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This article contains a brief mention of suicide.

The Twilight Zone and Star Trek: The Original Series both arrived at roughly the same era in time, when television was booming and actors in the medium often punched a clock. Journeyman performers would land one-shot roles on all manner of series, sometimes giving strong performances before moving on to the next one. The hope was to land a regular role on a hit series. If not, many actors simply took the next job.

This practice resulted in some significant crossover for the two series, both of which went on to become evergreens and are still watched and enjoyed by audiences today. Actors who appeared on The Twilight Zone later went on to The Original Series, which at the time was just one more show among many on their resume. New incarnations of both series have repeated the treat, with the 1980s...

Phyllis Coates, the first actor to portray Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane on television, died on Oct. 11 in Woodland Hills, Calif., her daughter Laura Press confirmed to the New York Times. She was 96.

Coates starred as Lois Lane in the “Adventures of Superman” when the series first aired in 1952, only to leave after one season. She initially played Lois opposite George Reeves as Clark Kent/the Man of Steel in “Superman and the Mole Men.” The 1951 black-and-white superhero film follows Clark and Lois as they arrive in the small town of Silsby, where a race of small, balding humanoids emerge from their underground home deep in an oil well.

The “Adventures of Superman” series debuted the following year, with Reeves and Coates reprising their respective roles as Clark and Lois from “Mole Men.”

Noel Neill, who had played Lois in two 15-part film serials starring Kirk Alyn — “Superman” (1948) and “Atom Man vs. Superman...

Phyllis Coates, known for her portrayal of Lois Lane in the original Adventures of Superman TV series, has died at the age of 96. Coates played Lois Lane for only one season, alongside George Reeves as Clark Kent. Both actors appeared in the film Superman and the Mole-Men prior to the TV series. Coates described harsh working conditions on set and declined a higher salary to continue playing Lois Lane. She had a successful career spanning five decades and appeared in various films and TV shows.

In sad news for fans of classic iterations of Superman, actress Phyllis Coates has died at the age of 96. According to her daughter, Laura Press, the prolific thespian passed away of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 11 (per The Hollywood Reporter). Coates was best-known for portraying the Daily Planet...

Phyllis Coates, who became television’s first Lois Lane when she was cast in the classic Adventures of Superman series starring George Reeves, died yesterday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills. She was 96.

Her death was announced by daughter Laura Press to our sister publication The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell in Wichita Falls, Texas, on January 15, 1927, Coates and her family later moved to Hollywood. Along with some vaudeville-style performances, Coates launched her showbix career as a chorus girl during the 1940s, often touring the the Uso. Later in the decade, she landed small roles in such pictures as Smart Girls Don’t Talk and My Foolish Heart (1949), and appeared in a series of “Joe McDoakes” comedy shorts as Alice MacDoakes.

In 1951, Coates was invited to audition for the role of Lois Lane in the low-budget...

Phyllis Coates, the first actress to play Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane on television, only to leave the Adventures of Superman after just one season, has died. She was 96.

Coates, who also appeared in Republic Pictures serials and in such films as I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her daughter Laura Press told The Hollywood Reporter.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Coates first portrayed the headstrong Lois opposite George Reeves as the Man of Steel in the dark sci-fi movie Superman and the Mole Men (1951).

The success of that Lippert Pictures film — the first full-length theatrical feature starring the comic-book hero — led to the quick decision to start production on a syndicated show for television.

Coates segued to the series and got into jams as Lois in all 26 episodes of the first season...

Click here to read the full article.

William Reynolds, who portrayed crime-stopping Special Agent Tom Colby opposite Efrem Zimbalist Jr. on the final seven seasons of the ABC crime drama The F.B.I., has died. He was 90.

Reynolds died Wednesday in Wildomar, California, from non-covid 19 complicated pneumonia, a family spokesperson announced.

The Los Angeles native also starred in three other series, all short-lived: as the trumpet player on the 1959 NBC drama Pete Kelly’s Blues, created by Jack Webb; on ABC’s The Islanders, a 1960-61 adventure show set in the East Indies; and on the World War II-set The Gallant Men, which ran on ABC from 1962-63.

In 1960, Reynolds memorably played a WWII officer who can’t ignore an ominous light on the faces of his men destined to be killed in the acclaimed Twilight Zone season-one episode “The Purple Testament.”

On the big screen, he appeared in the...

Tom Lester, the actor who played the guileless, brighter-than-he-seemed farmhand Eb Dawson on CBS’ 1960s sitcom Green Acres, died Monday in Nashville of complications from Parkinson’s disease, his family announced. He was 81.

