Tributes To Your Favorite Classic TV Stars (2 Viewers)

[Doug Wallen]

I alway remember Royal Dano as the "The Lighting Rod Peddler" in Something Wicked this way Comes ~

A favorite book of mine that I read repeatedly during High School ('71 to '75). I was pleased when I heard it was being turned into a film but wary since Disney was the studio.

Upon release, I was amazed at how the book's tone was captured, but felt Grier was probably not the best choice or just not well written. The boys were just fine and Robards and Pryce were perfect.

As with some of you, this was my first major exposure to Mr. Dano. I began paying attention to his appearances on TV and became a huge fan.

Since I enjoy westerns, I have seen him many times in my classic tv collection.

 

[Dan McW]

I've enjoyed Royal Dano in numerous appearances on classic TV shows. In one movie, Savage Sam, Dano is the only uncredited actor, even though he has a decent-sized role comparable to some of the other actors' IIRC.

 

[The 1960's]

In Tribute
Today, May 21st is the Birthdate of Raymond Burr (1917-1993)​

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Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. Burr's early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television, and film, usually as the villain. His portrayal of the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window (1954) is his best-known film role, although he is also remembered for his role in the 1956 film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which he reprised in the 1985 film Godzilla 1985. He won Emmy Awards for acting in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons (1957–1966) and reprised in a series of 26 Perry Mason TV movies (1985–1993). His second TV series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations... Continue @ Wikipedia



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Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
Stars Raymond Burr Takashi Shimura Momoko Kôchi​

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A 400-foot (122-meter) dinosaur-like beast, awoken from undersea hibernation off the Japanese coast by atomic-bomb testing, attacks Tokyo.​

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Raymond Burr had a tremendous flair for comedy.

The Jack Benny Program (1950-1965)
Stars Jack Benny Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson Don Wilson Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson Dennis Day Mary Livingstone Mel Blanc Benny Rubin The Sportsmen Quartet Frank Nelson Ned Miller Herb Vigran Jeanette Eymann Dale White Charles Cantor Lois Corbett Bob Crosby George Burns Sammy Weiss Rolfe Sedan Maudie Prickett Ross Elliott Frank Remley Iris Adrian Artie Auerbach Charles Bagby Chick Sheridan Jesslyn Fax Gisele MacKenzie Joe Besser​

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The comic misadventures of the "skinflint" comedian and his friends.

S12E03 Jack on Trial for Murder (Nov.05.1961)
Stars Jack Benny Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson Don Wilson Raymond Burr Frank Nelson Frank Wilcox Addison Richards Angelina Bauer Grandon Rhodes John Alvin George E. Stone​

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Jack goes on trial for murder, defended by superstar lawyer Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). The women in the courtroom swoon over Perry, but his defense of Jack is feeble. When Jack asks how Perry always wins on his own show, Perry Mason sneers "because my writers are better than yours!" Mel Blanc Frank Nelson standout performances!!​

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S013E04 Air Force Sketch (Oct.16.1962)
Stars Jack Benny Raymond Burr Dennis Day Don Wilson Roland Winters Glen Turnbull Robert Patten Warren Vanders​

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Raymond Burr wants to be a comedian, so Jack allows him to host the show. Note his hilarious and very agile dance routine beginning @ 2:15.​

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… Other member tributes to follow today ….​

 

[Doug Wallen]

Birthday Tribute for Raymond Burr

Like most people of the '60's, I grew up in a world of three networks if the sky was clear. As a child, I played outside all day long with the neighborhood kids. Television viewing was in the afternoon (after my mom's soaps and before the evening news). Prime time viewing belonged to my parents.

My afternoons were spent with “Dialing For Dollars” movies and newly released syndicated prime time staples (eg. The Rifleman, I Love Lucy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Maverick – you get the picture). Of all of the shows I watched, one stood out. Obviously it was Perry Mason. I really do not know what drew me to this particular show (Burr's magnetic personality, his piercing stare or maybe it was his unerring focus and belief in his clients). Whatever it was, I was always ready for the episodes, especially the courtroom scenes.

I was probably 7 or 8 when I first caught sight of an episode. I am unable to remember what it was, but I was hooked. The bickering between him and Ham(ilton) Burger was priceless (incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial). I had to check those words out in the dictionary. So impressed by this series, my Mom told me it was based on a series of novels. Perry Mason novels were the reason I applied for a library card, must have been about 10.

The series had a definite formula that was different from the westerns and horror movies that made up my regular viewing. We are introduced to some sympathetic as well as hateful characters that become the victim. In the second half, we move to the courtroom where Perry is now defending the most sympathetic character from the first half. This proved to be a winning formula that worked for 271 episodes.

As I have indicated, I have no favorite episodes since each one has merit. In doing research for this tribute, I was amazed at the number of notable Hollywood icons from film that appeared on this series. From Hollywood royalty to the next generation of stars, they all seemed to pass through Perry's office or visit the courts. Such a great series.

For such an older series ('57 thru '65), there was a surprising amount of continuity in the courtroom. You can see this with the regular Prosecution witnesses (coroners, lab personnel and the judges). Not something that seems usual during this time period. Even as young as I was, it registered and helped create a consistent world.

The inner workings of the television business were a mystery, so I was shocked when my Mom told me that there would be no new episodes. At this point I was upset, television decisions were alien. There was no easy way to discover the hows and whys of networks. All we had was TV Guide.

