"The Great Gildersleeve" - Both of them!

One of my favorite 1940s old-time radio comedies is "The Great Gildersleeve". The character was introduced on another show, "Fibber McGee and Molly", and became so popular that a spin-off was created. It may have been one of the first spin-off shows in entertainment history.

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was first played by veteran radio actor Harold (Hal) Peary. Peary had great voice inflection and when you hear him talk, you can just picture the character in whatever emotions were being displayed at the moment.

Several years later, due to a conflict of the show moving to another network and a contractual obligation with the previous network, Peary was replaced by Willard Waterman, another radio veteran, who'd known Peary for many years.

In 1982, I pursued both actors for an autographed photo. It's not easy to find photos of radio performers, so for both requests, I only sent the usual return envelope. Harold Peary sent me a great 8x10 which featured him in four facial expressions. Willard Waterman was "Happy to oblige" my request, and sent two photos, seen here and here.

If you'd like to listen to some of the radio shows, you can do so here.

And here's an entertaining book about the show.

Side note: In the early 1970s, I wrote to Jim Jordan, who played 'Fibber McGee'. His real-life wife Marian (who died in 1961)) played his wife 'Molly'. I requested a photo, and this is what he sent.

Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling

The first time I saw Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling, was in the early 1950s tv series "Topper", which starred Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper. Topper was a banker, and he and his wife lived in a house they bought from the estate of the Kerbys, who were killed in an avalanche, along with their St. Bernard dog, Neil. The ghosts were seen and heard only by Topper, which made for some funny and embarrassing situations.

When I watched "Topper", it was in the early 1960s and the show was in syndication. I'd watch it in the morning before going to school. It was one of my first introductions to "funny ghosts" as opposed to "scary ghosts".

The characters were introduced in the opening narration: "Anne Jeffreys as Marion Kerby, the ghostess with the mostess; and Robert Sterling as George Kerby, that most sporting spirit." Sterling and Jeffreys were married in real life, too.

In 1980, I sent two photos, one of each, to the Sterlings, and within two weeks, I received them back. Both signed their respective photos with a simple but cordial inscription, seen here and here.

Dick Wilson - "Mr. Whipple"

Dick Wilson became a recognizable character actor on tv during the 1950s, but his claim to fame was as "Mr. Whipple" in a long-running advertising campaign for Charmin toilet tissue. The character was a supermarket manager, who would notice some customers talking about the softness of Charmin, at the same time squeezing the package. He'd walk up to them and tell them, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin", took the package into his own hands and, subtly, gently squeezed it himself.

He was in the phone directory, as I recall, living in North Hollywood. I was given his address by another autograph collector, and I matched it with the directory listing. I did call, and talked to his wife. She offered to pass along my request for a photo, and I let it go at that. After a month or so, still not receiving a photo, I wrote to Mr. Wilson. He replied with this note, a signed photo (it's printed on textured paper, so the scan isn't too sharp), and a fold-out card advertising Charmin on the cover and Mr. Whipple on the inside.

Beverly Crane - A "Talking Titles" Twin

Beverly Crane, along with twin sister Bettymae Crane, were best known for their introductory talking titles presentation of Hal Roach comedies shorts, including those of Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang.

The Crane Sisters had been "lost" for years, and were on the "whatever happened to?" list of people who worked in Roach movies. In 1994, at the Sons of the Desert Convention in Tarrytown, NY, I met Brad, who had his own Sons "Tent" in Dayton, Ohio, "A-Haunting We Will Go". Brad was very interested in the research I'd been doing, finding "lost players". He mentioned The Crane Sisters to me, and I'd never even given them a thought.

Shortly after the Convention, I went to the NY Public Library on one of my periodic research trips, accompanied by my good friend Peter. I had the usual list of people to look up, and the Cranes were on it. The library had a clippings folder for them, and while there was not much in it, one important news item was there - a marriage announcement (I don't remember the year, but I believe it was the 1940s) of Beverly Crane, to an Earl C. Trees of Ohio. To a "people locater" as myself, news like this can be very pivotal in finding the subject. Peter was doing his own research, but he shared my excitement about the possibility I’d be able to locate Beverly now that I had some useful info.

