Jim Backus
Backus and his wife, Henny, in 1969.
Born	James Gilmore Backus (1913-02-25)February 25, 1913 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	July 3, 1989(1989-07-03) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1937–1989
Spouse	Henny Backus (m. 1943–1989) «start: (1943)–end+1: (1990)»"Marriage: Henny Backus to Jim Backus" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jim_Backus)

James Gilmore "Jim" Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of nearsighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, Joan Davis's character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's I Married Joan, James Dean's character's father in Rebel Without a Cause and Thurston Howell, III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island. He also starred in his own show of one season, The Jim Backus Show, also known as Hot off the Wire.

An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament.

Early life[link]

James Gilmore Backus was born February 25, 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Bratenahl, Ohio, a wealthy village surrounded by greater Cleveland. He was the son of Russell Gould Backus, a mechanical engineer, and Daisy Gilmore (née Taylor) Backus. Backus was expelled from the Kentucky Military Institute for riding a horse through the mess hall.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Virginia Brissac, Backus, Ann Doran, Edward Platt and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.

Backus had an extensive career and worked steadily in Hollywood over five decades, often portraying characters with an "upper-crust", New England-like air, such as Thurston Howell, III in Gilligan's Island. He appeared in A Dangerous Profession (1949) (as well as narrating), Deadline – U.S.A. (1951), with Humphrey Bogart, Pat and Mike (1952), with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). He also made appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).

Backus was the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo. In 1952, he had a brief scene in Don't Bother to Knock with Marilyn Monroe. Years later, when Backus was a frequent talk show guest, he would recount the time Monroe urgently beckoned him into her dressing room. Once there, she exclaimed in her breathy voice, "Do Mr. Magoo!"^{[citation needed]}

He frequently could be heard on prime-time radio programs in the postwar era, including The Jack Benny Program, and portrayed an exceedingly vain character named Hartley Benson on The Mel Blanc Show on the CBS Radio Network.

In stark contrast to his usual affluent characters, he appeared on The Brady Bunch as an old gold prospector, a role he also played on a Gilligan's Island episode. He also appeared in the final season episode "The Hustler" in which he plays Mike's boss, Mr. Matthews.

Backus stayed with Gilligan's Island between 1964 and 1967 and did revivals of the TV series in TV films made between 1978 and 1982. He also did revivals of Mr. Magoo from 1964 to 1977, which included The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo and What's New, Mr. Magoo.

Writing and recording[link]

Backus and his wife, Henny Backus, co-wrote several humorous books, including Only When I Laugh. He also co-wrote the 1971 family film Mooch Goes to Hollywood, about a dog who tries to become a movie star. In 1984, he wrote his autobiography, Backus Strikes Back.

In the late 1950s, he made two novelty 45 rpm records, "Delicious" and "Cave Man". In 1974, a collection of Backus' old radio material was compiled into a full-length comedy LP album released on the DORE label under the title The Dirty Old Man. Backus also played the voice of God in the recording of Truth of Truths, a 1971 rock opera based on the Bible.

Television commercials[link]

Backus acted in several television commercials. As Mr. Magoo, he also helped advertise the General Electric line of products over the years.^[1] He was also spokesperson for La-Z-Boy furniture during the 1970s. In the late 1980s, he was reunited with former co-star Natalie Schafer in an advertisement for Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn. They reprised their roles from Gilligan's Island, but instead of still being shipwrecked, the setting was a luxurious study or den. Both performers were rather frail and this would be the last television appearance for both.

Death[link]

On July 3, 1989, Jim Backus died in Los Angeles, California from complications of pneumonia, after suffering from Parkinson's disease for many years. Backus was buried at the southwest corner of Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.

