens on "I Married Joan" (1952-1955) -Frank Stark in Rebel Without a Cause -Mike O'Toole on "The Jim Backus Show" (1960-1961) -The voice of Smoky the Genie on "The Bugs Bunny Show" -Thurston Howell III AKA "The Millionaire" on "Gilligan's Island" (1964-1967) He passed away on July 3, 1989 at the age of 76. In Memoriam Remembers: Jim Backus

Happy Birthday! John Vernon (1932) At Rest: John Daly (1991) Dinah Shore (1994) Henny Youngman (1998) Don Knotts (2006) Dennis Weaver (2006) 

 "The Honeymooners", created by the marvelous Jackie Gleason, was featured on several different programs in the 1950's and 1960's and also showed up for some TV specials in the 1970's.  The 30 minute sitcom version was only on the air for one television season (1955-1956) producing 39 episodes which are now known as "The Classic 39."  It began on October 1, 1955 and ended on September 22, 1956.  Here is a look back at the cast and the "Gleason Players" which were a wonderful group of talented character actors that Gleason always used to bring his projects together.  The main cast: Jackie Gleason (1916-1987) -Ralph Kramden, success seeking Brooklyn bus driver Art Carney (1918-2003) -Ed Norton, happy go lucky sewer worker, best friend to Kramden Audrey Meadows (1922-1996) -Alice Gibson Kramden, Ralph's long suffering but loyal wife of many years ***** Joyce Randolph (1924- ) -Trixie Norton, Ed's less patien

Happy Birthday! Enid Markey (1894) Sheldon Leonard (1907) Robert Young (1907) Dan Seymour (1915) Brooks West (1916) 

*yesterday there was an error on the birthday list, the subject of today's post was born on 2/21 not 2/20* Born: February 21, 1934 A character actress who tackled stage, screen and television.  As a regular cast member she could be seen on "Maude", "Mama's Family", "The Golden Girls" and "The Golden Palace."  As a guest star she appeared on several television shows including "The Love Boat", "Alice", "Mannix", "Columbo", "Newhart", "Fantasy Island", "Charles in Charge", "Gimme a Break!", "Lou Grant", "Murphy Brown", "Burke's Law" (60's and 90's version), "Murder, She Wrote", Boy Meets World" and "Law & Order."  She passed away on June 3, 2010... Happy Birthday! In Memoriam Remembers: Rue McClanahan 

Happy Birthday! Gale Gordon (1906) John Daly (1914) Whitney Blake (1926) Amanda Blake (1929) Larry Hovis (1936) Brion James (1945) Edward Albert (1951) At Rest: Walter Winchell (1972) Clarence Nash (1985) Dick York (1992) Rosemary DeCamp (2001) 

February 19, 2013 marks the 44th anniversary of this lady's passing. Born: May 31, 1899 She was a very busy character actor in Hollywood in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.  She appeared in numerous films however most of her appearances were uncredited.  1952's Singin' in the Rain featured her as Dora Bailey, once again an uncredited but memorable part.  Some other film appearances include The Long, Long Trailer and Please Murder Me.  On television she made appearances on several programs including "Racket Squad", "Beulah", "The Public Defender", "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", "The Ray Milland Show", "Four Star Playhouse", "Cavalcade of America", "Private Secretary", "December Bride", "G.E.True Theater", "Lassie", "Bachelor Father", "The Bob Cummings Show", "Dennis the Menace", "The Gale Storm Sh

The ultimate TV western aired on CBS television from 1955 to 1975 and produced over 600 episodes.  James Arness (1923-2011) -Matt Dillon Milburn Stone (1904-1980) -Dr. Galen "Doc" Adams Amanda Blake (1929-1989) -Miss Kitty Ken Curtis (1916-1991) -Festus Haggen Dennis Weaver (1924-2006) -Chester Goode Bert Ramsey (1892-1974) -Sam Noonan, the Bartender #1 Glenn Strange (1899-1973) -Sam Noonan, the Bartender #2 Pat Hingle (1924-2009) -Dr. John Chapman (6 episodes - 1971) **filling in for Milburn Stone who had suffered a heart attack Fran Ryan (1916-2000) -Miss Hannah (5 eps), Mrs. Keller (1 eps) Burt Reynolds who played Quint is still alive at the time of this writing The show had MANY MANY MANY famous guest stars duing its 20 years run, big celebrities and several well known character actors.  Just to name a few, Doris Singleton, Jim Davis, William Windom, Herb Vigran, Jeanette Nolan and many many more. Please e

Happy Birthday! Kathleen Freeman (1919) At Rest: Joseph Kearns (1962) Dan O'Herlihy (2005) Kathryn Grayson (2010) 

