This month our blog series is “Life is Just a Game,” and we are looking back at some of the game shows that debuted in the fifties and sixties. Today we are taking a peek back at Password. A funny moment occurred that first year when one of the celebrities was Jack Benny. The word he had to describe was “miser,” and he said, “Me” which got a lot of laughs.
📷boomerjourney.com
The Goodson Todman partnership created many game shows over the years. One of their first was Password. It debuted in 1961 on CBS at 2pm ET. Allen Ludden, a former G.E. College Bowl host was chosen as the emcee. Ludden is also known as the husband of Betty White whom he met on the game show.
Ludden was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. After his father passed away from Spanish flu, his mother later remarried, and the family ended up in Texas. Ludden graduated from the University of Texas with honors in 1940, later returning for his Masters in English. He served in the US Army in charge of the Pacific theater entertainment district. In 1948, he became the program director for New York radio station WCBS and in 1959 was program coordinator for all CBS owned-and-operated stations. Ludden began hosting shows for teens and then College Bowl. His opening catch phrase while hosting Password became “Hi Doll” which he said was meant for his mother-in-law Tess White.
📷instagram.com Carol Burnett and Elizabeth Montgomery
The rules of the game were that teams were formed with one contestant and one celebrity. The word was given to one player on the team and the other player had to guess what the word was based on one-word clues. If the player failed to guess the word within the five-second time period, play passed to the opposing team. This continued until the word was guessed. The quicker the word was guessed, the more points a team received.
The first team to reach 25 points won $100 for the contestant. That partnership got to play the Lightning Round where the celebrity gave the clues, and the contestant got five passwords within a minute. They received $50 for each right answer.
On July 11, of 1966 Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara updated the country on the progress of the Vietnam War one afternoon. CBS went with the coverage of the live news while NBC aired its soap opera Days of Our Lives and ABC aired its new show which began the same day, The Newlywed Game. Quite a few people turned off CBS that day and during the next few months, Password continued to lose viewers to these two shows. The next spring, Password was cancelled.
After the show was canceled, reruns were sold to CBS which it placed in syndication in the late 1960s. It became so popular that the show began to be filmed again in Hollywood. In 1971, it was placed on the network schedule when Dark Shadows ended. It held its own until 1973 when The Young and the Restless took a huge share of the market, and both Password and Jeopardy saw deep declines in ratings. In 1973 Password won the first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show.
In 1974 the show became Password All-Stars; in 1978 it became Password Plus; and in 1984 it became Super Password. CBS revived the show in 2008 as Million DollarPassword, but it ended by 2010. Jimmy Fallon produced a new version beginning in 2022 with Keke Palmer as host.
📷people.com
Sadly, the episodes from the first version no longer exist. There were rumors that the videotapes were recycled and used for Family Feud.
The Milton Bradley Company introduced a home version of the game in 1962, releasing 24 editions from then until 1986 which they also did with Concentration.
I always enjoyed watching this game. One of my favorite portrayals of the show was when Oscar Madison and Felix Unger go on Password during an episode of The OddCouple. Since you can’t watch the original shows, check out the Odd Couple episode (season 3, episode 11) for some fun.
When trying to decide who to include in our Supportive Women blog series this month, Marcia Wallace was a no-brainer. Carol was one of my favorite characters on television on The Bob Newhart Show, and I love the fact that her role carried over into an episode of Murphy Brown.
Marcia Wallace was born in 1942 in Iowa. Her father owned a general store where she and her siblings often worked. After performing in a school play, one of her teachers encouraged her to pursue an acting career. After graduation, Marcia enrolled in Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa where she received a full scholarship. She majored in English and Theater.
Upon her college graduation, Marcia decided to move to New York. The country gal had $148 in her savings. When she arrived in the Big Apple, she took on a variety of part-time jobs including typing scripts and substitute teaching. She joined a summer stock company and did a few commercials. She worked in a Greenwich Village nightclub for a year before creating an improv group, The Fourth Wall, with several friends. While she kept the friends, she lost 100 pounds.
Eventually, Wallace was offered a job with The Merv Griffin Show. When Merv decided to move to LA, he asked Wallace to move with them. She was able to obtain a few roles in series after moving to California. During the sixties and early seventies, she was on Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Columbo, and Love American Style.
📷tvinsider.com
After Bill Paley had seen her on Merv Griffin, Grant Tinker (producer) called her to offer her a role on a new sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show. The role of Carol was written specifically for her.
Marcia loved her time on the sitcom. She said Bob was the Fred Astaire of comedy, making it look so easy. She also praised Bob for being a treasure. Because of the way the scripts were written, the show doesn’t date itself. It was about human relationships and people struggling to make them work and make life better.
When The Bob NewhartShow went off the air six years later, Marcia jumped on the game show circuit. Shecould be seen on Password Plus; Super Password; Hollywood Squares; Crosswits; Hot Potato; The $25,000 Pyramid; Win, Lose, or Draw; Tattletales; To Tell the Truth; Family Feud; Card Sharks; and my favorite, Match Game.
