If they would have lived.....

[bk77]

Of all the celebrities who died young ( before the age of 50 ), had they lived, chances are what would they be doing today?

I remember reading awhile back that both Bob Crane and Larry Blyden had projects in the works just before their deaths. I think Blyden was all set to do a game show come to think of it.

Had Freddy Prinze not shot himself to death, would Chico & The Man last longer than it did? Would we have seen the return of Dana Plato to series TV?

Had Jessica Savitch took control of her life and not died so young, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she would have ended up sooner or later being the main anchor at one on the networks. A friend of mine disagrees with me on this one, he felt she killed her own career when she did that one newscast under the influance. He thinks she would have been "downgraded" to the local level.

In one of her bios, I read that Patsy Cline was actually pretty funny. Loved to tell jokes. Had she not died in that 1963 plane crash, maybe we could have seen her in a sitcom. Something that Reba has been doing over the last several years.

Chris Farley, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner I think in form or another would have returned to TV. And had Elvis Presley had lived, I think he would have had done many more TV appearances than he did.

Any others of what "may have been"?

 

[Ultimajock]

...Ernie Kovacs would have LOVED the Psychedelic Era ;-) ...

 

[bpatrick]

Larry Blyden had already taped the pilot
for the game show "Showoffs," and was
then killed in an automobile accident in
Morocco before taping on the series began.
Bobby Van became the host when the show
became a series.

Pete Duel's career was going well, with
"Alias Smith And Jones" getting decent ratings,
when he apparently killed himself in December
1971. I can easily imagine another series for
him, possibly some guest spots as he would
now be well into his 60s.

 

[Stanislav]

...Ernie Kovacs would have LOVED the Psychedelic Era ;-) ...

His buddy Jack Lemmon was once asked the same question, and he said that all he knew is that Ernie would still be 10 or 15 years ahead of everyone else. I think he would have been perenially a misunderstood genius, garnering low ratings and understood only by a small fan base of perceptive folks, along with others in the industry who would continue to steal his concepts and make money off them when the rest of the world caught up and they went mainstream.

One thing we know Kovacs would have done: before his untimely death, he was originally set to play what ultimately became Sid Caesar's role in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," alongside his real-life wife Edie Adams. I can picture him in the role, and while I think his performance would have been a bit less manic than Caesar, it would have benefited from the natural chemistry he and Edie had together.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Rod Serling was only 50 when he died...He'd already written acclaimed screenplays like "Seven Days In May" and collaborated on "Planet Of The Apes". If only he'd made it to the cable age, who knows what he may have created?

Robert Urich was 56 when he died, but he may have had a couple more series in him.

Across the pond, Dermot Morgan, who played the title role in "Father Ted", died at age 48 just after that show ended its run...He'd probably still be quite active today.

Regarding John Belushi...Wouldn't it be a given that "According To John" would be funnier than...You know?

 

[NeilRattigan]

One post had "Ernie Kovacs would have LOVED the Psychedelic Era."

He'd also hold the record for guest host shots on Saturday Night Live.
Chevy Chase says Ernie inspired him. Billy Crystal is also a big Kovacs fan.

The late Bill Wendell, who worked with Kovacs at NBC, told David Letterman that he reminded him of Ernie. [Wendell was also Letterman's announcer.]
Will it Float? Stupid Pet Tricks.
Ernie probably would have felt at home as a guest on Letterman

 

[Stanislav]

One post had "Ernie Kovacs would have LOVED the Psychedelic Era."

He'd also hold the record for guest host shots on Saturday Night Live.
Chevy Chase says Ernie inspired him. Billy Crystal is also a big Kovacs fan.

