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RIP JAMES CAAN
1940 -2022
James Caan was born in New York City and came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. This would prove to be his signature role, and one which he reprised in The Godfather Part II (1974), with a cameo appearance at the end. Caan starred in the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song, for which he received a Best Actor Emmy nomination.
Caan made an early television appearance on Desilu’s “The Untouchables” (above left) in December 1962.
Caan was on the cover of Rona Barrett’s Hollywood magazine in July 1975. Inside story was about Lucille Ball contending with her son’s affair with Patty Duke.
In November 1977, Lucy and James Caan were both guests on the same episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”, although they did not appear on the couch together. Lucy was there to promote her TV special “Lucy Calls The President”. Caan was then in a film titled Another Man, Another Chance.
James Caan was one of the many celebrities who attended Lucy’s 1984 “All Star Party” produced by Variety Clubs Charities. When Lucy made her entrance, Caan blew her a kiss. Lucy appears to have waved back in recognition.
His final film appearance is currently in post-production and is scheduled for release in March 2023: Gun Monkeys starring Pierce Brosnan.
Caan was married four times and had five children. He was 82 years old.
“My acting technique is to look up at God just before the camera rolls and say, ‘Give me a break.’” ~ JAMES CAAN
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NATIONAL KISSING DAY!
June 22nd
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BUDDIES
A Photo Tribute to the Colorful Friendship Between Lucy & Ethel
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RIP MAGGIE PETERSON-MANCUSO
1941-2022
Margaret Ann Peterson (aka Maggie Mancuso) was best known for playing Charlene Darling on “The Andy Griffith Show”, which was filmed on the Desilu backlot. In one episode she played opposite Howard McNear, who also played Mr. Crawford, Little Ricky’s music instructor on “I Love Lucy.” “The Andy Griffith Show” was actually a spin-off of “Make Room for Daddy” aka “The Danny Thomas Show”.
She also played the character of Doris in the final episode filmed “A Girl for Goober” in 1968, the same year Lucille Ball sold Desilu Studios to Paramount.
While at Desilu, concurrently with her appearances on “The Andy Griffith Show”, she was hired to play Susie the Waitress on another Desilu-filmed series, “The Bill Dana Show”, yet another spin-off of “The Danny Thomas Show.” In 1958, “The Danny Thomas Show” did a cross-over episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and vice-versa. In her eight episodes as Susie (all in 1964), Peterson co-starred with such “Lucy” favorites as Charles Lane (Mr. Barnsdahl on “The Lucy Show”), Sandra Gould (Nancy Johnson in “Oil Wells”), and Tristram Coffin (Harry Munson on “I Love Lucy”).
Staying in the Desilu / Mayberry family, Peterson also did a 1965 episode of “Gomer Pyle: USMC”, filmed on the Desilu backlot. She played a blind date for Gomer on the episode “The Blind Date”.
In 1966, “The Lucy Show” did a cross-over episode with “Gomer Pyle: USMC” that featured Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle and Lucille Ball as Lucy Carmichael (aka Lou C. Carmichael).
In 1967 she joined Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and The Back Porch Majority on the music special “The Andy Griffith Uptown-Downtown Show” playing herself.
Now considered one of the Mayberry favorites, Peterson also appeared on “Mayberry RFD” in 1970. She played Edna, who was sweet on Sam (Ken Berry). Berry was ‘discovered’ by Lucille Ball, and also appeared on “The Lucy Show” in 1968.
In 1986 Peterson was invited to reprise her role as Charlene Darling in “Return To Mayberry”. She was re-united with many of her co-stars, including The Dillards, the country band who played her family on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
In 1996 she played Charlene one last time on “Nashville Now”, performing a song with The Dillards on a Mayberry Reunion Show.
In 1978, she married Gus Mancuso, who died in 2021. Margaret’s health steadily declined and she died on May 15, 2022 at age 81.