Partial filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jim Backus

• Jim Backus at the Internet Movie Database
• Jim Backus at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jim Backus at the TCM Movie Database
• Jim Backus at AllRovi
• Jim Backus at Find a Grave
• Literature on Jim Backus

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

Elizabeth Montgomery
Born	Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (1933-04-15)April 15, 1933 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	May 18, 1995(1995-05-18) (aged 62) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1951–1995
Spouse	Frederick Gallatin Cammann (m. 1954–1955) «start: (1954)–end+1: (1956)»"Marriage: Frederick Gallatin Cammann to Elizabeth Montgomery" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Elizabeth_Montgomery) (divorced) Gig Young (m. 1956–1963) «start: (1956)–end+1: (1964)»"Marriage: Gig Young to Elizabeth Montgomery" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Elizabeth_Montgomery) (divorced) William Asher (m. 1963–1973) «start: (1963)–end+1: (1974)»"Marriage: William Asher to Elizabeth Montgomery" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Elizabeth_Montgomery) (divorced) Robert Foxworth (m. 1993–1995) «start: (1993)–end+1: (1996)»"Marriage: Robert Foxworth to Elizabeth Montgomery" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Elizabeth_Montgomery) (her death)

Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades, best known as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched. She also notably portrayed Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.

Early life[link]

Born in Los Angeles, California, Elizabeth Montgomery was the child of actor Robert Montgomery and his wife, Broadway actress Elizabeth Bryan Allen.^[1] She had an older sister, Martha Bryan Montgomery, who died as an infant (named after her aunt Martha-Bryan Allen) and a brother, Robert Montgomery, Jr. (born 1936).^[2] After graduating from The Spence School, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for three years.^[3]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Montgomery made her television debut in her father's series Robert Montgomery Presents (later appearing on occasion as a member of his "summer stock" company of performers), and her film debut in 1955 in The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.

Her early career consisted of starring vehicles and appearances in live television dramas and series, such as Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, Johnny Staccato, The Twilight Zone, The Eleventh Hour, Boris Karloff's Thriller and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1960 Montgomery was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal of southern prostitute Rusty Heller in an episode of The Untouchables, playing opposite David White who later portrayed Darrin's boss Larry Tate in Bewitched.^[4]

She was featured in a role as a socialite who falls for a gangster (Henry Silva) in Johnny Cool. The same year, with Dean Martin and Carol Burnett, she appeared in the film comedy Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?, directed by Daniel Mann. Alfred Hitchcock had her in mind to play the sister-in-law of Sean Connery, who sees herself as a rival to the troubled heroine in the movie Marnie, but Montgomery was unavailable.

[edit] Bewitched

Montgomery played the central role of lovable witch Samantha Stephens with Dick York (and later Dick Sargent) as her husband in the ABC situation comedy Bewitched. Starting in the second season of the series, she also played the role of Samantha's increasingly mischievous, sexy cousin, Serena, under the pseudonym of Pandora Spocks. The show became a rating success (it was, at the time, the highest rated series ever for the network^[5]). It enjoyed an eight-year run from 1964 to 1972 and remains popular through syndication and DVD releases. The show had been renewed for a ninth season to run from 1972 to 1973. Montgomery, however, wished to move on and backed out. She provided the voice of Samantha for an episode of The Flintstones. Montgomery received five Emmy^[6] and four Golden Globe nominations for her role.^[7]

[edit] After Bewitched

Montgomery returned to Samantha-like twitching of her nose and on-screen magic in a series of Japanese television commercials (1980–83) for "Mother" chocolate biscuits and cookies by confectionery conglomerate Lotte Corp. These Japanese commercials provided a substantial salary for Montgomery while she remained out of sight of non-Japanese fans and Hollywood industry.

In the United States, Montgomery spent much of her later career pursuing dramatic roles that took her as far away from the good-natured Samantha as possible. Among her later roles were performances that brought her Emmy Award nominations: a rape victim in A Case of Rape (1974); the accused (but later acquited) murderess Lizzie Borden in William Bast's The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975); and a pioneer woman facing hardship in 1820s Ohio in the mini-series The Awakening Land (1978).

In 1977, Montgomery played a police detective having an interracial affair with her partner, played by O.J. Simpson, in A Killing Affair. She played a rare villainous role in the 1985 television movie Amos, as a vicious nurse in a home for senior citizens who abuses her wards, played by, among others, Kirk Douglas and Dorothy McGuire. One of her last roles was in an episode for Batman: The Animated Series entitled "Showdown," in which she played a barmaid; this was also her final work to be screened, as the episode aired posthumously. Her last television movies were the highly-rated Edna Buchanan detective series - the second and final film of the series received its first airing on May 9, 1995,^[8] only days before her death.

