Familiar Faces: A Salute to Classic TV Character Actors

 

Back when Sesame Street was fun to watch for adults as well as children (AKA the Pre-Elmo Era), it presented a series of musical segments called “The People in your Neighborhood,” in which kids were introduced to a variety of local tradespeople.

If they were still doing them today, they would feature Muppets dressed as baristas and IT guys.

“Oh, a barista is the man to see

When you want espresso or hot tea

He’ll write your name upon a plastic cup

Then call you when it’s time to pick it up”

Yes, I just wrote that. Somebody get me the Children’s Television Workshop.

But this piece has nothing to do with Sesame Street or coffee. It’s about the people who live in the neighborhood of classic TV. Not the characters in every episode, but those whose faces gradually become just as familiar from their many appearances in different roles on different shows.

Sometimes it takes awhile to learn their names, especially if you’re the type that changes the channel or stops the DVD before the closing credits. But eventually even the most casual viewer will begin to recognize the busiest and the best of them. Each has a unique quality that makes their visits to a favorite show memorable, even if they were frequently cast in the same types of roles – think of all the timid, henpecked characters played by John Fiedler, or how Reta Shaw specialized in domineering housekeepers.

Here are five actors that always make my Comfort TV viewing more enjoyable. Hope to hear about some of yours in the comments.

Jane Dulo

As soon as Jane Dulo appeared in any TV episode, you could count the seconds before she would get on somebody’s nerves. Dulo specialized in sharp-tongued nurses (McHale’s Navy, All in the Family, That Girl) and abrasive mothers/mothers-in-law (she was 99’s mom on Get Smart), but she was never as aggressively nasty as Kathleen Freeman, another familiar actress often cast in such roles. Her prodigious television career ranged from the forgotten 1951 series Two Girls Named Smith to a guest spot on The Golden Girls, 41 years later. 

John McGiver

Though he’s appeared in several westerns, John McGiver is best remembered as a persnickety, exasperated executive who may or may not be British. McGiver’s precise clipped diction carried traces of an aristocratic accent, but the actor was born and raised in New York City, where he worked as an English teacher before starting an acting career. You’ve seen him on Gilligan’s Island, The Lucy Show, The Patty Duke Show (as Martin Lane’s editor), The Beverly Hillbillies, The Fugitive and dozens of other classics. My favorite McGiver moment: as a publisher of children’s books on The Dick Van Dyke Show (“See Rob Write, Write Rob Write”), he steals a hilarious scene from both Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. 

Hilarie Thompson

Attractive but approachable, Hilarie Thompson’s career began in the late 1960s with several flower child roles, perhaps most notably in the memorable I Dream of Jeannie episode “The Mod Party.” She also played another troubled youth in a terrific two-part episode of Harry O (“Forty Reasons to Kill”) and Oscar Madison’s niece on The Odd Couple. I thought she was superb in the Charlie’s Angels episode “Counterfeit Angels,” which introduced a trio of “fake” Angels who commit a series of crimes. Thompson perfectly nailed Kate Jackson’s all-business attitude and quirky vocal inflections. But if you are a Brady Bunch fan, you probably know her best as Marge, the King’s Island carnival booth worker in the episode “The Cincinnati Kids.”

Burt Mustin

He was classic TV’s favorite spunky old codger from the early 1950s (on Father Knows Best) through the late 1970s (with recurring roles on All in the Family and Phyllis). That’s a long time to play characters that were about 80 years of age. IMDB lists more than 10 appearances for which Mustin is billed simply as “Old Man” (or in one case, “Old Man #2”). But even in the smallest role he brought an outsized personality and a contented dignity to his characters. I particularly enjoyed his performance as a retired police detective who both impresses and frustrates Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet (“Homicide: DR22”). Mustin passed away in 1977, at age 92. 

Pamelyn Ferdin

She was one of the most easily recognizable child stars of her generation, as much for how she spoke as how she looked. Pamelyn Ferdin had a distinctively tremulous voice, which made her sound like she was on the verge of tears even when she was happy. You may have first heard that voice one of several Charlie Brown animated specials (she played Lucy), or in the Brady Bunch episode where Jan wore that dreadful black wig (“Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up”). Her classic TV appearances began at age 6 with Bewitched and The Andy Griffith Show, and she would later guest-star on My Three Sons, The Monkees, Green Acres, Star Trek and Family Affair, while also appearing as a regular on the Saturday morning series Space Academy. Today, she is a prominent animal rights activist. I think that’s her best role yet. 

