Vivian Vance: She was more than just Lucy's sidekick

Vivian Vance will be forever associated with Lucille Ball.  Those remarkable women can only be described as television's greatest female comedy duo.  Their antics are still as funny today as they were back in the 1950s and 1960s.

I started thinking about Vivian after watching a DVD of a Lucy special, Lucy Calls the President, which aired on CBS on November 21, 1977.  There is a poignancy about that TV special because it marked Vivian's final appearance on television with Lucille Ball.  She died of cancer on August 17, 1979 at the age of 70 and was not well during the filming of the show.

Lucy Calls the President was produced during the Jimmy Carter era.  The former president did not appear on the special, but his mother, Lillian Carter (also known as Miss Lillian), made a cameo appearance.  The supporting cast included longtime Lucy associates Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft while Ed McMahon played the role of Lucy's husband.

Over a quarter of a century after the debut of I Love Lucy in 1951, Viv and Lucy still displayed the magic quality that made them such an outstanding comedy team.  The chemistry was still there.  Yet, although Vivian made her reputation as Lucille Ball's comic foil, she should always be remembered as a talented artist in her own right.

Vivian was born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale, Kansas on July 26, 1909.  She was the second of the six children of Robert and Euphemia Jones.  The family moved to Independence, Kansas, where Viv studied drama at Independence High School. The aspiring actress changed her last name to Vance as a tribute to folklorist Vance Randolf,, her drama teacher and a member of her Independence drama clique.  She later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was a founder of the Albuquerque Little Theatre.  It's no coincidence that Albuquerque was the hometown of Vivian's Ethel Mertz character.on I Love Lucy.

In 1932, Vivian arrived in New York City and studied under legendary stage actress Eva Le Gallienne.  She appeared in a number of Broadway plays, most often in the chorus.  Then she began to win supporting roles, particularly after her performance as Nancy Collister in Cole Porter's musical Let's Face It opposite Danny Kaye and Eve Arden.

After appearing in a revival of The Cradle will Rock in 1947, Vivian decided to move to California.  Her intention was to pursue other opportunities in the theatre and in motion pictures.  At the time, television was in its infancy and it was a medium she had not yet considered.

In 1951, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were looking to cast the part of their friend and landlord on the new television sitcom I Love Lucy.  Lucy had originally hoped that Bea Benaderet or Barbara Pepper would play Ethel Mertz.  When they were unable to do so, Ball and Arnaz were forced to looked elsewhere.

Director Marc Daniels, who had worked with Vivian Vance in a theatre production, took Desi and producer Jess Oppenheimer to see Vance perform in The Voice of the Turtle on stage at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.  Desi was impressed and was convinced she was right for the part.  Lucy, however, had her misgivings.  She had never heard of Vance, who was primarily a theatre performer, and she envisioned Ethel to be older and more dowdy than the attractive Vivian.

Vance was hesitant about accepting the offer to join the cast of I Love Lucy.  She had been trying to establish a film career with roles such as Leah, the shrewd chambermaid in The Secret Fury (1950) opposite Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan and Alicia in The Blue Veil  (1951) opposite Charles Laughton and Jane Wyman.  She also had to consider the fact that television was a fairly new medium in 1951 and its future was still regarded as somewhat uncertain.

Despite her initial reluctance and Lucy's doubts, Vivian Vance decided to accept the role of Ethel Mertz and even gained weight to play the part.  At 42 years of age, she was only slightly older than Lucille Ball, who was 40 when I Love Lucy premiered on October 15, 1951.  Her character was dressed in frumpy attire and 64-year-old William Frawley portrayed her penny-pinching husband, Fred Mertz.

It was reported that Vivian resented the age difference between Frawley and her. She thought he was more suited to playing her father than her husband and  it was certainly no secret that she and her television mate were not on the best of terms. Nevertheless, their onscreen partnership worked and Fred and Ethel Mertz were a huge hit with viewers

Television audiences really loved Lucy and they loved the madcap predicaments that she and Ethel found themselves in every week.  Some of the show's most memorable moments featured the wacky misadventures of of Lucy Ricardo and her best friend. Who can forget the classic scene with Lucy and Ethel working the assembly line in the the chocolate factory?

Vivian Vance's contribution to the success of I Love Lucy was rewarded with four Emmy nominations.  She won the award once, for her her performance on the series in 1953.  In February of 1954, Vance accepted her Emmy, becoming the first to win in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actress."

