MilesArcher

Could it be "The Grass is Greener"?

That would be "Poor You", sung by Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, and Virginia O'Brien in "Ship Ahoy". Here is a clip:

Could it be Shelly Fabares? She was in the "Annette" series and she was a regular on "The Donna Reed Show".

Very good, Starlit. That song was one of Bing's and songwriter Johnny Mercer's biggest hits. Did you notice Roy Rogers and The Sons Of The Pioneers in that clip? Starliteyes, the thread is yours.

This one should be fairly easy: I know every trail in the Lone Star State Cause I ride the range in a Ford V8

You are correct, Lavender. James Arness' prior commitment was not a movie, but a TV series. It was "Gunsmoke". It had been a radio show starring William Conrad, but Conrad was not quite right for the TV version. Walt felt bad for Buddy Ebsen, so he instructed his writers to give Buddy a major role in the series. He was cast as Davy's best friend, George Russell. Nice going, Lavender. You get to go next.

You are correct, Starliteyes. Myrna Loy started in show business as a dancer, but she did very little dancing in movies. Here is that number with Nick Lucas, who was best known for the song "Tiptoe Through The Tulips". I don't profess to know much about choreography. I'll leave that to our resident dance expert, The Princess Of Tap, but if you watch the clip to the end, I would have to say that the last part had it's share of ups and downs. By the way, this number was shot in early two-strip technicolor. The reds and blues appear to be more like orange and turquoise. As you probably know, in very early color films, the performers had to work under very hot lights and wear rather heavy makeup. Nice work, Starlit. You're up next.

Thanks, Princess. An actress who would become a major star in the sound era, was just a teenager when she was discovered by Rudolph Valentino's wife while dancing in a stage show at Graumann's Chinese Theater. She got some small roles in silent movies and when sound came in she was featured in a musical production number in an early all star musical revue. She got to dance and even sing a little with a top male singer of the day. That may have been one of her last musical appearances, as she became known for dramas and sophisticated comedies. Can you name her, as well as the early musical revue that she danced in?

Thanks, Lavender. I forgot to mention that Nat King Cole had a hit recording of "Route 66". Here it is: Now, in the fifties, Walt Disney created a pop culture phenomenon when he televised the Davy Crocket series. Originally, he was going to offer the role of Davy to a veteran actor who had been mostly a supporting actor in movies for many years, mostly musicals, going back to the 1930's. However, before he made that decision, he was told to check out a tall young actor who had made a few movies and was getting some good notices. Walt watched a movie that the actor was in and wanted to offer him the role of Davy, but the actor already had another commitment. In the movie that Walt had seen there was another actor who caught his eye. This fellow had the right look and accent for the role, so Walt offered it to him. That fellow was Fess Parker. Who was the veteran actor who was Walt's original choice, and who was the tall young actor to whom he wanted to offer the role of Davy? For bonus points, what was the tall actor's other commitment and what movie was the tall actor in with Fess Parker?

Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson made a lot of movies together, mostly for Warner Bros. One is "The Time, The Place, And The Girl". With classic lyrics like "What do they do in Boise, or in New Joisey?", this song is "A Rainy Night In Rio". It was performed by the two guys, along with Janis Paige and Martha Vickers. Here it is:

There was a song called "Get Your Kicks On Route 66", but that was not used for the "Route 66" TV series. Here is the TV theme music:

Betty Hutton sang this one in "The Stork Club" Next: A song that mentions lobsters.

Lavender, perhaps we need a little help. Was the title of the song not used the same as the title of the TV show? It sounds to me like it wasn't. Also, could you tell us the approximate time frame that the show was on?

Could it be "Man Of La Mancha"? The musical was based on the novel "Don Quixote". It starred Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. Of course, the hit song was "The Impossible Dream". Here is Andy's version:

You are correct, Starlit. Here's Judy: Nice work. Starliteyes, you're up next.

Do you know this one? He stopped the train whistlesBoat whistlesSteam whistlesCop whistlesAll whistles bowed to his skill

Yes, they were all born in my state of Connecticut. 1. Amy Brenneman - New London 2. Pamela Sue Martin - Hartford 3. Glenne Headly - New London 4. Rosalind Russell - Waterbury 5. Ed Begley - Hartford 6. Gary Burghoff - Bristol 7. Ted Knight - Terryville 8. Hope Lange - Redding 9. Brian Dennehy - Bridgeport 10. Treat Williams - Rowayton 11. George Murphy - New Haven 12. Linda Evans - Hartford By the way, the photo of Linda Evans was from an appearance she made on "Bachelor Father" as a teenage friend of Kelly (Noreen Corcoran), who had a crush on Bentley (John Forsythe). Many years later, Linda Evans and John Forsythe would play a married couple on "Dynasty". There are quite a few other major celebrities born in Connecticut, including Katherine Hepburn, Ernest Borgnine, Christopher Lloyd, and singers Karen Carpenter and Michael Bolton. Thanks to Rich, Shutoo, and Lawrence. Lawrence got the most, so he gets to go next.

You got it, Lavender. Stanley Andrews played The Old Ranger for many years. He was eventually replaced by Ronald Reagan, and later Reagan went into politics and was replaced by Robert Taylor. In those days anthology shows often had a host doing intros and outros much like the TCM hosts do with movies today. The sponsor was Twenty Mule Team Borax and Boraxo powdered hand soap. Here is a typical episode: Nice work, Lavender. It's your turn now.

Thanks, Princess. I was pretty happy when you said I was hot, until I realized that you meant I was closing in on the answer. Now, another veteran character actor appeared only in brief stints of a 1950's to 1960's weekly TV anthology series. He would appear for only a minute or two on every show. It was not a soap opera, but it was sponsored by a soap company. He appeared in more than two hundred episodes. Can you name the actor as swell as the show?

Who are these folks and what do they all have in common? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. You probably won't get #12 unless you can imagine her as a blonde. Good luck!

Could it be "Havin' Myself A Time" from "Tropic Holiday". It was probably sung by Martha Raye. I couldn't find a movie clip, but I did find this version by Billie Holiday.

I only guessed Ray Collins because I knew he was in the Kettle family films. Obviously, I didn't do much research. Guess No. 2 is character actor George E. Stone, who played the court clerk on "Perry Mason". He had been in lots of thirties movies at Warner Bros. You may remember him from "Little Caesar" and "42nd Street". Later he moved to Columbia Pictures and played The Runt, the pal of Chester Morris in the "Boston ****" series. In the fifties, he appeared in "Guys And Dolls" and "Some Like It Hot". He fits the clues, although I don't know that he was in every "Perry Mason" episode for five years.

I'll guess that it's Ray Collins who played Lt. Tragg on "Perry Mason". He was a regular in the Ma and Pa Kettle movie series. He also appeared in "The Desperate Hours" and "Touch Of Evil".

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home

You are correct, Arsan. Other siblings that you may have considered include Jane and Peter Fonda. Jane was an Oscar winner and, although he was nominated, Peter never won. The same is true of the Redgrave sisters, Vanessa was an Oscar winner, but Lynn, although nominated, was never a winner. Arsan, it's your thread now.