Seven Things to Know about Yvonne Craig

1. Yvonne Craig studied ballet at age 16 as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. After three years, she left the company and wound up cast opposite Patrick Wayne (John's son) in 1959's The Young Land. Craig occasionally got opportunities to display her dancing skills in film and TV, most notably as a Russian ballerina dancing with James Coburn in the spy spoof In Like Flint (1967).

2. In the 1959 pilot episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Yvonne Craig appeared in the opening credits in which Dobie (Dwayne Hickman) peeks through a hole in a fence at her and Myrna Fahey. When the series was picked up, that opening was replaced with an animated sequence of Dobie and the girls. Still, Yvonne guested on Dobie Gillis five times, playing characters such as rich girl Linda Sue Faversham.

Batgirl with the Boy Wonder.

3. In 1968, ABC considered launching a Batgirl TV series with Yvonne Craig as the title character. A short "pilot" was produced, which also featured Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward). Batgirl saves the Dynamic Duo from the Killer Moth, who traps them in a cocoon. When ABC rejected the idea of a separate series, Yvonne Craig's Batgirl was incorporated into the last season of Batman. For many years, the Batgirl pilot was available only on bootleg copies, but it was included as a bonus feature in a 2014 Batman boxed set.

4. Craig embraced her role as Batgirl. In a 2015 CNN interview, she stated: "I hear from women that I was their role model. When I was a little girl, I realized that girls could kick butt just like guys." She also found the experience to be a rewarding one. "I got to work with people that I would never have the chance to work with. We had Ethel Merman. I would never have met Milton Berle, I got to work with him, and he was a delight."

As Marta in Star Trek.

5. Yvonne Craig was a frequent guest star in 1960s and 1970s TV series, appearing in shows such as The Courtship of Eddie's Father, My Three Sons, 77 Sunset Strip, and Ben Casey (with one-time boyfriend Vince Edwards). She also starred in a third season episode of the original Star Trek series called "Whom Gods Destroy." She played a green-skinned female Orion--but she's not the green woman shown in Star Trek's closing credits. That's Susan Oliver in the guise of another Orion from the famous two-part episode "The Menagerie."

With Elvis in Kissin' Cousins.

6. Yvonne Craig and Deborah Walley shared several connections. Each of them appeared in a Gidget movie: Yvonne had a small role in the 1959 original and Deborah played the lead in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961). Deborah Walley appeared in the Beach Party movies Beach Blanket Bingo and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini; Yvonne Craig appeared with Walley in the Frankie Avalon comedy Ski Party (1965). Yvonne starred with Elvis in two films: It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) and Kissin' Cousins (1964). Deborah Walley appeared with Elvis in Spinout (1966). Later in their careers, each actress voiced characters in animated TV series: Walley in Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and Yvonne Craig in Olivia. 

7. Yvonne Craig was married twice. The first marriage was to singer Jimmy Boyd ("I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus") and lasted two years. She was later married to real estate investor Kenneth Aldrich from 1988 until her death in 2015 from breast cancer that had spread to her liver. In between her two marriages, Craig supposedly dated Robert Vaughn, Bill Bixby, Vince Edwards, Mort Sahl, and Elvis Presley. In 2000, she published her autobiography From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond.

Seven Things to Know About Burgess Meredith

1. In So Far, So Good: A Memoir, Burgess Meredith wrote: "Well, everybody was taking parts in Batman — from Frank Sinatra to Otto Preminger, everyone. It was the trendy thing to do back then. The Penguin stuck to me because the character was vivid." Actually, Sinatra never played a Batman villain. He reportedly wanted to play The Joker...but Cesar Romero was already signed for the role. 

2. Surprisingly, Meredith's most memorable TV role was not as The Penguin. He played bank teller and book lover Henry Bemis in "Time Enough to Last," one of the most beloved episodes of Twilight Zone. He once said: "I've heard...more about it than anything else I've done on television. I think it must have had a great impact on people. I don't suppose there's a month goes by, even to this day, that people don't come up and remind me of that episode."

