Jayne Meadows, 1919 - 2015: They Don't Make Them Like Her Anymore!

A little over two weeks ago the lovely and versatile actress Jayne Meadows passed away at the age of 95.  Jayne was part of that dwindling but oh-so-classy contingent of veteran performers who could do literally anything, appeared in all media from radio to screen to stage to television, and who embodied the "there's-no-business-like-show-business" spirit throughout their entire careers.

Active into her eighties, Jayne was a constant presence on TV for fifty years in her professional performing life but perhaps was best known for being the wife of the multi-talented Steve Allen.  Allen was forever a mighty voice in TV comedy beginning with his historic status as one of the early kings of late-night TV in the 1950s and he continued to be a much sought-after writer and performer throughout his entire career.  He and Jayne were famously and happily married from 1954 until his death in 2000.

When Jayne Meadows passed away on April 26th we lost one of the good ones, one of the special ones, one of those ladies who've done it all.  You should read some of the write-ups that followed her death to get a real idea of just how much she had done.  The New York Times obituary is available by clicking here, The Los Angeles Times can be accessed by clicking here, show business paper Variety has a nice story here, The Hollywood Reporter also covered her passing here, The Huffington Post had a write-up here,  Jayne Meadows also had an official website full of great information on her very interesting life and career; visit it by clicking here. She also did a wonderful three hour interview with the Archive of American Television which you can watch by visiting here.

There's no better way to salute a performer than to show them in action.  We've got a selection of Jayne Meadows moments for you to enjoy.  She was a fascinating personality, larger-than-life with a giddy flair that probably outshone her dramatic talents.  No matter -- she was a delight in everything and we are grateful for the entertaining moment that she gave us.

Jayne and her sister Audrey -- she originated the role of Alice on The Honeymooners -- singing a 1956 novelty song written by Steve Allen:




A clip from one of the episodes of Meeting of the Minds, the award-winning PBS series conceived and written by Steve Allen and frequently starring Jayne as one of history's famous females:



What's My Line from December 23, 1956

  

Jayne and Steve on The Hollywood Palace

  

More Steve and a very special Jayne performance on The Hollywood Palace



Jayne playing the Queen of Hearts in the elaborate 1985 Irwin Allen TV production of Alice in Wonderland, music and lyrics by Steve Allen.



Jayne was a regular on the popular CBS medical drama Medical Center starring Chad Everett.


Medical Center: The Complete First Season... by WarnerBrosOnline

More of Jayne and Steve from The Hollywood Palace: 



Jayne hilariously visits with Judy Garland in the January 11, 1964 episode of The Judy Garland Show:



Jayne in a 1970 episode of Here's Lucy:



Jayne and Steve singing "I Remember It Well" in a 1959 recording:




Jayne and Steve on a 1987 segment of The Will Shriner Show:



Another Jayne and Audrey Meadows duet "Hot Potato" from 1955:

The Last of Errol Flynn, As Seen on TV

The release of actor Kevin Kline's new biographical movie about the aging Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959) entitled The Last of Robin Hood brings to mind the charismatic matinee idol's long and entertaining career. He was heartbreakingly handsome as well as immensely talented despite a breezy exterior that may have made it seem as if he didn't take his gift seriously.  He certainly didn't take himself very seriously, living life with a gusto and perpetual wanderlust that made his off-screen antics surely as memorable as anything he played in the movies.

Those antics belied the other side of Flynn, the side that loved the sea, science, politics and lots of other things besides drink and romance.  He was a fascinating guy, a man's man and also a lover of the ladies, lots of them, right down to his final romance depicted in The Last of Robin Hood.

Here's the trailer to the new film.  Honestly, Kline is a bit too old for the role even considering Flynn's rambunctious lifestyle and slight dissipation; Flynn still looked pretty darn good even though he looked older than his actual age.  And one thing that no actor can match is the twinkle in Flynn's eyes, but Kline tries::




Towards the end of his career TV came along and provided him with a few more chances to perform, though he had surely spent the best years of his life already and looked older than he should have.  But the Flynn charm never left him and the audience goodwill he had accumulated over the past twenty years of film stardom kept his name alive, that and the scandalous aura that remained from his rape trial in the early forties.

In 1952 Flynn -- hard to believe he's only 43 years old here -- guest-starred on an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour:




In 1956 Errol lent his name to and served as host on the dramatic anthology series The Errol Flynn Theatre which ran for 26 half-hour episodes.  (He also starred in two of the episodes):






In June of 1947 he appeared with former co-star Ann Sheridan -- they had starred together on the big screen in Dodge City, Edge of Darkness and Silver River -- John Ireland and Julie London in a Playhouse 90 western entitled "Without Incident":




In early 1957 he made a couple of appearances on variety series The Steve Allen Show, including this comedy sketch spoofing contemporary game shows:



In March 1957 he was one of the panelists on the popular game show What's My Line?:




In December 1957 he was the Mystery Guest on What's My Line?:




Errol Flynn became involved in the Cuban Revolution.  In January of 1959 he was a guest on Canada's Front Page Challenge where he was interviewed about his experiences with Fidel Castro (if the video doesn't show up please click on this link):




The plot of the new movie The Last of Robin Hood deals with this period in Flynn's life, when he took up with much younger actress -- jailbait, in fact -- Beverly Aadland and they appeared together in Flynn's last movie Cuban Rebel Girls and on TV on The Red Skelton Show (no clip available, alas!):




He also lent his presence to a documentary Cuban Story: Truth about Fidel Castro Revolution which disappeared after its Moscow premiere in 1959 and finally resurfaced in 2001,  It was his last screen appearance:




As for Flynn's very last personal appearance anywhere, here's a weird little story from Canadian TV:




I highly recommend reading about Flynn and watching his classic films -- he's magic, unlike any other movie star and simply the best of the best.

Summer Nose-talgia #25: The Incredible Mr. Don Knotts -- July 21, 1924 - Feb. 24, 2006

Don Knotts had the perfect face and body for comedy -- skinny, wide-eyed, expressive hands and voice just made for playing the high-strung characters he became famous for.  From his days honing his comic persona on The Steve Allen Show to his long-time reign as one of TV's funniest characters on The Andy Griffith Show and later on Three's Company, West Virginia-born Don Knotts never missed a comedy beat or failed to infuse his portrayals with humanity.

Especially Barney Fife.  Without Knotts' tremendous skill as an actor, Barney would have been just a nervous wanna-be with delusions of grandeur, a pipsqueak bully with a badge.  It was Knotts who allowed us to see Barney's vulnerabilities, and Andy Griffith who understood that playing straight man to Knotts would be the key to success for his new sitcom.  Sheriff Andy Taylor was Barney Fife's rock, and Fife knew it.  And America's TV viewers knew it, too.

So here's a little Don Knotts for you.  A brilliant comedian, a talented actor, a funny guy.


































As is written on Don Knotts' headstone, "He saw the poignancy in people's pride and pain and turned it into something hilarious and endearing" -- so true.

We fondly salute Don Knotts, born this day in 1924.