Why NBC Should Bring Back Saturday Night at the Movies

It was on 23 September 1961 that NBC Saturday Night at the Movies debuted. It was a historic moment for American television. Prior to NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, the only films one would see on television were older films before 1950 or slightly more recent B movies. Even then, these films were aired almost exclusively on local stations. It was in 1961 that NBC bought the rights to broadcast 31 films made after 1950 from 20th Century Fox. The first of these to air was How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), starring Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, and Marilyn Monroe. While the film was 8 years old, it was far newer than most films shown on television up to that time.

NBC Saturday Night at the Movies proved to be a hit. In fact, it proved so successful that it was not long before ABC and CBS would have their own movie anthology series. The ABC Sunday Night Movie debuted in April 1962. Top rated CBS waited a bit longer before debuting their first movie anthology series--The CBS Thursday Night Movie debuted in September 1965. Regardless, the movie anthology series proved so popular that by 1968 there was one on every night of the week.

Of course, now movie anthology series are nearly unknown on American broadcast television. Indeed, among the first to go was the original NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. The Seventies saw the rise of such premium channels as HBO and Showtime, making it possible for people to watch films on television without having to sit through commercials. Between this and the sheer number of movie anthology series on the networks in the late Sixties and into the Seventies, the ratings for NBC Saturday Night at the Movies dropped over time. NBC cancelled the original movie anthology series in 1978. The other movie anthology series would suffer similar fates, with the advent of the VCR and later DVDs hammering the final nails in their coffins. NBC would attempt to bring back NBC Saturday Night at the Movies during the 2000-2001 season, but it only lasted about a year.

Regardless, it is easy to see why the idea of a movie anthology series on Saturday night appealed to NBC in 1961. Quite simply, relatively recent theatrical films could draw more viewers than standard television shows of the time could have. Traditionally television audiences have been at their lowest on Friday and Saturday nights. To make matters worse, the television audience for Friday and Saturday nights have traditionally been composed of children and the elderly, hardly the 18-49 demographic the networks have wanted since the Seventies. While several hit shows have aired on Saturday night (Gunsmoke, Have Gun--Will Travel, pretty much the entire CBS line up for much of the Seventies, The Golden Girls, and so on), Saturday night has generally been a bit of a problem for the networks. Indeed, in the Naughts the networks simply surrendered the night by airing reruns for the most part, the documentary magazine 48 Hours on CBS being a notable exception.

Looking  at the way that the American broadcast networks currently schedule Saturday nights, I must say that this seems wrong headed to me. In scheduling reruns on Saturday night, not only do the networks lose any chance of winning the desired 18-49 demographic, but any other television viewers as well. In fact, the last time I remember watching network programming on Saturday night was when NBC aired It's a Wonderful Life last December. And that was probably the first time I'd watched network programming since NBC had aired It's a Wonderful Life the December before that!  On those Saturday nights when I am home I will generally watch something on cable (this is always the case when Doctor Who is on BBC America) or on DVD. Quite simply, then, in airing reruns, the networks are surrendering Saturday night to the various cable channels or to DVD and Blu-Ray players. I rather have to doubt that they are winning the night, and especially not in the 18-49 demographic.

Instead of simply programming reruns on Saturday night, I think the networks would do better if they scheduled something else. In the case of NBC, I think they could schedule a movie anthology series, one with an already established brand name: NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. Of course, given the fact that movies are a dime a dozen on various cable channels (they form a good part of the programming for both USA and TNT), NBC would want to make NBC Saturday Night at the Movies different from earlier movie anthologies. I figure this could be done in two ways. The first is that they could borrow a page from Turner Classic Movies and have a host. The host would introduce the film being aired that night and provide trivia about the film in bumpers right before and after commercial breaks. Ideally, the host should be pleasant, congenial, and preferably a film expert (think Robert Osborne on TCM). Second, I do not think they would want to limit themselves to recent films, but instead to show movies from the Thirties to the Teens. One week one might see The Dark Knight, next week he or she might see Dark Victory. The presence of a host would set the new NBC Saturday Night at the Movies apart from movies shown on cable, while showing older films would give viewers something not usually seen on American television outside of Turner Classic Movies.

