# Who's left from early TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218 "2014-02-13T03:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/221 "2014-03-12T12:25:23Z")
NPR announced this morning that Jon Provost – of _“What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s fallen down the well?”_ fame is still with us at sixty-four. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/222 "2014-03-12T15:58:17Z")
**Nancy Gates** acted in half-a-dozen episodes of _Lux Video Theatre_ from '53 to '57 after making her television debut on _Ellery Queen_ in '52; she also appeared on a number of Ronald-Reagan-hosted episodes of _General Electric Theater_ and Henry-Fonda-hosted episodes of _The Star And The Story_ when she wasn’t busy acting alongside a young Peter Graves on _The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse_ or a young Barbara Billingsley on _Four Star Playhouse_ or a young Peter Lawford on _Screen Directors Playhouse_ and et cetera. She worked with everyone from Red Skelton to Charles Bronson back in the day. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/223 "2014-03-12T18:48:49Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > NPR announced this morning that Jon Provost – of _“What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s fallen down the well?”_ fame is still with us at sixty-four. It would be funny if he ever did say that! 😃 > **[Jon Provost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Provost)** > > Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series Lassie. > Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film The Country Girl (1954), starring Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. He then appeared in Back from Eternity (1956) with Anita Ekberg and Escapade in Japan (1957), with Teresa Wright, Cameron Mitchell, and an unknown and uncredited Clint Eastwood. > In 1957, Provost won the role of Timmy... ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/224 "2014-03-12T23:48:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It would be funny if he ever did say that! 😃 > > [Jon Provost - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Provost) I’d award him half a point for the title of his memoirs as per that link. 😉 At the other end of the early-TV-manliness spectrum, Army vet and boxing enthusiast **Stuart Whitman** had lots of pre-'58 credits on cop shows and cowboy-gunslinger shows and life-in-the-military shows; heck, in the '90s he was still getting work on _Walker Texas Ranger_ and _The Adventures Of Brisco County Junior_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/225 "2014-03-13T12:57:23Z")
Before the Oscar nomination for her '59 work in _Imitation of Life_, **Susan Kohner** racked up a healthy number of television credits: in '57, you could see her on _Suspicion_ with Jack Warden, and _Wagon Train_ with Chuck Connors, and _Schlitz Playhouse_ with Bob Cummings – and in '56, _Climax!_ with Agnes Moorehead, and _Four Star Playhouse_ with Charles Boyer, and _The Alcoa Hour_ with Robert Preston – and that’s not counting her pre-'58 work on _Cavalcade of America_ and _Matinee Theatre_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/226 "2014-03-13T21:41:06Z")
Back in '51, **Rebecca Welles** acted on television in _Big Town_ and _Lights Out_ and _Studio One In Hollywood_ and _The Web_ – and in '57 she was acting on _Perry Mason_ and _Gunsmoke_ and _Boots and Saddles_ and _The George Sanders Mystery Theater_ – and in between, you could see her on _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ with Thelma Ritter, and on _Lux Video Theatre_ with Jack Lord, and on _Danger_ with Joseph Wiseman, and on _Robert Montgomery Presents_ with James Dean, and et cetera. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/227 "2014-03-13T22:45:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > NPR announced this morning that Jon Provost – of _“What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s fallen down the well?”_ fame is still with us at sixty-four. The irony, of course, is that Timmy NEVER fell down a well. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/228 "2014-03-14T00:11:38Z")
