Tom Poston, One of the Busiest Men in Hollywood

August 16, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

When I decided to do research for a blog series about some of my favorite sitcom actors, I knew Tom Poston had to be on the list. Poston seems to be someone who’s always a bit under the radar, and I’m not sure he ever received the accolades he deserved.

Image result for images of tom poston — Photo: wikifandom.com

Poston was born in 1921 in Columbus, Ohio. His father was a liquor salesman and dairy chemist, an interesting combination. Poston started at Bethany College in West Virginia but joined the Air Force in 1941. He went to flight school and served as a pilot in the European Theater for WWII and was part of the Normandy invasion.

After returning home, he decided to move to New York City to study acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He was cast in his first television show, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, in 1950. In 1955 Poston married actress Jean Sullivan. They would divorce in 1968, having one daughter.

He continued receiving dramatic roles throughout the early fifties. In 1956 he joined the Steve Allen Show, along with his cast mates Don Knotts and Louie Nye. In 1959 he won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his work on the show. In 1960 The Steve Allen Show moved to Los Angeles and Poston decided to remain in New York, but Tom and Don Knotts stayed life-long friends. He appeared on Broadway often and began making the game show circuit and continued accepting drama roles on the small screen.

Image result for images of tom poston steve allen show — With Steve Allen cohorts Don Knotts and Louis Nye–Photo: tumbral.com

When Mel Brooks was putting together the pilot for Get Smart, ABC was planning on airing the show and they wanted Tom for the star. However, when ABC declined the show and when NBC picked it up, Don Adams got the lead; Poston did appear on the show as a KAOS bad guy.

Poston married for the second time in 1968 to Kay Hudson with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1975 but remarried in 1980 and remained husband and wife until her death from ALS in 1998.

Image result for images of tom poston and bob newhart — The Peeper–Photo: pinterest.com

In 1975, he began recurring roles on two different sitcoms: On the Rocks and The Bob Newhart Show. On the Rocks was a show about the friendly rivalry between prisoners and their guards. On the Bob Newhart Show, Poston played “The Peeper,” Bob’s college buddy and big .prankster.

In 1977, Tom took on the role of Damon Jerome, photographer on We’ve Got Each Other. Beverly Archer played his assistant while her husband Stuart Hibbard (Oliver Clark) did the cooking and house cleaning. The show was cancelled after 13 episodes.

Image result for images of tom poston mork and mindy — Photo: thetodayshow.com

He appeared on a variety of shows during the late seventies and from 1979-1981, he portrayed grouchy neighbor Franklin Delano Bickley on Mork and Mindy. Poston said the role he played on the show was written for him. He said Robin was hysterically funny all the time. He said Pam Dawber was a comic genius because she was able to keep the focus on both Mork and Mindy, because anyone else would have been lost in Robin’s antics.

Image result for images of tom poston newhart cast — Photo: dailyamerican.com

He moved from Colorado on that show to Vermont the next year when he became George Utley, handyman on Newhart. For eight seasons he worked at the Stratford Inn, becoming friends with Dick and Joanna. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1984, 1986, and 1987. (Pat Harrington won in 1984 for One Day at a Time and John Laroquette won for Night Court in 1986 and 1987.)

In an interview with the Television Academy, Poston discussed the last episode of Newhart. He said the cast members were kept in the dark about the ending. He said he was in the stands with the audience when that last scene with Suzanne Pleshette and Bob as Bob Hartley waking up from his “dream” was filmed. He said Bob’s wife Ginny had the idea, and Tom thought it was fabulous.

From 1990-1991, you could find him in Good Grief, playing Ringo Prowley, in a show set in a mortuary; when that show was cancelled, he was back with Bob Newhart on Bob as Jerry Fleisher.

Image result for images of tom poston that seventies show — That Seventies Show–Photo: tvmaze.com

During the 1990s, he would accept five recurring roles: Mr. Looney on Family Matters, Phineas Swenson on Murphy Brown, Dr. Art Hibke on Coach, Floyd Norton on Grace Under Fire, and Burt Sigardson on That Seventies Show. In between, he also managed to find time to guest star on more than thirty other shows including Home Improvement, Cosby, ER, The Drew Carey Show, and Will and Grace. He also accepted roles on the big screen in twelve movies during his career, the last two being The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Christmas with the Kranks, both in 2004, as well as 15 Broadway productions.