Born Thomas William Lester in Laurel, Mississippi, Lester set out for Hollywood after graduating from the University of Mississippi. He studied acting with teacher and Petticoat Junction actress Lurene Tuttle, soon coming to the attention of the show’s creator Paul Henning, who was casting another rural comedy within The Beverly Hillbillies-Petticoat Junction universe.

More from DeadlineNotable Hollywood & Entertainment Industry Deaths In 2020: Photo GalleryMatthew Seligman Dies Of Covid-19: David Bowie Bassist And Camera Club Member Was 64Ranjit Chowdhry Dies: 'The Office' And 'Prison Break' Actor Was 64

The show was Green Acres, an alternately hokey and surreal comedy starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a sophisticated...

Mondo has revealed a limited edition killer-rific poster for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter by artist Jonathan Bartlett. If that wasn't awesome enough, Mondo has revived their Camp Crystal Lake enamel pin. Also: the Music Box of Horrors lineup and Family of Fear's debut on iTunes.

Mondo's Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter Poster and Camp Crystal Lake Enamel Pin Details: "October is the best month. This is just a fact. Case closed. It's spooky and scary and one big horror movie marathon. Over the next couple of weeks we'll have plenty of horror products coming your way... so sleep with one eye open...

First up is this poster for Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter by Jonathan Bartlett! Arguably the best entry in the iconic slasher series, we love Jonathan's rendering of Jason and treatment for the film. This is our first time working with Jonathan and we...

'Ben-Hur' 1959 with Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston: TCM's '31 Days of Oscar.' '31 Days of Oscar': 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Ben-Hur' are in, Paramount stars are out Today, Feb. 1, '16, Turner Classic Movies is kicking off the 21st edition of its “31 Days of Oscar.” While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is being vociferously reviled for its “lack of diversity” – more on that appallingly myopic, self-serving, and double-standard-embracing furore in an upcoming post – TCM is celebrating nearly nine decades of the Academy Awards. That's the good news. The disappointing news is that if you're expecting to find rare Paramount, Universal, or Fox/20th Century Fox entries in the mix, you're out of luck. So, missing from the TCM schedule are, among others: Best Actress nominees Ruth Chatterton in Sarah and Son, Nancy Carroll in The Devil's Holiday, Claudette Colbert in Private Worlds. Unofficial Best Actor...

James Garner movies on TCM: ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Victor Victoria’ among highlights (photo: James Garner ca. 1960) James Garner, whose film and television career spanned more than five decades, died of "natural causes" at age 86 on July 19, 2014, in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. On Monday, July 28, Turner Classic Movies will present an all-day marathon of James Garner movies (see below) as a tribute to the Oscar-nominated star of Murphy’s Romance and Emmy-winning star of the television series The Rockford Files. Among the highlights in TCM’s James Garner film lineup is John Frankenheimer’s Monaco-set Grand Prix (1966), an all-star, race-car drama featuring Garner as a Formula One driver who has an affair with the wife (Jessica Walter) of his former teammate (Brian Bedford). Among the other Grand Prix drivers facing their own personal issues are Yves Montand and Antonio Sabato, while Akira Kurosawa’s (male) muse Toshiro Mifune plays a...

Has Green Acres had a lasting cultural impact? Do the wacky antics of Lisa and Oliver Wendell Douglas (plus a pig that could read) still reverberate through our modern society? The answer: Not really, no. Sorry, Green Acres fans, but once you get past the theme song and its uncanny ability to remain stuck in your head for weeks at a time, there’s little staying power in CBS’s farm-based sitcom. Its only tie to contemporary society would be the official Green Acres Slot Machine, where if you win the Hot Cake Bonus, a tiny digital Eva Gabor dishes out plates of hot cakes to a tiny digital Green Acres cast, and the gambler must trade plates back and forth to collect the most cakes and the most money. Which sounds really goddamn confusing for a slot machine. But here’s another question: has Green Acres spent enough time out of the public eye to be...

Though lately there haven't been as many revivals of 60s TV series on the big screen lately as there were years ago, Lost in Space, The Fugitive, Get Smart and Bewitched all hail from that decade, and coming up we've got new versions of Gilligan's Island and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in the works. Now another show from the 60s will hit the big screen as Deadline reports the CBS sitcom Green Acres has just been picked up by director Richard L. Bare for a feature film adaptation. Bare is one of the original directors of the TV series, and he's teaming up with Phillip Goldfine and his Hollywood Media Bridge to make it happen. The two producers are looking for a writer and director though, so the project is just in the nascent stages of development. You may know the Green Acres theme song better than the actual series,...