📷youtube.com
Like so many actresses and actors who perform their role so well, Marcia was typecast after the show ended. In an interview, she said that “I have heard ‘You’re too recognizable for this part.’ I remember once, I desperately wanted to be on the series Nine to Five and they just weren’t going to see me because of that. Every once in a while, something would break my heart.”
Wallace also made appearances on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island in the seventies. During the eighties she would show up on CHiPs, Magnum PI, Taxi, Murder She Wrote, Night Court, and ALF, among other shows.
One of my favorite appearances of Wallace’s occurred in the mid-nineties on Murphy Brown. If you were a fan of that show, you know Murphy could not keep a secretary. There was even a support group that started of her former secretaries. However, when Carol Kester came to work for her, she was overjoyed. Carol was the role Wallace played on The Bob Newhart Show. Unfortunately for Murphy, at one point during the show, Bob Newhart shows up and convinces Carol to return to work for him and Jerry and Murphy lost her perfect assistant.
Most of Wallace’s work after 2000 was for voice work with one exception. In 2009, she had a recurring role on The Young and the Restless as Annie Wilkes for 14 episodes.
In 1985 Marcia was diagnosed with breast cancer. She survived it and became an activist and lecturer on the topic. In 2007, she won the Gilda Radner Courage Award for her work in this area.
In 1986 Marcia married Dennis Hawley in a Buddhist ceremony. Dennis renovated and managed hotels. The couple adopted a little boy, but Dennis passed away three years later.
📷imdb.com
In 1989, a new type of show debuted called The Simpsons. Marcia was asked to provide the voice of Edna Krabappel, school teacher. She probably did not realize she would be associated with that role for another 24 years. Her role as Edna did not end until her passing.
In addition to her television work, Wallace performed on stage. She produced and starred in “An Almost Perfect Person,” a female version of “The Odd Couple,” “Same Time, Next Year” and many others.
In 2004, Wallace published an autobiography, Don’t Look Back, We’re Not Going That Way. She honestly discussed her breast cancer, the loss of her husband, her nervous breakdown, being a single mother, and the ups and downs of her career.
Marcia died from pneumonia and sepsis in 2013. Her coworkers commented on her passing. Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa on The Simpsons, said “Heaven is now a much funnier place because of you, Marcia.” Bob Newhart said that “Marcia’s death came as quite a shock, she left us too early. She was a talented actress and dear friend.”
📷onceuponascreen.com
I’m so sad that Marcia was typecast and unable to get the roles that she wanted. The networks were very shortsighted during those decades. They didn’t give television fans enough credit for being resilient enough to love the character of Carol while being able to love another character played by Wallace. You saw the same things happen to Adam West, Alan Alda, and Henry Winkler. If that perspective had continued, we never would have had Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Jay Pritchett from ModernFamily. If someone could be a hit as Al Bundy and then go on to star in another show, anyone can get beyond being stereotyped. Marcia Wallace proved that anyone could survive life’s disappointments with determination and a sense of humor, and perhaps that was her greatest role for us.
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, RobinHood: 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 SheWrote, 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.
📷latimes.com
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.”
📷imdb.com
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.
Today we are winding up our soap opera blog series titled “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” We are ending with a soap that I knew a bit about before researching this series. When I was twelve, getting ready to enter the junior high years of my life, my best friend Bonnie and I heard about a new soap opera beginning that summer. We checked it out and were fans for the first couple of years. I quit watching when I was busy with high school activities, but I would tune in on and off just to see if I knew anyone anymore. I’m not sure how long Bonnie watched it or maybe still does. This soap seemed much more realistic to me than the crazy antics on Days of Our Lives, although I admit some of the plot twists are a stretch.
First Cast: Fosters, Brooks, Chancellors Photo: dailysoapdish.com
The Young and The Restless was set in Genoa City, Wisconsin; little did I know when I watched that first episode in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, that I would be living in Wisconsin by September. Genoa City really does exist, and the creators of the show drove through the town when they traveled from Chicago to their lake home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
This soap features the wealthy Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper); her companion is Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson/Jess Walton) who then becomes involved with her husband; we also meet Jill’s brothers David (David Hasselhoff) and Greg (Wings Hauser). The Brook four girls (Leslie-Janice Lynde; Lorie-Jamie Lyn Bauer; Chris-Trish Stewart; Peggy-Pamela Peters Solow) intertwine with all the other families in one way or another. Later two wealthy families who both happen to be in the cosmetic business were added to the cast: the Newmans and the Abbots. Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) is a billionaire and heads Newman Enterprises and has been married to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) most of the history; Jack (Peter Bergman) and Ashley Abbot (Eileen Davidson) oversee Jabot Cosmetics with advice from their father John (Jerry Douglas).
Nikki and Victor Photo: celebsdirtylaundry.com
CBS created this soap opera to appeal to younger viewers. The network hired married couple William J. and Lee Phillip Bell to create the show in 1972 titled “The Innocent Years.” Most soap operas of the sixties and seventies focused on dialogue and story. The Young and The Restless used unique lighting techniques and camera angles; they filmed in more of a Hollywood movie style than current television shows. The lighting effects could create dark, shadowy, moody sets or brightly lit close-ups. This soap was also the first one to be broadcast in high definition.
