Q. I keep seeing a commercial for beef and at the end there is a familiar voice saying the tagline, “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner.”I can’t place the voice. Who is it? – Harriet Selvin, Pembroke Pines
A. It’s that man’s man Robert Mitchum. The beef industry has been burned by health wackos, who take the money then announce to the People columns that they are vegetarians. They should only come back in the next life as stalks of celery. There’s no chance of this happening with the red-meat-eating, two-fisted-drinking Mitchum, who will be 68 on his next birthday.
Q. How old is Buddy Ebsen and wasn’t he once a dancer? – M.D.K., Fort Lauderdale
A. Christian (his given name) Ebsen, who is best known as Jed Clampett and Barnaby Jones, was born on April 2, 1908. This makes him 86. Ebsen, who went to the University of Florida and Rollins College, began his career as a dancer. He appeared in Ziegfield’s Whoopee in 1928, then went on tour as a hoofer with his sister Vilma.
Q. Why is it that every time a TV series is a big hit, the actors get the credit? I would think that the writers and the director would be the real reason for the success of a show. – Walter Schiffman, Boynton Beach
A. A successful show is a collaborative effort. However, I would tend to agree with your position. There is an axiom that TV makes stars; stars don’t make TV. In other words, many unknowns have become stars on TV; just as huge established names have failed miserably on the tube. Obviously, the material and its execution is the thing. What’s more, look at series such as M*A*S*H, Taxi, Cheers, and more recently, NYPD Blue, which have survived major cast changes. L.A. Law was able to get past the departure of Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey and Jimmy Smits better than it was able to compensate for the exits of writer/producers such as David E. Kelley and William Finkelstein. When they left, the show slumped badly. When Finkelstein returned for the final season and a half, a lot of the magic was restored.
Q. What years were The Young Riders on TV? – C. Franks, Cooper City
A. The episodes you can see now on The Family Channel originally ran on ABC from 1989-91.
Q. I recently watched the movie Outback Bound, starring Donna Mills, but I missed the credits. Who was the actor who played opposite Mills? – Cindy Williams, Fort Lauderdale
A. Outback Bound had two male leads, Andrew Clarke and John Schneider.
Q. Why is Richard Dawson back on Family Feud? Or are they playing reruns until the other fellow comes back? – Pat Galvin, Coral Springs
A. They are not reruns. The tipoff is Dawson no longer kisses every woman on the show, like he did first time around. He says he stopped out of respect for his new wife. He was brought back because the show’s ratings were dropping. His return hasn’t really turned things around. “The other fellow,” Ray Combs, was in a serious auto accident. For a while it looked like he would be paralyzed, but he is almost fully recovered. He is not scheduled to come back to Family Feud and his accident had nothing to do with his departure. That decision had already been made.
Send your questions about local television, the networks or cable to Tom Jicha, TV/Radio Writer, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301-2293. Personal replies are not possible; please do not send self-addressed stamped envelopes.
