Thursday, May 30, 2024

Camp Snoopy Premieres June 14 on Apple TV+; Remembering Elizabeth MacRae of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Camp Snoopy

Attention campers! Apple TV+ unveiled the trailer for the all-new, highly anticipated summer Peanuts series Camp Snoopy, premiering on Friday, June 14.

After discovering their troop is in danger of disbanding, Snoopy and the Beagle Scouts set off to immerse themselves in nature and the Great Outdoors to earn their badges, with the Beagle Scout Manual as their guide. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown and friends enjoy their summer at Camp Spring Lake, crossing paths with Snoopy as they experience hiking, swimming, sitting around campfires and everything summer camp and the outdoors have to offer.

Produced for Apple TV+ by Peanuts and WildBrain, the new series is based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz and is directed by Rob Boutilier (The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space). Executive producers are Craig Schulz, Paige Braddock, Boutilier, Josh Scherba, Stephanie Betts and Logan McPherson.




Elizabeth MacRae

Actress Elizabeth MacRae, who had a recurring role as Lou-Ann Poovie on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., has died. She died on May 27 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Ms. MacRae was 88.

Jim Nabors and Elizabeth MacRae

MacRae had a recurring role as Lou-Ann Poovie in 15 episodes of the CBS sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. from 1966 to 1969. Lou-Ann Poovie is Gomer's (Jim Nabors) girlfriend. She debuts in the third season episode "Love's Old Sweet Song" as a singer for a nightclub, but leaves the job at Gomer's urging to return home to Turtle Creek, North Carolina, and marry her beau Monroe Efford. She was hired to play a very lousy singer for just one episode, cast because she was indeed a bad singer, and because of her true bred southern accent. The characters – and MacRae and Nabors – got along so well onscreen, they decided to make her more or less his permanent girlfriend.

Jack Dodson and Elizabeth MacRae- The Andy Griffith Show

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included Harrigan and Son, I Dream of Jeannie, The Andy Griffith Show and Rhoda.

She was cast multiple times on the long-running Gunsmoke, appearing once in the role of Fanny in the 1962 episode "Half-Straight" and then, between 1962 and 1965, appearing four times as April, the girlfriend of Festus Haggen (Ken Curtis), one of the series' main characters.

Some of her other television guest appearances included Naked City, Maverick, The Asphalt Jungle, Surfside 6 (3 episodes), 77 Sunset Strip, Dr. Kildare, The Untouchables, Sam Benedict, Stoney Burke, Death Valley Days, Burke's Law, Route 66 (4 episodes), Rawhide, The Fugitive, The Virginian, Bonanza, Judd for the Defense, Mannix, Petrocelli, Kojak (2 episodes) and Barnaby Jones.

MacRae's soap opera credits included General Hospital, Another World, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light and Search for Tomorrow.

She starred as Meredith in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974). Her other film credits included Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961), Everything's Ducky (1961), The Wild Westerners (1962), Wild Is My Love (1963), For Love or Money (1963), The Incredible Mr. Lumpet (1964) (as the voice of Ladyfish) and Alien Zone (1978). Her final credit was as a news reporter in Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989).

Ms. MacRae was funny and memorable as Lou-Ann Poovie. She performed in dozens of television series and in nine feature films over her career that spanned 25 years. We thank her for her work on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and other series. She will be deeply missed.

Albert S. Ruddy

Film and television producer Albert S. Ruddy, who co-created Hogan's Heroes, has died. He died after a brief illness at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 25. Mr. Ruddy was 94.

Ruddy and Bernard Fein created the 1965-1971 CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes. The series is set in a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, which concerns a group of Allied prisoners who use the POW camp as an operations base for sabotage and espionage purposes directed against Nazi Germany. It was a critical and commercial success and ran for six seasons and 168 episodes.

