Kate Jackson: Superhero?

[Uncle Roger]

I was reading the imdb trivia section on the Wonder Woman tv series and came across some interesting information. Lynda Carter stated that a lot of actresses auditioned for the part and that three of the early candidates were the original Charlie's Angels trio, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson.
Farrah was a good athlete and might have done well with the show, though an earlier attempt at the character with blonde Cathy Lee Crosby was not well received. The camera clearly loved Jaclyn but I don't know if she could have carried the show. Which brings me to Kate. I would have loved to have seen her as the dowdy Yeoman Diana Prince in the 1940's segments, though I do suspect that she would have been somewhat reluctant to wear the skimpy Wonder Woman costume. And, if she regularly blew a gasket over the quality of the Charlie's Angels scripts, she might have turned into Mount Vesuvius over the adventures of Wonder Woman.
Lynda also said that she auditioned for Charlie's Angels but didn't get cast. Years later, when it was time to cast a replacement for Kate, one of the actresses who auditioned for the Tiffany Welles part was young Michele Pfeiffer.

Sometimes things work out for the best.

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Ah, yes, “Wonder Woman,” the 1970s’ distaff answer to “Batman” and “The Adventures of Superman.” It would have been very interesting to have seen Kate Jackson in the eponymous role. I wonder how Ms. Jackson would have liked working with the late Lyle Waggoner on “Wonder Woman”? Of course, the handsome Mr. Waggoner was considered to be another Robert Duvall or William Holden in the acting profession.

And, I recall that Debra Winger appeared as Drusilla. a semi-regular on “Wonder Woman” before she hit the big time in “Terms of Endearment” and “An Officer and a Gentleman.” I wonder if Ms. Winger has fond memories of her days on “Wonder Woman”? Well, I guess everyone in the acting profession has to start somewhere. Paul Newman appeared early in his distinguished acting career in “The Silver Chalice,” a real cinematic stinker. And, Michael Landon, the irrepressible “Little” Joe Cartwright on “Bonanza” and the beloved Pa Ingalls on “Little House on the Prarie,” started out as an angst-ridden teenager in “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” a film, which undoubtedly was a big hit at the Collinsport Cinema, when the film debuted in 1957. (I wonder if the youthful Caroyyn Stoddard, Maggie Evans, Joe Haskell, Harry Johnson and Buzz Hackett were all there at the theater as excited  pre-teen movie-goers?)

I’m reminded that like “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Monkees” had many noted future musical performers audition for that rock & roll comedy tv series. Legendary guitarist and singer Steven Stills reportedly auditioned unsuccessfully for the show. And, there’s even an urban legend that the late, unlamented Charles Manson also auditioned for “The Monkees.”

On another note, I’ve noticed that other American soap operas (with very few remaining on network television today) often had celebrity guest stars appear on those daytime programs. Elizabeth Taylor, Carol Burnett and
Sammy Davis, Jr. all appeared on several of the popular soap operas. Wouldn’t it have been cool to have seen some of the classic horror film actors appear on “Dark Shadows”? Just imagine how great it would have been to have seen the hallowed likes of Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Jr., Peter Cushing  and, of course, Sir Christopher Lee on DS.

Although, considering how frugally-minded the late Dan Curtis was said to have been, I don’t think we would have even seen such lesser known horror film icons as Jonathan Haze, Tor Johnson and Maila “Vampira” Nurmi as celebrity guest stars on DS, Alas, what might have been.   

[Uncle Roger]

Interesting cast suggestions, Bob. I have a couple of my own. In one of her early books, KLS mentioned that the great character actress Gale Sondergaard was at the DS studio, possibly looking for a job. She was a wonderful character actress who had held her own opposite Bette Davis. And she had played the villainous Spider Woman, not the Marvel Comics version. She did find soap work on another ABC show, the television adaptation of The Best of Everything. Sondergaard played the part that Joan Crawford had played in the film. Her costars included Geraldine Fitzgerald and Patty McCormick, the Bad Seed herself. The show premiered in 1970 but was canceled fairly early.

But DC should have made an effort to cast Margaret Hamilton, who was living in NYC and had already done soap work. She really would have been a great addition to the show and would have been terrific as Hannah Stokes and Minerva Trask. And casting the iconic Wicked Witch of the Wesr would have gotten DS tons of free publicity.