You can take Richard “Captain Video” Coogan off your lists > **[Richard Coogan Obituary (2014) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/richard-coogan-obituary?id=17772547)** > > View Richard P. Coogan's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook. UT~ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/229 "2014-03-14T00:12:55Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > The irony, of course, is that Timmy NEVER fell down a well. Again, once he decided to write a _Timmy’s In The Well_ book, all bets were off. 😉 And as for Beam-Me-Up-Scotty lines that didn’t quite make it into a series, note that Skip Homeier played both one of the space hippies and one of the space Nazis on the original-recipe _Star Trek_ after racking up a few dozen pre-'58 television credits in his twenties after making his TV debut as a teen on _The Silver Theatre_. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/230 "2014-03-14T02:20:28Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > No, she was Betty aka “Princess”. Lauren Chapin played Kathy aka “Kitten”. I stand (or rathe sit) corrected. Unless we are sticking solely to Americans: **Bernard Cribbins** did a number of 1950s BBC performances,especially **David Copperfield** … He is primarily known for his voiceover work and his roles in the “_ **Carry On** _” series of films. Not certain if anyone has mentioned her, but **Kathleen Nolan** , best known for her role as Kate McCoy in the 1950s sitcom **The Real McCoys** is still very much alive. Her last role was a 2008 episode of the former CBS series, _ **Cold Case** _ **Peter Brown** , best known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay in the 1950s-1960s Western series _ **Lawman** _ is still very much with us. He had a number of roles in the later 1950s and his last role was in a 2005 low budget Western. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/231 "2014-03-14T10:49:23Z")
**Sylvia Lewis** and **Richard Erdman** were both regulars on _The Ray Bolger Show_ in '53 and '54, and both worked on _The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show_, and you could see her on _The Colgate Comedy Hour_ and _The Bob Cummings Show_ when she wasn’t busy on _Our Miss Brooks_, and you could see him on _Science Fiction Theatre_ and \*Schlitz Playhouse \* and a bunch of other pre-'58 roles… …sure as you can still see him now, as the ever-upbeat Leonard on _Community_. In '56, he was acting on _Crossroads_ with **Coleen Gray** , who (a) had already made a dozen other golden-age-of-television appearances in previous years, and who (b) later that month was acting with ten-year-old **Kathy Garver** , who racked up a dozen of her own pre-'58 TV gigs long before playing Cissy on _Family Affair_ – and she’s still acting too, filming a movie for later this year while another’s in pre-production and a third’s just now been completed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/232 "2014-03-14T23:30:05Z")
**Barbara Cook** made her TV debut in 1950, acting with EG Marshall on _Kraft Theatre_. And in '51, she did a TV movie with EG Marshall. And in '52, she was performing on _Armstrong Circle Theatre_ with – EG Marshall. I don’t know what that means. Anyhow, before winning a Tony for her Broadway work in '57, she was a castmember on the _Golden Windows_ soap opera before doing another TV movie; appeared on _Producers’ Showcase_ and _Studio One In Hollywood_ and _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_; and acted alongside a young Robert Culp, since, well, EG Marshall was busy, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/233 "2014-03-15T11:47:21Z")
**Ann Robinson** of _War of the Worlds_ fame made her TV debut in '52 on _Racket Squad_; appeared, in '53, on _The Web_ and _Lux Video Theatre_ and _Biff Baker, USA_; had a recurring role in '54, on _Rocky Jones, Space Ranger_; and spent '55 and '56 acting on _Fury_ with a twentysomething Peter Graves; her other pre-1957 television credits included work on _Mike Hammer_, and _The Millionaire_, and _It’s A Great Life_, and _Passport to Danger_, and _The Bob Cummings Show_, and _Studio 57_, and _Waterfront_, plus the pilot episode of _Cheyenne_ with a twentysomething James Garner. (You could still see her – and Garner, at that – on _Cheyenne_ in '57.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/234 "2014-03-15T22:32:31Z")
**Joanne Linville** – the Romulan Commander who thought she was seducing Spock while a faked-his-death Kirk was stealing the cloaking device – had already acted with William Shatner back in '56, on _The Kaiser Aluminum Hour_; her other pre-'58 credits included acting with a Peter Falk on _Robert Montgomery Presents_, long before guesting with him on _Columbo_; and with Robert Preston on _The Alcoa Hour_, and with Beverly Garland, on _Decoy_, and with a whole bunch of actors on episode after episode after episode after episode of _Studio One In Hollywood_. (You could still see her on _Studio One In Hollywood_ in '58 – same year she was again acting with Shatner, on _The United States Steel Hour_. And, come '61, you could even see both of 'em on _The Defenders_.) ---
**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:** [March 15, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/235 "2014-03-15T23:06:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > **Joanne Linville** – the Romulan Commander who thought she was seducing Spock while a faked-his-death Kirk was stealing the cloaking device – had already acted with William Shatner back in '56, on _The Kaiser Aluminum Hour_; her other pre-'58 credits included acting with a Peter Falk on _Robert Montgomery Presents_, long before guesting with him on _Columbo_; and with Robert Preston on _The Alcoa Hour_, and with Beverly Garland, on _Decoy_, and with a whole bunch of actors on episode after episode after episode after episode of _Studio One In Hollywood_. > > (You could still see her on _Studio One In Hollywood_ in '58 – same year she was again acting with Shatner, on _The United States Steel Hour_. And, come '61, you could even see both of 'em on _The Defenders_.) I’ll always remember her as the phoney faith healer on _ **Hawaii Five-O** _. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/236 "2014-03-16T02:08:02Z")
**Carol Lawrence** , the voice of Pearl Pureheat from the 1950s Terrytoons **Mighty Mouse** animated series is still very much alive. She did voice over work for many years and her last screen credit in 2000 for Sex and the City. Not certain if anyone has mentioned her,but **Naomi Stevens** is alive. She is best known for her role in the 1960 Academy Award winning film The Apartment. However, she made many credits in 1950s , starting with the short-lived series, _ **Medic** _ Also not certain if anyone has mentioned him, but the great **James Hong** is still very much alive. One of Hollywood’s “go to” Asian character actors his television credits began in 1955 in a series called _ **TV’s Readers Digest** _ and have continued until the upcoming _ **Kung Fu Panda 3** _ in 2015 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/237 "2014-03-16T12:42:18Z")
Pre-'58, you could see **John Wilder** everywhere from _The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin_ to _The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet_ to _The Adventures of Jim Bowie_: on _Lux Video Theatre_ with a pre-_Perry Mason_ William Hopper; on _The Bob Cummings Show_, with a pre-_Brady Bunch_ Ann B. Davis; on _Circus Boy_, with a pre-_Monkees_ Micky Dolenz; on _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_, with a pre-_Beverly Hillbillies_ Nancy Kulp; and even on _Navy Log_, with Jack Larson on loan from _The Adventures of Superman_. And he also acted on _Schlitz Playhouse_ and _Zane Grey Theater_ and _West Point_ and _Telephone Time_ and _This Is The Life_ before '58. And he was still acting in the '60s, when he started picking up writing credits; and still acting in the '70s, while picking up producing credits and branching out into directing; and he was still working in the '80s and '90s and '00s, because why not? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/238 "2014-03-16T19:57:31Z")
**Gigi Perreau** was a child actress in the movies during the '40s, but as a teen in the '50s she made the rounds on _Four Star Playhouse_ with Natalie Wood, and on _Climax!_ with Lon Chaney Jr, and on _The Ford Television Theatre_ with Cesar Romero – all before '58, just like her appearances on _The Christophers_ and _Celebrity Playhouse_ and _Lux Video Theatre_ and _Mayor of the Town_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/239 "2014-03-17T11:41:29Z")
More than thirty years ago, **Pat Harrington Jr** was partway through his two hundred episodes as Schneider the innuendo-laden handyman on _One Day At A Time_. And more than thirty years before that, he was making his television debut as a teen in the '40s, on _The Ford Theatre Hour_ with Hume Cronyn and Burgess Meredith. And pre-'57, while in his twenties, you could see him acting on _The Elgin Hour_ and _The Motorola Television Hour_ and _The Plymouth Playhouse_ – and, in honor of this being March 17th, let me add that you could likewise even see Pat acting with both Patrick Macnee and Patrick O’Neal on _The Alcoa Hour_ in '56. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/240 "2014-03-18T11:52:20Z")
Back in '51, **Don Gordon** made his TV debut on the first season of _Space Patrol_. He then acted on the first season of _The Ford Television Theatre_ with Edmond O’Brien; and the first season of _The Kaiser Aluminum Hour_, with Paul Newman; and the first season of _The Best of Broadway_, with Joseph Cotten; all before '57, just like the made-for-television version of _Marty_ that he did with Rod Steiger, or his early work on _Studio One In Hollywood_, and et cetera. Decades later – after acting in everything from the first season of _The Twilight Zone_ and the first season of _The Outer Limits_ to the first season of _Charlie’s Angels_ and the first season of _The Bionic Woman_, plus the first season of _Hawaiian Eye_ and the first season of _Knight Rider_ and the first season of _The Blue Angels_ – you could see him in the first season of _Diagnosis Murder_ with Dick van Dyke (who, back when, had framed and murdered him in an episode of _Columbo_). That dude got around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=13)