“The Ultimate Definition of Success is to Repeat It” says Jeffrey Benjamin

October 3, 2016February 19, 2018 / thewritelife61 / Leave a comment

After reading about That Girl and what a tough time Marlo Thomas and Ted Bessell had finding new roles that did not stereotype them as Don and Ann, I thought about actors who were able to transcend that hurdle. I could think of numerous actors and actresses who were able to have two important television roles. Mary Tyler Moore began as Laura Petrie but Mary Richards was also a strong character. Ron Howard grew up from Opie Taylor to Richie Cunningham. Kristy McNichol lived out her adolescence in Family and then moved to Florida as Barbara in Empty Nest.

I started to do some research and found the following actors who had numerous television series.

Alan Alda – Of course, his iconic role was Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H. From 1972-83 he kept us laughing or crying in Korea. Since M*A*S*H he has taken on roles in several television series including ER (1999), West Wing (2004-06), 30 Rock (2009-10), The Big C (2011-13), and The Blacklist (2013-14).

Fun Fact: He got his start on the Phil Silvers Show in 1957.

Meredith Baxter – Most people remember her as Elyse Keaton in Family Ties (1982-89), but for me it was Nancy in Family (1976-80). Other shows include Bridget Loves Bernie (1972-73), The Faculty (1996), Cold Case (2006-07), The Young and the Restless (2014), and Finding Carter (2014-15).

Fun Fact: Her mother was Whitney Blake, Missy on Hazel.

Sally Field – I think most people will always think of Sally Field as the Flying Nun (1967-70). Her first show was Gidget (1965-66). As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, she had a role in the forgettable Hey Landlord (1967) and she was The Girl with Something Extra (1973-74). Like Alan Alda, she also had a recurring role in ER (2000-06), and her most recent show is Brothers and Sisters (2006-11).

Fun Fact: She won an Emmy for her appearance on ER.

John Forsythe – While younger people only know him as the voice of Charlie on Charlie’s Angels (1976-81) or Blake Carrington from The Colbys (1980-86) which led to Dynasty (1981-89), one of my favorite sitcoms of all is Bachelor Father which John starred as Bentley Greg from 1957-62. Before Bachelor Father, he starred in Lights Out (1951-2), Suspense (1951-52) and Studio One (1949-55). Before Charlie’s Angels, he was in the John Forsythe Show (1965-66) and To Rome with Love (1969-71). His last show was The Powers That Be (1992-93).

Fun Fact: Along with Harry Morgan and Meredith Baxter, he was on episodes of The Love Boat.

Harry Morgan – Harry Morgan is the king of shows, with 12 series to his credit. He is probably best remembered for three of them–Pete and Gladys (1960-62), Dragnet (1967), and M*A*S*H (1974-83). His first sitcom was December Bride (1954-59) which spun off Pete and Gladys. In the 60s before Dragnet he was in Kentucky Jones (1964-65) and Dr. Kildare (1965). The seventies saw him in Hec Ramsey (1972-74) and Gunsmoke (1970-75). After M*A*S*H, he literally was in After M*A*S*H (1983-85), Blacke’s Magic (1986), You Can’t Take It With You (1987-88), and Third Rock From the Sun (1996-97).

Fun Fact: He was in an episode of the Partridge Family in the first season.

Bob Newhart – Bob Newhart gets the award for having the most shows with his name it in. Fans fondly remember The Bob Newhart Show set in Chicago when he played Dr. Hartley (1972-78) or Newhart where he was the inn owner Dick Loudon (1982-90). His first show was The Bob Newhart Show (1961). After Newhart, he tried out Bob (1992-93) and George and Leo (1997-98). Like Alan Alda and Sally Field, he also had a recurring role on ER (2003) and most recently has had a recurring role on The Big Bang Theory (2013-15).

Fun Fact: The 1982-90 show had the best finale ever when the show ended with Bob in bed with his wife from the 1972-78 series thinking Newhart had been a dream.

Ed O’Neill – If any actor should have been stereotyped after a role, Ed O’Neill seemed doomed after Al Bundy in Married. . . With Children (1987-97), yet he now has an even bigger hit in Modern Family as Jay Pritchett (2009-16). In between he was on the Big Apple (2001), Dragnet (2003-4), a remake of Harry Morgan’s show, and John From Cincinnati (2007). Like Alan Alda, he took on a role on The West Wing (2004-05).

Fun Fact: He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 but was cut in training camp.

