Big & Small Screen Stalwarts

Each Saturday at nine PM, the Heroes and Icons channel, 9–4 on over the air antennas in NYC, airs Combat!, which ran on ABC for five seasons, 152 episodes, from 1962-’67. It was my favorite show back in the day and still holds up because there is more to it than heroics. Last night’s episode, The Chateau, season one/number 19, was interesting mainly for its cast. Although the opening credits as always bill Vic Morrow and Rick Jason as the stars, they were not in it. The principals were Shecky Greene, who would leave the series after eight episodes, and Steve Rogers, who did 22 before Conlan Carter became the medic. Greene had a substantial career, especially in standup. Rogers appeared in five films after Combat!, all B level at best, none after 1968. Here are the two in character, although it may not be from the episode in question:

Dan O’Herlihy, whose stage and big and small screen work was highly regarded, starred as a Nazi Major, speaking the language flawlessly, at least to my untrained ear. He was not a snob, choosing roles in popular fare such as Robocop (1987), directed by Paul Verhoeven, as well as weighty matter such as Shakespeare during a career that spanned more than 50 years. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Robinson Crusoe (1954), directed by Luis Bunuel. He passed away at 85 in 2005. Here he is as General Black in the chilling Fail Safe (1964), directed by Sidney Lumet:

Tragically, the lovely Joan Hackett’s life was cut short at 49 in 1983 by cancer. She had a great run going that included an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in Only When I Laugh (1981), based on the play The Gingerbread Lady by Neil Simon. In the episode, she and her dad were the owners of the lodging.

Her dad was played by London-born Ben Wright. There are 204 titles under his name at IMDb, spanning 1936-’89, the year of his passing at 74. He was never a regular in a long-running series, although he appeared in so many.

John Milford’s career spanned 1955 to 2000, the year of his death at 72. He has 170 titles under his name at IMDb. Although he made multiple appearances on many shows, he too was never in a long-running series. Here are two fun trivia items from his bio: He was a member of The Mighty Carson Art Players, and once played Leonid Brezhnev to Johnny Carson’s Ronald Reagan, and he is credited with the original design for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here’s a great photo of him:

Last but certainly not least — Frank Sutton, who played a Corporal executed by the Major after trying to escape. He too had a great run going when he was taken by a heart attack at 50 in 1974. He shot to fame as Sergeant Carter on Gomer Pyle: USMC, logging 150 episodes. His “I can’t hear you!” became a tagline for male baby-boomers. Here are two great bits of trivia about him: He graduated cum laude in dramatic arts from Columbia University, and he was a Black Belt in Judo.

My brother in law and sister, both of whom have passed on, went to night school at New Utrecht High School to learn English when they first emigrated to America in the late 40’s. I don’t know if that’s where they met. Anyway, as I continued cleaning out the basement of our old house, I came upon a cache of books, half in Italian, 90% falling apart. Among them was a copy of the winter 1950 edition of the bi-annual publication, Spiral, issued by NUHS, featuring the poetry and prose of students. Since it had a paper cover, it’s in fine shape. I was shocked that not a single contributor had an Italian last name. I’m sure everyone involved in it has passed on, but if there is a son or daughter or grandchild who would like to have it, contact me here or on Facebook. Here are the cover and page three:

All of the paperbacks in the box were unsalvageable but these, seven of which I’ll give a shot. I don’t understand why the pic came out blurry:

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