Richard L. Bare and Phillip B. Goldfine have acquired the remake rights to the classic 1960s TV series "Green Acres" and plan to develop the property into both a feature film and a Broadway play.

Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor starred in the original as a married New York couple who try their hand at farming in the Midwestern community of Hooterville. It also sported a catchy theme tune.

The project is currently seeking a writer and director for the feature adaptation. Bare, who directed 166 of the show's 170 episodes, has been trying to revive the hit series for almost a decade.

All six seasons of "Green Acres" are currently available on Hulu.

Source: Deadline...

Nearly 50 years after it first debuted in 1965, the classic TV series Green Acres is being developed for a feature film and a Broadway play.

Richard L. Bare, who directed 166 of the show's 170 episodes, and Phillip B. Goldfine have acquired the rights to the series, and are seeking a writer and director for the feature adaptation. The producers are also developing a Broadway play based on the hit series.

Green Acres ran for six seasons between 1965 and 1971, starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a married New York couple who try their hand at farming in the Midwestern community of Hooterville. The show became well-known for its catchy, sing-along opening theme, one-liners and a host of colorful characters.

Richard L. Bare has been trying to revive the hit series for quite some time. Back in 2007, during the Writer's Guild of America strike, the filmmaker was shopping the original scripts to every...

If the countryside and farm livin' is the life for you, then Green Acres is probably right up your alley.  You may or may not be happy to know that the 60s television series is now making its way to the big screen, with a possible Broadway adaptation on the way as well.  Property rights to the sitcom that featured a wealthy New York couple moving to the Midwest town of Hooterville were recently acquired by series helmer Richard L. Bare and producer Phillip Goldfine. Green Acres starred Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as Oliver Wendell and Lisa Douglas, a Manhattan lawyer and his socialite wife respectively.  While the show's humor was derived from the misunderstandings between the well-to-do urbanites and the simple countryfolk, something tells me that approach might not go over so well in today's economic climate.  Hit the jump for more. Deadline reports that Bare and Goldfine...

A big screen version of the popular 1960s sitcom, Green Acres is on the way, Deadline reports. The rights have just been purchased by Hollywood Media Bridge, a production company run by Phillip Goldfine and Richard L. Bare. Bare directed nearly every episode of the original series, which is available to view in its entirety on Hulu with he following official description:...

It's Halloween and we've been doing all sorts of cool things all week to celebrate the big day, but believe me when I tell you we've saved the best for last! On tap right now is your chance to win the complete "The Twilight Zone" series on DVD!

To enter for your chance to win, just send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address. We’ll take care of the rest. You will receive your prize on the street date of November 19th.

From the Press Release

Image Entertainment, an Rlj Entertainment (Nasdaq: Rlje) brand, announces the release of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking, science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series, available on DVD on November 19, 2013, at an Srp of $169.98.

All 156 episodes of Rod Serling’s classic, groundbreaking series in one special box set! Travel to another dimension of sight and sound again and again.

Randolph Scott Westerns, comedies, war dramas: TCM schedule on August 19, 2013 See previous post: “Cary Grant and Randolph Scott Marriages — And ‘Expect the Biographical Worst.’” 3:00 Am Badman’S Territory (1946). Director: Tim Whelan. Cast: Randolph Scott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Ann Richards. Bw-98 mins. 4:45 Am Trail Street (1947). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Bw-84 mins. 6:15 Am Return Of The Badmen (1948). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene aka Richard Powers, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey, Gary Gray, Walter Baldwin, Minna Gombell, Warren Jackson, Robert Clarke, Jason Robards Sr., Ernie Adams, Lane Chandler, Dan Foster, John Hamilton, Kenneth MacDonald, Donald Kerr, Ida Moore, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Harry Shannon, Charles Stevens. Bw-90 mins. 8:00 Am Riding Shotgun (1954). Director: André De Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris,...

Image Entertainment, who recently released the episodes only edition of Season 2 of The Twilight Zone (review here), has now released the Season 3 collection that will include every episode, so you’ll get to see Robert Redford, Charles Bronson and Leonard Nimoy in action! Order it on Amazon today! Read on for the press release:

Image Entertainment, an Rlj Entertainment (Nasdaq: Rlje) brand, announces the release of the third season of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking, science fiction anthology The Twilight Zone: The Complete Third Season, available on DVD on July 9, 2013, at an Srp of $29.98. Season three features an incredible list of guest stars including Rod Serling, Robert Redford, Carol Burnett, Cliff Robertson, Charles Bronson, Leonard Nimoy, Elizabeth Montgomery, Dean Stockwell and Bill Mumy.