But the closest we ever got was having her share scenes with Jerry Lacy on As The World Turns after DS went off the air. He was playing tycoon Simon Gilby and she was his assistant Marge "Pete' Peterson 

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Yes, Gail Sondergaard was a wonderful actress; I especially enjoyed her as the spider woman in “Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman”  with the great Basil Rathbone. Ms. Sondergaad also appeared in “The Mark of Zorro” with Basil Rathbone and Tyrone Power. Incidentally, I think Basil Rathbone would have also been great on DS. He was terrific in “The Son of Frankenstein,” along with the equally great Bela Lugosi as the mad hermit, Igor, the Frankenstein monster’s good buddy.

Me. Sondergaard’s film career was derailed when her her husband, film director Herbert Biberman, was accused of being a Communist, and was one of the Hollywood Ten durng the early 1950s. This caused her to move to NYC, where she acted on stage for many years.

I wonder if any of the older DS actors also experienced the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s? Joan Bennett, Anita Bolster, Daniel Keyes, John Beal and Isabella Hoopes were all active during that decade. I’ve never heard  any mention of DS actors, and any problems with the US Congressional hearings on possible Communist influence in the arts.

I agree that Margaret Hamilton would have been great on DS. Ms. Hamilton was wonderful as Professor Crabwell, an expert on the supernatural (just like Professor T. Elliott Stokes) in “Kolchak:The Night Strangler” directed by Dan Curtis. Ms. Hamilton could have portrayed Jeb Hawkes’ Leviathan grandmother or even the Eagle Hill Cemetery caretaker’s steady girlfriend!

[Uncle Roger]

Basil Rathbone would indeed have been a good fit on DS. It would have been a better credit on his resume than The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini, starring Boris Karloff, my girl Nancy Sinatra and the incomparable Piccolo Pupa.

To my knowledge,  Joan Bennett didn't get blacklisted for anything political. She did, however, lose a lot of work due to the Walter Wanger/Jennings Lang incident. It was only through the intervention of Humphrey Bogart that she got the part in We're No Angels

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Yes, sadly, Mr. Rathbone appeared in some real cinematic stinkers during his final years. Apparently, his wife liked to throw many extravagant parties and Mr. Rathbone was forced to appear in films, that I doubt even Roger Corman would have wanted to direct.

And, you absolutely piqued my interest in looking up Italian singer, Piccolo Pupa (and, yes, that’s REALLY her name!). Seeing her perform on You Tube, she seemed to be an earlier version of either Lesley Gore or Demi Lovato.

Yes, I’ve read about the love triangle scandal that Joan Bennett was involved in. Ms.  Bennett must have been  very empathetic when Alexandra Moltke was involved in the  Claus von Bulow scandal.

In the documentary, “Evocateur:The Morton Downey Jr. Movie,” there is an old tv clip of Joan Bennett watching
and actually enjoying listening to her young nephew, Morton Downey, Jr. sing a song. Apparently, one of Joan
Bennett’s sisters was married to the famous singing father of the later, always understated, tv talk show host,
televised on WOR-TV in beautiful Secaucus, NJ during the 1990s. Morton Downey, Jr. would have been very
good as Mordecai Grimes’ even grumpier younger brother on DS, imo.

[Uncle Roger]

Danny Thomas discovered Piccolo Pupa in her native Italy and brought her over to the states. She appeared on his sitcom and made appearances on all the variety shows. She released at least one album on Warner Brothers but never quite caught on as an American pop star. She eventually went back to Italy and had much more success. My friend Scott Gordon told me that he and Uncle Floyd Vivino would play her music on Floyd's Italian music radio show.
I'll give Joan a lot of credit for the way she handled the situation. She did the occasional film but Highway Dragnet was hardly an A list film. She made the transition into a stage actress and worked quite a bit. And she continued to do magazine endorsements for a variety of projects. Which leads up to her signing to do DS.

[Bob_the_Bartender]

I remember seeing Scott Gordon frequently on “The Uncle Floyd Show.” Scott and Uncle Floyd once did an hilarious skit with Uncle Floyd playing the piano and singing Christmas songs as Scott repeatedly interrupted Floyd and rambled on about Christmas tree tinsel, lights and balls, which was wonderfully (and very subtly) obscene! 

I saw Scott at one of the late 1990s DS Festivals at the Marriott Hotel by Times Square. I think he performed in one of the DS skits.