Image result for images of tom poston suzanne pleshette — Working together in 1959–Photo: pinterest.com

Tom tried married life once again in 2001 when he married actress Suzanne Pleshette. They were married until his death in 2007 from respiratory failure.

I was just amazed by Tom Poston’s career: a ton of television appearances–he probably had more recurring roles than almost any other actor during that time; a well-respected big screen career, a variety of Broadway roles and many gameshow stints. He was nominated for five Emmys, winning one. He always made the rest of the cast look better. I truly enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Tom Poston, one of our greatest sitcom stars.

Laughing Every Day with Beverly Archer

January 18, 2021January 19, 2021 / thewritelife61 / 5 Comments

As we continue looking at some of our favorite actresses, today we get to spend some time with Beverly Archer. Beverly was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1948 but grew up in California.

See the source image — Photo: behindthevoiceactors.com

Beverly knew she wanted to enter the acting profession and studied at both San Francisco State University and UC Santa Barbara where she majored in drama. But once she graduated, she decided acting wasn’t for her. She worked for Wells Fargo for two weeks and then accepted a job with Abbey Rents in Los Angeles where she worked for three years. She says she was lonely and not having fun, so she started taking acting classes again and working with theater groups.

Unlike a lot of actors who have to spend decades before nabbing their first series, the first two television roles Beverly received were regulars. However, Beverly paid her dues working in commercials before appearing on a series. She said they gave her confidence that she could make a living acting, so she was able to quit her job.

In 1976, she appeared on The Nancy Walker Show. She played Nancy’s daughter, Lorraine. In a recent interview with Sitcoms Online, Beverly said she ran into a guy she had done some theater with who had become an agent. He signed her and got her the audition for the show. Archer was reading the script with several other actresses but apparently, she was the only one who found the scene very funny. Nancy then read with her and the producers felt they could be family. She says she was in the right place at the right time.

Unfortunately, the show only lasted one season, but in 1977, Beverly was offered the role on We’ve Got Each Other. The plot for this show was that Stuart Hibbard (Oliver Clark) worked at home, cleaning and cooking while his wife Judy (Archer) worked in LA for photographer Damon Jerome (Tom Poston). Stuart had to deal with domestic situations and his next-door neighbor Ken (Martin Kove) while Judy dealt with work situations and secretary Donna (Renn Woods). Like her first show, this sitcom only lasted one season as sell.

In 1976 she accepted another permanent role as Mrs. Robert Bernard. She met her husband through an acting teacher. He was also an actor, doing a lot of voice-over work.

During the 1980s, she would receive offers to play recurring characters on four shows.

On Spencer, she played Miss Spier, a divorced friend of Spencer’s mother. Most episodes show Spencer, played by a very young Chad Lowe, humorously dealing with the drama of high school.

In 1985 she was on ten episodes of Washingtoon. This is a little-remembered show that aired on Showtime. The plots centered around a senator who wasn’t too bright and Archer was his secretary on the show.

In 1988, she appeared on ALF as neighbor Mrs. Byrd.

One of her best-known roles occurred on Mama’s Family. Beverly portrayed Iola Boylen from 1986-1990. In the Sitcoms Online interview, Archer talked about being on Mama’s Family. She explained that the network version was cancelled, and Joe Hamilton decided to recreate it in syndication. At that time, no one really did syndication shows. Archer says he was a pioneer in the field. Betty White and Rue McClanahan moved over to Golden Girls, so there was a gap for a new character and Archer was hired for the syndicated show. She says some of her favorite moments on the show were working with Ken Berry. She described him as the funniest person on the planet.

Beverly tried her hand at writing and received credits for scripts for Mama’s Family, Working Girl and ALF.

In addition to these regular roles, she guest starred on a variety of shows, including It Takes Two, Family Ties, The Fall Guy, and My Sister Sam.

During the decade of the nineties, Beverly was again lucky enough to gain a recurring role on five additional shows: Married . . . with Children, Aahh Real Monsters, Jumanji, The Young and the Restless, and Major Dad. On Married . . . with Children, she was a sexually repressed librarian who falls in love with Bud.

On Major Dad, she played the role of Alva Bricker, gunnery sergeant. During an interview with Jerry Buck in 1992, Archer says she used John Wayne for her role model for Alva because he was the only Marine she could remember. Describing her character on the show, Archer says “She’s the best Marine on the base. I think the driving force behind the characters is that she’s the best. But the personal stuff is fun to play. She has a wild sex life, but the crux is that she’s incredibly efficient as administrative chief of the commanding general’s office.”

