Leslie Nielsen: Always One to Let ‘er Rip

April 29, 2024March 29, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

In this last blog in our series of Supportive Men, today’s actor might not be someone most people expect to see when talking about television. When most people think about Leslie Nielsen, they think of Airplane! and some of his other movies. While he did have a prolific movie career, he also has a well-deserved place in television. This guy amassed 259 (150 in television) acting credits during his six-decade long career.

Nielsen was born in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1926. His mother was from Wales, and his father was a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. His older brother served in politics, being a Canadian Member of Parliament, a cabinet minister, and a Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. I read several sources that said his father was abusive, and Leslie wanted to move out as soon as possible.

Leslie enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving until the end of WWII. He was legally deaf, wearing hearing aids most of his life, but he was able to train as an aerial gunner.

After the war, he worked as a disc jockey in Calgary, Alberta before enrolling at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto. He was offered a scholarship at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.

He made five television appearances in 1950 with the first being on The Actor’s Studio. He continued working in television, primarily on dramatic theater series, through the 1950s. In 1956, he had his first big-screen roles, appearing in four movies that year including Ransom, Forbidden Planet, The Vagabond King, (Nielsen later referred to this film as the “Vagabond Turkey”) and The Opposite Sex.

Leslie discussed his role in Forbidden Planet: “Supposedly a science fiction version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest . . . The Trekkies today regard it as the forerunner of Star Trek. I just had to wear a tight uniform and make eyes at Anne Francis. I was pretty thin back then.”

He became an American citizen in 1958 but continued to be proud of his Canadian citizenship as well.

While most of his credits for the late fifties were movies, he jumped back into television in the sixties, appearing in forty different shows. Many of them were dramatic theater roles, but you can spot him in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Wagon Train, Daniel Boone, The Wild Wild West, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Gunsmoke. His only recurring role during this decade was on Peyton Place where he played Kenneth and Vincent Markham in 18 episodes.

The seventies were almost a repeat of the sixties. His recurring role was on The Bold Ones. He also appeared in Medical Center, Mod Squad, M*A*S*H, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-0, Kojak, Columbo, and The Love Boat.

1980 brought him the role of Dr. Rumack on Airplane!. Nelson’s deadpan delivery of lines in that movie is what most fans today remember about his career. Of course, his response to the line of “Surely you can’t be serious?” of “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley” is still repeated today. Leslie said, “he was pleased and honored that he had a chance to deliver that line.” Film critic Roger Ebert once called him “the Laurence Olivier of spoofs.”

He continued in these types of roles in Police Squad and Naked Gun and the sequels. His movie roles increased in the eighties and nineties, but he continued to accept television roles off and on. You can catch him on Murder She Wrote, Highway to Heaven, Who’s the Boss, The Golden Girls, and Evening Shade.

His roles continued throughout the 2000s until his death, but the last decade included fewer memorable shows, although he worked less overall. When reflecting on this, Neilsen said that “I’m afraid if I don’t keep moving, they’re going to catch me . . . I am 81 years old, and I want to see what’s around the corner, and I don’t see any reason in the world not to keep working. But I am starting to value my down time a great deal because I am realizing there might be other things to do that I am overlooking.”

While Nielsen was very successful in his career, he was not as successful with his marriages. From 1950-56, he was married to Monica Boyar. His longest relationship was with wife Alisande Ullman from 1958-1973. He then married Brooks Oliver for two years from 1981-83 and then Barbaree Earl from 2001-2010.

One of his hobbies was golfing, and he later did some humorous instruction videos about the sport. He once said, “I have no goals or ambition. I do, however, wish to work enough to maintain whatever celebrity status I have so that they will continue to invite me to golf tournaments.”

Nielsen died in his sleep in 2010 from pneumonia.

He received two Walk of Fame stars: one in Hollywood in 1988 and one in Toronto in 2001. Nielsen was known for his flatulence gags, especially on movie sets, and his tombstone says “Let ‘er Rip.”

While Nielsen’s career is impressive, what I loved most about him is that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy life. That’s a great reminder for us all. Our best role should be enjoying life to the best of our ability.

Ted McGinley: A Model Actor

April 15, 2024March 29, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are discussing Supportive Men, and I thought it was time to look at the career of Ted McGinley. He’s never been the star of a show, so he often sneaks under the radar, but he is someone we all recognize and appreciate.

McGinley was born in Newport Beach, California in 1958. He could definitely pull off the California Surfer boy image, so it’s no surprise that he was into athletics, especially swimming, in high school. He worked as a lifeguard at the beach in the summer. USC gave him a scholarship for water polo, and he majored in urban planning and real estate.

Even though he was the MVP of his team, his scholarship was not renewed. He had been doing some modeling work on the side and with the lack of a scholarship, he decided to move to New York for more opportunities.

His modeling career spurred his acting career when he was spotted in GQ and cast as Roger Phillips, a Cunningham nephew from 1980-1984 on Happy Days. After winning the nationwide talent search, he had to face a steep learning curve with no acting experience at all. He doesn’t watch his early work on Happy Days because he hates to be reminded of his awkward performances. He said he “had to work on his lines at home and concentrate on the set before my cues. It was all so new. I’m bumbling away, and I hear stories of Ronny Howard, who forgot his lines just twice in seven-and-a-half- years.”

He studied his costars Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, and Tom Bosley. He also joined an improv class. He learned timing and great tips for developing acting skills.

He also spent four years on The Love Boat as Purser Ace Covington Evans from 1983-1987.

This was the decade his movie career began when he was cast in Revenge of the Nerds as Stanley Gable; McGinley reprised his role in the third and fourth Nerd movie franchise hits as well.

After The Love Boat ended, he made the rounds, appearing on shows that were popular including Dynasty, Hotel, and Perfect Strangers. He also took on several movie roles every year.

In 1989, he joined the cast of Married . . . with Children as Al Bundy’s best friend Jefferson D’Arcy, which he called a great, great gig.” It was during this time, Ted married Gigi Rice.

