The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

 For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

Gary Cooper is known for some of the most iconic shots and soliloquies in cinema history.  From his long stare across the town in the famous, wide, crane shot ahead of the climactic showdown in High Noon, to his tear-jerking speech as Lou Gehrig in Pride of the Yankees, you can’t examine Hollywood’s Golden Era without highlighting Cooper’s contributions to the industry.

Born Frank James Cooper on May 7, 1901 in Helena, Montana, Gary’s parents sent him overseas to gain an “English education.”  He returned to America before his 11th birthday and spent his teenage years living the life of a cowboy.

When he was 15, he was injured in a car accident.  According to Larry Swindell’s “The Last Hero: the Biography of Gary Cooper,” his doctor’s misguided recommendation included Cooper’s recuperation consisting of horseback riding.  This caused a permanent disability and left him with his characteristic stiff, off-balanced walk now so familiar to film followers.

While still attending high school he also enrolled in an art school where many of his drawings and watercolor paintings received acclaim and attention in the community.  While his credibility grew as an artist while enrolled in Iowa’s Grinnell College (he was named the school yearbook’s art editor), he ironically was turned down for a position in the school’s drama club.

Aside from selling editorial cartoons to a local newspaper, Cooper struggled to find work as an artist and, after two years, left to join Poverty Row, working silent film Westerns as an extra (for $5 a day) or as a stuntman (for $10/day).

Cooper’s first important film role was a supporting part in 1926’s The Winning of Barbara Worth starring Ronald Colman.  Cooper relied on his own persona for the role, and the film’s success, based largely on Cooper’s performance, helped garnish major attention.  MGM reportedly rushed to offer Cooper a long-term contract, but he held out for a better deal—finally signing a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures for $175 per week.

While Cooper had an unremarkable career in silent films, his first “synchronized sound” film, Lilac Times, proved to be one of the most successful pictures of 1928.

Cooper then starred in The Virginian a year later, directed by Victor Fleming (Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind) and helped to establish the standard Western codes and conventions that are still used to this day.

While other leading men struggled to adjust to “talkies,” Gary’s deep, clear and natural–yet understated–delivery endeared him to audiences worldwide.

Meanwhile, Paramount, anxious to cash in on Cooper’s popularity, began starring him in as many films as they could.

Just SOME of his films in 1931 alone include Fighting Caravans with French actress Lili Damita, the Dashiell Hammett crime film, City Streets, co-starring Sylvia Sidney and Paul Lukas, I Take This Woman with Carole Lombard, and His Woman with Claudette Colbert. The demands and pressures of making ten films in two years left Cooper exhausted and in poor health. He had lost thirty pounds during that period and left Hollywood for Italy, where he lived for the next year.

Rested and rejuvenated by his year-long exile, a healthy Cooper returned to Hollywood in April 1932 and negotiated a new contract with Paramount for two films per year, a salary of $4,000 a week, along with director and script approval.

Cooper would soon star in one of his most memorable roles in A Farewell to Arms, which would prove to be one of Gary’s most challenging performances.  The film also  ignited a long-standing relationship with the original story’s famous writer, Ernest Hemingway.  Plus, a series of iconic performances and film classics would soon follow–and several future Showplace blog entries about Coop, yet to come!

You can see Cooper star in 1932’s A Farewell to Arms this Tuesday, May 25, at 9am (also featuring Helen Hayes) on RCN-TV.  Also, keep checking back to the “Showplace” for more insights on this great actor in early Hollywood history.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows, key names in the “Golden Age” of entertainment history and legendary cinematic performances.

I hope everyone has been enjoying reading background insights and little known information about our classic programs and watching them on RCN TV. 

Now it’s time to test your knowledge by taking our first ever Classic Video Showplace quiz. 

See how you do answering the following questions and then check out the answers listed below. 

Have fun!

1. Richard Denning became the most successful actor to play the role of Mr. North on television. He also played the role of the husband for what famous comedian on radio’s My Favorite Husband?

2. Gail Davis was one of few non-comedic actresses starring in 1954 television by successfully portraying what popular Western hero?

3. Who was THE biggest movie box office draw in the world in the early 1970s who first starred in the hit 1950s show, Man With A Camera?

4. Name the actress who had regular appearances on classic shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Life With Elizabeth, The Match Game and Golden Girls.

