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It took 30 years since it was first predicted, but Conchata Ferrell finally achieved television stardom, albeit of the supporting variety, as the housekeeper "Berta" in the situation-comedy Two and a Half Men (2003). Ferrell originally had been tipped for stardom with her turn as the prostitute "April" in the Norman Lear-produced series Hot l Baltimore (1975), in which she recreated her role in Lanford Wilson's off-Broadway hit. However, what was a hit play in New York turned out to be a flop on national TV and, though she worked steadily ever since, it took her role in support of stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer in "Men" to get her the attention her talent richly deserved. For her role as "Berta", Conchata was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2005 and 2007. She had three Emmy nominations in total, having previously gotten a nod in 1992 for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for L.A. Law (1986).

Conchata Galen Ferrell was born on March 28, 1943 in Charleston, West Virginia, to Mescal Loraine (George) and Luther Martin Ferrell. She attended West Virginia University and Marshall University. Conchata graduated from Marshall with a degree in social studies in education. Eventually, she sought a life in the theater, and achieved success off-Broadway as a member of the Circle in the Square theatrical company in Wilson's "Hot L Baltimore". For her next off-Broadway appearance, as "Gertrude Blum" in Edward J. Moore's "The Sea Horse", Ferrell won Drama Desk, Theatre World and Obie Awards as best actress in 1974. She worked steadily in television and films ever since.

Ferrell was married to Arnie Anderson, and had one daughter.

This tall (5'10"), pretty, willowy brunette (but frequently blonde) was born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, as one of four children. Raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Marcia grew into a striking young teen and worked for a time as a model in a local children's department store. A talented singer, she initially attempted a singing career and was picked up as a recording artist for Uni Records in 1967. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top 40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets,

Trekking back to New York City equipped only with her modeling and singing credentials, Marcia found herself performing in an off-Broadway show at the ripe old age of 15, replacing 17-year-old Liza Minnelli in the musical "Best Foot Forward." Inspired, Marcia ventured ahead with a number of stage roles, then broke into television, appearing in several episodes as a teen on the popular The Patty Duke Show (1963). Following some sporadic work on such shows as "Ironside" and "The Paul Lynde Show," Marcia scored her first semi-regular role as an army nurse on the very first season of M*A*S*H (1972).

Making her film debut in the featured role of a reporter in the obscure, semi-counterculture film Changes (1969), Marcia focused on TV work into the 1970's with parts in such shows as "Police Story," "Marcus Welby," "City of Angels," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and the TV-movies Journey from Darkness (1975) and Brenda Starr (1976). Her huge, breakout role, and the one for which she will best be remembered, was as Gabe Kaplan's wife on the popular sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) for four seasons. Despite the steady work, Marcia remained disillusioned at playing the relatively overlooked role of Julie Kotter. The primary focus landed squarely on Brooklyn schoolteacher Kotter (the show was based on Kaplan's real-life experiences as a teacher) and his interaction with student "Sweathogs" Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Ron Palillo and pre-megastar John Travolta. Stuck with what many deemed a reactive character, she gamely stayed with the show, however, throughout its run.

While "Kotter" would remain her only hit series, she immediately went into another, albeit short-lived, series playing an office worker to sexist sportswriter Ted Bessell in the comedy Good Time Harry (1980). In a second attempt, she co-starred in the crime series Booker (1989) as boss to Dennis Booker, the titular insurance investigator played by handsome, young Richard Grieco, a spin-off character from the series 21 Jump Street (1987).

In between, she remained a steady focus as a guest on such shows as "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I.," "E/R" and "I Married Dora," she appeared in the occasional film -- the offbeat romantic comedy Soup for One (1982) co-starring Saul Rubinek and featured in the Christopher Reeve adventure The Aviator (1985). she regained some popularity as the wholesome wife of nerdy Rick Moranis in the surprise Walt Disney hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). She reprised that role in the equally popular sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) and played the same kind of wife in the family fantasy comedy And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird (1991).

Marcia remained true blue to the small screen with single performances on "Civil Wars," "Sweet Justice," "Charlie Grace," "Murder, She Wrote," "Highlander," "L.A. Heat," "Tracy Takes On..." and "Baywatch." Returning to films with the crime comedy Another Stakeout (1993), the family sci-fi comedy Earth Minus Zero (1996), in 1998, Marcia returned to her singing talents and performed with "Beauty and the Beast" star Susan Egan in "Hello Again," which was a revamped version of the Max Ophüls classic French film La Ronde (1950). Here she played against type as a prostitute. Marcia attempted two other short-lived series with the comedy Noah Knows Best (2000) and action adventure Tremors (2003) and phased away from the camera not long after a recurring role as a sergeant in the police series Third Watch (1999).

Over the years Marcia carved out a niche for herself not only as a fine actress but also as a social and labor activist, and lent her skills and talents to many progressive causes. Diagnosed with breast and bone cancer in 2007, she published Life with a Side Order of Cancer, a memoir in which she detailed her life, career and challenging illness the following year. Marcia died of complications on October 24, 2014, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. She was 66 and survived by her sister Julie Strassman-Cohn, a TV story editor, brother Steve Strassman and daughter Elizabeth Collector, from a brief 1980's marriage to writer/director Robert Collector.