McGinley kept busy for the rest of the 1990s and early 2000s, never going long in between movies or television appearances; he had recurring roles on several shows including Sports Night, The West Wing, and Charlie Lawrence. Many people don’t recall the last show, because it was only around for a short time in 2003. It starred Nathan Lane as a freshman congressman from New Mexico who lives near Graydon Ford, played by McGinley, a neighbor from the opposing political party.

He got another break from 2003-2005 when he starred on Hope & Faith.

McGinley has continued his busy streak since 2005, although he has not been part of a cast during the past two decades. He’s amassed 96 acting credits since 1982. In 2008, he took a stab at Dancing with the Stars, paired with pro dancer Inna Brayer. Unfortunately, he was the second contestant to be eliminated.

Considering McGinley got his first job without any acting experience and had to learn this skill thrown into the fire, he has developed a very successful career. His years on The Love Boat get lost because he is not part of the original crew. I have to admit, when I think of McGinley, I think of Jefferson D’Arcy. No surprise to those of you who have gotten to know me during these past eight years, Married . . . with Children was not a favorite of mine, but I appreciate the place it has in television history. I know a lot of people remember it fondly. I do remember McGinley fondly though for his supporting roles over the years.

Dick Van Patten: He Was Enough

April 8, 2024March 29, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are discussing some of our favorite actors who were typically supporting actors. In the case of today’s subject, he did star in a television show, but he was so great in other assisting roles, we are including him here as well. Today we get to know Dick Van Patten.

📷nypldigitalcollections.com Off Broadway

Van Patten was born in 1928 in Queens, New York. His father was an interior decorator, and his mother worked in advertising. Joyce Van Patten is his sister. Van Patten began working as a model and actor while he was still a child. He was only four when he joined John Robert Powers, a modeling agency, where made $5 an hour.

His first Broadway appearance was in “Tapestry in Gray” when he was seven, and he appeared in many plays by the time he graduated from the Professional Children’s School in New York City.

At that time, he moved to Hollywood. In 1949 he accepted the role of Nels Hansen on the early sitcom, Mama, about a Norwegian family living in San Francisco. The show was on the air until 1957, for a total of 327 episodes.

In 1954 Van Patten married Patricia Poole. She was a professional dancer, part of the June Taylor Dancers on The Jackie Gleason Show. Their son Vincent was on Apple’s Way in the mid-seventies, with 65 credits to his name. He is married to Eileen Davidson, who is Ashley Abbot in The Young and the Restless.

📷wikipedia.com On the set with friend Dick Van Dyke

Van Patten’s sister Joyce also began her career as a child. With 160 acting credits, she also has been very busy for decades, starring in The Good Guys. She was married to Martin Balsam from 1957-1962, another prolific actor. Van Patten’s niece Talia, who has also amassed more than 100 acting credits, was married to George Clooney and then John Slattery, star of several shows including Mad Men. So, this is a well-known family in entertainment.

In the fifties and sixties, most of Van Patten’s roles on television were in dramas and a few westerns. In the seventies, he took on his first comedy roles, appearing on I Dream of Jeannie, The Governor and JJ, Arnie, That Girl, Sanford and Son, The Doris Day Show, The Paul Lynde Show, Love American Style, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Maude, Phyllis, Happy Days, and One Day at a Time, among others. He also accepted a few drama roles on shows such as Cannon, Adam-12, The Streets of San Francisco, Medical Center, and Barnaby Jones. After appearing on The New Dick Van Dyke Show in 1971, Van Patten and Van Dyke became life-long friends.

He appeared in 36 movies, his first being Violent Midnight in 1963. Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and High Anxiety, all with Mel Brooks, were probably his best-known films. In 2014, Van Patten said working with Brooks was “great. It’s like a game. It’s not like work. He keeps you laughing the full day on the set. He’s just a funny man.” Van Patten also accepted 28 made-for-tv movie roles.

In 1977, he took on the role that would make him a household name: that of Tom Bradford on Eight is Enough. He played a newspaper publisher with eight kids. His wife dies early in the series, and Tom remarries.

Van Patten auditioned for the role of Tom Bradford but was not given the part. When the producers watched the first day of shooting, they scrapped the entire production. Fred Silverman then hired Van Patten.

📷showbizcheatsheet.com Cast of Eight is Enough

It’s interesting to wonder what his career would have been like if he had declined Eight is Enough and accepted the role he was offered of Dr. Adam Brinker on The Love Boat. Since he had already agreed to appear on Eight is Enough, the role went to Bernie Kopell.

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times in 1989, Van Patten discussed his character on Eight is Enough: “Tom Bradford is a lot like the real me. He’s a man who always put his career second to his family. As long as everything was OK at home, he was OK too.”

Sadly, the cast did not learn of the cancellation of Eight is Enough from the network. Van Patten said “nobody called me to tell me it was canceled. I read it in the paper.”

Van Patten never received a starring role again, but he did keep very busy in the eighties and nineties appearing in many popular shows, including Love Boat, Murder She Wrote, The Facts of Life, Growing Pains, and Diagnosis: Murder.

He was in a handful of shows in the 2000s with Hot in Cleveland in 2011 being his last appearance on television.

He published a book in 2009 titled Eighty is Not Enough!, his memoir. He had also written Launching Your Child in Show Biz: A Compete Step-By-Step Guide and Totally Terrific TV Trivia. In 2001, he was honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks, California.

Van Patten was an animal advocate, and he created Natural Balance Pet Foods and the National Guide Dog Month to raise awareness and money for nonprofit guide dog schools.

Van Patten also participated in a variety of hobbies. Like Tom Bradford, he loved spending time with this family. He also owned thoroughbreds and attended horse racing events. He enjoyed playing poker, golf, swimming and reading. Most Sundays he headed to the tennis courts to meet Alan Alda, Mel Brooks, and Gene Wilder.

In 2006, Van Patten suffered a diabetic stroke. He made a full recovery and lived another nine years, passing away in 2015 from diabetes complications. He was still married to Patricia.

