Easter Episodes of American TV Shows

While special episodes dedicated to Christmas and Halloween have been downright common on American television shows for much of television history, until the Naughts episodes dedicated to Easter have been relatively rare. Beyond the fact that Easter is not quite as high a profile holiday as Christmas and Halloween in the United States, there are two basic reasons for this. In the Fifties episodes of television shows dedicated to specific holidays beyond Christmas were relatively uncommon. By the Sixties and Seventies, many shows were ending their seasons in March or early April. For instance, the second season of The Monkees ended on March 25 1968. The majority of the seasons of the Seventies series The Waltons ended in March as well.  Given the earliest possible date for Easter is March 22 and the latest possible date for Easter is April 25, it's little wonder that in the Sixties and Seventies only a few shows did Easter episodes. With more pre-emptions, by the Eighties the broadcast networks would drag out the seasons of shows until early May, but for whatever reason there still weren't too many Easter episodes. In the end, they would not become relatively common until the Naughts.

While Easter episodes have been historically rare, there have been classic television shows that have done Easter episodes. Two of the earliest Easter episodes aired in 1953. On the April 4 1953 episode of The Jackie Gleason Show, in the "Honeymooners" skit "Easter Hats," the Kramdens and Nortons celebrate Easter, including colouring eggs and getting Easter hats (hence the title). The other Easter episode of 1953 was the eighth episode of Betty White's classic sitcom Life with Elizabeth. In the first sketch (or "incident," as they were called on the show) "Dyeing Easter Eggs," Elizabeth dyes eggs with the help of her husband Alvin (Del Moore), with hilarious results.

Another early Easter episode appeared on The Jack Benny Program. This should come as no surprise, as The Jack Benny Program had a history of episodes dedicated to holidays on radio, including Easter. That having been said, the April 17 1960 episode, "Easter Show," was the only Easter episode of The Jack Benny Program to appear on television. The episode featured Jack and his girlfriend of the moment Mildred (played by Barbara Nichols) walking in the Beverly Hills Easter Parade and encountering Dennis Day, his violin teacher Professor LeBlanc (played by Mel Blanc), and a photographer played by Frank Nelson (well known for his "Yeeeeeeeeesssss?" catchphrase).

It was five years later that McHale's Navy featured its only Easter episode. "Chuckie Cottontail" aired on March 23 1965. In the episode, Captain Binghamton (Joe E. Flynn), Lt. Carpenter (Bob Hastings), and Admiral Hardsey (John Zaremba) are captured by Japanese soldiers who have gotten drunk on egg nog made from stolen eggs. Adding to their embarrassment, the trio are rescued by the Easter Bunny (actually Ensign Parker, played by Tim Conway) on his way to an Easter egg hunt that McHale (Ernest Borgnine) has organized for the local children.

While many shows took a light touch when it came to Easter, the religious clay-animation series Davey and Goliath took a more serious view of the holiday. The original run of the series was from 1962 to 1965, but in 1967 there would be three, half-hour long specials, one of which was "Happy Easter." The episode featured Davey grieving his Grandmother Hansen, who had died, and learning the importance of Easter as a religious holiday. 

As bizarre as it might sound, there was even an Easter episode of Bonanza. Easter fell early during the show's eleventh season and that season ran well into April. The result was the Easter episode, "Caution, Easter Bunny Crossing." In "Caution, Easter Bunny Crossing," Hoss (Dan Blocker) finds himself wrangled into playing the Easter Bunny for a Quaker woman (Allyn Ann McLerie) in charge of an orphanage. At the same time, he finds himself contending with a bumbling gang of stage coach robbers. "Caution, Easter Bunny Crossing" was one of the show's many comedy episodes.

While The Waltons generally ended its seasons in March, in its first season one episode was held back until April 19 1973, as it was an Easter episode. The two hour episode "An Easter Story" unfolded from February, when Olivia (Miss Michael Learned) contracted polio, to Easter, at which time she recovered. In 1997 one of several reunion movies for The Waltons was set at Easter, A Walton Easter.

M*A*S*H had one Easter story during its run, although, oddly enough, it aired on December 31 1974 rather than a time closer to the holiday. In "Private Charles Lamb," the 4077th is invited to an Easter dinner held by a Greek unit. Animal lover Radar (Gary Burghoff) must then find a way to save the main course, a cute little lamb. 