After portraying so many school-marm types of characters, she was happy to have a different sort of character to work with. Beverly says Gunny has a macho-style to her femininity. She treated relationships the way men typically did. She didn’t want to be tied down to one man.

Beverly joined the cast in season two. Once again, she benefitted from the fact that several characters from the first season were let go. The show was produced by Rick Hawkins who also worked with her on Mama’s Family. Archer loved the fact that Gunny was so different from Iola on that show.

She also guest starred on nine shows, including Full House, Love and War, and Grace Under Fire throughout the 1990s.

In 1995 she was part of the fun, satire, The Brady Bunch Movie, playing a teacher who gets caught stealing.

Beverly accepted that she was typecast in many of her roles. As she described it, “Nobody’s going to let me play a normal human being, certainly not a lead. Certainly not a normal next-door neighbor. I’m there to add a character twist. That’s my living and with this mug, what do you expect?”

Beverly retired in 2002. Beverly may have retired, but she was not sitting around the house twiddling her thumbs. She opened an antique shop in the Catskills in upper New York which she ran for about eight years, spending half the year in New York and half in California. She finally moved the shop to California to eliminate the bicoastal living.

She also wanted to do a lot of traveling. Now she is sculpting with clay and getting to travel. She studied her craft in Italy. In 2008, Beverly had an exhibit at the Xiem Gallery in Pasadena, CA, entitled “2008: A Year of the Pig: A Beginner’s Journal.” The exhibit included some of her thoughts on her art:

“There was so much to learn.
Despite the fact that I began with 365 pigs I never thought back then that I would be able to count on two hands the number of pieces I have made that are not critters. I cannot seem to divorce myself from them. Nor do I want to.
Our relationship to other animals is quite a complex one, of course. We tend to imbue them with attributes and feelings we admire. We find our domestic companions delightful, amusing, courageous and intelligent…..all attributes we would like to see in ourselves. We even find the critters we eat to be companionable as well as useful.
Perhaps I will branch out eventually. Perhaps to wild animals. We think them fascinating, noble and mysterious. And yet, we threaten them, hunt them or ignore them and fail them constantly.
One can’t know for certain but I imagine that in years hence I will still be working on the animal form.
There is so just much to learn.”

While I’m sad, her retirement took her out of our living rooms, she seems to have found a wonderful new career. Since writing my blog, and writing in general, has become my almost-retirement career, I understand the passion and satisfaction she is experiencing in her new art life.

When asked about the type of roles she wanted to play or would like to have if she had not retired, Beverly responded that “I loved doing comedy, and there is no greater gift than coming to work laughing every day.” I hope she is still laughing every day, and I thank her for the many days of laughter she provided for us.

Major Dad is AWOL

March 30, 2020 / thewritelife61 / 6 Comments

As we wind up our “I Salute You!” blog series, we end with a show that may not be remembered as well as many other military shows: Major Dad. Created by Richard Okie, Earl Pomerantz, and John Stephens, the show debuted in September of 1989 and ran until spring of 1993, producing 96 episodes. Stephens was a producer on Gunsmoke and Simon and Simon (which McRaney also starred in), among other shows. Okie also produced Simon and Simon, along with Quantum Leap and more recently, Elementary. Pomerantz had been involved with both The Cosby Show and The Larry Sanders Show. Although the show is not seen often now, it won best sitcom in 1990.

In September of 1989, Bonnie Churchill wrote an article for the Christian Science Monitor, “McRaney is Major Dad.” They discussed how the show was developed. As McRaney recounted: “‘The eighth and last season of Simon and Simon we began to get the skeleton of an idea . . . It centers around a rather conservative peacetime officer who falls in love with a newspaper reporter, who is rather liberal. She’s a single parent raising three daughters. They get married, and then the real fun begins. When we were discussing which branch of the service he’d be in, I voted for the Marines.’ McRaney also had a vote as co-executive producer, so he won.”

The show was on Monday nights for most of its entire run. The first season it went up against MacGyver and for half the season it was on against Alf and My 2 Dads for the second half. Season two with the move to Camp Hollister found the show going against MacGyver on ABC and both Ferris Bueller and Blossom on NBC, landing in the top 30. The show was again competing against MacGyver and Blossom for season three where it was in the top 10. In season four, MacGyver was gone with American Detective taking its place and Blossom still on NBC. But at some time during the last season, the network moved the show to Friday nights which resulted in the ratings plummeting and the show was no longer in the top 30 and was cancelled.

