# 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:** 7
**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, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/121 "2014-02-16T17:10:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > 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. Unless she has a TV credit predating Lloyd, I still give it to him. There were many film and stage actors who came to TV in the 1950s. The pre-1950 crowd is much more select because it was still considered a step down to act on TV (which is not the same as appearing as a special guest being recognized for your film work). So an earlier film credit is noteworthy but not the same as an early TV credit. I didn’t know “the Admiral” was still around, though. She was Howard Hughes’ special babe for years. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/122 "2014-02-16T17:32:12Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I saw Norman Lloyd in something recently. He’ll be 100 this year if he makes it to November, and he has a 2014 acting credit in his IMDB filmography. He was a regular in all the early anthology shows (Kraft Theater, etc.) > [@Biggirl](#): > > That guy! Damn, I did not know he was that old. I remember him from St. Elsewhere. > [@cochrane](#): > > He was also an associate producer on _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ and a director on _The Adventures of Kit Carson_. > [@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. > [@Biggirl](#): > > Yeah, I was only mentioning TV acting credits and didn’t even look at the movie and producing credits. Wow is right! Another impressive fact about Norman Lloyd: he was married to the same woman for **75 years!** Sadly, Peggy Lloyd died in 2011. ---
**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 16, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/123 "2014-02-16T19:14:52Z")
Many of these old stars (Ed Asner, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner) can be seen on MeTV plugging their respective TV series. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/124 "2014-02-16T19:46:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Many of these old stars (Ed Asner, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner) can be seen on MeTV plugging their respective TV series. Johnny Crawford as well. they also do sort of funny clip commercials. they will take clips from a number of shows with a word or phrase in the script that applies to their commercial for another show. so bits of their current shows become an commercial for another one of their shows. funny in a small way. ---
**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 17, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/125 "2014-02-17T00:58:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > 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** _?) 😕 Found it! It wasn’t on a sitcom, though: Enjoy! :D ---
**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 17, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/126 "2014-02-17T01:47:00Z")
Pat Crowley got started on TV in 1950 – **Kraft Theatre** , **Armstrong Circle Theatre** , **The Ford Theatre Hour** , **The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre** – before playing Judy Foster on **A Date With Judy** during the '51-'52 season; she promptly racked up two dozen other pre-'58 TV credits, including a spot on Sid Caesar’s **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:** [February 17, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/127 "2014-02-17T02:13:51Z")
Mickey Rooney’s been acting since the '20s, and appearing on TV since the '40s, so it’s no surprise he headlined **The Mickey Rooney Show** starting in '54 after appearing on **The Milton Berle Show** , before starring in a '57 episode of **Playhouse 90** as – well, a vaudeville-era entertainer who got his own television show in the '50s. ---
**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 17, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/128 "2014-02-17T03:41:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Mickey Rooney’s been acting since the '20s, and appearing on TV since the '40s His earliest credit for TV appears to be 1952. Cites for earlier appearances? (I know IMDb isn’t necessarily complete for things like guest shots on the very early 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:** [February 17, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/129 "2014-02-17T17:54:39Z")
GLOD > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > His earliest credit for TV appears to be 1952. Cites for earlier appearances? (I know IMDb isn’t necessarily complete for things like guest shots on the very early shows.) It’s there if you check his IMDB credits under ‘self’ instead of ‘actor’. Likewise, before Bob Elliott appeared on SNL – and long before he saw his son become an SNL castmember, and looong before he saw his granddaughter become an SNL castmember – he was half of the “Bob and Ray” comedy team, who parlayed their '40s radio show into a '50s television show before co-hosting golden-age-of-TV game show _The Name’s The Same_ in '55 and repeatedly doing their schtick on _The Ed Sullivan Show_ in '57, but, again, most of those aren’t listed as acting credits. ---
