# 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:** 28
**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:** [October 7, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/541 "2014-10-07T17:00:50Z")
Can’t believe I haven’t mentioned her yet: [Elaine Devry](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0222986/). First IMDb (TV) credit is 1953. Last is 1999. Very lovely and a good rom-com actress. I’m assuming she’s still alive since the death of Mrs. Mickey Rooney #4 shouldn’t go unnoticed. Marty Ingels seems to just sneak in under the wire: an uncredited 1958 TV appearance on the Phil Silvers show. ---
**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 8, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/542 "2014-10-08T10:48:16Z")
**Mort Sahl** , on the other hand, qualifies by making his television debut back in '56 on _The NBC Comedy Hour_ before repeatedly guest-hosting _The Tonight Show_ in '57, and then spending the rest of the '50s as a _What’s My Line_ panelist when he wasn’t busy acting on _Pursuit_ or _Playhouse 90_ (or getting big-screen work, in _In Love And War_). ---
**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 9, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/543 "2014-10-09T10:48:00Z")
Nobody’s favorite _Star Trek_ actress **Grace Lee Whitney** made her television debut back in 1952 – on _The Unexpected_ – before acting on _Cowboy G-Men_ in 1953. (Years later, after roles on _Mike Hammer_ and _The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp_, she was one of the girl musicians used for camouflage in _Some like It Hot_ in '59.) ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/544 "2014-10-09T21:52:18Z")
Was watching a bit of _The Hospital_ earlier, and thought it ripe for candidates for this thread. (Plus you gotta love some Paddy Chayefsky.) 3 long term character actors that should be familiar to followers of this thread are: [Frances Sternhagen](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827973) started in 1956. [Donald Harron](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365999/) (Charlie Farquharson from Hee Haw) started in 1951. [Richard Dysart](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0246004/) started in 1953. ---
**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 10, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/545 "2014-10-10T10:35:39Z")
We’ll all be rewatching _Back To The Future_ in 2015, so I’ll just mention that Old Man Peabody [del]owned all of this when it was farmland as far as the eye could see, and had some crazy idea about breeding pine trees[/del] was played by Will Hare, who has TV acting credits dating back to the '40s. That’s sadly irrelevant, because he passed away on stage in 1997 – but the actress who played his wife, **Ivy Bethune** , is still with us after picking up TV credits that date back through _Perry Mason_ and _The Alfred Hitchcock Hour_ and _The Outer Limits_ to the '40s likewise. (She’s still acting right here in the '10s, even.) ---
**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 11, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/546 "2014-10-11T12:05:58Z")
**Ann McCrea** was one of the _Singin’ In The Rain_ chorus girls in '52, when you could also see her on _Death Valley Days_; she kept acting on television through the end of '57 (on _The Bob Cummings Show_ and _State Trooper_ and _The Man Behind The Badge_) before spending years playing Midge Kelsey on _The Donna Reed Show_ in the '60s. She also did movie after movie after movie after movie after movie with Jerry Lewis, for which there can be no excuse. ---
**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 12, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/547 "2014-10-12T11:39:45Z")
**Joby Baker** of _Good Morning, World_ made his TV debut on _The Red Skelton Hour_ and then acted on _Bachelor Father_ before and after the deadline, and on _Dragnet_ before and after the deadline, sure as he had no trouble getting work in _Gidget_ movie after _Gidget_ movie after _Gidget_ movie after doing _West Point_ 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:** [October 13, 2014, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/548 "2014-10-13T10:38:25Z")
**Paul Lukather** made the papers several months ago, when he put his six-bedroom place complete with swimming pool and car turntable up for sale; he maybe hasn’t done much acting of note since 2000 (unless you’re a _Metal Gear Solid_ fan), but his TV credits run back through to '57 and earlier: _Highway Patrol_ and _State Trooper_, _Matinee Theatre_ and _Science Fiction Theatre_, 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:** [October 14, 2014, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/549 "2014-10-14T10:47:35Z")
**Buzz Martin** – a name so '50s that, were I to propose it for the hero of a story set in the '50s, I’d be told to make things a little less cliché – made his TV debut in 1951 on _Pulitzer Prize Playhouse_ before acting on _Kraft Theatre_ and _Lux Video Theatre_ in 1952, followed by _Tales of Tomorrow_ work in 1953, and so on through _The Big Story_ and _Producers’ Showcase_ and _Studio One In Hollywood_ before the deadline… …after which, he moved on to big-screen roles: _Pork Chop Hill_ with Gregory Peck, _The FBI Story_ with Jimmy Stewart, _PT 109_ with Cliff Robertson, and et cetera. ---
**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 15, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/550 "2014-10-15T10:45:39Z")
As far as I can tell, **Anita Ekberg** hasn’t been mentioned yet, but after movie work in _Mississippi Gambler_ with Tyrone Power and _The Golden Blade_ with Rock Hudson and _Abbott And Costello Go To Mars_ with, uh, Abbott and Costello, she switched to TV in time to act on _Private Secretary_ and _The Colgate Comedy Hour_ before acting on the _Casablanca_ series in '55. (Yes, there was a _Casablanca_ series for some reason; it gave an early TV role to **Rossana Rory** in '56 before she started doing _Errol Flynn Theatre_ episodes 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:** [October 16, 2014, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/551 "2014-10-16T10:50:12Z")