After I Love Lucy finished its run in 1957, Vivan Vance and William Frawley continued with their roles as Ethel and Fred Mertz on a series of one-hour specials called The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (later retitled The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour).  Desi presented Vance and Frawley with the opportunity to star in their own "Fred and Ethel" spinoff.  Bill Frawley expressed interest in the proposal, but Vivian declined. She did not want to work one-to-one with Frawley.

In 1962, Lucille Ball returned to television without Desi Arnaz whom she had divorced. Ball succeeded in persuading Vivian to join the cast of The Lucy Show as her character's best friend, Vivian Bagley.  In this comedy series, Vivian, who was trying to shed her frumpy Ethel Mertz image, appeared slimmer and more fashionable.

On The Lucy Show, Lucille Ball portrayed Lucy Carmichael, a widow with two children living in Danfield, New York.  Vivian played Lucy's friend and housemate, a divorced mother of a young son.  Her character was the first divorcee to appear regularly on a weekly American television series.

Vance, who lived in Connecticut at the time, found the commute to Hollywood very difficult.  In 1965, after completing her third season on the show, she decided to leave due to the strain of so much travel.  As a result, The Lucy Show was revamped with Lucy's character moving to Los Angles and Vivian's character remarrying and remaining in Danfield.  The series continued in its new format until 1968 and Vivian made three guest appearances during its final years.

Lucy starred in another sitcom, Here's Lucy, with her real life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr.  The series aired from 1968 until 1974 and Vivian Vance made several guest appearances in the role of Vivian Jones.  After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1973, Vivian moved to Belvedere, California so that she could be near her sister.  During this time, her agent made her a three-year deal with Maxwell House Coffee. For the next few years, she was seen in many ads endorsing the product.  To watch Vivian Vance as Maxine in some Maxwell House commercials from the mid-1970s, click on the links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDJMdnOOjGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpunpSs2XU8

Vivian Vance experienced a great deal of matrimonial woe during her lifetime, having wed four times.  She was 19 years old when she married Joseph Shearer Danneck, Jr. in 1928.  The marriage was short-lived and the couple divorced in 1931.  Vance's second husband was George Koch, a musician, whom she wed in 1933.  They remained married until 1940.

On August 12, 1941, Vivian tied the knot with actor Philip Ober.  Ober appeared in a 1951 episode of I Love Lucy entitled "The Quiz Show" and also played the part of Hollywood producer Dore Schary in a 1955 episode of the show.  The marriage ended in a bitter divorce in 1959 amid allegations that Ober physically abused Vivian.  He died of heart failure while working at the U.S. consulate in Mexico City, Mexico on September 13, 1982.  He was 80 years old.

Ober

Vivian's fourth and final spouse was literary agent John Dodds.  She married Dodds on January 16, 1961 and they were still married at the time of her passing in 1979 (from both breast and bone cancer) in Belvedere, California.  Vivian and Dodds llived in various locations in New York and Connecticut..  In 1974, after Vivian's first bout with cancer, they decided to settle on Belvedere Island.  John Dodds also died of cancer on October 9, 1986.  He was 64 years old.

Despite her four marriages, Vivian Vance never had any children.  After her death, Desi Arnaz stated, "It's bad enough to lose one of the great artists we had the honour and the pleasure to work with, but it's even harder to reconcile the loss of one of your best friends."

END NOTES

* Vivian Vance was godmother to musician John Sebastian, founder of The Lovin' Spoonful.  She was good friends with his mother, Jane Sebastian.

* Vivian struggled with mental illness and bravely faced her fears and anxieties.  In 1945, while starring in a touring company of Voice of the Turtle, she suffered a nervous breakdown and underwent psychotherapy.  The State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health honoured Vivian for her advocacy on behalf of the mentally ill.

* Vivian has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


- Joanne

Goodbye, Little Mosque on the Prairie

Tonight marks the final episode of the groundbreaking CBC series, Little Mosque on the Prairie. It's a controversial show even though though its humour is decidedly gentle and low key.  I wrote about it on my blog posting of June 25, 2011 entitled : "Little Mosque on the Prairie: It's Portrayal of Muslims."  I am a fan of Little Mosque because there is no other show of its kind on North American television.  It's the first attempt to portray a Muslim community on TV in a lighthearted fashion.  It may have its faults, but it is an oasis in a sea of mindless reality programs.