Barbara Hale was born on April 18, 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois, to Wilma (née Colvin) and Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener. She had one sister, Juanita. As a young girl, she intended to major in art and drawing but to work her way through The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, she began her professional career as a model for a comic strip called "Ramblin' Bill."

Hale is best remembered as Della Street, long-time secretary to attorney Perry Mason on the TV series Perry Mason (1957) from 1957 to 1966 and again in over 25 Perry Mason TV movies from 1985 to 1995. She married actor Bill Williams in 1946. He was best remembered for his portrayal of Kit Carson in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951) from 1951 to 1955. The couple had three children - two daughters: Jody (born in 1947), Juanita (born in 1953), and, in 1951, a son, William Katt (the spitting image of his father), and actor in his own right, probably best known as the titular character's ill-fated prom date in the film Carrie (1976) and, later, as Ralph Hinkley, the klutzy superhero on the quirky 1980s adventure series The Greatest American Hero (1981) (from 1981 to 1986).

Gary Khammar was a producer and director, known for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Kubrick Remembered (2014) and Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot (2013). Gary died on 2 May 2024 in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA.

A tall, sinewy, austere-looking character actor with silver hair, rugged features and a distinctive voice, John Robert Anderson appeared in hundreds of films and television episodes. Immensely versatile, he was at his best submerging himself in the role of historical figures (he impersonated Abraham Lincoln three times and twice baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, men whom he strongly resembled). He was a familiar presence in westerns and science-fiction serials, usually as upstanding, dignified and generally benign citizens (a rare exception was his Ebonite interrogator in The Outer Limits (1963) episode "Nightmare"). He had a high opinion of Rod Serling and was proud to be featured in four episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959), most memorably as the tuxedo-clad angel Gabriel in "A Passage for Trumpet" (doing for Jack Klugman what Henry Travers did for James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)).

Known to other youths as 'J.R.', Anderson had a happy childhood, growing up first on a small farm near Clayton, Illinois, and then in the mid-sized town of Quincy where his mother operated a cigar stand. A rangy, outdoorsy type, he excelled at various sports, was a drum major, a member of the track team and the Boy Scouts. During World War II, he served in the Coast Guard, mainly involved in helping protect convoys from U-boat attacks. In 1946, he commenced studies at the University of Iowa, eventually graduating with a Master's degree in Drama. His acting career began on the riverboat 'Goldenrod' (now the oldest surviving Mississippi River Basin showboat in America) and proceeded from there to the Cleveland Playhouse for a year, then the New York stage and summer stock with parts in prestigious plays like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Home of the Brave". He also occasionally doubled up as a singer on Broadway ("Paint Your Wagon" (1951), "The Emperor's Clothes" (1953)).

Anderson began as a regular television actor during that medium's formative years. In the course of the next four decades, his appearance barely changing, he was consistently excellent wherever he popped up, be it as western lawmen (including a recurring role as Virgil Earp in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955)), as cops, governors, judges and army officers; hard-nosed oil executive Herbert Styles in Dallas (1978), or as kindly patriarch of the Hazard clan in North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985). Though less traveled on the big screen, Anderson was particularly impressive as the furtive second-hand car dealer, 'California Charlie', in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the ruthless leader of the renegades, Addis, in Day of the Evil Gun (1968) and, reprising his role as Lincoln, in The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). One of the best all-rounders in the business, Anderson died of a heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks in August 1992, aged 69.

Douglas Osborne McClure was born on May 11, 1935 in Glendale, California. Educated at UCLA, this blond leading man long made a career of apparent agelessness. He played one young sidekick after another through numerous movies and one television series after another, playing 20ish roles into his late 40s. Although he made more than 500 appearances in his career (counting television episodes separately), he is undoubtedly best remembered as Trampas in the series The Virginian (1962) and Backtrack! (1969). McClure was fighting cancer the last couple of years before his death; despite this, he continued working, appearing in Maverick (1994) as one of the gamblers, as well as in Riders in the Storm (1995) and episodes of Burke's Law (1994) and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993) which did not appear until after his death. Doug McClure died at age 59 of lung cancer on February 5, 1995.

Versatile, charismatic actor Cleavon Little was born on June 1, 1939, in Oklahoma but grew up in California and attended San Diego College. He earned a scholarship to Juilliard and moved to New York, then trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and was soon appearing off-Broadway. Classically trained ("Hamlet" "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), he won the Tony award for a less weighty musical, "Purlie", which took him west. A few film roles came his way with What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), John and Mary (1969), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), and the cult film Vanishing Point (1971) but it was the 1972 sitcom The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972) that finally got him some leverage in Hollywood. The by-now popular actor caught the eye of film producers. With his sly charm and appeal, he was a natural for comedy and hit the apex of his career after winning a co-starring role opposite Gene Wilder in the Mel Brooks western spoof Blazing Saddles (1974). He never matched that success but did continue with important stage roles ("I'm Not Rappaport") and other TV series work (Bagdad Cafe (1990)). A hard-working, heavily driven man, Little was plagued by ulcers and stomach disorders for much of his life. He died at age 53 of colon cancer in 1992.

