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Classic TV's Biggest Auction; Remembering Will Hutchins and Wink Martindale

Lecy Goranson (The Conners & Roseanne) appeared at the preview of TV's biggest auction CHANNEL SURFING at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles. Lecy Goranson who played Becky Conner was reunited with one of the most famous and instantly recognizable TV couches–the beige plaid sofa and knitted afghan blanket used by the brash and lovable Conner family on the smash hit comedy series Roseanne. Originally bought at Sears in 1988 and previously exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution, the artifact will go under the hammer May 7th-8th coming off the series finale of the Roseanne reboot series The Conners. Other items from Roseanne up for offer and seen in the video include costumes worn by Roseanne Barr ("Chicken Hearts" episode waitress uniform and pink bathrobe and nightgown), Laurie Metcalf (police uniform), Sara Gilbert (hoodie and jeans) and John Goodman (red, white and blue plaid shirt and Lee jeans).

Channel Surfing features an astonishing collection of over 600 iconic objects and important TV memorabilia that will be sold for the first time to the public in a historic two-day auction taking place Wednesday, May 7th and Thursday, May 8th live at Julien's Studios in Los Angeles and online at Julien's Auctions. Iconic items will be offered from the shows Cheers, Frasier, Roseanne, Wonder Woman, All in the Family, Law & Order, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Mad Men, M*A*S*H, Beverly Hills 90210, Cher show/Sonny & Cher Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Six Feet Under, Breaking Bad, Dynasty, The Handmaid's Tale, Dexter, Veep, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, The Facts of Life, The Office, The Carol Burnett Show, American Idol, Survivor, Captain Kangaroo, Get Smart, Lost in Space, The Greatest American Hero, Deal or No Deal, The X-Files, Star Trek, The Munsters, The Brady Bunch, and more.

Actor Will Hutchins, who starred as Woody Banner in Hey, Landlord and as Dagwood Bumstead in Blondie (1968-1969), has died. He died of respiratory failure at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, on April 21. Mr. Hutchins was 94.

Hutchins starred as Woody Banner in the short-lived 1966-1967 CBS sitcom Hey, Landlord. Woody Banner learns that his uncle has died and that he has inherited from him a New York City brownstone apartment building in Manhattan's East 30s as its landlord. It served as the first TV show as co-creator/producer for Garry Marshall. The series also starred Sandy Baron, Pamela Rodgers, Miko Mayama, Michael Constantine, Ann Morgan Guilbert, and Kathryn Minner.

He starred as Dagwood Bumstead in the short-lived 1968-1969 CBS sitcom Blondie. The series is an updated version of the 1957 TV series based on the comic strip of the same name. The series stars Patricia Harty as the title character and Will Hutchins as her husband, Dagwood Bumstead. Other cast members included Jim Backus, Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Henny Backus, Bobbi Jordan, and Bryan O'Byrne.

Hutchins was best known for his role as Tom "Sugarfoot" Brewster in the 1957-1961 ABC western Sugarfoot. Tom Brewster was an Easterner who comes to the Oklahoma Territory to become a lawyer. Brewster was a correspondence-school student whose apparent lack of cowboy skills earned him the nickname "Sugarfoot", a designation even below that of a tenderfoot. Hutchins was the only regular on the show.

He guest starred in a 1972 episode of Love, American Style. Some of his other television guest appearances included Conflict (3 episodes), Matinee Theatre (4 episodes), 77 Sunset Strip (2 episodes), Maverick, Cheyenne, The Roaring 20's, Bronco, Surfside 6, Gunsmoke, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Perry Mason, The New Perry Mason, Emergency!, Chase, Movin' On, and The Streets of San Francisco.

Hutchins co-starred with Elvis Presley as Lt. Tracy Richards in Spinout (1966) and as Tom Wilson/"Scott Hayward" in Clambake (1967). He played real-life American scout Frederick Russell Burnham in Shanghai Patrol (1970).

Mr. Hutchins was a talented and versatile actor. He later became a ringmaster and a clown for various circuses. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.

Disc jockey, radio personality, game show host and television producer Wink Martindale, who hosted Gambit and Tic-Tac-Dough, has died. He died from lymphoma at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 15. Mr. Martindale was 91.

Martindale hosted the 1972-1976 CBS game show Gambit and the 1980-1981 NBC game show Las Vegas Gambit. He hosted Tic-Tac-Dough on CBS and in first-run syndication from 1978 to 1985. He hosted the 1987-1988 syndicated version of High Rollers. He hosted the 1996-1998 Lifetime game show Debt for two seasons.