If you are a fan of the show, I'd like some feedback from you.  Please tell me what you think of the final season of the series.  Were you surprised that Yasir divorced Sara after more than 31 years of marriage?  I guess the writers had to figure out what to do with Yasir Hamoudi's character because Carlo Rota, Yasir's portrayer, left the cast and has only made token appearances on the show since.  Yasir, a construction contractor, has been away in Lebanon.  He did, however, make an appearance at his daughter Rayyan's wedding last season to Amaar Rashid (Zaib Shaikh).

What about Reverend William Thorne (Brandon Firla)?  What happened to his attempts at romance with the librarian?  That story certainly ended rather abruptly. Perhaps they didn't have anywhere to go with it.  At the very least, however, they should have made further reference to the librarian and what transpired.  Did she leave town?  Did she reject Thorne completely?

I'm pleased that Amaar married Rayyan (Sitara Hewitt), but he seems a bit lost this season.  It is obvious that he has missed being the Imam.  That's why he was so excited when he came up with the idea of building a new mosque for the town.  You could see the fire burning in him again.

Speaking of fire, in the first part of the series finale, Sarah (Sheila McCarthy) inadvertently set fire to the Anglican Church and its accompanying mosque with an incense burner.  The horrified citizens of the fictional town of Mercy, Saskatchewan stood helplessly watching the blaze.  We'll find out the repercussions of that in the second part tonight.  This evening, I plan to sit back on the sofa and enjoy the concluding episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie.  It's a had a good run for six seasons and it will leave its mark.


END NOTE  

I can't imagine CTV or Global airing Little Mosque on the Prairie.  It is so CBC.  That is exactly why we need a public television network.  It's a shame that the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't see it that way. In their recent budget, the Tories slashed more money and more jobs from the publicly funded network.  They would happily kill the CBC, but they can't do it outright because there would be too much opposition.  Instead, they are doing it piecemeal, little by little and very insidiously.  With less funding, the quality of CBC programs will deteriorate and its product will be harshly criticized.  The Tories will attempt to starve the CBC until it is too weak to be saved.

- Joanne

Captain and Tennille: Yes, they're still together - but The Captain is ailing

You remember Captain and Tennille, don't you?   He was extremely taciturn, barely said a word.  She was perky and talkative. They had some big pop hits back in the 1970s, the biggest being "Love Will Keep Us Together," a Grammy-winning song composed by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield.

"The Captain," also known as Daryl Dragon, was born in Los Angeles, California on August 27, 1942.  His renowned father, the late Carmen Dragon, was the conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Symphony.  Daryl, a well-trained musician, is a master of all types of keyboard instruments.  He toured with The Beach Boys in the early 1970s as a keyboardist for the band.  It was Mike Love of The Beach Boys who nicknamed him "Captain Keyboard" because he always wore a nautical captain's hat on stage.

A shy man, Daryl struggled to overcome his shyness with the help of a drama coach.  His bug-eyed expression gives the impression that he is afraid and perplexed.  The truth is that he suffers from a congenital disorder and often wears sunglasses.

Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille is a Southern belle, born in Montgomery, Alabama on May 8, 1940.  She came from a family of entertainers.  Her father, Frank Tennille, was a big band singer with Bob Crosby and the Bob Cats.  His stage name was Clark Randall.  Toni's mother, Cathryn Tenille, hosted Montgomery's first daytime TV talk show.  Her three younger sisters, Jane, Louisa and Melissa, are also singers.  They sang on The Captain and Tenille's television variety show as well as on their recordings.    

Toni studied classical piano and attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama where she sang with Auburn's big band, the Auburn Knights, as did her father  A tall woman with a rich contralto voice, she also sang backup vocals on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." 

In June of 1962, at the age of 22, Toni wed her first husband, onetime rock drummer Kenneth Shearer.  The marriage was troubled from the start but they did not officially divorce until 1972.  Of Shearer, Tennille told People magazine in 1976 that he "is and was a lovely man.  But we both knew it was wrong almost from the first."  She regrets that she did not "shop around" more before marrying him.

Toni first met Daryl Dragon in San Francisco in the summer of 1971.  She was performing in Mother Earth, an ecology-based musical she had written and Daryl auditioned for her as a keyboardist.  She hired him immediately because, as she put it, "he made me laugh."  To reciprocate, Daryl later suggested that Toni be an additional keyboardist for the next Beach Boys tour.  She was hired, giving her the distinction of being the only "Beach Girl."

Toni and Daryl married on November 11, 1975 at the Silver Queen Wedding Chapel in Virginia City, Nevada.  The husband and wife team headlined their own hour-long musical/variety show in 1976-1977 and ABC hoped that they might become another Sonny and Cher.  It didn't quite work out that way.  Despite its popularity, their series, The Captain and Tennille, was short-lived.  Only 20 episodes of the show were ever made and Dick Clark produced the final eight episodes. 