Though she was known best for drawing laughs as whiny, excitable characters throughout her raucous film and TV career, actress/comedienne Wendie Jo Sperber showed a brave, compassionate and humane side in the last years of her life.

The California girl was born on September 15, 1958, in Los Angeles and developed a driving passion for acting in her teen years. She went on to attend the Summer Drama Workshop at California State University, Northridge. Producer Allan Carr discovered this comic bundle when she invited him to see her in an L.A. stage review. He gave her an unbilled part in the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John smash musical Grease (1978) and she was off and running.

Other films quickly fell into place, notably I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) as a no-holds-barred Beatles fanatic, and the role of Linda McFly in Back to the Future (1985) and one of its sequels. Other films included Corvette Summer (1978), Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) and Bachelor Party (1984) starring Tom Hanks. Some of her tongue-in-cheek film roles were beneath her, particularly when they used her excess poundage as the butt of a cruel joke, but the actress proved quite game in such lowbrow, youth-oriented comedies as Moving Violations (1985) and Stewardess School (1986).

It was with a then fairly unknown Hanks and Peter Scolari that she earned her biggest laughs with the two-year run of Bosom Buddies (1980), which launched a number of inferior drag film/sitcoms. She also had series co-leads in Private Benjamin (1981), Women in Prison (1987), the plus-sized Babes (1990) and Hearts Afire (1992). In between were roles on the L.A. stage, including "Pizza Man," "Isn't It Romantic," "Reality and Other Nightmares" and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" starring Ron Silver.

At age 39, Wendie was diagnosed with breast cancer. While her career momentum was certainly compromised, the comedienne continued to pursue roles. She even appeared on a poignant breast cancer episode of Murphy Brown (1988). Her cancer went into remission at one point but returned with a vengeance in 2002 and spread throughout her body.

Instead of retreating, Wendie instead reached out and founded weSPARK Cancer Support Center in Sherman Oaks, California, in which free services, including support groups, information on the latest research and classes, provided invaluable aid to cancer patients, their families and friends. Her selfless determination throughout her illness to help others did not go unnoticed, earning several honors.

Eight years later, on November 29, 2005, Wendie lost her battle. She was survived by her parents and two children from a former marriage. Per her request, close friend, former actress Nancy Allen succeeded her as executive director of weSPARK, which continues to serve cancer patients and their families into the 2020's.

Warren Stevens was born in Pennsylvania and joined the Navy at age 17. His interest in acting was piqued while he was attending Annapolis, and this resulted in 12 weeks of summer stock in Virginia. His friends, Gregory Peck and Kenneth Tobey, later arranged interviews for Stevens at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Following service as an Army Air Corps pilot in Europe during World War II, Stevens began concentrating on his acting career, working in radio and summer stock and joining New York's Actors Studio.. His break came via a key role in Broadway's "Detective Story", which in turn led to offers from Hollywood studios and a contract with 20th Century-Fox. In the half-century since his movie debut, he has acted in dozens of features and hundreds of TV episodes.

Bobby Troup was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. As a songwriter, Troup is mostly remembered for writing the hit song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" (1946), about a cross-country drive through the highway U.S. Route 66. Tne song was originally performed by Nat King Cole and the King Cole Trio, and a second version was performed by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Both versions were 1946 hits, and the song has since received many covers. As as an actor Troup is mostly remembered for playing Dr. Joe Early in the medical drama "Emergency!" (1972-1977).

Troup was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended the Hill School, a preparatory boarding school located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In his college years, Troup attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a degree in economics.

Troup's first success as a songwriter was writing "Daddy" (1941), a hit song performed first by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra. Popular versions of the song were then recorded by Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Kay Kyser, and The Andrews Sisters. However, his music career was interrupted by World War II service.

Troup enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January 1942. He was trained as an officer, and then assigned to train African-American marine recruits at the camp Montford Point (modern Camp Gilbert H. Johnson), located in Jacksonville, North Carolina. In 1943, Troup became a recreation officer. He helped build a recreation hall, basketball court, and outdoor boxing ring. He also founded the first African-American band of U.S. Marines, and composed the song "Take Me Away from Jacksonville". The song is still used as an anthem by North-Carolina-based Marines.

While still serving with the Marines, Troup composed the popular song "Snootie Little Cutie" (1942) . It was first recorded by singers Frank Sinatra and Connie Haines. Following the end of the War, Troup returned to his music career. "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" was his first post-war hit as a songwriter. Other hits included "The Girl Can't Help It" (1956) performed by Little Richard, "The Meaning of the Blues" (1957) performed by Julie London, and "My City of Sydney" (1969) performed by Tommy Leonetti.