Personal life[link]

Montgomery was first married to New York socialite Frederick Gallatin Cammann in 1954; the marriage lasted for barely a year. She was married to actor Gig Young from 1956 to 1963, and then to director-producer William Asher from 1963 until their 1973 divorce. They had three children: William Asher, Jr. (July 24, 1964), Robert Asher (October 5, 1965) and Rebecca Asher (June 17, 1969). The last two pregnancies were incorporated into Bewitched as Samantha's pregnancies with Tabitha (primarily Erin Murphy, with twin Diane) and Adam Stephens. In 1971, while filming the eighth season of Bewitched, she fell in love with director Richard Michaels and moved in with him after the season ended. This was another major factor in canceling plans for a ninth season. The relationship lasted for two and a half years.

She entered her fourth and final marriage to actor Robert Foxworth (they appeared as guests on Password Plus in 1979), on January 28, 1993, after living with him for nearly twenty years. She remained married to Foxworth until her death.^[9]

Political activism[link]

During Bewitched's run, she was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War. In the late 1980s and early 1990s she narrated a series of political documentaries, including Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair (1988) and the Academy Award winning The Panama Deception (1992).

In June 1992, Montgomery and her former Bewitched co-star Dick Sargent, who had remained good friends, were Grand Marshals at the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade.^[6] Montgomery had liberal political views, being an outspoken champion of women's rights and gay rights throughout her life.

Charity work[link]

Throughout the last year of her life, Montgomery was a volunteer for the Los Angeles Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), a non-profit organization which records educational books on specially formatted CDs and in downloadable formats for disabled people. In 1994, Montgomery produced several radio and television public service announcements for the organization's Los Angeles Unit. In January 1995, she recorded the 1952 edition of When We Were Very Young for RFB&D.

Montgomery's enthusiastic support for RFB&D sparked nationwide interest in the organization's work. Her strong support for RFB&D ultimately led her to enthusiastically agree to be the honorary chairman for its Los Angeles Unit's third annual Record-A-Thon, slated for June 3, 1995. She lent her name to all letters of appeal for the event and was planning to be one of its celebrity readers for the day.

After her death, the Los Angeles Unit of RFB&D dedicated the 1995 Record-A-Thon to Montgomery and secured 21 celebrities to assist in the reading of the book Chicken Soup for the Soul, which was also dedicated to her memory.

Illness and death[link]

Montgomery was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the spring of 1995. She had ignored the flu-like symptoms during the filming of Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan which was filmed only days before she died. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it was too late for medical intervention. With no hope of recovery, and unwilling to die in a hospital, she chose to return to the Beverly Hills home that she shared with Foxworth. She died there, in the company of her children and husband, on May 18, 1995, eight weeks after her diagnosis, at the age of 62.^[6]

A memorial service was held on June 18, 1995, at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills. Herbie Hancock provided the music, and Dominick Dunne spoke about their early days as friends in New York. Other speakers included her husband, Robert Foxworth, who read out sympathy cards from fans; her nurse; her brother, daughter and stepson. She was cremated at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Posthumous[link]

An event auction/sale of Montgomery's clothing was held by her family to benefit the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles. Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha on the series, modeled the clothing that was auctioned.^[10]

In June 2005, a statue of Montgomery as Samantha Stephens was erected in Salem, Massachusetts.^[11]

A star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame was presented in honor of Montgomery's work in television on January 4, 2008.^[12] The location of the star is 6533 Hollywood Blvd.

Selected filmography[link]

Award nominations[link]

Audio[link]

• Craven Street: Ben Franklin in London, a five-part radio drama (1993, narrator)
• Beauty's Punishment (1994, narrator)
• Beauty's Release (1994, narrator)
• Two audio books in which Montgomery narrates the work of Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) are available as of 2005^[update].

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elizabeth Montgomery

Biography portal

• Elizabeth Montgomery at the Internet Movie Database
• Elizabeth Montgomery at the TCM Movie Database
• Elizabeth Montgomery at Find a Grave

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

Joan Davis
Davis as she appeared in I Married Joan.
Born	Madonna Josephine Davis (1907-06-29)June 29, 1907 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	May 22, 1961(1961-05-22) (aged 53) Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, Vaudevillian
Spouse	Si Wills (1931–1948)
Children	Beverly Wills

Joan Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.