With no new episodes, I did discover that Raymond Burr had a large filmography as a (gasp) villain. Since I was to young for the Late Show, it would be many years before I got to view these.

We then come to March 28, 1967 and the broadcast of a new tv movie called Ironside. I had the chance to see “Perry Mason” portray a different type of good guy. Boy, was this character different (cross, belligerent and pushy). The times were “a changin'” and television “relevance” was here. The movie was successful and NBC used it as a pilot and ordered a new series to debut on September 14, 1967.

Again, we have a character who always presses for the truth. He leaves no stone unturned in his search and imparts that same desire to his team. Since this was a '60's series, social relevance was creeping into all series (Mod Squad, Mannix, Hawaii Five-O, to name just a few). Sometimes this made for stronger episodes and at others, it just came across as heavy-handed. As with all things, they end. Ironside did after a pilot movie and 199 regular episodes.

Burr was still a working actor and guested on many series in the late 70's. He attempted a return to series work with Kingston: Confidential. Sadly it lasted only 13 episodes. He guested on Centennial. He decided to restart his career by bringing back his most famous character in The Return of Perry Mason. He was a current state Supreme Court judge who retires from the bench in order to defend Della Street who has been accused of murdering her boss (Patrick O'Neal). The film was great for nostalgia and once again was a successful made for tv film that spawned 25 more mysteries. Since Mason made a return, it was almost pre-ordained that we would see The Return Of Ironside reuniting all former team members. It seemed that the Burr train could not be stopped. The Mason series was still on track for more mysteries when he died on September 12, 1993 at the age of 76.

Through all of his television ups and downs, I was there.

I still had much to learn about how talented Mr. Burr was. I don't remember the year, but I do remember the Showtime promo concerning Alfred Hitchcock's five “lost” films. They had been released, worked on and were being premiered on Showtime. Since I enjoyed most of his films, I eagerly tuned in for Rear Window since it starred Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and as the probable villain Thorwald – Raymond Burr (with white hair). His performance in that dark apartment smoking just creeped me out. I was scared when he showed up to confront Stewart and the flashbulb blinding him is etched in my memory. What a chilling performance. I gained a much greater appreciation of him and his talent.

To this day, I still enjoy viewing Mason and Ironside episodes as well as the 4k of Rear Window.

Thank you Mr. Burr for your body of work. (no pun intended)

 

[benbess]

Thanks, Doug, for your insightful illustrated essay on Raymond Burr's career.

It's obviously different in many ways, but have you seen the new HBO Perry Mason prequel series? I like it, although sometimes I wish it were somewhat more like the original show.

 

[Doug Wallen]

No, I don't subscribe to HBO. I'm not sure I want watch a modern serialized take this classic series.

Maybe one day ... .

 

[Museum Pieces]

Andy Griffith will always be a favorite of mine. I recently learned some information I thought I'd share. I don't think it's widely known. In his will Mr. Griffith stipulated that upon his death he would be "buried within 4 hours," which meant people like Ron Howard were unable to come to his funeral, since there was no time to get there. And Andy was buried within that time frame by close friends and family in an unknown spot on his private property. He did this because he didn't want his funeral to be a "spectacle." He didn't want helicopters buzzing over and such. His will also stipulated that within a year of his death the house he lived in would be demolished, and it was. He did this because in his own words, he didn't want it "turned into a museum." So it's impossible for the public to visit his grave, or the house he lived in as an adult.

A few years back I did go to the Andy Griffith Museum, and learned you can sleep in the house Andy grew up in for around $300 a night.

I respect him for wanting a measure of privacy, and admire the steps he took to get it.

I have been watching Andy's TV movies lately, and A FACE IN THE CROWD, which is fantastic.

 

[The 1960's]

Andy Griffith will always be a favorite of mine. I recently learned some information I thought I'd share. I don't think it's widely known. In his will Mr. Griffith stipulated that upon his death he would be "buried within 4 hours," which meant people like Ron Howard were unable to come to his funeral, since there was no time to get there. And Andy was buried within that time frame by close friends and family in an unknown spot on his private property. He did this because he didn't want his funeral to be a "spectacle." He didn't want helicopters buzzing over and such. His will also stipulated that within a year of his death the house he lived in would be demolished, and it was. He did this because in his own words, he didn't want it "turned into a museum." So it's impossible for the public to visit his grave, or the house he lived in as an adult.

A few years back I did go to the Andy Griffith Museum, and learned you can sleep in the house Andy grew up in for around $300 a night.

I respect him for wanting a measure of privacy, and admire the steps he took to get it.

I have been watching Andy's TV movies lately, and A FACE IN THE CROWD, which is fantastic.

Fascinating. Nice to see you Skylar. I'm curious if Mr. Griffith had a good relationship Ron Howard? One would think he'd have been at Andy's funeral and he'd have wanted Ron Howard there.

Oh my, Andy Griffith's Birthdate was June 1st, 1926. So many tributes, so little time.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I'm curious if Mr. Griffith had a good relationship Ron Howard? One would think he'd have been at Andy's funeral and he'd have wanted Ron Howard there.

