Supporting players

[Corky Marlowe]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned William Schallert. Patty Duke, Dobie Gillis, Star Trek, The Partridge Family, many other guest roles.

And the voice of Milton The Toaster in the old Pop-Tarts commercials!

Some others--Sid Melton (Danny's agent on "Make Room For Daddy", con man Friendly Freddy on "Gomer Pyle", and Alf Monroe on "Green Acres"), which nicely segues into Mary Grace Canfield (Mary Grace on "The Andy Griffith Show" and Alf's sister Ralph)

Someone mentioned Virginia Gregg...She was one of the, to borrow a phrase, "Mighty Dragnet Art Players" who popped up on that show from time to time along with Anthony Eisley and the guy (can't remember his name) who played the con man posing as a forest ranger.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...the..."Mighty Dragnet Art Players" who popped up on that show from time to time...the guy
(can't remember his name) who played the con man posing as a forest ranger.

Stacy Harris. He was in a number of both the '50s and '60 Dragnet TV episodes,
as well as the 1954 Dragnet movie.

 

[onairb]

Sid Melton also played Sal Petrillo, Sophia's late husband, in the occasional flashbacks on 'The Golden Girls': 'PICTURE it! Brooklyn, 1953!' ;D

 

[therealjm12]

Here's a couple old geezers for ya. William Fawcett of Fury -Pete. He was in just about every western ever made. In real life he was a retired college professor. Hank Paterson -aka Mr . Ziffle on Green Acres but also, a semi regular on Gunsmoke.

 

[Hal Erickson]

Percy Helton and Byron Foulger...
I'm trying to think of a TV show that they WEREN'T on.
Both of them became part of the Paul Henning stock company in the late 1960s, Helton
as a bank clerk on BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and Foulger as a railroad engineer on PETTICOAT JUNCTION.

 

[Mark Giardina]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned William Schallert. Patty Duke, Dobie Gillis, Star Trek, The Partridge Family, many other guest roles.

I believe that Schallert was President of the Screen Actors Guild at one time. So apparently his peers in the motion picture industry though enough of him to elect Schallert to that office.

 

[bpatrick]

This is going a little wide of the mark, since I'm talking now
about announcer/sidekicks rather than actors, but Groucho's
announcer, George Fenneman, emceed three shows on television:
"Anybody Can Play," "Your Surprise Package," and a forerunner of
"America's Funniest Home Videos" called "Your Funny, Funny Films."
(Los Angeles viewers saw him on a fourth, "Talk About Pictures," which
capitalized on his love of photography and won a local Emmy in the '70s.)
On the first two (both game shows), he was criticized because the
likability he displayed on "You Bet Your Life" disappeared when he
became a host; he came off like a stern schoolteacher (ironically,
he had set out to be a teacher but found broadcasting to be much
more lucrative). (BTW, he also did a radio show, "The Perfect Husband,"
a more upbeat "Queen For A Day" with wives relating their husbands'
good deeds in exchange for prizes; Groucho heard it once and told him
he needn't fear for his job on "You Bet Your Life," that "The Perfect Husband"
wouldn't make it; it didn't, lasting only about a year in the early '50s.)

And except for "Star Search," Ed McMahon was never very effective
as a host; does anyone remember his "Password" clone "Snap Judgment,"
or his brief tenure as host of "Concentration" after Hugh Downs left in 1969...
or especially "Whodunit?" (possibly one of the worst game shows ever conceived).

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

With regards to Madge Blake (Batman & Leave It To Beaver), she was also "Flora McMichael", the love interest of Walter Brennan in The Real McCoys.

 

[The King Bee]

Here's what I heard about Howard Morris being cast as Ernest T. Bass: During a writers' session at an office building on the Desilu set in 1963, Morris was pitching his idea of a wild mountain man dropping in on Mayberry and causing havoc, creating many comic situations for the cast to defuse.