Major Dad starred Gerald McRaney and Shanna Reed as a newly married couple, John and Polly MacGillis. After left-leaning journalist Polly interviews conservative John, they fall in love. After a whirl-wind three-week romance, they decided to marry and the perennial bachelor’s life is turned upside down. Even though they are newly married, Polly has three daughters (Nicole Dubuc, Chelsea Hertford, and Marisa Ryan) from a previous marriage, so “Mac” must learn to live with a house of females. The girls are 6, 11, and 13. Mac has a hard-enough time learning to be a husband, let alone a father.

The show takes place in Camp Singleton which is similar to the real Camp Pendleton where Mac is the commander of the infantry training school’s acquisition division. Rounding out the cast were Lt Holowachuk (Matt Mulhern), Sgt James (Marlon Archey), and secretary Merilee (Whitney Kershaw). Many of the scripts for the first season had to be rewritten due to the US’s involvement in the Persian Gulf War.

For the second season, the family moves to Camp Hollister, which is similar to Quantico. Mac has been promoted to staff secretary under Brigadier General Marcus Craig (Jon Cypher). Lt Holowachuk comes along as aide-de-camp. Beverly Archer plays Gunnery Sergeant Alva Bricker, known as Gunny, the general’s secretary.

She adds a lot of humorous elements to the show as a no-nonsense, set-in-her-ways woman who seems to have many romantic interests.

Polly becomes the managing editor for the Bulldog, the camp newspaper. She also writes two columns, “At Ease” and “The Suggestion Box.” Originally for the second season, several of the characters were being sent to Saudia Arabia, but because the Persian Gulf War ended, it was decided to send everyone to Camp Hollister instead.

Some famous faces that popped up on this show included Ruth Buzzy, Peggy Cass, Brian Keith, Vicki Lawrence, and Jameson Parker.

Most reviews I read thought the show came into its own after the move to Camp Hollister. It got very positive ratings. Many people appreciated the fact that Marines were shown in a positive light. Before filming the show, McRaney was sent to Camp Pendleton to learn about life as a Marine. He was able to talk with people about their life stories, be outfitted with a uniform, and even got an authentic haircut.

The show provided a realistic insight into the issues that military families face. In addition, the show moved back and forth between home life and career life, so the characters are more balanced and not one-dimensional. Current issues like base closures were often written into the scripts, and in 1990, an episode commemorated the 215^th anniversary of the Marines and Dan Quayle, who was the Vice President, made an appearance on the show.

As far as I could find, the show is not available on DVD. I also could not find any networks currently carrying the show, although there are online sights where you can watch it. Perhaps with all the networks now carrying syndicated shows, this series will have a second chance to find new generations of fans.

Developing A Negative Perspective

October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 5 Comments

We can all name a ton of shows featuring lawyers, doctors, and teachers. Once you begin looking at other careers, it’s not easy to find more than one or two successful shows about each profession. Let’s look at a few series about photographers and see what develops.

Love That Bob – 1955-1959

Bob Collins (Bob Cummings) is a bachelor and a professional photographer. He lives with his sister Margaret McDonald (Rosemary DeCamp), a widow, and his nephew Chuck (Dwayne Hickman). Bob spends his time trying to get dates with his models while his sister spends her time trying to get him to settle down. Although he was not aware of it yet, we all knew the real love of his life was his assistant Schultzy (Ann B. Davis) who was obviously in love with him.

Not only did Bob get around, but his show followed suit. This show debuted on NBC for a half season and then moved to CBS for two years. Then it went back to NBC for two years and finally finished its life on ABC.

The opening of every show was Bob and his camera; he said “Hold It. I think you’re going to like this picture.” Though Bob tried hard to be a playboy, he was so insecure we liked him in spite of himself and because of Schultzy.

Among the beautiful bevy of models on the show, we also got to know his best pal Harvey Helm (King Donovan) and his next-door neighbor Pamela Livingston (Nancy Kulp), an avid bird watcher.

The writers had a great perspective for the series because the show lasted five seasons for a total of 157 episodes.

