Happy Fathers Day 2021! :)

 

Vintage illustration courtesy ClickAmericana

JK At the Tee in 1963 :)

Hello Everyone!

On June 16, 1963, a charmingly tousled Jack Kelly participated in the third annual Celebrity Golf Tournament at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California:

In 1962, JK won a trophy at the same tourney for "the longest drive off the 10th tee" (354 yards). 

Shown in the background is Bob Wilke, famed western bad guy who won the tourney's top prize in 1961 and was competing again in 1963. JK had previously faced Wilke both on the links and on Maverick.

Please stay tuned "fore" more about JK in TDS! :)

Memorial Day 2021

Vintage Memorial Day clipart courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Lave--It's Saturday Night! :)

 Hello Everyone!

Original 1961 Maverick publicity still scanned and colorized 

from the La Bartista Kellection 

It's Saturday night, and rub-a-dub-dub, here's Bart Maverick in a tub! He's getting all spruced up for the holiday weekend.  Yaquito (Ref Sanchez) is there to remind him to wash behind his ears.

Of course, this is really a colorized original publicity still for the Maverick episode "A State of Siege", which initially aired on ABC-TV on January 1, 1961. The plot has Bart in New Mexico, where he lands smack in the middle of a political siege at his new amigo Don Felipe Archelata's hacienda. Don Felipe is played by Ray Danton. Lisa Gaye also guest stars as Don Felipe's fiancée Soledad Lazarro:

Original 1961 Maverick publicity still scanned 

from the La Bartista Kellection 

Although it's not acknowledged in the episode credits, "A State of Siege" is based--very loosely--on the Robert Louis Stevenson novella "The Pavillion on the Links", which deals with intrigue in Scotland. According to original Maverick documents in the Kellection, Stevenson's story appeared to be in the public domain in most of the world at the time and Warner Bros. acquired "all rights in the teleplay adaptation without restrictions or obligations."

Please stay tuned for much more about our amigo Jack Kelly in the next TDS! :)

An "Incredible" Mothers Day! :)

Hello Everyone!

Now, it may seem unusual to post about The Incredible Hulk TV series on Mothers Day. However, I recently purchased an incredible artifact from the show which is dated May 9, 1978--an original call sheet from the episode "The Waterfront Story", in which Jack Kelly guest-starred as "Tony Kelly":

Actually, JK didn't appear in the scenes being filmed that day, although he's listed on the sheet. The crew had to report to the Indis Terminal in San Pedro, California, at 7:00 AM and most of the cast (including star Bill Bixby) reported at 8:00 AM.   

The reverse side of the call sheet contains a wealth of technical and other info about the episode:

For example, a number of prop vehicles were needed for the shoot, including a police car and a "Thug's Truck". To keep the cast and crew fueled up, a "walking" breakfast (consisting of coffee and donuts) occurred at 6:45 AM and lunch was ready at noon. 

Well, I hope every mom has an incredible Mothers Day 2021. :)

Please stay tuned for more about JK in TDS! 

Remembering...

 Donna Lee Custer 
(formerly Donna Kelly, a.k.a. May Wynn)

1928 - 2021

Autographed candid snapshot of Donna and Jack snapped by a fan, dated May 1958.
Scanned from the La Bartista Kellection 

Donna Custer, who acted professionally under the name "May Wynn" and was Jack Kelly's first wife, passed away on March 22, 2021, although her passing wasn't reported in the press until over a month later. She was 93 years old. 

She was born Donle (later changed to Donna Lee) Hickey in New York City on January 8, 1928, into a family with ties to vaudeville. Her father, Ray Hickey, was a singer and dancer.  Her grandmother, Gertie Black, was also a vaudevillian. 

In her early teens, Donna worked after school in a real estate office and in a department store. She was later employed as a page and ground stewardess at LaGuardia Airport in NYC.  According to a 1954 story in the Provo UT Daily Herald, young Donna designed an ensemble consisting of a navy blue suit and powder blue blouse which she wore to work at LaGuardia. The outfit was soon adapted as the official stewardess uniform of Pan Am airlines. 

Donna performed as a showgirl at the Copacabana Club in New York City while still a teenager. She also won beauty contests and titles such as "Queen of the New York Press Photographer's Ball of 1950". The petite beauty was also a popular pin-up model, often pictured smiling in a swimsuit on the cover of such magazines as "Hit!" and "See".

She made her way to Hollywood in the early 1950's and played bit roles in movies. Her big break came in 1953, when she was cast as singer "May Wynn" in the feature The Caine Mutiny starring Humphrey Bogart. Columbia Pictures studio chief Harry Cohn insisted that Donna assume her character's name as her professional name. She did, but later told reporters that she hated being known as May Wynn. 