Troup released 10 records with his own recordings between 1953 and 1959. Despite his success as a songwriter, none of his records as a singer or pianist were commercially successful. His greatest success through the decade placed him in the producer's role, for Julie London's version of the hit song "Cry Me a River" (1955). It became a gold record.

Troup started acting as a side career. He made his film debut as an uncredited musician in the romantic comedy "Duchess of Idaho" (1950). He had credited roles in musical films such as "Bop Girl Goes Calypso" (1957), "The High Cost of Loving" (1958), and "The Five Pennies" (1959). Troup played then-recently deceased bandleader Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956) in the biographical "The Gene Krupa Story" (1959). His last film role was that of disgruntled staff sergeant Gorman in the military-themed comedy "M*A*S*H" (1970).

Troup had a more substantial career in television. He was cast as a fictionalized version of himself in the short-lived series "Acapulco" (1961). He had guest-star roles in popular series such as "Perry Mason", "Dragnet", and "Mannix". He found success in his long-running role of Dr. Joe Early in "Emergency". Early was depicted as a neurosurgeon, working at Rampart General Hospital. The series lasted for 6 seasons, and a total of 122 regular episodes. Six television films based on the series were broadcast between 1978 and 1979.

In the 1980s, Troup appeared in the stalker-themed television film "The 25th Man" (1982), which was intended as a pilot for a television series. His last television appearance was a guest-star role in a 1985 episode of the detective series "Simon & Simon". Troup was 67-years-old at the time.

Troup lived in retirement until 1999. He died due to a heart attack in February 1999. He was 80-years-old at the time of death. He was survived by his second wife Julie London, who died in October 2000.

Stardom somehow eluded this vastly gifted actress. Had it not perhaps been for her low-level profile compounded by her McCarthy-era blacklisting in the early 1950s, there is no telling what higher tier Marsha Hunt might have attained. Perhaps her work was not flashy enough, or too subdued, or perhaps her intelligence too often disguised a genuine sex appeal to stand out among the other lovelies. Two studios, Paramount in the late 1930s and MGM in the early 1940s, failed to complete her star. Nevertheless, her talent and versatility cannot be denied. This glamorous, slimly handsome leading lady offered herself to well over 50 pictures during the 1930s and 1940s alone.

Christened Marcia Virginia Hunt, the Chicago-born actress was the younger of two girls born to an attorney and voice teacher/accompanist. The family relocated to New York when she was quite young and she attended such schools as PS #9 and Horace Mann School for Girls. She developed an interest in acting at an early age (3), performing around and about in school plays and at church functions. Following her high school graduation the young beauty found work as a John Powers model and as a singer on radio, a gift obviously inherited from her mother. Marcia (she later changed the spelling of her first name to Marsha) studied drama at the Theodora Irvine Drama School (one of her fellow students was Cornel Wilde).

Encouraged to try Hollywood by various New York people in the business, the young photogenic hopeful moved there in 1934. She was only 17 but was accompanied by her older sister. It didn't take long for the studios to take an interest in her and she was signed up by Paramount not long after. Marsha's very first movie was in a featured role opposite Robert Cummings and Johnny Downs in the old-fashioned The Virginia Judge (1935). Displaying an innate, fresh-faced sensitivity, she moved directly into her second film, playing the title role in Gentle Julia (1936), this time with Tom Brown as her romantic interest.

Marsha continued to show promise but these well-acted roles were, more often than not, overlooked in mild "B"-level offerings. Appearing in co-starring roles in everything from westerns (Desert Gold (1936) and Thunder Trail (1937)) to folksy or flyweight comedy (Easy to Take (1936) and Murder Goes to College (1937)), she could not find decent enough scripts at Paramount. Though she was once deemed one of the studio's promising starlets, one of her last films there was another prairie flower role--[error]--with cowboys John Wayne and Johnny Mack Brown vying for her attention. At about this time (1938) she married Jerry Hopper, a Paramount film editor who turned to directing in the 1950s. This marriage lasted but a few years.

Freelancing for a time for many studios, Marsha's more noticeable war-era work in sentimental comedy and staunch war dramas came from MGM, and she finally signed with the studio in 1939. The roles offered, which included a featured part as one of the sisters in Pride and Prejudice (1940) starring Greer Garson, and again as a sister to Garson in Blossoms in the Dust (1941), which showed much more promise. Some of her better war-era roles came in the films Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), Kid Glove Killer (1942) and The Affairs of Martha (1942). During this time she also sang on extended USO tours and stayed busy on radio. Her best known film is arguably The Human Comedy (1943) but she wasn't the star. Other film roles had her in support of others, such as Margaret Sullavan in Cry 'Havoc' (1943), little Margaret O'Brien in Lost Angel (1943) and Garson again in The Valley of Decision (1945). Leading roles did not come in "A" pictures.