5. Which stranded passenger on Gilligan’s Island got his first big TV break co-starring on I Married Joan?

6. Which supporting character from the radio edition of The Jack Benny Program made the most appearances on the television version of the show?

7. Which famous cowboy beat his contracted film company in the “race” to produce his own show for television?

8. What popular entertainer was the executive producer for Lucille Ball’s second television sitcom, The Lucy Show?

9. Name the three television programs that left the air rated number one in the Nielson Ratings at the time of their series finale.

10. Which show(s) were direct spin offs of The Beverly Hillbillies?

Answers:

1. Lucille Ball

2. Annie Oakley

3. Charles Bronson

4. Betty White

5. Jim Backus

6. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson

7. Roy Rogers

8. Desi Arnaz

9. I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, The Andy Griffin Show

10. Petticoat Junction, Green Acres

You can see many of the above mentioned television shows, along with other great TV and film classics everyday on RCN-TV.  To see the full listing of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

Don’t forget to keep checking back to the Showplace for more classic trivia and little-known bits of information about some of the greatest shows and movies of all time.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows, key names in the “Golden Age” of entertainment history and legendary cinematic performances.

His name may not resonate with most people but he’s certainly one of those actors when you see his face on screen, you’d say “oh yeah, that guy!”

Charles Lane made a career for over 50 years playing an old curmudgeon on some of the greatest television programs of all time.

In the 1930s and 40s he was featured in bit parts of some of the most memorable films ever produced.

He was evil Mr. Potter’s rent collector in It’s A Wonderful Life, a crooked lawyer in Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, as “Henderson” in You Can’t Take It With You, and as the nosy reporter in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Heck, he was even a meanie in the feel-good holiday classic It Happened On 5th Avenue, playing a hard-nosed rent-collecting landlord.

But in the early 1950s, he began his transition of bringing his antagonist character acting to television.

Lane became friends with Lucille Ball and was used frequently by the Queen of Comedy anytime she needed a hard-nosed, stubborn antagonist to trigger some of her most elaborate schemes.

He had multiple guest starring appearances on I Love Lucy, throughout the show successful 6-year run – – always playing a different character yet providing a perfect foil for Lucy’s antics.  Probably his most memorable role was that of the no-nonsense passport clerk when Lucy was trying to go to Europe.  His stubbornness set up a classic Ball routine in which she’s forced to answer questions after mistakenly taking too many seasick pills.

He also appeared on the episode in which Lucy has a baby. That episode garnished a whopping 92% share rating and held the record for the most watched television episode for many years.

He continued a five decades-long span in which Lane was typecast as a mean-spirited villain, pitted against some of the most popular characters ever seen on the small screen.

He temporarily handled the role of the original banker on Ball’s second show, The Lucy Show, before Gale Gordon took over the Mr. Moody character once he was released from an earlier contract commitment.

Some of his other hard-nosed but memorable roles include the reoccurring Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction who would frequently come to keuterville with print plans to disrupt the town’s quiet lives.

His Bedloe character was just one of the various miserly roles he had on The Beverly Hillbillies.  He also characterized the stingy Mr. Fitzpatrick on the Burns and Allen Show.

He guest starred on other classic shows like The Andy Griffith Show , Gomer Pyle, Get Smart, The Munsters,  The Donna Reed Show, F Troop, Bewitched (playing six different characters over the show’s six year run), nearly always playing a “bad guy.”

Lane did take a turn as a nice guy for one chapter of The Twilight Zone in a segment featuring Orson Bean. Of course, it was in an episode employing a parallel universe.

He also had a recurring role as the town’s shopkeeper on Dennis The Menace and many other memorable TV performances.

Lane also continued appearing in movies in the ’60s, including playing the airport manager in the mega-star comedy film, It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.   On the DVD commentary track, Historian Michael Schlesinger notes, “you do not have a comedy unless Charles Lane is in it.”

His on-screen persona was completely the opposite of how Lane was in real life. In his obituary in the Washington Post, his friends unanimously said that he was a warm, funny and kind person.

Upon reaching his 90th birthday, Lane decided to “slow down” and only performed in three films in the 1990s — his last on-screen performance was in 1995’s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes starring Kirk Cameron. 

In 2002, his wife of 70 years, Ruth Covell, passed away.