Now I realise that NBC attempted to revive NBC Saturday Night at the Movies in 2000. And I realise that particular version of Saturday Night at the Movies had a host. That having been said, I think it failed because it was showing recent films that had already been shown over and over on cable channels and the host was Ryan Seacrest. Now I have nothing in particular against Mr. Seacrest, but he is hardly Robert Osborne or Ben Mankiewicz, and the few times I watched the 2000-2001 Saturday Night at the Movies I don't remember much film trivia. If NBC had aired a variety of films, both old and new, on Saturday Night at the Movies, and had a host who could provide real movie trivia, I think might actually have done better than it did in the 2000-2001 season.

Of course, I also realise that another objection could be that they would not get enough of the 18-49 demographic to make a new NBC Saturday Night at the Movies worth their while. First, as anyone who has read this blog knows, I think the networks and Madison Avenue's obsession with the 18-49 demographic is misguided in the extreme. I won't go into all of the reasons I believe this (I've outline those elsewhere), but I will point out the simple fact that college students and people starting out in life don't have money. If Madison Avenue wants a demographic with some extra spending cash and a willingness to buy things beyond the necessities, it seems to me that they should be looking at the 30-64 demographic!

Even if the networks and Madison Avenue were right about their pursuit of the 18-49 demographic, I rather suspect that a movie anthology series, especially one done differently than others before it, would draw a greater share of that demographic than reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or Chicago Fire. Indeed, it would probably draw a greater share of other demographics as well. I rather suspect that even Madison Avenue would have to agree that an audience of sixty year olds is better than no audience at all, which I have to wonder isn't where the networks are at right now.

NBC Saturday Night at the Movies revolutionised American television when it debuted in 1961. For over a decade it proved extremely successful. It certainly would not be quite so revolutionary now and I certainly don't think it would receive the ratings that it did in the Sixties. That having been said, NBC Saturday Night at the Movies could draw more viewers to NBC on Saturday nights, certainly more than the reruns they currently air now. At any rate, it seems to me that instead of simply surrendering Saturday night to the cable channels, it is time for the broadcast networks to fight back.

Just a Few Pictures of Hedy Lamarr

It is August, which for me means that my allergies are back. It also means I feel slightly under the weather and not up to a full fledged blog entry tonight. For that reason, then, I will leave you with something that should cheer all of us up, some pictures of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and, with composer George Antheil, inventor of a " a secret communication system" that is the basis for modern day spread spectrum technology found in everything from mobile phones to GPS: the legendary Hedy Lamarr.

Eydie Gorme Passes On

Eydie Gorme, the singer who both performed solo and with her husband Steve Lawrence, died 10 August 2013 at the age of 84.

Eydie Gorme was born Edith Gormezano in The Bronx on 16 August 1928. She attended William Howard Taft High School, where future director Stanley Kubrick numbered among her classmates. After graduating high school, she took night classes at City College while working during the day as a translator at the United Nations.  On the weekends she sang with Ken Greenglass and his band. Ken Greenglass would become her manager and she sang on tour with Tommy Tucker and His Orchestra. It was with Tommy Tucker and his band that she made her recording debut in 1950. She went onto perform with the bands of both Tex Beneke and Ray Eberle.

It was in 1952 that Eydie Gorme struck out on her own and recorded her first solo work. That same year she was the star of the Voice of America radio show Cita Con Eydie ("An Appointment with Eydie"), broadcast in Latin America. Her big break would come in 1953 when she appeared on Tonight, then hosted by Steve Allen. Also booked on the show was another singer, the man would one day become her husband, Steve Lawrence.

 It was in 1954 that Miss Gorme had her first hit single. The song "Fini" went to #19 on the American singles chart. In the late Fifties she would have three more top forty hits: "Too Close For Comfort"(which went to #39 in 1956), "Mama, Teach Me To Dance" (which went to #34 in 1956), "Love Me Forever" (which went to #24 in 1957), and "You Need Hands" (which went to #11 in 1958). Eydie Gorme appeared regularly on television in the Fifties. In addition to Tonight, she appeared on Look Up and Live, The Denny Vaughan Show, Frankie Laine Time, The Big Record, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, Person to Person, The Milton Berle Show, The Patti Page Oldsmobile Show, and The Steve Allen Plymouth Show. In 1958 she  and Steve Lawrence hosted their own summer replacement show, The Steve Lawrence-Eydie Gorme Show.  Miss Gorme and Mr. Lawrence were married in 1957.

