FRIDAY HALL OF FAMERS (04/26/19) - THE DUCE!

"Oh my God!

Is that Danny Bonaduce?”

Joan Clayton

‘Girlfriends’

For our last April addition to the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, we have another real joker – Danny Bonaduce.

Rusty Williams of ‘Make Room For Daddy’, a previous member of the TVXOHOF, may have been the first to excel at playing the wisecracking kid in a sitcom.  But Danny Partridge elevated that status to an art form.  And that’s why I dubbed that television trope as “Bonaduce Syndrome” in my Toobworld adventures.

From Wikipedia:

Dante Daniel "Danny" Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio/television personality, comedian, professional wrestler, and former child actor. Born in Broomall, Pennsylvania, Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer/producer Joseph Bonaduce (The Dick Van Dyke Show, One Day at a Time, and others).

The younger Bonaduce became famous as a child actor of the 1970s on the TV sitcom 'The Partridge Family'. He co-starred as Danny Partridge, the wisecracking, redheaded middle son of the singing family band (headed by Shirley Jones). He and Shirley Jones were the only Partridge cast members whose actual first names were also that of the character each portrayed on screen. Danny was the fictional pop group's bass guitar player. Co-starring on the show was Jones's former stepson, David Cassidy; Cassidy and Bonaduce remained close friends until Cassidy's death on November 21, 2017. On January 20, 2018, Bonaduce attended David Cassidy's memorial service in Los Angeles.

Since then, Bonaduce has starred in several other TV series, including the VH1 reality show 'Breaking Bonaduce' in 2005, radio shows in Los Angeles and Philadelphia and has been hosting a morning talk/music show at Seattle radio station KZOK-FM since November 14, 2011.

If you feel inclined to look at Toobworld from outside the box, then you might know that on a technicality, this is Bonaduce's second induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  When David Cassidy died, I "honored" his memory with memberships for all the members of the Partridge Family.  (Reuben Kinkaid was inducted back in January.)  But this time, Bonaduce is entering the TVXOHOF as a member of the League of Themselves.

There is no Zonk in this.  In a world where everybody has the potential to have a TV show made about them, the Partridge Family would have been a natural to be featured in one such series.  Whether it was a docu-drama or bio-sitcom, or maybe even a reality show, we don’t know.  But we do know that it would have been different from the one we know in the Real World.  That’s because of an episode (perhaps a very special episode) entitled “The Partridge Family Gets Shot”, as mentioned in “

Here's a look at his televersion.
(All summaries are from the IMDb.)

The Ben Stiller Show 
- With Dennis Miller (1992) 

Special guest star DENNIS MILLER ("Saturday Night Live") joins the cast to introduce several comedy sketches. Sketches include: Three Men and an Old Man with Stiller as Steve Guttenberg; "Manson" TV Show;

Come On, Get Happy:
The Partridge Family Story 

The behind the scenes story of "The Partridge Family" TV show, told from the point of view of young Danny Bonaduce. Problems include Danny's jealous father, David Cassidy's overnight fame, and even conflicts with the Brady Bunch! 

NARRATOR:

It could have been a lot worse. 

At least I wasn't a Brady. 

Bonaduce served as the narrator.  And since he spoke in the first person, who else could he be but himself?

FAUX DANNY BONADUCE
AS DANNY PARTRIDGE

So having all of the characters in this TV movie be recastaways doesn’t cause any Zonks.  What we’re seeing are Bonaduce’s memories of his co-stars.  (And after the life he’s led, his memory would probably be questionable.)
This may be what the televersions of the actors actually looked like in Toobworld when they were younger.  The characters we see in the TV show would be the actual Partridges!

And we can use that excuse of a “Swiss Cheese Memory” to cover up the Zonks which did appear in the plot:

From the IMDb:
1]  When Danny's family watches the first episode of the Partridge Family on TV, it opens with the theme song "Come On Get Happy." For the first season of the Partridge Family, the theme song was "When We're Singin'", not "Come On Get Happy."