Bell and executive producer John Conboy auditioned 540 actors for the 13 major characters in the first season. The cast was the youngest ever assembled. They looked for glamorous model types instead of known actors. Up until this point, love stories were part of the plots but not sexuality. Some of the plots dealt with premarital intercourse, incest, rape, and impotence. Social issues also were featured including alcoholism, bulimia, and controversial cancer treatments.
Kristoff St. John Photo: dailybeast.com
Two decades into the show, the first major black characters were introduced in the Winters and Barber families; Neil was a CEO for Jabot. Neil was played by Kristoff St. John. St. John died from hypertrophic heart disease last February at age 52. The cast was devastated. The crew has been together a long time and considers themselves a family.
The theme song originally was titled “Cotton’s Dream” from the film Bless the Beasts & Children, but became “Nadia’s Theme” after Nadia Comaneci’s gymnastic routines from the 1976 Olympics were set to the song by the Wide World of Sports. Perry Botkin Jr. who had composed the piece for the theatrical film arranged a version specifically for the show. A few years a jazzier remix of the song was used, but the original theme has never changed much.
The show has won an amazing eleven Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Directors picked up 15 wins and writers garnered 18. Another 42 awards were given out to actors and actresses with 3 Lifetime Achievements delivered.
Photo: soapsindepth.com
At the end of 2019, The Young and The Restless had held the number one rating for 32 years; however, as of March 2020, The Bold and the Beautiful has taken over the number one spot. The Young and The Restless has been renewed through 2024.
Like many of the shows on television, Covid took a toll on the show. By April 23, 2020, the show was out of new episodes. Production shut down in March of 2020 and resumed in July of that year, with new episodes airing in August.
Fun Facts: (1) Eric Braeden who plays Victor Newman was in The Rat Patrol. (2) When Jeanne Cooper decided to get a facelift, instead of taking a leave of absence from the show, her procedure was written into the plot in 1984. (3) One of the show’s biggest fans is Cal Ripken Jr. (4) Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor was on the show from the beginning in 1973. When she passed away in 2013, her real son, Corbin Bernson, was brought in to play the priest who officiated at her funeral.
Jaime Lyn Bauer Photo: wikifandom.com
It’s funny how you remember certain things. When I think back to the debut of The Young and the Restless, I remember the Brooks sisters and how beautiful I thought Lorie Brooks was, played by Jamie Lyn Bauer. I remember romantic and colorful episodes. However, recently I watched that first episode. Two of the Brooks sisters were on the show, Leslie and Chris. It was very dark and had more of the atmosphere of Dark Shadows; there was very little for any of the characters to be happy about. I guess it appealed to us enough that we kept watching that summer. And almost fifty years later, people are still watching.
Regardless of what I think about the average soap opera, you have to give the cast and crew a lot of credit. I cannot imagine how much hard work they have accomplished. To be in a show twenty to fifty years is incredible on its own; then to realize that this is a show that is on every weekday and requires a huge amount of dialogue that must be memorized very quickly with long hours of filming. It truly is amazing that so many of these series retain their favorite characters for decades. Many of these actors have to spend more time with their television family than their actual family. It’s not an easy way to make a living but it must be very fulfilling since so many actors and actresses continue to develop these careers. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit more about some of these shows. Please feel free to share your favorites and what made them your favorites.
As I mentioned last week, this month our blog series is about soap operas, and I titled it “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” After looking at Peyton Place which seemed to set the standard for television soap operas, I had three more weeks to fill. I had quite a few options to write about. I decided to choose the two that my mother watched the most and the one that I got to start watching from the first episode: As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless.
The early cast. Photo: tvinsider.com
However, I did want to mention The Guiding Light. This soap started on the radio in 1937. It continued on the radio until 1956 but also aired on television from 1952-2009. With its 57-year-long-run, it is currently the longest-running soap opera.
Now, back to our topic today which is As the World Turns. This soap came close to taking the record for the longest-running soap, it began in 1956; it was canceled in 2010, giving it 54 years on television. If you were going to binge watch this one, it might take a bit. You would have to sit through 13,763 hours.
The show was set in Oakdale, Illinois. Before this soap opera aired, “serials” were always fifteen minutes long. However, this show, along with The Edge of Night, both began the same day as thirty-minute-long episodes. The first decade or so was filmed in black and white before switching to color in 1967. In 1975, the show switched to an hour-long format.
Believe it or not, from 1958-1978, the show had ten million viewers checking in daily. In 1995, the series celebrated its 10,000th episode.
The show was created by Irna Phillips, one of the first soap opera writers on the radio. She preferred realistic plots and interesting characters more than the unbelievable drama that was at the center of many serials. Irna was a pioneer in the field of soap operas. She passed away in 1973, so she never realized the longevity of the show.
Before she married on Sleepless in Seattle Photo: imdb.com
She often featured professionals, and the legal and medical fields were represented on this show as we learned about their private lives and careers. We slowly get to know the family members and their inner thoughts. In this series, we are introduced to the upper-class Hughes and Stewart families. Eventually, the rural Snyder family and wealthy Lucinda Walsh become entwined in the weekly plots. In 1960 Lisa Miller came to Oakdale played by Eileen Fulton. She was a southern “vixen” and was the person I remember best from the show when my mom watched.
