Dothery Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I like seeing Barton MacLane in films, but wish he had gotten some more lead role opportunities. Sometime ago TCM aired *Wine, Women and Horses *and he was the lead along with Ann Sheridan. I thought it was a very good little film and would recommend it to others. Like many people of my age my first look at him was on TV's I Dream of Jeannie where he was the General, sadly that was his last credits, he died in 1969 at age 66. My first look at him was in "The Prince and the Pauper," where he played poor Tom Canty's horrible abusive father. I LOATHED him. After that whenever I saw him I had to work my way around that original characterization. The older girl who took us to the movie tried to explain that he was just an actor playing a part, and that he was probably a nice guy, but we weren't buying it. We were about nine at the time and impressionable as all get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 *Hermione Baddeley* To Fred MacMurray's pet alligator in THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE: Big ugly beast! You'd be a handbag if I had my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 1ST..HENRY STEPHENSON 2ND..CLORIS LEACHMAN 3RD..GEORGE TOBIAS 4TH..KATHLEEN HOWARD 5TH..BURT MUSTIN 6TH..ESTHER MINCIOTTI 7TH..IRVING BACON 8TH..FRANCES BAVIER 9TH..BERTON CHURCHILL 10TH..RUTH NELSON 11TH..PHIL SILVERS 12TH..ESTELLE GETTY 13TH..GEORGE ZUCCO 14TH..GLORIA SWANSON 15TH..ERNIE KOVACS 16TH..ANN SOTHERN 17TH..EMLYN WILLIAMS 18TH..JANE COWL 19TH..JOE BESSER 20TH..HILO HATTIE 21ST..CHRISTOPHER WALKEN 22ND..GLORIA STUART 23RD..MANTAN MORELAND 24TH..EVELYN VARDEN 25TH..EMORY PARNELL 26TH..MABEL ALBERTSON 27TH..JONATHAN WINTERS 28TH..KAY MEDFORD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Hi TopBilled, what a great list! Several of my faves, including George Zucco and Mantan Moreland! I have no close personal connections to your February group. Closest are that I loved the almond croissants from Christopher Walken's parents bakery, in Astoria, NYC (Walken's Bakery); I had a couple of Welsh friends in London (including the late actor Victor Spinetti) who knew Emlyn Williams; and I saw Kay Medford on stage in the original production of Funny Girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 How exciting to say you have been to the Walken family bakery. I am actually quite jealous! My favorite from this group is Mabel Albertson. I watched her in HOME BEFORE DARK yesterday, and she was fabulous as always. Estelle Getty does not have too many film credits so I will probably quote her from the movie she made with Stallone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Yes, Mabel Albertson is great, I remember her fondly from so many television appearances. Recently, through friends, I met another television character actor woman -- Joyce Van Patten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Interesting. Ann Sothern is another great one. I think I am going to use a quote from her in LADY IN A CAGE or CRAZY MAMA, when her film career was in decline and she was branching out into more outrageous character roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 *Henry Stephenson* To Cary Grant in NIGHT AND DAY: I'm leaving a large estate to my heirs; but I don't propose there should be one drop of sherry in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I love *Ann Southern*. I wish one of the classic tv stations would show "Private Secretary" and the "Ann Sothern Show." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 *Cloris Leachman* In THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS: Max and I are watching Freddie Two Fingers' Snooker Parlor, and uh I... expect to be murdered any minute. If that should happen, would somebody please contact Alfredo? He does my hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dothery Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I saw Jane Cowl's name on the list and couldn't resist recounting an anecdote about her that was in a book called "No Pickle, No Performance," which was about dinner theater and summer stock. She and her company were playing the circuit once and, as was customary in each town, auditioned young men for the casual parts. She had a deep voice and needed someone with as deep a voice or deeper, and found him in one town. He was to abduct Miss Cowl from a camp and his line was, "I'm going to take you to the mountains!" He was fine in rehearsal, but his wife was very dubious, and said, "He's always fine in rehearsal," but no one took her seriously. On the night of the performance, as Miss Cowl was about to be kidnapped by this young bandit, he made his entrance, but when he tried to speak, he froze. Not a sound came out. He and Jane looked at each other in silence until finally she said, "Do you want to take me to the mountains?" He nodded dumbly, and she said, "Well, let's go," took him by the hand and they exited. I'm laughing again thinking about it. That book is absolutely hilarious. I gave it to Milburn Stone and when I saw him next he said, "I can't stop laughing at that book." Farley Granger loved it and gave it to all his friends. I guess it was the connection between all the dinner theater alumni that made them love it so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Thanks for sharing that story. Sounds like a great book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dothery Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Thanks for sharing that story. Sounds like a great book! It is. I'm going to get it again. I can't remember every story in it, but there was one about Mae West that was really funny. It was written by a theater owner named Harold J Kennedy, and these are his own recollections that he writes about. He couldn't stand John Barrymore, Jr. ... nobody could. He loved Jean Parker. Things like that and the reasons for them. His story about Mae West focuses on the fact that she was an extremely smart business woman. She knew how to bring in the customers. Great anecdotes. Amazon.com has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 >Great anecdotes. Amazon.com has it. I will have to look into it. I am sure others may want to check it out, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 *George Tobias* In OBJECTIVE, BURMA!: They'll remember me in history. Gabby Gordon: the guy who purified all the stinkin' rivers in Burma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CmRetrospective Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I thought Warner Oland as Charlie Chan was cool and funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 *Kathleen Howard* About Barbara Stanwyck's character in BALL OF FIRE: If I were the cream for that woman's coffee, I'd curdle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 *Burt Mustin* To Robert Mitchum in THE LUSTY MEN: One of the things that's wrong is all the books and rules on success is written by successful men. Now that's wrong. Fellers like you and me'd get a lot more help if the books and rules on success was written by a failure. That'd make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 *Esther Minciotti* In MARTY: Where you go, rain go. Someday you gonna smile, we gonna have a big holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 *Irving Bacon* To Charles Ruggles in SIX OF A KIND: I can give you a nice room with a bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 8, 2013 Author Share Posted February 8, 2013 *Francies Bavier* In MAN IN THE ATTIC: Did you see that? The little minx wiggled at the Prince of Wales! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 *Berton Churchill* In STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND: I swear henceforth that liquor will never touch these lips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 The great *Ruth Nelson*, whom we just saw in Wilson as Wilson's first wife Ellen! She had a major theater career, appearing in many of the Group Theatre's seminal productions of plays by Clifford Odets in the 1930s. She also understudied Florence Eldridge as Mary Tyrone, in the original Broadway production of Long Day's Journey into Night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Ruth Nelson only has 20 film credits and does not seem to have done much television. Probably the stage was more to her liking. She is coming up again on TCM in AWAKENINGS and THE NORTH STAR, later in February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 *Phil Silvers* Singing in COVER GIRL: Because of Axis trickery, my coffee now is chicory, and I can rarely purloin a sirloin... No complaining, through the campaigning. Who cares if the carrots are few? I'll feed myself on artichokes, until that Nazi party chokes, so long as they don't ration, my passion, for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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