1992casey

In case you're not keeping close track of the Gabor sisters, Zsa Zsa was best known for being married a jillion times and being a guest star everywhere. Her sister Eva was the "GOODBYE CITY LIFE" voice of Green Acres. The third Gabor sister was Magda. Zsa had nine husbands, Eva had five, and Magda had six. George Sanders was married to both Zsa Zsa and Magda. Their mother Jolie made it a four-ring circus. She was married only three times.

Rosemary Gernetzke, aka Rosemary Gernette and Rosemary Ross, died back in May at age 81. She and her husband Howard Gernetzke were TV fixtures in Wausau and Milwaukee from the 1950s into the 1990s. "Howard and Rosemary" hosted the noon talk show on Milwaukee's channel 12 for 17 years. Ross and Gernette were both professional names. She became Rosemary Ross in Wausau when her husband was on one channel while she was doing commercials on all three channels. The name Gernette came about when channel 12 refused to let Howard use the name Gernetzke. Here's a video where Howard and Rosemary are interviewed by Jim Peck for the Wisconsin Broadcasting Museum: http://www.wisconsinbroadcastingmuseum.org/memory-salon/howard-rosemary-gernette/

Rose Marie "officially has the longest active career in entertainment — from 3 to 93." Happy Birthday to Star of Stage & Screen - Rose Marie!

We missed the death of Doris Roberts, 90, on April 18th. Doris Roberts, Mother on ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ Dies at 90 Roberts was nominated for seven Emmys for her role as "Marie Barone" on [cite]Everybody Loves Raymond[/cite], winning four times. She also won an Emmy for her portrayal of a homeless woman on a 1983 episode of [cite]St. Elsewhere[/cite]. In the 1980s, she played "Mildred Krebs" on [cite]Remington Steele[/cite]. In the 1970s, she was faith healer "Dorelda Doremus" on [cite]Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman[/cite]. She was originally intended to play "Vivian" on [cite]Maude[/cite]. However, the powers that be decided that her on-screen personality was too much like that of Bea Arthur, and Rue McClanahan was cast to play the role instead.

Mr. Ed was the only horse to hit an inside the park home run against Sandy Koufax.

Patty Duke’s death is somewhat of a surprise. MeTV had recently been showing her in a promo for reruns of [cite]The Patty Duke Show[/cite]. The promo was obviously recorded somewhat recently. Apparently, she fell ill about a week before she died. The theme hawing posted is definitely one of the greats in TV history. It was parodied on [cite]Roseanne[/cite] when that show recast one of its characters. Lyrics in the parody included lines like “one pair of matching actors, but only one part to play” and “they walk alike, they talk alike, abruptly leave the show alike.” William Schallert, who played Patty’s dad in [cite]The Patty Duke Show[/cite], has a cameo in the parody. Schallert is still with us at age 93. This video has a version of the original theme along with the [cite]Roseanne[/cite] version, which starts just after the one minute mark. Besides [cite]The Patty Duke Show[/cite], she’ll be remembered for her iconic role as Helen Keller in [cite]The Miracle Worker[/cite]. The play was originally performed on live TV, with Anne Bancroft playing her teacher, Anne Sullivan. After that, the play was adapted for Broadway, with Duke playing opposite Bancroft and later Suzanne Pleshette. Ultimately, the story became an Academy Award winning film starring Bancroft and Duke. In the late 1970s, Duke took on the role of Sullivan with Melissa Gilbert playing Keller. Here’s a scene from the film with Bancroft and Duke; Anne is trying to teach Helen to use a spoon and eat off of her own plate. Patty’s biggest contribution was probably that of a mental health advocate after making her successful treatment for bipolar disorder public. In this 1970 video, she’s almost certainly experiencing a bipolar episode during her bizarre acceptance speech for an Emmy award. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcUYBKDADLE At the ceremony, she’s seated with Desi Arnaz Jr. Their relationship was all over the tabloids at the time as he was 17 and she was 23 and divorced. For years, Desi was thought to be the biological father of Patty’s son Sean Astin, who was adopted by her third husband John Astin. Sean says he has four fathers: John Astin, Desi, Michael Tell (Patty’s second husband and Sean's biological father according to DNA testing; they were married for 13 days before the marriage was annulled), and his stepdad, Michael Pearce (who was married to Patty from 1986 until her death).

Robert Horton, who played Flint McCullough on [cite]Wagon Train[/cite] died Wednesday at 91. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Robert-Horton-91-Wagon-Train-actor-6894461.php

George Martin, arranger and producer for the Beatles, turned 90 yesterday. We haven't seen a lot of him on TV, but we've certainly seen the results of his work over the past several decades.