His son Tommy on Eight is Enough, Willie Aames, said Van Patten “was truly a gem who will be missed.” His second wife, Abby, on the show played by Betty Buckley, recalled that “every day on the set he was a happy, jovial person, always generous and ready to play, tease, and always keep us laughing. He was the consummate professional, a wonderful actor, master of comedy, and a kind and generous human being.”

Van Patten had an extremely successful career. For more than seven decades he was part of the entertainment community. In addition to his stage productions, films, and television work, he appeared in more than 600 radio show episodes and was in Weird Al Yankovic’s music video “Smells Like Nirvana.” He said that he had “fun doing this and going through my life. I’ve had a great life. It was exciting. I worked with the most interesting people, and I traveled all over the country.”

His reflection on his work is great advice for all of us. Van Patten said that he wanted to express the “single idea that has governed my entire life, that every moment of life is precious, that every step we take is an adventure, that every day on earth is a gift from God.” Thanks, Dick Van Patten, for leaving us with this inspiration and for taking your gifts and presenting them to us in the form of many wonderful memories.

David White: The Man Behind McMahon and Tate

April 1, 2024March 29, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month our blog series is Supportive Men. These actors were not the stars of the series, but they contributed a lot of fun to the show. First up is David White who we know best as Larry Tate from Bewitched.

White was born near Denver, Colorado, in 1916. His family moved around a bit. He lived in Pennsylvania and Missouri and graduated from Los Angeles City College. He worked at the Pasadena Playhouse before enlisting in the Marine Corps during WWII. After his four years in the military, he began acting again with the Cleveland Play House.

In 1949, White found himself living in New York where he made his Broadway debut in “Leaf and Bough.” The theater critics were not kind in their reviews, and the show closed after three performances. The following year, he tried the stage again in “The Birdcage” with Maureen Stapleton. He was then given a role in “The Anniversary Waltz,” co-starring Macdonald Carey and Kitty Carlisle which ran for 611 nights. He paid his dues, working in a variety of jobs while trying to establish his acting career. His resume included a farm laborer, a truck driver, a doorman at the Roxy Theater, and working at the J.H. Taylor Management Co.

In the 1950s, David began his long television career. His first appearance was in The Philco Playhouse production of “Rich Boy” with Grace Kelly. While most of his roles were in dramatic shows and westerns, he did a few comedies including Father Knows Best, My Favorite Martian, The Farmer’s Daughter, and My Three Sons. Most of his roles were as corrupt businessmen or arrogant politicians.

In 1952, David married actress Mary Welch. Welch appeared in several successful plays on Broadway. She was a member of Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio before opening her own school called The Welch Workshop. White and Welch worked together in only one production, at a regional theater, in “Tea and Sympathy.” In 1958 she died of complications from their second pregnancy. They had a son Jonathan and sadly, he died in 1988 in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. (This was a tragic incident when Libyan terrorists planted a bomb on a plane flying from London to New York. It exploded 35 minutes into the trip and killed all 259 people on board and 11 people in the neighborhood where it landed.)

After his wife died, White and his son moved to Hollywood where White launched a big-screen career. His film debut was in 1957 with Tony Curtis, Barbara Nichols and Burt Lancaster in The Sweet Smell of Success. He only had 16 movies in his credits, but they included The Apartment, Sunrise at Campbello, and Brewster’s Millons.

From 1964-1972, he perfected the comedic role of Larry Tate on Bewitched. As president of McMann & Tate, he was constantly firing Darrin for one reason or another, usually related to some circumstance caused by Samantha’s family. White also directed one episode of the series, “Sam’s Double Mother Trouble.”

During an interview with Herbie J. Pilato (author of Bewitched Forever), White said he “got the part because I was an honest man, and that’s how Larry and I were different. I’m not two-faced, and he was. I had more integrity than Larry ever had. I was smarter and had a deeper sense of values. I had to diminish who I was to play Larry, whom I viewed as a very insecure person who only had a certain brilliance in certain areas. He was smart enough to hire people who possessed the skills he did not—like Darrin. I wasn’t born to play Larry. I had to create him. He was a make-believe character of his own truth slated in a comedy series. When playing humor and farce you take that truth and stretch it as far as it will go. But not any farther. When I was playing Larry, though he was a funny character, I never tried to be funny. To me, acting has to do with fulfilling the needs of the character you’re playing, not the actor who’s playing him. Although the one thing the actor and the character have in common is that both have needs. A real heavy is a man who doesn’t have any moral structure whatsoever; one who ends up cheating or even killing someone. Larry was selfish, but he was never that extreme. If anything, he was still a little kid who never matured.”

In that same interview, White said his favorite Bewitched episodes were “Moment of Truth” (Season 3, Episode 2 when Samantha has to tell Darrin Tabitha is also a witch and they try to keep the secret from the Tates), “Bewitched, Bothered and Infuriated” (Season 3, Episode 31 when Clara tells them about a future newspaper article that says Larry broke his leg on their trip, so Darrin and Samantha try to protect him while causing a lot of annoyance to Larry and Louise), and “Toys in Babeland” (Season 4, Episode 2 when Endora brings one of Tabitha’s toys to babysit her while she runs a quick errand which leads Tabitha to bring a lot of toys to life).

After the show ended, White continued both his television and film careers. He also continued in the theater, primarily with Theatre West and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

During the seventies and eighties, he showed up in a variety of popular shows including Adam-12, Cagney and Lacey, Cannon, Columbo, Dallas, Dynasty, Love American Style, Mission Impossible, Qunicy M.E., Room 222, The Odd Couple, The Love Boat, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Rockford Files.

After his son’s death, White became a bit of a recluse. He had just begun working again when he passed away from a heart attack in 1990 at the age of 74. Certainly, David White had a successful career, amidst his personal heartbreaks, appearing on the stage, in films, and on television. It would have been wonderful if he had another chance to be part of the cast of another hit show, maybe a dramatic role. However, if you only costar in one show, the role of Larry Tate and the memories we have of him on Bewitched is a great one to have.

Cesar Romero: Batman’s Most Joy-Filled Villain

March 25, 2024February 17, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are winding up our series: Bam! Pow! Batman Villains. Today it’s all about The Joker: Cesar Romero.