During his spiel, he REALLY got into character, jumping on the conference table, turning over the stenographer's material and other manic moves while coming up with that unique Ernest T. voice and delivery. Aaron Ruben, Persky and Denoff, Bob Ross and others were crying with laughter as they watched this spectacle. Word got to Carl Reiner and he and Andy Griffith came down the hall, catching Morris' show. When things calmed down, Morris said "and I've got some ideas who should play Ernest."

Reiner and Griffith said, almost in unison that they weren't looking any further, the idea was a go,
produce a script...and Howard, an experienced actor as well as writer, was going in front of the cameras as Ernest-NOBODY could duplicate what they'd just seen!

 

[LKellerIII]

Here's what I heard about Howard Morris being cast as Ernest T. Bass: During a writers' session at an office building on the Desilu set in 1963, Morris was pitching his idea of a wild mountain man dropping in on Mayberry and causing havoc, creating many comic situations for the cast to defuse.

During his spiel, he REALLY got into character, jumping on the conference table, turning over the stenographer's material and other manic moves while coming up with that unique Ernest T. voice and delivery. Aaron Ruben, Persky and Denoff, Bob Ross and others were crying with laughter as they watched this spectacle. Word got to Carl Reiner and he and Andy Griffith came down the hall, catching Morris' show. When things calmed down, Morris said "and I've got some ideas who should play Ernest."

Reiner and Griffith said, almost in unison that they weren't looking any further, the idea was a go,
produce a script...and Howard, an experienced actor as well as writer, was going in front of the cameras as Ernest-NOBODY could duplicate what they'd just seen!

That's a great story - I loved Howie Morris. I wasn't aware that Carl Reiner had any creative input into Griffith's show. If I remember correctly, Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard produced both The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Perhaps that was the conection.

 

[Hal Erickson]

I believe that Schallert was President of the Screen Actors Guild at one time. So apparently his peers in the motion picture industry though enough of him to elect Schallert to that office.
[/quote]

Ironically (if that is the correct word) Patty Duke was also once the president of SAG.


So was Melissa Gilbert, and from what I hear she was a tough cookie when it came to negotiations and such.

And so was another very familiar character actor, George Chandler (in fact several presidents weren't stars but character people).

 

[LKellerIII]

I believe that Schallert was President of the Screen Actors Guild at one time. So apparently his peers in the motion picture industry though enough of him to elect Schallert to that office.

Ironically (if that is the correct word) Patty Duke was also once the president of SAG.


So was Melissa Gilbert, and from what I hear she was a tough cookie when it came to negotiations and such.

And so was another very familiar character actor, George Chandler (in fact several presidents weren't stars but character people).

I believe Ed Asner was also President of SAG for awhile.

Another SAG President in the 1950s was actor who was also relegated to mostly supporting roles - a guy named Ronald Reagan. That was his first try at holding elected office, after which he developed an interest in politics. Has anybody heard what happened to Reagan after that?

;D

 

[Bob1370]

"Another SAG President in the 1950s was actor who was also relegated to mostly supporting roles - a guy named Ronald Reagan. That was his first try at holding elected office, after which he developed an interest in politics. Has anybody heard what happened to Reagan after that?"

True story. During the first (1968) year of Laugh-In, in the Laugh-In Looks At The News segment, Dan Rowan does a bit called 'News of the Future' imagining what will be news in 1988. The biggest laugh in the segment comes from a reference to 'President Ronald Reagan.'

And we all now remember who actually WAS President in 1988...

 

[wbhist]

"Another SAG President in the 1950s was actor who was also relegated to mostly supporting roles - a guy named Ronald Reagan. That was his first try at holding elected office, after which he developed an interest in politics. Has anybody heard what happened to Reagan after that?"

True story. During the first (1968) year of Laugh-In, in the Laugh-In Looks At The News segment, Dan Rowan does a bit called 'News of the Future' imagining what will be news in 1988. The biggest laugh in the segment comes from a reference to 'President Ronald Reagan.'

And we all now remember who actually WAS President in 1988...

