In Memoriam

Today would have been the 90th birthday of this wonderful actress.  Her talents were first exposed to the world on the Broadway stage when she originated the role of Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  On film she can be seen in I Remember Mama, Panic in the Streets, Fourteen Hours and Vertigo just to name a few. As television quickly became a major place to find work she began playing guest parts on many different shows of the day.  Her resume includes "Robert Montgomery Presents", "Playhouse 90", "The United States Steel Hour", "Death Valley Days", "Dr. Kildare" and "Daniel Boone."  I know I have mentioned this in a previous tribute but it is worth repeating.  Her appearance on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is one of the show's most popular episodes.  Entitled "Lamb to the Slaughter" it originally aired on April 13, 1958.  The story involves a scorned housewife getting even with her husb...

Born: May 30, 1899 Sadly my research turned up very little about this talented character actress.  She had a supporting role as Katy the Maid on the radio sitcom "My Favorite Husband" starring Lucille Ball with Richard Denning during its entire 1948-1951 run.  She later reunited with Ball in three episodes of "I Love Lucy" on television in 1952 and 1953.  Her other television credits include "Boston Blackie", "Dragnet", "Fireside Theatre", "Mr. & Mrs. North", "Dear Phoebe", "The Great Gildersleeve", "The Loretta Young Show", "The Real McCoys", "The Millionaire", "The Gale Storm Show: Oh, Susanna!", "Peter Gunn", "Make Room for Daddy", "The Bill Dana Show" and "The Patty Duke Show."  Her final television performance was in an episode of "That Girl" in 1966.  She appeared in a few films in the 1950's and 19...

Born: July 29, 1924 This gentleman is a personal favorite...his body of work is incredible.   By the time he watched the curtain go down for the last time he had enjoyed a career that lasted more than fifty years.  The list below is nowhere near complete and only represents a small portion of this man's amazing resume.  Because of his powerful voice he began in radio when he was just eleven years old.  He made his start on television in 1951 on "Lux Video Theatre" and would go on to appear in hundreds of television episodes over the next five decades.....During the 1960-1961 television season he had a regular run on the program "Hong Kong." "The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen" "The Twilight Zone" - "To Serve Man" 1962, he later spoofed this performance in 1991's Naked Gun 2 1/2 "Dr. Kildare" "The Dick Powell Theatre" "The United States Steel Hour" "The Richard Boone Show" ...

Happy Birthday! Elsa Lanchester (1902) Dody Goodman (1914)

Born: April 30, 1908 She began as a New York stage actress but quickly made a move to radio, television and film... Some of her more notable films include Stage Door, Mildred Pierce, The Voice of the Turtle, Anatomy of a Murder, Grease and Grease 2.  During most of the 1950's she played the role of English teacher Connie Brooks on the sitcom "Our Miss Brooks."  The show ran on radio and television and was also adapted into a feature film in 1956.  From 1957 to 1958 she starred in "The Eve Arden Show" and from 1967 to 1969 she co-starred as Eve Hubbard with Kaye Ballard in "The Mothers-In-Law."  She guest starred on many of the top shows of the day including "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Red Skelton Hour", "The Danny Thomas Hour", "Ellery Queen", "Maude", "Vega$", "Alice", "The Love Boat" and "Hart to Hart."  ...

Born: July 18, 1934 She had uncredited roles in films such as The Birds (1963) and Valley of the Dolls (1967).  Her start in daytime television included guest appearances on "Capitol", "The Young & The Restless", "General Hospital" and "Days of Our Lives."  In prime time she made guest appearances on "Cagney & Lacey", "Little House on the Prairie", "The Jeffersons", "Mary Tyler Moore", "Gunsmoke", "The Bill Cosby Show", "Ironside", "Scarecrow & Mrs. King" and "Highway to Heaven."  In 1985 she played murder victim Mrs. Mims in an episode of "Murder, She Wrote."  Her biggest achievement on television came in the role of fashion diva Sally Spectra on "The Bold & The Beautiful."  She entered the role in 1989 and remained with the show until 2006.  Originally Sally was a rival to the great Eric & Stephanie Forrester (Jo...

Born: May 27, 1911 A great man with great style and a great voice, his career began in the 1930's and didn't end until the day he passed away.  He left us on this day in 1993 leaving behind an incredible body of work....and a legacy that is still remembered to this day. In Memoriam Remembers: Vincent Price

October 24, 1915 - A great man was born on this day 97 years ago!  At age 24 he created one of the most popular comic book characters of all time!  The Batman made his debut in Detective Comics issue 27 in May 1939.  The cover price was ten cents... He died on November 3, 1998... In Memoriam Remembers: Bob Kane

Happy Birthday! Irene Ryan (1902) Tom Poston (1921) Beverly Garland (1926) At Rest: Tennessee Ernie Ford (1991) Joan Hickson (1998) Joey Bishop (2007)

October 13th - At Rest: The incredible Bea Benaderet passed away on this day in 1968 at the age of 62.  Actors Dennis Patrick (84) and Keene Curtis (79) both died on this day in 2002.  All three of these people left their mark in television, and in Bea's case radio, over the course of half a century!

Happy Birthday! Buster Keaton (1895) Jan Murray (1916) Charlton Heston (1923)

At Rest: Roddy McDowall (1998) Florence Stanley (2003) Janet Leigh (2004)