Romero was born in New York City in 1907. His father was an import/export merchant, and his mother was a concert singer. He grew up in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. His father lost most of his money during the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

Romero teamed up with dancer Lisbeth Higgins and they formed a professional dance partnership, appearing in nightclubs and theaters throughout New York City including the Ambassador Roof and the Montmartre Café. Although he had no professional training, he was often compared to Fred Astaire. He also was cast in several off-Broadway productions including “Stella Brady” and “Dinner at Eight.”

Later Romero would refer to himself as the Latin from Manhattan and he provided for his family members who followed him to Hollywood. He played the stereotypical Latin lover during the thirties and forties, including The Devil is a Woman with Marlene Dietrich in 1935. However, he also made westerns and did a bit of dancing during these decades on the big screen.

His friendship with Frank Sinatra brought him roles in Around the World in 80 Days, Pepe, Marriage on the Rocks, and Oceans’ 11.

In 1942, Cesar enlisted in the US Coast Guard, serving in the Pacific Theater of Operations. After his military career ended, Romero returned to his acting career.

His television career began in 1948 in the show, Variety. During the fifties he was primarily appearing on dramas, but he did show up on Private Secretary with Ann Sothern and continued his western roles on Wagon Train, Zorro, and Death Valley Days.

The sixties kept him extremely busy on television. He kept people laughing on Pete and Gladys, The Ann Sothern Show, Get Smart, and Here’s Lucy. He rode the range on Stagecoach West, Bonanza, Rawhide, and Daniel Boone. He stayed dramatic on shows including 77 Sunset Strip, Dr. Kildare, and Ben Casey.

However, the show he was best known for in the sixties, is the show that made him part of my blog series this month, Batman. He had to endure a long time in the make-up chair. He refused to shave his mustache for the role, so white face makeup was smeared all over his face until it was hidden.

Romero admitted that this role reinvigorated his career. When he was offered the role of the Joker, he was 59 years old. Romero said the role was “the kind of part where you can do everything you’ve been told not to do as an actor. You can be as hammy as you want.”

He discussed how surprised he was when William Dozier called him about the show. He said Dozier told him that “the important characters were all villains. They had done the first two with the Riddler and the Penguin with Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith, and now they were ready to do the third, and the villain was the Joker. He said, ‘I would like you to play the part.’ So, I said I would like to read the script and know what it is all about. He said, ‘Come on over to the studio, and I will show you the film of the first episode.’ Of course, it was great. I said, ‘Let me read this Joker part, and if it is as good as the first one, hell yes, I will do it.’ So I read the script, and I thought it was a gas, and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll do it.’”

No serious villain, the Joker was cheerful and extroverted. He oozed goofiness and always appeared to be having a great time carrying out his nefarious activities. Dressed in his famous purple costume, he had his own automobile that could rival the Batmobile.

While most of the villains saw Batman and Robin as roadblocks in their evil schemes and problems to take care of, the Joker found great joy in taking down the superheroes. In one episode he says “Oh, but I must, I must! Why, outwitting Batman is my sole delight, my heaven on earth, my very paradise!”

You couldn’t miss him if you watched almost any television in the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared on a ton of shows, just a few of which included Bewitched, Nanny and the Professor, Love American Style, The Love Boat, Night Gallery, Mod Squad, Ironside, Medical Center, Charlie’s Angels, and Hart to Hart.

From 1985-88, he was a regular on Falcon Crest. Earl Hamner Jr., the creator of The Waltons, created this show featuring the Gioberti family, owners of Falcon Crest Winery. Romero played the love interest of matriarch Angela Channing, played by Jane Wyman.

He finished his career in the 1990s. He was in his eighties when he appeared on The Golden Girls, and Murder She Wrote, his last television role.

Romero also played a role in politics. As a registered Republican, he was very involved in many campaigns. He worked for Nixon-Lodge in 1960 and later supported Lodge in his run for President. When Lodge did not get the results that he hoped for, Romero turned his support to Barry Goldwater for the general election. He also worked for his friend George Murphy in his run in the California senate race. He later helped Ronald Reagan in his gubernatorial runs in California as well as his presidential campaigns.

It was reported in many articles that Romero had 30 tuxedos and more than 500 suits. That is not surprising because he had a clothing line, Cesar Romero Ltd. He was also a model and spokesperson for Petrocelli suits in the sixties.

Romero stopped acting in 1990. He remained busy though with several ventures including hosting classic movie programs on television. In 1994, Romero died from complications of a blood clot on New Year’s Day. He was being treated for bronchitis and pneumonia.

I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Cesar Romero, but, I have to admit, that I don’t feel like I know him much better than I did before. He seemed to have been stereotyped as a Latin lover and then again as the Joker. I would like to go back and watch some of his appearances on westerns. It was hard to find much information about Romero beyond his career and political interests.

I know The Joker was not his most challenging role, but he will always have a place in America’s heart for the work he did on Batman as will these fun super villains we got to know this month.

Julie Newmar: Batman’s Most Beautiful Villain

March 11, 2024February 17, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are learning a bit about the Batman villains and their careers. No study of Batman’s favorite nemesis would be complete without Cat Woman, Julie Newmar. Julie shared the role of Cat Woman with Eartha Kitt who appeared the final television season and Lee Meriwether who was so catty in the Batman movie. What else did Julie Newmar do during her career? Let’s find out.

Born Julia Chalene Newmeyer in 1933, Julie Newmar as she is known in the acting world, was a television and film actress, dancer, singer, and stage performer. But, as they say in the commercials, that’s not all. She also was known for writing, designing lingerie, and managing real estate investments.

Newmar was born in LA. Her father Don was head of the physical education department for the Los Angeles College. Her mother, of both Swedish and French descent, was a fashion designer under the name Chalene and later worked in real estate.

Julie began dancing early in life and performed as a prima ballerina with the Los Angeles Opera when she was only 15. With an IQ of 135, Newmar graduated from John Marshall High School at age 15. She continued dancing in films in the early fifties. At age 19, she was also working as a dancer/choreographer for Universal Studios. In 1954, she appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as Dorcas, one of the seven brides.

