Birthdays & Passings for August 23rd

Happy Birthday!
John Gallaudet (1903)
Gene Kelly (1912)

At Rest:
Rudolph Valentino (1926)
Francis X. Bushman (1966)
Hank Patterson (1975)
Sebastian Cabot (1977)
Kathleen Freeman (2001)
Brock Peters (2005)
Robert Symonds (2007)
Bea Silvern (2013)

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Read more

Remembering the radio cast of "The Great Gildersleeve" (927)

 "The Great Gildersleeve" is one of the first (if not the first) spin-offs in entertainment history.  The Gildersleeve character began in 1939 on radio's "Fibber McGee & Molly" and then received his own radio show on August 31, 1941. Harold "Hal" Peary (1908-1985) played Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve from 1941 to 1950 and was followed up by Willard Waterman (1914-1995) from 1950 until the show's conclusion in 1957.   The plot of the show involved Gildersleeve raising his young niece and nephew in the small town of Summerfield.  Eventually he would become water commissioner and a very well respected member of the community. Walter Tetley (1915-1975) played Leroy Forrester, Gildy's nephew Lurene Tuttle (1907-1986) and Mary Lee Robb (1926-2006) played Marjorie Forrester Thompson, Gildy's niece Louise Erickson also played Marjorie for a period of time, at the time of this writing she is still with us ...
Read more

Doris Packer (May 30, 1904 - March 31, 1979)

She began in New York on Broadway and then started appearing on radio. Some of her radio credits include "Henry Aldrich" and "Mr. & Mrs. North." When she became a widow in 1953 she relocated to California where she began appearing on film and on television. Her first film was Meet Me at the Fair. She also appeared in The Perils of Pauline in 1967. She is best remembered as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Beaver's Principal on "Leave it to Beaver." She also had a recurring role on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Her final film appearance was in Shampoo in 1975... Other Television Credits: "The Great Gildersleeve" "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre" "The Bob Cummings Show" "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" "I Love Lucy" "Lux Video Theatre" "The Jack Benny Program" "The Thin Man" "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" "Maverick" ...
Read more