Suzanne Pleshette Doubled her Double on "One Step Beyond"

Alcoa Presents will forever be known for its syndicated title, One Step Beyond. The series dramatized real-life case histories of various occult subjects, with Rod Serling-esque intros by distinguished-looking host, series director John Newland. Alcoa Presents ran just a few seasons, resulting in 96 episodes, many of which are currently posted on the Internet Archive.

This early filmed TV series is notable for featuring many up-and-coming stars. Among the young performers making appearances on the series in the early part of their careers, were: Pernell Roberts, Suzanne Pleshette, Louise Fletcher, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Montgomery and William Shatner.

Suzanne Pleshette tells an amusing story about stunt work she performed in her Alcoa Presents episode (where she co-starred with future St. Elsewhere star Norman Lloyd), in her Archive of American Television Interview. Watch the Suzanne Pleshette/Norman Lloyd episode (embedded from the Internet Archive), listen to Pleshette talk about the show in her Archive interview, and find a link to more episodes from the Internet Archive at the Archive's new page for Alcoa Presents aka One Step Beyond.

Falcon Crest Debuts on DVD Today

Falcon Crest joins Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing on DVD today-- the last of the long-running '80s prime time soaps to make the jump to home video. The series ran from 1981-1990, and starred Oscar-winning screen star Jane Wyman as villainess "Angela Channing," in her last major role, for which she won the Golden Globe. Wyman was no stranger to TV though, and, in fact, was a two-time Emmy nominee for her work on the classic anthology series Fireside Theatre (aka The Jane Wyman Show) in the 1950s.

Reviewing the sixth season's opener, Variety noted "the costumers, art director John P. Bruce and director of photography Ken Peach Jr. have conspired to give the series a glossy, elegant look." Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows acknowledges that all of the necessary soap elements are found on Falcon Crest, "incalculable wealth, an evil villain, good-looking young people, and sexual intrigue" yet in comparing it to Dallas and Dynasty comments that the show failed to achieve cult status because it was "too realistic" and didn't provide "what prime-time soap fans crave... opulence and exaggerated characters." That's up for debate!


Series co-creator Earl Hamner (who created The Waltons) said in his Archive of American Television interview: "Someone once said to me, how can you do Falcon Crest after The Waltons? And I said, everybody has a good side and a bad side. And this one comes from my wicked side. But I loved doing it." As an example, Hamner offers....

"One of my favorite moments on the series [was the wedding of the characters played by Lorenzo Lamas and Ana Alicia]. They’d just been married and they’d both led rather dissolute lives; and after the minister says, 'I now pronounce you man and wife,' she turns to him and says, 'I’m pregnant.' And he says, 'Oh?' And she says, 'but it’s not yours.' I mean, that’s a key to the wickedness that we did."

Earl Hamner outlines the creation of Falcon Crest and gives his impressions of the show's stars in Part 7 (see timecode 2:20) of his Archive of American Television interview.

Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner for Tax Day

Today is tax day, luckily there's classic TV to cheer us up. On a February 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace, Carl Reiner interviews "tax expert" Mel Brooks' "Philip J. Heinker," who discusses his methods for filing, which includes claiming Romania ("I send them cottage cheese and Life magazine"). Look for newly Mrs. Mel Brooks- Anne Bancroft- cracking up in the studio audience.

"I don't sing, I don't dance, but if you've been watching my show, you know I'm one heck of a runner." - Hollywood Palace guest host, The Fugitive's David Janssen

This episode, too, features an admittedly out-of-his-element guest host, David Janssen (then lead of The Fugitive), who nonetheless manages his duties as emcee. The only moment where he trips up, is in playing straight man to Tim Conway- probably not the first person to fail in this task. Conway, who was appearing as Ensign Charles Parker on McHale's Navy at the time, performs his sketch "The Warden." Also among the show's guest stars are Edie Adams and Vic Damone. And don't miss the show's finale with the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Palace Dribblers (Janssen, Brooks [above, right, getting a little help with his dunk], Reiner, Conway, and Damone).

Click here for the Archive's Hollywood Palace page to watch this February 6, 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace (embedded from the Internet Archive) and hear Archive interviewees including Tim Conway talk about guesting on the series.

Valerie Harper Wraps Up "Looped"

What's the opposite of Rhoda Morgenstern? Answer: Tallulah Bankhead. Valerie Harper is playing Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped" on Broadway, and, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck "effectively bury[s] her own persona," garnering "big laughs with her razor-sharp delivery of the endlessly profane dialogue."

Although she appeared on the Broadway stage as a dancer at the beginning of her career, it wasn't until of late that Harper's had major roles on Broadway, as she attests in her Archive of American Television interview:

"If God said you've got to choose one thing now, I think I would probably say: theater. Because it was my first love and — you’ll find this hard to believe — when I was five and six years old, I dreamed of being on Broadway. And it wasn’t until I was quite old, that I actually was on Broadway. And it was like going back to a part of my life that I’d almost forgotten about."

Valerie Harper discusses her career in the theater and her greatest fame on TV (an Emmy-winner as a supporting player and then lead as "Rhoda Morgenstern" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda) in her Archive of American Television interview. She wraps up "Looped" this weekend at the Lyceum Theatre.

Leonard Nimoy in the 1950s & early '60s

Leonard Nimoy was living hand-to-mouth in the 1950s and early 60s, as a struggling actor in TV and movies, before his stardom on Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. He landed the leading role in the feature film Kid Monk Baroni (1952) (photo, left), but spent most of his early career in TV in small roles, in such series as Dragnet (photo, center) and The Twilight Zone (photo, right).

"The work that I was useful for when I was hired-- which was rare in those days-- were always offbeat nasty guys. Ethnic characters of one kind or another. Guys who beat up people and that sort of thing. They were always in trouble. The good guys were guys that looked like Tab Hunter. The look at that time was a look that wasn’t me. They say, you have small eyes, or you have a crooked nose, or, you know, 'No, no, no, no, no! Next. Next.'"

Several of Nimoy's early parts are now viewable on his Archive of American Television Interview page (see Featured Content)— watch these early roles and hear Leonard Nimoy discuss his early career here.

"Dynasty" Star John Forsythe Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

John Forsythe, best known as oil tycoon Blake Carrington on the '80s prime time soap Dynasty, has died at the age of 92. Forsythe's TV career dates back to the 1940s, and baby boomers will remember his first regular series role as the single dad on the series Bachelor Father (1957-62). Forsythe's other major TV claim-to-fame is providing the voice to the unseen "Charlie" in the '70s hit Charlie's Angels.

John Forsythe was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on July 24, 2000; his interview is currently available online.

Interview Description:
John Forsythe was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Los Olivos, CA. During his interview, Mr. Forsythe spoke of his extensive live television work and his series role as Bentley Gregg on Bachelor Father. He then chronicled his work on two other series, The John Forsythe Show and To Rome with Love, as well as numerous made-for-television movie roles. He also spoke about his voice-only role as "Charlie" on Charlie’s Angels and his role as Blake Carrington, the patriarch of the popular long-running series, Dynasty, opposite actresses Linda Evans and Joan Collins. The interview was conducted by Don Carleton.

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