In 1955 she got her first Broadway appearance in “Silk Stockings.” She continued her movie and Broadway careers throughout her years in entertainment, appearing in 33 films in all.

Television is where Newmar gained most of her fame. Her first television appearance was on The Phil Silvers Show in 1957 and then Ominbus in 1959. But it was in the sixties that she became a household name. She started the decade in Adventure in Paradise in 1960, followed by a variety of shows including The Defenders, Route 66, and The Twilight Zone in the early sixties.

In 1964 she was offered the role of Rhoda on My Living Doll, where she played a robot. She was not enthralled with the choice of Bob Cummings as her costar and did not seem to enjoy her time on this show. She said that “They originally wanted Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It was not a flip part—it needed a straight actor who could play opposite this bizarre creature so the comedy would come off. That quality was lost when they hired Bob. The show could have been wonderful. I think it would have run for many seasons had they hired Efrem because he had the right qualities.”

After appearing in several comedies including The Beverly Hillbillies and F Troop, she received another recurring role as Cat Woman in Batman. She would appear in the series 13 times, 12 as Cat Woman, the only villain to make Batman question his morals, because we knew he was in love with her, and if she showed any sign of remorse, who knows where things might have gone. Her Cat Woman costume now lives at the Smithsonian Institution.

Newmar lived in Beekman Place in New York in the mid-sixties. One weekend her brother had come to visit her from Harvard. They were sitting around chatting when the phone rang. She was asked if she would like to play Cat Woman on the Batman series. She was a bit miffed because they said they were casting in California, and the role started on Monday. Her comment was “That’s how television is done: they never know what they are doing until yesterday.” When her brother heard Batman, he jumped up and said that was the favorite show at Harvard and they even skipped classes to watch it. He told her to take the role, so she did.

After Batman, she finished out the sixties in The Monkees, Star Trek, Get Smart and It Takes a Thief. With 11 seventies offers, you can see her in shows such as Bewitched, Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Love American Style, The Bionic Woman, and The Love Boat. One of my favorite made-for-tv movies was The Feminist and the Fuzz. It had an exceptional cast, including Newmar who appeared in the movie along with Barbara Eden, David Hartman, Jo Anne Worley, Farrah Fawcett, Harry Morgan, Herb Edelman, Penny Marshall, and John McGiver. This ensemble was directed by Jerry Paris, who directed so many great shows from The Dick Van Dyke Show to Happy Days.

Her other starring role in the seventies was a marriage to J. Holt Smith, an attorney. After the wedding, Newmar moved to Forth Worth, Texas until 1984 when they divorced.

The eighties was a more quiet decade for the actress but she did accept roles on CHiPs, Fantasy Island, and Hart to Hart. In 1992, she appeared in George Michael’s music video, “Too Funky,” She was still working in 2016 and 2017 in Batman animation features.

If you were a fan of Batman and Dark Shadows in the sixties, you were in luck when Newmar took on the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman (played in the original series by Grayson Hall) in Dark Shadows: Bloodline, the audio drama miniseries.

She was not just a pretty face, however. She received two US patents for pantyhose and one for a bra, under the name Nudemar. She also began investing in LA real estate and was credited with helping to improve the neighborhoods of La Brea Avenue and Fairfax Avenue. In one episode of My Living Doll, Rhoda is asked to play Chopin’s “Fantasie Impromptu” on the piano. Newmar played the piece herself. She had studied under concert pianist Dr. MacIntyre, and she said that scene is the only one she’s done with her playing the piano which had been her career choice before acting. One of Julie’s comments about herself was “Tell me I’m beautiful, it’s nothing. Tell me I’m intellectual—I know it. Tell me I’m funny, and it’s the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me.”

Julie also enjoys art and gardening. She has a rose, a day lily, and an orchid named for her. Her gardens are often chosen as a spot for holding charity events.

Like Barbara Feldon from Get Smart, Julie Newmar is beautiful, bright, and funny. I hope she enjoyed her career. Obviously, she could have been a brain surgeon or any other profession of her choice. She seems like she would be a fun person to just hang out with and the conversation would never run out. Thank you, Julie Newmar for choosing the entertainment business over medical science for our sakes.

Empty Nest: These Birds Kept Flying Home

November 13, 2023November 5, 2023 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking at sitcoms dealing with careers in our “Work It Out” series. Today I also am learning a lot about a show that I thought was okay but had a big following and was quite popular for seven seasons: Empty Nest.

This show was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, the same team that produced Benson which we learned about last week. It was a spin-off of The Golden Girls which also was produced by the group. However, it is a stretch to connect the original episode and this series. In 1987 George (Paul Dooley) and Renee (Rita Moreno) were a couple who lived next to the Girls. They were suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome after their daughter (Jane Hamick) left for college and their son (Geoffrey Lewis) lived on his own. They had a neighbor Oliver (David Leisure).

Rita did not think the show was very well written. She said Susan Harris was ill at the time. The Corliss house and neighbor was about the only thing that was included in the new show.

On Empty Nest, Dr. Harry Weston (Richard Mulligan) is a widowed pediatrician. His two adult daughters Barbara (Kristy McNichol) and Carol (Dinah Manoff) move back in with him. Rounding out the cast was neighbor Charley (David Leisure) and Weston’s nurse Laverne (Park Overall). Carol is the oldest and had gone through a bad divorce. Barbara was the middle child and was a tough, undercover cop. Their youngest sister Emily was off at college and never seen in the first three seasons. When McNichol left the show early in the fifth season, Emily (Lisa Rieffel) moved back home but she left after that year, and for the final two seasons, only Carol remained at home, although McNichol did return for the finale. Charley bonded with Harry and considered him a surrogate father figure. Their dog Dreyfuss (Bear) also lived with the crew.