The Box Brothers – 1956-1957

The Box brothers lived in San Francisco. They badly needed money and were offered a chance to buy a photography studio. They developed more trouble than photographs. The brothers were total opposites. Mild-mannered Gilmore (Bob Sweeney) dated quiet Marilee Dorf (Nancy Hadley) while strong-willed Harvey (Gale Gordon) dated the self-assured Dr. Margaret Kleeb (Ann Morriss).

The show was one of the first series to feature a character who was heard off camera but never seen. Andy worked in the darkroom, so we never saw him in person. The show also featured Howard McNear soon to run a barber shop in Mayberry and Barbara Billingsley who would dress in pearls and parent the Beaver.

After 26 episodes, the network had a flash of inspiration to cancel the whole thing.

Shirley’s World – 1971-1972

Shirley Logan (Shirley MacLaine) is a mod, young photographer who works for World Illustrated magazine based in London for editor Dennis Croft (John Gregson). She travels the world taking pictures, and the shows were filmed in England, Scotland, Japan, and Hong Kong, among other spots. She usually becomes involved in the lives of the subjects she is sent to photograph.

SHIRLEY’S WORLD, Shirley MacLaine, 1971-1972

The show was a collaboration between British ITC and Sheldon Leonard. It was expensive to film due to the traveling costs for shooting around the world and MacLaine’s salary which was reported as $47,500 per episode. This salary would be the equivalent of about $275,000 per episode today.

After 17 episodes, the network either ran out of money or changed its focus to cheaper production methods because this series was cancelled.

All’s Fair — 1976-1977

In 1976, Norman Lear created this sitcom about 49-year-old Richard Barrington (Richard Crenna) involved with 23-year old Charlotte Drake (Bernadette Peters). He was a political columnist and she was a photographer, and they both lived in Washington DC. That was about all they had in common. He was conservative, lived in a luxurious townhouse, and was a gourmet cook. She was liberal, lived cheaply, and was a vegetarian. Most of the series centered around their generation gap and their political differences.

Jack Dodson, no longer living in Mayberry, played Senator Joplin, Barrington’s friend and Michael Keaton played President Carter’s aide.

ALL’S FAIR, (from left): Richard Crenna, Bernadette Peters, (Season 1), 1976-77

The dialogue was fast-paced. One reviewer described it as “the best new comedy of the year” and the New York Times said, “casting is first rate and the finger-snapping pace of the show leaves just about everything looking easy and undemanding.”

Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe. The only other well-known show to debut in 1976 was Alice. I’m not sure if the writing quality was uneven or if the jokes just got tired and predictable, but after 24 episodes, the network decided it had been overexposed and moved on.

We’ve Got Each Other – 1977-1978

Mary Tyler Moore’s company produced this sitcom. Stuart Hibbard (Oliver Clark) was a copywriter who worked from home and took care of the house and cooked the meals. His wife Judy (Beverly Archer) commuted to Los Angeles for her career as a famous photographer’s assistant. Tom Poston played Damon Jerome the photographer. He was great with a camera but a terrible businessman, so he relied on Judy for everything.

Stuart had to deal with their nutty neighbor Ken Redford (Martin Kove), and Judy had to put up with a self-centered model DeeDee Baldwin (Joan Van Ark). Damon’s secretary Donna (Red Woods) tried to keep peace between the women at work.

Thirteen was an unlucky number for this show which was cancelled after that many episodes. I guess Damon was a underexposed photographer whose contract was not renewed.

Whitney – 2011

We started with star Bob Cummings in this blog and we end with Whitney Cummings, no relation. Whitney created and starred in this show about a photographer and her friends, a group of 20 somethings, who live in Chicago. Her boyfriend Alex Miller is played by Chris D’Elia.

Beverly D’Angelo from the Vacation movies played her mom in the original pilot, but was replaced by Jane Kaczmarek with all the scenes re-shot. The show did not garner great reviews. The debut was watched by 6.8 million viewers in September, but by December only 4 million of them were still watching.

WHITNEY — Season:1 — Pictured: (l-r) Maulik Pancholy as Neal, Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne, Zoe Lister-Jones as Lily, Whitney Cummings as Whitney Cummings, Chris D’Elia as Alex Miller, Dan O’Brien as Mark — Photo by: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

After 38 episodes, the network thought too large a time lapse had happened and ended the show. Cummings also was the co-creator of 2 Broke Girls the same year. That show had better luck, lasting five years, being cancelled this past May.

Obviously shows about photographers did not do too well over the television decades. But if anyone can handle it, it’s these characters – after all they deal with negatives all day long.

