THE HAT SQUAD: SUSAN TYRELL

The best blog out there about Classic TV History says it all in its title: "The Classic TV History Blog". (You'll find the link to the left, researchers!)

Last week he posted a nice tribute to the early TV work of the late Susan Tyrell, who passed away on June 16. Tyrell was not one to be afraid to take chances, and is best known for her indie roles that were off the beaten path. (Her best-known movie would probably be "Fat City", directed by John Huston, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.)

Stephen Bowie posted a picture with his testimonial, showing Ms. Tyrell as a young girl behind Patty Duke in her eponymous TV sitcom. I don't think her character had any lines or a name - it's not even listed among her credits at the IMDb! (No surprise there.....)

If you're familiar with my mania, you know these atmosphere people fascinate me. I want to know what happened to them before and after their moment in the sun. What kind of life during prime-time did they have?

As for this girl from Brooklyn Heights, New York, I think our best bet is that she grew up to be Mary Torino, a woman seen in the final episode of 'Kojak', "In Full Command" (which also guest-starred Danny Thomas.) No matter how she was portrayed in that episode, there was a lot of livin' she did between that and her earlier appearance when she was attending Brooklyn Heights High School. Anything could have happened to her over those years.

Another possibility was Sconset Sal from 'Wings', which would at least keep her in the sitcom category (even though both type of shows should co-exist.) But based on the episode, I think Sal lived her whole life on Nantucket.

In both cases, I'd like to think that her characters still live in Toobworld, and that both of them have many more TV seasons ahead of them.

As for "Susu" herself, it's like Red Skelton always said, "Good night and may God bless."

My thanks to the Classic TV History Blog for posting that picture!

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: RADULFUS & HELLEBORE

For this "Two For Tuesday" edition, we have two characters played by Terence Hardiman.....

ABBOTT RADULFUS

"CREATED BY":

Ellis Peters

(The character is based on an historical character.)

PORTRAYED BY:

Terence Hardiman

AS SEEN IN:

'Cadfael'

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

Abbot Radulfus (1138–1148) [is a] real historical figure. [He is highlighted] as the median, the ideal abbot, with whom Cadfael has a deep empathy and understanding.

From Brother Cadfael Characters:

Abbott Radulfus was a lucky choice for the monastery, considering how many positions were filled with the merely ambitious. He has been out in the world enough to recognize Cadfael's worth, and to give him the room Cadfael needs to protect the monastery from scandal or dishonor.

Abbot Radulfus:

"For even the pursuit of perfection may be sin, if it infringes the rights and needs of another soul. Better to fail a little, by turning aside to lift up another, than to pass by him in haste to reach our own reward, and leave him to solitude and despair. Better to labour in lameness, in fallibility, but holding up others who falter, than to stride forward alone."

Apparently I have written about Radulfus in the past......

GRAND WIZARD HELLEBORE

CREATED BY:

Jill Murphy

PORTRAYED BY:

Terence Hardiman

AS SEEN IN:

'The Worst Witch'

TV STATUS:

Recastaway

(Toobworld reason: magical transformation)

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From the "Worst Witch Wiki":

Mr Egbert Hellibore is the Grand Wizard (Chief Magician in the books), and Headmaster of Camelot College. He appears at the Halloween celebrations in the first book. He later appears again in the third book at the Halloween celebrations where he bans Mildred Hubble and Ethel Hallow from attending the celebrations for causing the havoc the previous year. In the TV series, Egbert Hellibore was portrayed by Richard Durden and Terrence Hardiman. He is often referred to as "Helliboring" in the TV series. He is a big fan of crumpets, scones and cream tea. 

From Karl S. Green:

[Terence Hardiman] did a great job in getting across the sheer pomposity of the character, along with the great power and authority that he posesses, and stole most of the scenes that he was in.

Miss Cackle:

"You haven't said what your talk will be about."

Grand Wizard Hellebore:

"A subject of infinite excitement and interest! A history of the Grand Wizard, his power and his glory! In short, Miss Cackle, myself."

What if Hellibore was related to Radulfus?  What a scandal that would be for the Church in Toobworld!

BCnU!

PS:

Both names have alternate spellings: "Radulphus" and "Hellibore".....

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS" - MR. & MRS. SUPERMAN

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS"

[EPISODE TEN]

"HE & SHE"

Although she had been a police detective in Metropolis for only a few years, the "Mr. X" case would signal the end of Helen J. O'Hara's career on the Force. This was not a voluntary decision. And it would cause a major change to her life.