The late Bill Wendell, who worked with Kovacs at NBC, told David Letterman that he reminded him of Ernie. [Wendell was also Letterman's announcer.]
Will it Float? Stupid Pet Tricks.
Ernie probably would have felt at home as a guest on Letterman

Kovacs' influence predates those fellows. George Schlatter, the producer of "Laugh-In," was married to actress Jolene Brand, who had worked with Kovacs. Everything that made "Laugh-In" what it was -- visual tricks, tight and creative videotape editing, quick blackouts, running gags, absurdities and non-sequiters -- had all been done by Kovacs years before. All George and friends really added was color, some 60's "hipness," and guest star cameos. Those who credit Schlatter with a "groundbreaking" show give him way too much credit and do an injustice to Kovacs' legacy.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Everything that made "Laugh-In" what it was -- visual tricks, tight and creative videotape editing, quick blackouts, running gags, absurdities and non-sequiters -- had all been done by Kovacs years before. All George and friends really added was color, some 60's "hipness," and guest star cameos.

If I'm not mistaken, Rowan & Martin admitted as much.

 

[Tom Wells]

You guys are making me feel old. I remember watching the debut show of "Laugh In" in 1968 (?).

I wonder what Walter Brennan would be doing now..or William Frawley (Fred on I love Lucy).

 

[Braves2005]

Gilda Radner would still be making us laugh and she could be possibly making movies or have had a TV show of her very own and also her autobiography would have been a Movie Of The Week starring herself.

Phil Hartman would have become a movie actor as well as starring in his own TV shows.

 

[Markxxx]

I believe Jessica Savitch would've gone on to better things. Dana Plato was a very nice women (I met her and Todd Bridges, also very nice) but I don't see her as going anywere, except like an Anna Nicole Smith type antics.

Freddy Prinze? Hard to tell even before his death his TV show was in decline. It would remain to be seen if he could've crawled out of this mess he made. He certainly had talent but so did a lot of other people who just couldn't make it.

Movie star Marie MacDonald said "Some people will never be equipped to handle the demands of Hollywood and stardom, I am one of them." At least she knew to get out, well sort of.

 

[Tim L]

Elvis Presley loved Gospel Music and Gospel Music Performers. If he could have gotten control of his life at some point, I could see him just being a Gospel soloist..He had all the money he could want..And could still make a living as a Gospel Artist..

 

[mleach]

Had she lived I could see Jessica Savitch leaving TV and getting into the world of talk radio.

Elvis Presley I believe sooner or later would have gotten away from Colonel Tom Parker and start touring again, doing international tours since he couldn't do that under Parker. Perhaps also going back into movies and maybe making several TV guest shots.

John Belushi would be doing dramas, maybe even action films. Doubt he would go back into TV.

Someone brought up William Frawley from I Love Lucy. Very Interesting. Had he and Vivian Vance gotten along and did that Mertz pilot that Desi Arnaz wanted them to do, it would not surprise me if that show would be more popular ( or at the very least as popular ) than I Love Lucy. Heck I would go as far as saying that Vance herself would be more popular than Lucy herself.

 

[dmargalotti]

Nat King Cole. Perhaps if he lived long enough to see a more racially accepting and tolerant society, he would have gotten another change at hosting his own prime time network TV show.

 

[Stanislav]

Had she lived I could see Jessica Savitch leaving TV and getting into the world of talk radio.

I could imagine her ultimately landing on a cable news/analysis show, maybe something along the lines of Greta Van Susteren (not the same style, necessarily, but the same type format). Don't forget -- she had a horrible and tragic personal life, some drug problems, and really was rushed too far, too fast into network news before she had enough experience and had "paid her dues," working up the ladder the way the male journalists had to do. But in spite of all that, she was a very good journalist when she had some control over the project. She did a number of "Frontline" episodes for PBS which won quite a bit of praise.

It's sad that she will always be remembered not for that, but rather for that 30-second slurred train wreck of an NBC News Update. Really, the fault for that is not totally hers -- NBC KNEW that she was having problems, and there had been some previous on-air stumbles (though not nearly as bad as that infamous Update) that should have tipped them off to get her off the air for a while and into some sort of therapy or rehab. Savitch came along at a time when there was a lot of criticism about network news being such a male-dominated business, and she was NBC's "Golden Girl" (to borrow the title of one of her biographies) -- they had a lot invested in her (money as well as pride) and were desperate to have her succeed. Maybe they felt that if they pulled her prematurely, they would get it from both sides -- the feminists saying that they hadn't given her enough of a chance, and others using it to justify their opinion that women didn't belong in "hard news."