Bear’s father was a Golden Retriever mix and his mother was a St. Bernard. Bear’s entire family was in show business. His father was in Father Murphy and Summer Rental with John Candy. His brother was in both Steel Magnolias and The Bodyguard. His children continued the tradition taking roles in several movies including Homeward Bound II. Mulligan and Bear were close. Richard would greet him every morning and give him a treat.

The cast was well aware of each other before working together. McNichol had worked with Manoff who played her friend on Family earlier in the 80s. Mulligan had played Manoff’s father on Soap. Mulligan and McNichol worked together on The Love Boat. And, McNichol and Leisure were in the movie You Can’t Hurry Love in 1988.

The reason this show is considered in this month’s blog is that a lot of the show revolved around Harry’s medical practice. He worked at a hospital for the first five seasons with his nurse Laverne. The two are good friends. For the final two seasons, Harry retires and then decides to help out an inner city clinic run by Dr. Maxine Douglas (Marsha Warfield). When Laverne is fired by Harry’s replacement, he hires her at the clinic.

Some notable guest stars who showed up along the way included Don Adams, Diana Muldaur, Loni Anderson, Mayim Bialik, Angie Dickinson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Shirley Jones, Audrey Meadows, and Doris Roberts.

The theme song was “Life Goes On,” written by John Bettis and George Tipton; it was performed by Billy Vera.

Critics liked the show. In 1988, TV Guide said “it’s a simple premise, but it’s vintage Harris and like everything else she does, Empty Nest has been meticulously thought out and superbly cast. Each of the regulars is carefully drawn, consistently realized . . . as for Empty Nest, it’s warm and entertaining comedy . . if you like the humor in Golden Girls, you’ll enjoy Empty Nest. And even if you don’t like Golden Girls, sample Empty Nest anyway. Trust us.” In 1992, TV Guide still liked the show and said, “Harry Weston is delicious and Dreyfuss the dog is delightful. Empty Nest is home to an experienced ensemble that knows its way around a sitcom.”

Mulligan was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy in 1989, 1990, and 1991, winning in 1989. He was beat out by Ted Danson for Cheers in 1990 and Burt Reynolds for Evening Shade in 1991.

Most viewers loved the show the first four seasons, but after McNichol left and Harry retired, the quality seemed to wane. The show was in the top for seasons one through three. However, after that, it slowly declined, coming in #23 for season four, #45 for season five, #62 for season six, and #118 for season seven, so there was no surprise when it was canceled.

Grace Zabriskie appeared in the very first and very last episode of the series. In episode one, she was a woman who dated Harry, and in the finale, she played Laverne’s mother.

One of the typical plots that a lot of people mentioned as one of their favorites was episode 22 from season 1 where we watch Dr. Weston visit five different patients during one episode. At the end of the show, we realize that we have been following Billy from a newborn to 18 years of age, and we understand how much influence a family doctor can have on one patient.

Rue McClanahan talked about how Park Overall would spend her breaks roller skating in the parking lot. However, during season five, she broke her leg doing so and had to miss several episodes and spend several more with crutches in a cast.

I have read a few times in the past few years doing research that Bea Arthur could be very difficult to work with. She was not the favorite on The Golden Girls set and, apparently, she caused an issue on Empty Nest as well. She despised gum chewing and would make the crew spit out their gum. When she guest starred on Empty Nest, she saw Manoff chewing gum and told her to get rid of it. When Manoff declined, Arthur stormed off the set. Speaking of Manoff, she was able to direct seven episodes of the series during the last three seasons. She directed five other shows including an episode of Sabrina, the Teen-Aged Witch. She was also credited with writing two of the Empty Nest episodes.

I do remember watching the early seasons of this show and thinking it was a decent show. I did not remember that McNichol had to leave for mental health reasons, so I’m guessing I stopped watching it before she quit. However, being in the top ten for three years is, or at least was at the time, a good indication of quality and then you add in TV Guide liking the show and Mulligan’s nominations for Emmy awards, and it presents good evidence of a well-rounded show. I did read that Overall could be a bit difficult on the set, and one of those comments came directly from her.

Marty Pollio, guest starred in season six when things weren’t so great and still had good things to say about the cast. He said that “it was an honor to be doing scenes with Richard Mulligan, he was talented beyond belief, and a great guy too. I never realized what a good actress Dinah Manoff was until I watched her work on this particular episode . . . nice person as well. The set was pretty relaxed and friendly. . . I had a really good time on this one.” It would probably have been better for the quality of the show to be a four-season show than a seven-season show.

I agree with TV Guide. If you were a fan of Golden Girls, you definitely should check out the first three seasons of Empty Nest. And even if you are in that small group of people who did not like Golden Girls, you should watch a few episodes and see what you think. However, that is easier said than done. There is no official DVD set; however, there are bootlegs on several places. I also could not find any streaming channels showing it. YouTube does have at least the first episode. Perhaps with all the classic tv channels out there, this show will make a comeback.

Morgan Fairchild: Queen of the Soap Operas

April 17, 2023November 11, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This week we are finishing up our “Supportive Women” blog series. If you watched a lot of television in the sixties and seventies, you will remember today’s blog star very well: Morgan Fairchild.

Morgan Fairchild was born Patsy Ann McClenny in 1950 in Dallas, Texas. In grade school, she was too shy to read her book report in class, so her mother, an English teacher, signed her up for drama lessons. At age ten, she began performing in dinner theater and stock productions in Dallas which led to several local commercials.

In 1967 she married Jack Calmes; they would divorce in 1973.

In 1967, a young Morgan was hired as a double for Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde. At age 20 she was cast in her first movie where we could see her face, A Bullet for a Pretty Boy. She would receive roles for another 35 big-screen features during her career.

However, most of her work was on the small screen. Her first role was Jennifer Pace on Search for Tomorrow. She stayed with that show for four years but she would come back to soap operas on and off throughout her acting time and could be seen on The Bold and The Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and most recently as Sydney Chase in The City in 1996. Most of her roles were the stereotype of an elegant and wealthy woman who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

In between work on soap operas, Morgan showed up on many of the most popular shows as a guest star or regular cast member. In 1976 she was on Kojak. After her time on Search for Tomorrow, during the 1970s she appeared on other dramas including Police Woman, Barnaby Jones, and Dallas and on sitcoms like The Bob Newhart Show, Happy Days, and Mork and Mindy.