Her MGM contract was allowed to lapse in 1945 and a second marriage in 1946, to screenwriter Robert Presnell Jr., became a higher priority. The marriage was long and happy (exactly 40 years) and lasted until his passing in June of 1986. The few pictures she made were, again, uneventful or in support of the star, although she did have a catchy, unsympathetic role in the Susan Hayward starrer Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) as a scheming secretary. In Raw Deal (1948), starring Dennis O'Keefe, she got the "raw deal" being overshadowed as a "good girl" by the "bad girl" posturings of Claire Trevor. At this point of her career she decided to try the stage and made her Broadway debut in "Joy to the World" (1948). Other plays down the road would include "The Devil's Disciple" with Maurice Evans, "The Lady's Not for Burning" with Vincent Price and "The Little Hut" with Leon Ames. She even had a chance to return to her beloved singing as Anna in a production of "The King and I" and (much later) in productions of "State Fair" and "Meet Me in St. Louis". TV also yielded some new work opportunities, including a presentation of "Twelfth Night" in which she portrayed Viola.

The seams of her film career fell apart in the early 1950s. During the late 1930s and into the 1940s she signed a number of petitions promoting liberal ideals, and was a member of the Committee for the First Amendment. A strong supporter of freedom of speech, these associations led to her name appearing in the pamphlet "Red Channels", a McCarthy-era publication that "exposed" alleged Communists and "subversives". Although she and her husband were never called before the House Un-American Activities Commission, their names were nevertheless smeared all over Hollywood as "Reds". While she still found film work on occasion, it was rare. Although she had worked steadily from 1935 until 1949, appearing in over 50 films, she made only three films in the next eight years. Her screenwriter husband would be credited for only one film from 1948 to 1955.

Semi-retired by the early 1960s, stage and TV became Marsha's focal points. She also devoted herself to civil rights causes and such humanitarian efforts as UNICEF, The March of Dimes and The Red Cross. She became actively involved with the United Nations. On the acting front she appeared only in smaller roles in five films but in numerous TV programs and made-for-TV movies, playing everything from judges to grandmas. She became the Honorary Mayor of Sherman Oaks, California, in 1983, and published a book on fashion entitled "The Way We Wore" in 1993. Widowed in 1986, the ever-vibrant Marsha, in her 90s, continues to serve on the Advisory Board of Directors for the San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, a large non-profit that advocates for adults and children affected by homelessness and mental illness. As recently as 2006, she appeared to good advantage in the movie Chloe's Prayer (2006) and, at age 91, was seen in Empire State Building Murders (2008).

Ella Raines was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, in 1920. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of Washington as a drama student and participated in many plays. Following graduation, she traveled to New York and the lights of Broadway. She was eventually signed by Howard Hawks and played in Corvette K-225 (1943) as the love interest of Randolph Scott. She appeared in many A pictures very quickly, including Tall in the Saddle (1944) opposite John Wayne. She co-starred in many other films opposite such stars as Vincent Price, William Powell and Brian Donlevy (turning in a good performance as a spunky garage owner in director Arthur Lubin's underrated Impact (1949)). In the early 1950s she had her own TV series, Janet Dean, Registered Nurse (1954), and also had a short-lived recording career during that period. She died in 1988.

John Witherspoon was an African-American actor from Detroit, Michigan known for playing Granddad from The Boondocks and Willie Jones from the Friday trilogy. He also acted in Boomerang, Little Nicky, Soul Plane, Vampire in Brooklyn, Black Jesus and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He passed away in October 29, 2019 due to a heart attack.

June Dayton was born on 24 August 1923 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), The Streets of San Francisco (1972) and Kraft Theatre (1947). She was married to Dean Harens. She died on 13 June 1994 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.

Sorrell Booke was born in Buffalo, New York in 1930, the son of a local physician. He found his calling early in life, like most actors, when his family encouraged him to entertain relatives by doing impressions and telling jokes. He went on to study at Yale and Columbia University, and mastered five languages. During the Korean War, Booke worked in counter-intelligence where his lingual talents served him well. His intelligence and subtlety are often overlooked when considering his signature role as Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg during his run on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). He died of cancer in 1994 just after his 64th birthday.

Patrick Barry Sullivan was born on August 29, 1912 in New York City. While never a major movie star, he established himself as a well-known and highly regarded character lead and second lead in motion pictures and television in a career that lasted 50 years. Legend has it that Sullivan was counseled to consider a life in the theater due to his height (6'3") and good looks. He was supporting himself as a theater usher and department store employee when made his Broadway debut in "I Want a Policeman" at the Lyceum Theatre in January 1936. Unfortunately, the show lasted only 47 performances.

In 1936, he appeared in three other plays on the Great White Way, the drama "St. Helena" and the comedies "All That Glitters" and "Eye On the Sparrow." All three were flops. Sullivan finally appeared in a hit play when he transferred into the role of Bert Jefferson in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. However the 1941-42 season brought three more flops: "Mr. Big", "Ring Around Elizabeth", and "Johnny 2 X 4". Wisely, he stayed away from Broadway for a decade, when he again transferred into a hit, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," taking over the role of Barney Greenwald from Henry Fonda. Sullivan was nominated for a Best Actor Emmy Award in 1955 when he reprised the role on The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1955). His last appearance on Broadway, in the original "Too Late the Phalarope" in 1956, was, true to his performance record, a flop. Barry Sullivan's talent was meant for the screen.

