# 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:** 21
**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:** [June 25, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/401 "2014-06-25T16:39:48Z")
After making his TV debut in 1954, **Bobby Diamond** spent 1955 and 1956 and 1957 and 1958 and 1959 and 1960 acting on _Fury_; he then did a couple dozen episodes of _Westinghouse Playhouse_ in '61 before doing _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_ in '62 and '63, after which he made the rounds on _Twilight Zone_ and _Mister Ed_ and so on. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/402 "2014-06-26T10:37:55Z")
Long before she was the editor of Ms Magazine, **Robin Morgan** was getting plenty of pre-1957 roles on television whenever they needed someone to play Annie Oakley or Alice in Wonderland and et cetera: episodes of _Robert Montgomery Presents_ starting in '55, yet more episodes of _Mama_ dating back to the '40s, everything from _Danger_ to _Tales of Tomorrow_ – most recently appearing as herself in a documentary last year. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/403 "2014-06-27T16:00:30Z")
**Donna Corcoran** acted on _Life of Riley_ and _Death Valley Days_ in '53, followed by _Cavalcade of America_ and _Make Room For Daddy_ and so on before the end of '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:** [June 28, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/404 "2014-06-28T07:07:53Z")
**Clifford David** , long the go-to guy for playing a professor or a doctor or whatever in the movies, made his TV debut in '53 before acting on _Armstrong Circle Theatre_ and _Kraft Theatre_ and so on before landing a role on _The Big Story_ in '57; feel free to draw a blank until I add that he was Beethoven in _Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure_. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/405 "2014-06-29T12:21:27Z")
Peter O’Toole’s last movie, _Decline of an Empire_, is apparently set for release this year; it also features **Joss Ackland** and **Frank Williams** , both of whom were acting on television in '57: Williams on a couple of shows after doing a TV movie, Ackland with a recurring small-screen role after big-screen work dating back to the '40s. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2014, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/406 "2014-06-30T10:57:18Z")
**Mimi Gibson** was acting on _Racket Squad_ in 1952 and 1953, _Public Defender_ in 1954, _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ in 1955, _The Adventures of Doctor Fu Manchu_ in 1956, and _Zane Grey Theater_ in 1957 – along with a dozen other pre-'58 TV roles – followed by a bunch of _Playhouse 90_ episodes before appearing on the big screen with everyone from Cary Grant (in _Houseboat_) to Yul Brynner (in _The Buccaneer_) before '59. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/407 "2014-07-01T10:49:06Z")
**Lugene Sanders** , who played Corliss Archer in the _Meet Corliss Archer_ series before acting in dozens and dozens of _Life of Riley_ episodes from '53 to '57 (and could also be seen, during that time, on _Richard Diamond, Private Detective_), eventually moved on to big-screen work and is apparently still alive and well here and now. ---
**Author:** ![franz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@franz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/franz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/408 "2014-07-01T11:13:45Z")
Martin Milner of Adam-12 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/409 "2014-07-01T14:40:25Z")
> [@franz](#): > > Martin Milner of Adam-12 I mentioned him in [post #249](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17229240&postcount=249). ---
**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:** [July 2, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/410 "2014-07-02T10:54:48Z")
Still, you could see **Al Checco** acting on _Adam-12_ decades after he made his TV debut in _Tales of Tomorrow_; he then made the rounds on _Robert Montgomery Presents_ and _Playwrights '56_ and _The Phil Silvers Show_ before the cut-off date; after a recurring role on _Mister Ed_, he bounced from show to show in the '60s (_The Munsters_, _Batman_) and '70s (_Bonanza_, _Ironside_) and '80s (_Highway To Heaven_, _Knight Rider_) and '90s (_Growing Pains_, _Against The Grain_) and '00s (_Becker_, _Scrubs_). ---
