Monday, January 21, 2008
Day 78: WGA's Strike; Remembering Allan Melvin, Suzanne Pleshette, and More
The writers are still looking through the deal the Directors got. Let's hope they at least get back to the bargaining table. They haven't been there since early December.
As we mentioned yesterday, we will have full tributes today on all the sitcom passings. We will start with Allan Melvin.
Veteran actor Allan Melvin died in his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, on Thursday, from cancer. He appeared on many sitcoms over the years but two characters stand out--he played Sam the butcher, the boyfriend of Alice the housekeeper, on The Brady Bunch and he also played the character Barney, Archie's friend, on both All in the Family and the continuation series Archie Bunker's Place. Melvin broke into the acting business on the '50s sitcom The Phil Silvers Show as the character Cpl. Henshaw, the right-hand man to Sgt. Ernie Bilko. Among his sitcom guest shots include Green Acres, Love American Style, Mayberry RFD, The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Favorite Martian, Gomer Pyle USMC, Make Room for Daddy, McHale's Navy, and The Andy Griffith Show. Melvin also did A LOT of work in cartoons. He was the voice of Magilla Gorilla in the Hannah-Barbera series. Additionally, he played the voice of Bluto on the cartoon series Popeye. Among the other many voice-overs he did over the years were on such animated series such as TaleSpin, DuckTales, The Flintstones, Smurfs, and many more. While his name is not a household name, everyone that is a TV fan knows who he was and he will certainly be missed. Let's hope TV Land does a little tribute at least with episodes of The Brady Bunch and All in the Family at least. The fine folks at Retro Television Network have been running a nice tribute spot for Allan and they have shared it with us for you all to see. Click HERE to view the tribute spot. Mr. Melvin was 85.
We are also mourning the loss of a TV legend today. Veteran actress Suzanne Pleshette has passed away. She was best known for her role as Bob Newhart's wife on television's long-running The Bob Newhart Show in which she earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She died Saturday, just days before she was to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006 and she died of respiratory failure at her Los Angeles home. The beautiful, husky-voiced actress had a prolific TV career in such series in guest roles such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, The Fugitive, Love American Style, Gunsmoke, Courtship of Eddie's Father, Bonanza, 8 Simple Rules, Good Morning Miami and Will & Grace. She earned an Emmy nomination for her guest role on Dr. Kildare in 1962. She reunited with Bob Newhart on his '80s series in the series finale of Newhart in 1990. The series finale of Newhart was among the best of all-time with a shocking plot. She also appeared on Broadway and in films, such as the popular Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. She was also nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in the CBS TV movie Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean which won its timeslot in the ratings. She married Tom Poston of Newhart in 2001 after knowing him for over 30 years. Unfortunately Tom passed away last year just months after she started chemotherapy. She will certainly be missed by the world of classic TV and her fans. She was gone way too soon. Let's hope TV Land does a big tribute for her as she appeared on one of the most famous sitcoms of all-time and one of the best series finales of all-time. Ms. Pleshette was just 70 years old and just days away from her 71st birthday (Jan. 31).
One of our readers named Frank informed us yesterday that we had missed the passing of Mala Powers back in June. We are sorry we missed this, but we will do a little tribute right now. Though certainly not a well-known name or a big time sitcom character actor, she was on Hazel for a season and appeared on Bewitched, Bob Cummings Show and Here Comes the Bride. Her work was mainly in TV dramas such as guest shots on Charlie's Angels, Ironside, Daniel Boone, Wild Wild West, Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Rawhide, Surfside 6, Maverick, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bonanza, and Wagon Train. So she was on quite a bit of 50s and 60s dramas, especially westerns. Mala died in June of complications from leukemia. She was 76 at the time of her death.
While we're at it, John Stewart has passed away on Saturday of a stroke. No, not of The Daily Show, but the one who wrote The Monkees song "Daydream Believer." He was mainly a song-writer. He was 68.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, October 23
Abbott Elementary - "Class Pet" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Janine gets a budget for class pets, but Melissa is resistant to taking on the added work and responsibility for her room’s guinea pig. An IT rep from the school district arrives to set up new computers.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Bullies" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris gets a gig DJ-ing at a drag ball and develops drag queen eyes.
Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Career Tests" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris and Greg tape over a porno rented from Caruso and must replace it.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 21)
Wednesday, October 23
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Watch Billy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - NBC's Today catches up with Olivia some time between 7-9am.
- Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- David Henrie (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place/Wizards of Waverly Place/How I Met Your Mother/The Pitts) - David discusses Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings. One or two Wizards Beyond Waverly Place cast members will be on New York Living at 10:05am.
- Judith Light (Who's the Boss?/Phenom/Transparent) - Judith talks about Before on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska talks about the greatest thing sheĆ¢€™s learned since turning 60 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell) - Dexter talks about Peacock's Fight Night; The Million Dollar Heist on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence talks about Poppa's House on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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