The Captain and Tennille's ratings were good enough to continue into a second season, no easy feat considering the competition.  The show aired at the same time as NBC's formidable Little House on the Prairie and two CBS comedies, Rhoda and Phyllis.  Toni and Daryl, nevertheless, chose not to continue with the series.  They opted to focus on their music and their concert tours instead of renewing their contract.

The couple did, however, star in three well-received follow-up specials on ABC-TV, two in the spring of 1978 ("Captain and Tennille in New Orleans" and "Captain and Tennille in Hawaii") and another in 1979 ("Captain and Tennille: Songbook"). 

The duo's final network special, "Captain and Tennille: Songbook," aired on March 26, 1979.  It contains no comedy skits, just the musical artistry of country star Glen Campbell, jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald and blues icon B.B. King.  One of the highlights of the special is Ella and Toni's medley of torch songs.  To watch Toni's torch song medley with Ella Fitzgerald, click on the lick below.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8673446071316782697

Toni Tennille hosted her own nationally syndicated television talk show in 1980.  Performers on the Toni Tennille Variety Talk Show included Dusty Springfield, Kiki Dee, The Lettermen, Rita Coolidge, The Temptations, The Spinners and Teddy Pendergrass.  Sometimes Toni joined her guests in their songs.  All musical numbers were accompanied by Tennille's seven piece band and her three sisters sang background vocals.  Toni and The Captain performed many of their hits and Toni interviewed an array of popular entertainers including Jaclyn Smith, Lily Tomlin and Viki Carr. 

To watch Toni Tennille's interview with Daryl Dragon on her 1980 talk show, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=hlnvs0uGQRY


In 2007, Toni and Daryl purchased some land in Prescott, Arizona, built a home, and settled there.  On November 11, 2010, they celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.  Sadly, however, Daryl, 69, is battling a debilitating health problem and it has hampered his ability as a musician.  His condition was first thought to be a mild form of Parkinson's disease.  In September of 2010, however, Toni Tennille announced that her husband's illness was actually "a neurological condition that causes him to have tremors." 

Editor's Update (January 23, 2014):  After more than 38 years of marriage, Toni Tennille, 73, filed for divorce from Daryl Dragon, 71, on January 16, 2014 in Yavapai County Superior Court.  A shocked Daryl said he had no idea why she filed.  He told TMZ that "I gotta figure it out for myself first."

The petition for divorce states, "The parties' marriage is irretrievably broken, (and) there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation."


Editor's Update (April 18, 2016):  According to an Associated Press story by Mike Cidoni Lennox, Toni Tenille reveals in her book Toni Tenille: A Memoir that her marriage to Daryl Dragon was a flop.  In a phone call from her home near Orlando, Florida, Toni, now 75, told Lennox that she "never felt loved by him.  "He just did not seem able to do that."  

Toni stated that the Captain's behaviour became increasingly "eccentric" and that he isolated himself in his bedroom.  She stayed with him because "I didn't want to let the fans down." She lamented that "it's sad to me when I think of what Daryl could have been - what more he could have contributed."

Daryl, 73, who still resides in Prescott, Arizona, receives full-time care at home.  He refused a request for an interview.  (Toni said that his illness is not life-threatening).


Editor's Update: (April 25, 2016): There is an excellent recent Skype interview with Toni Tenille.  She is interviewed by Bob Andelman.  You can watch the interview on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS1HwYvwTE8

- Joanne

Clint Eastwood on Television

Clint Eastwood (left) in Rawhide

Although Clint Eastwood is widely known as a movie star and film director, he made his career breakthrough on television.  Born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, California, Eastwood was not far from his 30th birthday when he was cast as Rowdy Yates in the hour-long CBS western series Rawhide. 

Filming for the series began in Arizona in the summer of 1958 and Rawhide aired on CBS until 1965.  During those years, Eastwood's schedule was gruelling.  He often worked 12-hour days, six days a week.  Although the show failed to win a Emmy, it was highly acclaimed and popular with television audience for several years.

Rawhide chronicled the adventures of cattlemen as they travelled across the United States.  Eric Fleming played the role of Gil Favor, the trail boss and chief cattle drive organizer.  Eastwood's Rowdy Yates was his right-hand-man and second-in-command of the operation. 