3. In an 2016 interview with Empire Online, Rocky director John Avildsen said: "A lot of people came in to audition for the role of Mickey, the trainer. I wouldn’t hire anybody unless they auditioned and I liked them. Lee J. Cobb came in and he wouldn’t audition. We got Lee Strasberg to audition. Then Burgess [Meredith] came in and they read the scene where Rocky is told that he has to get out of his locker. He read the scene a few times and then I said, 'Why don’t you guys go through the scene and do it in your own words?' So they did, and at the end Rocky is walking away, dejected, and Burgess yells, 'Hey, did you ever think about retiring?' Stallone doesn’t know what to say to him, so he says, 'No,' and Burgess says, 'Well, start thinking about it.' That was just perfect, and that’s how he got the job."

Meredith as Mickey in Rocky.

4. Burgess Meredith was highly respected among his acting peers. He received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor for The Day of the Locust (1975) and Rocky (1976). He won an Emmy as attorney Joseph Welch in Tail Gunner Joe, a 1977 TV movie about Joseph McCarthy. (Interestingly, the real Joseph Welch played the judge in Anatomy of a Murder.) He received another Emmy nomination that same year for a TV version of The Last Hurrah. Finally, he was nominated for a Tony for directing the Broadway play Ulysses in Nighttown (1974) and received a Special Tony for directing A Thurber Carnival in 1960.

5. Director Otto Preminger was a big Burgess Meredith fan and cast the actor in 1962's Advise and Consent (one of my personal favorites), The Cardinal (1963), In Harm's Way (1965), Hurry Sundown (1967), Skidoo (1968), and Such Good Friends (1971).

6. In addition to directing for the stage, Meredith helmed two theatrical films. The first was The Man in the Eiffel Tower (1949), a mystery starring Charles Laughton as Inspector Jules Maigret. The second was the 1970 oddity The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go with James Mason and Jack MacGowran. Its poster claims: "It'll make you think of Dr. No!" Honestly, I don't believe you will. Meredith's most accomplished directing job was on the Playhouse 90 live TV drama The Days of Wine and Roses, which starred Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie. (She discussed it with us in 2014.)

7. Burgess Meredith was married four times. His third wife was Paulette Goddard; their marriage lasted five years. He stayed married to fourth wife, Kaja Sundsten, from 1950 until his death. They had two children. Burgess Meredith died in 1997 at age 89.

Seven Things to Know About Julie Newmar

1. Born as Julia Chalene Newmeyer in 1933, she was billed as Julie Newmeyer in her first major screen role in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). She played Dorcas and was paired with Jeff Richards as one of the seven Pontipee brothers. Richards, a former professional baseball player, was 6' 2", which made him just three inches taller than the 5' 11" Julie Newmar.

2. Julie Newmar won a Tony award as Featured Actress in the 1958 Broadway comedy The Marriage-Go-Round, which starred Claudette Colbert and Charles Boyer. She played a Swedish bombshell who wanted the married Boyer, a college professor, to father her baby so the child would have brains and beauty. Newmar repeated the role in the 1961 film version with Susan Hayward and James Mason.

Julie Newmar with Jack Mullaney in My Living Doll.

3. Newmar's first TV series was the 1964-65 sitcom My Living Doll. She plays an android called Rhoda  that becomes the responsibility of an Air Force psychiatrist played by Robert Cummings. Most of the humor is derived from Cummings' character trying to keep Rhoda's android identity a secret. In an interview with Starlog Magazine (issue 148), Newmar stated that CBS considered Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. before casting Cummings. "(The show) needed a different kind of actor...It was not a flip part--it needed a straight actor who could play opposite this bizarre creature so the comedy would come off."

Catwoman with Adam West as Batman.

