The Late Great Polly Holliday

Polly Holliday, best known for playing Flo on the hit sitcom Alice and its spinoff Flo, died on September 9, 2025, at the age of 88.

Polly Holliday was born on July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama. he grew up in Childersburg, Alabama. Her mother was a housewife, while her father was a trucker. During her summer breaks from school, she would ride with him in his truck. She graduated from Alabama College for Women at Montevallo. Afterwards, she attended Florida State University. She taught piano for a time before joining the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida. She was there for around seven seasons.

In 1972, she appeared in a production of Alice Childress’s Wedding Band at the Public Theatre in New York City. It was in 1974 that she made her debut on Broadway in All Over Town. She made her movie debut in W. W. and the Dixie Dance Kings in 1975. In the Seventies, she appeared in the movies Distance (1975), All the President's Men (1976), and The One and Only (1978). She made her television debut in a TV movie adaptation of Wedding Band. It was in 1976 that she began playing Flo on Alice. The character of Flo proved to be popular, so that after four seasons she was spun off into her own show. Debuting in 1980, Flo only lasted one and a half seasons. In the Seventies, Polly Holliday also guest-starred on Search for Tomorrow and NBC Special Treat. She also appeared in such TV movies as Bernice Bobs Her Hair and You Can't Take It With You.

In the Eighties, Polly Holliday continued to appear on Flo. She guest-starred on the shows American Playhouse, Private Benjamin, Stir Crazy, The Golden Girls, Amazing Stories, and The Equalizer. She appeared in the movies Gremlins (1984) and Moon Over Parador (1988). She appeared on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

In the Nineties, Polly Holliday had a regular role on the short-lived show The Client and a recurring role on Home Improvement. She guest-starred on Homicide: Life on the Street. She appeared in the TV movies A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story and A Loss of Innocence. She appeared in the movies Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Mr. Wrong (1996), and The Parent Trap (1998). She appeared on Broadway in a revival of Picnic.

In the Naughts, she made her final television appearance, in the 2004 TV movie It Must Be Love. She appeared in the movies Stick It (2006), The Heartbreak Kid (2007), and Fair Game (2010). 

Flo on Alice was one of the most memorable characters to emerge on television in the Seventies, and that was largely because of Polly Holliday. While a version of the character had originated in the feature film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (where she was played by Diane Ladd), upon which Alice was based, Polly Hollyday made the character all her own. Indeed, her performance was informed by her experience when she was a child. As mentioned above, she rode with her father in his truck.  In a 1980 interview with People, she said, "We'd eat at truck stops, and there'd always be a waitress like Flo with a joke ready."

Of course, Polly Holliday played more than Flo. In the movie Gremlins, she played the none-too-nice, rich widow Ruby Deagle, a character about as far from Flo as one can get. On The Golden Girls, she guest-starred as Rose's sister Lily, who had done everything from receive a pilot's licence to setting the record for the 100 metre dash in St. Olaf. In Mrs. Doubtfire, she played nosy neighbour Gloria. Polly Holliday was a wonderful actress who played a wide array of roles during her career. 

The 50th Anniversary of the TV Series Ellery Queen

Most television shows that last only one season are swiftly forgotten. This was not the case with Ellery Queen, based on the fictional character of the same name created by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. While Ellery Queen did not do particularly well in the ratings, it did develop a cult following. Because of this, it remains remembered to this day.

Ellery Queen starred Jim Hutton as the title character, a mystery novelist whose talent for deductive reasoning led him to assist his father, Inspector Richard Queen, in solving murder cases. Tom Reese played Sgt. Thomas Velie, Inspector Queen's assistant and Ellery's friend. The show's format was very much like the novels upon which the series was based. It would begin with a murder that Inspector Queen, with Ellery's assistance, investigates. As the episode unfolds, viewers get the same clues that Ellery and the Inspector do. Right before the climax of the episode in which the killer was revealed, Jim Hutton would break the fourth wall in which he summarizes the case and invites the viewer to solve the mystery on their own. The series is set immediately following World War II, in the late Forties.

Ellery Queen was based on the novels by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, who wrote under the pseudonym "Ellery Queen." The characters of Ellery Queen and Inspector Queen first appeared in the novel The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929. While the character of Ellery Queen would undergo various changes over the years, novels featuring the character would be published for decades. Given such popularity, Ellery Queen would make the transition to other media. The first Ellery Queen movie, The Spanish Case Mystery, starring Donald Cook, was released in 1939 and was followed by several more Ellery Queen movies in the early Forties. A radio show, The Adventures of Ellery Queen, aired from 1939 to 1948 on various networks. A TV series of the same name aired from 1950 to 1952 on DuMont and then ABC. The Adventures of Ellery Queen was followed by two more television series in the 1950s. \Ellery Queen, Detective was a syndicated television series that aired in 1954 It was followed by the 1958-1959 series The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen that aired on NBC.