 

[jwk1979]

Of all the celebrities who died young ( before the age of 50 ), had they lived, chances are what would they be doing today?

In one of her bios, I read that Patsy Cline was actually pretty funny. Loved to tell jokes. Had she not died in that 1963 plane crash, maybe we could have seen her in a sitcom. Something that Reba has been doing over the last several years.

Any others of what "may have been"?

But how well known was Patsy Cline outside of the Country Music industry in the sixties? A lot of people were are not Country music fans know who Reba McEntire is, but a lot of people who didn't keep up country music were unaware who Patsy Cline was until the movie "Sweet Dreams" with Jessica Lange in 1983. Same with Loretta Lynn until "Coal Miner's Daughter" came out in 1980.

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Another such celebrity in this topic is Curly Howard. As Moe himself pointed out in his autobiography, Curly would've been a natural for Johnny, Mike, Merv, and shows of that type. Further, if Curly lived past 1975, he himself would've voiced Jabberjaw and Curly (on The Robonic Stooges) - both voiced instead by Frank Welker - plus possibly one of the other main characters on Yogi Bear's Space Race (I'm thinking Quackup Duck which was voiced by Mel Blanc, plus of course Jabberjaw).

 

[mleach]

Of all the celebrities who died young ( before the age of 50 ), had they lived, chances are what would they be doing today?

In one of her bios, I read that Patsy Cline was actually pretty funny. Loved to tell jokes. Had she not died in that 1963 plane crash, maybe we could have seen her in a sitcom. Something that Reba has been doing over the last several years.

Any others of what "may have been"?

But how well known was Patsy Cline outside of the Country Music industry in the sixties? A lot of people were are not Country music fans know who Reba McEntire is, but a lot of people who didn't keep up country music were unaware who Patsy Cline was until the movie "Sweet Dreams" with Jessica Lange in 1983. Same with Loretta Lynn until "Coal Miner's Daughter" came out in 1980.

If she hadn't died so young chances are the only television Patsy Cline would have done would be making guest appearances on shows like Hee Haw, Ed Sullivan, Hollywood Palace, etc.. I can't see Patsy appearing on American Bandstand even though Buck Owens, The Statler Brothers and Johnny Cash did appear on that show back in the 60s.

"Sweet Dreams" actually came out in 1985. I remember it quite well as the movie was filmed only about 15 miles from my then-home. As I recall the movie didn't do all that well at the box office plus as was the case with that Bob Crane bio flick that came out a few years ago, the movie didn't sit very well with a number of Patsy's living relatives, some which claim "Sweet Dreams' should have been called "Sweet Lies".

 

[Corky Marlowe]

How about Bobby Darin? By the time he died at age 36 in 1973, after battling heart problems for a number of years, he had already reinvented himself several times, going from teen idol to crooner to folkie, and had hosted a pretty good variety show. Had his health not been a factor, he probably would have been a hot guest on all manner of TV shows, and maybe made his show last a little longer.

 

[WMC2006]

[quote

Robert Urich was 56 when he died, but he may have had a couple more series in him.

[/quote]

If I recall correctly, Urich's series "Lazarus Man", a great show that I enjoyed, was cancelled after he was initially diagnosed with cancer. The production company didn't want to continue the series with Urich ill and possibly near death.

After treatment, Urich eventually came back to TV to star in "Love Boat:The Next Wave" which lasted only a season. Urich died in 2002 at the age of 56.

John Ritter was staging something of a comeback with "8 Different Reasons for Dating My Teenaged Daughter" when he died in 2003 from an aortic dissection. He was 55 years old.