Three of the characters to be on a soap opera the longest were part of the crew: Helen Wagner as Nancy was on 54 years, Don Hastings as Bob Hughes was on 50 years and Fulton, the vixen, appeared on the show for 47 years. A couple of characters on Days of Our Lives come close to this record; Susan Seaforth Hayes has actually tied Wagner; she began on Days in 1965 and was still seen in 2022.
Plots developed gradually over time with conversations and character reflections. You could miss a day or two during the week and still know what was happening on the show.
In 1958 it became the number-one drama show in the US. The soap would win the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series in 1987, 1991, 2001, and 2003. The writers won in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. Directors picked up the award in 1993 and 2007. There were many other Emmys awarded to the show including for Supporting Actor and Actress, Lead Actor and Actress, Outstanding Ingenue, and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nancy over the years Photo: innertoobs.com
The show was remembered for the character of Hank Elliot who was the first gay male character out of the closet on daytime television in 1988 and the first kiss between two men, Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer.
The first words spoken on the show were by Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner) when she said “Good morning, dear.” Nancy would appear on the show for almost the entire run. She was dropped from the series during the first season after developing a conflict with Phillips. She returned after six months and stayed until 1981 when she left because she did not think that the writers were including the veteran cast members enough, but she returned in 1985 and stayed until August of 2010 when she passed away. The writers had been hoping Wagner would have the last word in the show with the final lines, but she died two weeks before.
In December of 2009, CBS announced it would not be renewing the soap opera and the last episode was taped June 23, 2010, airing in September of that year. The final words were spoken by Bob Hughes, Nancy’s son, when he said “Good night.”
Photo: welovesoaps.com
I think because of the title, this show was used as a parody often. For example, on the cartoon Tom & Jerry, Tom is watching “Nine Lives to Live” when Jerry changes the channel to “As the Cheese Turns”; Carol Burnett had a recurring sketch where she played one of the matriarchs on “As the Stomach Turns”; and on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a soap opera is written starring Lady Elaine Fairchild in the “As the Museum Turns.” Being a museum curator by profession, I admit I am a bit intrigued by the last one. Maybe I should start taking more notes at work.
I’m guessing for stay-at-home moms, watching a soap like As the World Turns, was a bit of a respite from the constant cleaning and caring for younger children. They could get involved in other peoples’ lives that seemed more complex and romantic. Fifty-four years is a long time; many of these characters must have seemed like part of the family after that many days spent together. Today reality is so depressing, I guess I prefer to watch sitcoms.
I admit that this month I may be a bit out of my element. We are going to learn about the soap opera genre in a series called “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” While my best friend Bonnie and I eagerly tuned in to The Young and the Restless when it began in seventh grade, and I popped in and out for a decade or so afterward, most of my soap opera memories involve my mother. I remember her ironing in the living room while watching As the World Turns. She also kept up with the events on Days of Our Lives and may have watched a few others off and on.
Photo: mubi.com
First in our series is one of the earliest television operas: we are traveling to Peyton Place.
This soap began on ABC in September of 1964 and was on the air for five years.
It was based on the novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. The first couple of years were in black and white and the second half of the shows were in full color.
A lot of the cast went on to be very active in television: Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal, Barbara Parkins, Christopher Connelly, David Canary, Mariette Hartley, and Lana Wood.
The show had a rocky beginning. Producer Paul Monash wanted to bring the show to prime time based on the success that the show Coronation Street had in England. He refused to call it a soap opera, preferring the term “high-class anthology drama.” A pilot was shot in 1962; after several changes, the pilot finally aired in 1964. The early episodes were taken from the novel and the 1957 film that was also based on the book. However, eventually, new stories had to be created. The setting was changed from an unknown location in the 1940s to present-day Massachusetts.
Peyton Place Archives, Camden ME Photo: camdenpubliclibrary.com
The opening credit included a photo of a church steeple and the words “Peyton Place” on screen while the bells rang. Announcer Dick Tufeld said, “This is the continuing story of Peyton Place.” Suddenly we see the town square, a rolling stream, and cast members while a summary of the previous episode is related.
Peyton Place was an immediate hit. It began life airing twice a week but then increased to three episodes in June of 1965. Dorothy Malone, one of the stars, had emergency surgery, so she was replaced with Lola Albright until she fully recovered.
In the first season, Dr. Michael Rossi (Ed Nelson) arrives in town from New York City to open his medical practice. Newspaper editor Matthew Swain (Warner Anderson) is a new friend. Matthew’s cousin Allison MacKenzie (Mia Farrow) is in love with his older brother Rodney (Ryan O’Neal). We understand that her mother Constance (Dorothy Malone) highly disapproves of the relationship. The town was named for Martin Peyton, the Peyton Mill owner, who was Rodney’s grandfather.
