Sam The Butcher

 

Allan John Melvin was born in Kansas City, Missouri on February 18, 1923.  During his formative years, Melvin lived with his grandparents in New York City.  There he attended Columbia University, getting his first taste of acting as a theatre student.

Like many of his generation, Melvin served his country during World War 2, enlisting in the Navy after graduation. When the war was over, he returned to New York and began his career at NBC Radio, working in the sound effects department.  He also married his sweetheart Amalia Sestero, with whom he'd spend the next 64 years.

By the 1950s, Melvin's career had really taken off.  He'd appeared on Broadway in a production of Stalag 17, won Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio show, and created his own nightclub act. Then in 1955, he was cast in the first of several iconic television roles, that of Corporal Steve Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sergeant Bilko).  The series ran for four seasons, and Melvin enjoyed very minute of it.

"I think the camaraderie of all those guys made it such a pleasant way to work.  They were so relaxed."

After the series ended, Melvin signed up for another tour of duty as Staff Sergeant Charlie Hacker on Gomer Pyle, USMC.  For four seasons, he served as rival and chief antagonist to series regular Sergeant Carter.  Prior to this, he had made several appearances on The Andy Griffith Show in a variety of different roles.  At the same time, Melvin was beginning a very prolific voice-over career, in both animation and live-action shows (see Trivia below).

In the 1970s, Melvin was working consecutively on some of the most popular series of the decade.  He had a recurring role as Sam Franklin (aka Sam the Butcher) on The Brady Bunch (above), boyfriend of housekeeper Alice Nelson.  He was also appearing as Barney Hefner, Archie Bunker's best friend, on All in the Family as well as its spin-off series, Archie Bunker's Place.  Additionally, he made several appearances as a diner patron on Alice, while doing a lot of commercial work as well (see Trivia below).  By the mid-1980s, he was working exclusively in animation, until he retired in 1994.

By the early 200s, Melvin's health was in decline.  Diagnosed with cancer, he ultimately died on January 17, 2008.  He was 84 years old. 

Allan Melvin was interred at Pierce Brothers Memorial Village in Los Angeles.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Amalia eventually passed in December 2020, having reached the 100-year mark.
  
  
• Despite having a rather lengthy resume in Hollywood, Melvin only ever appeared in one film, 1968's With Six You Get Eggroll.
  
  
  
• For more than thirty years, Melvin was an in-demand voice actor on a number of popular television series.  Most prominently, he was the voice of Magilla Gorilla (right), Drooper on The Banana Splits Show, and Bluto on Popeye.
  
  
• Melvin did a lot of commercial work during the 1970s and was a recurring pitchman for Liquid Plumbr.  Yes, I spelled that correctly.  Here are a few of those spots (1973, 1978, 1981). 
  
  
• Pin-up model Bettie Page is buried right next to the Melvins, but this blogger can find no connection between them.  She also died in 2008.  Their grave is also within walking distance of Archie Bunker himself, Carroll O'Connor.  Brady Bunch co-star Florence Henderson is also nearby.

Brett Somers

 

"You know, I'm a television personality.  It's not like I'm a famous hooker or something!"

Brett Somers was born Audrey Dawn Johnston in New Brunswick, Canada on July 11, 1924. As a young girl, she moved with her family to Portland, Maine, before leaving home at 18 and heading to New York City.

Intent on making it in show business, she changed her name, borrowing "Brett" from the Ernest Hemingway novel The Sun Also Rises.  Somers was in fact her mother's maiden name.

When she was 24, Somers married businessman Robert Klein. They would divorce shortly thereafter, but not before producing one child, Leslie Klein.

When the marriage ended, Somers decided to focus on her career.  She joined The Actors Studio in 1952 and soon found work on television, appearing on many popular shows of the day, including Playhouse 90 and Kraft Television Theatre.

Then in 1953, Somers remarried, this time to actor Jack Klugman (right).  He proved to be Somers biggest fan, often convincing producers to find roles for her in various productions. Once Klugman was firmly established as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, he convinced producers to hire Somers in the role of Blanche, Madison's ex-wife, who made frequent appearances on the series.  Here's a clip.