It was during the same season, although closer to the actual holiday, that the Easter episode of Happy Days aired. In "Three on a Porch," Richie (Ron Howard), Potsie (Anson Williams), and Ralph (Don Most) decide to masquerade as foreign businessmen at a lake resort in order to pick up college girls.

It would be several years later that the sitcom Alice would feature its Easter episode On the episode, "Here Comes Alice Cottontail," Alice's son Tommy wants to go with friends to Mexico for Easter break. When Alice (Linda Lavin) refuses to let him do so, he moves in with Alice's boss Mel (Vic Tayback). Alice bets Mel that he will kick Tommy out while Mel is certain that Alice will be snooping on her son. As it turns out, Alice does. What is more, she dresses in a rabbit costume to do so (it is Easter, after all).

While Easter episodes would remain infrequent in the Eighties and the Nineties, they appear to have become more common in the Naughts and Teens. Such recent shows as The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, South Park, and Superstore have all featured episodes dedicated to the holiday. With the television seasons having changed over the years and the advent of streaming (where the traditional television season doesn't exist), it seems possible that they will continue to be relatively common when compared to the past.

TCM's 31 Days of Oscar 2021

Those of you familiar with me know that 31 Days of Oscar on Turner Classic Movies may well be my least favourite time of year on the channel. Historically I have had two basic problems with 31 Days of Oscar. The first is that it pre-empts TCM's usual programming for four weeks. That means throughout 31 Days of Oscar, there is no Noir Alley, no Silent Sunday Nights, no TCM Underground. Now I could live with that (I don't seem to have the same problem with Summer Under the Stars), except for my second reason. Quite simply, more than at any other of time of year, it is sometimes the case that TCM shows fewer of my favourite movies. There have been years where I have watched far fewer movies on Turner Classic Movies during 31 Days of Oscar than any other time of year.

Fortunately, this year doesn't seem to be the case, as they are airing more of my favourites during 31 Days of Oscar. Quite simply, this is one of the best line-ups they have had for 31 Days of Oscar in a few years. This 31 Days of Oscar does differ from earlier blocks of 31 Days of Oscar in that this time they are airing the movies in alphabetical order.  Anyway, following are my choices of what you really don't want to miss during this year's 31 Days of Oscar. I want to stress that for the sake of brevity I didn't include every single one of my favourites. I love The Philadelphia Story, but given how often TCM shows it I am convinced there is no one who hasn't seen it yet! All times are Central.

Thursday, April 1
7:00 AM The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
1:15 AM Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Friday, April 2
11:00 PM The Awful Truth (1937)
3:00 AM The Birds (1963)

Saturday, April 3
5:00 AM Blithe Spirit (1945)
1:00 PM Bullitt (1968)
3:15 PM Caged (1950)

Sunday, April 4
1:15 PM The Defiant Ones (1958)

Monday, April 5
11:00 PM The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)
12:45 AM Flower Drum Song (1961)

Tuesday, April 6
6:45 AM Forbidden Planet (1956)
1:00 PM 42nd Street (1933)
7:00 PM The 400 Blows (1959)

Wednesday, April 7
2:30 AM The Great Race (1965)
7:00 PM The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Friday, April 9
11:00 AM A Hard Day's Night (1964)
1:00 PM Harvey (1950)

Saturday, April 10
9:00 PM The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
1:00 AM I Married a Witch (1942)

Sunday, April 11
9:30 PM In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Monday, April 12
7:30 AM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
9:30 AM It Happened One Night (1934)
4:15 PM It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Tuesday, April 13
5:00 AM Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Wednesday, April 14
7:00 PM The Lady Eve (1941)
9:00 PM The Ladykillers (1955)

Thursday, April 15
11:00 AM The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
7:00 PM Lilies of the Field (1963)

Friday, April 16
9:00 AM Lover Come Back (1961)
5:00 PM The Maltese Falcon (1941)
11:30 PM The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Saturday, April 17
7:30 AM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

9:00 PM Mister Roberts (1955)

Sunday, April 18
1:15 PM Mystery Street (1950)
9:15 Pm Network (1976)

Monday, April 19
8:00 AM Now Voyager (1942)
9:45 PM On the Town (1949)

Wednesday, April 21
7:00 PM Pillow Talk (1959)

Thursday, April 22
1:00 PM The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
10:45 PM The Public Enemy (1931)