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INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY
May 12
“Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (HL S2;E14). Inset photo (right) from Look Who’s Laughing (1941)
Carnival (1935)
Room Service (1938) with the Marx Brothers
The Big Street (1942) – Mimi Doyle as Hospital Nurse
The Facts of Life (1960)
Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968)
“Lucy Goes To The Hospital” (ILL S2;E16) – Barbara Pepper
“Lucy Goes To The Hospital” (ILL S2;E16) – Peggy Rea
“Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) – Maxine Semon as Night Nurse
“Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) – Iva Shepard as Day Nurse
“Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) – Hazel Pierce (left) as Operating Room Nurse
“The Tour” (ILL S4;E30)
“Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) & “Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (TLS S2;E14)
“Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (TLS S2;E14)
“Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (TLS S2;E14)
“Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (TLS S2;E14) – Kathleen Freeman as Nurse Blake & Karen Norris
“Lucy Sues Mooney” (TLS S6;E12) – Vanda Barra
“Lucy’s Big Break” (HL S5;E1) & “Lucy and Eva Gabor are Hospital Roomies” (HL S5;E2) – Mary Wickes as Nurse Sylvia Ogilvy
“Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5) – Mary Wickes as Nurse Hurlow. Inset photo of Mary Wickes as Nurse Preen in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939)
“Lucy’s Big Break” (HL S5;E1) & “Lucy and Eva Gabor are Hospital Roomies” (HL S5;E2) – June Whitely Taylor
“Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5) – Paula Stewart as Nurse Dean
“Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5) – Adele Claire as Nurse Whitton
“Lucy is N.G. as an R.N.” (HL S6;E17) with Mary Jane Croft
“Harrison Carter, Male Nurse” (HL S5;E3) with Gale Gordon
“Lucy, the Part-Time Wife” (HL S3;E14) – Jean Willes as Nurse Krebs
“The Super Comedy Bowl” (1971) with Joe Namath
“Bob Hope’s All-Star Comedy Tribute to Vaudeville” (1977) with Bernadette Peters as the Nurse
“The Practice” (1976) – Dena Dietrich as Nurse Gibbons & Danny Thomas as Dr. Jules Bedford
“Lucy Makes a Hit with John Ritter” (LWL S1;E2)
Adele Claire, Barbara Pepper, Bernadette Peters, Danny Thomas, Dena Dietrich, Desi Arnaz, Gale Gordon, Hazel Pierce, Here’s Lucy, I love lucy, Jean Willes, Joe Namath, John Ritter, June Whitely Taylor, karen norris, Kathleen Freeman, Life With Lucy, Lucille Ball, Mary Jane Croft, Mary Wickes, Nurse, Nurses Day, Nursing, Paula Stewart, Peggy Rea, Room Service, The Lucy Show, Vana Barra, Vivian Vance, William Frawley -
RIP JOANNA BARNES
1933-2022
Joanna Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She moved to Los Angeles soon after finishing her education in 1956, and was put under contract with Columbia Pictures. In the original The Parent Trap (1961) she was gold digger Vicki Robinson. Thirty-seven years later she played Vicki Blake, mother of the new gold digger, in the remake The Parent Trap (1998).
Barnes joined the Desilu family doing an episode of their celebrity interview show, “Here’s Hollywood” in 1961. She returned for a second episode in 1962.
In between, she did an episode of “The Untouchables” titled “The 90-Proof Dame.”
In 1963, she did a week on Desilu’s game show “You Don’t Say” hosted by Tom Kennedy. She was paired with Wendell Corey, who had also done an episode of “The Untouchables”.
In 1968, just before Lucille Ball sold Desilu to Paramount, Barnes appeared on an episode of “Mannix”, a series shot at Desilu and rescued from cancellation by Lucille Ball.
Barnes’ second husband was Lawrence Dobkin, who played three roles on “I Love Lucy”: The Counterfeiter in “Paris at Last” (1956); The Waiter in “Equal Rights” (1953); and Max, the Counter Man in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953). Like his wife, he was also in “The Untouchables” doing three episodes. They divorced in 1967.
Barnes’ final screen appearance was in 2000. She died at age 87. She is survived by two sisters, three children, and her dog, Gracie Warner.
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RIP ROBERT MORSE
1931-2022
Robert Alan Morse was born in Newton, Mass. He was probably best known as the star of
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,
both the 1961 original Broadway production, for which he won a Tony Award, and the 1967 film adaptation.
That same year (1967) Morse appeared with Walter Matthau, Lucille Ball, and a host of other comedy icons in a film titled A Guide for the Married Man.
Ball and Morse did not share any scenes together.
That finally changed when Lucy and Morse both did a week on the TV game show “Body Language” in 1984. Morse played primarily with exercise guru Richard Simmons, while Ball was partnered with Isabel Sanford from “The Jeffersons.” The game was essentially an update of “You Don’t Say” – televised charades; something Lucille Ball loved and was extremely adept at.
