SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

The CW's A Waltons Thanksgiving Airs Nov. 20; Rewind TV's A Week of Very Special Episodes Includes Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life and More; Remembering Mark Miller of Please Don't Eat the Daisies

The CW Network announced that the new, original made-for-television movie A Waltons Thanksgiving will premiere Sunday, November 20 (8:00-10:00pm ET/PT). A follow-up to the highly successful The Waltons' Homecoming, the movie reunites the Walton family as they prepare for Thanksgiving in 1934. The Depression has affected everyone, but John Walton (Teddy Sears) has found a way to provide for his family through the farm and by picking up odd jobs from the eccentric Baldwin Sisters. It’s also the time of year for the Annual Harvest Festival Fair, where carnival rides, talent shows and pie contests become the center of attention for the Waltons. As the story unfolds, John Boy (Logan Shroyer) learns the true meaning of taking responsibility, Mary Ellen (Marcelle LeBlanc) comes to understand patience and collaboration, Grandma (Rebecca Koon) finds that winning can be complicated, and Olivia (Bellamy Young) shares her healing heart with every other Walton family member — at a time when each of them need it most. And when a young boy enters the Waltons' world, everyone's life is changed in ways they could never have imagined — transformed forever through love, faith and kindness!

A Waltons Thanksgiving stars Bellamy Young as Olivia, Logan Shroyer as John Boy, Teddy Sears as John Sr., Marcelle LeBlanc as Mary Ellen, Christian Finlayson as Jason, Tatum Matthews as Erin, Samuel Goergen as Jim Bob, Calloway Corrick as Elizabeth, Alpha Trivette as Grandpa Walton, Rebecca Koon as Grandma Walton, with special guest stars Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. Richard Thomas, who originally starred as John Boy Walton in the beloved television series The Waltons, as adult John Boy, who narrates the movie. The television movie is produced by Magnolia Hill Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producer Sam Haskell, writer/co-executive producer Jim Strain, co-executive producer Hudson Hickman, producer Billy Levin, and producer Bobby Kelly. Joe Lazarov is the director/co-executive producer and Grammy® winner Tena Clark is the composer. The Waltons original series was created by Earl Hamner.

Rewind TV will air "A Week of Very Special Episodes" next week (Sept. 19-23). It will be a week of special episodes featuring very tough topics. You can catch these special episodes in all your favorite Rewind TV shows timeslots from 11am-6pm. Shows featured are The Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, Family Ties, The Hogan Family, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss? and Head of the Class. Episodes include Diff'rent Strokes two-part episode "The Bicycle Man," where a neighborhood merchant who is actually a child molester plans to make his move on the unsuspecting Arnold and Dudley; The Facts of Life episode "Fear Strikes Back," where Natalie is attacked while returnign from a party; Family Ties episode "Say Uncle," where Alex discovers Uncle Ned's (Tom Hanks) serious drinking problem, and Who's the Boss? episode "Boozin Buddies," where Tony gets a lesson in peer pressure after Samantha comes home drunk.

Actor Mark Miller, who starred as Jim Nash on Please Don't Eat the Daisies, has died. He died on September 9 of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica, California. Mr. Miller was 97.

Miller's first starring role was as Bill Hooten on the 1960-1961 ABC sitcom Guestward, Ho!. The premise revolves around a New York City family, the Hootens, who tire of the urban lifestyle and relocate to operate a dude ranch in New Mexico. It was based on the 1956 comic memoir of the same title by New Mexico dude ranch operator Barbara "Babs" Hooton, written in cooperation with Auntie Mame author Patrick Dennis. The series also starred Joanne Dru, J. Carrol Naish, Flip Mark, Earle Hodgins, Jolene Brand and Tony Montenaro, Jr.

He starred as English college professor Jim Nash on the 1965-1967 NBC sitcom Please Don't Eat the Daisies. Jim and Joan Nash (Patricia Crowley) are a married couple who live in an old, turreted house in Ridgemont, New York, with their four rambunctious sons (Kyle, Joel, and identical twins Trevor and Tracy), a very tolerant live-in maid, and an enormous Old English sheepdog named Ladadog. The series ran for two seasons and 58 episodes. Miller received an Emmy nomination for writing the 1966 episode "The Magnificent Muldoon," which guest starred Burgess Meredith. The series also starred Kim Tyler, Brian Nash, Joe Fithian, Jeff Fithian, Shirley Mitchell, Harry Hickox (1965-1966), King Donovan (1966-1967), Dub Taylor (1965-1966), Ellen Corby, Bill Quinn (1966-1967) and Jean VanderPyl (1966-1967).

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Stanley, The Andy Griffith Show, The Patty Duke Show, I Dream of Jeannie and That Girl.

Miller guest starred in six episodes of NBC's The Name of the Game from 1969 to 1971. Four of those appearances was as Ross Craig, Glenn Howard's (Gene Barry) other executive assistant. He appeared as Howard Jones in 13 episodes of Bright Promise in 1970. He played J.R. Barnett in 17 episodes of Days of Our Lives from 1975 to 1976.

Some of his other drama guest appearances included I Spy, Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, The Tall Man, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Stoney Burke, Hawaiian Eye, The Twilight Zone, The Invaders, The Smith Family, The F.B.I. (1972), Adam-12, Cannon, Emergency!, Barnaby Jones, Kung Fu, The Waltons, Marcus Welby, M.D. (2 episodes), Harry O and The Streets of San Francisco (2 episodes).

Miller's other writing credits included The Jeffersons, Diff'rent Strokes (3 episodes), Together We Stand (2 episodes), What a Dummy (2 episodes) and The Munsters Today (4 episodes).

He wrote, produced and starred in the 1982 family film Savannah Smiles. It was about two vagabonds named Alvie (Miller) and Boots (Dononvan Scott) who befriend six-year-old Savannah (Bridgette Andersen). He wrote, produced and appeared in the 1974 comedy-drama film Ginger in the Morning, which starred Sissy Spacek. He wrote and starred as Gabe Sweet alongside Slim Pickens in Christmas Mountain: The Story of a Cowboy Angel (1981). Some of his other film credits included Youngblood Hawke (1964), Mr. Sycamore (1975) and Dixie Dynamite (1976).

Survivors include his three daughters Savannah, Penelope Ann (actress) and Marisa and his granddaughters: Amelia, Eloisa, Gretta, Sophie, Maria and Celeste.

Mr. Miller was a talented and versatile actor. He made more than forty appearances in television series and films. Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a wonderful show that should be available on DVD, streaming or aired on a channel. It has been many years since it was last shown in syndication. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Please Don't Eat the Daisies message board. View photos in our galleries.

Posted by Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Labels: Diff'rent Strokes, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Head of the Class, Hogan Family, Obits, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Rewind TV, The CW, The Facts of Life, The Waltons, Who's the Boss?