Friday, April 23
11:15 AM Rashomon (1950)
3:00 PM Rear Window (1954)

Saturday, April 24
9:30 PM Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
1:15 AM Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
3:15 AM Shaft (1971)

Sunday, April 25
10:00 AM Ship of Fools (1965)
5:00 PM Singin' in the Rain (1953)
11:00 PM Sounder (1972)

Tuesday, April 27
3:15 PM Strangers on a Train (1951)

Wednesday, April 28
Them! (1954)
10:00 PM The Thin Man (1933)12:15 AM The Third Man (1949)

Thursday, April 29
7:00 PM The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Friday, April 30
3:30 PM The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

Saturday, May 1
12:00 PM What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
5:00 PM White Heat (1949)
7:00 PM The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Godspeed Richard Gilliland

Richard Gilliland, who played Jonesy on The Waltons and J. D. Shackleford on Designing Women, died on March 18 2021 at the age of 71 after a brief illness.

Richard Gilliland was born on January 23 1950 in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago. He portrayed Jesus in the Broadway production of Godspell. Afterwards he moved to Los Angeles. He made his television debut in the TV movie Unwed Father in 1974.

In the Seventies he played the regular role of Sgt. Steve DiMaggio on the TV series McMillan & Wife and the lead role of Lt. Nick Holden on Operation Petticoat. He guest starred on the shows The Streets of San Francisco; Medical Center; Marcus Welby, M.D.; The Blue Knight; Visions; Little Women; and Trapper John, M.D. He appeared in the movies Bug (1975), Stay Hungry (1976), and The White Buffalo (1977).

In the Eighties Mr. Gilliland appeared in the semi-regular role of Jonesy on The Waltons, played one of the leads in the short-lived sitcom Just Our Luck, appeared as J. D. Shackleford on Designing Women, and appeared in the recurring role of Jeffrey Milgrom on Thirtysomething. He guest starred on the shows Love Boat; Fantasy Island; Hotel; St. Elsewhere; Mary; Hunter; Night Court; Valerie; CBS Summer Playhouse; Heartbeat; and Christine Cromwell. He appeared in the movies Airpolane II: The Sequel (1982), Happy Hour (1986), and Escape (1990).

In the Nineties Richard Gilliland guest starred on the shows Equal Justice; Jake and the Fatman; Davis Rules; Murder, She Wrote; Winnetka Road; Under Suspicion; Matlock; Touched by An Angel; Dark Skies; Early Edition; Brooklyn South; The Practice; Party of Five; and Judging Amy. He was a guest voice on Batman: The Animated Series. He appeared in the movies Playing Dangerous 2 (1992) and Star Kid (1997).

In the Naughts he guest starred on Becker, Joan of Arcadia, Crossing Jordan, 24, The Unit, Dexter, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Desperate Housewives. He appeared in the movies Home Room (2002) and Vampire Clan (2007). In the Teens he was a regular on Imposters. He guest starred on the TV shows Torchwood, Scandal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Highly Evolved Human, and Criminal Minds. He appeared in the movies Parts Per Billion (2014) and Case 347 (2020).

Over the years Richard Gilliland played many affable characters, such as Jonesy on The Waltons, Lt. Holden on Operation Petticoat, and J. D. Shackleford on Designing Women. That having been said, he was capable of playing other sorts of roles. Indeed, on Matlock he played a role as far as way from Jonesy or J.D. as one could get, serial killer Jeffrey Speidel. He played the role convincingly and may well have been the only villain to appear once more  time on the show. From time to time he also played characters who were well left of centre. In the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Rubbery Homicide" he played a man who dressed up as a female rubber doll. Richard Gilliland had a gift for playing amiable, well-adjusted characters such as Jonesy and J.D., but his talent was such that he could play characters that were as far from being amiable or well-adjusted as possible.

The Late Great Beverly Cleary

Short of Dr. Seuss, Beverly Cleary may well be the most influential children's author of the 20th Century. She certainly influenced multiple generations over her long writing career. Indeed, she was a successful writer before I was even born. She created several beloved characters, including Henry Huggins, Beezus Quimby, Ramona Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse. It is a mark of her success that her books have remained in print, decades after they were first published. Beverly Cleary died on March 25 2021 at the age of 104.

Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Bunn on April 12 1916 in McMinnville, Oregon. She spent her early years on her family farm, and when she was six years old her family moved to Portland, Oregon. While she would later become a very successful author, in first grade she had difficulty learning to read, primarily due to a series of illnesses she had throughout the year (chickenpox, tonsillitis, and smallpox).  Fortunately, her reading improved, but she found many of the books for children at the time rather dull. As she once said in an interview, "So many books in those days, back in the 1920s, had been published in England," she says, "and the children had nannies and pony carts. They seemed like a bunch of sissies to me." It was in third grade that she discovered the book The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins, which unlike many other books at the time was about ordinary children. It was in sixth grade that her teacher, based on her writing assignments, suggested that she become a children's author.

Beverly Cleary attended Chaffey Junior College in Ontario, California and later the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated in 1938 with a degree in English. It was during this period that she met Clarence Cleary, who would become her husband. She earned another bachelor's degree, this one in the library science, at the University of Washington. In 1940 she married Clarence Cleary and the two remained married until his death in 2004.

Mrs. Cleary worked as a children's librarian and noticed that they were often unimpressed by the books available to them. She was asked once by a little boy, "Where are the books about kids like us?" Beverly Cleary sympathized with her young patrons, and as a result wrote her first book, Henry Huggins. It was published in 1950 and proved to be an immediate success. It would be followed by several more chapter books staring Henry Huggins, his dog Ribsy, his friend Beezus (given name Beatrice), and her little sister Ramona. Beezus and Ramona would be featured in their own book, Beezus and Ramona, published in 1955.

While Beverly Cleary's chapter books about Henry Huggins proved successful, she also wrote books for older readers. These included Fifteen (1956), The Luckiest Girl (1958), Jean and Johnny (1959), Sister of the Bride (1963), and others. She also wrote three novels based on the sitcom Leave It to Beaver: Leave It to Beaver (1960), Beaver and Wally (1961), and Here's Beaver! (1961).

Beverly Cleary would follow the success of her Henry Huggins books with books about Ralph S. Mouse. Ralph was a mouse who can talk to humans (although he generally only speaks to children) and lives in a rundown inn. In The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) he is given a toy motorcycle by one of the young visitors to the inn, and learns he can ride it. Ralph was featured in two more books: Runaway Ralph (1970) and Ralph S. Mouse (1982).

What may well be Beverly Cleary's most successful series of books was a spinoff of the Henry Huggins books. Ramona Quimby originated as a supporting character as Beezus's little sister in the Henry Huggins books. In Beezus and Ramona she was given a larger role. The Ramona series originated after a publisher had asked her to write a book about a kindergarten student. Having never attended kindergarten, Mrs. Cleary initially resisted, but decided to go ahead and write a book about a kindergarten student after the birth of her twins. Ramona the Pest (1968) gave Ramona a starring role. It was followed by six more books.

Beverly Cleary wrote several books outside of her series, including Otis Spofford (about a precocious fourth grader), Emily's Runaway Imagination (set in the 1920s), and Socks (about a cat who runs away from home after his family have a new baby).  She also wrote two memoirs, A Girl from Yamhill (1988) and On My Own Two Feet (1995).

Beverly Cleary's works have been adapted to other media. In the late Eighties and early Nineties, the Ralph S. Mouse books were adapted as three episodes of the ABC Weekend Specials. The Ramons series was adapted as a ten episode Canadian TV series in 1980. The books Ramona Forever and Ramona's World were adapted as the feature film Ramona and Beezus (2010).

Beverly Cleary's success came from more than being a skilled writer with an incredible wit. Much of it came from the fact that she filled a niche. Prior to Beverly Cleary, there were few books that featured ordinary, American children. Until the publication of Henry Huggins, there were very few characters in books that American, 20th Century children could relate to. In contrast, Beverly Cleary's characters were entirely relatable. What is more, she had a gift for writing about the minutiae of children's lives, whether it's Henry Huggins's attempts to earn money for a new book or Beezus having to put up with her younger sister Ramona's antics. Even in the Ralph S. Mouse books, Mrs. Cleary dealt with topics of importance to children (longing for a more exciting life, getting aggravated at one's family, and so on). While Socks is about a cat and written from the cat's point of view, many children might be able to identify with Socks's jealousy of his family's new baby.