Rodney disapproves of his father Leslie’s (Paul Langton) relationship when he catches him with his secretary Julie (Kasey Rogers). Rodney has been dating her daughter Betty (Barbara Parkins). He breaks up with Betty and begins seeing Allison. Betty discovers that she is pregnant and then miscarries. Rodney marries her not knowing about the miscarriage. We also learn that Elizabeth Carson was murdered in a beachfront home.
The movie version 1957 Photo: dailymotion.com
Dr. Rossi becomes closer to Constance although he butts heads with Dr. Morton (Kent Smith). Dr. Morton threatens to destroy Rossi’s career when Catherine, Rodney’s mother, dies; then he learns that the pathologist made a huge error which actually caused the death. Betty decides to become a nurse and is hired as an aide at the hospital. Her father George (Henry Beckman) has a nervous breakdown and is admitted to a local sanitarium. Barbara Parkins told a reporter that when she met Bette Davis, the famous actress asked her, “When are you going to let go of Rodney Harrington?”
Elliot Carson (Tim O’Connor), Alison’s birth father who had been in prison for 18 years, returns to Peyton Place. He had been accused of murdering his wife Elizabeth, but we know that Catherine had been responsible. Once Elliott’s name is cleared he marries Constance and they explain to Allison that he is her father. Norman falls in love with a local girl Rita (Patricia Morrow) whose mother owns a local tavern.
Photo: pinterest.com
Steven Cord (James Douglas) is an attorney who moves to town. Dr. Morton’s daughter Claire (Mariette Hartley) gets divorced and returns to Peyton Place to practice medicine. She becomes interested in Dr. Rossi. When Matt decides to retire, he sells the local paper to Elliot.
If you are confused after reading these plots, don’t despair. I read through numerous times and still feel like I’m reading War and Peace. There are other subplots as well; these were just the major ones. Whew! I guess we know when someone says their life is like a soap opera, we know now what that means.
I won’t get into all the plot twists that happen during the rest of the series, but rest assured that there are murders, accidents, affairs, betrayals, addictions, and financial shenanigans.
When Mia Farrow became more popular, Dorothy Malone was written off the show after complaining about Farrow getting a bigger role, She sued 20th Century Fox for breach of contract; the case was settled out of court.
They didn’t have the only feud however. Ruth Warwick did not care for working with Ryan O’Neal. She said he was someone “who was so in love with himself it was pitiable.”
Mia Farrow left in 1966 and ratings began to decrease. In her memoir, Farrow said that she never expected this show to succeed. Once it became popular, she tried to get out of her contract. Her husband, Frank Sinatra, used his clout to get her out of it two years later, so she could travel with him.
The writers’ script had Allison run away from the town; two years later a new character showed up with a baby she claimed was Allison’s.
The Miles Family Photo: pinterest.com
The show went back to two episodes a week. By 1968 most of the original characters had left the show. Today it is not unusual for soap opera characters to come and go, but that was not the original plan.
In the same year, the show developed several non-white characters played by Ruby Dee, Percy Rodriguez, and Glynn Turman. The series brought several black writers aboard as well as Ruby’s husband Ossie Davis as a consultant.
In an effort to increase ratings, new characters were brought on board and new subjects were added to scripts like the war, the draft, riots, music, and belief in God. The ratings never recovered, and the show was canceled in June of 1969.
The series was revived as a daytime serial in 1972 but after less than a year, Return to Peyton Place was also canceled.
In 1977 NBC aired Murder in Peyton Place. It was advertised as a reunion movie and it focused on the deaths of Rodney and Allison. In 1985, Peyton Place: The Next Generation was produced to stir up interest for a new series, but that never happened.
I’m not sure why people were so enthralled with Peyton Place. I guess it’s the same reasons we have Fifty Shades of Gray decades later. Metalious, the author of the original novel, explained the genesis of her book: “To a tourist, these towns look as peaceful as a postcard picture. But if you go beneath that picture, it’s like turning over a rock with your foot-all kinds of strange things crawl out.”
During the five years it was on the air, Peyton Place had more than 100 actors on the show and 20 writers. The set expanded from a few homes around a town square to a more vibrant town with shops, a factory, a hospital, a fire station, and a wharf. Plots got more complex.
The show was eventually sold to fifty different countries with eight million viewers in Great Britain. Apparently, many Europeans based their idea of what an American town was like on this show.
Soap operas certainly had a spot in America’s hearts for decades. Just this past year, the last daytime soap opera moved to a streaming service and people were up in arms. I don’t know about you, but when I want to walk in nature it is to see the trees, listen to the birds, and smell the flowers. I tend to leave rocks alone. Maybe I am focusing on a fake façade, but I’m content not to see what is crawling around beneath the surface.
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.
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.
The Nancy Walker Show Photo: memorabletv.com
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.
With Oliver Clark on We’ve Got Each Other Photo: sitcomsonline.
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.
Photo: tumblr.com
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.
Photo: sitcomsonline.com
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.
Photo: tumblr.com
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.
Photo: allstarpics.famousfix.com
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.”
Photo: ebay.com
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.
Photo: avelyman.com
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.
Photo: Xiem Gallery
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.