You mentioned Patty McCormack in this thread. She was wonderful as Rhoda Penmark, the sociopathic, little girl in “The Bad Seed,” one of Gerard’s favorite films. Patty also portrayed Liz La Cerva, the distraught mother of the ill-fated Adriana La Cerva on “The Sopranos.” Apparently, creator/head writer David Chase (born Chiase) initially did not want Patty McCormack to portray Mrs. La Cerva because Patty was not Italian-American. One of the show’s casting agents pointed out to him that Patty’s actual name was Patty McCormack Russo, Patty’s Italian-American father was a career fireman with the NYC Fire Department. Patty took her mother’ maiden name of McCormack professionally to avoid being typecast in strictly ethnic roles. I wonder if Patty’s father knew fellow longtime NYC fireman Bob O’Connell, DS’s own convivial Blue Whale bartender/proprietor Bob Rooney?

One note on Nancy Sinatra, about a year after Frank Sinatra’s death, Ms. Sinatra was at the Frank Sinatra Park on the Hoboken, NJ waterfront to be there for the dedication of a bust of her famous father and Hoboken’s favorite son. Nancy told the assembled Frank Sinatra fans, that she was still too upset to watch any of her late father’s films or television appearances. She was extremely warm and gracious. The crowd got a big laugh after one of the Hoboken public works employees jumped up on the stage and kissed Ms. Sinatra on the cheek as she stood there with her daughters. Ms. Sinatra laughed along with the cheering crowd. It was a very enjoyable and moving ceremony.

[Uncle Roger]

Good memory! Scott was indeed in one of the skits and played Professor Stokes/Thayer David. It was a skit about bloopers. I usually see Scott when I get down to New Jersey and we've exchanged Christmas cards for many years.
I've been a fan of Nancy Sinatra and her music for decades but I never thought that I would would ever see her perform live. But she made a comeback back in the mid 1990's and was appearing not far from where I worked at the time. I got there early enough to hear her sound check. And, more importantly, I was able to nab myself a front row seat. Nancy looked great, sounded great and did all the songs that I came to hear. I knew them all by heart and, at a certain point, I realized that she was playing to me.
It was announced that she would be meeting with fans after the show. It was late and I did have work the next morning but I was NOT going to miss this. I patiently waited my turn and she jumped out of her chair to greet me. She said that she was so happy that I had come to see her. Stunned, I mumbled "You mean, you noticed me?" And, rather like Mae West, she said, "You were real hard to miss." Next, she turned to the guy next to her and said, "This is him. He's the one who yelled out 'Eat your heart out, Madonna.'" And then she really surprised me. She kissed me. Of her own free will. I left the venue with so much adrenaline pumping that I didn't sleep that night.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

and the incomparable Piccolo Pupa.

She was "incomparable" all right. 

[Bob_the_Bartender]

That’s a great reminiscence about meeting Nancy Sinatra. I don’t think I would have shaved the next day if Ms. Sinatra had planted one on me! Ms. Sinatra has always been such a good person; she entertained US troops in South Vietnam several times during that bitter war and Ms. Sinatra is active today in aiding Vietnam veterans, men who are now in their mid-seventies.

Nancy Sinatra was born in Jersey City, NJ. She was christened at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, her mother Nancy’s parish, where Frank and Nancy Sinatra were also married. My mother’s first teaching job was at Our Lady of Sorrow’s grade school. My mother told me that many of the nuns there, Filippini Sisters, were longtime friends with Nancy Barbato Sinatra. One of the nuns, Sister Rose Castelluccio, was from Newark, NJ and was the aunt of Frankie  Castelluccio, better known to the world as Frankie Valli. It really is a small world.

[KMR]

Interesting cast suggestions, Bob. I have a couple of my own. In one of her early books, KLS mentioned that the great character actress Gale Sondergaard was at the DS studio, possibly looking for a job.
...
But DC should have made an effort to cast Margaret Hamilton, who was living in NYC and had already done soap work. She really would have been a great addition to the show and would have been terrific as Hannah Stokes and Minerva Trask. And casting the iconic Wicked Witch of the Wesr would have gotten DS tons of free publicity.

How interesting seeing Gale Sondergaard and Margaret Hamilton mentioned in the same post, since Sondergaard had been the original actor cast as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, but backed out (after it was decided to change the witch from glamorous to ugly).