2]  In the scene where Danny's mother is talking on the phone with his father, the television in the background is showing news footage of President Nixon leaving the White House after resigning from office. In this scene, "The Partridge Family" was still in production. Nixon left office in August 1974. The final episode of "The Partridge Family" aired in March 1974.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch 
- Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose (1999) 

SABRINA:

Oh, Salem, it says here, 

your first 12-Days-of-Christmas present
is about to arrive. 

SALEM: 

Danny Bonaduce? 

This is the best Partridge in a pear tree I could ask for. 

BONADUCE:

Happy holidays, everyone. 

Cool, eggnog. You got any ham? 

AUNT ZELDA:

Back in the tree, Bonaduce. 

BONADUCE:

I've gotta get a better agent.

Girlfriends 
- Taming of the Realtess (2002) 

O’Bservation:
Bonaduce became Shelby Girard’s client.  She considered him a has-been.  (Bonaduce: “I heard that!)  He was looking for a ranch in Santa Ynez because he likes horses.

Monk 
- Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy (2003) 

Monk suspects the owner of a notorious playboy magazine is responsible for the death of his CFO, who died alone in a locked room of an apparent accident. So, how did he do it? 

Danny Bonaduce would be mentioned in Monk: Mr. Monk and the Paperboy (2004) (#2.10). Kevin Dorfman talks to him on the telephone.

DEXTER LARSON:

Sharona Fleming, this is Shawn Clemmons.
Won the Calico Beach Classic last week
in Santa Barbara. 

SHARONA FLEMING:

Hi. 

LARSON:

And this is Danny Bonaduce. 

BONADUCE:

Yeah. 

This is a dream come true for you. 

Am I right? 

SHARONA:

Uh, yeah.

Later, Larson used his friendship with Danny to establish his alibi, but Mr. Monk was able to figure it out.

ADRIAN MONK:
With your background in electronics, building a device like this was child's play. You needed a car battery. You borrowed one from your own Mercedes the night before the murder. You couldn't risk driving one of your own cars, so you took Mr. Bonaduce's keys and borrowed his.

Rock Me, Baby 
- A Pain in the Aspen (2003) 

When they head to a D.J. convention, Carl rekindles an old rivalry with Dr. Dre while Danny Bonaduce seeks vengeance for one of Jimmy's pranks. 

The existence of Bonaduce’s televersion is also affirmed in a couple of TV shows in which he doesn’t even appear.

The Kids Are Alright 
- Low Expectations (2019) 
... Boris / Danny Partridge (archive footage)

Timmy enters a contest to appear on a TV show and takes matters into his own hands when he doesn't hear back.

Bonaduce appeared in a recent episode of ‘The Kids Are Alright’ which dealt with the filming of the TV show ‘The Partridge Family’.  But of course he wasn’t playing himself; he was playing the studio guard back then.  

O’Bservation:
It’s the practice of Toobworld Central to assign the age of the actor to the character, unless otherwise stated in the script.  Therefore that character of Boris the security guard would be dead now.  If he was alive, he would have been 107 years old.

BORIS:

They're replacing one of the kids.

And word on the fake New York street is 

they're replacing Danny Bonaduce, "The Duce." 

TIMMY CLEARY:

"The Duce"? 

BORIS:

Oh, that's what we're contractually required to call him.

But I believe they've had enough of his reign of terror! 

You know, that guy once threw apple juice at me.

And the invocation of his name may have become code for the type of behavior which gave Bonaduce his bad boy reputation….

Gilmore Girls - I'm OK, You're OK (2006)

UNKNOWN:

Go away, Logan.

No one invited you in.

Get out right now
before I go bonaduce on your ass.

O’Bservation:
I don’t know which character said that.  I’m thinking it’s more likely Rory than it is Lorelei.

Here’s one last one…..

Queer As Folk 
- I Love You (2005)

Lewis recounted his experience at a Partridge Family reunion show.

“See, when I was a kid, the Partridge Family reunion came to town, and, uh…. I wanted Danny Bonaduce's autograph so bad. So, I waited in line for four hours, and then finally, there they were, dressed in those white jumpsuits. Anyway, there was a stampede. I got trampled.” 