By late 1963, Rawhide's popularity was on the wane, but the show was not cancelled until the middle of the 1965-1966 television season.  It's interesting to note that Clint was the only member of the cast to appear in all 217 episodes of the series. 

Clint Eastwood's television career began modestly in 1955 when he portrayed an orderly in a TV movie called Allen in Movieland.  Allen in Movieland was a comedy/musical in which stars such as Steve Allen and Tony Curtis played themselves. 

In 1956, Eastwood was cast in some minor television roles.  He was a quick-tempered army officer in a segment of ABC's Reader's Digest series called "Cochise, Greatest of the Apaches" and he played Joe Keeley, a motorcycle gang member on a Highway Patrol episode. 

Clint portrayed a cadet in a 1957 episode of the military anthology West Point called "White Fury."  That same year, he took on the role of a suicidal gold prospector named John Lucas in "The Last Letter," a segment of the long-running western anthology, Death Valley Days. 

Eastwood made a brief appearance in yet another western series in 1957.  According to Patrick McGilligan in his unauthorized biography, Clint: The Life and Legend, Eastwood "can be spotted, fleetingly," in an episode of Wagon Train.  In the filmography at the end of the book, McGilligan names the episode as "The Charles Avery Story."

In 1958, Clint Eastwood played a Navy lieutenant in an episode of Navy Log, a military anthology that reenacted true incidents that had happened to U.S. Navy personnel.  The segment was entitled "The Lonely Watch."

In early 1959, Eastwood made a memorable guest appearance on Maverick, a western series with a humorous bent, starring James Garner.  In the episode, Clint portrayed a cowardly and cold-blooded villain named Red Hardigan.  Hardigan is determined to marry the daughter of Bret Maverick's (Garner) friend for her money.  The episode, "Duel at Sundown" aired on February 1, 1959 (Season 2, Episode 19).

Clint Eastwood (left) with Alan Young and Mr. Ed

During his Rawhide days, Clint Eastwood also appeared in an episode of Mr. Ed, the then-popular sitcom about a talking horse.  The episode was entitled "Clint Eastwood Meets Mr. Ed" (Season 2, Episode 25).  It aired on CBS on April 22, 1962. 

Eastwood portrayed himself in the episode, a change from his usual cowboy roles.  The plot revolves around the problems Clint faces when he moves into Wilbur Post's (Mr. Ed's owner, play by Alan Young) neighbourhood.  Mr. Ed sets up a party line with Clint's house, causing great frustration for Mr. Eastwood. 

 To watch "Clint Eastwood Meets Mr. Ed," click on the links below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGdxxMECZz4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-XZ51yAvEQ

To listen to an interview with Alan Young about Clint Eastwood's appearance on Mr. Ed, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpIaNCXz1M8

Now at the age of 81, Clint Eastwood remains active in filmmaking, though his work is frequently behind the camera.  He recently directed Leonardo Di Caprio in his role as FBI strongman J. Edgar Hoover in the film J. Edgar.  Yet, without the success of Rawhide back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, his iconic film career may never have happened.  


ENDNOTE

It has just been announced that Clint Eastwood's family will star in a reality show called Mrs. Eastwood & Company.  The show will air on E! and it will focus primarily on Clint's wife, Dina Eastwood, and two teenage daughters, Francesca, 18, and Morgan, 15.  Francesca's birth mother is actress Frances Fisher, but she refers to Dina as "Mom." 

Clint will only make guest appearances on Mrs. Eastwood & Company.  The series will showcase Dina's pet project.  She manages an a cappella group called Overtone.


- Joanne

My Remembrance of Davy Jones

There were certain indelible images we had of The Monkees, and that was Mike's cap, Mickey's goofy looks and Davy's cuteness.  Of all of them, Davy's character was the softest.  He was the nice guy, the crowd pleaser.

- Phil Gallo, senior correspondent of Billboard magazine.


Well, I've just learned that Davy Jones of The Monkees died in Indiantown, Florida at the age of 66.  The former teen idol apparently suffered a massive heart attack and passed away unexpectedly at his Florida ranch. 

I feel a great sense of sadness and nostalgia.  It's as if a part of my childhood has vanished.  The truth is that I had a big crush on Davy when I was a 10-year-old in Grade 5.  I would listen dreamily as he sang "I Wanna Be Free."  I hung up magazine posters of Davy and the other Monkees all over the walls of our playroom and I never missed an episode of their television series.