Beverly Cleary has been among one of my favourite authors since childhood. I read the Henry Huggins books and the Ralph S. Mouse books, and I enjoyed them immensely. Beverly Cleary's career lasted so long and she was so successful, that my older sister read some of her books and my nieces as well. She wrote for nearly fifty years, producing an oeuvre that remains in print to this day. Given how relatable her characters were and how universal the themes in her books, Beverly Cleary's books will likely be in print 100 years from now.

The Late Great Jessica Walter

Actress Jessica Walter died in her sleep at age 80 yesterday, March 24 2021. She played a deranged stalker in Play Misty for Me (1971). On television she played Lucille on the sitcom Arrested Development and the voices of Fran Sinclair on Dinosaurs and Malory Archer on Archer.

Jessica Walter was born on January 31 1941 in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Astoria, Queens. Her father, David Walter, was a violinist who played with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Her mother, Esther, was a Russian immigrant. Her brother, Richard Walter, became a writer and chairman of the graduate program in screenwriting.

Jessica Walter studied acting at Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts and later the Neighbourhood Playhouse. In 1960 she made her debut on Broadway in Advise and Consent. That same year she made her television debut in an episode of Diagnosis: Unknown.

In the Sixties Jessica Walter played the regular role of Phyllis Koster, wife of assistant district attorney David Koster (William Shatner) on the short-lived series For the People. She was also a regular on the soap opera Love of Life from 1962 to 1965. She guest starred on Naked City, Route 66, East Side/West Side, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Ben Casey, Flipper, The Nurses, The Reporter, The Rouges, The Defenders, The Trials of O'Brien, The F.B.I., The Fugitive, Preview Tonight, It Takes a Thief, The Immortal, Then Came Bronson, Mission: Impossible, and The Most Deadly Game. She made her film debut in Lilith in 1964. She appeared in the movies The Group (1966), Grand Prix (1966), Bye Bye Braverman (1968), and Number One (1969). Miss Walter appeared on Broadway in Night Life, Photo Finish, and A Severed Head.

In the Seventies Jessica Walter played deranged stalker Evelyn Draper in Play Misty for Me (1971). She also appeared in the movies Goldengirl (1979) and Concorde...Airport '79 (1979). On television she played the lead of the title in the short-lived series Amy Prentiss. She guest starred on Storefront Lawyers; The Name of the Game; Alias Smith and Jones; The Sixth Sense; Banyon; Cannon; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Banacek; Mannix; Tenafly; Medical Center; Love, American Style; Columbo; The Magician; Ironside; Barnaby Jones; Hawaii Five-O; McCloud; The Streets of San Francisco; Visions; All That Glitters; Wonder Woman; What Really Happened to the Class of '65; Gibbsville; Quincy, M.E. She appeared in several TV movies, including playing Morgan Le Fay in Dr. Strange.

In the Eighties Jessica Walter was a regular on the nighttime soap opera Bare Essence, the sitcom Three's a Crowd, and the family drama Aaron's Way. She played the recurring role of the title character's ex-wife on Trapper John, M.D. She was a voice on the animated series Wildfire. She guest starred on the shows Love Boat, Aloha Paradise, Knot's Landing, Joanie Loves Chachi, Matt Houston, Hotel, Magnum P.I., and J. J. Starbuck. Miss Walter appeared in the movies Going Ape! (1981), Spring Fever (1982), The Flamingo Kid (1984), and Tapeheads (1988). She appeared on Broadway in Rumors.

In the Nineties Jessica Walter was the voice of Earl Sinclair's long-suffering wife Fran Sinclair on the sitcom Dinosaurs. She was a regular on the sitcom Oh Baby. She had a recurring role on the sitcoms Coach and Jack & Jill, as well as the soap opera One Life to Live. She guest starred on the shows The Round Table; Murder, She Wrote; Babylon 5; Law & Order; You Wish; Poltergeist: The Legacy; and Just Shoot Me!. Miss Walter appeared in the movies Ghost in the Machine (1993), PCU (1994), Temptress (1995), and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998).

In the Naughts Jessica Walter played Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development. She was a regular on 90120 for the first half of its first season. She began her long run as the voice of Malory Archer on the animated series Archer. She had recurring roles on Saving Grace and Gravity. She guest starred on Touched by An Angel, Rules of Engagement, The Wedding Bells, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Happy Hour, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Make It or Break It. She appeared in the movies My Best Friend's Wife (2001), Dummy (2002), and Unaccompanied Minors (2006).

