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Bea Benaderet look

therealjm12 said:
I agree about the early years of MTS. I was much younger then but I remember it as much sharper and funnier. It seemed to go downhill with color and after William Frawley left. It just turned into Brady Bunch type series. Humorous situations, but not funny.
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When Tim Considine left, they had to use the contrived premise of poor 'ol orphaned Ernie getting adopted, since there were then only two sons. I believe, much like oldest son Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days, Considine's character was rarely, if ever, mentioned again.

Frawley reportedly got pushed out because of his shaky health. The story was that he would show up on set any way after being replaced, making everybody uncomfortable. Eventually, he was told not to show up again. The producers made the right call, because Frawley dropped dead in March 1966--the season he was officially replaced.

Of course, Frawley's death brings up another urban legend concerning Vivian Vance, who loathed Frawley from their time on I Love Lucy. Supposedly, upon hearing of Frawley's death, Vance (with friends at a restaurant) said, "Champagne for everyone!"
 
stevations said:
In some old Burn and Allen shows Bea's name is spelled Bee.
I thought of Petticoat Junction as a show like My Three Sons. There were no real big laughs but it was a light hearted sort of soap opera. I think the sixties political unrest led people to enjoy some mild escapism. I liked the slower pace of those shows. It allowed viewers to relax and gave time to contemplate the characters situations. That is something that is lacking in television and movies this century. Most characters now on TV do not care about each other. The whole story line of shows from the 50s to 90s was characters concerned about other characters situations.
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Re, '60s political unrest-- good observation. While the more combative unrest would come later, things were indeed stirring, even in the early '60s. MTS, PJ & GA were indeed still running when things started getting nasty later, ie the '68 Democratic convention. And yes, all three of these shows offered welcomed respite from all the ugly news coverage to come at 11 pm (10 Central time).
 
BD Sullivan said:
therealjm12 said:
I agree about the early years of MTS. I was much younger then but I remember it as much sharper and funnier. It seemed to go downhill with color and after William Frawley left. It just turned into Brady Bunch type series. Humorous situations, but not funny.
Click to expand...

When Tim Considine left, they had to use the contrived premise of poor 'ol orphaned Ernie getting adopted, since there were then only two sons. I believe, much like oldest son Chuck Cunningham on Happy Days, Considine's character was rarely, if ever, mentioned again.

Frawley reportedly got pushed out because of his shaky health. The story was that he would show up on set any way after being replaced, making everybody uncomfortable. Eventually, he was told not to show up again. The producers made the right call, because Frawley dropped dead in March 1966--the season he was officially replaced.

Of course, Frawley's death brings up another urban legend concerning Vivian Vance, who loathed Frawley from their time on I Love Lucy. Supposedly, upon hearing of Frawley's death, Vance (with friends at a restaurant) said, "Champagne for everyone!"
Click to expand...
Have never heard the story about Vance's chilling response to Frawley's death. More familiar is the acount of Frawley's banishment from the MTS set, which was reportedly spurred by tensions over his resentment of his replacement, William Demarest.
 
The change in "My Three Sons" also had something to do with its change in networks, from ABC to CBS, about the same time Considine left and the show went to color.
Also, there was Fred MacMurray's sweet schedule: he only worked about one month each year, shooting all his scenes for the entire season, and the rest of the cast had to shoot around him. (Or was that another urban legend?)
 
rnigma said:
The change in "My Three Sons" also had something to do with its change in networks, from ABC to CBS, about the same time Considine left and the show went to color.
Also, there was Fred MacMurray's sweet schedule: he only worked about one month each year, shooting all his scenes for the entire season, and the rest of the cast had to shoot around him. (Or was that another urban legend?)
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Pretty much true, except MacMurray's filming schedule was in two blocks; starting in May, it was one 30-day schedule (weekends off), then ten weeks off, back for 35 more days (again weekends off), and off from around Thanksgiving until the following May. It was done to free him up to do movies, although during the course of the series' run, he only did seven movies, and no more between 1967 to 1972.
 
Prior to MTS, Fred MacMurray was a serious actor, perhaps just below the level of the Cagney's, Bogart's, and Robinson's. "Double Indemnity" and "The Caine Mutiney" were just two of his steller performances.

I believe he got into tv because his movie career was beginning to stall, he was getting older (in his 50's by 1960) and maybe he just wanted a regular gig. Interestingly, one of his best movies, "The Apartment" came out after he signed on to play Steve Douglas.

He did do the classic "The Absent Minded Professor" while on the series, but did he ever again do a serious movie or tv role?