Dick Van Dyke – Finally, we have Dick Van Dyke. Before I researched this blog, I thought he and Bob Newhart might have the most sitcoms to their credit. He comes in with only four starring shows overall. Like Bob, he never wanted to stray far from his name: We had the iconic Dick Van Dyke Show as Rob Petrie (1961-66), The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971-74), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1988), and then Diagnosis: Murder (1993-2001). Like so many of these actors who have something in common with Alan Alda, Dick Van Dyke’s first appearance in a sitcom was also The Phil Silvers Show (1957-8).

Fun Fact: He can trace his family line back to the Mayflower.

Why do some stars get locked into a role that they are never able to separate themselves from? Think Henry Winkler as the Fonz, Lucille Ball as Lucy, or Don Knotts as Barney. I think part of it is that we get so attached to these characters we almost want to believe they are real and the actor moving on destroys that image.

The above actors all had different situations that allowed them to move on more easily. Alan Alda never had that hit show again. After M*A*S*H, he took on dramatic recurring roles. Meredith Baxter was in a mixed genre of shows. Of her two hit shows, one was a drama, Family, and one a sitcom, Family Ties. Dick Van Dyke had the same formula: The first Dick Van Dyke Show, a sitcom, and Diagnosis: Murder, an action/mystery series. John Forsythe and Harry Morgan came into show business during the golden days of television. They were able to have extremely successful shows and characters and then start over. Forsythe had 10 series to his credit, Morgan had 12. Sally Field, although starting out in television, was certainly better known as a movie actress. Audiences were seeing her on the big screen as other characters so they perhaps don’t pigeon hole her into one role so much. Ed O’Neill actually had success on two sitcoms about families. Maybe Jay Pritchett is so successful because he shows what Al Bundy may have been like growing up in a more enlightened era where the fathers help parent and run the house. And Bob Newhart, I think, was successful because he actually plays the same character in most of his shows, and we love that character so we keep looking for him, no matter what the show is actually titled.

Why That Girl Was That Great

September 26, 2016February 19, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This fall marks the 50^th anniversary of That Girl. What is it about a show filmed in 1966 that allows it to remain fresh and fun in 2016? That’s what I was thinking about this week. As I’ve mentioned before, nostalgia certainly plays into movies and television shows from that era, but there are many more shows forgotten than remembered. The series that remain in syndication must have something more to them that continues to lure new viewers and retain fans who watched the show live on television when it was first written.

That Girl was on the air five seasons, cancelled not because of bad ratings but at the request of the actors involved in the production. Five characters stayed the course of the show: Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas), Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell), Lou Marie (Lew Parker), Helen Marie (Rosemary DeCamp), and Jerry Bauman (Bernie Kopell). Hundreds of characters made an appearance on one or two, or even ten, shows throughout the years. The five major characters were the glue that kept the show together – they were real characters who had flaws and made some bad choices, but we truly cared about each of them and liked them for who they were.

UNITED STATES – JULY 21: THAT GIRL – “Rattle of a Single Girl” 6/8/70 Marlo Thomas, Ted Bessell (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)

The shows were filmed at Desilu-Cahuenga Studios, started by Desi and Lucille Ball. Many early classic shows were produced there including I Spy, Hogan’s Heroes, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Danny Thomas Show, and The Andy Griffith Show, which began as an episode on The Danny Thomas Show.

Ann Marie was based somewhat on Marlo Thomas who purposely searched for a vehicle to star in. Marlo went to school to become a teacher and then pursued her acting dream. When she got her first apartment, against her father’s wishes, she called home to complain about ants, and her father yelled to her mother, “Miss Independence has ants.” Her life became the germination for That Girl. Two great writers, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, agreed to write for the first year. Bill’s parents were always referring to his sister as “that girl” which gave the series its name and the opening feature where someone referred to Ann as “that girl” to begin every episode.

One of the reasons this show remains watchable today can be seen in Marlo Thomas’s take on the series: “It was not a fall-down funny show. It was a relationship show.” I think all great shows have that at the core. Funny shows go in and out of fashion, but relationships stay valid throughout the decades.

Ann is a sweet, warm, smart young woman just starting out on her career, full of hope. Don is a kind, funny, well-read guy who truly loves her. Her parents worry about her, their only child, and want her to be happy. That is the premise of the show. We get to watch Ann as she grows as an actress and a person, experiencing joy and disappointment at the way life works.

Another reason the show is so good is that they knew when to end it. Marlo wanted the show to end before the wedding even though Don and Ann were engaged the final season. Neither Marlo nor Ted thought the marriage would have taken place. Ted guessed Don would have married someone else and Ann would have a successful acting career, and maybe after his wife died they would have gotten back together again. But the show was about that time when a young woman is exploring her world and herself and full of hope about her future. Marlo felt once Ann became a successful actress or married, the show’s concept was gone.