July is the Perfect Time for Berry Picking

July 17, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Ken Berry was born in Moline, IL in 1933. After watching a group perform when he was 13, he decided he wanted to be a dancer. He loved Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies, especially Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, and On the Town. At 16, he traveled with the Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program, performing in small towns for 15 months.

He went into the army at Fort Bragg and was in the artillery. He was then moved to an entertainment division under Leonard Nimoy. During his second year, he won the All-Army Talent competition which allowed him to appear on Ed Sullivan in 1948. Nimoy encouraged him to move to Los Angeles where he made some connections for Berry. Both 20^th Century Fox and Universal offered him jobs and he accepted the Universal contract. In 1956, he opened for Abbott and Costello for their stage act. In 1957, Berry enrolled in Falcon Studios to study acting. He worked at the Cabaret Theater, making $11 per week. The same year he won Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Show.

In 1958, he received an opportunity to join the Billy Barnes Revue. While in the Billy Barnes Revue, Berry met Jackie Joseph, and they married in 1960. His work in the BBR led to several lucrative connections. Lucille Ball saw him and offered him a job with Desilu Studios for $50 per week. Carol Burnett also watched a performance and had him on her variety show. (In 1972, she would offer him the co-starring role with her in Once Upon a Mattress, a television movie.)

The first Desilu show he had a regular role on was the Ann Sothern Show. On the air from 1958-1961, Ann played Katy O’Connor who worked at a New York hotel. Originally, Mr. Macauley (Ernest Truex) was her boss, but he was berated by his controlling wife (Reta Shaw). Katy’s best friend from her previous show Private Secretary, which aired from 1953-1957, was Ann Tyrrell as Vi. In this show, her name is Olive. The format wasn’t working, so Mr. Macauley the hotel owner, was transferred to Calcutta and James Devrey (Don Porter also from Private Secretary) took over. Ratings improved, and the show was renewed for another season. During this season, Louis Nye was introduced as a funny dentist in the hotel who dates and marries Olive, and Berry played bellboy Woody Hamilton, replacing Jack Mullaney. Most of the episodes revolve around the staff and guests of the hotel. As in Private Secretary, there is a lingering romance between Mr. Devrey and Katy throughout the run of the show. The ratings fell drastically in 1961 after the show was moved to Thursdays, and the network cancelled it.

In 1961, Berry obtained a job with Dr. Kildare, appearing in 25 episodes as Dr. John Kapish. Richard Chamberlin starred in the series about a doctor working in an urban hospital under his mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Raymond Massey). In the third season, Dr. Kildare was promoted to resident and the series centered on his patients. The show aired until 1966, but Berry left the show in 1964. This was one of the shows that paved the way for Marcus Welby, MD and the medical dramas today including ER and Gray’s Anatomy.

He also appeared on several shows in the early 1960s: The Jim Backus Show, Hennesey, Ensign O’Toole, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Hazel, and No Time for Sergeants, among others.

In 1965, he was offered the lead in F-Troop. The show was set during the Civil War. Berry played Will Parmenter. At a critical moment during the Battle of Appomattox, Will gets credit for the defeat. He is a private and was sent to get his commanding officer’s laundry. He was sneezing continuously, but the men thought he was saying “Charge,” so they did. They won a decisive battle, and Will was promoted for his quick decision-making skills and bravery. He was then promoted to Fort Courage.

The cast had a crazy bunch of characters. The NCOs at the fort, Sergeant O’Rourke (Forrest Tucker) and Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch) are always scheming to raise money. The Hekawis tribe, with Chief Wild Eagle (Frank de Kova) worked on shady business deals with them. Although the officers manipulate Will, they are also protective of him. Melody Patterson plays Jane Thrift, Will’s girlfriend, who is always pressuring him to propose. The show relied on a lot of puns, slapstick, and running gags.

When F-Troop was cancelled two years later, Berry headlined the cast of Mayberry RFD as widower Sam Jones because Andy Griffith was leaving the show. Since Andy and Helen had married and moved away, Aunt Bee became Sam’s housekeeper. Sam and his son were introduced in Griffith’s final season when Sam is elected to the town council. Arlene Golonka plays Millie, Sam’s love interest. The show was rated as high as 4^th and only as low as 15th, so it continued to pull in good ratings, but in 1971, the show was cancelled in the general “rural house cleaning” that the network performed getting rid of any shows such as Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, etc.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, he was on 14 shows including The Danny Thomas Show, The Lucy Show, Love American Style, The Brady Bunch, and The Love Boat.