He won a second Tony Award for playing Truman Capote in the 1989 production of the one-man play Tru. In 1992, he reprised the role on TV’s “American Playhouse”, winning a Primetime Emmy Award.
He made his Broadway debut in 1955, as Barnaby Tucker in the play The Matchmaker, the play that later inspired the musical Hello, Dolly! He also did the role on film in 1958. Morse created the role of The Wizard in the San Francisco tryout of Wicked, but did not want to relocate to New York for the Broadway run, so his role went to Joel Gray.
Late in his career, he experienced a resurgence of popularity as Bertram Cooper in the critically acclaimed series “Mad Men” (2007–2015). His final Broadway appearance was in The Front Page in 2017.
Morse was married twice and had five children. He died at his home in Los Angeles on April 20, 2022, at the age of 90.
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RIP NEHEMIAH PERSOFF
1919-2022
Nehemiah Persoff was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1919. When he was 10, his family immigrated to America and settled in New York City. During World War II he was drafted and served in a worldwide entertainment unit. After the war, he trained as an actor and began his career in 1947. Between 1947 and 1959 he did more than a dozen Broadway shows.
His first screen role was as an uncredited extra in 1948′s The Naked City. He made his television debut in 1949. He began working for Desilu on the very first episode of “The Untouchables” “The Empty Chair” in October 1959.
He did 6 more episodes of the series.
He played the title role in the episode titled “The Waxy Gordon Story” (1960).
He played the role of Jake ‘Greasy Thumb’ Grazik in two episodes.
The year “The Untouchables” ended, he did an episode of Desilu’s celebrity profile show “Here’s Hollywood”. He appeared with Glenn Ford.
He did three episodes of Desilu’s “Mission: Impossible” and one episode of “Mannix” (1972). Persoff retired from acting in 1999 and pursued painting, specializing in watercolors. His memoir, The Many Faces of Nehemiah, was published in July 2021. He died on April 5, 2022, at the age of 102 of heart failure.
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RIP TIM CONSIDINE
1940-2022
Tim Considine was born into a theatrical family. His father John Considine Jr. was a famous film producer. His maternal grandfather was Alex Pantages, founder of the Pantages Theatre chain.
His paternal grandfather was vaudeville impresario John W. Considine.
He made his screen debut at age 12 in the film The Clown (1953) starring Red Buttons. In addition to Buttons, who frequently was seen on screen with Lucille Ball, the film also featured such Desilu talent as Philip Ober, Shirley Mitchell and Frank Nelson.
He made his television debut that same year in an episode of the short-lived series “I’m the Law” starring George Raft.
In 1955 he began his association with Disney appearing as Spin in “The Adventures of Spin and Marty”.
On “Spin and Marty” Considine played opposite David Stollery as Marty and Sammy Ogg as Joe, who “I Love Lucy” fans will remember as the rambunctious Hudson Twins in “The Amateur Hour” (ILL S1;E14).
Disney also cast him as Frank Hardy in their two series of “The Hardy Boys” (1956 & 1957) as well as in Annette Funicello’s eponymous series (again with David Stollery) which featured Lucille Ball’s friend Mary Wickes.
In 1960 he was cast as Fred MacMurray’s son, Mike, on “My Three Sons” which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He had first worked with MacMurray on Disney’s The Shaggy Dog the previous year. He left the series after the 1964-1965 season following an argument with the producer about his desire to direct. His character was written out by having him marry his girlfriend and moving to Arizona. Coincidentally, his last episode was also the first in color, and the first to be aired on CBS, where “The Lucy Show” was a number one hit. For several years he played opposite William Frawley (Fred Mertz) as Uncle Bub. Frawley left the series for health reasons nine months before Considine’s final episode.
For more about Desilu’s influence on “My Three Sons”, click here.
While on “My Three Sons” Considine did an episode of Desilu’s hit mobster series, “The Untouchables” titled “The Spoiler” (1963). The episode also featured Claude Akins, who “I Love Lucy” fans remember
played himself (playing a giant native) in “Desert Island” (ILL S6;E8).
After leaving “My Three Sons” Considine’s acting was less regular, but he did memorably get slapped by George C. Scott in the film Patton (1970).
His final appearance on screen was in the 2006 independent film Ray of Sunshine.
His first wife was actress Charlotte Stewart, who played Miss Beadle on “Little House on the Prairie”. He had been married to Willette Hunt since July 1979. They had one child.
Considine died at his home in California at the age of 81.
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