Donna met JK during the filming of They Rode West in 1954 and they married in 1956, first in a civil ceremony in Quartzite, AZ, and then in a church ceremony a month later in Los Angeles, CA. Also in 1956, Donna played receptionist "Liz Clark" in the short-lived television series Noah's Ark (produced by Jack Webb), in addition to having a recurring role as "Jean Blackburn" in The Bob Cummings Show.

Donna as "Liz Clark", from the La Bartista Kellection

JK reportedly hated his wife's May Wynn moniker as much as she did and called her Donna, "Kukie" and "The Big M" during their marriage. The Kellys were very big on togetherness and made a pact to never be apart from one another for any great length of  time. This even extended to their careers. Donna accompanied JK to Asia when he was hired for the starring role in Hong Kong Affair. She ended up playing the female lead when the actress originally cast reportedly had trouble speaking her lines in English. 

In addition to Hong Kong Affair and They Rode West, Donna acted with JK in The Violent Men starring Glenn Ford and Taming Sutton's Gal. Her other feature films include The White Squaw, The Man is Armed and the cult horror film The Unknown Terror starring Paul Richards. 

Donna (as "Concha") shows off her new dress 

to "Pete" (Paul Richards)

in The Unknown Terror (1957)

 - original vintage still scanned from the author's private collection

Donna made guest shots on a number of other TV shows including The Millionaire and Perry Mason. Her last listed acting credit is a 1960 appearance in the western series Shotgun Slade. 

Although Donna never appeared on Maverick, it was reported that she and JK wrote a script for the show, which apparently was never filmed. They also formed a production company called "Majak" (guess how the name was formed?). And, Donna was frequently photographed visiting her hubby behind the scenes of Maverick:

Caption: "'Maverick' And Mate--Actress May Wynn visits husband Jack Kelly on the set of 'Shady Deal at Sunny Acres', on ABC-TV's Warner Bros. produced 'Maverick'..."--vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection 

Another visit during the filming of "Shady Deal" 

(vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection)

Even a Kelly kanine got into the act! 

(Vintage original still scanned from the La Bartista Kellection)

The Kelly's union seemed to be a template for togetherness, so Hollywood and fans were shocked when it was announced in October 1964 that the loving couple who had acted, wrote, cooked and golfed in tandem for nearly a decade was permanently Splitsville.

Donna remarried and divorced once more. She worked in real estate and then spent 28 years as a beloved school aide (teaching public speaking and handwriting classes after school) at the Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in  Newport Beach, the California city in which she resided. Sadly, her nephew Brian Hickey was among the NYC firefighters who died in the 9/11 attacks in 2001. 

Rest in peace, Donna, and deepest condolences to your family, friends and fans from TDS.

Remember Bob Daniels :)

Hey!

I recently found “Remember Lake Serene”, a 1967 episode of the sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies which guest-starred Jack Kelly. Unfortunately, the video I discovered is very grainy, but I tried to get the best screenshots I could. 

Daisies started out as a best-selling collection of humorous essays by Jean Kerr, author, playwright and wife of famed theater critic Walter Kerr. The essays centered on various happenings in the Kerr household, including their move from New York City to a rambling home in Larchmont, NY.

In 1960, the book was adapted into a hit film with Doris Day and David Niven starring as the Jean and Walter Kerr characters (which were re-named “Kate and Larry McKay”).   

The sitcom version premiered on NBC on September 14, 1965. For some reason, the Kerr/McKay family became the “Nash” family in the TV series.

Jim Nash (Mark Miller) is a college professor in Ridgemont, NY. His better-half, Joan (Patricia Crowley), is a housewife who pens a column for the local newspaper. However--at least in this episode--Joan does more meddling than writing. Their four sons are typical sitcom tykes and are pretty much interchangeable (two are literally twins). And, their shaggy pooch “Ladadog” is about the size of a Shetland pony.

 

The Nashes argue about spending $18 a month on dog food and $15 for a run to the grocery store (which would cost more like $115 today!). Yet, they can somehow afford to live in a castle on their ostensibly meager combined earnings as a teacher and a part-time writer while raising a quartet of growing boys. 

The castle’s doorbell doesn’t merely ring--it "bongs" like the chimes of Big Ben. When the doorbell bongs on a Saturday morning in “Remember Lake Serene”, it signals that Jim’s old college pal “Bob Daniels” (JK) has come to visit. Bob was the “campus Casanova” and is still a carefree bachelor.

When Jim asks why Bob is visiting, he answers that he just wanted “to look at a beautiful woman”. He slyly glances at Joan and purrs, “Hello, beautiful woman”:

Joan rolls her eyes and replies, “Bob, we’re going to have to get you married—a look like that could smear a woman’s make-up!”