From everything I have read, they had a great relationship. In his book, THE BOYS: A MEMOIR OF HOLLYWOOD AND FAMILY, Ron talks at length about how he got the gig on Andy's show, and how their relationship had evolved by 1986, when they met to do the reunion film. They were very close.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

This tribute is a little late, as her birthday was last week (May 16th), but thought I'd put in a brief notice about Yvonne Craig, who passed away at the age of 78 back in 2015.

Of course, Ms. Craig is best known for playing Batgirl alongside Adam West's Caped Crusader on the '60s Batman TV series, but she also racked up an impressive list of guest performances on various other shows both before and after her time on that camp classic. Below, I've pulled together a few older capsule reviews I've written in the past about some of her guest appearances throughout the '60s and '70s. She was perhaps not an actress of great range, but she was always a pert, provocative, sassy, sexy presence - and I'm sure was a major crush for many, many guys back in the day (and for us geezers, remains so today).

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
1.23 "The Brain Killer Affair"
Waverly's been poisoned and U.N.C.L.E.'s on high alert. It's all part of a dastardly T.H.R.U.S.H. plot to mess around with the brains of key government personnel. Elsa Lanchester plays the big bad here, and she has a final scene vowing to get her revenge on Napoleon Solo...though of course, the actress (and one assumes, character) never returned to the series. Yvonne Craig is cute as can be as a young, money-hungry artist who helps Solo save the day. Nancy Kovack also appears as a sinister nurse.



The Mod Squad - 1.7 "Find Tara Chapman"
An - at first - blonde Ms. Craig guest stars as the eponymous Tara Chapman, a folk singer who is on the run from the Mob...and has also contracted meningitis. The Squad have 48 hours to track her down before she succumbs to the disease. Ms. Craig doesn't look her best here, as she gradually gets more sick and sweaty as the episode goes on. John van Dreelen has an important role at the end, as a merchant sailor who bravely tries to fend off a hitman while the Squad make their escape in the slowest motorboat ever seen on television.

The Magician - 1.7 "The Man Who Lost Himself"
Tony Blake (Bill Bixby) comes to the aid of a sweet-natured ex-con with amnesia (comedy legend Joe Flynn), when his former partners in crime come after him, trying to find the cash he stashed 30 years before. Ms. Craig plays a stern doctor who gradually thaws once exposed to Tony's charm. Bixby performs a truly impressive magic trick at the beginning of this episode (involving a girl loaded into a cannon, emerging from a drum suspended high in the air).

Man with a Camera - 2.12 "Hot Ice Cream"
Mike Kovak (good ol' stone-faced Charlie Bronson) investigates a murder caught on film by the foxy, photography-enthusiast daughter of a amusement park owner (Yvonne Craig). Famed tough guy Lawrence Tierney plays the heavy in this one, a drug dealer masquerading as a ice cream vendor. Big, burly Bronson and adorable pixie imp Craig make a good detective team.

The Wild Wild West
1.18 "The Night of the Grand Emir"
West (Robert Conrad) and Gordon (Ross Martin) go up against a secret cabal of assassins, including sexy little number Ecstacy La Joie (Yvonne Craig). Do several smooches from the handsome Jim West eventually win her over to the right side? If you have to ask, you've not seen enough episodes of this show...Don Francks and Richard Jaeckel co-star as the leader of the assassins guild, and his henchman, respectively. Also with Robert Middleton as the lusty Emir. Ms. Craig was an accomplished dancer, and here she performs a can-can, a harem dance and a flamenco with energy and aplomb.

 

[Flashgear]

In Tribute
Today, May 21st is the Birthdate of Raymond Burr (1917-1993)​

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Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. Burr's early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television, and film, usually as the villain. His portrayal of the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window (1954) is his best-known film role, although he is also remembered for his role in the 1956 film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which he reprised in the 1985 film Godzilla 1985. He won Emmy Awards for acting in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons (1957–1966) and reprised in a series of 26 Perry Mason TV movies (1985–1993). His second TV series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations... Continue @ Wikipedia

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My afternoons were spent with “Dialing For Dollars” movies and newly released syndicated prime time staples (eg. The Rifleman, I Love Lucy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Maverick – you get the picture). Of all of the shows I watched, one stood out. Obviously it was Perry Mason. I really do not know what drew me to this particular show (Burr's magnetic personality, his piercing stare or maybe it was his unerring focus and belief in his clients). Whatever it was, I was always ready for the episodes, especially the courtroom scenes.

I still had much to learn about how talented Mr. Burr was. I don't remember the year, but I do remember the Showtime promo concerning Alfred Hitchcock's five “lost” films. They had been released, worked on and were being premiered on Showtime. Since I enjoyed most of his films, I eagerly tuned in for Rear Window since it starred Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and as the probable villain Thorwald – Raymond Burr (with white hair). His performance in that dark apartment smoking just creeped me out. I was scared when he showed up to confront Stewart and the flashbulb blinding him is etched in my memory. What a chilling performance. I gained a much greater appreciation of him and his talent.

Neal, thanks for the delightful video clips by way of tribute to Raymond Burr! The guy had a good sense of humor that wasn't often seen because of his overall career persona.

Doug, thank you for the tremendous and heart-felt tribute to Raymond Burr and his classic TV legacy in Perry Mason and Ironside...and his substantial earlier work in great theatrical films such as the immortal Rear Window ...I love to hear personal anecdotes from your childhood memories in watching these shows of our youth! Much appreciated!