“Bored now.”

Danny Bonaduce

‘Girlfriends’

Okay, then….  Well, that about wraps it up for this week’s edition of the Friday Hall of Famers.  Welcome to the Hall, Danny!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - FLORENCE MacMICHAEL FOR THE WINNIE!

'MISTER ED'

WINNIE KIRKWOOD AND HER COLONEL

One hundred years ago today, actress Florence MacMichael was born.  That name may not mean anything to you today, but if you ever watched classic TV, 'Mister Ed' especially, then you've seen her in many TV series of the fifties and sixties.  (Her last role was in a movie in 1971.)

And it should mean something to you if you've been reading "Inner Toob" on a regular basis!  I've only been honoring her all week long!

Since today is the actual birth date, I thought it was the perfect day to take a look at her most famous TV character.......

On 'Mister Ed', she played Winnie Kirkwood, the wife of "the Colonel", Gordon Kirkwood.  They lived in a suburb of Los Angeles on Valley Spring Road.  According to the Nancy Malven book "The Famous Mister Ed", Winnie bubbled over with the same daft personality embodied by Gracie Allen.

Whether or not they had children is unknown, but there are a couple of candidates who could have been their grandsons - Jake Kirkwood was born around 1979 and was murdered by his wife Hannah McKay because he demanded she get an abortion.  He was never seen on your TV screens because he had already been murdered.  But we did get to see his corpse when he was exhumed.

And there was Jimmy Kirkwood, an L.A. lawyer once with the Pearson Hardman firm and then with Bratton Gould.  Now, it's obvious that if Jimmy was indeed the grandson of Gordon and Winifred Kirkwood, then their son married a woman of color. 

Winnie Kirkwood's life off-screen after the show ended is unknown, but I think it followed real life in that she outlived the Colonel but only by a handful of years.  In all that time, the Kirkwoods remained at 7138 Spring Valley Road next to the Posts.

BCnU!

A FLORENCE MacMICHAEL CELEBRATION - WEDNESDAY'S CHILD IS FULL OF WOE

O'BSERVATION:
Florence MacMichael would have been 100 years old tomorrow.  We're celebrating all week long with posts about her various Toobworld characters.

'DAN AUGUST'

"LOVE IS A NICKEL BAG"

Birthday girl Florence MacMichaels played Mrs. Goodson, whose son Joe overdosed at a party in his San Luis home while his parents were at a convention.  She refused to believe that her son was an addict, not her baby. 

I had to laugh at the fact that the family name was "Goodson".  Symbolism much?

"Love Is A Nickel Bag" is available on YouTube, but it's not the complete episode.  Still, Mrs. Goodson is only in a scene at the beginning with Burt Reynolds as Dan August and Byron Keith as her husband.

Here it is:

Also in the cast is Brad David, who was in a memorable TV movie "Sole Survivor" with Richard Basehart, Vince Edwards, William Shatner, and Lou Antonio.

BCnU!

THEORIES OF RELATEEVEETY - THE FLORENCE MacMICHAEL TWINS

O'BSERVATION:
Florence MacMichael would have been 100 this coming Thursday.  We're celebrating all week long with posts about her various Toobworld characters.

No better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Florence MacMichael's birth as a Two For Tuesday than to write about her identical twin sister characters - Madeline Richards and Dorothy "Dolly" Quigley*.

MADELINE RICHARDS
The Donna Reed Show- The Fatal Leap (1960) 
- The Poodle Parlor (1961) 

DOLLY QUIGLEY
Dennis the Menace
- Dennis and the Dodger (1962)

Both of these shows take place in the town of Hilldale and they had a crossover in an episode of 'The Donna Reed Show'.  So one would think that an actress appeared on both shows, but as two different characters, then they O'Bviously had to be identical twins in such a small town.

Otis and Dolly Quigley had been married at least ten years when we finally got to meet her.  (And sad to say, we might never have met her at all had it not been for the death of Joseph Kearns before this episode was filmed.)  Although she was primarily a housewife, Dolly also knew how to run their market on her own.  (She had to do so when Otis was coaching the Bears, Dennis' PeeWee League softball team.)