During the 1980s she did make a few guest appearances on The Love Boat, Simon and Simon, Magnum PI, and Hotel. Morgan received an Emmy nomination for her appearance on Murphy Brown in 1989. However, it was during this decade that Fairchild was a regular cast member on three different shows: Flamingo Road, Paper Dolls, and Falcon Crest (attorney Jordan Roberts), all night-time soap operas.

Flamingo Road was based on a novel written in 1949. It features the small town of Truro, Florida. The wealthy citizens live on Flamingo Road in their mansions, while the lower classes do what they have to do to make that street their address. Morgan played a woman with one of the longest names on television: Constance Weldon Semple Carlyle. After two years, the show was done.

Paper Dolls was about the modeling world. Fairchild played Racine, an agent, and the show is about the jobs that her models take on including a perfume company that uses her models exclusively. The series only lasted for thirteen episodes.

Morgan played Jordan Roberts, an attorney, on Falcon Crest. This long-running drama from 1981-90 featured the Gioberti family who operates the Falcon Crest Winery in California.

In the nineties, she appeared on a variety of shows including Roseanne, Empty Nest, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Cybill, and Home Improvement.

Her career continued during the 2000s where you could see her on Dharma and Greg and Hot in Cleveland, as well as five appearances on Friends as Chandler Bing’s mother Nora. She also had another series, Fashion House, in 2006 as Sophia Blakely. The concept of the show was another fashion-themed one where a ruthless executive played by Bo Derek defends her company against a hostile takeover.

With so many movie channels, we forget today that for a few decades we could not watch movies on television. The networks came up with a solution: made-for-tv movies, and Morgan was a queen of the genre with thirty movies and six miniseries.

Morgan has continued to stay busy. She has two finished productions listed on imdb that have not been released yet.

Fairchild has used her platform as a celebrity to advocate for AIDS research, the pro-choice movement, and many environmental issues. She collects movie memorabilia, especially Marilyn Monroe items, and antique clothing. She seems to have had a long-lasting career. It would have been fun to see her star in a sitcom instead of just playing ruthless women who just care about fame and money.

Linda Evans’ Destiny was Working with John Forsythe

April 10, 2023November 11, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking at some of our favorite “Supportive Women.” Today we are taking a closer look at the career of Linda Evans.

Born Linda Evenstad in 1942 in Hartford, Connecticut, she was the middle child of three sisters. Both her parents were professional dancers. When she was six months old, the family moved to North Hollywood. Linda graduated from Hollywood High School with Stefanie Powers, who we will be talking about next week. Like Morgan Fairchild, who we will be discussing in two weeks, Linda took drama classes to help her deal with shyness.

Linda was engaged to Patrick Curtis, but they never married. He later became a press agent and married Raquel Welch.

Linda’s first two roles were on two of my favorite sitcoms. In 1960, she guest starred on Bachelor Father where Bentley Greg (John Forsythe) raised his niece Kelly (Noreen Corcoran) with the help of his houseboy Peter (Sammee Tong). Her second appearance was on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. During the sixties, she would appear on a variety of shows including Dr. Kildare, Wagon Train, and My Favorite Martian.

Her first made-for-tv movie was 1962’s Buttons with Beaus, and her first big screen feature came a year later in Twilight of Honor; her second movie was Beach Blanket Bingo in 1965 where she played Sugar Kane.

It was in 1965 that Evans began dating film director John Derek. They would marry in 1968 and separate in 1973 when Linda learned he was dating the actress who became known as Bo Derek.

1965 was also the year she was offered her first role as a regular cast member of a series. She became Audra Barkley from 1965-1969 on The Big Valley. The western was very popular. Similar to Bonanza, in this show, Victoria Barkley managed to raise her family and keep the villains at bay.

She and Barbara Stanwyck, who played her mother Victoria on the show, became very close. Stanwyck continued to refer to her as Audra after the show ended. Linda says Barbara was a great mentor and friend to her.

In 1967 when Derek was filming Evel Knievel’s famous motorcycle jump over the fountains at Caesar’s Place in Las Vegas, he asked Linda to take over one of the cameras, and she shot the famous footage of Knievel’s devastating crash.

During the 1970s she kept busy with television appearances on dramas including McCloud, Banacek, Harry O, McMillan and Wife, and The Rockford Files.

With “mom” Barbara Stanwyck Photo: imdb.com

In 1975, she married Stan Herman, a real estate tycoon. They were married four years before splitting up. She never married again.

From 1976-1977 she again accepted a role as a regular on the show Hunter. The series only lasted fourteen episodes before being canceled. Not to be confused with the show from the 1980s, in this one, US government special agents James Hunter (Tony Franciscus) and Marty Shaw (Evans) take on missions around the world. He posed as a bookstore owner, and her cover was a model. I admit I have never seen this show, but it sounds like a seventies version of I Spy.

During the 1980s, her career was split between two primary shows: The Love Boat and Dynasty. Dynasty was on the air from 1981-1989. When Dallas became extremely popular, ABC commissioned Aaron Spelling to come up with a primetime soap opera of its own. Evans was back on the air working with John Forsythe again as Blake Carrington, her wealthy husband. The basic premise of the show was that it was an upper-class version of the Hatfields and the McCoys with the Carringtons and the Colbys feuding in the oil business in Denver, Colorado.

Dynasty with Forsythe and Collins Photo: imdb.com

Evans and Forsythe remained close friends for the rest of his life. She said he was “so magical. This show was so serious and he was funny personally. We’d be fighting and people would be strangling each other and he made me laugh all day long, I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.” The person Linda was often strangling was Joan Collins who played Alexis Carrington Colby, Blake’s first wife.

By 1984 the show had reached number one in the rankings. Linda was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1983. She was beat out by Tyne Daly from Cagney and Lacey.