Happy Birthday! Edgar Bergen (1903) James Baskett (1904) Hugh Beaumont (1909) Jeffrey Lynn (1909) Patty Andrews (1918) Paul Sorensen (1926) Gretchen Wyler (1932) Sonny Bono (1935) At Rest: Smiley Burnette (1967) Ethel Owen (1997) Len Lesser (2011) 

Happy Birthday! Cesar Romero (1907) Kevin McCarthy (1914) Mary Jane Croft (1916) Meg Wyllie (1917) Keene Curtis (1923) Harvey Korman (1927) Carlos Romero (1927) Rusty Hamer (1947) At Rest: Wally Cox (1973) Ethel Merman (1984) McLean Stevenson (1996) Tommy Rettig (1996) 

Happy Birthday! Jack Benny (1894) Nigel Bruce (1895) Thelma Ritter (1905) Tyler McVey (1912) Edward Platt (1916) Lois Maxwell (1927) Gregory Hines (1946) 

"Batman" was on the air from January 1966 until March 1968 and during its two year run it produced 120 episodes.  The stars of the show, the terrific trio Adam West (84), Burt Ward (67) and Yvonne Craig (75) are still with us at the time of this post.  They were Batman, Robin and Batgirl, respectively.  The following is a list of performers who made up their team of allies. Alan Napier (1903-1988) -Alfred, Bruce Wayne's faithful butler Neil Hamtilon (1899-1984) -Police Commissioner Gordon, Batman's biggest supporter Stafford Repp (1918-1974) -Police Chief O'Hara, Gordon's right hand man Madge Blake (1899-1969) -Mrs. Harriet Cooper, Dick Grayson's aunt *Blake was only with the show during seasons 1 & 2 before illness forced her departure.  She appeared in 2 season 3 episodes ("Ring Around the Riddler" and "The Bloody Tower") and was mentioned once in the episode "Louie's Lethal Lilac Time." 

Happy Birthday! Joseph Kearns (1907) Lorne Greene (1915) Forrest Tucker (1919) Simon MacCorkindale (1952) At Rest: Nicholas Colasanto (1985) David Groh (2008) Betty Garrett (2011) Joanne Siegel (2011) 

Happy Birthday! Eva Gabor (1919) Billy Halop (1920) Kim Stanley (1925) Leslie Nielsen (1926) 

"Our Miss Brooks" began on radio in the late 1940's with Eve Arden in the title role.  The show moved to television in 1952 and finally audience could see what the wacky Madison High School looked like. Eve Arden (1908-1990) -Miss Constance "Connie" Brooks, English Teacher Gale Gordon (1906-1995) -Mr. Osgood P. Conklin, Principal of Madison High School Jane Morgan (1890-1972) -Mrs. Margaret Davis, Connie's widowed landlady Robert Rockwell (1920-2003) -Mr. Philip Boynton, Biology Teacher Richard Crenna (1926-2003) -Walter Denton, Student Mary Jane Croft (1916-1999) -Miss Daisy Enright, English Teacher & Rival to Miss Brooks Paula Winslowe (1910-1996) -Mrs. Martha Conklin, Mr. Conklin's wife Virginia Gordon (wife of Gale Gordon) also played Mrs. Conklin in a handful of episodes Bob Sweeney (1918-1992) -Oliver Munsey in 30 episodes Gerald Mohr (1914-1968) -Jacques Monet, French Teacher Gene

Happy Birthday! Kathryn Grayson (1922) At Rest: David Wayne (1995) 

Happy Birthday! Burt Mustin (1884) Charles Ruggles (1886) Lyle Talbot (1902) Lana Turner (1921) Audrey Meadows (1922) Jack Lemmon (1925) James Dean (1931) Gary Coleman (1968) At Rest: Harriet E. MacGibbon (1987) 

Happy Birthday! Eddie Bracken (1915) 

Happy Birthday! President Ronald Reagan (1911) At Rest: Danny Thomas (1991) Danny Dayton (1999) Peter Breck (2012) 

Happy Birthday! Red Buttons (1919) At Rest: Franklin Cover (2006) 

Happy Birthday! Ida Lupino (1918) Conrad Bain (1923) At Rest: Thelma Ritter (1969) Liberace (1987) Ossie Davis (2005) 

Happy Birthday! Joey Bishop (1918) John Fiedler (1925) Suzan Ball (1934) Victor Buono (1938) At Rest: Nancy Kulp (1991) Audrey Meadows (1996) Al Lewis (2006) Jean Byron (2006) Frances Reid (2010) Ben Gazzara (2012) 

Happy Birthday! Charles Correll (1890) Farrah Fawcett (1947)  At Rest: Boris Karloff (1969) Gene Kelly (1996) Barry Morse (2008)

Happy Birthday! Sherman Hemsley (1938) Bibi Besch (1940) At Rest: Hedda Hopper (1966) Buster Keaton (1966) Marjorie Reynolds (1997) John Vernon (2005) Ed Koch (2013)