If you check that video of "Superman's Wife", there is no indication of how much time passed between the announcement of Superman's "marriage" to Detective O'Hara and her abduction by the henchmen of Mr. X. I can't imagine it could have been more than a few days, probably soon after Lois Lane's story broke in the Daily Planet.

But until their trap was sprung, Superman and Helen had to live together to maintain the illusion that they were married. In the close quarters of her apartment in the Beresford Towers (built by J. Beresford Tipton and named after his maternal grandfather), the two of them may have succumbed to temptation. If not then, I think the opportunity would have presented itself again after the case was over, and after Superman had saved her life on the bridge.

Nothing like the threat of being blowed up real good by dynamite to quicken the pulse and make one realize that Life is short - carpe diem! And she must have carped his diem all night long.

It's not that hard to picture this happening. After all, Helen O'Hara was a stunningly beautiful woman. (To my mind, the actress playing her, Joi Lansing, was the most beautiful actress to ever grace the small screen.) And Superman was - well, he was Superman. Naturally they would be attracted to each other.

And it would have been more than just a physical attraction. They were both intelligent people with plenty in common to talk about, more than just their common pursuit for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Both of them would have been willing participants who enjoyed the liaison.....

THE MORNING AFTER

 

It might sound like heresy to suggest that a straight-arrow like Superman, in such a wholesome show, should engage in sex. But even though he was super, he was still a man.

That part about him being super.... That's what proved to be the ruin of Helen's career on the police force.

Although human in appearance, Superman was an alien and his biology was not totally compatible with humans. Even on the cellular level, as with sperm, he was far more powerful. No matter what kind of protection they used, nothing was going to withstand the super swimming abilities of Kryptonian sperm.

OF COURSE she was going to get pregnant!

SHOWS CITED:

• 'Adventures Of Superman'
• 'The Millionaire'
• 'SCTV'

Coming up next - "Run For Your Life"

BCnU!

PS:

At this point, I'd like to draw your attention to a very interesting essay by my favorite S-F writer, Larry Niven. "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" goes into graphic detail on what would happen if a Kryptonian male had sex with a human female. (It may be grisly, but it's still a hot read!)

For the purpose of the Toobworld Dynamic, however, I'm not going to utilize that study. TV tradition holds that human biology is malleable enough to cross-breed with other species from other worlds. 

And we've seen examples of this in Toobworld since the Age of Legends:

• Demi-God Hercules ('Hercules: The Legendary Journeys')
• The Nephilim ('Fallen')
• Spock, half-Vulcan ('Star Trek')
• Deanna Troi, half-Betazoid ('Star Trek: The Next Generation')
• B'elanna Torres, half-Klingon ('Star Trek: Voyager')
• David Sheridan, half-Minbari ('Babylon 5')
• Half-demon Doyle ('Angel')
• Evie Garland, half-Altairian ('Out Of This World')
• Scott Hayden, Jr. from who knows where ('Starman')
• Thomas Kinkade Brannigan's clowder of half-cat children ('Doctor Who')

and even

• Tabitha Stevens, Mistress of Wish-Craft ('Bewitched')

Speaking of Brannigan's kitties, the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as The Doctor claimed that his mother was a human. But as River Song once pointed out, the Doctor lies. And he did so in this case just so he could get into an Earth woman's pants......

AS SEEN ON TV: KAREN STONE

KAREN STONE

CREATED BY:

Tennessee Williams

PORTRAYED BY:

Dame Helen Mirren

AS SEEN IN:

"The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone"

TV STATUS:

Multiversal

(Also in BookWorld and Cineverse)

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From Wikipedia:

"The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone" is a 2003 TV movie remake of the 1961 film "The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone", based on the 1950 novel of the same title by Tennessee Williams. It first aired in the USA by Showtime Networks on 31 March 2003 and released on DVD by Showtime Entertainment in 2004.

Shot on location in Dublin and Rome, the film was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and produced by James Flynn and Morgan O'Sullivan from a screenplay by Martin Sherman based on the Tennessee Williams novel.

The film stars Helen Mirren, Olivier Martinez, Anne Bancroft and Brian Dennehy with Rodrigo Santoro, Victor Alfieri and Suzanne Bertish. It is Bancroft's final film appearance.

Karen Stone, an actress, and her businessman husband are off on holiday to Rome. On the plane, her husband suffers a fatal heart attack. Karen decides to stay in Italy and rent a luxury apartment in Rome. The Contessa Magda Terribili-Gonzales soon introduces her to a young Italian man, Paolo. Karen and Paolo embark on a passionate affair, with disastrous consequences.