In the Sixties Eydie Gorme would have her biggest hit. In 1963 "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" went to #7 on the Billboard singles chart. Miss Gorme would have only two more top forty hits during the decade on the Billboard Hot 100, both duets with her husband Steve Lawrence: "I Want To Stay Here" and I Can't Stop Talking About You". Her songs regularly hit the Billboard Easy Listening chart, among them the singles "Can't Get Over (the Bossa Nova)", "Just Dance On By", "Don't Go To Strangers",      "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?", "Tonight I'll Say a Prayer", and so on. She also continued to appear frequently on television. Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence were frequent guests on The Garry Moore Show. Both with and without her husband, Miss Gorme appeared on such shows as Juke Box Jury, The Jimmy Dean Show, What's My Line, The Jack Paar Programme, I've Got a Secret, The Hollywood Palace, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Kraft Music Hall.

Eydie Gorme continued to regularly hit the Billboard Easy Listening chart in the Seventies with such songs as "Love is Blue/Autumn Leaves" (with her husband Steve Lawrence), "It Was a Good Time", and "What I Did For Love".  She appeared on such TV shows as Here's Lucy, The Merv Griffin Show, Sammy and Company, Sanford and Son, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and The Carol Burnett Show. She and Steve Lawrence appeared in their own television specials, Steve and Eydie: Our Love Is Here to Stay, Steve & Eydie: From This Moment On...Cole Porter, and Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin.

After the Seventies Steve & Eydie focused more on performing American standards. Eydie Gorme released no more singles, although they continued to tour and released several more albums. She continued to make occasional appearances on television, on such shows as Empty Nest, The Nanny, The Tonight Show, Fraiser, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. She had a cameo in Ocean's Eleven (2001). Miss Gorme retired in 2009.

Eydie Gorme was one of the most remarkable singers of the 20th Century. She had an incredible range, much greater than other female vocalists of her era. She was also very versatile as a singer. In her career she performed everything from swing to American pop standards to jazz. Often overlooked here in the United States is that Miss Gorme was a pop star in multiple languages. Fluent in both Ladino (the spoken by Sephardic Jews) and Spanish, she produced hit singles in Spanish, including "Sabor a Mí".

Of course, it is impossible to separate Eydie Gorme from her husband Steve Lawrence. While they both had hits of their own, one always heard more about "Steve & Eydie" than simply one or the other. Together they were consummate performers, with an easy going presence on stage. In many respects they were a throwback to another time in the era of rock 'n' roll, a happily married couple who behaved as such on stage. It made for good entertainment even after the advent of rock music, and allowed for the two of them to not only have a marriage that lasted over 50 years, but a music act that did so as well. Both as a solo performer and one half of the team of Steve &  Eydie, Eydie Gorme was a singular performer.

A Tribute to Noah Beery, Jr. on His 100th Birthday

Today most people probably know Noah Beery, Jr. as Jim Rockford's dad, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, on The Rockford Files. But Noah Beery, Jr. had a long career well before appearing on The Rockford Files, playing character roles in several films from the Thirties onwards. It was 100 years ago today, on 10 August 1913, that Noah Beery, Jr. was born.

Looking back there should be little wonder that Noah Beery, Jr. would become an actor. His father was character actor Noah Beery, Sr., who appeared in such films as The Mark of Zorro (1920) and She Done Him Wrong (1933).  His uncle was Wallace Beery, who played  the title role in The Champ (1931)  and Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934). Noah Beery, Jr. made his film debut while very young, appearing in The Mark of Zorro (1920) when he was only seven.

Noah Beery, Jr.'s first major role was in Heroes of the West (1932), in which he played the lead, something that would be rare for most of his career. This photo is from the early Thirties. Despite being identified with friendly, grizzled types for most of his career, I don't think Mr. Beery was bad looking when he was all cleaned up!

Here in Noah Beery, Jr. in the opening credits for the serial Tailspin Tommy from 1934, based on Hal Forrest's comic strip of the same name. Mr. Beery played Tommy's sidekick "Skeeter" Milligan.

Here Noah Beery, Jr. is sitting beside Anne Baxter, with Oscar O'Shea as a train conductor standing beside them. This is a still from 20 Mule Team (1940), a Western in which Mr. Beery's uncle Wallace Beery also appeared!

Here is David Bruce as Larry O' Ryan and Noah Beery, Jr. as Cpl. Kurt Richter from "Gung Ho!": The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders in 1943.

Although Noah Beery, Jr. may be best known for Westerns, he also did other genres as well. Here he is in a scene from the science fiction film Rocketship X-M (1950).

By the Fifties Noah Beery, Jr. was appearing on television. He guest starred on such shows as Schlitz Playhouse, Climax!, Studio One, and Rawhide. He was also a regular on the shows Riverboat and Circus Boy. On the latter he played Joey the Clown. The young star of Circus Boy was Micky Braddock, son of actor George Dolenz, who would go onto greater fame as Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.

Noah Beery, Jr. continued to do a good deal of television in the late Fifties and well into the Sixties. He was a regular on the Western Hondo and guest starred on such shows as Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, and High Chaparral. He also continued to appear in films, including Inherit the Wind (1960), Journey to Shiloh (1968), and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), from which this screen shot is taken. 

In the Seventies Noah Beery, Jr. played Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, father of detective Jim Rockford (played by James Garner) on The Rockford Files. While it may now be the role for which he is best known, Mr. Beery guest starred on several other TV shows, including Alias Smith & Jones, The Waltons, The Streets of San Francisco, and Ellery Queen. He also appeared in the films 43: The Richard Petty Story (1972), Walking Tall (1973), and The Spikes Gang (1974). 

Noah Beery, Jr. turned 68 in 1981, but he continued to act into the Eighties. He was a regular on the TV show The Quest and the night time soap opera The Yellow Rose. He also guest starred on such shows as Magnum P.I., Hot Pursuit, Cover Up, Trapper John M.D., and Murder She Wrote. He also appeared in the films The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and Waltz Across Texas (1982). Mr. Beery retired from acting in the late Eighties. He died of a cerebral thrombosis on 1 November 1994.

There can be no doubt that Noah Beery, Jr. was a singular actor. He was handsome in a boyish sort of way, even well into his later years, yet at the same time he seemed more ordinary person than matinee idol. This was also true of his acting style. He generally played friendly, unassuming, and often humorous characters and did so with a no real theatrics or grandstanding. This made his characters not only made his characters seem like everyday people, but also the sort one would not mind inviting to dinner or having a drink with. In the end Noah Beery, Jr. was in many respects the everyman of classic film and classic television. While he generally played the sidekick rather than the hero, it was this quality that made him as memorable as any of the leads whom he played opposite. 

The 50th Anniversary of Ready, Steady, Go!

It was fifty years ago today  that Ready, Steady, Go! debuted. Ready, Steady, Go! was a rock music television programme that aired on ITV in the United Kingdom from 9 August 1963 to 23 December 1966. While the show lasted only a little over three years, it would have an enormous impact in its time on the air and can be considered an integral part of what people think of as "Swinging London".

Ready, Steady, Go! was conceived by Elkan Allan, then Head of Entertainment at Rediffusion Television. Mr. Allan had served as a presenter on various BBC programmes in the early Fifties was working on ITV's current affairs programme This Week by the mid-Fifties. Although Ready, Steady , Go would prove revolutionary, in many respects it was not particularly original in combining a live audience of dancers with rock performers. American Bandstand and similar shows had been airing in the Unites States since the mid -Fifties. The BBC even aired such a programme, Six-Five Special, from 1957 to 1958. Ready, Steady, Go! may have owed a good deal to Discs A Gogo, which aired on TWW (Television Wales & West) from 1961 to 1967. That having been said, Ready, Steady, Go! came about at precisely the right time for a nationwide show. Beatlemania had overtaken the United Kingdom in 1962, and the nation was in the midst of an absolute craze for beat groups of any kind.

Ready, Steady, Go! debuted on 9 August 1963 and originally aired in the London area, although it would not be long before it aired across the United Kingdom, albeit sometimes in different timeslots across the country. The show was produced by Vicki Wickham and was originally presented by Keith Fordyce and David Gell. Mr. Fordyce left after the fifth edition of Ready, Steady, Go!, after which David Gell presented the show by himself. While Cathy McGowan is forever identified with Ready, Steady, Go!, she would not become a presenter until January 1964. Originally hired as a "teenage advisor", she and Michael Aldred started presenting the show alongside Keith Fordyce starting in January 1964.  This particularly team of presenters lasted until April 1965, after which Miss McGowan presented the show on her own. Dusty Springfield also served as a guest presenter from time to time.