My brother was not impressed with my fondness for The Monkees and he chided me for it.  He insisted that The Beatles were far more talented and that I was wasting my time.  Of course my brother was right about the superiority of Beatles' music.  Of course there is no comparison between the two groups.  It's just that he had absolutely no understanding of how cute I thought Davy was and how captivated I was by his English charm. 

A native of Manchester, England, David Thomas Jones was born on December 30, 1945.  Young Davy appeared in the popular British soap opera Coronation Street in 1961.  At the age of 15, he portrayed Colin Lomax, the grandson of Ena Sharples, on the soap.

The diminutive Jones later became an apprentice jockey in Newcastle, but abandoned his plans to be a rider in order to perform in the theatre.  He eventually made a name for himself by portraying The Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver!.

Davy Jones achieved stardom when The Monkees debuted on NBC on September 12, 1966  Inspired by The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night, it was a fast-paced, youth-oriented progam.  Jones, along with his co-stars Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork, portrayed a rock quartet who became involved in all kinds of madcap adventures and pranks.  The show's original popularity did not last long and the series left the air in 1968 after two seasons.

Davy Jones was married three times and divorced twice. He is survived by his third wife, Jessica Pacheco, a presenter on the American Spanish-language network Telemundo, and his four daughters.  He leaves two daughters from his first marriage to Linda Haines: Talia Elizabeth (born October 2, 1968) and Sarah Lee (born July 3, 1971) and two daughters from his second marriage to Anita Pollinger: Jessica Lillian (born September 4, 1981) and Annabel Charlotte (born June 26, 1988). 

- Joanne

A Portrait of Pam Dawber and Mark Harmon

 

Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber were married on March 21, 1987 and this year they will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.  That's pretty impressive by Hollywood standards, isn't it?

Mark and Pam are the parents of two sons, Sean Thomas and Ty Christian.  Sean was born on April 25, 1988 and Ty was born on June 25, 1992.  The couple met in March of 1986 at a party given by a mutual friend and were introduced to each other by actress Gina Hecht.  They have always been a tad reclusive and they have guarded their privacy fiercely. 

Pam Dawber was born in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Michigan on October 18, 1951.  She is the daughter of Eugene E. Dawber, a commercial artist and his wife Thelma (nee Fisher), a photo agency operator.  Pam was raised in Farmington Hills where she attended North Farmington High School.  Gifted with a beautiful soprano voice, she later prepared for a singing career at Oakland Community College in Oakland County, Michigan.  While at the college, she did some modelling in Detroit.

At the age of 19, Pam Dawber moved to New York City and began a career as a fashion model, eventually signing a contract with the Wilhelmina Model Agency.  She went on to study acting and was cast in her breakout role as Mindy McConnell.

From 1978 to 1982, Pam played Mindy in the hit television series Mork and Mindy.  She and co-star Robin Williams shot to fame in this comedy about a wisecracking extraterrestrial, Mork from the planet "Ork," played by Williams. 

In December of 1976, Pam suffered the devastating loss of her only sibling.  Born with a heart condition, Leslie Dawber, Pam's younger sister, was just 22 years old when she died during open-heart surgery. 

After Leslie's death, Pam underwent therapy.  "When a tragedy happens that big," she told People magazine in 1987, "you have to reassess your life."  She said, "I believe my sister is out there somewhere, and that is a calming idea."

After the demise of Mork and Mindy, Pam Dawber, won the lead role in another situation comedy.  From 1986 to 1988, she played freelance photographer Samantha Russell on My Sister Sam.  Sam Russell shared a San Francisco apartment with her younger sister Patti, played by Rebecca Schaeffer. 

Sadly, on July 18, 1989, an obsessed fan killed Rebecca in the doorway of her Los Angeles apartment building.  The crazed gunman, John Bardo, had been stalking the 21-year-old actress for three years.  Her tragic murder left Pam heartbroken at the death of her television sister.



Rebecca Schaeffer

Pam Dawber has not been active on screen for quite awhile.  In a 2008 interview, she said she may return to acting at some point.  She also revealed that she had not seen Robin Williams for about eight years.  To watch the 2008 interview, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qAY7gBe-5A


Mark Harmon is the son of American football hero Tom Harmon.  Tom won the Heisman Trophy in 1940 and is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the Michigan Wolverines.  After his retirement from football, he became a sports broadcaster.  On March 15, 1990, Tom Harmon passed away in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack.  He was 70 years old.

