Our Emily is gone...

The beautiful Suzanne Pleshette, a movie star in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and forever known as Bob Newhart's television wife, died on Saturday. She was just 70 and had been battling lung cancer.

As a kid growing up in the 70s, "The Bob Newhart Show" was part of my Saturday nights as it aired between "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Carol Burnett Show" and as Emily Hartley, Pleshette's character was the voice of reason among all the wacky characters on the classic show - a hit for all six years of its run.

Let's face it, as lovely as the late Mary Fran was as Newhart's wife in his following series, it made for one of television's most classic scenes: When "Newhart" ended in 1990, Pleshette reprised her role from the first show. It had Newhart waking up in the bedroom of his "The Bob Newhart Show" home with Pleshette at his side. He went on to tell her of the crazy dream he'd just had of running an inn filled with eccentrics.

Best known as a television star (she also played Karen Walker's mother on "Will & Grace" and Leona Helmsley in a TV movie), Suzanne starred on Broadway in "The Miracle Worker," the 1959 drama about Helen Keller, replacing Anne Bancroft in New York then taking it on the road. She also starred in "The Birds" with Tippi Hedren and attracted a teenage following with her youthful roles in such films as "Rome Adventure," "Fate Is the Hunter," "Youngblood Hawke" and "A Distant Trumpet." She married actor Troy Donahue in 1964 but the union lasted less than a year. She was married to Texas oilman Tim Gallagher from 1968 until his death in 2000 then married actor Tom Poston to whom she was with until his death last year.

Suzanne's last public appearance came in September when she reunited with the cast of "The Bob Newhart Show" for a Museum of Television and Radio event in Beverly Hills.
She was once asked about the reason for her longevity in showbiz: "I'm an actress, and that's why I'm still here. Anybody who has the illusion that you can have a career as long as I have and be a star is kidding themselves."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since the ongoing writer's strike reduced last weekend's Golden Globe Awards to a bland press conference, "Mad Men" nominee Jon Hamm was at the Chateau Marmout in West Hollywood with co-stars and friends when his name was announced as the winner for best actor in a drama series.

Among the actors he beat out: last year's Globe champ Hugh Laurie ("House") and reigning Emmy winner James Spader ("Boston Legal"). The show also won the outstanding drama series prize.

"It was a surprise to say the least," Jon said when we met a few days ago. "Very stiff competition and I'm certainly the new guy. I'm incredibly honored to have been chosen.... We were sitting on the balcony watching the sun go down, we had a TV out there. As those things go, it was pretty nice. It was amazing. Everybody cheered and it felt really collegial and fun - like a good thing had happened to the family. It really felt great."

There's a good chance for more awards on Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (There will be a star-studded ceremony for that one) with Jon, 36, again nominated for outstanding actor in a drama series and the show's cast up for outstanding ensemble.

On "Men," Jon plays Don Draper, creative director and eventually junior partner of Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency on New York City's Madison Avenue in the 1960s; He is the show's protagonist with a mysterious past.

"When I read the script - and I never say this because I don't want to jinx things - I said to several friends of mine and my girlfriend, 'I really want to be in this. I wonder what movie star they're gonna to give the lead to, I'll never get that. But I want to be a part of this.' And, somehow, six or eight auditions later, I ended up getting it and it's obviously been great."

Before "Mad Men" caused such a sensatiion last year, Jon had been working steadily in recurring roles on a succession of television series including "The Unit," "What About Brian," "The Division" and "Providence" along with the occasional feature film ("Ira & Abby," "We Were Soldiers").

But the show, AMC's first original scripted drama, wowed critics and quickly gained a loyal following.
"I think it's found the perfect home on AMC," he said. "It's not unlike the first season of 'The Sopranos.' The first year of that show, a lot of people didn't know what it was and didn't want to watch a gangster show or whatever. Then they found it and realized how deep it was. I think that's similar to our show. Our fans are very, very loyal and excited about the show and I wish we were just about to make some more for them but unfortunately we're stuck in this strike."

They were due to begin shooting the second season in February or March but at this point, there are no scripts prepared and the strike continues.

"I wish we were working, we;re not. But I understand why.I was fortunate though to work on a couple of films."
One of those movies are the big-budget sci-fi flick "The Day the Earth Stood Still" which stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. The other is the mystery-thriller "The Boy in the Box." Between the series, the awards and the upcoming movies, Jon is on the verge of major stardom.

"It's all still pretty new and I think fortunately, I look a little bit different on the show than I look in real life. I don't walk around around wearing three-piece suits with my hair slicked back so that makes it a little but easier. But it's always nice when people recognize you for your work and they say good things about you."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)