Klugman went to bat for his wife once again in 1973, when he was asked to appear as a panelist on the popular series Match Game. He convinced producers to put Brett on the show as well, and the rest, as they say, is history.  With her dry wit and risque banter, she was a very popular panelist, and often matched wits with fellow regular Charles Nelson Reilly.  The two remained on the series together for the next nine years.  Here's a compilation of some of her best zingers.

After nearly twenty years of marriage and two children, Klugman and Somers separated in 1974.  Where it went from there, I cannot confirm, as the internet is a bevy of misinformation.  Some sources state that the two were divorced in 1977.  Others state that they remained married, albeit estranged, until Somers' death in 2007.  Cue the Unsolved Mysteries theme song.

Somers continued acting throughout the 1970s, appearing on such series as Battlestar Galactica (left), The Love Boat and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Her final television acting role was in a 1980 episode of Chips.

When Match Game came to an end in the early 1980s, Somers returned to New York and live theatre.  She would pop up on television from time to time, on such shows as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and a short-lived revival of Match Game in 1990.  She appeared on several talk shows as well, including The Mike Douglas Show and Maury Povich.  No, Povich did not give Somers a DNA test, as his show was relatively legit back in the day.  Here's a clip. 

By the late 1990s, Somers' health was in decline.  In 2004, she'd be diagnosed with cancer, and spent most of her time at home in Westport, Connecticut.  She ultimately died of stomach and colon cancer on September 15, 2007.  She was 83 years old.

Brett Somers was cremated and her ashes were buried in the Memorial Garden of the Unitarian Church in Westport.

Blank in peace, Brett.

Trivia

• Somers made her Broadway debut in a 1958 show called Maybe Tuesday.  The production opened on a Wednesday and closed after only five performances.  Ironically, it didn't make it to Tuesday.
  
  
• Jack Klugman was also profiled here at Six Feet Under Hollywood.
  
  
• In 2002, Somers reunited with Charles Nelson Reilly for "Game Show Week" on The Hollywood Squares, hosted by Tom Bergeron.  Here's a clip.
  
  
• Somers was preceded in death by her daughter Leslie, who died of lung cancer in 2003.
  
  
• In 2006, Somers appeared in the Game Show Network documentary The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank.  You can watch it in its entirety on YouTube.
  
  
• Shortly before her death, Somers became an American citizen.

Wendie Jo Sperber

 

"I'm an actress who likes to say something funny.  Everybody laughs and your job is done."

Wendie Jo Sperber was born in Hollywood, California on September 15, 1958.  During her high school years, she developed an interest in the performing arts, later attending drama workshops at California State University, Northridge. 

She began her acting career in 1978, appearing in the Robert Zemeckis film I Wanna Hold Your Hand (see Trivia below).  Of her performance, Entertainment Weekly said she was "a screaming Beatlemaniac who, among other things, climbed through elevator shafts."  That same year, she had an uncredited role as a dancer in the John Travolta blockbuster Grease.  Most impressively that year however, she starred in the title role of the ABC Afterschool Special (remember those) Dinky Hocker.  You can watch the episode in its entirety on YouTube.  This blogger gives the film two thumbs up.

In 1979, Sperber appeared in the Steven Spielberg film 1941.  Although the movie was a theatrical flop, Sperber became close friends with Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, who would later cast her in the 1980 comedy Used Cars.

After the film, Sperber was cast in her first role of note, that of Amy Cassidy on the sit-com Bosom Buddies (right).  The series starred a relatively unknown Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, and ran for two seasons on ABC.  Following its cancellation, Sperber joined the cast of the series Private Benjamin, before returning to feature films.

In 1984, Sperber reunited with Hanks for the comedy blockbuster Bachelor Party.  The following year, she appeared in one of her signature roles, that of Linda McFly in Back to the Future. The film was a huge success and she'd return to the role, albeit briefly, in Back to the Future Part III (1990).