One of Dick's 21st century endeavors has been to perform with an a cappella group called the Vantastix. Here they are performing the lyrics to the [cite]Dick Van Dyke Show[/cite] theme (written by Morey Amsterdam): The national anthem at a Lakers game: Chitty Chiity Bang Bang: Chim Chim Cheree and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:

There's a [cite]Route 66[/cite] marathon this weekend on the Decades channel. The 1960–64 show, starring Milner as Tod Stiles and George Maharis (age 87) as Buz Murdock, is regarded as one of the more "literate" series that TV has seen and is definitely worth catching. Maharis was later replaced by Glenn Corbett, who played Lincoln 'Linc" Case. The show also airs weekly on MeTV (3:00 AM CT Mondays), and the first three seasons are on Hulu.

I associate her with John Wayne. He once said, "She's a great guy. I've had many friends, and I prefer the company of men. Except for Maureen O'Hara." Here's Maureen in a catfight with Lucille Ball in [cite]Dance Girl Dance[/cite] (1940): Maureen was the good girl, and Lucy was a stripper. She and Lucy sold tickets when the scene was filmed and donated the proceeds to charity.

Billie Jo had blond hair, Bobbie Jo was a brunette, and Betty Jo was a redhead. Pat Woodell was Bobbie Jo #1. Two actors played the part (Woodell and Lori Saunders). Three actors played Billie Jo (Jeannine Riley, Gunilla Hutton, and the late Meredith MacRae). Sharon Tate was the fourth Billie Jo; she was initially cast to play the part but never appeared in the series. She moved on to a recurring role on [cite]The Beverly Hillbillies[/cite]. Unfortunately, Tate is best known as one of the Manson family victims. Linda Kaye Henning played Betty Jo throughout the run of the series.

Jack Larson, playwright and the actor who played Jimmy Olson on [cite]The Adventures of Superman[/cite], passed away at age 87 on September 20. Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olsen in TV’s ‘Superman’ series, dies at 87 Jack Larson, TV’s Jimmy Olsen and playwright, dies at 87 Still with us are Phyllis Coates (88) and Noel Neill (94), the two actors who played Lois Lane in the series.

Getting back to people who are living, Norman Lloyd, 100, appears in this year's film, [cite]Trainwreck[/cite]. His film and television career goes back to 1939. Notable parts include several episodes of [cite]Alfred Hitchcock Presents[/cite], the role of Headmaster Nolan in [cite]Dead Poets Society[/cite], and the role of Dr. Daniel Auschlander for six years on the series [cite]St. Elsewhere[/cite].

Leonard Nimoy passed away this morning at age 83.

We missed the passing of Don Pardo, who died in August at the age of 96. He was best known as the announcer on [cite]Saturday Night Live[/cite], a job he held from the show's premiere in 1975 until his death. He was also the announcer for the [cite]NBC Nightly News[/cite] and the original incarnation of [cite]Jeopardy![/cite].

Ann B. Davis, who played Alice Nelson, the maid on [cite]The Brady Bunch[/cite] and who won two Emmy Awards for her role as Schultzy, the secretary on [cite]The Bob Cummings Show[/cite], passed away this past Sunday at age 88.

Doris Day's 90th birthday is being celebrated on Thursday (although some sources say she'll be 92). She's better known for movies and recordings than TV; she was kind of forced into doing TV against her will. She turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. Her son, Terry Melcher, had some creepy encounters with the Manson family.

Thank you, Norman Lear, TV genius. 91. One might forget that [cite]Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman[/cite] had more episodes produced than any other Norman Lear show. 325 episodes of the soap opera parody aired in a sixteen month span between January 1976 and May 1977. The series was just released on DVD. Given that it's a 38 disk set, it's pricey. Much lesser known is Lear's [cite]All that Glitters[/cite], a soap spoof set in a world of complete role-reversal, i.e. women were the stronger sex and men were the weaker. Linda Gray played a transgender fashion model on the series, which lasted for 65 episodes between May and July 1977. Mary Hartman: "I have actually taken a human life with my chicken soup."

The Dabney Coleman Rule is named after Dabney Coleman, 82. The rule states that the lead character or protagonist on a TV series needs to have likeable qualities. Coleman had series that failed because people didn't like his characters. He makes for a good antagonist, though. Barbara Walters, 84, joined [cite]The Today Show[/cite] in 1961 after the job was turned down by Betty White. She stayed with the program until moving to ABC in 1976. The long résumé of Estelle Parsons, 86, includes gigs as Roseanne Barr's mother on [cite]Roseanne[/cite] and as Blanche Hefner on [cite]All in the Family[/cite] / [cite]Archie Bunker's Place[/cite]. She was the first to hold the "female" job on [cite]The Today Show[/cite], from 1952–54. At the time, the job was referred to as "women's editor."