4. The Batman TV series was already a hit in 1966 when Julie Newmar was offered the role of Catwoman. She had never heard of the show, but her brother had--and told her she had to take the part. Newmar portrayed Catwoman in thirteen episodes during the first two seasons of Batman. Due to a scheduling conflict, she was replaced by Lee Meriwether in the 1966 Batman theatrical film. Also, Eartha Kitt replaced her as Catwoman during Batman's third and final season. Long after the show ended, Newmar acquired her form-fitting Catwoman costume and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution where it's displayed on the third floor of the Museum of American History in Washington, as one of the "National Treasures of Popular Culture."

As Vicki Russell on Route 66.

5. Julie Newmar appeared as Vicki Russell, a free-spirited, motorcycle-riding heiress in two episodes of Route 66. Her first appearance was in the second season episode "How Much a Pound is Albatross?". She returned as Vicki in the following season's "Give an Old Cat a Tender Mouse" (George Maharis had left the series by then). Thus, Julie Newmar is the only guest star to play the same character in two nonconcurrent episodes of Route 66. 

6. She holds a patent for panty hose! According the patent's abstract: "An elastic shaping band is attached to the rear panty portion and is connected from the vicinity of the crotch to the vicinity of the waist band and fits between the wearer's buttocks to delineate the wearer's derriere in cheeky relief."

7. Julie Newmar was married to J. Holt Smith, an attorney, from 1977 to 1984. They had one child, John Jewl Smith, who has Down's syndrome and lives with his mother. You can learn more about Julie Newmar at her website julienewmar.com. 

Seven Things to Know About Anne Baxter

Anne in The Ten Commandments.

1. Producer David Selznick considered Anne Baxter for the title role in Rebecca. He allegedly deemed her too young for the part and it went to Joan Fontaine. Other actresses considered for the role were Loretta Young and Vivien Leigh.

2. Anne Baxter famously played Eve to Bette Davis' Margo in All About Eve (1950). In 1971, she played Margo in Applause, the Broadway musical version of All About Eve. She replaced Lauren Bacall.

3. Here's a more unusual All About Eve connection: In the 1983 pilot for the TV series Hotel, Bette Davis played Laura Trent, the St. Gregory's wealthy owner. When a stroke prevented Ms. Davis from becoming a regular in the Hotel TV series, she was replaced by Anne Baxter. She played Trent's sister-in-law for three seasons until her death.

4. In the book Conversations with Classic Movie Stars, Anne Baxter recalls reading for the part of Sophie in The Razor's Edge with director Edmund Goulding: "I read a scene and the world-weary Goulding said I sounded fine. He told me he'd get me an Oscar. He said, 'I did for Mary Astor and The Great Lie was junk. This is great literature.'" It did indeed earn her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

5. Anne Baxter was the granddaughter of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. She and first husband John Hodiak owned a unique home in the Hollywood Hills. It was remodeled by John Launter, a well-known architect in his own right, in 1951. The residence is now known as the Baxter-Hodiak Home.

As Zelda the Great.

6. Anne Baxter played two villains on the 1966-68 Batman TV series: Zelda the Great and Olga, Queen of the Cossacks. In the latter role, she teamed up with Vincent Price's Egghead.

7. On the subject of retirement, Anne Baxter once said: "I want to go on until they have to shoot me." She died after suffering a stroke at the age of 62 in 1985.

Seven Things to Know About Glynis Johns

1. Stephen Sondheim wrote "Send in the Clowns" specifically for Glynis Johns, whose husky voice worked best with short phrasing. She sang it in the original 1973 stage production of  A Little Night Music and won a Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

2. Glynis Johns received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Sundowners (1960), Fred Zinneman's saga of an Australian family. She lost the Oscar to Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry. Deborah Kerr was also nominated, as Best Actress, for The Sundowners; Kerr and Johns appeared together 15 years earlier opposite Robert Donat in Perfect Strangers (aka Vacation from Marriage).

Johns and Danny Kaye--in disguise--in
The Court Jester.

3. She once said: "I would sooner play in a good British picture than in the majority of American pictures I have seen." Ironically, it was an American picture--the 1955 comedy classic The Court Jester--that provided her with one of her most fondly-remembered roles.

