# 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:** 27
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/521 "2014-09-27T23:51:29Z")
**Who’s left from early TV** Yes, he is. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/522 "2014-09-28T00:15:18Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > **Who’s left from early TV** > > Yes, he is. Geoffrey Bayldon, for example. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/523 "2014-09-28T01:52:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Geoffrey Bayldon, for example. Who? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/524 "2014-09-28T02:30:43Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Who? Naturally. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/525 "2014-09-28T14:46:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Naturally. No, no. When he gets paid, the check is made out to who? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/526 "2014-09-28T14:56:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > No, no. When he gets paid, the check is made out to who? Every penny. Sometimes his wife picks it up, and – oh, I see what your problem is! You’re confused by their names, because they all sound like questions! I’d urge you to check out _The Abbott and Costello Show_ circa 1953, since it featured **Noreen Nash** , who picked up dozens of TV credits before the OP’s deadline. ---
**Author:** ![btthegreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@btthegreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/btthegreat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/527 "2014-09-28T15:18:24Z")
You guys have forgotten a very big name. Carol Burnett was first cast on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show in 1955.she then playeda starring role opposite Buddy Hackett in the short-lived sitcom Stanley from 1956 to 1957. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/528 "2014-09-28T15:22:39Z")
> [@btthegreat](#): > > You guys have forgotten a very big name. Carol Burnett was first cast on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show in 1955. Post 100, same as Patty Duke. ---
**Author:** ![btthegreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@btthegreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/btthegreat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/529 "2014-09-28T15:27:10Z")
Mary Tyler Moore first cast as a dancing elf in 1957, went on to play in several episodes of Richard Diamond PD in 1959. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/530 "2014-09-29T17:10:19Z")
NBC page turned two-time Emmy nominee **Ann Flood** had plenty of small-screen roles before the end of '57 – on _Kraft Theatre_ and _Armstrong Circle Theatre_ and _Men of Annapolis_ and _The Phil Silvers Show_ – before getting steady work playing the part of Liz Allen on _From These Roots_ in '58 and '59 and '60 and '61. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2014, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/531 "2014-09-30T10:39:15Z")
**Kay Starr** acted in a TV movie in '57, after performing on _The Milton Berle Show_ and _The Colgate Comedy Hour_ and _All Star Revue_ and et cetera: doing episode after episode of _The Ed Sullivan Show_ when she wasn’t busy acting opposite Robert Stack in _Producers’ Showcase_, and even picking up '40s television credits on _The Ed Wynn Show_ and _Cavalcade of Stars_; anything, everything. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/532 "2014-10-01T09:56:50Z")
**Ray Anthony** – who hosted _The Ray Anthony Show_ before the deadline – got plenty of pre-'58 work acting on _Matinee Theatre_ and _The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater_, and appearing on _The Spike Jones Show_ and _The Milton Berle Show_, and doing episode after episode of _The Colgate Comedy Hour_, and so on, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/533 "2014-10-01T14:00:29Z")
Has anyone mentioned Phyllis Coates yet? She was born in 1927, and I didn’t see a death date on her IMDB entry : > **[Phyllis Coates - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167659/?ref_=nv_sr_4)** > > Phyllis Coates. Actress: Adventures of Superman. Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Phyllis Coates moved to Hollywood as a teenager with intentions of enrolling at UCLA. A chance encounter with Ken Murray in a Hollywood & Vine restaurant landed her in... She did a ton of stuff on television in the early and mid 1950s, most notably playing Lois Lane on Superman. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/534 "2014-10-02T10:56:04Z")
**Robert Boon** – Sven Johanssen on _Little House On The Prairie_ – was all over early television: before spending the early '60s getting work on _Twilight Zone_ episodes and _Rawhide_ episodes, he spent the late '50s acting on _The Millionaire_ and _The Alaskans_, and before the deadline he was on _Navy Log_ and _Producers’ Showcase_ and _Dragnet_ and _Space Patrol_ and _Chevron Theatre_ and et cetera 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:** [October 3, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/535 "2014-10-03T11:58:57Z")
**Donald May** was playing Charles Thompson on _West Point_ in '56 and '57, after which he spent the rest of the '50s (a) getting work on _Kraft Theatre_ and _Hawaiian Eye_; and (b) starting his run as Sam Colt Jr on _Colt .45_, which he of course kept at in the '60s until he could spend season after season as Pat Garrison on _The Roaring 20’s_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/536 "2014-10-03T13:54:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I think we can count **Connie Francis** , who appeared on a number of TV shows before 1958 (when she was on all those _Dick Clark Show_ episodes) and 1959 (when she was acting on _The United States Steel Hour_ and singing on _The Ed Sullivan Show_). I came in here to mention Connie Francis. She was a regular on NBC’s Startime Kids between 1953 and 1955. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/537 "2014-10-05T00:18:40Z")
His most recent IMDB credit is from last year, but before he spent the 1950s acting on _Gunsmoke_ and _Tales of Wells Fargo_ and _Have Gun - Will Travel_, **Johnny Western** held down a recurring role on _Boots and Saddles_ in '57, because of course he did. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/538 "2014-10-05T13:38:23Z")
John Wayne’s kid **Patrick Wayne** is still up and around, the better part of a century after appearing in uniform as Bookser in _Mister Roberts_ in '55 – the same year he was acting on television in _Screen Directors Playhouse_ – and while he of course kept at it in '56 by getting small parts in _The Conqueror_ and _The Searchers_, he was soon back to getting TV work in '57 as a castmember on _Mr. Adams and Eve_. And nothing beats him out-straight-talking Tom Berenger in _Rustlers’ Rhapsody_. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2014, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/539 "2014-10-06T10:23:02Z")
Since he was the Boy Wonder in the 1949 _Batman and Robin_ serial, **Johnny Duncan** is always welcome at modern-day comic conventions – and between then and now, he got early-TV work on _Public Defender_ and _The Cisco Kid_ and _The Stu Erwin Show_ and _The Ford Television Theatre_ before playing Eddie James on _Whirlybirds_ in '57. (Incidentally, his movie roles likewise run the gamut – from _Bedtime For Bonzo_ to _The Caine Mutiny_ to _Plan 9 From Outer Space_ to _Spartacus_.) ---
**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:** [October 7, 2014, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/540 "2014-10-07T10:42:31Z")
**Jacqueline Scott** acted on _Armstrong Circle Theatre_ and _The Sheriff of Cochise_ and _Robert Montgomery Presents_ and _Navy Log_ and _The Kaiser Aluminum Hour_ before the end of '57 – all while continuing to act on Broadway in _Inherit The Wind_. She kept acting through the end of the '50s (_Mike Hammer_, _Steve Canyon_) and in the '60s (_Twilight Zone_, _The Outer Limits_) and '70s (_Starsky and Hutch_, _CHiPs_) and '80s (_Code Red_, _L.A. Law_) and even the '90s and '00s (_Equal Justice_, _Cold Case_). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=28)