Mel Brooks qualifies as a TV pioneer, having written for [cite]Your Show of Shows[/cite] along with Carl Reiner and Neil Simon (86) from 1950–54. If we're talking about Jerry Van Dyke, we need to mention his role on [cite]My Mother the Car[/cite], a 1965–66 show about a man whose deceased mother is reincarnated as a 1928 car. The mother/car, voiced by the late Ann Sothern, talks to Jerry (and of course, only to Jerry) through the radio. The TV career of Doris Roberts (88) goes back to 1951, although she really picked up steam during the 1960s. She was cast to play the role of "Vivian" on [cite]Maude[/cite] but was replaced by Rue McClanahan because Norman Lear felt that she was too much like Bea Arthur. In the 1980s, Roberts played "Mildred Krebs" on [cite]Remington Steele[/cite] with Pierce Brosnan. And of course, she's widely recognized for her role as "Marie Barone" on [cite]Everybody Loves Raymond[/cite]. Hal Holbrook (88) is remembered for a lot, but if you have to pick out one thing, the fact that he played Mark Twain in one-man shows numerous times over the course of his career stands out. And of course, Don Rickles (87) is still around.

I can't believe we've missed Carl Reiner, 91. He's still piling up credits. Most recently, he's appeared in [cite]Two and a Half Men[/cite] (3 episodes), [cite]Parks and Recreation[/cite] (1 episode), and [cite]Hot in Cleveland[/cite] (7 episodes). While we're thinking in terms of [cite]The Dick Van Dyke Show[/cite], we can't forget the other living cast members: Ann Morgan Guilbert, 85, and Jerry Van Dyke, 82. Guilbert graduated from Solomon Juneau High School in Milwaukee in 1946.

Here's a 1955 Cloris Leachman clip where she shares a kiss with a very recognizable co-star: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RUufFkv97M Here's the full episode (Let it Rain, General Electric Theater): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwTt2RNlkiY

Wikipedia has this to say about Audrey Meadows as Alice: The role of Alice was actually played by several actors. Pert Kelton originated the role and played Alice until she was blacklisted during that Communist thing. After Kelton's blacklisting, Ginger Jones played the role on a promotional tour. Jones, who was also blacklisted, was replaced by Meadows. Sue Ane Langdon, a youngster at 77, played Alice a couple of times in 1962. Sheila MacRae, 89, played Alice in hour-long musical Honeymooners episodes between 1966–70 and once in 1973. Meadows reprised the role of Alice in 1966, 1976, 1977, and 1978. In her 1966 appearance, the Kramdens adopted a baby girl. They gave the baby up when the birth mother wanted her back. Trixie was also played by multiple actresses. The role was introduced by Elaine Stritch, 88. Stritch is one of those people who seems to pop up everywhere. Some might remember her as teacher Mrs. McGee on [cite]The Cosby Show[/cite]. More recently, she played Colleen, the mother of Alec Baldwin's character on [cite]30 Rock[/cite]. Jane Kean played Trixie from 1966–70 and 1976–78. Stritch's original Trixie was a burlesque dancer. Other versions of Trixie were more "wholesome."

Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton. Shirley Temple has TV connections. She hosted and narrated a children's anthology series in 1958 and 1960–61 and acted in several of the episodes. Notables who appeared in 2 or more episodes included Pernell Roberts, Agnes Moorehead, Jonathan Harris, Jonathan Winters, Barbara Pepper, Sebastian Cabot, E.G. Marshall, Jackie Coogan, Alice Pearce, and Mary Wickes. Temple once fired a cameraman for dropping the expletive beginning with "s" on set. In addition to her series, her movies would have been run frequently during TV's early years. Betty White's (third, last, and best known) husband, Allen Ludden of [cite]Password[/cite] fame, was born and is buried in Mineral Point. She donated his papers to the Mineral Point Public Library, and Lake Ludden in southwest Iowa County is named for him. Clint Eastwood, 83, holds a significant spot in TV history, having played Rowdy Yates on [cite]Rawhide[/cite] for seven years (eight seasons). He also had a memorable guest appearance on [cite]Mr. Ed[/cite] in the episode [cite]Clint Eastwood Meets Mister Ed[/cite]. Donna Douglas, 80, who's best known as Elly May Clampett on [cite]The Beverly Hillbillies[/cite], had a small role as Eastwood's girlfriend in that episode. Douglas also has a couple of [cite]Twilight Zone[/cite] episodes under her belt. In [cite]Cavender Is Coming[/cite], starring Jesse White (the Maytag repairman) and Carol Burnett, she appears briefly as a (drunk) debutante. More memorable is her role as the "revealed" Janet Tyler in [cite]The Eye of the Beholder[/cite]. In the first part of the episode, the character's face is bandaged, and the role is played by Maxine Stuart. When the character's face is unbandaged, Douglas takes over the role. Although she appears on screen for several minutes, she only has one line, which was originally supposed to be dubbed by Stuart. However, Douglas imitated Stuart so well that her voice was left in. [cite]Clint Eastwood Meets Mister Ed[/cite], free Hulu link [cite]The Eye of the Beholder, free Hulu link[/cite] [cite]Cavender Is Coming[/cite], YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdGWnaNwx4Y