| June 5 |
1895, actor William Boyd was born in Cambridge Ohio. Over a 20 year period beginning in 1935 he played Hopalong Cassidy in movies, on radio & TV. He negotiated ownership of all his Cassidy films just as the TV era was dawning; they became popular Saturday morning viewing fare, leaving him with financial security for life. He died of Parkinson's & heart failure Sept. 12 1972 at age 77. In 1928, actor Robert Lansing was born in San Diego Calif. His rugged leading man personna made him ideal for TV roles as Gen. George Custer on Branded, Gen. Frank Savage on Twelve O'Clock High, Peter Murphy/Mark Wainwright on The Man Who Never Was, Control on The Equalizer, and Paul Blaisdell in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He died of lung cancer Oct. 23 1994 at age 66. In 1937, country singer/songwriter Waylon Jennings was born in Littlefield Texas. He recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned five decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001. He narrated, and sang the theme song for the TV series Dukes of Hazzard. He died Feb. 13 2002 of a diabetes-related illness at age 64. 1938 -- character actor Howard Thomas Platt, perhaps best-known for his role as slightly bombastic Officer 'Hoppy' Hopkins on both 'Sanford and Son' and the subsequent 'Sanford,' is born in Chicago. 1956 -- Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on 'The Milton Berle Show.' So many letters of protest were received after the full-screen gyrations were shown during 'Hound Dog' that when he later appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' Elvis was shown only from the waist up. 1972 -- Maureen McGovern quits her job as a secretary to sing full time. 'The Morning After' from 'The Poseidon Adventure' came out that December and remains her signature song, but her contribution to the world of tv themes is 1979's 'Angie,' which became a pop hit under its true title, 'Different Worlds.' 1996 -- one of the most versatile character actors, Vito Scotti, whose career spanned more than 40 years, dies of lung cancer. Although he played the title role during the second season of 'Life with Luigi' (1953), his career consisted of a litany of wide-ranging parts after that. He played both a mad scientist and a Japanese soldier on 'Gilliagan's Island,' an Indian on 'Gunsmoke,' Jose on 'The Deputy' and a priest on 'Daniel Boone.' He also appeared in five different episodes of the original 'Columbo,' his roles included a drunk, an undertaker, and a snooty Maitre 'd. A gourmet cook in real life, Vito was 78 years old at his death. 1998 -- Jeanette Nolan dies following a stroke. She appeared in more than 300 television shows. Primarily a character actress, she created the role of toothless 'Dirty Sally' Fergus on 'Gunsmoke.' In 1974 the character got her own show with Dack Rambo as co-star, and while 'Dirty Sally' lasted only one season, Jeannette received an Emmy nomination as Best Actress in her one season in the spotlight. When John McIntire, her husband, died in 1991, they had been married for 56 years. Jeannette was 86 at the time of her own death 7 years later. |