Mark's mother, Elyse Knox, died last week at her home in Los Angeles.  She was 94 years old at the time of her death.  Elyse was a model and fashion designer in Manhattan until Hollywood beckoned in the late 1930s.  A contract player, she appeared in almost 40 films for major studios.  When she married Tom Harmon in 1944, Elyse's wedding dress was made from the parachute that saved his life when his plane was shot down over China during World War II.

Tom and Elyse settled in Los Angeles and raised three children: Sharon Kristen (born June 25, 1945); Kelly Jean (born November 9, 1948) and Thomas Mark (born September 2, 1951).  Mark and his older sisters all became actors.  In 1963, Kristen married singer/actor Ricky Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet fame.  She and Rick had four children and divorced acrimoniously.

In 1987, two years after Rick's death in a plane accident, Mark and Pam petitioned for custody of their nephew, Sam Hilliard Nelson (born August 29, 1974), Kristen and Rick's youngest child.  They contended that Kristen was incapable of being a good parent due to drug use and mood swings. 

Sam was 13 at the time and the custody battle was highly publicized.  It tore the Harmon family apart.  In the end, however, Mark and Pam dropped the petition and Kristen was given custody of Sam.  Mark and his wife were granted visitation rights.

Following in his father's footsteps, Mark Harmon was a college football star during his days at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).  In 1972, he appeared with his parents in a television commercial for Kellogg's Product 19.

Click on the link below to watch the Kellogg's Product 19 ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvKLC01cY_k

Mark Harmon launched his long and highly successful television career with an appearance on Ozzie's Girls, a 1973-74 syndicated series starring his sister Kristen's in-laws, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Since 1973, Mark has been involved in series after series including St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting, Chicago Hope and The West Wing. He often plays the role of a doctor or a law enforcement officer.

On the medical drama St. Elsewhere, Mark portrayed Dr. Robert "Bobby" Caldwell, a philandering plastic surgeon.  He played the role from 1983 until the final episode of the series in 1986.  In that last episode, it was revealed that Dr. Caldwell was HIV postive. 

Harmon, now 60 years old, currently plays the lead role in the No 1 series on American television.  The series is called NCIS, which stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service.  It's in its ninth season and recently celebrated its 200th episode.

NCIS is viewed in more than 200 countries around the world and is translated into more than 20 different languages.  This forensic police show, originally a spinoff of the CBS drama JAG, made its debut in 2003.  Mark Harmon plays the part of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a former sniper, who leads a fictional team of special agents headquartered in Washington, D.C.  Their mission is to investigate crimes within the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Mark and Pam's eldest son, 23-year-old Sean Harmon, is also an actor and has portrayed the young Gibbs on NCIS.  Sean attended the Los Angeles Film School (LAFS) and has had small roles in independent productions.  He has also taken classes in stunt coordination.

Sean T. Harmon

Mark Harmon is a master at evading unwanted questions.  In matters regarding his family, he remains steadfastly and unfailingly discreet.  For example, when asked about the possibility of his actress wife, Pam, appearing as a guest star on NCIS, Harmon replied, "You'll have to ask her." 

Pam and Mark have worked together in the past.  In the late 1990s, they performed in the play Love Letters.  They also played husband and wife John and Barbara Cooper in the 1999 film I'll Remember April.  The film tells the story of four young boys who discover a shipwrecked Japanese soldier during World War II and must decide whether to save him.

To watch a video about Mark, Pam and their children, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGx9HkiBiao


Editor's Note and Update (December 28, 2012)  

A reader pointed out that I neglected to mention that Mark Harmon appeared in the prime time soap Flamingo Road.  Mark played the role of Fielding Carlyle in all 38 episodes of the show from 1981 until 1982.  Flamingo Road chronicled the lives of the citizens of a sleepy little fictional town called Truro, Florida.


- Joanne

Beverly Hillbillies Quiz

TV BANTER QUIZ #10

Well, howdy folks!  Do you think you know a lot about Jed Clampett and his kin?  Well then, test your knowledge by trying the 12-question quiz below.  Good luck!