He guest starred as himself in an episode of the 1983 ABC sitcom Just Our Luck. He does a burlesque quiz show in which he couldn't seem to give away anything. In 1997, he appeared as himself with Bea Arthur in an episode of the CBS sitcom Dave's World. Some of his other television guest appearances included Equal Justice and The Bold and the Beautiful (4 episodes as Reverend Brown). He provided the voice of Wink Martiandale in a 1987 episode of The Jetsons and Sphinx Martindale in a 1998 episode of Hercules.

Martindale started his career as a disc jockey. His rendition of the spoken-word song "Deck of Cards" went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold over a million copies in 1959.

He was interviewed for The Interviews: An Oral History of Television on April 11, 2017.

Mr. Martindale was a game show host legend. He hosted or was involved in the production of over 20 game shows. On October 13, 2007, he was one of the first inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. We thank him for the entertainment during his career. He will be sorely missed.

We also remember Filipino-American actor Patrick Adiarte. He had a recurring role as Ho-Jon in the first and second seasons of M*A*S*H. He died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles-area hospital on April 15. Mr. Adiarte was 82.

Adiarte had a recurring role as Ho-Jon in seven episodes of the first and second seasons of the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H from 1972 to 1973. Ho-Jon is an orphaned Korean houseboy who assisted Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers).

He guest starred as David in two episodes of the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch in 1972. In "Hawaii Bound" and "Pass the Tabu", he is the construction gofer who gives the kids a tour before things get chaotic when Bobby discovers a small tiki idol that could be cursed.

Adiarte guest starred in a 1973 episode of The New Temperatues Rising. Some of his other television credits included CBS Playhouse, It Takes a Thief, Ironside, Bonanza, Hawaii Five-O (1972), and Kojak (2 episodes). He was a regular dancer on the 1965-1966 NBC musical variety series Hullabaloo.

Some of his film credits included The King and I (1956), High Time (1960), and Flower Drumg Song (1961).

Mr. Adiarte focused on dance instruction after retiring from screen work. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.

Actor Nicky Katt starred as Matthew MacLane in Herbie, the Love Bug. He was found dead by his landlord who went to collect his overdue rent on April 8 at his home in Burbank, California. He had died by suicide by hanging and appeared to have been dead for several days before his body was discovered. Mr. Katt was 54.

Katt starred as Matthew MacLane in the short-lived 1982 CBS sitcom Herbie, the Love Bug. Dean Jones, who had appeared in two of the films (The Love Bug and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo), reprises his role of Jim Douglas, Herbie's original owner, now a retired race car driver who works as an instructor at the Famous Driving School with his partner Bo Phillips (Richard Paul). The series also starred Patricia Harty, Claudia Wells, Douglas Emerson, Bryan Utman, Larry Linville, and Natalie Core.

Some of his sitcom guest apperances included The Facts of Life, Dear John (2 episodes), Uncle Buck (1991), Love & War, Double Rush, Friends, and Casual. He provided various voices for three episodes of King of the Hill.

He was known for his starring role as Harry Senate in the Fox drama Boston Public from 2000 to 2002. He played Sean Donovan in two episodes of V: The Series. Some of his other television guest appearances included CHiPs, Father Murphy (2 episodes), Code Red, Voyagers!, Trapper John, M.D. (1982), Quincy, M.E. (1983), The Guardian (2 episodes), Monk, Love Monkey, and Law & Order.

Some of his film credits included Dazed and Confused (1993), A Time to Kill (1996), The Limey (1999), Boiler Room (2000), The Way of the Gun (2000), Insomnia (2002), Secondhand Lions (2003), and Sin City (2005).

Mr. Katt began his career as a child actor, and as an adult, frequently played unsympathetic characters or villains. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be sorely missed.

Actor Joey D. Vieira had recurring roles in The Pride of the Family and Hank. He died on April 7 following a long illness while receiving hospice care. Mr. Vieira was 80.

Vieira had a recurring role as Hollis Bridwell in seven episodes of the 1953-1954 ABC sitcom The Pride of the Family. He had a recurring role as Norman Zelinko in nine episodes of the 1965-1966 NBC sitcom Hank.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included The Ray Milland Show, Mayor of the Town, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (2 episodes), My Three Sons, and Married...with Children.

He began as a child actor using the professional name Donald Keeler playing Sylvester "Porky" Brockway, a farm boy and Jeff's friend, in the first several seasons (1954–57) of Lassie.

Some of his film credits included Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and The Patriot (2000).

Mr. Vieira spent over 65 years in show business. He was the older half-brother of the late child actor Ken Weatherwax, widely known for portraying Pugsley Addams on The Addams Family. We thank him for his work on television and in films. He will be greatly missed.

Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:30 PM

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Labels: GSN, M*A*S*H, Obits, Roseanne, The Conners, Tic Tac Dough