RIP Eb

[Starman]

'Green Acres' actor Tom Lester dies at 81

 

[Moderator1]

The last surviving cast member - and they got his character's name wrong in the lead.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

That's the worst. At least when I go, it'll be a pretty ****in' sad copy desk that gets a three-letter last name wrong. Just kidding. I'll get a good sendoff in the Herald and a decent one in the Globe. If they had any respect for readers, the Daily Form would at least go "Michael Gee, incompetent bettor, dead at XX"

 

[Slacker]

That's the worst. At least when I go, it'll be a pretty ****in' sad copy desk that gets a three-letter last name wrong. Just kidding. I'll get a good sendoff in the Herald and a decent one in the Globe. If they had any respect for readers, the Daily Form would at least go "Michael Gee, incompetent bettor, dead at XX"

All bets are off if you die in a fire.

 

[User 11148]

My name is not a terribly uncommon name, but there are three common spellings of it. Mine’s the only four-letter version. My mother, the CPA who mails me her bills so I can pay them for her (she doesn’t know how to write a check anymore), misspells my name on the envelopes.

 

[Moderator1]

When I was doing high schools, it seemed every team had three Darrells, Darryls, Daryls, etc. None spelled the same and the coaches never knew how each D/D/D actually spelled it. "Spell your name for me" was a common first question.

I also had a friend in my dorm in college named Darl. Pronounced Darrell.

Good on you for doing that for your mom.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Looked at the thread title and immediately wondered why E flat had died.

 

[HC]

Looked at the thread title and immediately wondered why E flat had died.

Ha! Me too!

 

[BTExpress]

Golllllly!

 

[OscarMadison]

Tom Lester was a sweet guy who sometimes sat in to read for new playwrights. He was that generous sort of actor who would laugh when other people hit sweet spots in performnce. RIP.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

There aren't many survivors left from that whole collection of 60s rural comedies. Jethro is still kicking, that's damn near it.

 

[micropolitan guy]

There aren't many survivors left from that whole collection of 60s rural comedies. Jethro is still kicking, that's damn near it.

Ron Howard, too.

 

[BTExpress]

Bobbie Jo Bradley is still alive and kicking. (Betty Jo, too).

 

[DanOregon]

Rural purge - Wikipedia

The line from Pat Buttram - CBS killing everything with a tree in it - including Lassie - is funny. I'm still amazed that so many of those types of shows were successful, particularly in the turbulent '60s. I'm guessing you could write a dissertation on the idea that at a time of great social unrest, people turned to these shows for reassurance and comfort - noting the lack of diversity, Vietnam, or strong women (Granny on the Hillbillies excluded). But then again, CBS has shown an ability to get a decent rating out of anything. Their NCIS shows are on auto-pilot and the knockoffs (SWAT, Seal Team, Criminal Minds) seem to stretch out to 7 or 8 seasons without breaking a sweat.

 

[Starman]

The rural shows appealed to the country style life people imagined their grandparents at the time having had.

 

[Webster]

Mo Rocca’s Mobituaries podcast did an episode about the purge.

The Rural Purge: Death of the Country Broadcasting System - Mobituaries

 

[BTExpress]

We regularly use about a half-dozen Green Acres catchphrases around our house. Every time we drive by some broken-down shack, wife will say, "There's a Haney place." (Oliver and Lisa bought "The Haney Place" --- I think that phrase was only used in 2-3 early episodes.) There was some damn creative writing in that show.

And Doris Ziffel was a pretty strong woman.

 

[Moderator1]

We love to play Monotony and Cabbage

 

[BTExpress]

Don't like "Scribble?"

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Didn't take long for CBS to go back to the country well. They followed the rural sitcoms with The Waltons, a rural drama and a huge hit.