Photo: famousbirthdays.com
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.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I am a big fan of the show Family starring James Broderick and Sada Thompson. Along with Gary Frank and Kristy McNichol, Meredith Baxter played one of their children on the show. As Nancy, she got divorced and moved into a garage apartment with her son Timmy. She went to law school to follow in her father’s footsteps. Today we will learn a bit more about the life Meredith Baxter had off the show.
Photo: wordpress.com
Baxter was born in 1947 in California. Her mother was Whitney Blake who played Dorothy Baxter on Hazel. Her father was a radio announcer. Her parents divorced when she was 6. She lived with her brothers and her mother who eventually remarried; Meredith’s stepfather was sitcom writer Allan Manings. Manings wrote for a variety of shows, including McHale’s Navy, Laugh-In, Good Times, and both the original and reboot of One Day at a Time.
Baxter went to Hollywood High. She briefly transferred to Interlochen Center for the Arts as a voice major, but returned to Hollywood High to graduate. Shortly afterward she married Robert Lewis Bush and they had two children. They divorced in 1971.
Photo: youtube.com
For the next few years, Meredith appeared on a variety of television shows and in several big-screen movies, including The Doris Day Show and The Partridge Family.
Image #: 2088657 David Birney (as Bernie Steinberg) and Meredith Baxter (as Bridget Fitzgerald Steinberg) in the CBS comedy series “Bridget Loves Bernie.” 1972 – – Picture by Landov / Retna Pictures – Job: 79439 Ref: LAN / CBS – UK Rights Only *Unbylined uses will incur an additional discretionary fee!*
The following year, Meredith got her first major acting role: Bridget Loves Bernie. She starred with David Birney. The premise behind this sitcom is that wealthy, Catholic Bridget Fitzgerald marries lower-class, Jewish Bernie Steinberg who drives a cab. Both sets of parents are uncomfortable with their children’s mates.
Although the show only lasted one season, she and Birney lasted a little longer. They married in 1974 and had twins. In 1989 they divorced and don’t have very good things to say about one another.
Photo: sitcomsonline.com Asea on The Love Boat
In the mid-seventies, television kept Meredith very busy with 11 appearances on shows such as Medical Center and McMillan and Wife and 10 made-for-tv movies.
She appeared on the big screen in All the President’s Men in 1976 before taking the role of Nancy Maitland on Family that same year. Family featured the Lawrences. Kate is a stay-at-home mom and a bit distant but obviously loves her children. Warm, friendly Doug is a lawyer and judge. Nancy is in her twenties but much more mature than her brother Willie who can’t decide what to do with his life. Buddy, a tweener, is the youngest in the family.
Photo: nostalgiacentral.com
Critics as well as viewers were devoted to the show. Baxter was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in both 1977 and 1978. She was beat by her “sister” McNichol in 1977 (McNichol was nominated every year the show was on) and by Nancy Marchand for Lou Grant in 1978. For both years, Family was nominated as best show and Sada Thompson as lead actress which she won in 1978 (Thompson was also nominated every year). Gary Frank as Willie won in 1977. James Broderick also received a nomination during those years.
After Family ended, she went back to making made-for-tv movies with 7 during the 1980s and 21 in the 1990s.
Photo: tvseriesfinale.com
The following year, she would land the role that made her the most famous, Elyse Keaton on Family Ties. In this much-beloved show, Elyse and Steven, former hippies, raise their four children who have different values than they did. Alex, the oldest is a conservative interested primarily in money, Mallory cares more about shopping and boys than anything else, Jennifer has a dry sense of humor and is trying to find her spot in the family and the birth of baby Andy doesn’t help her figure that out. The show was on the air for seven seasons.
In 1995, Baxter married actor and screenwriter Michael Blodgett, but their married only lasted five years. (Blodgett wrote for a variety of television shows and several movies.) Shortly before her divorce, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She made a full recovery and has become a spokesperson for treatment and research and developed a skin cream (Signature). A portion of the proceeds is donated for breast cancer prevention.
THE FACULTY — Meredith Baxter stars in the new comedy series, THE FACULTY, which airs on the ABC Television Network.
In 1996, she again attempted a television series, The Faculty. The show wasn’t renewed for a second season. Baxter played the role of a principal who is divorced and a single mother, and features the choices she has to make to balance her busy life. While the critics praised Baxter’s performance, they didn’t find much else to like about the show, and it was cancelled after 13 episodes.
Photo: wm.com/cold case
She made several television appearances on various shows or movies but her only recurring role was as Lilly Rush on Cold Case in 2007.
In 2011, Meredith published her memoir, Untied. She talks frankly about her unhappy marriages, including the abusive one with Birney. She also discloses that she was a recovering alcoholic and that she was gay. After coming out, she met Nancy Locke whom she married in 2013.
In 2014 Baxter accepted a role as Maureen, Nicky’s friend, on The Young and the Restless which began and ended that year. Since that time, she has appeared on a variety of television shows and in several movies. She has a couple of movies coming out soon.
Photo: tvguide.com With Melody Thomas Scott on The Young and the Restless
Baxter has also done a variety stage work including the two-character play, “Kissing Place” with David Ogden Stiers. Most recently she has appeared in “Women Beyond Borders,” “Angels in America” and “Love Letters.”
