# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/101 "2014-02-15T21:15:15Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Irwin Corey, born July 29, 1914 That’s _Professor_ Irwin Cory, don’t you know. _However…_ ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/102 "2014-02-15T21:21:41Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Anywho, Florence Henderson is 80 years young today and has a few early TV appearances. This was going to be my contribution as well. She was just on the Food Network’s Celebrity Cook-Off and made the final four. She was so vibrant, entertaining and full-of-life! What a lovely lady. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/103 "2014-02-15T21:26:43Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > June Lockhart. I should have gotten this one. Wow. :smack::smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/104 "2014-02-15T21:31:32Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > This was going to be my contribution as well. She was just on the Food Network’s Celebrity Cook-Off and made the final four. She was so vibrant, entertaining and full-of-life! What a lovely lady. Did Florence cook with Wesson Oil… I always loved her “Wessonality!” ---
**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:** [February 15, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/105 "2014-02-15T22:12:26Z")
Theodore Bikel has dozens of pre-1958 TV credits – '58 being when he put in his Oscar-nominated role as the Sheriff in **The Defiant Ones** – but to me he’ll always be the most overconfident **Columbo** villain, which is really saying something. (Also earning an Oscar nomination in **The Defiant Ones** : Sidney Poitier, who’d acted on **The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse** and the **CBS Television Workshop** and **Ponds Theater** years earlier.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/106 "2014-02-15T22:12:52Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > June Lockhart. > [@ftg](#): > > I should have gotten this one. Wow. :smack::smack::smack: I did back in [post #6](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17100813&postcount=6). ---
**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:** [February 15, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/107 "2014-02-15T22:28:17Z")
Vera Miles got dozens of TV credits back then, starting with _Schlitz Playhouse_ in '53. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/108 "2014-02-15T23:15:40Z")
Ruta Lee has plenty of pre-1958 TV credits: on _Maverick_ in 1957, on _Dragnet_ in 1956, on _The George Burns And Gracie Allen Show_ in 1955 on _Lux Video Theatre_ in 1954, on _The Adventures Of Superman_ in 1953, on _Schlitz Playhouse_ in 1952, and so on for everything else from _Science Fiction Theatre_ to _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/109 "2014-02-15T23:57:52Z")
Holocaust survivor Robert Clary – who later signed on for _Hogan’s Heroes_, because, hey, who doesn’t love mocking the Nazis? – performed on _The Ed Wynn Show_ in '50 and _The Colgate Comedy Hour_ in '52 before acting on _Max Liebman Spectaculars_ and _Appointment With Adventure_ in '55. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/110 "2014-02-16T00:32:07Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Did Florence cook with Wesson Oil… I always loved her “Wessonality!” She used it in orgies, because, as you know, “it all comes back except one tablespoon.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/111 "2014-02-16T01:03:07Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [re Abe Vigoda] He just looks that way. He was only 10 years older than Hal Linden… and four years younger than Jack Soo, and ten years younger than James Gregory. He was just \*good \*at playing old. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > [Don Hastings](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hastings) started in TV in 1947, and appeared in **Captain Video** in 1949. He went into soap operas in the 1950s and was a regular on **As the World Turns** until it went off the air in 2010. This would seem to be the winner so far: earliest appearance of someone still alive and with recent career credits. Did I miss someone else? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/112 "2014-02-16T01:31:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > He was only 10 years older than Hal Linden… and four years younger than Jack Soo, and ten years younger than James Gregory. > > He was just \*good \*at playing old. > This would seem to be the winner so far: earliest appearance of someone still alive and with recent career credits. Did I miss someone else? [Norman Lloyd](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516093/?ref_=nv_sr_1) has a 1939 TV movie credit (!), a 2010 credit on Modern Family and he’s 99 years old. I think he’s the winner so far. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/113 "2014-02-16T02:40:42Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > [Norman Lloyd](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516093/?ref_=nv_sr_1) has a 1939 TV movie credit (!), a 2010 credit on Modern Family and he’s 99 years old. I think he’s the winner so far. Terry Moore’s one step behind for having her first movie credits in 1940 before picking up a bunch of pre-1958 TV credits (_The Ford Television Theatre_, _The United States Steel Hour_, _The 20th Century-Fox Hour_, _General Electric Theater_, _Playhouse 90_, _Climax!_) – but she’ll be like, four steps ahead one week from tomorrow, when she’s set to appear in that new TV series with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. And for bonus points, she has a movie in production for release later this 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:** [February 16, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/114 "2014-02-16T02:50:11Z")
Whoops, didn’t realize that was an early _TV_ credit for Lloyd. And, on checking IMDB, I see he’s set to appear in a movie later this year as well. Wow. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/115 "2014-02-16T02:51:29Z")
[Gavin McLeod](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533891/) scores a few credits from 1957-58, and he’s been on the talk show circuit lately promoting his book. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/116 "2014-02-16T02:58:41Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Whoops, didn’t realize that was an early _TV_ credit for Lloyd. And, on checking IMDB, I see he’s set to appear in a movie later this year as well. Wow. Yeah, I was only mentioning TV acting credits and didn’t even look at the movie and producing credits. Wow is right! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/117 "2014-02-16T04:50:24Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Ann B. Davis of “Love That Bob,” who is of course better known as Alice from the Brady Bunch, is still with us. I just saw her in a cameo a couple of days ago, but the show was probably a repeat, and I can’t remember what show it was (someone was daydreaming about coming home as a suburban couple, and she was out watering the garden. “Hi, Mr. D., Mrs. D.”). I couldn’t find it in her IMDB listing either. It must have been fairly recent, she looked fairly stout compared to the Brady Bunch years. Wonder what it was… Roddy ---
**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:** [February 16, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/118 "2014-02-16T13:01:36Z")
Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ed Asner, and Jill St. John all qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/119 "2014-02-16T13:21:45Z")
As does Marion Ross (Mrs. C from **Happy Days** ) Ms. Ross is still snagging down TV roles at the age of 85, and I noticed she appeared on a slew of tv shows in the 1950s, although I’d never noticed her before she became Fonzie’s MILF. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/120 "2014-02-16T16:41:05Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I just saw her in a cameo a couple of days ago, but the show was probably a repeat, and I can’t remember what show it was (someone was daydreaming about coming home as a suburban couple, and she was out watering the garden. “Hi, Mr. D., Mrs. D.”). I couldn’t find it in her IMDB listing either. It must have been fairly recent, she looked fairly stout compared to the Brady Bunch years. Wonder what it was… I saw that too. I want to say it was on _ **The Big Bang Theory** _, since that’s about the only sitcom I ever watch nowadays, but I’m not sure either. (Could it have been a cutaway on _ **Family Guy** _?) 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=7)