His last role was in 2006, as the narrator in the short film The Night Before Christmas. He was 101 at the time.

Charles passed away a year later – he died of natural causes. 

In all, Lane worked for over 72 years as an actor. He performed in over 250 television shows and films.  From 1940 to 1942 alone, he acted in over 67 roles – sometimes acting in two different projects on the same day.

See if you can take the “Charles Lane Challenge” by watching classic sitcoms on RCN TV and see how long you go before spotting him on at least one program or film.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

RCN-TV is kicking off its “Spring Programming Schedule” this April with the return of popular television shows and other programs making their first ever appearance on our channel. 

Today we look at the RCN-TV spring premiere of The Red Skelton Show. 

One of the most successful–yet often underrated–shows in the first 20 years of television was The Red Skelton Show. 

NBC wanted to turn Skelton’s popular radio show into a TV vehicle, one of the first-ever television shows.  However, the movie industry stopped this from initially occurring.

Unlike radio, which worked in union with movie producers and was frequently used as an advertising tool to promote movies, the film industry was very reluctant to help television studios and executives in any way.  They feared competition from this new visual medium.  To this end, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who held Skelton under contract, did not allow him to start producing his own TV show until his contract with MGM had expired in 1951.

Once on the air, Red had a very successful first two years.  Skelton then moved his show to CBS and eventually forced the network to present his program in color–even to the extent that Red purchased multiple production vehicles, so that the show could be recorded in both black-and-white and color.  In addition to utilizing color to appropriately play jokes off his red hair, Skelton created a brilliantly vibrant stage and colorful background sets in which to perform his equally colorful array of unique characters.

Although Skelton was a visionary and saw the potential of broadcasting in color, America was not ready for color television programs in 1955.  Color TV sets (made primarily by now-rival NBC’s parent company, RCA) were seen as a luxury and less than 10% of families owned them at this time.  Thus, Skelton’s experiment with color was deemed a failure.  He negotiated for CBS to buy back the color broadcast equipment in exchange for a renegotiated contract for himself.

What was not a failure was Skelton’s format and his comedy routines.  While popular variety shows of the early 1950s either fizzled out (Milton Berle, Eddie Cantor) or evolved into what became more traditional situation comedies (Jack Benny, Burns & Allen), Skelton continued to finish in the Nielsen Ratings Top 20.  In fact, he most often finished within the top 11 of the most popular shows on television through the rest of the 1950s and 1960s using virtually the same format on every program.

In addition to Red’s own brand of humor and his continuing creativity in developing zany on-screen characters, he kept his program fresh by having a constant stream of major Hollywood talent from other television shows, popular entertainers and musicians, who would both perform songs as well as interplay with Red’s antics.  Eventually more and more movie stars (one of the most popular and frequent being Mickey Rooney) would stop by and visit, once motion picture stars began realizing that TV and movies could “co-exist.”

Skelton kept the colorful stages and eventually received some semblance of artistic redemption in 1966 as CBS caved to mounting national pressure to incorporate broadcasting in color.

Despite the fact that the show was still ranked 7th in the 1970 Nielsen Ratings, CBS cancelled Red’s program as part of its “Rural Purge.”

NBC picked up the show but dramatically changed the format.  They did away with the colorful sets and backed Skelton in dark, very drab backgrounds.  Furthermore, they eliminated the popular guest stars who would frequently appear with Red.  Instead, he had a recurring cast (filled with much younger and mostly unknown actors) to perform with the comedian and had them play different roles each week.

The changes did not work.  The chemistry between the actors was noticeably absent and the show never cracked Nielsen’s Top 30.  In Skelton’s previous 19 years on-air, his shows had finished no worse than 19th.

There’s many more stories about Skelton’s career and innovative work in the industry, along with a few little-known “skeltons” in his closet that showed a different side of this complex entertainer.  We’ll look at those in a future Showplace entry.

Check out The Red Skelton Show, now a part of RCN TV’s new spring programming lineup.  Tune in or set your DVRs for Sundays at 1:30 pm and Wednesday mornings at 11:30 am on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances. 

RCN-TV is kicking off its “Spring Programming Schedule” this month with the return of popular television shows and other programs making their first-ever appearances on our channel.

Today we look at Public Defender.