In the Teens she continued to voice Malory Archer on Archer. She reprised her role as Lucille on Arrested Development. She was a regular on Retired at 35 and Jennifer Falls. She guest starred on The Big Bang Theory, The Odd Couple (2016), NCIS, Difficult People, At Home with Amy Sedaris, Good Girls, and American Housewife. She was a regular voice on the animated series Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and provided guest voices on the animated shows Justice League Action and Harley Quinn. She appeared on Broadway in Anything Goes. She appeared in the movies Bending the Rules (2012), Keep the Change (2017), Undercover Grandpa (2017), and The Mimic (2020).

I cannot begin to describe my admiration for Jessica Walter. She was simply an incredible actress. I have only seen a few episodes of Arrested Development (it was always opposite one of my regularly watched shows during its original run), but I know many will always remember her as Lucille Bluth, the domineering matriarch of the Bluth family. Even for those who have only seen a few episodes of Arrested Development or none at all, there are a number of other roles they will probably remember Miss Walter for. For me, it will perhaps be two voice roles. The first was the voice of Fran Sinclair on Dinosaurs, the level headed, sensible, always patient wife of Earl Sinclair. She was truly Alice Kramden to Earl's Ralph. Malory Archer was about as far from Fran as one could get. She was the former head of spy agency ISIS and Archer's mother. She was also an utterly ruthless alcoholic who generally thinks of no one but herself. Although it is not well-remembered today, Jessica Walter played the title role on the short-lived Seventies series Amy Prentiss. Amy Prentiss was San Francisco's first chief of detectives. Miss Walter excelled in the role, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.

Jessica Walter was prolific. She somehow found time to be a regular on several TV shows, guest star on many more, and appear in movies and on Broadway to boot. What is more, she never gave a bad performance. As far as movies go, she will always remembered as the mentally disturbed stalker in Play Misty for Me. She also gave impressive turns as a racecar driver's wife in Grand Prix, the ambitious Libby in The Group, and widow Inez Braverman in Bye Bye Braverman. While Jessica Walter may be particularly remembered for her work in comedy, she was equally adept at drama. She excelled in both drama and comedy in playing complex, intelligent women. She did it so well that few actresses could ever match her. If Jessica Walter was prolific, if she had a career in television, in movies, and on Broadway, it was because she was so extraordinarily talented.

The Late Great George Segal

George Segal, the actor who starred in such films as King Rat (1965) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), died yesterday, March 23 2021, from complications from bypass surgery. He was 87 years old.

George Segal was born on February 13 1934 in Great Neck, New York. He was nine years old when he saw the movie This Gun for Hire (1942), starring Alan Ladd, and then decided to become an actor. He graduated from the George School, a private Quaker boarding school, in Newtown, Pennsylvania in 1951. He then attended Haverford College in Philadelphia. There he played banjo in Bruno Lynch and His Imperial Jazz Band. He was drafted into the United States Army and was stationed on Staten Island. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in New York City in 1955.

George Segal made his stage debut off-Broadway in Moliere's Don Juan in 1956. The production also included Peter Falk. He later appeared in a production of The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards and Leave it to Jane. For a time he was a member of the New York Shakespeare Festival Company. In the early Sixties he formed the comedy troupe The Premise.

He was working with The Premise when he was discovered by producer Larry Thurman. He was then cast in the role of Dr. Howard in the movie The Young Doctors (1961). In the Sixties he appeared in such notable films as Ship of Fools (1965), King Rat (1965), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and The Owl and the Pussycat (1970). He also appeared in the movies The Longest Day (1962), Act One (1963), The New Interns (1964), Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964), Lost Command (1966), The Quiller Memorandum (1966), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Bye Bye Braverman (1968), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Tenderly (1968), The Southern Star (1969), The Bridge of Regmagen (1969), Loving (1970), Where's Poppa? (1970), and The Owl and the Pussycat (1970).  On television he guest starred on the shows Play of the Week, The United States Steel Hour, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Naked City, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Channing, The Robert Taylor Show, The Nurses, and Arrest and Trial. He appeared on Broadway in the productions Gideon and Rattle of a Simple Man.