Andy Griffith will always be a favorite of mine. I recently learned some information I thought I'd share. I don't think it's widely known. In his will Mr. Griffith stipulated that upon his death he would be "buried within 4 hours," which meant people like Ron Howard were unable to come to his funeral, since there was no time to get there. And Andy was buried within that time frame by close friends and family in an unknown spot on his private property. He did this because he didn't want his funeral to be a "spectacle." He didn't want helicopters buzzing over and such. His will also stipulated that within a year of his death the house he lived in would be demolished, and it was. He did this because in his own words, he didn't want it "turned into a museum." So it's impossible for the public to visit his grave, or the house he lived in as an adult.

A few years back I did go to the Andy Griffith Museum, and learned you can sleep in the house Andy grew up in for around $300 a night.

I respect him for wanting a measure of privacy, and admire the steps he took to get it.

I have been watching Andy's TV movies lately, and A FACE IN THE CROWD, which is fantastic.

Very interesting details about Andy Griffith that I didn't know! Thanks Skylar for joining this thread! I have the Criterion Blu of A Face in the Crowd, the tremendous Elia Kazan 1957 classic, and for us kids growing up on The Andy Griffith Show, seeing Andy in that role for the first time was a revelatory shock! Kind of like seeing Fred MacMurray in The Apartment or Double Indemnity...or Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch, Annie Caulder or The Devil's Rain, ha, ha! By the way, Kino-Lorber released an excellent DVD and Blu of Andy's excellent 1973 TV movie Pray for the Wildcats w/ William Shatner, Robert Reed, Marjoe Gortner etc., another example of Andy Griffith's tremendous range. One of the greats.

This tribute is a little late, as her birthday was last week (May 16th), but thought I'd put in a brief notice about Yvonne Craig, who passed away at the age of 78 back in 2015.

she was always a pert, provocative, sassy, sexy presence - and I'm sure was a major crush for many, many guys back in the day (and for us geezers, remains so today).

Jeff, my smoke-weary eyeballs thank you (forest fires burning everywhere here) for the exquisitely lovely photos of our dear Yvonne Craig, surely one of our top-tier classic TV dreamgirls!

 

[Capt D McMars]

Thanks, Doug, for your insightful illustrated essay on Raymond Burr's career.

It's obviously different in many ways, but have you seen the new HBO Perry Mason prequel series? I like it, although sometimes I wish it were somewhat more like the original show.

View attachment 184342

two other early appearences for Burr that were great are his appearence in the start and finish as the son of Alexsander Dumas in Black Magic (1949) and the corrupt Spanish Sargent in The Adventures of Don Juan (1948).

Black Magic (1949) -- (Movie Clip) He Hypnotized Half The World!

Producer Edward Small wringing every drop of historical gravitas from his even-then out-of-copyright literary source, Gregory Ratoff directing Berry Kroeger and Raymond Burr as Dumas père and fils, opening Black Magic, 1949, starring Orson Welles.

www.tcm.com

 

[Dan McW]

Nice tribute to Raymond Burr, one of my all-time favorites. I've watched all of the Perry Mason and Ironside episodes on DVD and will probably go through them again before long, even though I've got other unwatched series piled up! Burr's skit with Red Skelton (on YouTube) is hilarious--Burr laughs in a way you don't see in most of his appearances. I also remember him laughing uproariously on a Hollywood Squares show that GSN ran several years ago.

My favorite Perry Mason episode is "The Case of the Deadly Verdict," with "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker" (with William Campbell, whom I saw recently in a rewatch of The High and the Mighty) and the series' premiere and finale among my other faves. My favorite Mason movie is The Case of the Sinister Spirit.

 

[Flashgear]

Three HTF members have expressed interest in posting tributes to two lovely and talented actresses that share today's birthday of May 23...Laura Devon (in memoriam) and Joan Collins (her 90th birthday!)...

Mine are for Laura Devon...two favorite and strong performances (among many in her short career)...Neal 'The 1960s' will also have a tribute post for Laura, and also a tribute post for Joan Collins, as will John Hopper for Joan later today...

Rawhide S7E6 Canliss (Oct. 30, 1964) D: Jack Arnold, W: Stirling Silliphant.
Special guest star: Dean Martin, Cast: Laura Devon, Michael Ansara, Jack Kruschen, Theodore Bikel, Ramon Navarro, Scott Marlowe, Teno Pollick.

Ageing but still famous fast gun Gurd Canliss (Dean Martin), having married a young and lovely wife (Laura Devon), and heading to a retirement at his wife's fabled family estate in the deep south. But unknown to her, Canliss is hoping to make one more big money score as a hired killer. He has been contracted by an un-named power broker to goad landowner Don Miguel (Michael Ansara) into a challenge, and kill him for a promised $1500...on the way, they are intercepted by a muck-raking sensationalist frontier journalist (Thodore Bikel), who has himself goaded a young fast gun (Scott Marlowe) into challenging Canliss...and having witnessed this life or death showdown, to write about it for the Police Gazette and other big Eastern newspapers hungry for such frontier sensationalism...my screen caps from the CBS/P DVDs...