Not only were changes in presenters on Ready, Steady, Go!, but the show also changed very slightly in its format. Like nearly every other show on British television at the time (and American television, for that matter), performers mimed to their records. It was in 1965 that the Musicians Union enforced a ban on miming to records on television. Afterwards, then, performers performed their songs live on Ready, Steady, Go!. It would also move studios. Ready, Steady, Go! was originally shot at Television House (the headquarters of Associated-Rediffusion) in Kingsway, London. It later moved to Rediffusion's Studio One in Wembley.

Ready, Steady, Go! proved phenomenally successful. Much of this was due to the fact that it was the only popular music programme that aired on Friday night. This allowed it to capture more of the teenage audience than its competitors (BBC's Juke Box Jury and ITV's Thank Your Lucky Stars aired on Saturday evenings, while BBC's Top of the Pops aired on Thursday). Indeed, the show's slogan throughout its run was The weekend starts here!" Another element in the show's success may have been the fact that the relatively small size of the studio at Television House created for some often inventive camera work. Not only were shots often at unusual angles, but the cameras tended to move a good deal than on the average show as well.

Ready, Steady, Go! would have an impact on youth culture in the United Kingdom in the Sixties. Among other things, it would be largely responsible for spreading (and perhaps commercialising, as well) the Mod subculture that had existed in some form since the late Fifties. Indeed, in April 1964 there aired a special edition of the show, The Ready, Steady, Go Mod Ball. The Ready, Steady, Go Mod Ball was staged for charity and aired live from Empire Pool. It involved 8,000 Mods and featured such acts as The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, Freddie and The Dreamers, The Merseybeats, and Manfred Mann.

Of course, in its years on the air Ready, Steady, Go! featured some of the top rock performers of the day. Quite naturally, The Beatles numbered among these performers. In fact, the highest rated edition of Ready, Steady, Go! was on 20 March 1964. The Beatles performed their songs "It Won't Be Long", "You Can't Do That" and "Can't Buy Me Love", as well as being interviewed. The Who were also very popular on Ready, Steady, Go! Not only did they appear in nearly twenty editions of the show, but they even had an entire Ready, Steady, Go! special dedicated to them. Other performers who appeared throughout the show's run were The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, The Yardbirds, The Zombies, The Hollies, Dusty Springfield, The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five, The Troggs, Lulu, The Supremes, and many, many more.

In addition to featuring well established artists, Ready, Steady, Go! would also be responsible for helping the careers of up and coming performers. Donovan's career took off after he appeared several times on Ready, Steady, Go! in early 1965. It was after Jimi Hendrix performed "Hey, Joe" on Ready, Steady, Go! that his tour sold out. Not long afterwards he was also added to a national tour that included the ever popular Walker Brothers.

Among other things, Ready, Steady, Go! would have an impact on youth fashion. Much of this was through Cathy McGowan. Called by some "the Queen of the Mods", a great deal was made of her fashion sense at the time, to the point that designers were eager to wear their fashions. Although she was a presenter rather than a performer, Cathy McGowan had much the same influence on young women's fashion as such pop stars as Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, and Lulu.  Of course, the audience on Ready, Steady, Go! would also have an influence on fashion. It was in a small part due to the show that Mod styles spread throughout the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the success of Ready, Steady, Go! would not last. By 1966 the beat boom that had emerged in the United Kingdom in the early Sixties was losing steam and the audience for Ready, Steady, Go! was declining. A change in the show's time slot could not save the show and in the end what once the most popular music show in Britain was cancelled. It aired its last edition on 23 December 1966.

While Ready, Steady, Go! lasted only a little over three years, it proved very influential for a time. It was important in popularising Mod fashions throughout Britain. It was also pivotal in the careers of such performers as The Who, Lulu, Donovan, Jimi Hendrix, and others. It would have a lasting impact on similar shows that have aired since, all of which have felt its influence in one way or another. Lasting only three years having been off the air for decades, Ready, Steady, Go! remains one of the best remembered shows of its time.

Godspeed Karen Black

Karen Black, known for her roles in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and many other films, died today (8 August 2013) at the age of 74. The cause was ampullary cancer.

Karen Black was born Karen Blanche Ziegler on 1 July 1939 in Park Ridge, Illinois. Her mother was children's novelist Elsie Reif and her father was Norman Ziegler.  She attended Northwestern University in Chicago for two years before moving to New York City to pursue acting. She studied acting under Lee Strasberg and appeared in a few off-Broadway revues.