(She really does say that.)

Actually, Bob wants to go camping and fishing at Lake Serene, like he, Jim, and their other college pal Herb (who is also the Nashes’ neighbor) used to do back in the day. 

He invites Jim and Herb to come along, stag, no wives or kids. But first, Jim and Herb must tell—er, ask—their wives. 

Joan and Herb’s wife Marge are surprisingly all right with their guys taking a trip without them. Since the Nash kids have been conveniently shunted offscreen to Grandma’s house for spring vacation, the wives plan to sneak out to the lake to foist an eligible young woman on unsuspecting bachelor Bob.

The men start off for the lake the next morning in Bob’s convertible, but he says they’ll have to stop first so he can get a sweater. Surprise! The sweater is inhabited by a lovely blonde named Gloria:

The husbands aren’t too pleased—after all, they couldn’t bring their wives—but Gloria insists everything will be okay. She’s bringing her own tent and equipment, and the husbands can act as chaperones. So much for the stag weekend…and the wives’ plan. 

The wives set up camp at Lake Serene. Penny, the bachelorette they’ve chosen for Bob, starts to wander over to the guys’ rustic campsite in a flouncy red dress. Before she reaches the site, however, she spots Bob and Gloria. She hurries back to tell the wives.

Then, Bob goes for a walk, so when the wives go to check out Penny’s story, all they see is Gloria with their husbands. They decide to crash the “party".

Finally, Bob returns from his walk.

“Look what I found out on the beach!” he cries.

He’s accompanied by a brunette who announces, “Hello, my name is April Dancer”.

Yes, it’s “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” (played by Stefanie Powers).

Penny and Gloria are presumably forgotten as Bob smears April’s make-up in “The Maverick Bachelor Affair”.  ;)

“Remember Lake Serene” is one of those cutesy sitcom episodes where everyone practically shouts many of their lines, as if saying them louder makes them funnier. And, it’s easy to imagine other sitcom gal pals such as Lucy and Ethel or Laura and Millie conspiring in the same silly plot, only those characters (and their writers) would have handled it with much more comic finesse. A lot of the dialogue and situations are downright dopey, like the running gag about Herb leaping through a large open window to visit Jim instead of entering through the front door. (“It saves time,” Herb explains.)

But, the talented cast does their best with what they’ve been given to work with. And, of course, handsome JK plays Bob with his usual charm and humor. 

This episode was briefly viewable on YouTube and has since disappeared from that venue. Hopefully, someday Please Don’t Eat the Daisies will be officially released on DVD or a streaming service so we can get a clearer look at JK in “Remember Lake Serene”. 

TRIVIA:

• In 1966, Jack Kelly played the male lead in Jean Kerr’s play Mary, Mary in Houston, TX. His co-star was Marjorie Lord. 
• Pat Crowley previously appeared with JK in three Maverick episodes, “The Rivals”, “Betrayal” and “A Tale of Three Cities”.
• King Donovan, the rubber-faced comedian who plays Herb in this episode, acted with JK in the Maverick episode “Maverick Springs”. Donovan also appeared in JK’s feature films Sally and Saint Anne (1952) and The Bamboo Prison (1954).
• Shirley Mitchell, who plays Marge, was the last surviving adult cast member of I Love Lucy (she played Lucy's friend "Marion Strong", with the cackling laugh). She also appeared in The Beverly Hillbillies as "Opal Clampett", wife of "Jake Clampett" (played by King Donovan!)
• The end-title credit for Stefanie Powers’ cameo appearance reads, “We wish to express our thanks to APRIL DANCER--Whose appearance was authorized by the United Network Command for Law Enforcement.”
• Both Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. were MGM productions, and both were canceled in 1967. The men from U.N.C.L.E. (Robert Vaughn and David McCallum) appeared in an earlier episode of Daisies titled “Say U.N.C.L.E.”. Also, Pat Crowley guest-starred in the pilot episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E (“The Vulcan Affair”).
• In my hometown, there was a Buick dealer named Bob Daniels. The dealership’s catchy jingle played in my head as I watched JK in “Remember Lake Serene”: “Bob Daniels Buick—B-I-C-K; ‘B-I-C-K’? That’s not the way to spell ‘Buick’!; The only thing missing is ‘You’!” I couldn’t tell if the convertible JK drives in the episode is a Buick, though.
• The actual castle-like home once owned by Jean and Walter Kerr in Larchmont, NY, went on the market in 2020. Asking price:  $5,850,000.  

Please remember to stay tuned for more about JK in TDS! :)