In 1976, he produced a western made-for-TV movie called The Macahans, which was subsequently developed into the 1976-1979 ABC western series How the West Was Won. Ruddy, Leslie Greif, Paul Haggis and Christopher Canaan created the 1993-2001 CBS action crime series Walker, Texas Ranger. He was the executive producer for three episodes in 1993. He was also credited on the 2021-2024 The CW prequel series Walker.

He produced The Godfather (1972) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), both of which won him the Academy Award for Best Picture. In the 2022 Paramount+ biographical drama miniseries The Offer, which dramatizes the making of The Godfather and is executive produced by Ruddy, he is played by Miles Teller.

Mr. Ruddy was developing a Hogan's Heroes sequel series in 2019. It will be interesting to see if it ever happens. We thank him for creating the classic Hogan's Heroes. He will be greatly missed.

Darryl Hickman

We also remember actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach Darryl Hickman. He appeared in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Nanny and other sitcoms. He died on May 22 in Montecito, California. Mr. Hickman was 92.

Darryl Hickman and Dwayne Hickman

Hickman played Davey Gillis in three episodes of the first season (1959-1960) of the CBS sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Davey Gillis is Dobie's (Dwayne Hickman) older brother, a college student no more responsible and no less girl-crazy than Dobie. Davey was written out of the series after season one and Dobie is regarded as an only child thereafter.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Love, American Style (1970), Maude and All in the Family. He appeared as various characters in four episodes of The Nanny from 1997 to 1999.

Hickman starred as Ben Canfield in the short-lived 1961 NBC Civil War drama The Americans. Some of his other television guest appearances included The Lone Ranger (2 episodes), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Gunsmoke (2 episodes), Rawhide (2 episodes), The Untouchables (2 episodes), Dr. Kildare and Baywatch. He wrote three episodes of The Loretta Young Show in 1961 and an episode of Hawaiian Eye in 1961.

Some of his voice credits included Space Stars, Pac-Man, The Biskitts, Pole Position, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.

He appeared in films such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Fighting Father Dunne (1948).

Mr. Hickman started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous television series as an adult. He was the older brother of Dwayne Hickman who died in 2022. We thank him for work on television and in films. He will be sorely missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, July 12

Mind Your Business - "Love Child" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alfonso and Aaliyah's world is flipped upside down when their mother's secret love child comes into town, while Mia tries to figure out who is sending her gifts every hour on the hour.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Friday, July 11

  • Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Fairview/Corporate) and Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Aparna and Whitney are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Malachi Barton (Stuck in the Middle) and Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) - Malachi and Meg discuss Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires and perform on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am. They will also be on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton talks about Black Coffee and Ice Water on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Margaret Cho (All-American Girl) and Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - CBS News contributor Lisa Ling talks with Margaret and Joel on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE sitdown with actress/director/author Krysten Ritter who recently released her new thriller/mystery novel Retreat, so check your local listings.
  • Maggie Q (Pivoting) - Maggie Q talks about Prime's Ballard on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Tisha Campbell (Act Your Age/Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) and Wendy Raquel Robinson (Poppa's House/The Game/Here We Go Again/The Steve Harvey Show/Minor Adjustments) - Tisha and Wendy chat about their film Operation: Aunties on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings. They will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
  • David Zayas (The Bear/Saint George) - David appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - 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


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/11 - The Office Spinoff The Paper Premieres September 4; Upload Season 4 Returns August 25
07/10 - The Big Bang Theory's Stuart Spinoff Ordered by HBO Max; Long Story Short Premieres August 22 on Netflix
07/09 - New Girl Summer on Hulu; Vir Das Gets Brand New Netflix Special
07/08 - Tubi Comedy Series Demascus Premieres in August; LEGO Masters Jr. Lines Up Celebs for 4-Week Event
07/07 - Digman! Season Premiere Moved to July 23; Hulu's Reasonable Doubt Returns September 18
07/06 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of July 7, 2025)
07/05 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Comedy Central Delays South Park and Digman! Season Premieres; Jackée to Appear in Guest Role in Netflix Series
07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production