The Seventies saw George Segal as a leading man in several movies, including such films as The Hot Rock (1972), Blume in Love (1973), California Split (1974), and Fun with Dick and Jane (1977). He also appeared in the movies Born to Win (1971), A Touch of Class (1973), The Terminal Man (1974), Russian Roulette (1975), The Black Bird (1975), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976), Rollercoaster (1977), Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), Lost and Found (1979), and The Last Married Couple of America (1980).

In the Eighties he starred on the short-lived TV shows Take Five and Murphy's Law. He appeared in such TV movies as The Deadly Game, The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood, and Many Happy Returns. He appeared in the mini-series The Endless Game. He appeared in the movies Carbon Copy (1981), Killing 'em Softly (1982), Stick (1985), Run for Your Life (1988), All's Fair (1989), and Look Who's Talking (1989).  He appeared on Broadway in Requiem for a Heavyweight.

In the Nineties George Segal began a seven season run on the sitcom Just Shoot Me!. He also appeared on the short-lived shows High Tide and The Naked Truth. He had a recurring role on the show Tracey Takes On and provided the voice of Dr. Benton Quest on the animated series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. He guest starred on the show Murder, She Wrote; Burke's Law; Picture Windows; The Larry Sanders Show; Caroline in the City; and Bette. He appeared on Broadway in Art. He appeared in the movies For the Boys (1991), Feofaniya, risuyushchaya smert (1991), Un orso chiamato Arturo (1992), Me, Myself and I (1992), Look Who's Talking Now (1993), Joshua Tree (1993), Deep Down (1994), The Babysitter (1995), It's My Party (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

In the Naughts Mr. Segal continued to appear on television in Just Shoot Me!. He guest starred on The War at Home, Private Practice, Boston Legal, Pushing Daisies, and Entourage. He appeared in the movies Heights (2005), Three Days to Vegas (2007), Made for Each Other (2009), 2012 (2009), and Love & Other Drugs (2010). In the Teens he was a regular on the TV shows Retired at 35 and The Goldbergs. He appeared in the movie Elsa & Fred.

George Segal is probably best known for his light comedies, but he was a versatile actor who performed equally well in drama. I remember him best from the classic caper movie The Hot Rock, in which he played Andy Kelp, the eternally optimistic brother-in-law of professional thief John Dortmunder (Robert Redford). While Mr. Segal excelled in this comedy, he also did well in the war film King Rat, which he played Corporal King, the wheeler-dealer who survives life in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp through various less than honest enterprises. In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf he played Nick, one half of a young couple who become entangled in the constant fighting in which an older couple engage. He played a police detective who is a bit too close to his mother in No Way to Treat a Lady, a hairdresser who has become addicted to drugs in Born to Win, a book clerk and would-be novelist in The Owl and the Pussycat, and a card shark in The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox. George Segal played a wide variety of roles throughout his career. What is more, he did all of them well.

The 2021 TCM Classic Film Festival

On March 10 2021 (which also happens to be my birthday), Turner Classic Movies announced the 12th Annual  TCM Classic Film Festival. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year's festival will unfold virtually on both Turner Classic Movies and, for the first time, on the streaming service HBO Max. It runs from May 6 2021 to May 9 2021.

The 12th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival will open with a 60th anniversary screening of West Side Story (1961). New interviews with Rita Moreno, George Chakris, and Russ Tamblyn will air alongside the screening on TCM and will also be available on the Classics Curated by TCM hub on HBO Max. While TCM has yet to release the schedule, the 2021 TCM Classic Film Festival will include introductions by such directors as Rob Reiner and Mira Nair and tributes to Danny Glover and Ali McGraw.

I am certainly looking forward to this year's TCM Classic Film Festival. I thoroughly enjoyed last year's virtual version of the event. I hope that I am able to host a TCMParty during this year's festival. Last year I hosted a TCMParty for A Hard Day's Night. I only have one caveat about this year's festival. That is that apparently there be content exclusive tto HBO Max. Sadly, HBO Max is rather expensive for a streaming service at $14.99 a month. That places it out of the price range of those of us living on rather limited budgets. That means many TCM fans will be missing out on any content that is exclusive to HBO Max. While I appreciate that WarnerMedia wants to promote HBO Max, I don't think this is quite the best way to do it.

Regardless, last year's virtual film festival was a lot of fun. I thin I watched more movies during those four days that I did entire months of last year. I don't think this year's festival will be any different.