The success of the film led to more roles for Sperber.  In 1987, she headlined a sit-com on the new FOX network entitled Women in Prison.  Curious?  Check out the intro on YouTube.  Like most FOX shows of the time, it only ran for 13 episodes.  But the network had a slew of crummy scripts laying around, and they cast her again in the 1990 sit-com Babes.  Despite having pop culture juggernaut The Simpsons as its lead-in on Thursday nights, it too was destined for cancellation.

In 1992, Sperber took her last role of note as a recurring character on the John Ritter/Markie Post sit-com Hearts Afire.  Following its cancellation in 1995, she'd spend the remainder of her career making one-off appearances in a variety of series, including Murphy Brown, JAG, and Married With Children.  Her final role was as a voice actor on the sit-com American Dad!.

In 1997, Sperber was diagnosed with breast cancer.  For the first few years, it was in remission, and during that time, she founded the WeSPARK Cancer Support Center in Sherman Oaks, California (left).  It offers a variety of courses and services to cancer patients and their families.  Signature events include Jason Alexander's Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament, an annual 5K run to raise awareness, and a series of drag queen bingo nights.  As of this posting, the Executive Director is actress Nancy Allen of RoboCop fame.  

By 2002, the cancer had returned with a vengeance, spreading through most of Sperber's body.  It would ultimately take her life on November 29, 2005.  She was just 47 years old. 

Wendie Jo Sperber was laid to rest at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Location: Garden of Ramah, Map E, Space 3A

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• Sperber's headstone declares her a "Woman of Valor" in both English and Hebrew.  This is a reference to the Book of Proverbs, 31:10-12.  "An accomplished woman who can find?  Her value is far beyond rubies.  Her husband's heart trusts in her, and he lacks nothing valuable.  She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life."
  
  
• Along with her co-star Marc McClure, Sperber appeared in four films directed by Robert Zemeckis: I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Used Cars (1980), Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).
  
  
• During her final years, Sperber hosted an annual celebrity golf tournament and a mah jongg tournament in Santa Barbara.
  
  
• In 1998, Sperber helped the U.S. Postal Service unveil a stamp promoting breast cancer awareness.
  
  
  
  
  
• Upon her passing, Tom Hanks said this of his former Bosom Buddies co-star: "The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration.  She met the challenges of her illness with love, cheer, joy, altruism through weSPARK, and an unstoppable supply of goodness.  We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her."

Dorothy Stratten

 

Dorothy Stratten was born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on February 28, 1960.  Just a few years earlier, her parents had immigrated from the Netherlands, intent on starting a family.  Brother John was born in 1961, followed by sister Louise in 1968.

During her high school years, Stratten worked at a local Dairy Queen in Coquitlam, British Columbia.  It was there in 1977 that she met the villain of our story, 26-year-old club promoter and pimp Paul Snider, who was immediately fascinated with the underage girl.  Despite his obvious lack of charm, the two soon began dating, with Snider even escorting Stratten to her senior prom.  

By 1978, the two were inseparable.  Snider, convinced that he had found his meal ticket, convinced Stratten to pose nude for a professional photographer.  He believed she could be the next Playboy Playmate, and promptly sent the photos to the magazine.  While Stratten was 18 years old at the time, the legal age of majority in Canada was 19, requiring Stratten's mother to sign a model release form.  It remains unclear today as to whether she actually signed the form herself or if Snider forged her signature.  Stratten followed the photos to Los Angeles, where she relocated in August 1978.  Snider followed just two months later, and they were married shortly thereafter.

When Playboy editors saw the photos, they were indeed interested, and Stratten was selected as a finalist to be the 25th anniversary Playmate.  While that title eventually went to model Candy Loving, Stratten was named Playmate of the Month in the August 1979 issue.  She began working as a bunny at the now-defunct Playboy Club in Century City, while simultaneously landing roles on television.  Playboy editor Hugh Hefner believed Stratten had great potential in Hollywood and was eager to help her pursue that endeavor, but he encouraged her to dump Snider, who was creeping the hell out of everyone.