In the late 1930s, he gained movie acting experience in two-reel comedies produced by the Manhattan-based Educational Studios. After giving up on his Broadway career and moving to Hollywood, Sullivan appeared in an uncredited bit part in "The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940) (1941) at Universal before making his official film debut in the Chester Morris B-picture High Explosive (1943) (1943) at Paramount. His next picture was The Woman of the Town (1943), which was released by United Artists that same year.

Barry Sullivan never broke through to become a major star -- but he did establish himself firmly in character lead and second lead roles. He excelled at roles in which he could play aggressive characters that highlighted his centered masculinity. His most notable roles in the early part of his movie career were as the eponymous The Gangster (1947), Tom Buchanan in the Alan Ladd version of The Great Gatsby (1949) (second lead), and as the movie director in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) as part of a first rate ensemble. He had his own TV series Harbourmaster (1957) in 1957-58 and The Tall Man (1960) in 1960-62. A decade later, his acting skills were used to fine effect in two prestigious productions of stage plays as George C. Scott's brother in the Emmy Award-winning TV adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Price (1971) and the amoral patriarch in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest (1972). He continued acting in movies until 1977, rounding off a near 40-year movie career with an appearance in Oh, God! (1977). He continued to appear periodically on television until retiring in 1980.

Sullivan was married three times and fathered three children, Johnny and Jenny Sullivan by his first wife, and Patsy Sullivan-Webb by his second wife Gita Hall. The Sullivan talent has run into three generations. Jenny Sullivan became an actress and a playwright, writing the drama "J for J" ("Journal for John") based on the correspondence between her father and her brother, who was mentally disabled. She was married to the rock star Jim Messina.

Patsy Sullivan-Webb was a successful model who appeared as the face of Yardley Cosmetics in the Swinging '60s, starting at the age of twelve. She appeared with her father in the episode of That Girl (1966) that opened the series' third season and was a contestant on The Dating Game (1965). She married the great songwriter Jimmy Webb, by whom she had six children. Two of her sons formed the rock group The Webb Brothers.

Barry Sullivan died of a respiratory ailment on June 6, 1994 in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 81 years old.

Character actor Jay Robinson owned a pair of the narrowest, cruelest-looking eyes in 1950s Hollywood. To complement them was an evil-looking sneer, crisp and biting diction and a nefarious-sounding cackle. These were all draped upon a lean, bony physique that could slither about menacingly like a ready-to-pounce cobra. With that in mind, he made an auspicious film debut as Caligula in The Robe (1953), stealing much of the proceedings from the movie's actual stars Richard Burton, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature. Though many complained that Jay's interpretation bordered dangerously on outrageous camp, his depraved Roman emperor nevertheless remains the most indelible image when reminded of the epic costumer.

Born on April 14, 1930 in New York City, Jay came from a fine upbringing, tutored at private schools both here and in Europe. His background in summer stock and repertory companies eventually attracted Broadway work in the Shakespeare classics "As You Like It" (1950) and "Much Ado About Nothing" (1952). He also appeared in and produced the play, "Buy Me Blue Ribbons," in 1951, which was short-lived. After his movie bow, Jay went on to reprise the scenery-chewing character Caligula in Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954) with Mature and Susan Hayward, and offered typically eye-catching supporting turns in The Virgin Queen (1955), starring Bette Davis, and My Man Godfrey (1957), with David Niven and June Allyson.

However, it was at this juncture that things started going horribly wrong for Jay. His new-found celebrity reportedly went to his head and he became extremely difficult to work with. In addition, the volatile actor began experimenting recklessly with drugs. In 1958, he was booked for possession of narcotics (methadone) and sentenced to a year in jail. Free on bail, the incident and resulting notoriety ruined his career. After scraping up work outside the entertainment industry as a cook and landlord, he recovered from his drug addiction and married. Resuming work in obscure bit parts, he had another career relapse when he was forced to spend 15 months in jail after an old warrant was served on him.

In the late 1960s, Jay started appearing again on television. He even prodded the memory of his own character Caligula character by playing an impertinent Julius Caesar on an episode of Bewitched (1964). However, it took a huge star like Bette Davis, who had always recognized and appreciated his talent, to help him regain a footing in movies again when she insisted he take a prime role in her movie, Bunny O'Hare (1971). The movie failed miserably, deservedly so, but Jay prevailed and managed to repair his status with a number of delightfully flamboyant and hammy performances.

