Eve's Big Day

Happy birthday to one of my favorite performers. Born as Eunice Quedens on April 30, 1908, in Mill Valley, California, Eve was stagestruck from her youth. She went on to build an impressive career in theater, radio, film, and TV. Whether you know her from Our Miss Brooks, her Oscar-nominated turn in Mildred Pierce, or one of her other many credits, you aren't likely to forget this distinctive performer once you've encountered her. Though she left us in 1990, many of her best performances can still be enjoyed today.

Researching and writing a book about her professional accomplishments was a labor of love. I hope it encourages others to discover her, or check out some of her lesser-known credits. Some of my favorite Arden films include Stage Door, The Voice of the Turtle, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. And have you seen her feature film version of Our Miss Brooks? Does it finally turn her into Our Mrs. Boynton? Watch and see.

Judy! Judy! Judy!

Happy birthday to Judy Carne, born on this date in 1939. Best-known as the "Sock-It- To-Me Girl" on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, she previously starred opposite Pete Duel (both above) in the charming romantic comedy Love on a Rooftop, which aired from 1966 to 1967 on ABC-TV. (This show is the subject of a chapter in my book Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television).

As detailed in her outspoken memoir, Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside, life itself had a way of socking it to Judy, and she's been out of public view for quite a few years. Whatever she's up to these days, I hope she's well and happy. She certainly seemed to be overdue for her turn at it.

The Two from "A Majority of One"

Recognize this distinguished-looking couple? It's Gertrude Berg and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who teamed up to star in the 1959-60 Broadway hit A Majority of One, by Leonard Spigelgass. Berg, known to radio and television audiences as the creator and star of The Goldbergs, played an American widow who becomes involved romantically with a Japanese man. She won a Tony for her performance in the show, which ran for more than 500 performances.

As for Hardwicke, who was Tony-nominated for his performance as well, Berg so enjoyed working with him that she wanted him for her co-star when she returned to series television in 1961. Can't quite remember that show? Refresh your memory with my book, Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television, which covers it and twenty-nine other sitcoms that are rarely revived today.

Go West, Miss Vance

Here's something you don't see every day -- TV's Ethel Mertz on the set of a Western drama. In 1959, with the cast of I Love Lucy playing those characters only in occasional hour-long episodes, Vivian Vance was ready for an opportunity to broaden her horizons. She was therefore pleased by the booking to play a guest role on NBC's The Deputy, which starred Allen Case (above) as the title character, Clay McCord.

As a regular player on one of TV's first top-rated shows, Miss Vance was likely unprepared for the level of fame that weekly coast-to-coast exposure could bring to an actor. While the professional success was gratifying, she feared that her years as frumpy, plain-spoken Ethel Mertz had so overshadowed her previous achievements in films and theater that she would be irrevocably typecast. As she told a reporter while working on The Deputy, "When my friends begin calling me Ethel instead of Vivian, it is time to make a radical change in style."

Unfortunately, her efforts to change things up met with limited success. Her friend Desi Arnaz cast her in a 1960 sitcom pilot, "Guestward Ho," but the network insisted on a different leading lady. So, with some hesitation, she accepted a lucrative offer in 1962 to be Lucille Ball's co-star on The Lucy Show. As it turned out, she never quite escaped the enduring identification as Lucy's sidekick. While she's fondly remembered for those performances, we'll never know what other types of roles she might have played.

Revving Up in Reno

I am pleased to announce that I am taking part in "The 1950s: Expanding the American Dream," a symposium sponsored by the National Auto Museum. This year's event will be held April 29 - May 2, 2015, at the museum in Reno, Nevada. Every year, this symposium series examines a different decade, "politically, culturally and socially." My talk will be based on my book The Women Who Made Television Funny, which profiles ten pioneering performers who came to prominence in 1950s TV.

More detail on this event to come, but in the meantime here's an overview. Ready for a trip back in time? I am.

Peggy Rea: From Secretary to Supporting Player

"I'm just an incurable ham," said Peggy Jane Rea of her lengthy career as a film and television actress. Born March 31, 1921, Miss Rea originally worked as a secretary, getting a taste of show business with jobs at MGM, a New York advertising agency, and the production office of TV's Gunsmoke. 

Although she can be seen in early shows like I Love Lucy, it wasn't until the early 1960s that she gave up her day gigs and devoted herself fully to being a character actress. Prior to that, when she served as secretary to producer Arthur Freed at MGM, she was prone to slip out occasionally to have studio costume and makeup artists transform her into whatever character she hoped to play next, whether it be a prim schoolteacher or a little old lady. As she told syndicated columnist Erskine Johnson, Freed indulged her, and "joked about having a secretary with a thousand faces."

Later years brought her prominent roles such as Rose Burton on The Waltons, Lulu Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard, and Jean Kelly on Grace Under Fire. Miss Rea died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 89. But today, on her birthday, let's take a moment and remember this lady who brought so many sharply etched characterizations to life.

Coming Attraction

Oh, boy! I'm happy to announce that my sixth book, to be published next year, focuses on yet another unforgettable funny lady. My subject is none other than marvelous, madcap Martha Raye. The book, which provides a complete overview of her life and career, will be published in time to commemorate the centennial of her birth in 1916.

I've been knee-deep in research for more than a year now, piecing together the story of a remarkable career that encompassed movies, her highly rated TV variety shows of the 1950s, and even the zany Benita Bizarre of the beloved Saturday morning show The Bugaloos. I've had the opportunity to conduct some fascinating interviews with those who knew and worked with Miss Raye, and uncovered quite a bit of previously unpublished information about her storied career.

If you have any information to contribute, by all means please let me hear from you, via this blog. There's always room for another good story about this endlessly intriguing star.