Her first role, although uncredited, was in the 1979 Neal Israel comedy Americathon, starring Harvey Korman, Fred Willard and an unknown John Ritter.  She'd follow it up with guest appearances on Fantasy Island and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (see Trivia below).  She also appeared in the 1979 Maureen McCormick/Scott Baio classic Skatetown, USA.

In early 1980, Stratten starred as the titular character in the science-fiction film Galaxina.  The production was not an easy one however, as Snider was constantly on set fighting with his estranged wife. He was becoming increasingly paranoid that he was losing his wife to Hollywood, when in fact he was losing her through his own machinations. 

A few months later, she was named Playboy Playmate of the Year.  She shot a second pictorial for the magazine, which caught the attention of director Peter Bogdanovich.  He cast her in a new film entitled They All Laughed, playing opposite John Ritter. Stratten flew to New York to begin production on the film, eager to spend some time away from her husband.  There, she began having a relationship with Bogdanovich.  

In April, just as her issue was to be released, Stratten took a break from filming and went on a publicity tour to promote the magazine.  She returned to Los Angeles and the home she shared with Snider, declaring her intentions to leave him.

Stratten's tour ended in her hometown of Vancouver, where she decided to spend some time with her family.  Snider went there to see her however, and quite curiously, convinced her to make a few personal appearances at area nightclubs, for which he pocketed all of the proceeds.  Back in Los Angeles, Snider later sold all of her Playboy prizes, except for the $26,000 Jaguar that he kept for himself.

Principal photography for They All Laughed concluded in July, and Stratten returned to Los Angeles.  There, she moved in with Bogdanovich, a fact that did not sit well with Snider.  He hired a private detective to follow the two (which seems kinda pointless when you think about it).  Snider contacted his estranged wife on several occasions, convinced that he could win her back.  But Stratten had moved on.

Over the next few weeks, Snider made several attempts to buy a gun, something his Canadian citizenship prevented in Los Angeles.  He asked the private detective to buy one for him, but this man knew better.  Oddly, he never contacted the police to discuss his concerns.  Snider was ultimately successful in buying a used 12-gauge pump action shotgun via the classified ads.

On August 14, Stratten returned to Snider's house, as the two had arranged a meeting to discuss their separation.  She went to see him by herself, a mistake that would ultimately cost her her life.

Several hours later, Snider's roommate returned to the home, noticing Stratten's car in the driveway.  Upon entering the home, he found both of them dead, totally nude and covered in blood.  Police would later determine that Snider murdered Stratten within an hour of her entering the home, had sex with her lifeless corpse, then killed himself an hour later.  Upon hearing the news from Hugh Hefner, Bogdanovich had to be sedated.

Dorothy Stratten was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in Los Angeles.  She is just a stone's throw away from both Hugh Hefner and Marilyn Monroe.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• The inscription on Stratten's headstone is a quote from Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.  It reads: "If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them.  So of course it kills them.  It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.  If you are none of these you can be sure that it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.  We love you, D.R."  Coincidentally, Hemingway's granddaughter Mariel portrayed Stratten in in the 1983 Bob Fosse film Star 80.  For further insight into the quote, click here.
  
  
• They All Laughed had a very limited release in 1981, with dismal results.  Bogdanovish believed in his film however, and personally financed a larger distribution four years later.  It was a box office disaster, largely seen as a Bogdanovich vanity project.  This decision ultimately bankrupted the director.
  
  
• In 1985, Bogdanovich chronicled Stratten's life and career in his 1985 book The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten 1960-1980.  Pick up a copy from Amazon.  Ironically, Bogdanovich himself passed away as this blog post was being prepared.
  
  
• Four months after Stratten passed, the band Prism released a tribute song entitled "Cover Girl."  Then in 1983, Bryan Adams released his own tribute song entitled "The Best Was Yet to Come."  "Californication," by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, also pays tribute to Stratten.  You can listen to all three songs on YouTube.
  
  
• On her Playmate Data Sheet, Stratten stated her biggest turnoff was "jealous people."
  