Jay played fun parts along the way in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Warren Beatty's Shampoo (1975) and even Big Top Pee-wee (1988). While he played the delightfully eccentric Dr. Shrinker on The Krofft Supershow (1976) for one season, he somewhat balanced this silliness with made-for-video Shakespearean performances of Macbeth (1981), The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1981) and Richard II (1982). Some horror roles fell his way as well with Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), in which he played Dracula, Transylvania Twist (1989) and Bram Stoker's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

In 1997, Jay proved an ideal host for the Discovery Channel's Beyond Bizarre (1997). HIs last TV work was providing various voices for the animated comedy series Mad Jack the Pirate (1998).

Jay Robinson died at age 83 of congestive heart failure in his home in Sherman Oaks, California on September 27, 2013.

Dennis Burkley was born on 10 September 1945 in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Hollywood Homicide (2003), Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) and Tin Cup (1996). He was married to Laura Burkley. He died on 14 July 2013 in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Robert Donner was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey, Michigan and Texas. Robert joined the Navy after he graduated from high school and served almost 4 years. After he left the Navy he stayed on the West Coast and worked as a shipping clerk, salesman, bartender, commercial artist, gardener, and insurance investigator. Robert attended San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge), at nights taking courses in Art History, Psychology and speech. During this time, Robert Donner lived in Studio City and became friends with actor Clint Eastwood who lived in his apartment building. Clint urged Robert to study drama, telling him he was humorous and had a good face. When Robert was not acting he was active in athletics, and was known as one of Hollywood's most enthusiastic golfers. He was a member of the former "Hollywood Hackers" and carried a seven handicap and was the leader of a group of entertainment industry professionals known as Don Porter's Thursday Golf Group as well as joining others at many of the Celebrity Golf Tournaments who raise money for various charities around the world. Robert also played in many tennis tournaments and was frequently called upon during "Celebrity Nights" in which he performed stand-up comedy and promised not to sing. His reputation in this area also led him to become known as one of Hollywood's "in demand" Corporate Speakers.

Gaunt, wavy-haired Sicilian-American character actor Joseph Campanella seemed to pop up in just about every second TV series and telemovie of the 1960s and 70s. A tireless veteran of stage and screen, he remained very much in demand well into his eighties. His older brother Frank was also an actor. The son of a musician, Campanella began his flirtation with show biz as a teenage sports announcer for a small Pennsylvania radio station. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, where, at 18, he commanded a landing craft. Campanella initially studied architecture, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and studied for a Master's Degree in speech and drama at Columbia University. His stage career began at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in 1954. He subsequently relocated from New York to Hollywood. Beginning with anthology television in 1952, he amassed numerous guest credits and even had a recurring role as Lew Wickersham (the suave, scientifically-minded head of the Intertect detective agency) in Mannix (1967), for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. For the better part of his career, Campanella was cast as priests (a standout role was that of Father Corelli in The Invaders (1967) episode "Storm"), police officers or doctors. He had a knack for playing characters of a volatile or tortured disposition. Campanella appeared on many daytime soap operas, including a lengthy spell on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) and the short-lived Dynasty spin-off The Colbys (1985). As narrator, he provided the voice for National Geographic specials (for each episode some eight hours of voice-over were taped, though only fifty minutes were actually used), as well as doing commercials for BMW and the National Automotive Parts Association. On Broadway his roles have included "Captain and the Kings," "Hot Spot," "Born Yesterday," and "The Caine Mutiny".

Debonair, dark-haired, exceedingly handsome Roger LaVerne Smith was born in South Gate, California to Dallas and Leone Smith on December 18, 1932. At age 6, his parents enrolled him at a professional school for singing, elocution and dancing lessons. By age 12, the family moved to Nogales, Arizona, a small town on the Mexican border where he appeared in high school theater productions, was made president of the school's acting club and became a star linebacker for his high school football team.

While studying at the University of Arizona in Tucson on a football scholarship, Roger entered and won several amateur talent prizes as a singer and guitarist which led to a TV appearance with Ted Mack and his Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948) program. Stationed in Hawaii at a Naval Reserve, Roger had a chance meeting with film legend James Cagney. Cagney, impressed with the boy's clean-cut good looks and appeal, encouraged Roger to give Hollywood a try. Roger did so and it didn't take long for Columbia Pictures to snap him up 1957.

While there, young Roger gained experience on such TV anthologies as "Damon Runyon Theatre," "Celebrity Playhouse," "Ford Television Theatre" and "George Sanders Mystery Theatre" and made such films as No Time to Be Young (1957), Operation Mad Ball (1957) and Crash Landing (1958). He also played the older "Patrick Dennis" role in the madcap Rosalind Russell farce Auntie Mame (1958). Roger reconnected with Cagney around this time who not only hired him to play his son, "Lon Jr.", in the Lon Chaney biopic Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), but made him his co-star in the musical comedy-drama Never Steal Anything Small (1959).

In a successful move to the Warner Bros. studio, Roger won the role of wisecracking private detective "Jeff Spencer" in the hip TV series 77 Sunset Strip (1958). He also wrote several of the show's episodes and played the detective character in rollover episodes of "Surf Side Six" and "Hawaiian Eye." In 1962, the actor was hospitalized after falling down at home and losing consciousness. He was diagnosed two days later with a blood clot on the brain. Although he had recovered post-surgery), it forced him to leave the series temporarily and slowed down his career considerably to the point he almost quit.