The Comfort TV Renaissance

 

Well, this was unexpected.

When I started this blog two years ago, one of the first pieces I wrote expressed my hope that the television shows of the 1950s-1970s would continue to find an audience among future generations. Now, it appears that is already happening.

It’s About TV posted that the MeTV network, which airs classic TV shows 24/7, now ranks 19^th among all national cable networks. (source: Nielsen) Among the 25-54 demographic, MeTV attracts more viewers than CNN and 80 other cable outlets. 

Now, I suspect more of these viewers are closer to the ‘54’ side of that 25-54 range, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a growing number of 20- and 30-somethings have started to tune out the loud and coarse celebrations of what is wrong with the world, and are finding solace in a kinder spot on the television dial.

What’s significant about this is that 20- and 30 year-olds did not grow up with shows like Make Room for Daddy, The Donna Reed Show and Petticoat Junction, either in first-run or syndication. These viewers are encountering Leave it to Beaver, Daniel Boone, The Mod Squad, Adam-12, Hogan’s Heroes and Get Smart, among other MeTV offerings, for the first time.  And if the ratings are any indication, they like what they see. 

So why is this happening? I can think of three reasons.

1. Other TV continues to find new ways to suck.

We have more viewing choices than ever these days, and there’s a lot of good stuff out there, but so much of cable has become one big noisy reality show.

Bravo, one of the networks MeTV now bests in the ratings, used to be a haven for performing arts programs and independent films. Today it’s most popular offering is the “Real Housewives” franchise. At one time, TLC was an acronym for The Learning Channel, and described itself as “a place for learning minds.” More recently it has become home to I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

Even the once-proud CNN has seen better days, as evidenced by the two weeks of coverage it devoted to the plane that disappeared over the Indian Ocean. The news is important, but wallowing in tragedy is not.

2. There’s a reason they’re called classics.

While nostalgia and childhood memories can enrich the viewing of a favorite old program, they are not essential.

For some of us these shows have been part of our lives for so long it’s hard to think of anyone having their first encounter with The Twilight Zone or The Brady Bunch. But why wouldn’t someone raised on Friends and Felicity be able to appreciate the brilliant writing of the former, or the simple pleasures of the latter?

The age of the material doesn’t matter, nor will the way our lifestyles have changed in the past five decades (hey, why don’t Greg and Marcia have cell phones?). Put a kid in front of a 3 Stooges short from 1935 and they will laugh (well, a boy will, anyway). Quality is quality. It’s the same reason my generation learned to revere Sinatra after growing up on Led Zeppelin (though we still like them too).

“Better or worse” comparisons are tricky without some qualifiers. Certainly today’s television is often more sophisticated, but it’s also often more cynical. Old situation comedies can be formulaic, but most of them provide a more optimistic view of our life and times. Is The Fugitive better than The Sopranos? Whatever your response, there’s no doubt that the plight of Dr. Richard Kimble is just as powerful today as it was 51 years ago. 

3. There’s always more great TV to discover

I know classic shows can still resonate with a modern audience, because thanks to networks like MeTV and Antenna and Cozi, I’m still discovering many of them myself. I have no personal history with shows like The Bold Ones or Wanted: Dead or Alive, but now they’re staples on my DVR.

Lately I’ve also been enjoying the horror anthologies Thriller and Night Gallery, despite their hit-and-miss nature. Haven’t been able to get into Bachelor Father, but Naked City is a remarkable urban crime drama, and Route 66 has a unique vibe all its own. The location shooting offers a fascinating window into America in the 1960s, just before the dramatic social changes that dominated the latter half of the decade. 

There was a time when I thought the Nick at Nite experiment of building a network around vintage television had come and gone for good. But now I am more confident that whatever the future holds for this medium, there may always be a place to watch Lucy sell Vitameatavegamin, to listen to the Monkees sing “Daydream Believer,” and to find out the results of the trial after Sgt. Joe Friday arrests another lawbreaker.

Now, let’s see if people still care about Honey Boo Boo in 50 years.