Dolly had the chance to have Sandy Koufax over to dinner at their house, but she told Otis it wasn't a very good idea.  Koufax was an LA Dodger and she was preparing Yankee Pot Roast.

Her twin sister was Madeline Richards who had married well, rising up another level in her social standing.  Jack Richards, who was an old college friend of Donna Stone's husband Alex, was her husband.  (Jack was the cousin of Dr. Walter Reed Richards from Roseberg, Minnesota.)  Mr. and Mrs. Richards would often get together with the Stones for an evening of bridge, and Donna and Madeline would often go out shopping and to have lunch.  

Here's to the ladies who lunch!

BCnU!

*"Dolly" is a diminutive of the name "Dorothy", but Dolly Quigley's first name could be "Dolores" as well. 

FLORENCE MacMICHAEL - NEXT STOP, "THE TWILIGHT ZONE"

'THE TWILIGHT ZONE'
"MR. BEVIS"

This is one of my favorite episodes of 'The Twilight Zone' because I identify with James B.W. Bevis.  Orson Bean dominates the episode but two acclaimed character actors - Henry Jones and Charles Lane - also get their fair share of screen time.  Even in smaller roles Horace McMahon and William Schallert get their turn in the spotlight.

So if you didn't notice Florence MacMichael as Margaret, Mr. Bevis' only friend in the accounting office, you could probably be excused.

As I said, she was Bevis' only friend there at work.  And I think she was sweet on him.  I believe that had he landed a quarter on its side when he bought a newspaper from a street vendor, he might have been able to read her mind and so realize how much she truly cared for him. 

Life after prime-time.....

I would not be surprised if they eventually did find each other romantically entwined, although Margaret probably had to make the first move.

Would they have gotten married?  I don't see any real roadblock to their union.  Margaret would certainly have known his peccadilloes and even so she would have loved him for who he was - an individual. 

By 2010, it's my belief that Mr. Bevis had moved to Ledworth, England, and had been working as an accountant for the local hospital.  Why he would abandon his homeland?  It could have been because of a major upheaval in his life, something not even a guardian angel could have prevented.  So if he had married Margaret, perhaps she finally passed away. 

Why did I theorize he was in England by 2010?  Well, you'll have to go back to the "Who's On First" bogAthon for this year to find out!

If I hold to this theory for Toobworld, this will be one of those times when the character didn't live as long as the actor who played them (if they survived the broadcast, that is.)

BCnU!

THE HAT SQUAD - REMEMBERING FLORENCE MacMICHAEL FOR HER 100th BIRTHDAY

O'BSERVATION:
Florence MacMichael would have been 100 this coming Friday.  We're celebrating all week long with posts about her various Toobworld characters.

From the IMDb:
Florence MacMichael was born on April 26, 1919 in Hagerstown, Maryland, USA. She was an actress, known for 'Mister Ed' (1958), 'The Twilight Zone' (1959), and 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' (1955). She was married to Sellwyn L. Myers. She died on May 1, 1999 in San Luis Obispo, California, USA.

Nancy Nalven, author of the book "The Famous Mister Ed", had this to say about Miss MacMichael:

The gentle Miss McMichael began her acting career on Broadway and later performed on radio in New York with Henry Morgan, Phil Silvers, and Jackie Gleason. She played the occasional role of Mrs. Florence Pearson, also neighbor, on 'My Three Sons' from 1960 to 1961. Herb Brower still marvels that Florence, who was married to a postman, ever pursued an acting career: "She was too nice a person to be in the business."  A 1963 press release cited reading cookbooks as Miss Mcmichael's hobby. Maybe Herb has a point there…

I've always had a soft spot for the Gracie Allen type of scatterbrained character, which led to a crush on Georgia Engel as Georgette in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'.  And Miss MacMichael's Winnie Fenton Kirkwood fit into that category.  So I thought a special lady's 100th anniversary should not pass without notice.  I'm just sorry I don't have any character of hers who could be inducted into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

BCnU!