Friday, May 31, 2013

THE HAT SQUAD - LAWRENCE HADDON



Recently, character actor Lawrence Haddon passed away.  He was in his 90s.  For me, he was best known for playing one half of the gay couple who moved into the neighborhood of 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'.  It was a low-key storyline that - if I remember correctly - didn't cause the tumult one would have expected from a TV show more than thirty years ago.

Another recurring role was that of Mr. Brady on 'Dennis The Menace'.  Brady, perhaps a cousin to the architect Mike Brady, was a blow-hard whose son Johnny was a nemesis to Dennis.

Lawrence Haddon played the role in six episodes.  Here's the list from the IMDb:
  • The Soapbox Derby (30 April 1961) - Charles Brady 
  • Dennis and the Picnic (25 June 1961) - Charles Brady  
  • Dennis and the Pee Wee League (19 November 1961) - Charlie Brady
  • Horseless Carriage Club (1 April 1962) - Charles Brady  
  • Community Picnic (24 June 1962) - Jack Brady 
  • The Big Basketball Game (24 February 1963) - Mr. Brady 
As you can see, there's a glitch with the episode "Community Picnic" in that his name is listed as "Jack Brady" when all the others are either "Mr. Brady" or "Charles Brady".

I was all set to provide a splainin that his full name was John Charles Brady and that some people knew him by the nickname "Jack".  (And it would be assumed that his son Johnny was thus named after him.)

But I just watched the episode on Hulu, and not once is he mentioned by his first name - neither as Jack nor as Charles.  And the credits at the end, not always reliable when it comes to a character's identity, list him as "Mr. Brady".  

I don't know who sabotageed the IMDb page, but O'Bviously there's no need now to splain it away......


Good night and may God bless, Mr. Haddon.....

BCnU!

No comments: