Witch Hazel?

If you've spent enough (OK, too much) time watching Screen Gems sitcoms of the 1960s, you've probably noticed the frequent use of exterior shots filmed on the Columbia Ranch. Looking closely during those outdoor scenes of our favorite TV families, it appears that Hazel and the Baxter family are neighbors of Bewitched's Sam and Darrin Stephens.

Back then, crossovers between shows weren't as common as they later became. And in this case, George, Dorothy, and their irrepressible maid were residents of NBC's subdivision, while Samantha's spells were cast over ABC. But I found myself imagining the chaos that could result if our two heroines met and became pals.

Sam, especially in the earlier episodes, could have picked up a few tips on cooking the mortal way from the maid whose meals always won raves. But while Hazel was already renowned for her take-charge ability to get things done, imagine how she could up the ante with a little help from everyone's favorite witch?

HAZEL (as George walks in from another tough day) "Ain't it hot today, Mr. B? But don't you worry none. While you was at the office, I installed a swimming pool in the backyard."

As for that nasty Deirdre, just let her try insulting Hazel now! "How'd you like a free trip to outer space, Miz Thompson?"

Aren't you glad I wasn't a TV producer in the Sixties? Maybe I'd better go lie down for a while.

"And Agnes Moorehead as ... Marilly?"

Earlier this week, I was excited to see Axel Nissen's new book Agnes Moorehead on Radio, Stage and Television under the Christmas tree. (Granted, I'd dropped a few hints!) Nissen's earlier book The Films of Agnes Moorehead gave us a thorough and knowlegeable overview of the actress' motion picture career. This new volume complements that work by focusing on an area Hollywood biographers often fail to adequately cover -- performances in media other than film.

Although Miss Moorehead's greatest claim to fame with modern viewers is still the role of Endora on Bewitched, Nissen wisely resists the temptation to let that classic characterization overwhelm the rest of his book. Instead, he covers Bewitched (making some interesting and insightful observations) alongside some two dozen other performances by this always-intriguing and versatile actress. I especially appreciated his chapter devoted to Mayor of the Town, a long-running radio series of the 1940s in which Moorehead played the opinionated housekeeper of Lionel Barrymore's lead character. While some of the TV roles he covers here are the expected ones -- a beleagured woman valiantly battling "aliens" on The Twilight Zone, as well as her Emmy-winning turn on The Wild, Wild West -- other chapters shine light on performances you probably haven't seen, ranging from The Revlon Mirror Theater (her television debut) to her "deliciously camp" turn as leader of a band of pirates on Adventures in Paradise. 

Given the ephemeral nature of actors' work in media like the stage and radio, some of Agnes Moorehead's creative output is no longer available for us to experience first-hand. But Nissen's enjoyable and valuable book is, as the saying goes, the next best thing to being there.

Agnes and Mabel

As all fans of Eve Arden know, "The Mothers-in-Law" was the classic 1960s sitcom in which she and Kaye Ballard played the lead roles. But just imagine if, instead, that title had been given to a spinoff of "Bewitched" starring Agnes Moorehead and Mabel Albertson (above)?

It's probably just as well that, back then, studios and network executives weren't quite so enamored as they would later become of pulling favorite supporting characters from hit series and starring them in their own shows. But this one's fun to think about, isn't it?

"Bewitched" Book Casts Its Spell

It's not every vintage TV show for which I'd read an oversized, 600-page episode guide, that's for sure. But I happily did so in the case of Adam-Michael James' The Bewitched Continuum: The Ultimate Linear Guide to the Classic TV Series (Bright Horse Publishing, $29.95). As the author's introduction makes clear, this is not a book to consult for behind-the-scenes stories, or production histories. The focus is purely on the episodes themselves -- what's good, what's not so good, and how each one contributes to the show's legacy.

Several fun appendices crunch the numbers on various Bewitched tropes -- how many times Larry Tate actually fired Darrin, or threatened to, as well as the complete list of animals or objects Darrin was turned into over eight seasons. There's even a handy list of McMann & Tate clients and their products, and medical records for all the curious maladies and ailments suffered by Samantha, her family and friends.

I could (and will!) argue the author's list of ten Best and Worst episodes; I'd move at least one of his choices from one column to the other. But that's just part of the fun in such a book. Maybe we can debate it sometime in one of Darrin's favorite bars, with Dick Wilson slurring his comments as we go.

Whether you're watching Bewitched for the first time, or the umpteenth, this book is a lot of fun.

NOTE: I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Mr. Roberts' Birthday

As Captain Huxley on The Gale Storm Show.