BEVERLY HILLBILLIES QUIZ

1.  After the Clampetts struck it rich with oil, how much money did they deposit in Mr. Drysdale's Beverly Hills bank?

A.  $50 million

B.  $20 million

C.  $30 million

D.  $25 million

E.  $35 million



2.  Who was Jethro's mother?

A.  Jed's cousin, Pearl Bodine

B.  Jed's sister, Dolly Bodine

C.  Granny's daughter, Loretta Bodine

D.  Jed's sister-in-law, Molly Bodine

E.  Granny's daughter-in-law, Rose Bodine



3.  What animal was Jed hunting when he struck oil?

A.  Deer

B.  Ducks

C.  Rabbits

D.  Pheasants

E.  Possums



4.  Granny used to cook grits.  What are grits?

A.  A kind of Southern pancake

B.  A thick porridge made from corn

C.  A type of fried chicken

D.  A Southern cornbread

E.  A special Southern waffle with a spicy sauce



5.  What did the Clampetts use as their dining room table?

A.  A pool table

B.  A ping pong table

C.  A large cardboard box

D.  A fancy wooden desk

E.  They put a coffee table on top of a big box.



6.  What was the first name of Mr. Drysdale's secretarial assistant, Miss Hathaway?

A.  Joan

B.  June

C.  Jean

D.  Janet

E.  Jane



7.  For how many seasons was The Beverly Hillbillies on the air?

A.  7

B.  6

C.  8

D.  9

E.  10


8.  During the first season of the Beverly Hillbillies, there was a storyline about a romance between Jethro Bodine's sister and a character named Jasper DePew.  What was the name of Jethro's sister?

A.  Justine Bodine

B.  Charlene Bodine

C.  Jethrine Bodine

D.  Jodine Bodine

E.  Jenine Bodine


9.  What was Jed Clampett's favourite expression?

A  Hot Dog!

B.  Well, doggie!

C.  Fix me some grits!

D.  I'm done tired, Granny!

E.  Those folks just don't understand!   


10.  What was Miss Hathaway's hobby?

A.  Stamp collecting

B.  Photography

C.  Bird watching

D.  Knitting

E.  Coin collecting


11.  Granny was Jed Clampett's mother-in-law.  What was Granny's real name?

A.  Dottie Ann Moses

B.  Jenny May Moses

C.  Myrna May Moses

D.  Daisy May Moses

E.  Mary Ellen Moses


12.  Which of the following Hollywood personalities appeared in an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies?

A.  Rock Hudson

B.  Louella Parsons

C.  Zsa Zsa Gabor

D.  Bing Crosby

E.  Hedda Hopper



ANSWERS

1.  D

The Clampetts deposited $25 million in Milburn Drysdale's Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills.  John Brewster of the OK Oil Company gave the money to them in exchange for drilling rights to their land.

2.  E

Jethro Bodine was the son of Jed's widowed cousin, Pearl Bodine. Although Jethro referred to Jed Clampett as his "Uncle Jed," Jed was not really his uncle.  Note: The part of Pearl Bodine was played by Bea Benaderet who later portrayed matriarch Kate Bradley on Petticoat Junction.


3.  C

Jed was hunting rabbits when he struck oil on his land in the Ozark Mountains.


4.  B

Grits are a thick porridge common in the southern United States.  They are made of coarsely ground corn and mostly eaten at breakfast.

5.  A

The Clampetts used a pool table as their dining room table.



6.  E



Nancy Kulp

Mr. Drysdale's assistant at the bank was Jane Hathaway. The Clampetts addressed her as "Miss Jane."  The role of Jane Hathaway was played by Nancy Kulp.  Nancy Kulp passed away on February 3, 1991 at the age of 69.  She died of cancer in Palm Desert, California.


7.  D

The Beverly Hillbillies ran for nine seasons.  It was originally broadcast on CBS from 1962 until 1971.


8.  C

Jethrine Bodine was the name of Jethro's sister.  Max Baer, Jr., who portrayed Jethro, dressed as woman to play Jethrine.  Jethrine's speaking voice was provided by Linda Kaye Henning, the daughter of Paul Henning, the creator of The Beverly Hillbillies.  Linda later went on to play the role of Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction.

Jethrine

9.  B

Jed was fond of the expression "Well, doggie!"  It was Jethro who liked to say, "Hot dog!"


10.  C

Miss Hathaway was an avid bird watcher and could often be seen with binoculars.


11.  D

Granny's real name was Daisy May Moses.  Irene Ryan, who played the part of Granny, died on April 26, 1973 in Santa Monica California after suffering a stroke.  In hospital, it was discovered that she had an undiagnosed brain tumour.  Irene was 70 years old at the time of her death.

12.  E

Hollywood Columnist Hedda Hopper appeared as herself in the final episode of a four-part Beverly Hillbillies series.  The episode was entitled "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" and it aired on October 14, 1964.  The episode centres around greedy Mr. Drysdale's plans to tear down a studio backlot for a real estate development.  The development is opposed by Hedda Hopper.

- Joanne