Joe
 
joeybabe25 said:
He did do the classic "The Absent Minded Professor" while on the series, but did he ever again do a serious movie or tv role?
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He did a couple of movies--one TV, one feature--but neither were ones he was likely proud of. The 1975 TV flick was "Beyond the Bermuda Triangle," where he was the star, while the feature film was 1978's "The Swarm," an Irwin Allen disaster pic about killer bees in which he had a much smaller role. That would be his final on-screen role--his only other appearances came on awards shows or retrospectives.
 
jwk1979 said:
KyDXIn said:
In this morning's episode on This TV, talk about timeliness. In "King Oliver I" with the state bankrupt, the Governor raises taxes 52%, and the townspeople revolt and make Oliver king. Do they still make Imperial margarine?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvVduWJSjX0
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What does this have to do with the subject of "Bea Benaderet Look". Which show are you refering to? GA? PJ? MTS?
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I'm stumped too...
 
Mike Minor's character "Steve" first dated "Billie-Jo Bradley" (Merideth McRae) but somewhat suddenly switched to "Betty-Jo Bradley" (Linda Kaye Henning) and married her on the show. This undoubtedly occurred due to the real life relationship that turned into marriage between Linda and Mike.
 
joeybabe25 said:
I've often wondered how two shows (Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) one a mundane, pretty unfunny sitcom and the other "Green Acres" one of the cleverest and funniest sitcoms of all could have many of the same characters, the same town setting, AND come from the same production house. Joe
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Joe:

The answer to this one is easy. The difference between the two shows is a fellow named Jay Sommers, who was really the driving force behind "Green Acres". It was his zany, off-beat and somewhat subversive take on things that really gave "Green Acres" that delightfully sarcastic "bite".

Years earlier, Sommers had been one of the writers for ABC's "Ozzie & Harriet", but felt very constrained and locked in by the limitations of sit-com writing of the day. "Green Acres" was an outlet for Sommers to let his imagination run wild....and brother....am I ever grateful for it!!

OH!....Almost forgot...another reminder of how small a town Hollywood can be. For a time, Frank Cady had been a semi-regular on "Ozzie & Harriet" as the family doctor.
 
Dighton Rockhead said:
joeybabe25 said:
I've often wondered how two shows (Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) one a mundane, pretty unfunny sitcom and the other "Green Acres" one of the cleverest and funniest sitcoms of all could have many of the same characters, the same town setting, AND come from the same production house. Joe
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OH!....Almost forgot...another reminder of how small a town Hollywood can be. For a time, Frank Cady had been a semi-regular on "Ozzie & Harriet" as the family doctor.
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*Lori Saunders (Bobbie Jo Bradley) was in five episodes of O & H.
*Barbara Pepper (Doris Ziffel) was in three episodes of O & H.
*Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe) was in two episodes of O & H.
 
Bea B. on Burns and Allen and Vivian Vance on I Love Lucy were both famous co-stars on very good sitcoms. Both seemed to be dis-satisfied and under paid. Maybe they needed better agents? Maybe it was the way of world back then since I read the The Three Stooges were not paid much. I can understand Vivian being more upset since she took the brunt of the over-weight and being plain.....kind of jokes. I heard David Cassidy on the Partridge Family did not like the jokes from his younger red headed brother. I never heard Ed McMahon complaining about being second bananna. Ed went out into the world and did his own shows. Anybody know why Bea was listed as Bee on the early Burns and Allen shows?
 
stevations said:
Anybody know why Bea was listed as Bee on the early Burns and Allen shows?
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I'd say a misprint, maybe somebody in the graphic dept. who didn't know her well. I say this, because I have an ep on video from the live seasons (pre-"Bee") where her name was spelled correctly. The same font was used. Bea was very well known prior to, um, "Bee"!

They used "Bee" for maybe 12 or so episodes. Apparently a good fan let them know....

cd
 
cd637299 said:
stevations said:
Anybody know why Bea was listed as Bee on the early Burns and Allen shows?
Click to expand...

I'd say a misprint, maybe somebody in the graphic dept. who didn't know her well. I say this, because I have an ep on video from the live seasons (pre-"Bee") where her name was spelled correctly. The same font was used. Bea was very well known prior to, um, "Bee"!

They used "Bee" for maybe 12 or so episodes. Apparently a good fan let them know....

cd
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For almost all of his appearances until co-starring on "December Bride" in the mid-50's, Harry Morgan was billed as "Henry" despite his given name being Harry Bratsberg.
 
BD Sullivan said:
cd637299 said:
stevations said:
Anybody know why Bea was listed as Bee on the early Burns and Allen shows?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

For almost all of his appearances until co-starring on "December Bride" in the mid-50's, Harry Morgan was billed as "Henry" despite his given name being Harry Bratsberg.
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Morgan changed his first name to Harry to avoid confusion with a then popular, controversial NY columnist, "Henry" Morgan. Henry M. was a popular panelist on TV game shows, giving him greater TV exposure. Stage and TV actor William Daniels made the same kind of name turn to avoid confusion with popular musician "Billy" Daniels.
 
I still get confused by the two Mark Walberg/Wahlbergs....

cd
 
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