A superb episode, beautifully expressed by the fine performances of Dean Martin and the outstanding supporting cast...expertly directed by Jack Arnold, and a wonderfully contained and compelling script by Stirling Silliphant that is free from the more excessive and florid self-analysis that he was sometimes criticized for in his renowned writing on Route 66 and Naked City...the regular cast of Eric Fleming, Paul Brinegar and the rest are only seen as facilitators to this story (Clint is MIA), propelled by the star power of Dean Martin, who was a big fan of Rawhide, and thus the producers (Ben Brady and Bruce Geller) were enthusiastic in commissioning the famed Silliphant in writing a worthy script and assembling a wonderful core of supporting actors...in watching this, It's obvious that Laura Devon was a truly exquisite beauty...but here's the thing...she was a truly outstanding actress as well! Just watch this and I Spy season one's Tatia for all the evidence you'll need...she unquestionably should have been a bigger star, had she wanted that...she retired from acting in 1967, among her final credits appearances in Dr. Kildare, T.H.E. Cat, The Fugitive, Big Valley, Gunn (the feature film resurrection of Peter Gunn), The Invaders and Coronet Blue (filmed in 1965 but aired in the summer of '67)...her work on The Invaders likely being her last chronological work in acting...she married famed music composer Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Passage to India)...they were married for 17 years, divorcing in 1984...Laura Devon passed away in 2007 at age 76, apparently happy in her retirement from acting and never looking back...her stunning and exquisite beauty and excellent acting immortalized in film...

 

[Flashgear]

Laura Devon part deux...

I Spy S1E10 Tatia (Nov. 17, 1965) D: David Friedkin W: Robert Lewin.
This is one of the extraordinary episodes of the first season that were filmed in the Far East of Hong Kong and Japan. Professional tennis player and undercover spy Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) and his coach and trainer Alexander Scott (a pre-felon Bill Cosby) meet international celebrity and news photographer Tatia Loring (Laura Devon), who's current assignment is to photograph Kelly for a high profile magazine article. In local espionage news, three other agents in transit to Saigon have been assassinated recently...each of them the subject of a photo session with Tatia!

After Kelly and Alexander's handler John Irving (Richard Garland), recently arrived in Tokyo, is murdered in their hotel room while a solitary Alexander was having a shower, and soon after meeting Tatia who had arrived for a dinner date with Kelly, Alexander's suspicions grow about Tatia being a Soviet agent, and perhaps having played a role in all four recent deaths...but (of course and who could blame him), Kelly is now head-over-heels in love with this stunning beauty...and very much against accepting Alexander's urging to not see her again...so much so that Alexander will fight Kelly to keep him from seeing her again!

My screen caps from the old Image DVDs (I have the old and bulky 2002 "Box Set 1, 2 and 3")...

Despite Alexander's warning, Kelly goes on another date with the stunning Tatia, and finds himself slipping into obsessive and crazy love with the dangerous girl...they spend a splendid afternoon at the Nikko Toshugo Shinto shrine and water falls, an eye-popping complex of temples dedicated to the famous Samurai Tokugawa Ieyasu, and dating back to 1617...it's a World Heritage site...Man, there's just no beating this kind of lavish and expensive location filming!

Before Kelly can see Tatia again, he'll first have to fight his way out of their hotel room and past Alexander...

Yeah, I think I'd risk it all for a girl like this...I'm a fool for love...or maybe just a fool in general...

"Tatia" describes herself as an expatriate of the "White Russian" exile community in the far East. Such communities of refugees loyal to the Czar of pre-revolutionary Russia did exist in Shanghai, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan itself in the years following the Bolshevik revolution. They could be presumed to be reliably anti-communist in the new reality of the Cold War...but appearances can be deceiving, and indeed are calculated to be so in the game of espionage. Anybody who's read enough John LeCarre, Graham Greene and Ian Fleming can attest to that, ha, ha...

Continued next post...

 

[Flashgear]

I Spy S1E10 Tatia (Nov. 17, 1965) cont'd...

Well, Kelly Robinson is head-over-heels in love with the spectacular Tatia...who may be a Soviet agent who has perhaps been involved with the recent deaths of four American agents in Japan, each of whom was destined for Saigon (Vietnam war now raging with the Soviets on the other side of course), and each of whom were the subject of a photo shoot with the professional photographer Tatia...Kelly's in some kind of desperate and crazy love (understandable, just look at her), but is he a fool, disconnected from his analytical secret agent training? After fighting past a well meaning Alexander to be with her, does Kelly perhaps have a plan to determine her true allegiance? Clouding his judgement further is the obvious and genuine love that the girl now feels for him! Whatever the truth about her Cold War loyalty, she is most assuredly in love with Kelly...and after all, she had the perfect opportunity to kill him with his own gun and didn't...what transpires is truly heartbreaking, and so genuine...(my screen caps from the 2002 Image DVDs)...

Robert Culp is at his usual best as always...but Laura Devon proves that she has the accomplished acting skills to match her stunning good looks...a somewhat rarer double threat that was less common in the Hollywood landscape of the '60s...even those pretty faces with acting talent depending on actually getting a meaty role that was challenging, where they could prove themselves to be more than just a pretty face...Laura Devon was the real deal in all respects...wow!

