Hazel....Unaired Pilot

[joeybabe25]

Hey....Dig this rarity! The unaired Hazel pilot with Edward Andrews as Mr. B!

Edward Andrews was a great actor and a very versatile one; but I'm glad they recast Don Defore in the role of Mr. B. EA is waaaaay too old for Whitney Blake to the point of being unbelievable. Even though DD was a good 10 years older than WB, I think he fit the role of Mr. B like an old shoe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_w62E0Cpak

 

[cd637299]

Wasn't it true that DD & WB were written out for 1965-66 because they were "too old"? If so, I think that's a shame.

cd

 

[FredLeonard]

From what I've read, Shirley Booth pushed for the cast change. Too bad they didn't hire people who could act. Ironically, Booth had to drop out of the show a year later because of ill health; she was getting too old.

Second time this happened to Don Defore. He got bumped from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, too. For my money, he and Booth had great on-air chemistry and their interactions carried the show (in spite of some terrible writing).

Curiously enough, Whitney Blake's real life husband was named Baxter (although not George). Note her daughter's last name.

Hazel had the same premise and very similar story lines to another, earlier show: Beulah. Only difference is on that show it was a Black maid working for a White family (who was clearly more competent than her employers and kept pulling them out of problem situations). Somehow with White maid, it's OK. With a Black maid, Beulah is now considered offensive and inappropriate.

Shirley Booth's portrayal of Hazel is almost identical to her portrayal of Dolly Gallagher Levi in "The Matchmaker." And both are much better than Barbra Streisand's in "Hello, Dolly."

 

[cd637299]

Fred, I definitely agree about the on-air chemistry beween DD & Shirley.

If Shirley pushed for the cast change, I wonder what brought that about. However, I suppose that if there was a go-ahead for 66-67, I guess I have to bow outta that one!

BTW I thought "A Touch of Grace" (1972 sitcom w/ Booth) was a nice series. Not many felt otherwise, though.

cd

 

[BD Sullivan]

Defore said he found out about the change by reading the newspaper. He found out later that CBS (where the show moved for that final year) had given Booth "a bundle" to keep the series going and "promised to revitalize the series." He owned 7.5% of the show and was especially PO'ed about the fact that he was hoping for a seven year run, which fell apart in that last embarassing season.

 

[joeybabe25]

Shirley Booth was criticized by some in the media for taking a tv show as she was one of the very fine actors of the period (really of all time) and television was "beneath her". Booth said that she took Hazel as her "old age insurance policy". Makes sense. Although she continued to make entertaining films and appeared on broadway, she was not having hits like she did earlier in her career. Besides, staying home in Hollywood with a regular weekly gig is a sweet thing.

According to the person who put up the unaired pilot, Thelma Ritter was offered the part of Hazel first. Anyone know if this is true? Ritter was a great actress, but I don't know if she had the sweet side that Shirley Booth's Hazel would at times show. It would have been interesting, however. But I think her film career was going along quite well in 1961 and she didn't need television?

 

[EZway2go]

Bobby Buntrock (Harold) died in a car accident in the '70s. He was only 20 or 21.

 

[FredLeonard]

I like Don Defore but does anybody really believe he could have scored with, let alone married, Whitney Blake?

As in Mayberry, the recurring supporting characters are what really gave the show it's tone and texture. They, of course, disappear when Hazel "moved." My favorite was cranky, old Mr. Griffin. George was terrified of him and Hazel ("she reminds me of my mother") had him wrapped around her little finger. Close second: Mr and Mrs. Johnson next door. Rich, clueless and helpless. A distant third: George's snooty sister Deidre.

Ray Fullmer, who played George's brother never spoken of before, went back to soaps after one season in prime time. The showed up 30 years later doing infomercials for Tony Robbins. It always seemed this obvious lack of talent and very limited success in his chosen career were not a strong endorsement for Tony's course.

Shirley Booth (whose real name, by coincidence, was also Thelma) was 63 when the show started and made it to 94.

The cover story for George and Dorothy's absence was Mr. Griffin sent them to Saudia Arabia to oversee his business interests there. When he left, gas was about 33 cents a gallon. Thanks a lot, George.

George was a lawyer and a partner in his firm. Brother Steve sold houses but based on their houses, Steve was making a lot more money than old George.

After Hazel, Shirley Booth did two short-running plays on Broadway in 1970. That's it. Pre-Hazel, she had some impressive credits, in addition to creating the role of Lola in "Come Back Little Sheba" (which she reprised in the film version, and received the Oscar for Best Actress), she created the role of Bunny Watson in "The Desk Set" (played by Katherine Hepburn in the movie and based on the real life research director at CBS), created the role of Liz in "The Philadelphia Story" (played by Ruth Hussey in the move), and created the role of Ruth in "My Sister Eileen" (Rosalind Russell in the movie). In "The Matchmaker," however, Ruth Gordon had created the role of Dolly on Broadway.

 

[cd637299]

Here is a YouTube of what I used to see in syndication in color:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWms537CU4s

Like I commented there, I never gave a thought about how silly this was----like was said there, it's basically a mishmash of different opening scenes thrown together. You'd *think* that they'd help with the groceries....

I didn't know until maybe Antenna TV's run of "Hazel" that the theme heard was really only for '65-66.

cd

 

[FredLeonard]

The You Tube clip is from the 64-65 season (the last with Don Defore and Whitney Blake). The same theme with a different opening (family leaves the house without umbrellas and it starts to rain) was used in the 65-66 season (after the move).

For seasons one through three, a different theme was used (with lyrics during the first half of season one).

Openings shot for seasons one through four always involved cars - Ford sponsored the show. Season five, the family leaves the house on foot.

