TV and Movies

[DREAMON]

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@Oznell wrote:

Oh, I'm glad you like the interviews, @DREAMON .  If you haven't listened to the earlier part of the tape already, that section is fascinating too.  I never knew that Suzanne Pleshette replaced Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker" in the theater.  Talk about a hard act to follow!  SP's perception that the cast never accepted her was so interesting--  in addition to her rocky relationship w/ both Anne Bancroft, and Patty Duke...

Then the stuff she said about the Newhart show was gripping too.  She said she played "Emily" at first like she was Sandra Dee (!)  and even raised her naturally husky voice for the part, etc.  She knew she was playing it wrong, and eventually settled into the part, with the help of the writers who changed the direction of the character a bit. Inside stuff, fascinating.

Oh, and her anecdote about "Columbo" and Peter Falk, and what Eddie Albert said to him-- hilarious!  

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@Oznell ,

I watched the entire interview and loved every minute of it. It was so interesting to hear about Anne Brancroft and Patty Duke and I never knew Suzanne was romantically involved with David Jansen.

When I watch these interviews it reminds me of my Mom and her 5 sisters. They all lived close by and they would get together several times a week in the early morning and sit and drink coffee and talk about the Stars in Hollywood. Of course this was the 60's ...that life style seems like a million years in the past...especially now.

[spiderw]

That was  a very captivating interview which gave insight to some interesting subjects,  

As far as Janssen, his marriage and Susanne, I understand why he went for help   Sometimes that type of guilt and being torn pushes you to get therapy.. Obviously the stress of it all must have taken toll on his health.  

Susanne is very up front with her comments and that was what impressed me.

[Somertime]

I, always, enjoyed her especially when she was on Johnny Carson,  A very good story teller and poetry writer.  I did not know she was involved with David Janssen , either.  When she died, she was buried next to Tom Poston and not Tommy Gallagher but her headstone has her name as Suzanne Pleshette Gallagher Poston.  In regard to Poston, she has stated they dated years ago when they were in the same play on Broadway when both were starting out and maintained a connection since then.  She said the same about Janssen, must be a Hollywood or Showbusiness thing.  I never maintained a connection or a friendship with anyone I dated after I was married.  Has anyone else been able to?  Just curious!

 I, too, had read that he had a drinking and drug problem and that his second marriage was not that happy.  His wife Dani had been married to Buddy Greco and she married Hal Needham after David died.  @Pearlee @Oznell 

[Pearlee]

@Somertime, yes I knew that about Dani (everything in your paragraph).
Hansen's affair with Pleshette took place while he was in The Fugitive and still married to Ellie so around mid-1950s He died in 1980 so I'm not sure the Pleshette affair took such a toll on his life that it affected his death 15 yrs later. Around the time of his divorce from Ellie he lived with actress Rosemary Forsythe for a while (she was previously married to actor Michael Tolan).

[Oznell]

@Judaline,  to answer your question, yup, Roy Thinnes is still around-- he's in his early 80's.  He was working well into the 2000's, and may still take the occasional job, I think.  He was always interested in fine art, and became a painter as well as actor...

I feel nostalgic about those memorable kind of coffee-klatsch discussions you've described, too, @DREAMON ,  but for me, it wasn't my mother and aunts, it was my much older teenage sisters!  When I was little, I loved to loll around and listen to their discussions-- and they seemed very knowing about "the Hollywood scene" to me.  I'm sure I was all agog!

I agree with everyone that Tom Poston seems like a surprising choice.   His character on "Newhart" was so nutty, but he must have had some appeal in real life!   I think it would have been cool if she had married Bill Daly ("Howard Borden") in real life....

She adored her pal Bob Newhart, but was always saying that he hated how demonstrative she was with him.  She loved telling stories about how reserved and repressed he was/is...and she could be just hysterical on the subject.  A gifted raconteur.

[twinsister]

@Oznell  - Love that intervew - thanks so much for posting it!   I've always been a fan of Suzanne Pleshette.  She was good in Rome Adventure with Troy Donahue and in A Rage to Live with Ben Gazarra and also did an episode of RFYL with Ben G.  I thought one of her best roles (besides in Newhart) was the TV movie about Leona Helmsley - The Queen of Mean.  She was perfect for the role and she nailed it.

As for David Janssen, she certainly lit up talking about him!    Like others, I was surprised that she married Tom Poston.   Also loved that story about Peter Falk and Columbo. I just saw that episode the other day.

[tiny 2]

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@Judaline wrote:

I always loved her. Didn't watch the whole second video-in a nutshell, what were DJ's self destructive

behaviours?

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@Judaline He smoked 4 packs of cigarettes per day and also was a heavy drinker. I read that in another article.

[ROMARY]

Boy, were we totally in love with Suzanne Pleshette!

The group of us (boys and girls) would 'get all dressed up' and to to the movies to see Ms. Pleshette.  We went 'on and on' about how beautiful she was, even during the movie.

[Oznell]

Hey, I didn't realize Suzanne Pleshette appeared on "Run for Your Life" as well, @twinsister --  would love to see that.  She was on everything!

She made the most of every opportunity, even relatively small roles...  love what she did in "The Birds".  That school teacher character seethed and smoldered with her unrequited feeling for "Mitch" (Rod Taylor), and left a lasting impression.

So cute about you and your pals dressing up to go see Suzanne Pleshette, @ROMARY !     For sure, she was both charismatic and beautiful...

[ROMARY]

OZNELL:

You don't know how many times I've tried to think of that actor's name 'Rod Taylor'.

Mainly because, a hundred years ago, my friends and I had a huge crush on a student in college who looked and acted and dressed exactly like Rod Taylor.  Tweed blazers, Herringbone hat, and all.  I believe he walked around with a pipe in his hand. 

And as silly as we were, we used to 'spy' on him........even sit outside his grandma's house at night, and watch their lights go on and off at their bedtime.  

Oh, my gosh.........what were we thinking?............

Anyway, thanks for reminding me of his name, after all of these years of trying to remember.