 

[The 1960's]

Laura Devon Birthday Memorial
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Laura Devon (born Mary Louise Briley; May 23, 1931 – July 19, 2007) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was born May 23, 1931, in Chicago. Her birth name has been given as either Mary Lou Briley or Mary Laura Briley. In 1962, she married Brian Kelly. Kelly was a fellow actor and, a month after their wedding, he and Devon appeared together on stage in Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic at the Laguna Beach Summer Theater. Two years later, he was to become well known for his role as Porter Ricks on the TV series Flipper. They divorced in January 1966. In 1961, Laura Devon was discovered by Bob Goldstein of 20th Century Fox while she was singing at the London Chop House in Detroit. She tells the story of her coming to Hollywood in this way:

“There was talk about testing me for "High Heels" at the time. I had an agent at MCA who told me was also interested: he took me there first to test and they signed me to a contract straight off, so I never got to 20th. But for the full year at U.I. I was never put into a picture. I had voice, dancing and acting lessons: Louis Graveure coached me in singing, Charles Conrad in drama, and the studio paid the bills. It was like being totally subsidized and with nothing to do but study.”

During an eight-year period, from 1960 to 1967, Devon had featured roles in numerous popular TV shows. A 1962 appearance in Route 66 S03E01 One Tiger to a Hill was her first significant part. Following that, she appeared in: Insight, The New Breed, The Twilight Zone, Stoney Burke, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide (an episode entitled "Canliss", as Dean Martin's gunfighter character's wife in 1964), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Rogues, Bonanza, I Spy, The Fugitive, T.H.E. Cat, The Big Valley, Coronet Blue, and The Invaders. She had a recurring role on four episodes of Dr. Kildare and she was a member of the repertory cast that rotated major and supporting roles on the critically acclaimed series The Richard Boone Show. In addition, Devon appeared in five feature-length commercial films, playing Rusty Sartori in Goodbye Charlie (1964), Julie Kazarian in Red Line 7000 (1965), Marie Champlain in Chamber of Horrors (1966), Rosemary in A Covenant with Death (1967) and Edie Hart in Gunn (1967) This is an abbreviated bio. … Continue @ Wikipedia for the full version.

Coronet Blue (1967)
Stars Frank Converse Joe Silver Brian Bedford​

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Coronet Blue is an American adventure drama series that ran on CBS from May 29 until September 4, 1967. It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford co-starred. The show's 13 episodes were filmed in 1965 and were originally intended to be shown during the 1965–66 television season, but CBS put the show on hiatus when they reversed an earlier decision to cancel the drama Slattery's People. The network had plans to show Coronet Blue the following year, and CBS head of programming Michael Dann said that, "there still is enormous enthusiasm" for it, but it would take another full year before the network aired it as a summer replacement. It proved moderately popular and developed a cult following. According to Converse, CBS wanted to renew it but by then Converse had signed to do another series for ABC, N.Y.P.D., which premiered the day after the last airing of Coronet Blue. Due to a number of pre-emptions, only 11 of the 13 episodes were shown during the initial run. The theme song was performed by rhythm and blues singer Lenny Welch… Continue @ Wikipedia

S01E12 Where You From and What You Done? (1967)
Director Sam Wanamaker Stars Frank Converse Laura Devon Vincent Gardenia Martha Greenhouse Tanya Everett Joe Bennett Haila Stoddard Joe Silver Cliff Carpenter Frank Downing Mark Gordon​

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In 1967 Laura Devon married her fourth husband, French composer and conductor Maurice Jarre, and decided to retire from acting. Here, in her final curtain call as an actress Miss Devon never looked more gorgeous. She was delightful in every way. When I first saw Laura Devon in Route 66 S03E01 One Tiger to a Hill (1962) I went seriously and embarrassingly gaa-gaa and created the Laura Devon-a-thon. Then once I saw her in The Fugitive The Chinese Sunset (1966) I became a bit more mature about it. Other Devon appearances. Here in Coronet Blue, her acting performance was as stellar as she was stunning. She portrays aspiring folk singer Ava Lou Springer, a troubled, yet delightful ditzy blonde complete with delusions, who claims to be running from her business manager. She meets Michael Alden, an amnesiac who is as well running, from the operatives of a mysterious group trying to kill him. The two hit it off, decide to hook up and run together. She is cute and dangerous. A heart breaker who becomes more unhinged as the story unfolds. I enjoyed this story and in the past few years I’ve grown fond of the other dozen episodes of this short-lived series as well.

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[The 1960's]

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Post commentary:
Had I met a woman half as attractive and twice as crazy as Ava Lou Springer, I’d have been married long ago.

You can stream it here.



I love you Laura!​

 

[JohnHopper]

90th BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE • JOAN COLLINS (May 23, 1933)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE SEASON 3

Episode #22
“Nicole” (1969)
producer: Stanley Kallis
executive producer: Bruce Geller
associate producer: Barry Crane
script consultant: Paul Playdon
writer: Paul Playdon
director: Stuart Hagmann
cinematographer: Keith C. Smith
theme music: Lalo schifrin

Tape scene:
Recycled from the season 2 “The Photographer”.

Jim stops his blue convertible car near a building, climbs the poorly lit stairs of an entrance, stops at the first floor, enters a warehouse filled with paintings, heads to a control panel and pushes a button that makes a canvas arise and lets show a mini reel tape player and a A4 kraft envelop.

Summary:
Jim and Rollin are briefed by agent Sparrow (distress phone 311-8571) to look after a list of double agents that is kept in the study’s safe of Minister of Intelligence Anton Valdas’ chateau, behind the Iron Curtain. At Valdas’ official party, while Jim falls in love with double agent Nicole Vedette, on the first floor, Rollin steals the precious envelop but things turn wrong and Jim is shot in the belly by officer Razoff and held prisoner. Rollin refuses to let his friend down. Nicole makes wounded Jim believe that the list is false and helps him to escape from his cell. Valdas orders his men to track them down. Fortunately, Rollin poses as one of the watchdogs to save Jim but not Nicole who dies because of Valdas’ pistol shooting.