Photo: pinterest.com
Although Meredith has definitely had some trauma and sadness in her life, she has had a varied and long-lasting career. Being cast in three successful television shows is not something that happens for most actors. She seems to have come to a place in her life where she is happy and content and that is something all of us strive for. Join me next week as we look more closely at the show that made her a household name: Family Ties.
Ok, the Christmas commotion has come and gone. Today we welcome in 2018, and we are ready for the Rose Bowl Parade and some football. Today is also the time to get down to business and make that new year’s resolution.
I, too, have begun my long list of possible resolutions and then before making the final decision, decided to do the next-best thing; that is, to concentrate on others’ shortcomings to avoid facing my own. So, I have come up with resolutions for some of my favorite tv characters.
Batman – Robin is not living up to his potential as Boy Wonder. If he was, he would teach Batman a second dance. For example, there is this new fad in the sixties called The Twist.
The Brady Bunch – Mike Brady is an architect right? So I think it’s about time he designed a house for the family with more than one bathroom for six kids.
Columbo – I know he’s busy solving all those murders, but this month he needs to find a day to get that coat into the dry cleaner’s for a good dust busting.
Gilligan’s Island – considering how smart the Professor is, I think it’s time he made a resolution to learn to build a boat from all that wood surrounding him on the island.
Green Acres – In order to save the valley for future generations, Sam Drucker needs to become a campaign manager, electing Arnold as the mayor. He’s the only one with much common sense. Who says an animal can’t be the main character? Has anyone heard of Mr. Ed?
M*A*S*H – No doubt about it, Klinger is very fashionable, but with all the guard duty he takes on and running after Hawkeye and Hunnicutt, he needs to invest in a comfortable pair of pumps.
The Odd Couple – For Felix’s sanity and well-being, Oscar has to bite the bullet and hire a maid to clean his room. It wouldn’t hurt if she was good looking and liked sports.
The Partridge Family – With Shirley and Keith taking on all the singing assignments, I think it’s time for the other four Partridges to learn to sing. I mean they’ll only look cute hitting that tambourine and drumstick for a few years.
Taxi – The cast of Taxi needs to invent Uber so they no longer have to take orders from Louie De Palma.
The Young and the Restless – The residents of Genoa City need to have a town meeting to draw up their family tree. Most of them have been married to so many of the other residents, that there is no way the kids can take on this as a homework assignment. This probably is ditto for any soap opera still on television.
Those are my top ten. And because you always need a goal on the back burner, the no-brainer resolution is to change the title of Father Knows Best because everyone knows Mother Knows Best.
Elinor Donahue always displays a warmth and comes across as a genuinely nice person. Her first sitcom became her most famous role. She played Betty in the iconic Father Knows Best. Although none of her later sitcoms reached the same popularity, she has had a long and full career.
She was born in April of 1937 in Tacoma, Washington. She began tap dancing at 16 months old. As a toddler, she did some acting and received a contract with Universal at the ripe old age of 5. From 1955-1961 she was married to Robert Smith. She was married her second husband, Harry Ackerman, from 1962-1991. Ackerman was a producer for shows including Leave It to Beaver, Gidget, and Bewitched. She married her third husband Louis Genevrino in 1992.
Donahue appeared in 18 movies between 1942 and 1952 including Tea for Two with Doris Day and My Blue Heaven. She made the transition to television in 1952 appearing in 8 shows in the 1950s. One of the shows I remember her in although I only saw it in reruns was one of my favorite shows, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. She was typically cast as the girl-next-door type. Her most famous role came in 1954 when she was cast in a new sitcom, Father Knows Best.
Father Knows Best – 1954-1960
This was one of the typical family shows of the 1950s. The Andersons lived in Springfield with three children: Betty, called Princess (Elinor Donahue), James Jr., or Bud (Billy Gray) and Kathy, usually called Kitten (Lauren Chapin). The show debuted in the fall of 1954 on CBS. The show was cancelled in 1955 and the public was furious. Letters came pouring in, so it was reinstated. NBC took over the next year until 1958 when it went back to CBS. In 1960, Robert Young decided he was done. These were warm and inviting parents, providing guidance and object lessons galore. Critics panned it later because it was not reality. We have reality shows today, and please, give me fiction. We did learn life lessons on the show – following through on promises, working for what you want, being yourself, and taking responsibility for your mistakes.
Shortly after Father Knows Best left the airwaves, Donahue accepted the role of Elly Walker in The Andy Griffith Show.
Most of us are very familiar with TheAndy Griffith Show and many of the characters who inhabit Mayberry: Widower Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and his son Opie (Ron Howard) live with Andy’s Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) who takes care of them; Barney (Don Knotts) is the inept deputy but also Andy’s best friend; Helen Crump (Anita Corsaut), the school teacher and Andy’s girlfriend later in the series; Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn), Barney’s girl; Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), town drunk but nice guy; Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), who runs the gas station; and his cousin Goober Pyle (George Lindsey). Andy had several romances early in the show. He dated the county nurse Mary Simpson (played by several actresses), spent a limited amount of time with Daphne (Jean Carson) who had a crush on him; and in the first two seasons, he was sweet on Ellie Walker (Donahue), who ran the local drug store. Ellie cared about Andy, but she always stood up for herself and women’s rights. Andy and Ellie never had the chemistry they were hoping for but they respected each other and like each other. Elinor raved about the cast and her opportunity to be on the show. She said Andy was in charge and expected quality but was fair and a nice man. She described Ron Howard as the best child actor she ever worked with. She liked Frances Bavier and got along well with her. She had a huge respect for Don Knott’s comedic ability. She is still friends with Betty Lynn.