  
• Stratten appeared in the Buck Rogers episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars."  When you watch the episode, listen closely, as you'll never hear her real voice.  All of her lines were dubbed by another actress.
  
  
• Stratten appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to promote her Playmate of the Year issue.  You can watch that interview, and hear her real voice, on YouTube.
  
  
• This blogger has visited the house where Stratten was murdered, located at 10881 West Clarkson Road in Rancho Park, Los Angeles.  The murder scene in Star 80 was filmed on location!

Herb Edelman

 

This week at Six Feet Under Hollywood, we continue our month-long look at actors who have played Santa at one point or another in their careers.

Herb Edelman was born in Brooklyn on November 5, 1933.  Growing up, he aspired to be a veterinarian, something he'd later study at Cornell University.  During his freshman year however, Edelman dropped out of college and enlisted in the Army.  There he served as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio, his first foray into the world of show business.

After the Service, Edelman returned to New York and enrolled at Brooklyn College, where he studied theater. Once again, he dropped out, preferring to support himself through odd jobs while looking for acting roles.

During one such shift, Edelman picked up Mike Nichols, a Broadway and theatrical director. Edelman so impressed Nichols that he cast him in his first Broadway role, that of a telephone repairman in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.

In the 1960s, Edelman relocated to Los Angeles and began working in television.  His early roles were on such series as That Girl, The Girl From UNCLE, and Honey West.  He made his way to the big screen in 1967, appearing in the James Coburn classic In Like Flint.  That same year, he reprised his role from Barefoot in the Park in the Hollywood adaptation.

After years of making guest appearances, Edelman landed his own series in 1968, starring opposite Bob Denver in the CBS sit-com The Good Guys (right).  He played diner owner Bert Gramus, lifelong friend to Denver's Rufus Butterworth, a Gilligan-esque cab driver who always meant well, but seldom succeeded.  The series ran for two seasons before being canceled by the network.  Check out the pilot episode on YouTube.

Throughout the 1970s and into the 80s, Edelman continued working in television, appearing in such series as Happy Days, Welcome Back, Kotter, Fantasy Island and MacGyver.  Then in 1985, he landed the role for which he is probably best remembered, Stan Zbornak on the NBC sit-com The Golden Girls.  Over its seven-year run, Edelman appeared in 26 episodes, including the one that inspired this blog.  

"Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas" aired on December 16, 1989.  It sees Stan, ex-husband to main character Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), living in a homeless shelter after his new wife kicks him to the curb.  

When the series left the air in 1992, Edelman continued working in television, with a semi-recurring role on Murder, She Wrote.  His final role was in a 1994 episode of a series no one remembers, an NBC sit-com called The Mommies.

A lifelong smoker, Edelman's habit finally caught up with him in the early 1990s as he settled into retirement.  He died of emphysema on July 21, 1996, at the age of 62.  He was laid to rest at Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, New York.

Location: Gate 334N, Block 13, Row 001R, Grave 8
Society Name: Congregation Ohev Sholem

Rest in peace, Stan.

Trivia

• During the years that Edelman was on The Golden Girls, he also had a recurring role on another NBC series, St. Elsewhere.  There he met actress Christina Pickles (Nurse Helen Rosenthal), whom he dated for several years.
  
  
• Edelman originated the role of Murray the Cop in the 1968 film The Odd Couple.  When the film went to series, the role was taken over by Al Molinaro, later of Happy Days fame.
  
  
• The Good Guys was originally filmed in front of a live studio audience, but this ended shortly into the series.  According to director Leonard Stern, the fire marshal put an end to it over safety concerns, as several of the cast and crew were known to smoke pot together.
  
  
• Although twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on The Golden Girls, Edelman never brought home the trophy.
  
  
• This blogger also remembers Edelman's recurring role on The Bradys, a short-lived revival of The Brady Bunch that aired in 1990.
  
  
• Edelman played Stan one final time in an episode of The Golden Palace entitled "One Angry Stan."  You can watch the episode in its entirety, albeit cut for syndication, on YouTube.

