October 5th

Today marks the 105th birthday of a very talented character actress... She worked in Broadway productions starting in the 1920's and going straight up through the 1950's. Television was right around the corner and she soon found herself appearing on such shows as "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse", "Robert Montgomery Presents", "Golden Windows", "Armstrong Circle Theatre", "The Ray Milland Show: Meet Mr. McNulty", "General Electric Theater", "The Ann Sothern Show", "Hennesey", "The Donna Reed Show", "Peter Loves Mary", "Hazel", "My Three Sons", "Route 66", "Dr. Kildare", "Ben Casey", "Kraft Suspense Theatre", "Dragnet 1967", "That Girl", "Bewitched", "The Mod Squad", "Love, American Style" and "The Doris Day Show." Her most famous and memorable role was as Mrs. Margaret Drysdale on the 1960's hit sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies." As the wife of banker Milburn Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) she lived next door to the Clampett family and hated every moment of it. After the departure of Cousin Pearl (Bea Benaderet) Mrs. Drysdale became Granny's (Irene Ryan) arch-enemy...she appeared on a recurring basis from 1962 until 1969... Her final acting appearance was on "One in a Million." The episode aired on June 23, 1980... The actress passed away on February 8, 1987... In Memoriam Remembers: Harriet E. MacGibbon Other birthday today: Larry Fine (1902) Allen Ludden (1917) At Rest: Rodney Dangerfield (2004)

Comments

Post a Comment

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

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