The Writer's Life 4/22 - Boomer Faves

On Wednesday night Decades, channel 112 on Cablevision in NYC, aired two old half-hour TV series back to back. I had no recollection of the first, Colonel March of Scotland Yard, which shot only 26 episodes from 1954-'56. Did it even make it to syndication? It starred Boris Karloff -- sporting an eye patch! Of course, baby-boomers will always remember him as the Frankenstein monster and The Mummy (1932), as well as for his stint as host of Thriller, which ran on NBC from 1960-62, 67 episodes. The British born star, real name William Henry Pratt, had a long career, spanning 1919-1971. Unbelievably, he was not invited to the premiere of Frankenstein (1931). He was considered an afterthought by the producers. I guess he showed them. Married five times, he has 206 credits under his name at IMDb, which does not count multiple appearances on TV shows. He died in 1969 at 81, his last three films released posthumously. Here's a quote attributed to him: "When I was nine, I played the demon king in Cinderella and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster."

The second show featured one of Hollywood's all-time beauties, Anne Francis. In the 1960's it seemed she was a guest star on every series. Her career began early, modelling at six, Broadway at eleven. But her best medium was TV, her gorgeous face radiating from the small screen, her adorable beauty mark mesmerizing. Oddly, her own series, Honey West, where she played a private eye, lasted only one season, 30 episodes. She accumulated 167 credits, also not counting multiple spots as a guest. I always link her in my mind to The Untouchables. To my surprise, she made only one appearance on it, The Doreen Maney Story, which aired in 1960. In it she played an armored car robber. She passed away in 2011 at 80.

Mr. Philly gave me an update on his law suit in the City of Brotherly Love, where he was struck by a bus about a year ago. His lawyer was offered more than a million to settle and suggested a nix, since a big chunk of that would be eaten up by his fee. Mr. P, an ex-marine who's about 70, is almost completely recovered. If the case should go to trial, he expects to be asked to enter the court on crutches or in a wheelchair.

My thanks to Mother Nature, who pushed back the rain that was forecast, and to the kind folks who bought books and DVDS. Dmitri purchased H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. He is attending Hunter College, majoring in Italian. He could easily pass for one. He calls me "amico preferito." He is involved in student theater and will find out today what part he will play in an adaption of the Anton Chekhov novella The Duel. Buona fortuna, amico mei.

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