Otis the Drunk

 

This week at Six Feet Under Hollywood, we continue our month-long look at actors who have played Santa at one point or another in their careers.

Harold John "Hal" Smith was born in Petoskey, Michigan on August 24, 1916.  From an early age, he aspired to a career in show business, and he didn't waste any time getting started.  After completing high school in 1936, he went to work at WIBX 950 AM in Utica, New York, where he'd spend the next seven years as a DJ and voice talent.

Like many of his generation, Smith decided to serve his country during World War 2.  In 1943, having already learned how to fly, he enlisted in the now-defunct United States Army Air Forces, and was stationed in Manila.  Assigned to the Special Services Division, Smith planned and directed variety shows for his fellow troops, even creating his own one-man show, entitled Strictly From Hunger.  He was discharged in 1946, but not before earning a series of decorations, most notably the World War 2 Victory Medal.

When the war was finally over, Smith returned to the United States, but not to his old job in Utica.  Eager to make a name for himself in show business, he relocated to Hollywood, where he returned to his career as a DJ while also building his acting resume.  He spent the next decade appearing on such TV series as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett, The Donna Reed Show and The Red Skelton Show.

Smith's big break came in 1960, when he was cast in the role that would define his career, that of Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show (right). As the town drunk, Otis would often find himself in Sheriff Taylor's jail cell, but he was usually there of his own accord.  Smith appeared on the series for most of its run, but his character was dropped in the final season when sponsors grew concerned that he encouraged excessive drinking.  Ironically, according to his friends Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, Smith never drank in real life.

In 1969, Smith appeared on The Brady Bunch in the role that inspired this blog, playing a department store Santa who makes an unlikely promise to young Cindy Brady (see Trivia below).  It wasn't his first time playing jolly old Saint Nick, and it would by no means be his last.

Smith was also a very prolific voice actor, working for Hollywood's top animators, including Walt Disney Pictures, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers.  He worked on such classic animated series as The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw McGraw and Hong Kong Phooey. 

In 1960, he started a two-year run as the voice of Elmer J. Fudd, and by the end of the decade, he was starring as Pluto at Walt Disney.  He also appeared as Owl in three separate Winnie the Pooh features.  But the voice-over role I remember best of all was that of Goliath on the stop-motion animation series Davey and Goliath (left).  Oh Davey, you know you want to listen to it, so here's an episode on YouTube.

I've only scratched the surface with his filmography.  Smith worked excessively in all manners of media and was even voicing video game characters into the 1990s.  The guy never lacked for work.  He was going strong until 1992, when his wife suddenly passed away.  After that, his own health began to deteriorate, and he eventually died of a heart attack on January 28, 1994 at the age of 77.  He was found sitting peacefully in a chair, the radio still turned on.

Hal Smith was interred at the mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California.

Rest in peace, Otis.

Trivia

• Like many of the show's regulars, Smith returned to the role of Otis in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry.  Twenty years later, his character was now completely sober, delivering ice cream but precious few laughs.
  
  
• Smith often appeared in commercials throughout his career, including these for Pizza Hut, Hickory Farms, and this fantastically outdated toy commercial for Mattel.  "You can tell its Mattel - its swell!"
  
  
• You're going to think I'm making this up, but I'm not.  In 1976, Smith appeared in the X-rated film "Once Upon a Girl," a film featuring both live action and animated sequences.  It was created by disgruntled ex-Disney animators and features many voice actors of the time, including Smith and Frank Welker.  Smith played the character of Mother Goose, a woman put on trial for obscenity.  You can hear a sample of his work on YouTube.  Don't worry, this clip is G rated.
  
  
• Smith reprised his signature role of Otis in the 1991 Alan Jackson video "Don't Rock the Jukebox."  Check it out on YouTube.
  
  
• In the 1970s, Smith provided the narration for a series of Disney books, including Pinocchio.  Read along with him on YouTube.
  
