In Memoriam

Two of the greatest words in the English language… Lucille Ball! Lucille Ball worked very hard for everything she ever had. She is probably one of the best examples of the great American success story. As a young child in Jamestown, New York she and her family struggled to make it during very hard times. By the time she made it to Hollywood she was still fighting for her moment in the spotlight. She made her first appearance on film in 1933. Some of her more notable films are: Stage Door (1937 – with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers) Too Many Girls (1940 – with Van Johnson and Desi Arnaz) Dance, Girl, Dance (1940 – with Maureen O’Hara) The Big Street (1942 – with Henry Fonda) Du Barry was a Lady (1943 – with Red Skelton) The Dark Corner (1946 – with Clifton Webb and William Bendix) Lured (1947 – with George Sanders and Boris Karloff) Sorrowful Jones (1949 – with Bob Hope) Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949 – with William Holden) Fancy Pants (1950 – with Bob Hope) The Fuller Brush ...

Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) as Ricky Ricardo he slaughtered the English language but as himself he and Lucy built the first television dynasty. Lucille and Desi appeared in almost two hundred television shows together and everyone of them was pure gold. William Frawley (1887-1966) as Fred Mertz he clung to every penny he could but as himself he appeared in more than one hundred films and a handful of television shows. He found success on "My Three Sons" from 1960 until 1965 and made his final screen appearance on "The Lucy Show" five months before his death in March 1966.

Carolyn Jones (1930-1983) - Morticia Addams Ted Cassidy (1932-1979) - Lurch Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) - Uncle Fester Marie Blake (1895-1978) - Grandmama Addams Margaret Hamilton (1902-1985) - Grandmama Hester Frump

Buddy Ebsen (1908-2003) - Jed Clampett Raymond Bailey (1904-1980) - Mr. Milburn Drysdale Nancy Kulp (1921-1991) - Miss Jane Hathaway Frank Wilcox (1907-1974) - John Brewster Joi Lansing (1929-1972) - Gladys Flatt Louie Nye (1913-2005) - Sonny Drysdale Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) - Uncle Joe Carson Meredith MacRae (1944-2000) - Billie Jo Bradley Smiley Burnette (1911-1967) - Charley Pratt Rufe Davis (1908-1974) - Floyd Smoot Kay E. Kuter (1925-2003) - Newt Kiley Hank Patterson (1888-1975) - Fred Ziffel Rosemary DeCamp (1910-2001) - Aunt Helen Pat Buttram (1915-1994) - Mr. Haney Walter Baldwin (1889-1977) - Grandpappy Miller Alvy Moore (1921-1997) - Mr. Hank Kimball Merie Earle (1889-1984) - Sarah Hotchkiss Trendell Kay St.Germain Wells (1914-1994) - Sadie Prentiss Robert Foulk (1908-1989) - Mr. Roy Trendell/Mr. Wheeler

Frances Bavier (1902-1989) - Aunt Bee Taylor Howard McNear (1905-1969) - Floyd Lawson, the Barber Aneta Corsaut (1933-1995) - Miss Helen Crump Jack Dodson (1931-1994) - Howard Sprague Paul Hartman (1904-1973) - Emmett Clark Mary Lansing (1911-1988) - Martha Clark Dick Elliott (1886-1961) - Mayor Pike Parley Baer (1914-2002) - Mayor Roy Stoner Hal Smith (1916-1994) - Otis Campbell Hope Summers (1896-1979) - Clara Edwards Johnson Howard Morris (1919-2005) - Ernest T. Bass Denver Pyle (1920-1997) - Briscoe Darling Cheerio Meredith (1890-1964) - Emma Brand Watson

Even today she is remembered as one of television's nosiest neighbors. Alice Pearce began on Broadway in the 1940's. She played the role of Lucy Smeeler in the production On the Town and also played the role in the film version in 1949. She would go onto appear in 12 more films up through 1966. In 1949, she briefly hosted a music/humor variety show called "Alice Pearce." Her other television credits include "Van Camp's Little Show", "One Minute Please", "Toast of the Town", "Startime", "Girl Talk", Goodyear Television Playhouse", "The Jean Carroll Show", "Broadway Television Theatre", "The Motorola Television Hour", "Jamie", "Studio One", "Kraft Television Theatre", "The Real McCoys", "Hallmark Hall of Fame", "The Twilight Zone", "Shirley Temple's Storybook", "The Ann Sothern Show", "General E...

This small framed character actressed didn't appear on screen for the first time until she was 78 years old. Between 1970 and 1975 she appeared in five films and in 1973 she appeared in the TV movie "A Dream for Christmas" in which played a character named Beth Rogers. In 1971 she had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives" as Mrs. Davis. Her television credits are small with appearances on only "The Mod Squad", "Night Gallery", "Cowboy in Africa" and Run for Your Life." In 1974, she appeared in an episode of "All in the Family" as Olivia Jefferson, George and Henry Jefferson's mother and that was all it took. When "The Jeffersons" moved on up in January 1975 she moved on up with them. As Mother Jefferson she was the sharp tongue closeted alcoholic mother-in-law from Hell. She saw her share of the spotlight though as seen in such episodes as "Mother Jefferson's Fall...