Scattered episodes in early seasons were shot in color to be shown on nights NBC's parent company, RCA, got stores selling TVs to stay open to show off color TVs and NBC ran all it's prime time shows in color (when usually most of those shows were still in black and white). One episode in season one was blatantly about the joys of color TV coming to the Baxter household.

The show's second pilot, "Dorothy's Birthday" was shown late in season one. Notice how different the interiors of the Baxter house look.

 

[BD Sullivan]

Burt Lancaster, who had co-starred with Booth in her Oscar-winning performance in "Come Back, Little Sheba" was an actor who was noted as being critical of her decision to do the show, also citing that it was "beneath her" to do it.

The first season was in B&W except for the aforementioned show that was a blatant plug to get people to buy (preferably RCA) color TV's. For the rest of the run, all the shows were in color.

Ray Fulmer got his big break when he co-starred in a play with Bing Crosby's wife, Kathryn. Der Bingle put in some good words for him and he started getting roles in Hollywood.

I'm not sure if the cover story for George and Dorothy specifically sent them to Saudi Arabia, but it was certainly the Middle East. I believe the first show in the new format even states that they were in Baghdad!

In that final season, there's an interesting recurring character, Millie, who was played by a teenage Ann Jillian.

Howard Smith (Mr. Griffin) might be more memorable to Twilight Zone fans who remember his role (typecasting?) in "A Town Called Willoughby" as the hard-driving ad agency CEO that yells repeatedly at a harried James Daly, "It's a push, push, push, push world" until Daly snaps at him and quits.

Sadly, Cathy Lewis (snobby sister Deirdre) died of cancer in 1968 at the age of 51.

 

[Braves2005]

Weren't Ray Fulmer (Steve), Lynn Borden (Barbara) and Julia Benjamin (Susie) largely unknowns before they starred on Hazel during that last season? I know that they were considering Fulmer for the role of Darrin on Bewitched after Dick York's back gave out on him but Fulmer refused the role and it went to Dick Sargent. I don't even know what happened to Lynn Borden and Julia Benjamin as I don't believe they did much after Hazel was cancelled in 1966.

 

[joeybabe25]

Scattered episodes in early seasons were shot in color to be shown on nights NBC's parent company, RCA, got stores selling TVs to stay open to show off color TVs and NBC ran all it's prime time shows in color (when usually most of those shows were still in black and white). One episode in season one was blatantly about the joys of color TV coming to the Baxter household.

I believe there was one color show in the first season, and after that it was a full color series (one of the first sitcoms in color I think).

Joe

 

[cd637299]

Yes, the only color ep in Season 1 that I know was called "What'll We Be Watching?", and that is on YouTube as well. A cheesy promotion of color TV....well by 2013 standards.

cd

 

[therealjm12]

I like Don Defore but does anybody really believe he could have scored with, let alone married, Whitney Blake?


Yes I do, summed up with $,$$$,$$$. Makes a man a lot more attractive to a woman like Whitney Blake.

 

[BD Sullivan]

Weren't Ray Fulmer (Steve), Lynn Borden (Barbara) and Julia Benjamin (Susie) largely unknowns before they starred on Hazel during that last season?... I don't even know what happened to Lynn Borden and Julia Benjamin as I don't believe they did much after Hazel was cancelled in 1966.

Borden was Miss Arizona in the 1958 Miss America pageant.

Benjamin had a pretty limited acting career over the next few decades.

 

[Markxxx]

Now see the way I read the change over was that "Hazel" was cancelled by NBC and CBS picked it up and Blake and DeFore had committed to other things.

(This kind of thing has happened to other shows, like "Becker" where shows were picked up suddenly. Also on "Roseanne," whu the "First Becky" quit the second time, among others.)

Booth was ill at the time and the last season had a nurse on set with her all the time. CBS offered to renew it for another year but Booth bowed out saying she was too ill, though she didn't die till 1992.

I thought DeFore had excellent chemistry with everyone including Blake. What people tend to miss out on was the fact Missy ran her own business and that Hazel was Missy's maid from the time Missy was a little girl. Hence Hazel came with Missy as sort of a wedding present.

This explains why Hazel was in the house and why they had a maid.

Also Hazel was based on Ted Key's comic strip of the same name which isn't well known today.

People don't realize how well Shirley Booth was regarded. It would be similar to Meryl Streep doing a sitcom today. Indeed her performances in "Come Back Little Sheba," and even more so in "Hot Spell," are amazing.

 

[joeybabe25]

I like Don Defore but does anybody really believe he could have scored with, let alone married, Whitney Blake?


Yes I do, summed up with $,$$$,$$$. Makes a man a lot more attractive to a woman like Whitney Blake.

A LOT more that Edward Andrews, great actor that he was. If Don DeFore looked 10 years older that Miss Blake, EA looked 20.

Joe

 

[joeybabe25]

Booth was ill at the time and the last season had a nurse on set with her all the time. CBS offered to renew it for another year but Booth bowed out saying she was too ill, though she didn't die till 1992.

People sometimes don't realize that all the money in the world (and Shirley Booth probably made peanuts compared to series stars today, though 25 grand a week wouldn't be out of the question...great money any era...) cannot preserve your health.

Miss Booth went on to other guest shots, plays and a series, but the grind of (back then) about 30 episodes a year was just too much for a woman approaching 70. Look at her in 1961 and then in 1966. It really shows on her.

Joe

 

[FredLeonard]

Actually, Don Defore was older than Edward Andrews (more than a year). And almost 13 years older than Whitney Blake.

Don Defore as "Thorny" just disappeared from living next door to Ozzie and Harriet. I understand Defore wanted a raise. Was Thorny's disappearance ever mentioned or explained? Other neighbors had been introduced before Thorny left, so maybe Ozzie had been planning this. John Brown had played Thorny on radio but had been blacklisted.