Classic TV | Hollywood Yesterday

Barbara Hale: Born on this Day in 1922!

April 18, 2022 By Joi

Barbara Hale and Raymond Burr in Perry Mason

One of my favorites, Barbara Hale, was born on this day in 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois. While she is best-known (and loved) as Della Street from Perry Mason, Barbara Hale also made a great number of films, many of which were Westerns (which means I’m certainly familiar with her filmography!).

The most recent role I enjoyed her in was in A Lion is in the Streets (1953, directed by Raoul Walsh). The movie co-starred James Cagney, Jeanne Cagney, Anne Francis, Lon Chaney Jr, John McIntire, and Warner Anderson and was pretty good. However, make no mistake about it… Barbara Hale was (as was the case with quite a few of her movies) better than the film she was in.

Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean I don’t recommend watching this film (or any of the others). In fact, the opposite is true. I’d LOVE for more people to see this remarkable actress in her film roles. She’ll blow you away. You won’t believe the number of times she steals scenes right out from under movie legends.

Truth is, she kind of made a habit of it!

The photos in this post are of her and the wonderful Raymond Burr in the roles they made famous: Perry Mason and Della Street. The extraordinary television series ran for 9 seasons, from 1957–1966. There were also many “Made for TV” Perry Mason movies which were all out of this world.

Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale

You can find Perry Mason on Prime Video (the series and movies) and, if you’re also a collector, the dvds are also available on Amazon (Amazon link).

You can also find the Complete Perry Mason Movie Collection (Amazon link) – the next purchase I, personally, plan to make!

Barbara Hale and Raymond Burr

Picture of the Day is Back, Starting Today… May as Well Start Back with a Bang!

January 7, 2022 By Joi

Cesar Romero and Eartha Kitt

Last week I gave a list of my New Years Resolutions for Hollywood Yesterday…

A quick review:

move old Hollywood and classic tv biography and reference book reviews
more old movie reviews
more classic television pictures and posts
more collectibles…

I also kind of flirted with the idea of changing Picture of the Day to Picture of the Week, but (after thinking about it a while), I’ve decided to stick with Picture of the Day and simply add more content WITH the pictures. I already went back and edited that nonsense out of the Resolutions post!

What was I thinking anyway….. LESS pictures of old Hollywood and classic TV? Ridiculous idea!

So, long story short (I know, too late for that), Picture of the Day starts back today and we’re doing it with a BANG… the wonderful Cesar Romero and the wonderful Eartha Kitt.

The Complete Series of Batman on DVD:

Batman: The Complete Series (Amazon link)

Adorable Promotional Photo for Bewitched

November 22, 2021 By Joi

Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, and Erin Murphy

The adorable Bewitched publicity photo above is, I believe, a promo shot for season five. Don’t hold me to that or anything, but judging by Erin Murphy’s age, here, I’m almost certain it was season five.

Did you grow up watching this wonderful sitcom? I certainly did – heck, who am I kidding – I still watch it regularly! When you’ve seen as many episodes (over and over and over…) as I have, the characters almost seem like family.

The Complete Series of Bewitched on DVD (Amazon link) is available for as cheap as I’ve ever seen it right now. THIS is absolutely the time to grab the magic!

Wonderful Behind the Scenes Photos from The Addams Family

October 17, 2021 By Joi

Lisa Loring and Ted Cassidy

The extraordinary series The Addams Family ran from 1964 to 1966. At the time, many people fell in love with these larger than life, lovable characters and the actors and actresses who portrayed them. Since then, even more of us have fallen under their spell.

This truly was one of the cutest, most entertaining, and funniest series ever made.

The behind the scenes photos, here, are just wonderful… they remind us of the characters we fell in love with so long ago and realize that we have never quite fallen out of love. Far from it!

I can’t tell you how much I wish the photo of Margaret Hamilton (Granny Frump) and Felix Silla (Cousin Itt) below were large enough to include ALL of the great Margaret Hamilton. This is how I got the photo… with only 1/3 of her.

Margaret Hamilton and Felix Silla

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster, The Munsters

October 16, 2021 By Joi

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster

One of my favorite classic television shows is The Munsters. Few things are as enjoyable as sitting back and visiting with Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn, and Eddie. The series ran from 1964 to 1966 and while I wasn’t quite old enough to enjoy it in its first-run, I have made up for lost time in reruns!

My favorite character is Lily and the main reason is Yvonne De Carlo. She portrayed her to absolute perfection. The entire cast was phenomenal.

You can find the complete series of The Munsters on dvd (Amazon link)!

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster

Ella Fitzgerald and Carol Burnett: The Carol Burnett Show

October 10, 2020 By Joi

Carol Burnett and Ella Fitzgerald

The adorable photo of two legendary women, above, is from Ella Fitzgerald’s October 24, 1969 appearance on The Carol Burnett Show. The mind is a funny thing, isn’t it? I can remember the words to just about every Carol Burnett skit and can distinctly remember seeing this episode (in reruns while growing up)… yet I forget why I walk into a room at least once a week!

I need to buy The Carol Burnett Show on dvd because I love it now perhaps EVEN more than I did back then. Carol Burnett has always been one of the most hilarious people in show business and her cast was right there with her.

She also seems just genuinely likable, doesn’t she?

I rewatched this episode not long ago – because I love Ella Fitzgerald and Carol Burnett so much. If you haven’t seen it in awhile, I hope you’ll find it and give it a look.

