# Happy Birthday, Barbara Feldon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196 "2023-03-15T01:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/22 "2023-04-25T03:35:26Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Back when I was like 4 or 5 I crushed on Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 and Tina Louise as Ginger on Gilligan’s Island. Wow, I’ve never seen anyone pick Ginger over Maryanne. Did you chose Jennifer over Bailey as well? Barbara Feldon was a fav of mine as a child. I also liked Noel Neill, Lois Lane from The Adventures of Superman. We watched a LOT of reruns in the 70’s, didn’t we? It never occurred to me until now that the actress who played Lois Lane had an alliterative name, and itself might have been a good name for a Superman character. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/23 "2023-04-25T12:40:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I do have the entire “Get Smart” TV series on DVD. Time to revisit the show! What a great idea! Will do likewise – I loved that show as a kid (and yes, had a crush on Barbara Feldon)! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/24 "2023-04-25T13:54:45Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Wow, I’ve never seen anyone pick Ginger over Maryanne. Did you chose Jennifer over Bailey as well? I think Ginger’s overt sexuality caught my interest when I was like 5 or 6, like wow I didn’t realize ladies could act like that. But yeah when I was a little older Mary Ann was definitely my favorite, I could tell she was the whole package. I assume Jennifer and Bailey were from WKRP, I didn’t watch that enough to form an opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/25 "2023-04-25T14:40:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I do have the entire “Get Smart” TV series on DVD. I do as well. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/26 "2023-05-02T14:39:09Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I assume Jennifer and Bailey were from WKRP, I didn’t watch that enough to form an opinion. Correct. Jennifer (Loni Anderson) was the blonde bombshell receptionist, who typically wore tight dresses, while Bailey (Jan Smithers) was the shy, more conservatively-dressed ingenue (initially working at the station in ad traffic, eventually becoming a reporter). [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0EF2ycXEAA5p3b.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0EF2ycXEAA5p3b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/27 "2023-05-02T17:54:46Z")
I’ll take Bailey any day. 🥰 I’d take Velma over Daphne too. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/Velma_Dinkley.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/Velma_Dinkley.png) [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZZzjKtmGLI9zOuxpUZvilERs9oLeMJYCGMwrO1C7TRj02BhL3m6do9flUUQj2jFjAFGM&usqp=CAU) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZZzjKtmGLI9zOuxpUZvilERs9oLeMJYCGMwrO1C7TRj02BhL3m6do9flUUQj2jFjAFGM&usqp=CAU) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/28 "2024-03-12T21:33:49Z")
While I was late when I posted the thread last year, today actually _is_ Marth 12th, Barbara Feldon’s birthday. Eight more years until she’s 99… again. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/29 "2024-03-12T22:14:09Z")
You know whose Get Smart favorite’s birthday we missed? Angelique Pettyjohn, aka Charlie Watkins, CONTROL’s best female impersonator. Born March 11. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I4bMsdlu9WU/hqdefault.jpg) ](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I4bMsdlu9WU/hqdefault.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/30 "2024-03-13T01:43:05Z")
She’ll never be 99. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/31 "2024-03-13T02:17:02Z")
Agreed, she’s the Jennifer/Ginger to Feldon’s Bailey/MaryAnne ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/32 "2024-03-13T02:21:30Z")
No, I mean literally. She died in 1992. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/33 "2024-03-13T14:33:18Z")
I believe Feldon’s first movie role (and it was a big one) was in the almost-completely-forgotten Dick van Dyke movie **Fitzwilly** , where she played the “honest” newly-hired assistant to the rich woman everyone else works for. Except that the rich woman isn’t rich anymore, but her staff (led by butler van Dyke/Fitzwilly) keeps this from her, performing acts of larceny to raise cash. And now they have to hide their shady dealings from Feldon’s character, too. Odd little film with lots of people who were in or would appear in TV series, including a young Sam Waterston. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196/34 "2024-03-13T14:34:11Z")
I remember that one! I’ve seen it twice on TCM. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-barbara-feldon/981196.md?page=1)