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Jeff, the photos are wonderful, and where would be classic film fans be these days without television? I especially enjoyed the photo of Dobie, Zelda and Maynard. "Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis" was shown on TV a few times last week? Did you see it? Brought back great memories, even without Tuesday Weld.

Ken, there's quite a lot been written about Owney Madden (it's with a "w"), and he figures prominently in the book "Gangs of New York." Have you read it? IMO, even though it's a very matter-of-fact 1927 non-fiction report on NYC gang activity, it's a lot better and more interesting than the contemporary movie. There's an article about Madden in Wikipedia, with a photo - he doesn't look like Bob Hoskins - more like Hugh Herbert. A very interesting, colorful, and dangerous character. I could see someone like Russell Crowe playing him in a biopic.

January 30. Today's birthdays: Martita Hunt David Wayne Hugh Marlowe

> Okay. Let's try the Old ****, Fred Clark. Or, Sidney Fields?

Bartlett, can you please give us a little more to work with? For example, a time frame might help us use process of elimination. You don't have to give away too much at a time, just a little nudge. My guesses thus far were pretty much the same as those who posted, and I also thought of: Gale Gordon, but what "classic movie" was he ever in? I can't think of one. Hmmm, "pompous next door neighbor." Larry Keating?

Ken, I don't think he was merely in every noir ever made, I think he was in just about every film and TV drama ever made from the 40s through the 80s I think whatever Ol' Whit wasn't in, Harry Morgan and/or Kennan Wynn was. I always liked Mr. Bissell, especially his melifluous and instantly recognizable speaking voice.

January 29. Today's birthday: Playwright/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky

Sorry, Dan, I've got nothing this afternoon. I'm in the midst of trying to add additional weatherproofing to my windows (I rent). Just checked in to see how everyone is. My windows are like the Old Haney Farm on "Green Acres." They refuse to be repaired. Cold termperatures predicted for tomorrow - it gets freezing in here. Anyone else may feel free to interpose. I may have one for you this evening. PS - I don't mind "old girl" even though I am rather old. A fortunate set of good genes keeps me from minding it. One of my best friends always calls me "Old Bean," but he's a double Harvard man, so allowances have to be made.

Well, Dan, I was looking not at number of films made, but at length of career span, and Tracy and Heflin were pretty close in that respect, although in different time frames. Anyway -- How about Ernest Borgnine? He was an Oscar winner. He was in the Navy for about 10 years before he started acting. He was the star of "McHale's Navy" on TV. He was in the Broadway production of "Harvey." And (most) people in the audience never actually saw that eponymous pooka. His career has spanned over 50 years.

Is it Van Heflin? He was a lifelong sailing enthusiast.

Jerome Cowan is correct. Good work, Ken, but it appears that Bartlett posted the correct answer first. Besides portraying the quickly killed off Miles Archer in "The Maltese Falcon," Cowan was in "Miracle on 34th Street" as the unfortunate district attorney who had to prosecute Kris Kringle. Cowan gave dependable character support in over a hundred films, including as Dagwood Bumstead's irrascible boss in many, if not all, of the movies in the "Blondie" series. Who's on deck?

> How about Pierre Watkin? No, no - I was better known that Watkin. Let's see now -- in one of my more famous films I played a public official who had to argue against one of the world's most popular figures. That film is shown every year, for a good reason. There are two versions of that film, one of which is somewhat controversial, even though the versions are identical in all respects but one.

> He told me that he was living in Seattle or some > place north of LA when he was about to turn 20. He > said he and a brother or a cousin discussed future > careers and they decided to go to Hollywood to see if > they could get into the movies as actors. > > He said he went around to the studios and no one > needed him, but one studio (I think Warner Brothers) > just happened to need someone who could do voices for > cartoons, so they did a test with him. He said he > didn't know he could do voices for cartoons. He said > he had never thought about it before. But he did some > funny voices for them and was hired. Very interesting, that, FredC. Stan Freberg tells pretty much the same story about himself in his memoirs, as I recall. He was a kid of about 17, and wanted to be a radio announcer. He went around to various radio stations and studios in LA, and happened to go into the WB cartoon studios to ask for a job. A man in the reception area took him by the arm into a studio where Mel Blanc was recording, handed Freberg a script, and he and Blanc started recording voices for a cartoon. I think it was one with Bugs Bunny and a dopey hunting dog (that was Freberg - you know - "Which way did he go, George?"). Since only Mel Blanc got screen credit, no one knew that the other voice was a teenage Stan Freberg. Apparently, things were handled very casually at WB cartoons.

