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She just lived a very long time. Long enough to have been an older woman on the Dick Van Dyke Show, or an elder aunt on The Brady Bunch. I liked her and her fruity voice, even more than I liked the elderly actress who played Aunt Gertrude? Agnes? on Bewitched, who collected doorknobs.
My brother, who remembers pages out of Popular Mechanics from the 1970s in photographic detail, told me about the show Grindl or Grindel, in which she was some kind of domestic worker and the star of the show. Title sounds very Russian Jew. Or else like the name of a Norse demon. It's a good name.
After recalling one, you can't stop bringing up old shows from your childhood. Most people my age will bring up all the good western, spy, and detective shows like 77 Sunset Strip, I Spy, etc. But my heart belongs also to the tackier shows, like:
--My Living Doll, with Robert Perkins and Julie Newmar(Stupefyin Jones, Catwoman.) She was a nice robot. A precursor for Jeannie the genie.
--Where The Action Is, a teen music show that often featured Paul Revere and the Raiders, and probably The Cowsills. On this show I remember hearing the first protest song for kids ages 18-20 who could be drafted but had no right to vote. It was a stupid song, just repeating, "L-U-V.... Let us vote," over and over, but it served its purpose. Now, considering this show was like American Bandstand, I am so puzzled to remember a matronly, middle-aged woman named Mrs. Miller who appeared more than once on this show -- and sang! She had a deep voice like Ethel Merman, and "God Bless America" was one song I remember her singing. She looked like a suburban family woman. What on earth was she doing on a young people's pop music show?
--Time Tunnel. I adored this along with Lost In Space.
--Bewitched. I felt compelled to watch this show, because it felt so homelike. My mother resembled Samantha Stevens to a T.
--Batman. My love for Adam West was profound. He spoke so gentlemanly.
--Beany and Cecil. Along with Captain Kangaroo's blond bangs and mustache -- and his pocketwatch, Bob Clampett's voice for Cecil the seasick sea serpent is something I'd like to put in a time capsule.
Actually I can't think of more at the moment. What I really wish is that 2 Saturday movie shows would be repeated -- Chiller Theater, and Charlie Chan Theater. Chiller Theater was local, had weatherman/newscaster/Wrestling announcer Bill Cardille as host, and he was great.
Charlie Chan Theater had a serious, bearded male host/commentator who would frequently ask for cups of tea from his unseen assistant, Mei Ling, whose hands would be glimpsed as she handed him a drink. He'd thank her, and go on talking about the movie. But once, he stopped, evidently distracted by something offstage. He said, "Wait a minute," got up and walked off camera. He came back awkwardly carrying a mannequin dressed in a silk Asian dress. This was Mei Ling, and I don't remember what he said about her but he wasn't laughing. Weird guy.
**Note: I guess I'm going to have to spend more time adjusting the font size if I want to be able to read any of this later. The default color and font are strictly for birds with eagle eyesight.
