In Memoriam

Another legend left us on Sunday... Born: November 8, 1912 She escaped an overbearing monsterous mother in order to have a very successful career in films and on television... One of her more notable films was Gentleman's Agreement in 1947... She was the sister of Gypsy Rose Lee who died in 1970... In 1964 she hosted the short lived program entitled "The June Havoc Show" She made her final appearance on screen on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital" in 1990... In Memoriam Remembers: June Havoc

Most of the time when a cast comes together to put forth a great production they become extended members of each other's families. Well sometimes tragedy can strike and take away beloved members of the cast... Ward Bond -April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960 Passed away playing Major Seth Adams on "Wagon Train" -was replaced by John McIntire Joseph Kearns -February 12, 1907 – February 17, 1962 Passed away while playing George Wilson on “Dennis the Menace” -was replaced by Gale Gordon Larry Keating -June 13, 1896 – August 26, 1963 Passed away while playing Roger Addison on “Mister Ed” -was replaced by Leon Ames Alice Pearce -October 16, 1917 - March 3, 1966 Passed away while playing Gladys Kravitz on "Bewitched" -was replaced Sandra Gould *Shortly after her passing she was posthumously awarded an Emmy as best supporting actress* Marion Lorne -August 12, 1883 - May 9, 1968 Passed away while playing Aunt Clara on "Bewitched" -was replaced by Alice Ghostle...

Born: December 19, 1880 She made her first appearance on film in the early 1910’s. Between 1912 and 1953 she appeared in 56 films the most notable being Johnny Belinda in 1948… On television she appeared on such show as “Dangerous Assignment”, “Racket Squad”, “Fireside Theatre”, “The Ford Television Theatre”, “Mr. & Mrs. North”, “My Little Margie”, “Annie Oakley” and “Cavalcade of America.” Her “I Love Lucy” appearance was in the episode “The Girls Go Into Business” which originally aired on October 12, 1953. She played Mrs. Hansen, the owner of Hansen’s Dress Shop. Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) decided to make a fortune by purchasing the neighborhood business. Mrs. Hansen’s most memorable scene is when she manages to get Lucy and Ethel to increase the sale price. She passed away on February 9, 1954… Her final performance on “Strange Stories” didn’t air until October 26, 1956… In Memoriam Remembers: Mabel Paige

Born: August 16, 1930... One half of the duo that made up "I Spy" (Bill Cosby was the other half) passed away this morning after a tragic accident... In Memoriam Remembers: Robert Culp

A legend was born on this day 105 years ago… She was born Lucille Fay LeSueur and appeared in her first film in 1925. Her more notable films include Queen Bee, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Johnny Guitar, Autumn Leaves, Flamingo Road, Mildred Pierce, A Woman’s Face and Rain… On television she guest starred on “General Electric Theater”, “Zane Grey Theater”, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, The Secret Storm”, “The Lucy Show” and “The Virginian.” Her final film appearance was in 1970 and her final acting role all together was on an episode of “The Sixth Sense” in 1972… Much has been said over the years about her feud with fellow actress Bette Davis and her less than pleasant relationship with her children but putting all that aside for a moment let’s not forget that this lady was one hell of a performer! She passed away on May 10, 1977... In Memoriam Remembers: Joan Crawford

A delightful character actress would’ve turn 100 years old today… From 1944 to 1951 she provided the voice of Peg Riley, the long suffering wife of Chester A. Riley (William Bendix) on the sitcom “The Life of Riley.” Her other radio credits include “Big Town”, “Broadway is My Beat” and “Our Miss Brooks.” On film she can be seen (or heard) in Bambi and North by Northwest... Her television guest appearances include “The Bob Cummings Show”, “I Love Lucy”, “The Flintstones”, “Our Miss Brooks”, “Father Knows Best”, “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show”, “The Gale Storm Show”, “Rawhide”, “General Electric Theater”, “Perry Mason”, “77 Sunset Strip”, “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” and “My Mother the Car.” She passed away on March 7th different sources give different years…1994 and 1996 have been provided… In Memoriam Remembers: Paula Winslowe

Who was there to keep Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in line? That job belonged to the Daily Planet's editor-in-chief and later publisher, Perry White. In the original comic book Clark and company worked for editor George Taylor and the name of the newspaper was The Daily Star. When the Superman radio show began in 1940 Clark Kent was hired by the blustery Perry White... The first actor to give the character a voice was radio and stage actor Julian Noa. Noa was born on February 28, 1879 and passed away on November 26, 1958. He remained in the role of Perry White during the entire run of the Superman radio series and also in a few animated shorts that were produced by the Fleischer Studios. Pierre Watkin (12/29/1889 - 2/3/1960) was the screen's first flesh and blood Perry White. He played the role in the original Superman movie serial in 1948 and its sequel Atom Man Vs. Superman in 1950. When the "Adventures of Superman" began on television in 1952 veteran c...