Here's an interesting review of the book that delves into the story in some detail.....

BCnU!

PRIDE... IN THE NAME OF LAUGHS

Because everything is funnier when taken out of context.....

(From '30 Rock')

MURPHY'S SECRETARIES

As it turns out, I've totally missed the chance to celebrate "Secretaries' Day" (Office Adminstrators' Day now, I guess, to be PC). So I might as well share this now - a rundown of all the secretaries who ever worked for 'Murphy Brown', including the one played by my friend Mary Cadorette. (She kicks off the roll call.....)

BCnU!

"LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!"

I can't remember if I've shared this already.  Too bad if I have.....

THE AMAZING BALLANTINE!

For no other reason than that he was always a pleasure to watch in action, here is.....

THE AMAZING BALLANTINE!

The Toobworld ramifications of that last clip......

Puppets are living beings in Toobworld. They are a spirit people from Living Island (aka Yazoo) who possess shells in order to have a physical, "viewable", form. And they take on the characteristics of the shell they inhabit. In this case, because this spirit person looked like Carl Ballantine, he sounded and acted like Carl Ballantine, and thus he keeps the memory of Mr. Ballantine alive......

BCnU!

"IS THIS SOMETHING YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN?"

Movie producer Bob Evans has made an appearance in our look at the O'Hara Family Tree. Here's a look back at his famous catch-phrase (which also made an appearance in the saga.)

BCnU!

AS SEEN ON TV: TOOBWORLD'S FIRST GAY COUPLE?

ELMER SHAW & CLARENCE FOX

CREATED BY:

Ray Bradbury

PORTRAYED BY:

Clarence Fox - Robert H. Harris

Elmer Shaw - John Qualen

AS SEEN IN:

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'

("Shopping For Death")

BASED ON:

"Touched With Fire"

TV STATUS:

Recastaways (The Originals)

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

From TV.com:

Two retired insurance salesmen research the methods of death. One of them proposes a theory that most murders occur in hot weather. They see a potential murder victim in the nagging wife of a longshoreman, Mrs. Shrike.

This episode is based on the short story "Touched by Fire" by Ray Bradbury. This story (as "Shopping for Death") was first published in Maclean's (June 1, 1954.)

The story on which this episode is based was also adapted for an episode, "Touched With Fire" of 'The Ray Bradbury Theater'.

There's a reason why I didn't run this during my tribute to Ray Bradbury. If for no other reason, it might have been welcomed by my readers as a break from all of the characters from 'The Martian Chronicles' who were seen day after day.

But I wanted to save it specifically for today as the country celebrates Gay Pride. That's because I think Elmer Shaw and Clarence Fox may have been one of the first depictions of a gay couple in Toobworld. (It was broadcast on January 29, 1956.)

Mr. Bradbury probably didn't have that intent when he created these two men; I may be the only one who actually thought they were partnered homosexuals on first seeing the episode. If that's the case, so be it. My perceptions are usually what drives the Toobworld Concept anyway, and this interpretation doesn't have to be applied anywhere else... just in my own little sandbox.

But it's hard not to consider them as being homosexuals (the term of the day back then). After years of working together in the same business, they're still together in their retirement years. And it would appear that they live together as they spend so much time together from early morning until late at night. No other mentions of families to whom they have to return at the end of the day.

Who but a committed partner like Elmer would put up with Clarence's obsession with his actuarial statistics about murders taking place when the temperature hitting 92 degrees? (After the heat wave of this last week here in the Big Apple, I wonder if that theory played out in the real world?)

That would take real love on Elmer's part.

 

 

And there's just this sense of tenderness and care shown by Elmer for Clarence. They even walk hand in hand - well, hand on arm, to be precise - that doesn't leave that much room for other interpretations. (There is one - Perhaps Elmer knows Clarence has an inner ear problem with his balance.....)

Like I said, this is my interpretation and Mr. Bradbury probably never meant for that impression to be made. But the inroads toward acceptance had to begin somewhere and I think Clarence and Elmer serve as worthy members of the vanguard.

BCnU!

PS:

It's also the contention of Toobworld Central that Elmer Shaw had a twin brother named Samuel.  And Samuel was probably also gay, in a VERY long relationship with another old man named Max.

Sam and Max can be found in an episode of 'The Odd Couple' called "A Taste For Money".  John Qualen played Sam and Peter Brocco played Max.  (He could be Max Stone, just to make a connection with another NYC-based sitcom, 'That Girl'.  Brocco played "Mr. Stone" in the "Soot Yourself" episode.....)