4. In 1963, she starred as an author who dabbled in crime-solving in her own American sitcom Glynis. The series was created by Jess Oppenheimer, one of the masterminds behind I Love Lucy, and was produced by Desilu. Keith Andes played Glynis' husband. Alas, the series was cancelled after 13 episodes--though a similar premise worked quite well years later for Johns' Court Jester co-star Angela Lansbury. Interestingly, Johns guest-starred in a 1985 episode of Muder, She Wrote called "Sing a Song of Murder."

As Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins.

5. Glynis Johns and Angela Lansbury share two other connections. Lansbury was also Tony-nominated for A Little Night Music. She appeared in a 2009 Broadway revival, playing the mother of Johns' character. Johns and Lansbury also appeared in Disney musicals about magical child caregivers. Glynis Johns portrayed Mrs. Banks opposite Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins  (1964), while Angela Lansbury starred as an apprentice witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Rudy Vallee and Glynis Johns.

6. Johns played villain Lady Penelope Peasoup on the Batman TV series. She teamed up with Rudy Vallee, who portrayed Lord Marmaduke Ffogg.

7. She played a flirtatious mermaid curious about humans in Miranda (1948) and its belated 1954 sequel Mad About Men. The first film was one of the biggest British boxoffice hits of the year. In the second film, Glynis Johns played double roles: Caroline, a school teacher who takes a vacation in Cornwall, and Miranda, a mermaid and distant relative to Caroline.

The Five Coolest Cars on Classic TV

Classic television and memorable cars have a long history together. Who can forget My Mother the Car, in which Jerry Van Dyke's mom was reincarnated as--yes--a car (a 1928 Porter voiced by Ann Sothern)? Police cars earned title credits in Car 54, Where Are You? and Adam-12. Even cartoons got into the act with Speed Racer. But what were the coolest cars on classic TV? There are many to pick from, but befitting this month's theme at the Cafe, we limited our picks to the Top 5:

1. Route 66 (1960-64) - One of the most iconic cars in American pop culture, the Corvette driven by Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) was the only possession his deceased father left him--other than a lot of bills. There were actually several models and colors of Corvettes used in the series (Chevrolet was a sponsor). For all but one episode of the first season, Tod and Buz (George Maharis) cruised the country in a blue 1960 'Vette. Still, it looked gray since the series was filmed in black and white!

2. Knight Rider (1982-86) - The Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT) was a black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am that cruised at 300 MPH, contained a fine array of weapons (e.g., a flamethrower), and featured an amazingly durable exterior. Its most distinctive feature was a talking computer with artificial intelligence and a a haughty personality to match.

3. Batman (1966-68) - Sure, the movie incarnations of the Batmobile may look sleeker, more realistic, and boast more gadgets--but the '66 version was considered pretty cool for its time. Customized from a 1955 Lincoln Futura (a concept car), the Batmobile was a staple at touring auto shows for years. Today, it is estimated to be worth $2 million.

4. The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-86) -  While Bo, Luke, and Daisy may have gotten more fan mail, the "General Lee"--the boys' 1969 Dodge Charger--was mighty popular. With a Confederate flag on its roof and a horn that played "Dixie," it sure had a Southern vibe. Over 200 General Lees were used during the filming of the series. The doors were welded shut for the stunts--though it looked cool, too, when Bo and Luke climbed in and out of the windows.

5. UFO (1970) - Most of the vehicles in Gerry Anderson's futuristic series were nifty miniatures, but the car driven by Commander Ed Straker was a modified Ford Zephyr Mark IV with doors that open upward. Although probably the least-known auto in our Top 5, it has a cult following among pop culture car enthusiasts and Dinky Toys even marketed a die-cast miniature called, appropriately, Ed Straker's Car. For a few years, it was owned by a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey.


Honorable Mentions:  1975 Ford Gran Torino from Starsky & Hutch; 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS from Magnum, P.I.; 1974 Pontiac Firebird Esprit from The Rockford Files; the "Black Beauty" from The Green Hornet; and Emma Peel's Lotus Elan from The Avengers.