She made her film debut in a small part in The Prime Time in 1959. She was an understudy on Broadway in Take Her, She's Mine (1961-1962) and appeared on Broadway in The Playroom (1965-1966).  In the Sixties she also appeared on Broadway in Happily Never After (1966) and Keep It In the Family (1967). She appeared in the films You're a Big Boy Now (1966), Hard Contract (1969), Easy Rider (1969), Freedom (1970), and Five Easy Pieces (1970), for which she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She appeared on such television shows as The F.B.I., Run for Your Life, The Big Valley, Iron Horse, and Adam-12.

In the Seventies Miss Black appeared in such films as Drive, He Said (1971), Born to Win (1971), Cisco Pike (1972), Portnoy's Complaint (1972), Little Laura and Big John (1973), The Outfit (1973), Rhinoceros (1974), The Great Gatsby (1974) , The Day of the Locust (1975), Nashville (1975), Family Plot (1976), Burnt Offerings (1976), Capricorn One (1977), and The Last Word (1979).

In the Eighties she appeared in such films as Separate Ways (1981), Chanel Solitaire (1981), La donna giusta (1982), Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983), A Stroke of Genius (1984), Martin's Day (1985), Savage Dawn (1985), Flight of the Spruce Goose (1986), It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987), Hostage (1987), The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway (1988), Homer and Eddie (1989), and The Children (1990).  She appeared on Broadway in Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. She appeared on television in the shows E/R, The Hitchhiker, Murder She Wrote, and Faerie Tale Theatre.

In the Nineties she appeared in such films as Rubin and Ed (1991), Caged Fear (1992), Tuesday Never Comes (1993), Too Bad About Jack (1994), Starstruck (1995), Every Minute Is Goodbye (1996), Dogtown (1996), Men (1997), Fallen Arches (1998), Bury the Evidence (1998), Charades (1998), Mascara (1999), and Inviati speciali (2000). She appeared on television in the shows The Hunger, Profiler, and Party of Five.

From the Naughts into the Teens, Miss Black appeared in such films as Hard Luck (2001), A Light in the Darkness (2002), Curse of the Forty-Niner (2002), Buttleman (2003), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Paris (2003) , Summer Solstice (2003), Birth of Industry (2004), Crazy for Love (2005), Firecracker (2005), A Single Woman (2008), Irene in Time (2009), Maria My Love (2011), and Ooga Booga (2013). She appeared on television in the show Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Karen Black was an extremely versatile actress, something that can be told simply by looking at her best known roles. She played a prostitute who trips on acid with Wyatt and Billy in Easy Rider, a glamorous but not particularly talented country singer in Nashville, an aspiring actress in Day of the Locust, and the waitress attached (rather unhappily) to musician Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) in Five Easy Pieces. These roles were diverse enough that they could have been played by different actresses, and yet they were all played convincingly by Karen Black. She was an actress of great talent, making it little wonder that she was exceedingly prolific until her untimely death. Few actors displayed the talent that she did.

Actress Gail Kobe Passes On

Actress Gail Kobe, who was a regular on Peyton Place and later a producer on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, died on 1 August 2013 at the age of 82.

Gail Kobe was born Gabriella Kieliszewski on 19 March 1931 in Hamtramck, Michigan. She made her screen debut in an uncredited role in East of Eden in 1955. She made her television debut in an episode of Dragnet in 1956. In the late Fifties she appeared on such shows as The Millionaire, Highway Patrol, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Studio 57, Cheyenne, Fireside Theatre, Goodyear Theatre, Sugarfoot, Zane Grey Theatre, Trackdown, Wagon Train, Richard Diamond Private Detective, Mike Hammer, M Squad, and The Rebel. She appeared in a very small part in the film The Ten Commandments (1956),

In the Sixties she was a regular on the prime time soap opera Peyton Place. She guest starred on such shows as Maverick, The Detectives, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, Laramie, Have Gun--Will Travel, Combat, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, The Virginian, 77 Sunset Strip, The Twilight Zone, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, Dr. Kildare, Tarzan, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, Ironside, Bewitched, and Daniel Boone. In the Seventies she appeared on Mannix.

Gail Kobe retired from acting and began working as a producer on various shows, starting with a supervising producer position on The Edge of Night. She went onto serve as a producer on The Guiding Light, Texas, and The Bold and the Beautiful.