Even if you don't know his name, you'll likely know the face of actor Roy Roberts, born March 19, 1906. One of TV's busiest character actors, he was often cast as stuffy bankers or businessmen; his roles included bank president Mr. Cheever on The Lucy Show, Frank Stephens, Darrin's dad, on Bewitched, banker John Cushing on The Beverly Hillbillies, and, from 1956 to 1960, Captain Huxley on The Gale Storm Show: Oh, Susanna!

Though he mostly let his work speak for itself, Roberts offered a few comments to journalist Stan Maays in 1967, while working with Gale Gordon on The Lucy Show. Of his facility for being the straight man in comedy, he explained, "It's important to play up key words. Gale and I, old hams that we are, get together and go over the script. We see a spot and say, 'Let's give this a shot here.' It's fun for us because on the Lucy show you have to play half to the audience and half to the cameras."

Roberts was a busy actor well into the 1970s, until a heart attack cut his career short at the age of 69. As long as classic TV comedies are viewed and appreciated, though, at least a discerning few will stop and notice what a touch of professionalism and skill he brings to the roles he played so well.

Miss Moorehead's Mystique

Agnes Moorehead in The Blue Veil.

Happy birthday to Agnes Moorehead, born December 6, 1900 in Clinton, Massachusetts. Though memorable as Endora in Bewitched, that role was but a small part of a long, versatile career encompassing film, radio, television and a lifelong love for live theater. She was a busy and acclaimed actress for well over 30 years, until the illness that led to her death in 1974.

While many actors embraced publicity, Moorehead tended to be wary of it. In a 1967 Associated Press article, she wrote, "I think an artist should be kept separated to maintain glamor and a kind of mystery. Otherwise it's like having three meals a day. Pretty dull. I don't believe in the girl-next-door image. What the actor has to sell to the public is fantasy, a magic kind of ingredient that should not be analyzed."

At the risk of ignoring Miss Moorehead's advice, I learned a great deal about this fine actress from my friend Lynn Kear's book Agnes Moorehead: A Bio-Bibliography, published in 1992.  You can also see my review of Axel Nissen's more recent volume, The Films of Agnes Moorehead, here.

Fifteen Questions About Bewitched

Over at Classic TV Lovers' Haven on Facebook, we recently devoted a week to remembering Bewitched. In honor of the occasion, I posed a series of 15 trivia questions related to the show and its stars. If you'd like to try your hand at them, here they are:

1. Name the Academy Award-winning actress who guest starred as Carlotta, a witch who wanted Sam to marry her nerdy son.

2.  Why was actress Kasey Rogers told to wear a dark wig when she was first cast as Louise Tate?

3. What top-billed star of a 1970s Norman Lear sitcom once played a guest role on Bewitched?

4. What real-life musical duo was chosen by Serena to sing her new song at the Cosmos Cotillion?

5.  Darrin thinks it's Terry Warbell, the pretty daughter of a client, who wants a kiss from him. But who is she really?

6. What famed European landmark was supposedly the result of a faulty spell by Esmeralda?

7.  In 17th century Plymouth, what innocent act almost gets Darrin convicted of practicing witchcraft?

8.  Which actor from the series later starred in a fantasy sitcom called Down to Earth?

9.  What was the name of Samantha's childhood nanny, as played by Hermione Baddeley in a 1967 episode?

10.  What was Serena's pet name for Larry Tate?

11.  Before the name "Samantha" was chosen, what was the character's name in the original pilot script?

12. Name the prolific classic TV actor who played Samantha's obstetrician, Dr. Anton.

13. What's the name of the private detective who discovers that Samantha is a witch?

14. What goes wrong when Aunt Clara babysits Jonathan Tate?

15. Name the 1966 movie in which George Tobias and Alice Pearce play a married couple similar to the Kravitzes.

Post your answers in the "Comments" section if you like. In case you're bothered or bewildered by any questions, I'll provide the complete answer key on Monday (unless someone beats me to it).

Happy twitching!

A Feline Occasion

Happy National Cat Day from Samantha Stephens and all the other feline fanciers of classic TV and movies! Remember Minerva, Mrs. Davis' cat from Our Miss Brooks?

50 Years of Samantha, Herman Munster, and Gomer Pyle

It's a big year for classic TV anniversaries. The fall 1964 prime time schedule brought forth seven new shows that would quickly become audience favorites, enjoy healthy runs on the network schedule, and be seen in reruns for years afterward.

Among the shows being commemorated for 50 years as TV favorites are The Addams Family, Bewitched, Flipper, Gomer Pyle -- U.S.M.C., The Munsters, Peyton Place, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Of these shows, three of them -- Bewitched, Gomer Pyle, and Peyton Place -- would rank among the year's Top Ten hits during their freshman seasons.

Which of these shows meant to the most to you as a kid, or still entertains you today?