1960s Icon Donna Loren Talks with the Cafe about Mickey Mouse, the Beach Party movies, Shindig, and More!

Beloved by fans of the Beach Party movies, actress-singer Donna Loren has lent her lovely voice and natural appeal to a variety of films, TV series, magazine columns, and commercials. She took time out of her busy schedule to sit down for a chat at the Cafe.


Café: You were pretty much a veteran performer by the age of 8, having appeared professionally on stage and on television's acclaimed Playhouse 90. You also appeared as a guest on The Mickey Mouse Club. How did that come about?

Donna Loren: I auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. They wanted me to become a Mouseketeer but my Dad, who called the shots, said: “She’s a solo.” I was chosen to be a guest artist on their “Friday Talent Roundup” when they gave me my ears!

Café: Being selected as the first (and only) Dr Pepper Girl had to be a career-changer. What were your official duties other than appearing in TV commercials and print ads?

Donna: My position with Dr Pepper was their spokesperson. I traveled extensively for them promoting their product.

Café: How did you come to be cast in Muscle Beach Party and end up doing a duet on "Muscle Bustle" with Dick Dale and the Del-Tones?

Donna: Dr Pepper had a product placement in the film. Currently, I am writing my autobiography with more details about this subject.

Café: You had solos in Bikini Beach, Pajama Party, and Beach Blanket Bingo. In fact, "It Only Hurts When I Cry" (my personal fave) and "Among the Young" rank with the best songs in the whole Beach Party series. Who determined which songs you performed and what was your favorite among your numbers?

Donna: Music director Al Simms and the song writers Guy Hemric and J. Styner picked my songs. “Among the Young” from Pajama Party was the most fun because of the arrangement and tempo changes.

Café: How did you get along with the cast of the Beach Party movies?

Donna: I love singing, so singing in a movie was really great. Everyone on set treated me like royalty.

Café: What do you remember best about your four Beach Party movies?

Donna: Actually, there were five in all. Sergeant Deadhead was never as popular, but had a great cast. The cast of each movie was so diverse. Everyone from silent film star Buster Keaton to Little Stevie Wonder made for an exciting time. My favorite part was always being on the beaches in Malibu.

Café: What led to your gig as a regular on the TV variety series Shindig? Thanks to YouTube, some of your performances can still be enjoyed, such as your cover of "Goldfinger" and your duet with Bobby Sherman on "Casting My Spell on You." Who else did you duet with?

Donna: Another audition lead to my role on Shindig. Mostly, Bobby Sherman and I were paired up, but once I did a duet with Bobby Hatfield.

Café: What were some of the songs you enjoyed singing on Shindig?

Donna: #1 would be “Wishin’ and Hopin’” because that was my first show for Shindig. I also really enjoy singing "Shakin’ All Over," even to this day.

Café: You appeared opposite Davy Jones on The Monkees. You were The Joker's moll, Susie, on Batman. You appeared with Jim Nabors on Gomer Pyle, USMC. You were a popular guest star on TV in the mid-1960s! Who did you enjoy working with during that period?

Donna: I think Dick Clark was my favorite. We worked closely for Dr Pepper.

Café: In addition to your acting and singing, you also found time to write two monthly columns for Movie Life Magazine. What kind of advice did you dispense in your advice column "Let's Talk It Over"?

Donna: Gossip is gossip, even teenage talk in the 60's. Sometimes, a word of truth would slip in from my interviews with my ghostwriters.

Café: Although you retired from show business to raise a family in 1968, it seems as though you've never stopped working. You designed your own line of clothes, recorded and produced songs such as "Somewhere Down in the Road" in 1984, and just released a new CD called "Love It Away." Plus, you sell memorabilia on your web site http://donnaloren.net/ and have a blog that's quite logically titled Let's Talk It Over (http://donnaloren.net/latestnews/). That's quite a career! What keeps you going?

Donna: Thank you, Rick, for asking. I love connecting with people and enjoying life which is why I SING.