The character of Ellery Queen was still popular when writing partners Richard Levinson and William Link decided to create a TV show based on the character. Together they worked both in print and on television. Notably, they created the character of Lt. Columbo in the teleplay "Enough Rope (which aired as an episode of The Chevy Mystery Show in 1960)." They later produced the TV show Columbo and also the TV show Mannix. Unfortunately, Richard Levinson and William Link's first attempt to get an Ellery Queen TV show on the air would not turn out as they planned.

The result of that first attempt was the TV movie Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You, which aired on November 19, 1971, on NBC. The movie was based on the 1949 Ellery Queen novel Cat of Many Tails and starred Peter Lawford as Ellery Queen and Harry Morgan as Inspector Queen. Notably, Inspector Queen was portrayed a Ellery's uncle in the movie, rather than his father. It seems possible that this may have been because Harry Morgan was simply too young to be Peter Lawford's father--he was only eight years older than Lawford. Regardless, Richard Levinson and William Link were not happy with the changes that producer Leonard Ackerman had made to their teleplay and credited it to their pseudonym Tom Leighton. Fortunately, for Messrs. Levinson and Link, Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You failed to sell as a TV series.

It was in 1974, with the success of Mannix and Columbo behind them, Richard Levinson and William Link decided to take another stab at an Ellery Queen series. Jim Hutton was cast as Ellery Queen and David Wayne was cast as Inspector Richard Queen, and the two characters were father and son as they were in the novels. For the pilot movie, Richard Levinson and William Link adapted the 1965 novel The Fourth Side of the Triangle, although setting it in the late Forties. Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects aired on March 23, 1975. It was in May 1975 that NBC ordered Ellery Queen as a TV series for the 1975-1976 season.

Reviews for Ellery Queen upon its debut were mixed to positive. Jay Sharbutt of the Associated Press gave the show an enthusiastic review, writing  "NBC's new entry is old hash but fun to watch." Richard Schickel of Time was less impressed with the show, referring to it as "...a garage-sale period piece." The review by Charles Benbow of the St. Petersburg Times fell in between those by Jay Sharbutt and Richard Schickel. While stating that solving the mystery in the first episode "...could hardly make anyone feel superiror, " he also admitted "...Hutton brings such a marvelous sense of timing and inventiveness to his role as Ellery that he may ave the series for a half-season."

The only regulars on the show were Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, David Wayne as Inspector Richard Wayne, and Tom Reese as Sgt. Velie, but the show did have a few recurring characters. John Hillerman appeared in several episodes as a radio host and Ellery's rival detective Simon Brimmer. The character was created for the shows. Ken Swofford played Frank Flannigan, a reporter who was another one of Ellery's rivals. Flannigan was also created for the show. Nina Roman played Inspector Queen's secretary.

Like Murder, She Wrote after it, Ellery Queen featured a number of big-name guest stars. For example, "The Adventure of Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance" featured Eve Arden as Vera Bethune, who played Miss Aggie on a radio soap opera. Also in the episode were such stars as Nan Martin, John McGiver, Bert Parks, and Betty White. In "The Adventure of Veronica's Veils," George Burns played the producer of a burlesque revival. Also featured in the episode were Julie Adams, Jack Carter, William Demarest, Don Porter, and Hayden Roarke. Over its run, Ellery Queen featured such names as Don Ameche, Dana Andrews, Jim Backus, Ken Berry, Tom Bosley, Joan Collins, Troy Donahue, Rhonda Fleming, Anne Francis, Larry Hagman, Roddy McDowall, Sal Mineo, Donald O'Connor, Walter Pidgeon, Vincent Price, Cesar Romero, Ray Walston, and yet others. 

Not only did Ellery Queen feature big-name guest stars, but a big name composed its theme. Elmer Bernstein was already famous for having composed the soundtracks to such movies as The Ten Commandments (1956), The Magnificent Seven (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Great Escape (1963), and yet more. 

Unfortunately, Ellery Queen would not do well in the ratings. Much of this may have been due to scheduling. In its original time slot on Thursday night, it aired against The Streets of San Francisco on ABC, which ranked no. 26 in the Nielsen ratings for the season. At mid-season, NBC aired it at an arguably worse time slot on Sunday night. There it aired opposite The Six Million Dollar Man on ABC (which ranked no. 9 for the season) and The Sonny and Cher Show (which ranked no. 23 for the season). In the end, NBC cancelled Ellery Queen after 22 episodes.