After the show was canceled, Evans stepped out of the limelight for the most part. She did film five made-for-tv movies during the 1990s and guest starred on Germany’s version of The Love Boat, Das Traumschiff, in 2020. In 2021, she was in a big-screen feature, Swan Song.

In 2011 Evans published a book, Recipes for Life: My Memories, a combination of candid memoir and inspirational cookbook. Despite her perfect figure, one of her weaknesses is pizza. On premierspeakers.com on April 10, 2018, she was quoted as saying “I love pizza so much, that if you wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me if I’d like to eat a slice, I’ll say YES. Kenny Rogers used to have it delivered to me while I was filming The Gambler.

Linda seemed to enjoy her career. She is remembered for several well-known characters in Audra Barkley and Crystal Carrington. While she has given up acting for the most part, I would not be surprised to see her back on the big screen for another part or two if it’s the right offer.

Gavin MacLeod: Murray Slaughter Takes Up Sailing

October 31, 2022July 31, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

As we wind up our up close and personal blog series, we are focusing on Gavin MacLeod. I have mentioned Gavin MacLeod’s name a lot in my blogs, but I have never devoted an entire to blog to him, so today is the day. Gavin had an impressive career; he starred in three sitcoms but those three garnered him almost 500 episodes. In addition, he took on more than a hundred guest roles on both the small and big screen.

MacLeod was born Allan George See in 1931 in New York. His mother worked for Reader’s Digest, and his father was an electrician. In 1952, MacLeod graduated from Ithaca College with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, studying acting.

He served in the US Air Force where he wrote, produced, and directed plays. After his service, he moved to New York City. While tackling acting auditions, he worked at Radio City Music Hall. While working as an usher there, he met Joan Rootvik, a Rockette. They married in 1955 and had four children. About this time, he took on the name Gavin MacLeod. MacLeod was a tribute to his acting coach at Ithaca, Beatrice MacLeod.

His movie career began with three movies in 1958. He would make 20 more before 2005, including Operation Petticoat and The Gene Krupa Story.

His television appearances began in 1957 on The Walter Winchell File. He would make another lucky 13 performances during the fifties including The Thin Man and Whirlybirds.

The sixties kept him busy. He took on comedy in The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Munsters, Gomer Pyle USMC, The Andy Griffith Show, My Favorite Martian, The Flying Nun, and several different characters on Hogan’s Heroes. Westerns called him for Rawhide, The Iron Horse, Death Valley Days, and The Big Valley. He landed dramas including The Man from UNCLE, Perry Mason, Ironside, Hawaii Five-0, and Ben Casey.

From 1962-1964 he starred as Happy in McHale’s Navy. The show continued until 1966, but Gavin left the show halfway through. He was dealing with alcoholism, and he received an offer to make the movie The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen. However, he remained close friends with Ernest Borgnine, the star of the show, until his death in 2012. (He quit drinking in 1974.)

Murray and Mary Photo: showbizcheatsheet.com

During the 1970s, he appeared on Love American Style, Charlie’s Angels, and Wonder Woman, but the character we loved best during that decade was Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. From 1970-1977, Murray sat next to Mary, helping her through the ups and downs of life. Gavin was originally auditioning for the role of Lou Grant, but ended up reading for Murray. He and Ted Baxter were enemies on the show, but he and Ted Knight were dear friends in real life. They had lived near each other before being cast in the show.

During the run of the show, Gavin and his first wife divorced, and he married his second wife Patti Steele. That marriage also ended in divorce in 1982. Patti became part of a Bible Study group after their divorce and became a Christian. Gavin reached out to her, also became a Christian, and they remarried in 1985.

Upon the ending of Mary’s show, he was immediately hired as Captain Stubing on The Love Boat. This time he was in charge of his coworkers. One of his best friends was Bernie Kopell who played Dr. Adam Bricker on the show. Gavin was on the seas for a decade. His best friend Telly Savalas (the lollipop-loving Kojak star) popped up on The Love Boat; the two were very close until Telly’s death in 1994.

When the show ended in 1987, he got a well-deserved break, but he still managed to find time to tour with Michael Learned in “Love Letters.”

Celebrating on Murder She Wrote Photo: imdb.com

He landed a variety of television show appearances in the 1990s and 2000s, including Murder She Wrote, King of Queens, JAG, and That 70s Show. His final appearance was in 2014 on The Comeback Kids; then he decided to retire. He also did several musicals after The Love Boat including “Gypsy,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “Gigi.”

MacLeod and his wife hosted a show on marriage on Trinity Broadcasting Network for 17 years. He also served as the honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades from 2006-2011 when Sugar Ray Leonard took over.

The Love Boat was a big part of his life. Instead of being bitter about being typecast, he embraced the role. He celebrated his 80^th birthday in 2011 aboard the Golden Princess with his family, celebrating with a 3D replica cake of The Pacific Princess, his boat on the show.

In 2013, MacLeod joined his former coworkers on The Talk for a cast reunion. Several members of the cast including Gavin took part in The Rose Bowl Parade in 2015.

The cast apparently was very close. Ted Lange who played bartender Isaac Washington mentioned the crew in an interview in 2017 with “The Wiseguyz Show,” saying “Oh yeah, sure, Gavin was wonderful. Gavin lives down here in Palm Springs and we’re still tight, all of us, Gavin and Bernie and Jill; we still see each other. Fred [who played Gopher] lives in a different state, we’re still close, we’re still good friends.”

In his spare time, Gavin enjoyed traveling, playing tennis, dancing, golfing, sailing, reading the Bible, and watching movies. Gavin passed away in May of 2021 at his home.

During the past decade, he released a memoir, This is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith & Life. He explained his goal for writing this book: “My life has taken one incredible turn after another,” writes MacLeod. “I’ve gotten to do what I wanted to do. I’ve been a captain! I’ve been given this incredible gift of life and now I want to use it to give back. That’s why I’m sharing my story here, the fun parts and even some not-so-fun parts, in the hopes that maybe someone will take a nice walk down memory lane with me – and maybe I’ll even give someone a little bit of hope.”

Good memories and a little bit of hope is all we can ask for; thanks, Gavin, for giving that to us.