The network developed a show Ken Berry WOW, a variety show that lasted five episodes that Berry was not wowed with. In 1973, Sherwood Schwartz wrote a pilot for a Brady Bunch spinoff called Kelly’s Kids. The concept of the show was that Berry adopts three boys, one white, one African American, and one Asian. No network showed an interest in the show.

One of the most unusual jobs he had occurred in 1976. An album called “Ken Berry RFD,” where he sang, backed by a full orchestra, was released. He and Joseph divorced that same year. Joseph later remarried and continued to have a long and full career. She appeared on a variety of sitcoms including Designing Women, Full House, Newhart, Love American Style, Petticoat Junction, That Girl, Hogan’s Heroes, McHale’s Navy, F-Troop, and the Andy Griffith Show. She also had a productive movie career, including Gremlins, The Cheyenne Social Club, With Six You Get Eggroll, Who’s Minding the Mint, and Little Shop of Horrors.

Taking a break from television, Ken went on the road, performing in stock shows around the country. He also played Caesar’s Palace between Andy Griffith and Jerry Van Dyke.

He returned to television to join the cast of Mama’s Family with Vickie Lawrence. The show derived from a skit on the Carol Burnett Show which led to a TV movie called Eunice. It featured the Harper family and their neighbors and friends. The matriarch is Thelma Harper (Lawrence) who speaks her mind freely. She is hot tempered and sarcastic, but she loves her family as she berates them. And they typically deserve a berating. They move back in with her and are happy to have her clean and cook for them as well.

For the first season and part of the second, the show was on NBC. Thelma lives with her spinster sister Fran (Rue McClanahan) who is a journalist. After Thelma’s daughter-in-law leaves her family, they move in with Thelma. Her son Vint began a relationship with Thelma’s next-door neighbor Naomi Oates (Dorothy Lyman). Her children from the Burnett sketch, Ellen (Betty White) and Eunice (Burnett), along with hubby Ed (Harvey Korman) are seen during this time.

The show was cancelled after two years and went into syndication. The reruns were so popular, 100 new episodes were ordered. A new set had to be constructed and some cast adjustments were made as well. Lawrence, Berry and Lyman were the only original characters on this new version. Since White and McClanahan were now starring on The Golden Girls, and Burnette and Korman chose not to return, a new character was created. Mitchel (Allan Kayser) was Eunice’s son who was always getting into trouble. Another addition was Beverly Archer who played Iola Boylen, Thelma’s neighbor and best friend.

Once Mama’s Family was cancelled the second time, Berry traveled around the country, appearing in “The Music Man”, “Gene Kelly’s Salute to Broadway”, and “I Do I Do” with Loretta Swit. He also went back to television for brief appearances on several shows including CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Gimme a Break, Small Wonder, Golden Girls, The New Batman, and Maggie Winters.

Berry also appeared in six movies including Two for Seesaw (1962), The Lively Set (1964), Hello Down There (1969), Herbie Rides Again (1974), Guardian of the Wilderness (1976), and The Cat from Outer Space (1978).

Guardian of the Wilderness was based on the life of Galen Clark who convinced Abraham Lincoln to make Yosemite Park the first public land grant. It covers a series of unusual adventures Clark had as he battled lumber companies to save wilderness land. One of my favorite quintessential 1960s movies was Hello Down There. Tony Randall and Janet Leigh star. Randall is an architect who creates an underwater home. To prove a family could live there, he cajoles his family to moving there for the summer. His kids are in a band so they force him to take the entire band or no one. Charlotte Rae is their housekeeper. Berry plays a rare role for him as the bad guy.

Early in his career, Ken appeared in a variety of commercials. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, he was the spokesman for Kinney Shoes.

He appeared in two game shows, Hollywood Squares and Tattletales. He also starred as himself on a variety of shows including Art Linkletter, Joey Bishop, Leslie Uggams, Jim Nabors, Julie Andrews, Sonny and Cher, Dean Martin, Laugh In, and Mike Douglas.

Berry retired in 1999. Berry loves cars and was an avid motorcyclist and camper.

Although Berry was never in a hugely successful series, he had a long and full career that any actor would be proud of. Hopefully his well-deserved retirement has been fun and full of memories.