Ellery Queen was gone, but not forgotten. While it had received low ratings, it had also developed a cult following who loved the show. Ellery Queen would have an obvious impact on Murder, She Wrote, which Richard Levinson and William Link co-created with Peter Fisher (who was a line producer on Ellery Queen). Like Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote centred on a mystery solving writer and regularly featured big-name guest stars. In the Nineties Ellery Queen was rerun on A&E, Plex, and TV Land. It would be released on DVD in both Australia and the United States in 2010. While it is not currently available on streaming, in the past it has been on Hulu and Netflix. 

Today it might seem odd that a show that has continued to be popular to this day would last only one season. Beyond the show's scheduling mentioned above, it seems possible there was one other reason that Ellery Queen failed in the ratings during the 1975-1976 season. Quite simply, whodunits were out of fashion on television. The NBC Mystery Movie was winding down and would go off the air in 1977. It would seem that American television viewers wouldn't again develop a taste for whodunits until Murder, She Wrote debuted in 1984. Unlike Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote proved to be an enormous success and ran for 12 seasons. 

Regardless, Ellery Queen has not been forgotten and is remembered to this day. It clearly had an impact on Murder, She Wrote, which itself would have an impact on yet other mystery shows. To this day many still think of Ellery Queen first out of all the roles Jim Hutton played. It may have only lasted one season, but it will be remembered for decades to come. 

The Late Great Mark Volman

Mark Volman, the singer, guitarist, and songwriter who was also a founding member of The Turtles, died on September 5, 2025 at the age of 78 following a brief illness.

Mark Volman was born on April 19, 1947 in Los Angeles. It was his father, who loved jazz, who turned Mark Volman onto music. He began playing music when he was still very young. It was in high school that he met singer Howard Kaylan. He joined Mr. Kaylan's surf band The Nightrders, not long before they changed their name to The Crossfires.

As The Crossfires, they played a residency at the Revelaire Club in Redondo Beach, a prize they had won in a Battle of the Bands competition. The Revelaire Club was owned by Reb Foster, who would soon become their manager. He got the band signed to a brand new label called White Whale Records. After being signed to the label, The Crossfires decided to change their name. Among the names considered were "The Half Dozen" and "The Six Pack." It was Reb Foster who suggested "The Tyrtles," a name with a misspelling fashionable due to The Beatles and The Byrds. The band accepted the name, but soon dropped the misspelling to become "The Turtles." Over time the band had also shifted from surf music to a folk rock sound.

The Turtles' debut single, a cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," was released in July 1965. It proved to a hit, reaching no.8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their singles "Let Me Be" and "You Baby" did well enough, while other singles did not do quite so well. They would not have another major hit until "Happy Together" went to no. 1o n the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. From 1967 to 1969, The Turtles would have such hits as "She'd Rather Be with Me," "You Know What I Mean," 'She's My Girl," "Elenore," and "You Showed Me."

Unfortunately, The Turtles would see their commercial success fade. Although well-received, their final studio album, Turtle Soup, only went to no. 117 on the Billboard album chart. Their singles following "You Showed Me" from their album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands either performed poorly on the charts or did not chart at all. To make matters worse, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan found themselves in conflict with White Whale Records, who wanted them to turn The Turtles into a mass production band of the type characterized by the bubblegum bands of the era. The Turtles eventually disbanded. As to White Whale Records, without their biggest act, they folded in 1971.

Following the break-up of The Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan joined Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention. They appeared on the band's albums Chunga's Revenge, Filmore East - June 1971, 200 Motels, and Just Another Band from L.A.. It was following an injury that Frank Zappa experienced at a concert in London in 1971 that Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan became the comedy music duo Flo & Eddie. Their first album, The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie was released in 1972. Flo & Eddie released albums from 1972 to 2009. The duo also began working in film and television. They composed the soundtrack for the animated film Down and Dirty Duck (1974), the movie Texas Detour (1978), and the TV show Strawberry Shortcake. They sang backing vocals on T. Rex's 1971 song "Get It On," Alice Cooper's 1980 album Flush the Fashion and on Bruce Springsteen's song "Hungry Heart."

In the Eighties, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan hosted their own radio show on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and WXRK in New York City. They composed music for the TV movie Peter and the Magic Egg and The Adventures of the American Rabbit (1986). It was in 1983 that Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan regained the rights to the name "The Turtles.' They then began touring as The Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie.

In 1992, Mark Volman earned a bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University. In 1999, he earned a master's degree Loyola. Afterwards, he taught at Loyola and classes at Los Angeles Valley College. He would go on to become an associate at Belmont University.