 One of the popular trends in 1940s radio shows was dramas featuring public servants’ adventures, fighting crime and righting wrongs.  Insurance investigators like Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, real-life police stories like Dragnet, procedural detectives like Pat Novak and Richard Diamond and other similarly successful shows spilled into the early 1950s before radio programs started giving way to television.

While many of those programs never got past producing a failed pilot episode, one show that did make a successful leap to the small screen was Public Defender.

Defender is based on the idea of a client who can’t afford a lawyer to represent them in a criminal trial.  Bart Matthews is the counselor assigned to help people in need and encounters lawsuits significantly beyond your typical cases.

Matthews was portrayed by Reed Hadley, who had a very successful film career in the late 1930s and 40s (including playing the titular character in the movie, Zorro’s Fighting Legion).  Hadley had a number of roles playing characters involved on either side of the law in criminal dramas and had just finished starring in the very popular TV show, Racket Squad, from 1950-1953.  His voice may also be familiar to more recent audiences as he narrated a number of documentaries produced in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The Phillip Morris Corporation, who sponsored many of the decade’s top programs in the 1950s, including I Love Lucy, took an immediate interest in Public Defender and became their top sponsor, with Revlon adding their name as the alternate sponsor.  The show was scheduled in the very competitive Thursdays at 10pm timeslot and ran up against other stalwarts from both the radio and early television eras — The Lux Video Theatre and the Kraft Television Theatre.

Although the show ran for just under two full seasons (producing 70 episodes), there were a number of notable guest stars on the program, including future stars on both the big and small screens…

• Charles Bronson (Man With A Camera, Death Wish movie series)
• Natalie Wood (West Side Story, Rebel Without A Cause, The Searchers)
• Don Haggerty (Sands Of Iwo Jima, Angels In The Outfield)
• Hugh Beaumont (Ward Clever from Leave It To Beaver)
• Richard Deacon (Mel Cooley from The Dick Van Dyke Show)
• William Fawcett (The Virginian, 77 Sunset Strip, and several memorable guest starring appearances on television’s Perry Mason, Rawhide, The Twilight Zone and many additional film roles)

See if you can spot some of these future stars as Bart Matthews attempts to exonerate wrongly accused individuals.  Public Defender makes its RCN-TV debut on our new spring programming lineup; tune in (or set your DVRs) for Wednesday evenings at 8:30pm and Fridays afternoons at 2:30pm.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.   Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

 RCN-TV is kicking off its spring programming schedule this month with the return of popular television shows plus additional programs making their first-ever appearances on our channel.

Today we look at the return of Bonanza to RCN-TV and its successes in the entertainment industry! 

The reappearance of Bonanza on the RCN-TV programming lineup signifies the return of one of the most successful television programs of all-time.

The show is NBC’s longest running primetime television show and is the second-longest western program (behind CBS’s Gunsmoke) in the medium’s history.

Bonanza was the first series to appear in the Top Five list for nine consecutive seasons (a record that would stand for many years) and thus established itself as the most consistent strong-performing hit television series of the 1960s.

One unique thing about the 1963-64 season of Bonanza…it triggered something that hadn’t been accomplished in over three decades.  Bonanza was the show that “brought down” The Jack Benny Program.

The comedian had won his timeslot on radio and television every year since 1932 until NBC scheduled the relatively new western program opposite the popular entertainer, although with some “programming trickery” involved.

You see, the network started the 60-minute western a half hour before Benny’s program.  The gimmick worked so well that, according to his memoir, Sunday Nights at Seven, Benny found himself tuning into and watching Bonanza! To his horror, three-quarters through each episode, he would suddenly realize he forgot to switch over to his OWN show!

Another unique characteristic that showed the popularity of this western…it’s one of the few shows EVER on television that had its own reruns added to its network’s primetime lineup.

NBC retitled the show’s reruns as The Ponderosa during the 1971-72 season and aired “old” yet often requested episodes.  NBC utilized a similar “trick” as above when they started the show at 7:30pm and it “spilled over” into the prime-time lineup and held its own competition with “first-run” episodic shows on ABC and CBS.

Another rarity that highlights its popularity…the show was one of the first programs in the first 50 years of television that was sold into syndication in 1970 to off-network affiliates BEFORE it ended its’ initial network run.  Both the “new” and syndicated shows continued to earn solid ratings before the show finally fell out of the Nielsen Ratings’ Top 10 in 1972. One of TV’s biggest and most popular stars, actor Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright), unexpectedly died that year, playing a major role in this event.