**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 17, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/130 "2014-02-17T18:03:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > It’s there if you check his IMDB credits under ‘self’ instead of ‘actor’. Duh. IMDb keeps rearranging the way things are presented and I didn’t think to look there. :smack: ---
**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 17, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/131 "2014-02-17T18:50:24Z")
We just saw _Nebraska_ the other night. Rance Howard was in it and checking [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397555) shows he just makes the cut. (Ron, OTOH, has a single uncredited part listed pre-1958. Not really fair to include him. But it would be nice to come up with a parent-child match here.) It’s one thing to still be around, it’s another to still be working in Oscar nominated movies. ---
**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 17, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/132 "2014-02-17T22:43:03Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s one thing to still be around, it’s another to still be working in Oscar nominated movies. Maggie Smith, who has plenty of pre-1958 TV work, was up for a Golden Globe in 2013 for a movie she’d done in her spare time from turning in Golden-Globe-_winning_ work on **Downton Abbey**. So she’s keeping good and busy. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/133 "2014-02-17T22:50:21Z")
Joyce Randolph (Trixie on the Honeymooners) appeared on TV in 1949 in “Famous Jury Trials” (never heard of it) and apparently will appear this year on something called "Megaball$). The Hickman brothers are still alive. Darryl goes back to 1937 version “Prisoner of Zenda” although his most recent non documentary appearance were several episodes of “The Nanny” in the late 1990s. Younger brother Dwayne goes back to mid 40s, had to deal with Warren Beatty and Tuesday Weld on “Doble Giles” which trained him as a tv executive in the mid 80s dealing with Alan Alda and William Shatner. Last appearance was in 2005 “Angels with Angles” playing Maynard G Gilles. ---
**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 17, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/134 "2014-02-17T23:04:18Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > “Doble Giles” Was that anything like “Dobie Gillis”? 😃 ---
**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 17, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/135 "2014-02-17T23:06:39Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > “Doble Giles” > [@terentii](#): > > Was that anything like “Dobie Gillis”? 😃 No, it was a Spanish-language variation of the Patty Duke show that revolved around the antics of identical twins Giles and Giles. The actor grew up to be a goat-boy. ---
**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 17, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/136 "2014-02-17T23:49:00Z")
Joel Grey performed on _The Colgate Comedy Hour_ a bunch of times from '51 to '54 before appearing on _Ponds Theater_ and _Producers’ Showcase_ and _The Steve Allen Plymouth Show_ before he landed a recurring role on _December Bride_ in '57. And since turning eighty, the Oscar winner has kept active on TV, from _Nurse Jackie_ to _Warehouse 13_, such that he was in an episode of _CSI_ just last month. Oh, and Lee “Catwoman” Meriwether won the Miss America pageant on TV in 1954 by performing a dramatic monologue, which is why she spent the rest of the year acting in episodes of _The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse_ before branching out into _Matinee Theatre_ and _The Alcoa Hour_ before '58, with plenty of movie roles in the works for later this year. ---
**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 18, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/137 "2014-02-18T01:03:04Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Maggie Smith, who has plenty of pre-1958 TV work, was up for a Golden Globe in 2013 for a movie she’d done in her spare time from turning in Golden-Globe-_winning_ work on **Downton Abbey**. So she’s keeping good and busy. Speaking of **Downton Abbey** , Shriley Maclaine’s TV credits go back to 1955. And speaking of Shirley Maclaine, there’s Warren Beatty. . . ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/138 "2014-02-18T01:19:40Z")
I can’t believe that I missed her, but Rose Marie is still alive. She got her start in vaudeville and she was in films and on television in the 1940s and 1950s. She’s best known as Sally from The Dick van Dyke Show. ---
**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 18, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/139 "2014-02-18T21:40:07Z")
Elaine Stritch was her usual, cranky but lovable self this morning on\* _Toda_y\* (she uses a wheelchair now.) Her TV career dates back to 1948 and she was one of the several actresses who played Trixie Norton. ---
**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 18, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/140 "2014-02-18T22:37:23Z")
Donna Douglas (Elly May Clampett on _ **The Beverly Hillbillies** _) turned 80 last September. First TV appearance, 1957. She made two pilots for a children’s show in 2005. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=8)