The Twilight Zone remains television’s most treasured anthology program. The brainchild of writer and narrator Rod Serling — inspired by the pulp comics, novels and sci-fi films...

Movie to musical transfers are a dime a dozen, but now it seems TV shows are getting in on the singing fun.

Green Acres, the classic sitcom that aired from 1965-1971, is being developed into a musical by film production company Hemisphere Two and Richard L. Bare, who directed more than 165 episodes of the show.

Variety reports, “Bare said he has penned an initial draft of the book; Richard Chapman (“Simon and Simon”), one of the principals of Hemisphere Two, and E. Jack Kaplan are onboard to rewrite. In Bare’s draft, the storyline of the musical picks up as...

Green Acres, which went to sitcom heaven in 1971 after a six-year run and has since gotten a 1990 reunion-via-tv-movie, a slot machine, and a reference in Pulp Fiction, is being developed as a musical. Richard L. Bare, 98-year-old director of nearly every one of the show's 170 episodes, has drafted the book for what Variety calls a "Broadway-targeted" project. The whole endeavor does have that unforgettable, peppy theme song going for it...

As we all eagerly anticipate the upcoming release of "The Twilight Zone: Season 2" onto Blu-ray high definition this November 16th, Image Entertainment, the rock stars that they are, have already released the goods on Season 3!

As per High-Def Digest:

"The release will be a 5-disc set and will contain all 37 episodes in the third season in 1080p video, an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentaries by actors Bill Mumy, Lois Nettleton, William Windom, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Cornthwaite and Cliff Robertson; Audio commentary by Jonathan Winters for "A Game of Pool," plus Winters reads the alternate ending from the original script; Clip from the 1989 remake of "A Game of Pool," featuring George Clayton Johnson's original ending; Clip from the 1985 remake of "Dead Man's Shoes," featuring Helen Mirren in "Dead Woman's Shoes"; Vintage audio recollections with Buzz Kulik, Buck Houghton, Richard L. Bare, Lamont Johnson and Earl Hamner; and...

As far as we are concerned, Image Entertainments release of "The Twilight Zone" Season 1 (Blu-ray review here) could very well be the release of the year. In fact, we like it so much we've decided to give away one copy to a lucky fan out there!

But that's not all! We're also giving away some badass "Twilight Zone" swag (Gremlin & Jason Foster action figures and Talky Tina Bobblehead) from Entertainment Earth to go along with it!

Interested? Of course you are! Who wouldn't be? All you have to do to win is send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address, and we’ll take care of the rest. Pretty nifty, no?

Just take a look at what's included and drool!

Season One Episodes

Where Is Everybody?, One for the Angels, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine, Walking Distance, Escape Clause, The Lonely, Time Enough at Last,...

As if you needed any other encouragement to pick up a copy of "The Twilight Zone" Season One on Blu-ray on Tuesday, September 14th, we've got three clips from the upcoming box set from Image Entertainment.

All new 1080p high-definition transfers have been created from the original camera negatives, as well as uncompressed Pcm audio, remastered from the original magnetic soundtracks. In addition, the set includes new and exclusive bonus features not available anywhere else, including the rarely seen, never-before-released unofficial pilot “The Time Element,” written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz – the episode that started a cultural phenomenon – presented in glorious high definition!

Also included are 19 new audio commentaries, 34 isolated music scores, 18 radio dramas, new and archival cast/crew and scholar interviews, a “Tales of Tomorrow” episode of “What You Need,” the original unaired pilot version of “Where Is Everybody?” along with Rod Serling’s network pitch,...

For better or worse, 3-D is here to stay but what of the one-shot movie gimmicks of yesteryear? House On Haunted Hill (1959) had .Emergo., a glow-in-the-dark skeleton that swooped over the audience at a key point in the movie. Earthquake had .Sensurround., massive Cerwin-Vega subwoofers that shook the theatres and for Polyester (1981), John Waters passed out self-explanatory .Odorama. cards. .Duo-Vision. was a split-screen technique used for the entire 1973 shocker Wicked, Wicked, a film as forgotten as it.s gimmick and one that is Not available on DVD. Split-screen is an effective story-telling device when used sparingly. Brian DePalma used it quite a bit in Sisters (also 1973) and in many of his other films.It was used intelligently in Woodstock (1970) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) but way overused in More American Graffiti (1979). Wicked, Wicked, where the device is used in 99% of the shots (only a couple of violent inserts and establishing...

In 1959, a ground-breaking television series premiered - investigating the futuristic, the telepathic, the cryptic, and the metaphysical: The Twilight Zone. Every week, Rod Serling's masterwork of "fear noir" took viewers from the safety of their living rooms on amazing journeys of fantasy and imagination. On September 14th, Image Entertainment will release the complete first season of The Twilight Zone, fully remastered for Blu-ray&#8482.