I just wanted to share some of my favorite episodes with you:

What’s In a Name? Debuting in November the first year, this episode is a reworking of the pilot. Ann’s agent thinks having two first names is confusing and wants her to change her name. When she comes up with Marie Brewster, she thinks it’s great but her father is hurt. Despite his unhappiness about the choice, he watches the show on television with her that will show her new name in the credits, only to learn she kept her real name because it was so important to him.

Rain, Snow, and Rice. In February of 1967 Don’s friend Jerry marries Margie; Don and Ann go along as witnesses. Bad weather forces them to stay at a hotel with one available room for Don and Ann. They are obviously awkward and uncomfortable. When her parents call the front desk and realize they are in the same room, they travel to Connecticut to force a marriage, only to find they spent most of the night playing cards fully dressed.

Paper Hats and Everything. The very next show was one where Ann thought her friends were planning a surprise birthday party while her dad took her out to dinner. There was no party but when they realize she thinks she’s getting one, they quickly plan it and comically inform her father. Lou and Ann have a very beautiful moment when she asks him if he was disappointed she was not a boy and his answer is sweet and loving, and there is no doubt he was never disappointed.

A Muggy Day in Central Park. In this show from 1968, Ann is mugged. When Don comes to the police station to get her, he learns that there is a task force where the men dress as women to try to catch muggers. In order to write about it for his magazine, he dresses as a woman and accompanies another officer posing as his boyfriend. Ann’s dad sees Don in drag and assumes the worst, trying to keep Ann from learning the truth. Ann, knowing exactly where Don was, cannot figure out what is wrong with her father.

My Sister’s Keeper. This show from 1969 is fun because all of Ann’s siblings and her father are cast. Ann cannot sing but gets a commercial for her looks, while another singer’s voice is dubbed in. Ann thinks this is wrong and tries to get the singer to do the commercial, only to realize the singer is a nun and does not want to be in the public eye but loves to sing. The nun is Marlo’s real sister, her brother plays an agent on the show, and at one point at the convent a priest brushes by Ann, and she says “Excuse me father,” and we realize that priest is Danny Thomas.

So why do we continue to watch? Young girls still long to move to the big city to find their careers, young men still fall in love with those girls, and parents still worry about their kids and want them to be happy. That is quite simply the reason we still love That Girl.

Gee, Mom There’s Nothin’ To Watch on TV

September 19, 2016February 19, 2018 / thewritelife61 / Leave a comment

After complaining about the number of lack-luster shows on the 2016-17 schedule, I decided to look back 50 years to see how the line-up looked in 1966. I was surprised to learn that things haven’t really changed too much.

One of my all-time favorite shows aired in the fall of 1966–That Girl. I’ll write about the show next week. Two other shows that debuted in 1966 were Family Affair and The Monkees, shows I would not consider classic comedies but shows we remember nonetheless.

Let’s take a look at the other shows from fall of 1966. Let me know how many of these, if any, you remember.

The Hero – Richard Mulligan (later to star in Soap and Empty Nest) plays Sam Garret, a TV actor on a western who was scared of horses, allergic to sagebrush, and extremely clumsy. If you don’t’ remember this show, don’t feel bad; it only lasted four months.

Hey Landlord – A writer (Will Hutchins) and a comedian (Sandy Baron) become landlords for a Manhattan brownstone. Apparently they only had a one-year lease, because they were gone by 1967. Cast members included Ann Morgan Guilbert (Milly from the Dick Van Dyke Show) and Sally Field (Gidget, the Flying Nun, and Nora on Brothers and Sisters).

It’s About Time – Two astronauts break the time barrier and end up in the Prehistoric Era. After saving a boy, they get to know his family. When they return home in 1966, they realize the family hid themselves aboard the rocket. The astronauts have to keep them secret from NASA officials, and the family has to learn to live in a modern society. Someone might have dreamed about Jeannie, but no one dreamed about this show.

The Jean Arthur Show – Movie star Jean Arthur is part of a mother-son law firm, Marshall & Marshall. Arthur gets involved in their clients’ wacky situations. After three months, they were legally cancelled.

Love On a Rooftop – Judy Carne and Peter Duel are a young couple living in San Francisco. He’s an apprentice architect and she’s an art student who gave up her rich father’s money for marrying him. Rich Little played their neighbor Stan who composed menus for a living. The network said “Sock it to Them” by cancelling the show.

Mr. Terrific – Two friends Stanley and Hal are roommates. Stan works for the government. When they give him a pill, he becomes Mr. Terrific, crime solver. They send him on missions, but the pill only lasts an hour so it wears off at the worst of times. I don’t think the network thought it too terrific, because it was gone in seven months.