The Turtles have been one of my favourite bands since childhood. In fact, they were one of the first bands of which I was even aware. By the time I was regularly listening to the radio as a child, their songs were still frequently being played. The voices of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan then became very familiar to me. And while many of their songs were written by others (including their best known hit "Happy Together"), Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were accomplished songwriters themselves. They wrote The Turtles' songs "Think I'll Run Away," "Elenore," and "Sound Asleep," among others. Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were also among the earliest rock stars champion artists rights. Both as one of The Turtles and one half of Flo and Eddie, Mark Volman was was a major talent and an incredible performer. who gave us memorable songs, often with a sense of humour.

Peter Sellers's 100th Birthday

Peter Sellers remains one of the best known comic actors of the late 20th Century. Indeed, he appeared in some of the best known movies of the late 20th Century as well, including The Ladykillerx (1955), Lolita(1962), The Pink Panther (1963), and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Sadly, his life would be cut short when he died at age 54 from a heart attack. Since then Peter Sellers has remained both well-known and beloved. It was 100 years ago today that Peter Sellers was born in Southsea, Portsmouth.

I was born just as Peter Sellers's career was at its peak in the Sixties. For that reason, I cannot remember a time when I was not aware of who Peter Sellers was. What is more, I can't even remember what was the first Peter Sellers movie I ever watched. I am thinking it was either The Pink Panther (1963) or Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), but it could just as easily been The Mouse That Roared (1959). Regardless, by the time I was 18 I had already seen many Peter Sellers movies not counting the "Pink Panther" series. Below are some of my favourites of the movies he made.

The Ladykillers (1955):  The Ladykillers remains not only one of my favourite caper movies, but one of my favourite movies, period. The movie centres on the elderly Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson), who runs a boardinghouse and unknowingly rents rooms to four men posing as a string quartet, but who are actually criminals plotting a security van robbery. Peter Sellers played Harry Robinson, a young, somewhat nervous, Cockney Teddy Boy. Although is role is not as large as that of some of his later movies, he still made an impression.

The Mouse That Roared (1959):  Released a few years before Dr. Strangelove, Peter Sellers also played multiple roles in The Mouse That Roared. The film centred on the Grand Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a small state if there ever was one. When the country goes bankrupt, they hit upon a scheme to refill their coffers. Namely, they will declare war on the United States, a war they will naturally lose. The United States would then give aid to Grand Fenwick in order to rebuild its economy. Peter Sellers played three parts in the movie: Grand Fenwick's leader, Duchess Gloriana XII; the Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy,; and the military leader Tully Bascomb.

The Pink Panther (1963):Today when people think of The Pink Panther, it is Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau that comes to mind. In truth, David Niven, as Sir Charles Lytton, the jewel thief plotting to steal the legendary gem the Pink Panther, who is the star. As it turned out, Peter Sellers made such an impression as the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau that not only did he steal the show, but he launched a whole series of Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau movies.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964): Dr. Strangelove is not only my favourite Peter Sellers movie, but one of my favourite movies of all time. In fact, I wrote a detailed post on the movie on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. In the movie Peter Sellers played multiple roles, including the President of the United States, Merkin Muffley; Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, an RAF exchange officer assigned to Burpelson Air Force Base; and the title character and expert on nuclear war Dr. Strangelove.

A Shot in the Dark (1964): The second Inspector Clouseau movie and the first in which there can be no doubt that he is the star. As originally conceived the movie would have had nothing to do with Inspector Clouseau. It was an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz, which in turn was an adaptation of Michael Archard's  L'Idiote. Peter Sellers was attached to the project, which was to have been directed by  Anatole Litvak, but did not care for the script. Blake Edwards then replaced Anatole Litvak as director, and Inspector Clouseau replaced the original main character. I have to say that the result was one of Peter Sellers's best movies. In fact, I prefer A Shot in the Dark to The Pink Panther. 

The Wrong Box (1966): Peter Sellers did not play the lead in The Wrong Box, which actually starred John Mills and Ralph Richardson, but his role was important nonetheless. He plays Dr. Pratt, a none too honest physician from whom Morris Finsbury (Peter Cook) goes to buy a blank death certificate. The film is "Who's Who" of British comedic actors. In addition to John Mills, Ralph Richardson, and Peter Sellers, it also features Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Tony Hancock, among others.

After the Fox (1966): In After the Fox Peter Sellers plays Aldo Vanucci, a master of disguise known as The Fox. In order to smuggle stolen gold into Italy, The Fox strikes upon the idea of impersonating an Italian neo-realist director, Federico Fabrizi, with the theft of the gold merely being part of a movie he is making. As fun as Peter Sellers is as The Fox, the reason I love After the Fox is actually Victor Mature as American actor Tony Powell. the very stereotype of an ageing matinee idol. Victor Mature gives the role everything he's got and is easiest the runniest person in the film.