In 2002, Bonanza was ranked No. 43 on TV Guide‘s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.

We’ll have more on this legendary television program including more unique stories and histories of its famous stars on upcoming editions of the Classic Video Showplace.

In the meantime, be sure to catch the return of Bonanza to RCN TV on our new spring programming lineup.  Tune in or set your DVRs for Sunday mornings at 9 am on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace will feature prominent female-driven classic programs and films…and women who “changed the game” and made a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond.

 This week, we take a look at the incredibly underrated performance of television’s Joan Davis.

When I Love Lucy burst onto the scene in 1951, it became the nation’s hottest television sensation of the decade.

The premise for most episodes?

A wife caught in outlandish situations bringing about zany comedic bits and sometimes quite extreme physical slapstick routines while the loving husband looks on and all becomes right with the world in the end.

This plotline was the hallmark of the early years of the Lucy program and, like most crazes, imitators we’re quick to jump on and exploit this winning formula.

Even with only three channels available, an abundance of similar shows popped up throughout the broadcast week – some faring better than others.

But one of the best of the rest, and one show that could clearly stand on its own merits that emerged from the early 1950s was I Married Joan, starring Joan Davis and Jim Backus.

The similarities were clear.

Davis would quickly get herself involved in a predicament which descended into a spiraling mess of craziness, which would culminate in an over-the-top physical event before each episode’s resolution. 

The husband’s role was largely that of a straight man who’s expressions at Davis’s antics would help build the final comedic climax. Both shows’ leading ladies were housewives who longed for more while their husbands (to somewhat different degrees) tried to deflate those notions and disapproved of their wives doing much more than suppressing them to stay home.  Still, it was clear who were the stars of both shows.  Both programs also had very little character development beyond the main wife and, to a lesser extent, her husband’s lives, with a supporting cast acting mostly as props.  (Desi Arnaz would frequently admit this about his own series many times in the years that followed.)

Heck, both I Love Lucy and I Married Joan were even piloted by the same director, Marc Daniels for each series’ entire run.

However, “Joan” did have two aspects that set it apart from the other imitators.

While some specific gags were similar to the Lucille Ball sitcom, Davis’s series would usually attempt fresh challenges and completely original ideas for harebrained schemes.

Probably the funniest example of this was the episode in which the family buys a new TV and Joan is left on the roof trying to install it herself. Ironically, this identical plotline was actually “borrowed” for one of Ball’s later series in the 1960s.

Backus, as Davis’s foil, portrayed a respected judge and exhibited a much more laid-back brand of humor than Desi Arnaz’s Ricky Ricardo character.  Instead of explosive reactions normally played to hilarity by Arnaz, Backus’s Bradley Stevens character was more subtle with his humor, yet had impeccable timing that played well off of Davis’s eccentric physical comedy.

Backus, of course, would go on to play more prominent roles on television and is best known as the Millionaire Mr. Howell on Gilligan’s Island and was the original voice of the cartoon character, Mr. Magoo. (More on Jim’s tremendous career in a future Showplace blog entry.)

Davis also did not have the benefit to play off her comedy with the expert acting tandem of the extremely talented William Frawley and Vivian Vance as neighbors as Fred and Ethel.

Among the recurring role-players who did interact with Davis from time to time included Hal Smith, who would later play Otis, the town drunk on the 1960s classic, The Andy Griffith Show.

Despite being matched up against the incredibly popular Arthur Godfrey and Friends program on Wednesday nights for the show’s entire run, I Married Joan’s ratings or solid and actually improved in the second and third seasons.

There’s contradictory evidence as to why the show was cancelled. Some sources cite a decline in ratings during the program’s final few months, indicating a trend that the program was starting to lose momentum. Others say the physical strain on Davis became too much for the actress to handle.

Yet, viewing the final episodes reveals that the story lines were still fresh for it’s time, the comedic bits were still funny and Davis was handling the physical comedy just as well for the latter episodes as she did when the show first premiered in 1952–almost one year to the day after I Love Lucy debuted.