When I returned home, I made use of a CD-Rom set I had, a national phone directory. I placed the disc containing listings for Ohio into the computer's drive, and entered the name "Trees". To my delight, the name "E.C. Trees" popped up. I called, and a woman's voice answered. Remembering that the news item was many years old, and that things can change a lot in those years, I cautiously told her I was trying to find an actress named Beverly Crane. She replied, "Well that's me, but I was a dancer, not an actress." Bingo! I'd found her! After a brief chat, during which she told me Bettymae had died a few years earlier, I called Brad and passed along the information. He was pleasantly surprised to know that Beverly lived within an hour's drive, and eventually met her and her husband, and had them as guests at some of his Tent meetings. You can read about one of his visits with Beverly at her home here.

I never did meet Beverly, but Brad kindly got four photos signed for me: a close-up and long shot with Bettymae on the "talking titles" set; a photo of the twins in a dance pose; and on stage with comics Olsen and Johnson.

Gale Sondergaard

Gale Sondergaard was a talented actress who could play a variety of characters, but it's a few select roles for which I best remember her.

Ms. Sondergaard played the inferred title character in "The Spider Woman" (1944 - a 'Sherlock Holmes' feature) and "The Spider Woman Strikes Back" (1946). In other movies, she played the cat Tylette in "The Blue Bird", a 1940 Shirley Temple movie, a very well-made fantasy, in my opinion, and the mysterious "Emily" in Abbott and Costello's "The Time of Their Lives" (1946).

Knowing she'd been married to writer/director Herbert J. Biberman, I looked up her name in a Los Angeles phone directory, suspecting that perhaps she was listed. This was in 1980. She wasn't listed under her own name, but rather as "G. S. Biberman" (her husband had died a few years earlier). I called and the phone was answered by her sister (she identified herself as such a few minutes into our conversation). She told me Gale was in New York City, appearing in a Broadway play, but would be returning home to California in a few days. She said Gale would sign photos for me, but I had to provide them as she had none to give away. She further specified that I enclose a stamped addressed envelope (which I always did) and then allow time for Gale to get to them, as she didn't have a secretary to arrange these things for her.

I sent her three choice portrait photos - one a lovely full-length pose, one a character portrait as "Tylette the cat", and another as "The Spider Woman". She signed all three, but only inscribed the first one to me, misspelling my name.

Don Bexley - "Bubba"

Another of my favorite characters from the tv sitcom "Sanford and Son" was "Bubba", played by comic actor Don Bexley, a veteran comic from the black theater.

At the time I contacted him, in 1980, Mr. Bexley was living in Granada Hills, a northwestern suburb of Los Angeles. He was listed in the phone directory, so I called him, and we had a brief pleasant chat. He appreciated my interest in his career and thanked me for my comments about his "Bubba" character. I told him I'd like to have an autographed photo, but couldn't find one to send him. He asked me to send him my address and he'd send one to me.

I did write him, and he soon replied, with a letter telling me a bit about his recent activities, and also that he'd passed on my requests for photos to two other "Sanford" cast members. (I eventually wrote directly to LaWanda Page myself, and also to Whitman Mayo, but Mayo never replied). He enclosed a signed photo which included four character poses on the reverse. (This is not actually a glossy photo, but rather a semi-glossy textured page that was sent by his agent to producers, hence the lesser-quality scan.)

Ian Wolfe - Requested MY Photo!

Ian Wolfe was a character actor who appeared in movies from the 1930s right through the 1980s. He also appeared in many tv shows from the 1950s on. He effectively played roles ranging from dramatic to comedic during his long career.

In 1980, I sent him a photo requesting he autograph it to me. He promptly returned it, with a brief inscription. But he "turned the tables" on me - he enclosed this little handwritten note, requesting a snapshot photo of myself! Did I comply? Yes, I did. I happened to have a few pictures of myself , taken a few years earlier, and I sent one to him, but I don't remember if I actually signed my name on it (probably did it on the back, but certainly not on the front).