Born: August 6, 1881 She began writing her gossip column for the Chicago Record Herald in 1914. As the 1920's and 1930's went on she moved from place to place finally becoming a very well known and feared Hollywood gossip columnist. Her radio program was extremely popular in its day. While making herself known as a columnist she appeared (as herself) in such films as Hollywood Hotel, Without Reservations, The Corpse Came C.O.D., Starlift and Susan Slept Here. On television she guest starred (as herself) on "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "Toast of the Town", "Person to Person", "The Steven Allen Show" and "What's My Line?" Competition began in 1937 when former character actress Hedda Hopper began her successful run as a columnist. The two ladies were once friends but quickly became rivals... A pioneer in her profession... She passed away on December 9, 1972... In Memoriam Remembers: Louella Parsons

Born Elda Furry on May 2, 1885... She began as an actress in silent films in 1915. The following year saw her first appearance in a "talkie" The Battle of Hearts... One of her more notable films was 1922's Sherlock Holmes in which she played the role of Madge Larrabee... Before her film career ended in 1946 she appeared in over 120 films. She had a cameo appearance in Sunset Blvd. in 1950... "The Hedda Hopper Show" began on radio on November 6, 1939 and ended on June 28, 1947. A revival began on November 19, 1950 and ended on May 20, 1957... On television she made guest appearances on such shows as "I Love Lucy", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show", "Playhouse 90", "The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse", "The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show", "The Steve Allen Show", "The Merv Griffin Show", "What's My Line?", "The Beverly Hillbillies...

One of my favorites...this gentlemen was the ultimate professional and he was born on March 18, 1886. He appeared in films during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s bringing his total appearances to more than 120 before he was finished... On the stage he played the lead role in Springtime for Henry many different times between 1930 and 1965...giving more than 3,000 performances. As a television character actor he made appearances on such shows as "General Electric Theater", "The Colgate Comedy Hour", "Playhouse 90", "The Red Skelton Show", "Dennis the Menace", "The Cara William Show", "Burke's Law", "F-Troop", "Batman" and "Love, American Style" From 1959 to 1960 he was the narrator in the beloved Fractured Fairy Tales segments of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon shows. My favorite performance of course was when he guest starred as Mr. Ritter on "I Love Lucy" in 1952. The epis...

March 17, 1993... One of the greatest talents to ever grace stage and screen left us on this day seventeen years ago... Born October 10, 1900 she was 92 at the time of her passing... In Memoriam Remembers: Helen Hayes

Born: March 18, 1926 He was one of the classiest and most professional actors I’ve ever seen. From movies to television and back again he handled every role with dignity and class. His career began when television was just breaking ground and he left a permanent mark on the classics and on pop culture. His film career began in 1942 and before it ended he appeared in such beloved and classic films as Stalag 17 in 1953, Airplane! in 1980 and Airplane II: The Sequel in 1982. Stalag 17 cast him against type when he portrayed a villain. His image would shape up to portray him as the good guy most of the time. Television was just around the corner and in the 1960’s he joined many other characters by attempting to break into running television programs. From 1960 to 1961 he appeared on “Whiplash” and from 1965 to 1966 he appeared on “Court Martial.” The role that would make him a legend on television was as Mr. Phelps on the series “Mission: Impossible.” He joined the cast at the beginni...

Born: January 14, 1926 In the 1950's his career began on Broadway. Shortly after he began to work as a television character actor... He appeared in the film Tora! Tora! Tora! in 1970... In the 1960's he had regular roles on three different television series. From 1960 to 1961 he appeared on "Bringing Up Buddy", from 1964 to 1965 he appeared on "The Cara Williams Show" and from 1966 to 1967 he appeared on "It's About Time." His final acting role was on "General Hospital" in 1991... His other television credits include (incomplete): "The United States Steel Hour" "General Electric Theater" "The Gertrude Berg Show" "The Lloyd Bridges Show" "The Lucy Show" "Hazel" "The Twilight Zone" "My Favorite Martian" "Dr. Kildare" "Perry Mason" "The Fugitive" "Ben Casey" "The Doris Day Show" "Petticoat Junct...