Wed to budding Australian-born actress Victoria Shaw in 1956, they had three children. A Warner Bros. contractee, she appeared in an episode of his popular series. The marriage crumbled, however, and they divorced in 1965. He next met singer-actress Ann-Margret and they married in 1967. This marriage lasted 50 years, until his death.

Roger's health continued to to be a mysterious issue following his title role in the Warner Bros. short-lived TV series Mister Roberts (1965) and it forced an early retirement when he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a degenerative muscle/nerve disorder. He would last star as the title detective in the low-budget A.C. Lyles production of Rogue's Gallery (1968). In the meantime, he appeared on talk shows with his wife and delved into producing and writing -- with The First Time (1969) and C.C. & Company (1970).

Instead, Roger remained in the background and focused instead on managing, producing and nurturing his wife's musical career. In the 1970s, he proved instrumental in her successful Vegas comeback in Vegas (he produced her stage shows). He also helped to break her "sex kitten" image with critical acclaimed films and produced several of her 1970's TV musical specials.

Roger died of complications from his long-term illness on June 4, 2017, at age 84, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Don Keefer was born on 18 August 1916 in Highspire, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Death of a Salesman (1951). He was married to Catherine McLeod. He died on 7 September 2014 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.

Jack Starrett was a superbly talented and versatile actor and director who specialized in making hugely enjoyable down-'n'-dirty low-budget drive-in exploitation pictures. Starrett was born on November 2, 1936, in Refugio, TX. He attended San Marcos Academy in the 1940s and the 1950s. He made his acting debut as "Coach Jennings" in Like Father, Like Son (1961) and his debut as a director with two superior biker features starring legendary B-movie tough guy William Smith: Run, Angel, Run! (1969) and The Losers (1970). The latter movie proved to be highly influential to subsequent action films made in the 1980s; its "bring the boys back home" Vietnam prisoners of war rescue operation premise was reused in such 1980s features as Uncommon Valor (1983), Missing in Action (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). His follow-up films Cry Blood, Apache (1970) and The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972) were both regrettably mediocre, but Starrett bounced back with the exciting Jim Brown blaxploitation vehicle Slaughter (1972) and the delightful Cleopatra Jones (1973). The Dion Brothers (1974) was an amiable tongue-in-cheek crime caper romp, while the terrific devil worship/car chase/horror/action winner Race with the Devil (1975) was Starrett's biggest ever drive-in hit and one of his most well-regarded movies. A Small Town in Texas (1976) was a solid entry in the popular redneck exploitation genre that was hot in the 70s. Kiss My Grits (1982) rates as one of his most atypical and underrated films; it's a really sweet and low-key character study of two likable cowpokes. In addition to his film work, Starrett also directed episodes of such TV shows as Hill Street Blues (1981), The A-Team (1983), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), Knight Rider (1982), Planet of the Apes (1974) and Starsky and Hutch (1975).

Big and burly, with a rough, ruddy complexion, thinning hair, a thick, furry mustache and a deep, booming, resonant rumble of a gravely voice, Jack Starrett had an extremely strong and commanding screen presence that he put to exceptionally fine use as an actor. Starrett was hilarious as the unintelligible old-timer "Gabby Johnson"--a take-off on iconic western sidekick George 'Gabby' Hayes--in Blazing Saddles (1974) and gave an outstanding performance as "Galt", the mean small-town deputy who ruthlessly antagonizes Sylvester Stallone in the fantastic First Blood (1982). Starrett was likewise memorable as strict factory foreman "Swick" in The River (1984), and in addition often took small roles in his own pictures.

He was married to soap opera actress Valerie Starrett. Their daughter, Jennifer Starrett, was also an actress. Alas, Jack Starrett had problems with alcoholism, which led to his tragic and untimely death at age 52 from kidney failure on March 27, 1989.

Her father was Irish Philadelphian newspaperman, Benny McNulty. He was related to Jim Farley, Roosevelt's campaign manager and later U.S. Postmaster General. As a child, she sang songs at a silent movie theater. After the sixth grade she joined a touring vaudeville act called "The Kiddie Kabaret." Billed as Penny McNulty, she sang and danced with Milton Berle and Gene Raymond. Her first speaking part was in a Jack Benny Broadway show, "Great Temptations".

Moving to Hollywood, she took a new name after marrying dentist Lawrence Singleton. Her first name derived from having saved large amounts of penny coins. She played a tough nightclub dancer in After the Thin Man (1936) and acted/sang/danced in Swing Your Lady (1938), one of the movies Humphrey Bogart regarded as his worst. Though naturally a brunette, she bleached her hair blonde ever since she got the role of Blondie in that long-lived series.

"Doc T". as he was known, was a Ph.D., and Professor of Theatre at Michigan State University in the early 1940s, just before World War II. He often spoke about leaving academia and actually trying his hand at the craft he taught. After the war, he got his chance and never looked back.