Cast and details:
• Minister of Intelligence Anton Valdas with a medical collar played by Logan Ramsey
• Skinny officer Razoff played by Dal Jenkins
• Janus agent and Valdas’ secretary Nicole Vedette played by Joan Collins
• Operative Sparrow played by James McCallion
• Rollin’s unnamed contact played by Jacques Denbeaux (returning from the season 1 “A Cube of Sugar”)
• Old lady Madame Prokov played by Ann Shoemaker
• Young blonde Ilsa played by Anita Mann
• Young blonde Helga played by Rena Horton
• Minister in Valdas’ study played by Jon Lormer (returning from the season 2 “The Counterfeiter”)
• The Study Guard played by Joseph Reale
• The Cell Guard played by Fred Krone

Double agent Nicole Vedette first appears as a fantasy, dressed with a sophisticated evening wear, during the whole Act 1, starting at the first floor of the chateau when Jim as Major Ivan is glued to her piercing dark eyes. Then they gently keep on staring at each other through people, staged like a love merry-go-around. Nicole knows astrology and Valdas implies she is a nymphomaniac because of her interest for a military (Jim) but it’s all pretense to fool the audience. From Act 2, Nicole is casual, tormented and on the run, toys with Jim’s sincere love and appears as a deceiver.

Jim poses as Major Ivan. To depict that Jim falls in love with Nicole, director Stuart Hagmann shoots them in close-ups with a long lense (creating a flat and blured perspective) through objects and people by rack focusing (to shift from out-of-focus to in-focus) and show them starring and walking at each other as a love waltz—this hide and seek scene is sweet and delightful. When Nicole drinks with Jim, you can hear the theme of Cinnamon; Nicole guesses the profile of Jim-as-Ivan: 37, Pisces, unmarried, educated at the Venskry Academy. Besides, Hagmann over-uses the fade over process to show Jim and Nicole’s escape in the woods that is recycled six times: notice the use of moon insert, low angle shot of a dark sky with trees inserts, zoom in with a long lense, high angle studio sets shots. Jim passes out twice: first after releasing Rollin and being gunned down by Razoff and then in the first floor of the barn next to Nicole. One strange scene takes place in the barn: after being healed by Valdas’ doctor thanks to an injection (I guess morphine to ease the pain) in the neck and by searching inside Nicole’s bag for a cigarette, Jim discovers that her matches are bugged by Valdas (dolly in on Jim’s face) and we later learn she doesn’t know it. Stuart Hagmann shows Jim and Nicole blinded by Valdas’ car and men.

Rollin pose as libidinous old and sick General Ventakoff with grey hair, moustache (a la “The Glass Cage”) and sideburns who is deaf and crippled and walks with a stick; Rollin emphasizes the senile side of his character and calls Valdas: Valdrat; Rollin chases two blondes (Ilsa and Helga) and then pretends to be drunk, drugs the study guard with a wet handkerchief, presses a button behind a bookcase, uses his fake audio device to crack the safe (but it is protected by a newly installed pressurized floor that triggers an alarm) and he is trapped in the office because of the moving metallic fence. Later on, when Rollin, posing as a tourist with a camera, meets a contact in the hallway of a hotel, they test each other like this: - The Man: “Hey. You got a cigarette? - Rollin: “Yes, I have.” - The Man: “Keep it. It’s your last one.” - Rollin: “We can share it.” As in the season 2 “The Town”, Rollin goes look for his friend, keeps an eye on Valdas’ black car via binoculars, poses as a Valdas search party military by knocking one of the three in the rear. Valdas guns down Nicole and Rollin swiftly reacts by killing Valdas with a machine gun.

Cinnamon, Barney and Willy are absent—during the briefing, Rollin says that he will ask Barney some informations about the German safe of Valdas.

Comments:
Funny how the characters played by Joan Collins have an intense relationship with the leading man and end up dead in all Desilu series: see the season 1 “The City on the Edge of Forever” from Star Trek. The reactionary character of Madame Prokov complains to Jim about Ventakoff’s obscene leaning and she dislikes modern art. The agent name Sparrow is already used in the season 1 episode “Memory”. Both Nicole and Sparrow are double agents and she is on the list. As Cinnamon, Nicole wears a pink article of clothing: her shirt, and, as Jim, she is gunned down in the belly. To stop the alarm, Valdas turns a button anticlockwise, located at the bottom of a wall lamp in the corridor and adds a bug in Nicole’s hand bag after her first escape attempt. Oddly enough, Valdas drinks a Brandy inside his black Mercedes while talking to Nicole who threatens him with blackmailed informations to protect her life. The grey set of the concrete basement with its long stairs is recycled in many season 3 episodes: “The System”, “The Glass Cage”, “Live Bait”, “The Bunker, Part I”. This episode features no dossier scene so the IMF logo appears at the start of Act I. The apartment scene at Sparrow’s place is shot under the table with a fluid dolly shot, meaning Sparrow is doubtful.