Throwback Thursday: What I'd Be Watching

On Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere, people often celebrate "Throwback Thursday," in which they post pictures, memories, or comments that take a nostalgic look backward. When it comes to television, I often wish I could throw back some of the inane reality shows of today, in favor of some of my favorite Thursday night classics. 

Marx and George Fenneman.

Thursdays were always a good night for comedy -- if you worked a 9 to 5 job, you were probably coming into the homestretch of a long week, and could use a good laugh. For much of the 1950s, NBC "and your DeSoto-Plymouth dealers" had you covered with Groucho Marx's quiz show You Bet Your Life. Although the contestants did compete for prize money, the real appeal here was Groucho's trademark wit, and his wry exchanges with the quirky people who turned up each week. Who else would interview a tree surgeon and ask, "Tell me, have you ever fallen out of a patient?"

In the 1960s, Screen Gems (later to be known as Columbia Pictures Television) was one of the world's most successful sitcom factories, and gave birth to two Thursday-night favorites. Hazel, seen on NBC, was a warm, gentle show about the suburban Baxter family, whose lives were completely dominated by their maid. The lead character, who always knew what was best for everyone, could have been hard to take if she hadn't been played by the Oscar, Tony, and Emmy-winning Shirley Booth, who made her endearing even when she was in the midst of driving the Baxters nuts.

And what Baby Boomer kid didn't look forward to Thursday nights to see Samantha Stephens twitch up a good time on ABC's Bewitched? I don't know about you, but the only thing better than having Hazel clean up my messy house would be developing my own magic powers, like the beautiful witch of Morning Glory Circle. I've been hoping for those powers for years, and I haven't given up yet.

What were your Thursday night classic TV favorites?

Mercedes Quality

On this date nearly a century ago, one of film, radio, and television's most distinctive and memorable actresses made her debut in the world. I'm talking about Mercedes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 - March 2, 2004), an Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actress (for 1949's All the King's Men) who may be best-known today for voicing a demon in the 1973 film version of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. 

As Carlotta on Bewitched.

A distinguished performer whose admirers included the great Orson Welles, McCambridge was nevertheless no snob when it came to maintaining her career. She loved the stage, and was a radio mainstay in the 1940s, but took roles in everything from Charlie's Angels to a women's prison exploitation film. Wherever she acted, she gave full measure, and a commanding performance. I remember her as intergalactic hillbilly Sybilla on Lost in Space, as Carlotta, overbearing mother to a wimpy warlock, on Bewitched, and duking it out with Joan Crawford in the odd Western Johnny Guitar.

A good place to learn more about this talented performer is author Ron Lackmann's Mercedes McCambridge: A Biography and Career Record, a fine overview of her life and work. The lady herself wrote a quirky memoir, regrettably out of print, called The Quality of Mercy. As for me, I've heard good things about her early 1950s films The Scarf and Lightning Strikes Twice, but I haven't seen them yet. So, if you'll excuse me...

Ab---ner! It's Sandra Gould!

Scoff if you will, Bewitched fans, but to me Sandra Gould was always the "real" Gladys Kravitz. When I first saw the show, in syndicated reruns of the 1970s, the black-and-white episodes were never shown, so it wasn't until much later that I had the chance to appreciate the genius of the late Alice Pearce, who created the role (and was awarded an Emmy for it, posthumously). Because Pearce was so good in the role, it was a challenge for Gould (1916-1999) to win over fans when she assumed the role in Season 3.

Gould as a telephone operator on Gilligan's Island.

I recently read a 1966 interview she did with writer Joan E. Vadeboncoeur, shortly after she joined the show. Gould explained that she originally declined to read for the part. Not only had she been friendly with Pearce, with whom she shared a dressing room when they worked in the film Dear Heart (1964), but Gould was also grieving the loss of her husband, producer Larry Berns, to cancer. "I stayed home and nursed him [for] five years," Gould recalled. "When he died I was like a basket case." She finally agreed to meet Bewitched executive producer Harry Ackerman because "I knew I had to get out of the house. They had already read 60 actresses and I read with 14 or 15. Then they wanted me to test, and I was still reluctant ... [O]ne day they called and said, "Come down and sign your contract." Once cast, Gould chose not to view episodes in which her predecessor appeared. "I can't be Alice," she decided, "so I'll do it the way I am."

Gould had been making people laugh the way she was for years, including a long run as Miss Duffy on radio's Duffy's Tavern. She was also a favorite of the late Joan Davis, and I enjoyed seeing Gould in numerous episodes of I Married Joan, as I researched my forthcoming book on its star. Sandra Gould had a rich, rewarding career as a character actress, not the least of which was giving us a memorable Take Two on Gladys Kravitz.