**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:** [July 3, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/411 "2014-07-03T15:35:22Z")
**George Winslow** is apparently still with us the better part of a century after doing movies with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant – and, for thread purposes, still with us long after getting pre-'58 TV work on everything from _Blondie_ to _Ozzie & Harriet_. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/412 "2014-07-03T17:13:04Z")
We’ve lost another one. [Bob Hastings](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0368561/), who played Lt. Carpenter on _McHale’s Navy_ has just passed. He had qualified by starting in TV in the late 40s. Most notably in _Captain Video and His Video Rangers_ in 1949. His death was announced by his younger brother Don who played Space Ranger in _Captain Video and His Video Rangers_. [Don Hastings](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0368575) later went on to star on _As the World Turns_ for 50 years! BTW: The original Captain Video, [Richard Coogan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Coogan) passed away in March and would have qualified for this thread. Ah, the Dumont Network, where the actors outlived the network or its kinescopes. My sister did a studio tour back in the early 70s and got a picture taken with Bob in his sailor suit with his arm around her. Apparently he was a costumed performer for the tour back then. ---
**Author:** ![ClickIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@ClickIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClickIt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/413 "2014-07-03T18:43:08Z")
**Donna Martell** debuted on television in 1951. She appeared in shows such as The Range Rider, The Gene Autry Show and The Bob Cummings Show. **Claudia Barrett** debuted on television in 1952. She appeared in shows such as The Abbott and Costello Show, The Lone Wolf, The Cisco Kid and General Electric Theater. \*\* Russell Nype\*\* debuted on television in 1949. He appeared in shows such as Studio One and Faith Baldwin Romance 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:** [July 4, 2014, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/414 "2014-07-04T10:59:39Z")
After working as a soldier, ranch hand, DJ, stuntman, newspaper columnist, singer, and so on, **Rod McKuen** [del]stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator[/del] was a TV actor in '57 and '58 and '59 before racking up IMDB credits for ‘soundtrack’ and ‘composer’ and ‘music department’ and et cetera in the '60s and '70s and '80s and '90s and '00s. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/415 "2014-07-05T20:02:59Z")
**The Lennon Sisters** (a) have long been a big fine target for SNL, and (b) qualify for this thread by dint of their various pre-'58 television appearances – before all of their follow-up stuff on TV in the '60s and '70s and '80s and '90s and '00s and '10s. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/416 "2014-07-07T00:19:48Z")
Coming up on her ninetieth birthday next year, **Joan Leslie** was getting movie work in the '30s and '40s before bouncing around from one television show to another and another: on _The Ed Wynn Show_ in 1950; _Family Theatre_ and _Fireside Theatre_ and _The Bigelow Theatre_ in 1951; _Schlitz Playhouse_ in 1952, _The Plymouth Playhouse_ in 1953; and half-a-dozen more before the cut-off date – followed by work on _Branded_ in the '60s, and _Charlie’s Angels_ in the '70s, and _Murder, She Wrote_ in the '80s; her latest TV movie credit was in the '90s, followed by various other small-screen appearances in the '00s. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2014, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/417 "2014-07-07T10:44:18Z")
**Billie Whitelaw** did a TV movie back in 1952 – the same year she had a recurring role on _The Secret Garden_, followed by a recurring role on _The Pattern of Marriage_ in '53, and after various roles in '54 got a recurring role on _Dixon of Dock Green_ in '55, and a recurring role on _Tales From Soho_ in '56 and a recurring role on _My Pal Bob_ in '57. And in '58 and '59, she was starring as Peggy in the _Time Out For Peggy_ series. ---
**Author:** ![ClickIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@ClickIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClickIt)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/418 "2014-07-07T14:14:35Z")
**Nancy Saunders** debuted on television in 1952. She appeared in shows such as Craig Kennedy, Criminologist and The Adventures of Jim Bowie. **Allene Roberts** debuted on television in 1949. She appeared in shows such as The Silver Theatre, City Detective and Adventures of Superman. **Bambi Linn** debuted on television in 1948. She appeared in shows such as Actor’s Studio and Your Show of Shows. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/419 "2014-07-08T16:56:58Z")
**Jimmy Hunt** has movie credits dating back to the 1940s, and acted on episodes of _Fireside Theatre_ before '54. (Also before '54: his role in _Invaders From Mars_. Decades later, he was still acting – in, y’know, the remake of _Invaders From Mars_.) Last IMDB credit as of '04, but I figure anyone who was in both _Sorry, Wrong Number_ and _Cheaper By The Dozen_ should get a mention. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/420 "2014-07-08T17:00:48Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The passing of Sid Caesar had me wondering about other early stars of TV, and how few of them are still alive. The only one that instantly popped into my head was [Nanette Fabray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanette_Fabray). Who else from early TV (say pre-1958) is still with us? What happened in 1958? I don’t understand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=22)