My Name’s McGooley, What’s Yours? – The show centered around a scheming father, his daughter and her husband, a beer-guzzling loser. I think it took longer to read the title than to watch the episodes because it was not renewed for the next year.

Occasional Wife – A baby food company only hires married men as executives, so Peter convinces his friend Greta to pose as his wife when necessary. They live on different floors of the same apartment building and get into a lot of complicated situations. Apparently viewers only watched occasionally because it was cut from the schedule.

Pistols ‘n Petticoats – Ann Sheridan came to the TV screen to play Hank, short for Henrietta, a member of a family in Wretched, Colorado in 1871. The family has to keep law and order in the town because the local sheriff is incompetent. People did believe they were wretched, and it was gone before 1967.

The Pruitts of Southhampton – The premise of this show was that a formerly wealthy family realizes they owe $10,000,000 in taxes and has to downsize their lifestyle while keeping it from all their friends. The network agreed they were poor and cut it for 1967. What was amazing about this show not being a hit was the cast: John Astin, Richard Deacon, Billy De Wolfe, Phyllis Diller, Reginald Gardiner, Marty Ingels, Gypsy Rose Lee, Paul Lynde, John McGiver, and Louis Nye. Talk about a dream cast.

Rango – Tim Conway starred in this western sitcom. His Rango character was totally inept and was assigned to a town with a 20-year peaceful record where he couldn’t get into trouble. Of course, after he arrives, a crime spree begins. ABC decided the show inept as well, and it was cancelled after a few months.

The Rounders – Westerns were definitely a theme in 1966. In this version, two not-very-bright cowboys are hired as hands at a ranch. After four months, the network rounded up the cast and ran them out of Dodge.

Run Buddy Run – Buddy Overstreet, a shy accountant, is in a steam room when he overhears gangsters plotting a murder. When they realize Buddy knows their plan, they try to capture him. After only four months, the network cancelled Buddy before the gangsters could.

The Tammy Grimes Show – Tammy Grimes, a Broadway star, plays a young heiress who’s on a small allowance until she turns 30. She tries to fulfill her elaborate lifestyle with wacky schemes. Dick Sargent (Darrin on Bewitched) plays her boring twin brother. Perhaps the show had a small allowance too because it only lasted three weeks!

Whoo! This line-up of shows makes Family Affair, which lasted five years, and The Monkees, which lasted two years, look like successful, classic shows. It doesn’t make this fall’s shows any better, but at least we’re in good company. We’ll talk about That Girl next week.

I’m Not Sorry

September 5, 2016February 19, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 1 Comment

I have a confession. When I’m alone on a Friday night and nobody is watching me, I’m watching That Girl, My Three Sons, or The Dick Van Dyke Show. It could even be Petticoat Junction, M*A*S*H, Bachelor Father, or Burns and Allen. I’ve been a classic sitcom closet watcher for decades. And, as long as I’m putting everything on the table, I admit most nights I’ll choose a Doris Day movie over Kathryn Hepburn, as much as I enjoy and appreciate Hepburn movies.

I’m not apologizing for his behavior any longer. I realized I’m defending this habit to people even as they’re looking up the next episode of Parking Wars or Celebrity Plastic Surgeons of Beverly Hills.

These characters have been part of my life longer than anyone but my siblings, and sorry family, you don’t make me laugh as much as they do.

The Partridge Family (ABC) later seasons (1971 – 1974) Shown from left: (top) Brian Forster, Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough; (front) David Cassidy, Shirley Jones, Susan Dey

So, why do many of us have this connection with characters we’ve gotten to know on screens? That’s what this blog will explore. Sure, some of it is nostalgia. When I watch a Partridge Family episode, I’m 9 again, sitting in a living room next to Patti Thomas and Connie Rougeux. I enjoy being with that kid; she keeps me young. I know it’s more than nostalgia, though, because I feel the same way about the cast of the Big Bang Theory, the Baxter family on Last Man Standing, and Rizzoli and Isles. Just like certain people in our personal lives, there are characters that are fun to be around, and I never get tired of watching them. All in the Family has a nostalgia feel for sure, but I’d rather go to the dentist than watch a season of episodes with the Bunkers–nothing personal Dr. Machgan.

Your favorites might not be my favorites. I’d love to know what your go-to shows are. Maybe you would love to take a trip on the Enterprise, or spend a week at the Ponderosa, or solve a mystery with McMillan and Wife. If you have a penchant for characters you first met in the TV guide, then come along on the journey to re-visit these old friends.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to one of my all-time favorite TV stars. Bob Newhart celebrates his birthday today—Happy Birthday Bob!

See you next week, and open those curtains next time you spend an evening watching Antenna TV.