She appeared on a variety of shows in the mid-1960s including 77 Sunset Strip, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, Dennis the Menace, Star Trek, and The Flying Nun. She tried her luck with one other sitcom in the 1960s.
Many Happy Returns – 1964-1965
This sitcom was also about a widower. Walter Burnley (John McGiver) ran the Complaint Department at a LA department store. The show also featured his daughter (Donahue) and a coworker Lynn Hall (Elena Verdugo). His boss (Jerome Cowan) did not want him to take in any returns, so he had to resolve complaints without making his boss mad. Apparently Burnley couldn’t solve the complaints that came in from viewers because the show was cancelled after 24 episodes.
Father Knows Best came out with two television movies in 1977: The Father Knows Best Reunion and Father Knows Best – Home for Christmas, and Elinor was in both. While still showing up in random shows during the 1970s such as The Rookies, Police Woman, and Diff’rent Strokes, Donahue found time to appear in two 70s shows on a regular basis.
The Odd Couple – 1972-1975
Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple came to Friday nights in 1970. Felix Unger (Tony Randall) and Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman), two divorced men who are complete opposites but best friends, try to live together without killing each other. The show had a great supporting cast including Donohue as Miriam Welby from 1972-1974, Felix’s girlfriend.
Mulligan’s Stew – 1977
This show from 1977 starred Elinor Donahue as Jane Mulligan. She and her husband Michael (Lawrence Pressman) are trying to raise three kids on his teacher’s salary when they suddenly add four orphaned nieces and nephews to their family. One of the kids was played by Suzanne Crough, Tracy from ThePartridge Family, one of the few shows she was in. The series only lasted for seven episodes.
The 1980s found Donahue still working regularly. She was in Barnaby Jones, Mork & Mindy, One Day ata Time, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Newhart, and Golden Girls. One sitcom in the 1980s captured her attention about Beans Baxter.
The New Adventures of Beans Baxter – 1987
Here is the plot for this one: Beans Baxter’s (Jonathan Ward) father who he thought was a mailman disappears one day. Teenage Bean discovers that his dad worked for a secret government agency. He is then drawn into becoming a spy for the government. The show features his adventures as he tries to find the enemy agents who are holding his father hostage while his mother played by Donahue is completely oblivious that anything strange is happening. Viewers also didn’t realize anything was happening because the show was cancelled after 17 episodes.
Entering her 60s, Elinor joined the cast of three sitcoms in the 1990s. She also made several movies including Pretty Woman in 1990 and The Princess Diaries 2 in 2004.
Get a Life – 1990-1992
Shows don’t get much weirder than this one. Comedian Chris Elliot plays a 30-year-old paperboy Chris Peterson who lives with wacky parents (Donahue and Bob Elliott, Chris’s real father). Some of the strange things that happen during the 36 episodes include eating a space alien, beheadings, and a robot paperboy. In this bizarre series, Chris actually dies in a third of the episodes. During the run of the show, he died from old age, tonsillitis, a stab wound, a gunshot wound, was strangled, got run over by a car, choked on his cereal, was crushed by a giant boulder, and actually exploded.
Eek!stravaganza – 1992-1993
Donahue plays “The Mom” in this animated show about Eek, a purple cat who always finds himself in dangerous situations. The series was on the air for five seasons.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman – 1993-1997
During the six years the show was on the air, Donahue reprised her role as Rebecca Quinn ten times. The show followed the ups and downs experienced by a female doctor practicing in a wild western town.
Interestingly, Donahue appeared in three different soap operas toward the end of her career: SantaBarbara, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless. Elinor also appeared on a variety of documentaries and award shows. She was in the Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour. In 1998, she wrote her memoirs titled, In the Kitchen with Elinor Donahue. The book included about 150 of her favorite recipes. Elinor’s career has been long and she appeared in many shows and movies over the years. She hasn’t appeared in a movie or television show since 2010, although she did do some theater. In September of 2015, she appeared in one of my favorite plays, “Harvey” in North Carolina.
Donahue’s career reminds me of many of the actors we have gotten to know in this blog including William Christopher, Betty White, Ken Berry, and Shelly Fabares. These actors and actresses all appear to be very nice, talented people who have careers they should be proud of. In a day when bad decisions and selfish actions are splattered across our television screens and newspapers, perhaps one of the best compliments we can give someone is that they had a long and fulfilling career and didn’t step all over other people to achieve it.
When a rainy day shows up this summer, take a moment to watch some of Elinor’s sitcom episodes. Thank you Elinor Donahue for the entertainment and memories you gave us.
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