While Joan’s efforts have become largely overshadowed by the enormous success of Lucille Ball, one would be remiss without checking out Davis’s own brand of antics and unique style… and, in retrospect, certainly deserves a second look.

You can find this out for yourself as

I Married Joan is featured prominently over the next two weeks on RCN TV’s current broadcasting line-up, airing on Sundays at 12 noon, Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 10 a.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace will feature prominent female-driven classic programs and films…and women who “changed the game” and made a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond.

It wasn’t very common to see female characters in a starring role on successful non-comedy television series in the early 1950s.

It was unheard of to have a female lead in a TV western…

…except for Annie Oakley.

Gail Davis was one of few shining accomplishments for progressiveness in 1954 television by successfully portraying the popular Western hero.

The real Annie Oakley was a sharpshooting exhibitionist after the Civil War and toured the world showcasing her talents with a gun.  

At fifteen, she won a shooting contest against experienced marksman Frank E. Butler, whom she later married. The couple joined Buffalo Bill in performing in Europe before royalty and other heads of state. Audiences were astounded to see her shooting a cigar from her husband’s lips or splitting a playing-card edge-on at 30 paces, becoming one of the richest gun-slinging performers in the world.

Unlike the real Annie Oakley and the 1935 movie of the same name, the television version was completely fictionalized and strayed far away from the original screenplay. The only true similarity between the television and earlier versions was that Annie was an exceptional marksman, whose sharpshooting skills would rival anyone in the Ol’ West.

Cowboy legend Gene Autry came up with the idea for making the legacy of Annie Oakley into a television show.  Autry was the program’s executive producer under his company, Flying A Productions, of which Davis was a part prior to the show’s creation.  Gail’s personality made her an easy choice for the show’s likeable protagonist.

A common plot line throughout the series was that Annie’s Uncle/Sheriff  Luke MacTavish would be out of town on some other matter while at the same time trouble started brewing in their hometown of Diablo, Arizona. It was up to Oakley and her friends to try to save the day.

Starring as Annie’s little brother, Tagg, was Jimmy Hawkins, whose previous claim to fame was as Jimmy Stewart’s youngest son in the holiday classic, It’s A Wonderful Life.  Before retiring from acting in his late twenties, Hawkins would also have recurring roles on fellow television classics like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Donna Reed Show.

Rumor has it that Hawkins himself inadvertently led to the end of the initial series’ run. Additional episodes for Annie Oakley were ordered after the 1957 season, but Hawkins went through a growth spurt and became too big to credibly play the role of Annie’s little brother.  Instead of recasting, legend says that the producers and studio executives decided to just end the show.

The episodes were so popular when they first ran in the mid-1950s as a weekly show that ABC then re-ran the series with daily airings in the late 1950s and early 1960s and again from 1964-1965. The show was finally sent into syndication over a decade after the show first premiered on network television.

You can see the adventures of this early female television star in Annie Oakley on RCN-TV every Tuesday evening at 9:30pm.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace will feature prominent female-driven classic programs and women who “changed the game” and made a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond.

Last week here at the Showplace, we discussed legendary film actress Audrey Hepburn’s troubled early years and her determination to avoid oppression and family tragedy throughout World War II, along with highlighting her rise to becoming one of the all-time leading ladies in Hollywood.  

Today we focus on the second half of Hepburn’s film career successes and her incredible spirit to help starving children around the world.

Arguably, Hepburn’s greatest and most identified film contribution, My Fair Lady, was filled with controversy.  

Julie Andrews, who originated the role of Eliza Doolittle on Broadway, was passed over for the movie role when Producer Jack Warner thought Hepburn’s reputation would help bring in more movie-goers than the then relatively unknown Andrews.  Hepburn herself recommended that Andrews take the role but eventually relented. (Ironically, Andrews would be offered the titular role in Mary Poppins later that same year and won an Academy Award for her performance.)

While the casting caused a rift on the set, further conflicts occurred halfway through filming when Hepburn was informed that most of her singing would be overdubbed.  She walked out of the production but returned several days later to finish the project.  Despite the reported difficulty Audrey had with castmates and crew, the film won multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture and has been regarded as one of the greatest film musicals of all-time.

Hepburn continued to star in great films throughout her career, but she was publicized just as much for her humanitarian efforts over the next three decades, culminating in 1989 by being awarded UNICEF’s International Danny Kaye Award for Children.