That's not all. On a 1968 sketch on The Carol Burnett Show, Ms. Burnett was impersonating Queen Elizabeth, and towards the end of the sketch she spoke of getting an invite to the White House for the next year. When the interviewer (another underrated supporting player - Harvey Korman) said that the Johnsons would be out of the White House by then, she responded that the invite was sent by the Nixons. Of course, by 1969, we all know who was President . . .

 

[mleach]

I believe Ed Asner was also President of SAG for awhile.

If local Denver radio is to be believed ( "Alice 105.9" and 106.7 KBPI ), the son of Ed Asner is currently president of the porn version of SAG or whatever it is called ( didn't know there was such a group for those who do/did porno). Alice 105.9 also had made the claim that Ed's son is also president ( KBPI had said the "owner" ) of the movie production company "Bearfilms"..a Palm Springs based company that makes gay porn. Wonder if Ed Asner would be proud?

 

[LKellerIII]

"Another SAG President in the 1950s was actor who was also relegated to mostly supporting roles - a guy named Ronald Reagan. That was his first try at holding elected office, after which he developed an interest in politics. Has anybody heard what happened to Reagan after that?"

True story. During the first (1968) year of Laugh-In, in the Laugh-In Looks At The News segment, Dan Rowan does a bit called 'News of the Future' imagining what will be news in 1988. The biggest laugh in the segment comes from a reference to 'President Ronald Reagan.'

And we all now remember who actually WAS President in 1988...

One more Reagan story:

By 1965, Reagan's political ambitions were becoming known, but still considered the butt of humor. Reagan was very high profile during the 64 presidential campaign as a Barry Goldwater supporter, and that didn't go so well, when Goldwater lost in a landslide to LBJ.

Tom Lehrer was a Harvard Professor who wrote satirical songs about politics. He first gained notoriety on That Was The Week That Was, and he had a best selling record album. One of Lehrer's songs was about George Murphy, the first actor to win big political office, becoming Senator from California a couple of years before Reagan became Governor.

The song begins:

"Hollywood's often tried to mix,
Show business with politics,
From Helen Gahagan,
To...Ronald Reagan???"

Which was followed by a big laugh from the studio audience.

 

[Ultimajock]

I believe Ed Asner was also President of SAG for awhile.

If local Denver radio is to be believed ( "Alice 105.9" and 106.7 KBPI ), the son of Ed Asner is currently president of the porn version of SAG or whatever it is called ( didn't know there was such a group for those who do/did porno). Alice 105.9 also had made the claim that Ed's son is also president ( KBPI had said the "owner" ) of the movie production company "Bearfilms"..a Palm Springs based company that makes gay porn. Wonder if Ed Asner would be proud?

...provided it's true, that would make the second CBS star to have a son go into the porn biz -- the other is Dick Smothers, Jr. ;D ...

 

[mleach]

I believe Ed Asner was also President of SAG for awhile.

If local Denver radio is to be believed ( "Alice 105.9" and 106.7 KBPI ), the son of Ed Asner is currently president of the porn version of SAG or whatever it is called ( didn't know there was such a group for those who do/did porno). Alice 105.9 also had made the claim that Ed's son is also president ( KBPI had said the "owner" ) of the movie production company "Bearfilms"..a Palm Springs based company that makes gay porn. Wonder if Ed Asner would be proud?

...provided it's true, that would make the second CBS star to have a son go into the porn biz -- the other is Dick Smothers, Jr. ;D ...

Could be true since chances are we don't know what Ed's son looks like ( I know I don't ) or what name he uses in that line of work. This reminds me of a podcast I heard last year with Jody Hamilton who is of course the daughter of Joe Hamilton and Carol Burnett. Despite appearing on TV every once in awhile ( usually about her mom ) from listening I get he feeling that Jody Hamilton was bragging about still being able to stop by the Circle K for a pack of smokes or picking grapes at the supermarket and NOT being appraoched by the "..hey can I have your autograph?" people despite having famous parents.