Review:
It’s a departure from the series’ format because the leading man is shot and manipulated like a puppet and a very pleasant Jim and Rollin on a mission episode. Director Stuart Hagmann’s kinetic visual style (wide angle hand-held camera shots, swift pan shots, high angle shots, upsidedown shots: see Jim wakes up in the cell and watches Nicole) helps this tragic love story that is Paul Playdon’s lightest season 3 script: this is Hagmann/Playdon’s second and last collaboration, after the season 3 “Live Bait”. After this season “The Exchange” with Cinnamon, this is the second IMF agent who fails and is caught up by the other side. Recommended for fans of Joan Collins—one fashion detail I enjoy: the brown handkerchief with a pink dot print carried as a belt by Nicole. Anyway, the last couple scene is memorable and touchy: sad Jim carries dying Nicole in his arms and leaves her, accompanied by Jerry Fielding’s final sentimental cue from “The Cardinal”, followed by Jim and Rollin’s close-ups in the running fast black Mercedes (as in the season 3 “The Glass Cage, find again the same car stock footage from the season 1 “The Carriers”). It’s more or less the rough template for the season 4 masterpiece “The Falcon” which shares the same guest cast (Logan Ramsey whose character name goes from Valdas to Vargas, Dal Jenkins, Joseph Reale) and the same basic tragic romantic story—replace Joan Collins by Diane Baker. As in the season 3 “Nitro”, notice the pulsating technician beat from the season 3 “Live Bait” used to illustrate Rollin attempt to crack the safe of Valdas during Act 1. From Act 3, you can hear the sentimental cues from the season 3 “The Play”.

Stock music:
• “The Bunker” (Act 1: the outdoors of the chateau; Jim briefs lying down Rollin and leaves the bedroom of the first floor; Act 2: Valdas gets up the stairs of the basement; Nicole discovers that Jim passes out and comes out of the barn to join Valdas’ Mercedes; Act 3: A doctor comes out of the Mercedes to heal Jim; the military search party walks in the woods; Jim and Nicole leave the barn and cross the woods; Jim shows Nicole the bugged match box and throws it out; Act 4: the search party uses the German shepherds to pinpoint the couple)
• “The Diplomat” (Act 1: party music at Valdas’ chateau)
• “Cinnamon Theme” (Act 1: Jim first talks to Nicole at the party while sipping a drink)
• “Memory” (Act 1: Rollin drugs the guard unconscious with a wet handkerchief; Act 3: in the barn, Jim discovers the bugged match box)
• “Live Bait” (Act 1: Rollin steps into the study to crack the safe of Valda)
• “The Execution” (Act 1: Rollin triggers the alarm; Act 2: Razoff and two guards run and look for the study; Valdas escapes and Jim is shot down by Razoff standing at the top of the stairs while Rollin flees by car; Jim pretends to be dead in his cell; Act 3: Razoff warns Valdas that Jim is healed; Act 4: Jim drops the rifle loaded with blanks; Valdas is on his way to gun down Jim and Nicole)
• “The Play” (Act 2: Jim and Rollin are running away from the first floor with Valdas; Act 3: Nicole tells Valdas he will easily find someone to replace her; after discovering the bugged match box, Jim realizes that Nicole is a traitor; Nicole helps wounded Jim that stumbles upon a stone and near a tree and confesses Valdas’ plan to Jim in the woods; Act 4: Jim tells Nicole he discovers the bugged match box in the hay loft; surrounded, Nicole begs Valdas to let go Jim free)
• “The Contender” (Act 2: Nicole threatens the guard with a pistol and frees Jim from his basement’s cell)
• “Operation Rogosh” (Act 2: Nicole necks chop the cell guard with the grip of the pistol; Jim and Nicole escape from the basement and run in the woods; Jim and Nicole cross the woods while the search party track them down)
• “The Cardinal” (Act 2: Rollin meets an agent in the hallway and passes him a pack of cigarette; Act 4: sad Jim gives a last look at Nicole and leaves with Rollin in Valdas’ Mercedes)
• “Pilot” (Act 2: pretending to be dead in his cell, Jim gives a punch to the guard; Valdas guns Nicole down and Rollin blasts away at Valdas with a tommy gun)
• “Trek” (Act 4: Jim and Nicole run away from the search party which locate them and is on their tail)


Mission: Impossible | Nicole | Two Lovers at the Official Party

Pictures of double agent Nicole Vedette (actress Joan Collins).

 

[benbess]

Just wanted to post a brief but sincere thanks for the wonderful photo essays we've been enjoying. This is great work that I'm sure involves many hours of thought and care.

Jeff: Having experienced Batgirl on Batman as a little kid back in the late 1960s, I thought your tribute to Yvonne Craig was excellent. I hope to see at some point some of those other roles you highlighted.

Randall and Neal: Maybe I saw Laura Devon in a tv show many years ago, but right now I don't recall. But your carefully selected still photos really capture her charisma and talent.

John: This is also an amazing appreciation of Joan Colins in this Mission Impossible episode. The close-ups of her eyes are terrific. First saw her as kid when watching that classic Trek episode we all know, City on the Edge of Forever.

As you may all already know, one of the first performances by Joan Collins is in the 1955 film Land of the Pharaohs. It's been newly restored from the original negative, and I watched it recently on HBOmax. Since I've watched it, however, that service has now just become Max for whatever reasons, but it's still there if anyone is curious.