Wonderful, wonderful ladies.

Celebrating the Wonderful Yvonne De Carlo on Her Birthday

September 1, 2020 By Joi

Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora, The Ten Commandments

Beautiful Yvonne De Carlo was born on this date (September 1) in 1922 in Vancouver. Having grown up LOVING her on The Munsters, I’ll never forget how far my jaw dropped when I first saw her out of “Lily” makeup! My mom and I were watching The Ten Commandments on tv and she pointed the beautiful Sephora.. then she asked, “Do you know who the actress is?” I had no idea, so I said so. When she said she was “Yvonne De Carlo,” I recognized the name from The Munsters’ credits and must have looked at her like she was crazy because she said, “I promise.. it’s her!”

When I took a closer look, it became obvious – same perfect bone structure and beautiful eyes. Her talent as an actress became even more incredible to me – she could do comedy AND drama and do both beautifully.

Yvonne De Carlo was talented, stunning, hilarious, and utterly fascinating.

Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster

(About being Yvonne De Carlo and Lily Munster at the same time.) “I guess I lead a double life, and I must admit I’m happy with both.” ~ Yvonne De Carlo

Happy Birthday to Lindsay Wagner (I May be the Biggest fan of The Bionic Woman of All Time…)

June 22, 2020 By Joi

Lindsay Wagner, The Bionic Woman

I have always been a huge Lindsay Wagner fan – mainly because of her outstanding role as Jaime Sommers on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. I can still remember when she first showed up as a guest-star on The Six Million Dollar Man (one of my favorite shows – I never missed a minute!) – as soon as she arrived, I was smitten. She was beautiful, funny, and as likable as any character I had ever seen on tv or in movies.

I wanted her to stick around for every episode. Fortunately, the network went one better and gave me The Bionic Woman! Needless to say, it became a huge obsession – never missed an episode and OF COURSE I had the lunch box and doll. I would give just about anything to still have them!

I have to order the complete series on dvd (The Bionic Woman – link to the dvd set on Amazon) and maybe start watching it on Prime until it gets here!

Happiest of birthdays to Lindsay Wagner!

Lindsay Wagner, The Bionic Woman

The Wild Wild West: My Newest Wild Wild Obsession…

May 23, 2020 By Joi

Ross Martin and Robert Conrad: The Wild Wild West

Today’s Picture of the Day is a publicity photo for The Wild Wild West with Ross Martin and Robert Conrad. As my confession in the post’s title admits, I am obsessed with this tv series. Oddly enough – in spite of growing up with a father who LIVED for Westerns, I’d never seen a single episode until recently.

I guess my dad couldn’t fit it in with Gunsmoke, western movies, Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, and The Big Valley. Heck, a fella only has so many hours in the day, right?!

My husband introduced me to The Wild Wild West recently and we’ve been plowing through the episodes – thanks to a great channel, FETV, that shows a lot of great classic television shows.

The Wild Wild West ran for four seasons from 1965-1969.

You can find the complete series on dvd on Amazon (See: The Wild Wild West) – this is one extra special series. I’m so sorry my dad missed it!

Great Gift Idea for Fans of Classic Hollywood: Renegade Women in Film & TV

November 23, 2019 By Joi

Renegade Women in Film & TV

I love my family. Okay, that should probably go without saying, but seriously… I really, really love my family.

Not only because they’re the coolest, most colorful, and lovable group of people you could ever hope to meet but also because they’re uncommonly thoughtful, kind, generous, and… well…. DARN good. Not just good. DARN good.

The book you see here is an early Christmas gift from my youngest daughter Stephany. She and her two sisters (Emily and Brittany) have contributed to my Old Hollywood book and dvd collections tremendously and I love that they love supporting my obsessive habit!

They’ve helped create the monster behind these words.

Renegade Women in Film & TV is an absolutely remarkable book. Not only is it gorgeous (hardcover and packed with colorful illustrations of the women it celebrates), it is an exceptionally inspiring read.

Within the pages I was reminded of just how remarkable some of my favorites are (Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Dorothy Dandridge, Hedy Lamarr, Hattie McDaniel, Dorothy Arzner, Mary Pickford, Rita Moreno, Anna May Wong, Marlo Thomas, Oprah…). I also learned a lot about some ground-breaking women I knew very little about (Ida Lupino, Mae West, Edith Head, Barbra Streisand, Susan Harris, Mary Tyler Moore, Lesley Visser, Barbara Walters, Geena Davis…) and met ladies I knew nothing about and a few I’d never heard of before but will never forget now.

(Continued Below Lucille Ball… how mesmerizing are those eyes??)

Lucille Ball

As expected, there are outstanding women who are missing that I’d have LOVED for them to have included..

Olivia de Havilland
Bette Davis (she gets a mention at the end)
Greta Garbo
Betty White
Etc.

However, the ones who AREN’T there should not and do not detract from the ones who are. Besides, maybe there’ll be a follow-up. I certainly hope so!

Renegade Women in Film & TV would make the most wonderful gift for fans of Old Hollywood and/or Classic TV imaginable. You will, however, want to get your hands on a copy for yourself, too, trust me.

But, here’s the thing… you may want TWO copies. I know I do. One for enjoying and keeping whole (it would make a perfect coffee table book) and one for removing the gorgeous photos for framing. They are truly stunning.

See Renegade Women in Film & TV for more information.