All new 1080p high-definition transfers have been created from the original camera negatives, as well as uncompressed Pcm audio, remastered from the original magnetic soundtracks. In addition, the set includes new and exclusive bonus features not available anywhere else, including the rarely seen, never-before-released unofficial pilot "The Time Element," written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz - the episode that started a cultural phenomenon - presented in glorious high definition!

Also included are 19 new audio commentaries, 34 isolated music scores, 18 radio dramas, new and archival cast/crew and scholar interviews,...

Hell yeah! The classic Twilight Zone TV series created by the great and imaginative Rod Serling is coming to Blu-ray! This is one of my favorite TV series of all time. Image Entertainment will release the first season on September 14th. They've now issued a full press release officially detailing the release. Check out the full details below.

In 1959, a ground-breaking television series premiered – investigating the futuristic, the telepathic, the cryptic, and the metaphysical: The Twilight Zone. Every week, Rod Serling’s masterwork of “fear noir” took viewers from the safety of their living rooms on amazing journeys of fantasy and imagination. On September 14th, Image Entertainment will release the complete first season of The Twilight Zone, fully remastered for Blu-ray.

All new 1080p high-definition transfers have been created from the original camera negatives, as well as uncompressed Pcm audio, remastered from the original magnetic soundtracks. In addition, the set...

Now this is how we like capping off a work week! Pull up a chair, dear reader, as we have got the complete specs for "The Twilight Zone" Season One for you. I want to nest inside of this Blu-ray like Han Solo did a Tauntaun on planet Hoth. And the angels sing ...

From the Press Release

In 1959, a ground-breaking television series premiered – investigating the futuristic, the telepathic, the cryptic, and the metaphysical: The Twilight Zone. Every week, Rod Serling’s masterwork of “fear noir” took viewers from the safety of their living rooms on amazing journeys of fantasy and imagination. On September 14th, Image Entertainment will release the complete first season of The Twilight Zone, fully remastered for Blu-ray™.

All new 1080p high-definition transfers have been created from the original camera negatives, as well as uncompressed Pcm audio, remastered from the original magnetic soundtracks. In addition, the set includes...

Words cannot express how happy we are to report this tasty nugget of news. The original Rod Serling classic television show "The Twilight Zone" is readying itself for its Blu-ray debut on September 14th courtesy of Image Entertainment -- our new favorite distributor!

From Hi-Def Digest:

"The 5-disc Blu-ray set will contain all 36 episodes of the first season in 1080p video, an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, and supplements haven't been announced yet but they are expected to mirror all of the DVD features including: Audio Commentaries by Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Miler, Kevin McCarthy and William Self; Vintage Audio Recollections with Burgess Meredith, Douglas Heyes, Richard L. Bare, Buck Houghtonj, Anne Francis and Richard Matheson; Rod Serling Audio Lectures from Sherwood Oaks College; Isolated Music Scores featuring the legendary Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and more; Rod Serling Promos for "Next Week's" Show; Original Unaired Pilot Version of "Where Is Everybody?...

Now comes two of the more intriguingly directed episodes, full of tilted cameras, expressive visuals and engrossing atmospheres. Both as well have two of the great endings to the series, both of which wind up casting a new light on the preceding drama.

Season 1, Episode 13 - The Four Of Us Are Dying

Originally aired on January 1, 1960

Written by: Rod Serling, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson

Directed by: John Brahms

He was Arch Hammer, a cheap little man who just checked in. He was Johnny Foster, who played a trumpet and was loved beyond words. He was Virgil Sterig, with money in his pocket. He was Andy Marshak, who got some of his agony back on a sidewalk in front of a cheap hotel. Hammer, Foster, Sterig, Marshak— and all four of them were dying.

The episode closes with our main character, Arch Hammer, stammering at gunpoint that...

Veteran TV helmer Richard L. Bare, who directed all 168 episodes of CBS' 1960s sitcom Green Acres, said he has acquired the rights to remake the series for TV from the widow of Acres creator Jay Sommers.

Bare is hoping that the classic TV series will appeal to the networks which are short of original material as the writers strike continues. Bare calls his timing going out with Acres during the writers strike "coincidental" but said that it helps his chances.

"Studios are going to be searching for properties that have been written and ready to go into production without upsetting WGA in any way," he said.

Bare said he already has a pilot written by veteran scribe William Justice Forbes that takes place a month after the 1971 finale of the series, which starred Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a New York attorney and his wife who try to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.