RIP Lois Nettleton

[silverscreenselect]

This is another one that I just heard about from a couple of weeks left.

Stage, screen and TV actress Lois Nettleton died on Jan. 20. Nettleton usually played blonde girl-next-door types. Much like Suzanne Pleshette, she was a TV staple during the 1960's and 70's, but her only TV series was a one-season bomb opposite Jerry Van Dyke. She kept busy with tons of guest star roles.

She was married to humorist Jean Shepherd during the 1960's. Before that, she began calling into Shepherd's night time New York radio show (unidentified) and getting involved in lengthy on-air chats. The segments became so popular (Nettleton was identified only as The Caller) that other listeners began calling in and talking to Shepherd as well, which allowed his show to be generally credited as the originator of call-in radio.

Depending upon varying ages listed in her bio, Nettleton was either 78 or 80.

[AlphaDummy]

Steve Beverly noted her passing on his website (it has since been taken down). In it, he noted how she had evolved over the years as a celebrity player on "Pyramid".

Here she is on one of my favorite YouTube game show clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SWRsf_CuY

[SportsFan68]

I thought she was a great actor based on a Dr. Kildare that I still remember despite how old I was. OK, how young.

I looked it up, and holy cow! I'd like to see some of these again:

Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare (9-28-61 to 8-30-66, NBC) Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey star in the competitor to Ben Casey.
Admitting Service 11-2-61 William Shatner (I love to watch future starship captains chewing up scenery.)
Balance and the Crucible w/ Peter Falk I love just about everything I've ever seen with Falk in it.
Behold The Great Man 4-parts 9-13-65 James Mason I bet this was a great story.
Burning Sky 1-4-62 Robert Redford, Carroll O'Connor Robert Redford and Carroll O'Connor?????? I'd REALLY like to see this one.
Chemistry of Anger 4-26-62 Rip Torn, Joyce Van Patten I'd love to see young Torn and Patten.
Child Between 3-5-64 Beau Bridges Good grief! He musta been 12 years old!
Dark Side of the Mirror 3-28-63 Polly Bergen I thought Polly Bergen was a great actress too.
Day to Remember 4-2-64 Anne Baxter, Yvonne Craig I knew I knew Yvonne Craig from someplace! She helped Quack tear up scenery in Whom Gods Destroy.
Dolly's Dilemma 5-21-64 Joan Blondell, Chester Morris Would like to see these two young again also.
Do You Trust Your Doctor? 3-4-65 Robert Culp I remember Culp from I Spy.
Exchange of Gifts w/ Rip Torn Wonder if he played the same character as in Chemistry of Anger.
Fathers and Daughters/4 parts 11-22-65 Fred Astaire, Laura Devon, Kathy Garver I tried to google this one but couldn't find much. Wonder if he danced in it.
Gift of the Koodjanuk 5-9-63 Brian Keith, Greg Morris This must have been the Mission: Impossible Morris. I don't remember it at all, though.
Glory Hunter 28-62 Martin Balsam Balsam was great. I watched 12 Angry Men not long ago.
Goodbye Mr. Jersey 2-20-64 Suzanne Pleshette Ah, the beautiful Ms. Pleshette, who seems to have inhabited a great many dreams of a great number of our male Bored denizens.
If You Can Believe the Truth 10-10-63 Barbara Eden, Bob Denver, James Whitmore Wow, what a lineup! Wish I could see this one again.
Island Like a Peacock 5-16-63 Forrest Tucker, Kathryn Hays, Leonard Nimoy I love to watch future best First Officers in the fleet solve every problem in 60 minutes.
Legacy w/ Ed Asner Wonder if this landed him the MTM job.
Million Dollar Property 10-26-61 Anne Francis I remember this one! She was fabulous.
One for the Road 4-12-60 Lee Marvin Wonder if this one was funny or serious.
Quid Pro Quo 3-26-64 Michael Callan I had a mad crush on Michael Callan for about two weeks after I saw Cat Ballou. That was the highlight of his acting career as far as I was concerned...
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not/2 parts 3-18/1-25-65 Angie Dickinson,L. Neilsen I bet this was fabulous.
Speak Not in Angry Whisper 5-14-64 Lois Nettleton I loved Dr. Kildare, but so far I've remembered only two episodes. . . . Oh well.
What's Different About Today 10-22-64 Kim Darby Good grief! She musta been 12 years old!

[silverscreenselect]

I thought she was a great actor based on a Dr. Kildare that I still remember despite how old I was. OK, how young.

I looked it up, and holy cow! I'd like to see some of these again:

Mrs. SSS and I love seeing some of those vintage 50-60's shows that have been released on DVD. It's a kick to see big stars before they made it and vintage actors on their last go-arounds.

It's also surprising how well some of these hold up in terms of plotting and, of course, acting. The extra 8-9 minutes of show time in a 60 minute episode from back then until now makes a big difference in terms of story and character development. Shows today have great characters, but they take a long time to develop over the course of a season. There were some terrific one-episode guest appearances back then.

It's also surprising to see how things have changed (virtually everyone back then smoked cigarettes quite casually), and the use of special effects and stunt work was considerably more rudimentary back then.

Dr. Kildare is one show I would love to see back on DVD, along with The Defenders. Boston Legal used clips from the pilot episode of The Defenders with Ralph Bellamy and a very young William Shatner in flashback sequences for an episode last season. What they didn't show was the guy Bellamy and Shatner were defending, Steve McQueen.

Among shows from that era that are fun to watch on DVD are: The Untouchables, Route 66, The Fugitive, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Combat, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Twilight Zone is also out, but that's one show that has never been MIA on television over the years). Slightly more recent shows that are also a good view are Wild, Wild West, Mission Impossible, Ironside and Hawaii 5-0.

[VAdame]

Oh, I remember her well -- she was sort of a perpetual guest star on shows like Marcus Welby, and, especially, Medical Center. She has no fewer than five guest credits on that show, playing five different characters!

But I can especially picture Ms. Nettleton in her Twilight Zone role -- she was Norma in the "Midnight Sun" episode.

I didn't know she was Mrs. Jean Shepherd though. Cool story about the radio show!

RIP