Born as Madonna Josephine Davis in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Davis was a performer since childhood. She appeared with her husband Si Wills in vaudeville.^[1]

Career[link]

Films[link]

Davis' first film was a short subject for Educational Pictures called Way Up Thar (1935), featuring a then-unknown Roy Rogers. Educational's distribution company, Twentieth Century-Fox, signed Davis for feature films. Tall and lanky, with a comically flat speaking voice, she became known as one of the few female physical clowns of her time. Perhaps best known for her co-starring turn with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hold That Ghost (1941), she had a reputation for flawless physical comedy. Her pantomime sequence in Beautiful But Broke (1944) was a slapstick construction-site episode.

She co-starred with Eddie Cantor in two features, Show Business (1944) and If You Knew Susie (1948). Cantor and Davis were very close offscreen as well.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The Sealtest Village Store

Joan Davis entered radio with an August 28, 1941 appearance on The Rudy Vallee Show and became a regular on that show four months later.

Davis then began a series of shows that established her as a top star of radio situation comedy throughout the 1940s. When Vallee left for the Coast Guard in 1943, Davis became the host of his show. With a title change to The Sealtest Village Store, Davis was the owner-operator of the store from July 8, 1943 to June 28, 1945 when she left to do Joanie's Tea Room on CBS from September 3, 1945 to June 23, 1947. Sponsored by Lever Brothers on behalf of Swan Soap, the premise had Davis running a tea shop in the little community of Smallville. The supporting cast featured Verna Felton. Harry von Zell was the announcer, and her head writer was Abe Burrows, formerly the head writer (and co-creator) of Duffy's Tavern and eventually a legendary Broadway playwright.

The tea shop setting continued in Joan Davis Time, a CBS Saturday night series from October 11, 1947 to July 3, 1948. With Lionel Stander as the tea shop manager, the cast also included Hans Conried, Mary Jane Croft, the Choraliers quintet and John Rarig and his Orchestra.

Leave It to Joan ran from on July 4 to August 22, 1949 as a summer replacement for Lux Radio Theater and continued from September 9, 1949 to March 3, 1950. She was also heard on CBS July 3–August 28, 1950. She was a frequent and popular performer on Tallulah Bankhead's legendary radio variety show, The Big Show (1950–52).^[1]

When I Love Lucy premiered in October 1951 on CBS Television and became a top-rated TV series, sponsors wanted more of the same with another actress who wasn't afraid of strenuous physical comedy. I Married Joan premiered in 1952 on NBC, casting Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge (Jim Backus) who got her husband into wacky jams with or without the help of a younger sister, played by her real-life daughter, Beverly Wills. The series continued until 1955.^[1]

Death[link]

On May 22, 1961, Davis died of a heart attack at the age of 53.^[2] She was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery mausoleum in Culver City, California.

On October 24, 1963, Davis' mother, daughter Beverly Wills, and grandchildren were all killed in a house fire in Palm Springs, California.^[3]

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Joan Davis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1501 Vine Street.

Filmography[link]

Award nominations[link]

See also[link]

• Golden Age of Television
• Let's Join Joanie (Failed pilot with Joan Davis)

Further reading[link]

• Ohmart, Ben. Hold That Joan — The Life, Laughs & Films of Joan Davis. Albany: BearManor Media, 2007. ISBN 1-59393-046-1
• Rapp, Philip. The Television Scripts of Philip Rapp. Albany: BearManor Media, 2006. ISBN 1-59393-070-4.
• Tucker, David C. The Women Who Made Television Funny (2007). ISBN 978-0-7864-2900-4.
• Karol, Michael. Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen. iUniverse, 2006. pp. 22–24. ISBN 0-595-40251-8.

References[link]

Listen to[link]

• Leave It to Joan (January 20, 1950)

External links[link]

• Joan Davis at the Internet Movie Database
• Joan Davis at Find a Grave
• Literature on Joan Davis