Alan Alexander Milne, also known as A. A. Milne, was a British author, best known for his books about the teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and for various children’s poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.
Alan Alexander Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956)
Posted in Because I Can, Literary, The Little Screen (Television)
Arthur Gardner Rankin, Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. A part of Rankin/Bass Productions with his partner Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation features such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the 1977 cartoon animation of The Hobbit. He is credited on over 1,000 television programs.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Alfred Hawthorn Hill, better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor & singer, best known for his television program, The Benny Hill Show. Since its debut in 1955 his television show has been sold to over 140 countries worldwide, with viewership in the billions.
Alfred Hawthorn Hill (January 21, 1924 – April 20, 1992)
Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
Curly Howard (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952)
Jerome Lester “Jerry” Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian, part of the “3 Stooges.”
Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Little Screen (Television)
Alan Alexander Milne, also known as A. A. Milne, was a British author, best known for his books about the teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and for various children’s poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.
Alan Alexander Milne (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956)
Posted in Because I Can, Literary, The Little Screen (Television)
Robert Osbourne “Bob” Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005)
Robert Denver was an American comedic actor best known for his role as Willy “Gilligan” Gilligan on the television series Gilligan’s Island.
In later life it was rumored that he hated being known as “Gilligan,” but he’ll always be Gilligan to most of us.
In tribute to a wonderful set of memories, my picture is subtle, “Gilligan”-esce, but with style.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Donna Douglas (September 1932 – January 1, 2015)
Donna Douglas (born Doris Smith; September 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American actress and comedienne, known for her role as Elly May Clampett in CBS‘s The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971). Following her acting career, Douglas became a real estate agent, a Gospel singer and inspirational speaker, and authored books for children and adults.
Douglas died at Baton Rouge General Hospital, aged 82, on January 1, 2015, from pancreatic cancer.
Posted in News, The Little Screen (Television)
Walter Elias Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world.
Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)
Walter Elias Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world.
Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)
Dear George:—
Remember no man is a failure who has friends.
Thanks for the wings!
Love
Clarence.
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley”
Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010)
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in over one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Beginning with a television role in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen appeared in his first films in 1956 and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films. Nielsen’s lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) received positive reviews as a serious actor, though he is primarily known for his comedic roles.
Dick Wilson as Mr. Whipple with the Charmin.
Dick Wilson, born Riccardo DiGuglielmo (July 30, 1916 – November 19, 2007), was a British-born American character actor who played the role of finicky grocery store manager Mr. (George) Whipple in over 500 Charmin toilet paper television commercials (1965–1989, 1999).
Posted in Because I Can, The Little Screen (Television)
Legendary TV creator Glen A. Larson has passed away at the age of 77 from esophageal cancer. He created the original Battlestar Galactica TV series, brought Buck Rogers to TV, and the kitschy ’80s hit Knight Rider and the less fortunate but cult favorite Manimal and Automan series.
Larsen was responsible for a great deal of you favorite TV series of the ’70s and ’80s, but he didn’t just work in scifi; he created other phenomenally popular shows like Magnum P.I., The Fall Guy and Quincy M.E., and he produced the 1977 Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, for which we’re also grateful. Basically, he’s one of the greats, and all of television owes him a debt of gratitude. Of course, we’ll always be most thankful to him for Battlestar Galactica.
Posted in News, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)
On October 24, 1997, the animation industry lost a treasure. Don Messick‘s entertainment career spanned seven decades, with forty years of voice work in animation. Messick performed in over 100 animated programs, providing voices for some of the most beloved cartoon characters on television, including Astro and Rudy on “The Jetsons,” Bamm Bamm on “The Flintstones,” Boo Boo and Ranger Smith on “Yogi Bear and Friends,” Dr. Benton Quest and Bandit on “The Adventures of Jonny Quest,” Ricochet Rabbit on “Magilla Gorilla,” Papa Smurf on “The Smurfs,” and his most famous role, Scooby Doo, in countless formats.
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, The Little Screen (Television)
Tom Bosley (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010)
Thomas Edward “Tom” Bosley was an American actor, best known for his starring and supporting roles on the television shows Happy Days; Murder, She Wrote and Father Dowling Mysteries, as well as the title role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello!
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, The Little Screen (Television)
The film was released in theaters October 14, 1954.
White Christmas is a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that featured the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular White Christmas.
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, The Little Screen (Television)
The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966 on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones is about a working class Stone Age man’s life with his family and his next door neighbor and best friend. It has since been re-released on both DVD and VHS.
Critics and fans alike agree that the show was an animated imitation of The Honeymooners with rock puns thrown in. William Hanna admitted that “At that time “The Honeymooners” was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air. The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with “The Flintstones”… “The Honeymooners” was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept.” However Joseph Barbera disavowed these claims in a separate interview, stating that “I don’t remember mentioning “The Honeymooners” when I sold the show, but if people want to compare “The Flintstones” to “The Honeymooners,” then great. It’s a total compliment. “The Honeymooners” was one of the greatest shows ever written.” Its popularity rested heavily on its juxtaposition of modern-day concerns in the Stone Age setting
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, The Little Screen (Television)
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was the most widely known American puppeteer in modern American television history.
He was the creator of The Muppets and the leading force behind their long creative run. Henson brought an engaging cast of characters, innovative ideas, and a sense of timing and humor to millions of people. He is also widely acknowledged for the ongoing vision of faith, friendship, magic, and love which was infused in nearly all of his work.
Statue of Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog, on display outside of Adele H. Stamp Student Union in College Park, Maryland.
On this day in 1962, the Jetsons premiered on ABC.
The Jetsons is a prime-time animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing from 1962–63 and again from 1985–87. It was Hanna-Barbera’s Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones, a half-hour family sitcom projecting contemporary American culture and lifestyle into another time period. While the Flintstones live in a world with machines powered by birds and dinosaurs, the Jetsons live in a futuristic utopia in the year 2062 of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions.
The original incarnation of the series aired Sunday nights on ABC from September 23, 1962, to March 3, 1963. It comprised 24 episodes, and was re-run on Saturday morning for decades. At the time of its debut, it was the first program ever to be broadcast in color on ABC-TV (as The Flintstones, while always produced in color, was broadcast in black-and-white for its first two seasons). Its continuing popularity led to further episodes being produced for syndication between 1985 and 1987.
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, The Little Screen (Television)
