Classic TV's worst actors & actresses..

[onairb]

I'm a little surprised this thread has gone on for 38 replies without a mention of what I thought would be a rather obvious example:

Jerry Mathers......as "The Beaver".

At least to me, anyway, the Cleaver's DeSoto.....(or was it Plymouth?) was a better actor than Mathers ;D

Season 1 Jerry at least had 'cuteness' to hide his lack of acting range. Season 6 Jerry...uh, no.

 

[MHB]

I'm a little surprised this thread has gone on for 38 replies without a mention of what I thought would be a rather obvious example:

Jerry Mathers......as "The Beaver".

At least to me, anyway, the Cleaver's DeSoto.....(or was it Plymouth?) was a better actor than Mathers ;D

Season 1 Jerry at least had 'cuteness' to hide his lack of acting range. Season 6 Jerry...uh, no.

In the latter seasons, Jerry was too old for cute little kid routines, so more of the episodes were about Wally and not Beaver.

 

[onairb]

When I re-watched those season 6 episodes on TV land a couple of years ago, I realized I'd forgotten how many of them were focused on Wally; previously, I'd only remembered episodes where Mathers awkwardly tried to get through the story despite looking like he'd rather be anywhere but in front of the camera.

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

I'm a little surprised this thread has gone on for 38 replies without a mention of what I thought would be a rather obvious example:
Jerry Mathers......as "The Beaver".
At least to me, anyway, the Cleaver's DeSoto.....(or was it Plymouth?) was a better actor than Mathers ;D

I might agree with you regarding the later seasons, when Mathers seemed stiff and distracted. In the early years, I thought he offered a commendable portrayal of an irresistable, irrepressible young boy, even if he was only being himself. Tony Dow on the other hand seemed to mature in the final seasons, showing more depth of character. The early episodes showed him emotionally inhibited, delivering little range.

 

[Markieo]

Just so you know, Jack Webb made a Dragnet TV movie in 1966. NBC was so pleased that they asked for a new half-hour series as well. The film was held back when the premiere of the series was pushed forward, not airing until 1969. Since then it has surfaced occasionally on cable TV but it is otherwise unavailable. Many fans consider it one of the best Dragnet works and hope that it may someday be released on DVD.
It was based on the case of Harvey Murray Glatman.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=61Wr5Vh-c8o
Or"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybhNquay6Sk
I don't know how they are different, but, there you are.

The Dragnet movie was issued as a bonus on the Dragnet season 2 box set.

 

[DougD]

The Olsen twins. -Gag.-

They were cute little girls, but the problem was that the director, writers, or whoever, made them too cute. That never works with child actors. Let 'em be who they are --- they can be plenty cute without coaching.

 

[onairb]

The Olsen twins. -Gag.-

They were cute little girls, but the problem was that the director, writers, or whoever, made them too cute. That never works with child actors. Let 'em be who they are --- they can be plenty cute without coaching.

The producers later tried the same thing with the sheepdog-haircut twin boys who played Jesse and Rebecca's sons....who weren't even cute. Double-gag.

 

[bpatrick]

The ever-overenthusiastic Burt Ward.

And compared to Jay North, Jerry Mathers was Sir Laurence Olivier.
Jay pushed cuteness to the point of making me sick. (OTOH, the
original Mr. Wilson, Joe Kearns, gets my vote as one of the most
underrated actors in classic TV.)

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

The Olsen twins. -Gag.-

They were cute little girls, but the problem was that the director, writers, or whoever, made them too cute. That never works with child actors. Let 'em be who they are --- they can be plenty cute without coaching.

Like Jake on Two-And-A-Half-Men?

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

The ever-overenthusiastic Burt Ward.

the original Mr. Wilson, Joe Kearns (Dennis The Menace--ed.), gets my vote as one of the most underrated actors in classic TV.)

I agree. In my opinion, Kearns qualified as a "character" actor, a category of performers who often go "underrated".