She continued to visit foreign countries and used her considerable influence to call attention to areas around the globe that were stricken with children’s poverty and starvation…right up until her death from abdominal cancer in 1993.  Among the many high profile celebrities to attend her funeral included her first major motion picture co-star, Gregory Peck, who delivered a tear-filled eulogy to the late actress.  His speech came nearly 50 years after he helped give Heburn her first big break five decades before.

Hepburn is one of only a small handful of entertainers ever who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards. She also won a record three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role.   She was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.

But it is also her charitable efforts that helped define her life story.  She received posthumous awards like the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work with UNICEF, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarding her the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her contribution to humanity.  Also, in 2002, at the United Nations Special Session on Children, UNICEF honoured Hepburn’s legacy of humanitarian work by unveiling a statue, “The Spirit of Audrey”, at UNICEF’s New York headquarters. Her service for children is also recognised through the United States Fund for UNICEF’s Audrey Hepburn Society.

You can see some of Hepburn’s most memorable film performances on RCN-TV, including Charade, this Friday night at 9:30. 

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Showplace will feature prominent female-driven classic programs and films…and women who “changed the game” and made a lasting impact in the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond.

While Audrey Hepburn is known as one of the greatest actresses of all time, she also should be remembered for amazing contributions to the world through her humanitarian and charitable efforts.

Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4th, 1929 in Belgium.  To avoid possible occupation at the start of World War II, the family moved to the Netherlands–a decision which proved costly.   

In 1942, Hepburn’s uncle was executed in retaliation for an act of sabotage by the resistance movement. While he had not been involved in the act, he was targeted due to his family’s prominence in Dutch society.  Hepburn’s half-brother Ian was deported to Berlin to work in a German labor camp, and her other half-brother Alex went into hiding to avoid the same fate.

After the war, Hepburn began taking ballet lessons and got her first motion picture role in 1948’s Dutch in Seven Lessons.  After several small roles on film and television, she earned her first starring role in Roman Holiday, winning her first Academy Award for Best Actress.  She also began a lifelong friendship with co-star Gregory Peck, who reportedly insisted her name appear about the title with his, even though she was still relatively unknown before the film’s release.

Later in 1954, she starred on Broadway in Ondine, becoming just one of three actresses to date to win an Oscar and Tony Award in the same year.  Other starring and critically acclaimed roles followed, like Sabrina, (with Humprey Bogart and William Holden), War and Peace (co-starring Henry Fonda), Love in the Afternoon (with Gary Cooper and Maurice Chevalier), The Nun’s Story (with Peter Finch), The Unforgiven (opposite Burt Lancaster) and Paris When It Sizzles (again co-starring with Holden).

Hepburn next starred as New Yorker Holly Golightly, in Blake Edwards’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a film loosely based on the Truman Capote novella of the same name. The character is considered one of the best-known in American cinema, and a defining role for Hepburn.   The dress she wears during the opening credits has been considered an icon of the twentieth century, and perhaps the most famous “little black dress” of all time.  According to a November 1st, 1964 article in “The New Yorker,” Hepburn stated that the role was “the jazziest of my career” yet admitted: “I’m an introvert. Playing the extroverted girl was the hardest thing I ever did.”  She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Hepburn teamed with Director Stanley Donen for two classic early 1960s films, Two for the Road (with Albert Finney) and Charade (co-starring Gary Grant).

Grant initially balked at the idea of Hepburn playing his on-screen love interest in the latter film–pointing out a 26-year difference in the actors’ ages.  However, upon meeting Hepburn for the first time before production, he was so enchanted by her that he agreed to do the film.  However, he did demand some of the “love scenes” be re-written to play up the comedic-side of the relationship and downplay the age discrepancy.  Hence, scenes like the famous “Suit in the Shower” sequences were born, and Charade became another one in a series of cinema classics starring Miss Hepburn.

Audrey was just beginning to make her mark in both films, as a female role model and as a person trying to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate.

We’ll examine more highlights in the legendary career and life of Audrey Heburn, both in Hollywood and around the world, next week here at the Showplace.

In the meantime, you can see one of Hepburn’s most memorable performances on the silver screen in the film classic, Charade, on Friday, March 19th at 9:30 p.m. on RCN-TV.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.