This blog is much too small to recognize all the wonderful contributions and gifts that Jack Benny has given to the world and to comedy. Right now I am just going to talk a little bit about his many television and radio appearances. This list isn't complete, there were quite a few specials and other television functions that I will not touch on. In 1932, he started on radio by hosting "The Canada Dry Program." At first it was on NBC and then moved to CBS until 1933. From 1933 to 1934 he hosted "The Chevrolet Show." Briefly in 1934 he hosted "The General Tire Show." That same year he began hosting "The Jell-O Program" and remained with it until 1942 when he switched to "The Grape Nuts Flakes Program." When that ended in 1944 he began hosting "The Lucky Strike Program." That remained on NBC until 1949 before switching to CBS. It went off the air in 1955. Just a few of the television show's Benny appeared on are "T...

At the moment this is being written it is October 16th, Edie Adams left us one day ago. This talented blonde singer made an incredible mark on film, television and Broadway. As the wife of comedian Ernie Kovacks she found a reliable comic partner but after his death she moved on and became an incredibly popular character actress in her own right. Even though she spent some time on Broadway the bulk of her career was spent on television. In the early 1950's she appeared along side her husband on "The Ernie Kovacs Show." During the 1963-1964 season she starred in her own variety show, "Here's Edie." As herself she appeared on such shows as "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "The NBC Comedy Hour", "The Steve Allen Show", "The Jack Paar Tonight Show", "The Perry Como Show", "Toast of the Town", "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show", "The DuPont Show of the Week", "Password", "W...

With her large frame and even larger red hair Darlene Conley became known as one of Daytime television's most memorable divas. She had minor roles in a few films including The Birds and Valley of the Dolls. On television she made appearances on such shows as "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "The Hollywood Squares", "SoapTalk", "Ironside", "The Bill Cosby Show", "Gunsmoke", "Mary Tyler Moore", "The Jeffersons", "Little House on the Prairie", "Cagney & Lacey", "Murder, She Wrote", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and "Highway to Heaven." She entered the Soap arena in 1979 as the villianous Rose DeVille on "The Young and the Restless." She played the role until 1980 and then again from 1986 to 1987 and then briefly in 2000. She appeared on "Days of Our Lives" in 1983 and "Capitol" and "General Hospital" in ...

"Bewitched and Bedazzled" That is the only way to describe the feeling I get when I see Elizabeth Montgomery's pretty smile. She played Samantha Stephens on the ABC sitcom "Bewitched" from 1964 until 1972 but her career went a little beyond that. Even though she is the hottest witch in television history she managed to leave that mantle behind in a slew of serious roles in the 1970's and 1980's. With a supporting cast that included Dick York, Dick Sargent, David White, Agnes Moorehead, Marion Lorne, Alice Pearce, Sandra Gould and George Tobias "Bewitched" was one of the 1960's favorite sitcoms and has lived on ever since in syndication and on DVD. Montgomery made a few appearances on her father's own program "Robert Montgomery Presents" but her other television credits include "Armstrong Circle Theatre", "Climax!", "Kraft Television Theatre", "Studio One", "Suspicion", "...

Before I begin I want to just say that the purpose of this blog entry is to pay tribute to Ruth Warrick's acting career. I know she did quite a bit for several charities and humanitarian causes and also contributed grately to the Democratic Party but only the highlights of her acting career will be discussed below. Also, her year of birth is unclear. In 1999 she gave her year of birth as 1916 but after her passing some reports said 1915. In 1941, she joined cinema history when she played Emily Kane in Orson Welles' epic production Citizen Kane. Between then and 1984 she appeared in 25 more films. Between 1953 and 1954 she played Janet Johnson, R.N. on "The Guiding Light." From 1956 to 1960 she played Aunt Edie Hughes Frye on "As the World Turns." From 1959 to 1960 she worked on Broadway as an understudy. During the 1961-1962 television season she played a lead role in the television series "Father of the Bride" which lasted only one season. Her ...

"The Lavendar Lady" This delightful yet tough as nails lady was a gift to film, radio and then television. She first joined Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Group in 1937 and went on to appear on various radio programs throughout the 1940's. She played opposite Orson Welles and then Bill Johnstone on "The Shadow" as "The Lovely Margo Lane" from 1937 to 1939. She also played Lara, mother to baby Kal-El, in the first episode of the "Superman" radio serial in February 1940. Her best known role however, was in "Sorry, Wrong Number" on the drama "Suspense." As the years went on she became the actress that would be closely associated with the role of Mrs. Stevenson. She spent the early 1950's on the Broadway stage. Some of her television credits include "Studio 57", "Climax!", "Wagon Train", "The DuPont Show of the Month", "Playhouse 90", "General Electric Theater...