After big-screen work in the '40s – including _Easter Parade_, with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland – **Dolores Donlon** acted on _I Love Lucy_ and _The Jack Benny Program_ before doing _The Walter Winchell File_ and _The George Sanders Mystery Theater_ in 1957, the year (a) she became a Playboy Playmate; and (b) after which, you could see her on _77 Sunset Strip_ in 1958 and 1959 and 1960. ---
**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 17, 2014, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/552 "2014-10-17T10:44:26Z")
**Pippa Scott** made her small-screen debut on _Your Play Time_ in '55 before heading to the big screen for _The Searchers_ in '56, after which she returned to telvision in '57 for _Producers’ Showcase_; she then returned to movies for _Auntie Mame_ in '58, and after picking up work on _Maverick_ and _General Electric Theater_ you could see her on the _Mr. Lucky_ series in '59 and '60; in '61 and '62, _Adventures in Paradise_; and et cetera. ---
**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 18, 2014, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/553 "2014-10-18T10:53:26Z")
Y’know, technically **Frank Gifford** has been appearing on TV since '56, but that would open up a whole can of worms. That said, I’ll now open a whole _other_ can of worms with **Ronnie Rondell Jr** , who was little Dannie Kettle in the _Ma And Pa Kettle_ movies before he was old enough for grown-up roles in the late '50s – he’s one of the sailors in _The Enemy Below_, and one of the soldiers in _The Naked And The Dead_, and so on – and before the end of '57, you could see him on television in _Soldiers of Fortune_ and _The Restless Gun_ and _Combat Sergeant_ and _Richard Diamond, Private Detective_. ---
**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 19, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/554 "2014-10-19T12:41:13Z")
After more than a dozen movies in the early '50s – from _Tarzan And The Slave Girl_ to _Rodeo King And The Señorita_ – **Mary Ellen Kaye** acted on episode after episode after episode after episode _The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show_ easy as doing episode after episode after episode after episode of _Schlitz Playhouse_ when she wasn’t busy with _I Love Lucy_ or _The Lone Ranger_ or _Father Knows Best_ or – well, take your pick from any one of more than a dozen other TV shows before the cut-off date. ---
**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 20, 2014, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/555 "2014-10-20T10:39:04Z")
**Dale Hartleben** and his kid brother **Jerry Hartleben** got pre-'57 credits on TV and in the movies. (Jerry got interviewed plenty when the _3:10 To Yuma_ remake came out.) ---
**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 21, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/556 "2014-10-21T11:16:43Z")
**Flip Mark** – aka Philip Mark Goldberg – made his small-screen debut back in 1957, on _The Phil Silvers Show_; he then spent the rest of the '50s acting on _Alcoa Theatre_ and _Lassie_ and _Bachelor Father_ before spending the '60s getting work on everything from _The Jack Benny Program_ to _The Andy Griffith Show_, along with _My Three Sons_ plus _My Favorite Martian_, and et cetera and et cetera. ---
**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 22, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/557 "2014-10-22T23:22:24Z")
**Joan Swift** made her television debut in '57, acting on _The Gale Storm Show_ and _Death Valley Days_ before promptly moving on to – well, _The Joey Bishop Show_ and _The Jack Benny Program_ and _The Red Skelton Hour_; she also did a TV movie with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope, and _Alcoa Premiere_ with Fred Astaire and Telly Savalas, and then spent the mid-'60s getting work on everything from _I Spy_ to _The Munsters_ before playing Captain Kirk’s doomed sister-in-law on _Star Trek_. ---
**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 23, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/558 "2014-10-23T23:20:16Z")
Back in '55 and '56, **Barry Curtis** was the star of _The Adventures of Champion_. Well, unless you count Champion The Wonder Horse as the star. Which, as it happens, wiki doesn’t, though IMDB does. So he’s got that goin’ for him, which is nice. Be that as it may, Curtis had been acting on TV before that – on _The Lone Ranger_ and _Medic_ and _Four Star Playhouse_ – and then he kept at it in '57, on _Father Knows Best_ and _Annie Oakley_ and _State Trooper_. And he kept acting after that, too… ---
**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 24, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/559 "2014-10-24T15:11:52Z")
**Susan Harrison** was in _Sweet Smell of Success_ with Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster in 1957, after small-screen work on _Matinee Theatre_ with Dean Stockwell following her TV acting debut on _Star Tonight_; she then spent the golden age of television making the rounds on _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ and _Playhouse 90_ before famously playing the ballerina in “Five Characters In Search Of An Exit” on _The Twilight Zone_. ---
**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 25, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/560 "2014-10-25T18:14:10Z")
**Buddy Hart** made his TV debut on _Schlitz Playhouse_ before playing Chester Anderson on _Leave It To Beaver_ in '57 and '58 and '59 and '60 before moving on to _My Three Sons_ in '61 and _The Twilight Zone_ in '62 and _The Donna Reed Show_ in '63 and so on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=29)