January 27. Today's birthday: Sabu

No, I'm not Mowbray either. I was born in NYC. In my early films I sometimes played gangsters (usually the "dude" kind), but most often I was a professional man - businessman, attorney, editor. Sometimes I was a rejected suitor, and sometimes an opportunistic "other man." I played a choleric boss in a series of films based on popular charcacters from another media source.

Nope, not Qualen either. In one of the most famous films I was in, I started the plot rolling by getting killed. A small part, but a notable one.

Our favorite centenarian. No, I'm not Lane. My screen persona was never quite as prickly as was Lane's. I was always something of a smooth operator. My characters were generally slightly higher on the social scale than Lane's.

Here's another while I have a moment: Do you know me? I always dressed like a gentleman, but didn't always behave like one. I was always a supporting player, generally overshadowed by the charisma of the stars, but always essential to the plot. Maybe I was one of those actors who made audiences say "What's his name again?" but I worked steadily, on the stage, and then in over 200 films and TV shows. I had a small but crucial part in one of cinema's enduring classics, and in another such film I played the kind of thankless and unsympathetic part I played in most of my movies. In that one, I had to support a very unpopular position. I lost, as usual. Both films are shown on TV very often, although one of them is generally shown only at a particular time. Who am I?

> Jay Silverheels (Tonto), born on the Six Nations > Reservation in Ontario. Was the spokesperson for > improving the portrayal on Indians on television. Jay Silverheels is the man I was thinking of. Born Harold Smith, he did work tirelessly for the improvement of Indian rights in entertainment and in the real world. He also founded an acting school intended for Indian actors, to help them to break out of casting stereotypes. However, the commercial I was thinking of in this instance was for the Jeep Scout, for which Silverheels did several TV ads (as himself, not as Tonto), the tagline of which was "Get 'em up, Scout!" (Scout being the name of Tonto's horse.) Silverheels was also in the advertising hall of fame Lone Ranger/Tonto commercials done by Stan Freberg for Pizza Rolls. Remember? To the tune of the William Tell Overture: "Have a pizz, have a pizz, have a pizza roll."

> Which classic actor would you like to bring home to > meet your parents? Sabu > > Which classic actor would you like to dance with? Edward Arnold > Which classic actor would you like to see as a > Playgirl centerfold? Jeff Chandler > > Which classic actor would you like to wake up in bed > with? Jeffrey Hunter > > Which classic actor would you like to yell and scream > at on a bad day? James Cagney (he could take it) > > Which classic actor would you tell your innermost > thoughts to? Hmmmm . . . . . maybe Cuddles Sakall > > Which classic actor wouldn't you mind having a > one-night stand with and never seeing again? Cary Grant > > Which classic actor would you like a long-term > relationship with? Have to think about that - someone who would make me laugh and who loves music - maybe Harpo Marx > > Which classic actor would you like to have as a > brother? Fred Astaire > > Which classic actor would you like to have a photo of > above your bed? Laurel & Hardy (already have one!) > > Which classic actor would you run the other way > from? Erroll Flynn/John Barrymore > > Which classic actor would you replace your > boyfriend/husband with? Oscar Levant or Walter Brennan (can I have one of each - boyfriend and husband?)

January 26. Today's birthday: Vito Scotti

Weissmuller, Montalban, Conrad. All well-reasoned guesses, but all incorrect. I started out in films as a stuntman. I made about 100 movies, almost all of the same genre. There are only 3 or 4 pictures in which I played something else. I was in films with, among others, Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan and Tyrone Power, but my name was not well-known by the public. Television changed all that, but I was still playing the same kind of role I played so many times before.

We're not hearing back from Mose, so I'm going to jump the line and pose one while Mose regroups: Do you know me? I was born in another country, but had my film career in the US. I changed my name to get work more easily. I was an athlete when I was young, and spent time in the ring as an amateur boxer. Because the kinds of roles I played, in many of my films I was shirtless. I was very popular on TV, and was for a while the commercial spokesman for a product whose name was coincidentally associated with me. Who am I?

That's it. Pretty impressive, old boy. Both gentlemen were married to Margo (often called "the sultry Margo" in fan magazines). Consecutively, that is - first Lederer, then Albert. Who has another?

Ok, Dan, I've got one. Two long-lived actors, one who played a traveling salesman, and one who played Dracula, had something in common. Who are they, and what did they have in common?