  
• Between 1964 and 1993, Smith played Santa Claus no less than ten times.  Here's a complete list, many of which are available on YouTube. The Flintstones (1964), The Brady Bunch (1969), Santa and the Three Bears (1970), A Christmas Story* (1972), A Flintstone Christmas (1977), Casper's First Christmas (1979), Yogi's First Christmas (1980), Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone (1990), Bonkers (1993), The Town Santa Forgot (1993)
  * A Hanna-Barbera cartoon - not the Peter Billingsley movie.
  
  
• Several of Smith's Mayberry co-stars have been featured here at Six Feet Under Hollywood, including Frances Bavier, Don Knotts and George Lindsey.
  

Sebastian Cabot

 

This week at Six Feet Under Hollywood, we continue our month-long look at actors who have played Santa at one point or another in their career.

Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was born in London, England on July 6, 1918. His father owned and operated a family business, but by the early 1930s, it too was feeling the effect of the worldwide economic depression.  When Mr. Cabot closed the business, fourteen-year-old Sebastian quit school and never went back.

Having had an interest in automobiles from an early age, Cabot's first job was in a garage, where he served as a chauffeur and valet to British actor Frank Pettingell.  Through this relationship, Cabot himself became interested in the theatre and joined a local repertory company.  Although he had never attended drama school, he proved a quick study, and finding roles became that much easier.

Cabot's first credited role was in the 1936 film Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent. You can watch the film in its entirety on YouTube. He worked extensively throughout the 1940s, in such films as They Made Me a Fugitive (1947) and The Spider and The Fly (1949).

In the early 1950s, Cabot crossed the pond and started finding work in Hollywood.  His most memorable role during this era was in George Pal's production of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (right), playing a turn-of-the-century time-travel skeptic. He was also finding steady work as a voice actor, including the role of Noah in Igor Stravinsky's musical The Flood (1962).  You can listen to the production on YouTube.  Disney fans will no doubt recall Cabot's voice work in both The Sword and the Stone (1963) and The Jungle Book (1967).

Cabot was also finding work on American television, guest starring on such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, and The Red Skelton Show.  He also journeyed into The Twilight Zone playing Lucifer himself, in the classic episode "A Nice Place to Visit."

By 1966, Cabot had built an impressive resume, but had very little to show for it.  That year, he was persuaded to join the CBS series Family Affair (left) as Mr. Giles French, the role for which he is most famous.  Like his co-star Brian Keith, Cabot was no fan of the series, but was a fan of steady employment.  It ran for five seasons before being canceled in 1971.  Here's the series intro.

In 1973, Cabot took on the role that inspired this holiday blog, that of Kris Kringle in the made-for-TV remake of the classic film Miracle on 34th Street.  The film also starred a host of other 70s notables, including Roddy McDowell, Jim Backus and Tom Bosley.  You can see this star-studded remake in its entirety on YouTube.

By 1977, Cabot was living in Victoria, British Columbia, having mostly retired from acting.  On August 23, he suffered a stroke at his home and was transported to a local hospital, where he died at the age of 59.

Sebastian Cabot was cremated and his ashes were buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village in Los Angeles.

Rest in peace, Mr. French.

Trivia

• Later in life, Cabot admitted that when he was first starting out as a young actor, he had lied about having previous credits in order to procure employment.
  
  
• As a young man, Cabot also gained employment as a chef.
  
  
• In 1967, Cabot released a spoken word version of the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone."  Really.  Check it out on YouTube.  If that ain't enough, check out his rendition of Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," also on YouTube.
  
  
• Mr. French was noticeably absent from a string of episodes of Family Affair, and the viewers were told he had been summoned back to England at the request of the Queen. In reality, Cabot took a leave of absence due to a serious illness.  He was temporarily replaced by actor John Williams, playing the part of Mr. French's brother. 
  
  You ever notice that whenever an actor leaves a show, the producers always bring in a new character who's supposed to be related?  Jill Munroe out, Kris Munroe in.  Chrissy Snow out, Cindy Snow in.  Julie McCoy out, Judy McCoy in.  And don't even get me started on Coy and Vance Duke.
  
  
• Cabot shares his name with a famous explorer of the Americas, who came here shortly after Columbus's discovery of the New World.