Born: September 3, 1910 This post is a few months early, but I think a good tribute to this lady is in order no matter when it is posted. September 3, 2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of her birth... Her acting career began in the 1930's...between 1934 and 1935 she appeared in 5 films. She was also on Broadway between 1933 and 1937. Her other stage appearances took place in 1940, 1948, 1954, 1967 and 1983... On television she made guest appearances on such shows as "Cavalcade of Stars", "Toast of the Town" and "Kojak." She became best known for her work on television game shows... "The Match Game", "I've Got a Secret" and "What's My Line?" are among the three she appeared on most. Her largest claim to fame in the game show world was "To Tell the Truth." She was on the panel from 1957 to 1967, 1975 to 1977, 1980 to 1981, 1990 to 1991 and 2000... In 1993 she returned to the silver screen in Six De...

From 1972 to 1977 he was Fred Sanford's trusty sidekick Bubba on "Sanford and Son." For a brief period in 1977 he reprised his role as Bubba in the shortlived sequel "The Sanford Arms." His other television credits include "Laverne & Shirley", "Cheers", "T.J. Hooker" and "Hunter." In 1991 he made his final screen appearance on the sitcom "The Royal Family." The series was the final project his old friend Redd Foxx headed up and unfortunately Foxx died during production... In honor of what would've been his 100th birthday... In Memoriam Remembers: Don Bexley

Nan Martin, a proud stage and film actress who also made numerous television appearances died on March 4, 2010... Her film credits include The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and Hamlet... On television she guest starred on such shows as "Robert Montgomery Presents", "The Twilight Zone", "Perry Mason", "Ben Casey", "The Defenders", "The Mod Squad", "Mannix", "Bewitched", "The F.B.I.", "Room 222", "Ellery Queen", "Hart to Hart", "Valerie", "Santa Barbara" and "Las Vegas", "Six Feet Under" and "Nip/Tuck." In the 1990's she had a recurring role as Mrs. Louder on "The Drew Carey Show." For me she will always be the miserable Mrs. Frieda Claxton from the 1986 "Golden Girls" episode "It's a Miserable Life." In the episode Mrs. Claxton has a two hundred year old oak tree on her propert...

Born: December 5, 1921 Before his career as a performer began he served our country in WWII... Between 1948 and 1955 he appeared in more than 1200 stage productions.... He made his first film appearance in 1952 and went on to appear in such films as The War of the Worlds and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes... His real mark was made as a character on television. His most memorable role was as county agent Hank Kimball on the 1960's rural comedy "Green Acres" which ran from 1965 to 1971. Mr. Kimball was well known for his confusing dialogue - for exampe "Good morning, well it's not a good morning but it isn't a bad morning..." He remained with the show for its entire run. His work opposite Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor made up the majority of his scenes... Other television credits include (this list is incomplete): "My Little Margie" "Dragnet" "The Donna Reed Show" "The DuPont Show with June Allyson" "General Ele...

Some wonderful performers left us on March 3rd in various years... Bud Abbott's partner in laughs in 1959... Lucy Ricardo's crabby landlord in 1966 Samantha Stephens' nosy neighbor in 1966 A song and dance man with redish hair in 1974 and Phoebe Wallingford's 2nd and 4th husband in 2001 In Memoriam Remembers: Lou Costello William Frawley Alice Pearce Danny Kaye Louis Edmonds

March 2, 1917... Today he would've turned 93 years old... He came to this country in the early 1930's and worked every job from cleaning canary cages to emptying ashtrays while trying to become a professional musician. He was quite skilled at playing the conga drum and he had a tremendous ability to channel all of his energy once he was on stage. Finally in 1940 he made it to Broadway in the production of Too Many Girls. Later that year the stage show was ready to be made into a major motion picture so cast members boarded a train for Hollywood. The cast included Van Johnson and Eddie Bracken... Once in Hollywood he met one of the films leading ladies...a bright eyed brunette by the name of Lucille Ball. And the rest, as they say, is history...on November 30, 1040 they two exchanged vows and became husband and wife. As the 1940's pressed on he appeared in several films, giving a wonderful performance as a dying soldier in Bataan. By 1949 he was the orchestra leader on Bo...

Born: February 11, 1919 In addition to television and film her credits also include appearances on radio and the Broadway stage. In 1953 she hosted a fifteen minute television show appropriately called "The Eva Gabor Show." Her main claim to fame was her television career in the 1960's. In 1965 she began playing Lisa Douglas on the CBS rural sitcom "Green Acres." Eddie Albert played Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa's husband, who had a deep burning desire to leave "city life" and become a farmer. As the socialite turned desperate housewife she became known for making her "hot cakes" and mangled English. She often would say "Hootersville" as opposed to "Hooterville." "Green Acres" ran from 1965 to 1971. She also appeared as Lisa on "Petticoat Junction" on a recurring basis from 1965 to 1969 and made a single guest appearance as Lisa on "The Beverly Hillbillies" in a 1968 Thanksgiving episode...