as i find myself tapering off discussing too much character actors aand not enough TAGS at times, i want to finish up here on these actors. Yes Janet, Billy DeWolf was a lovely man, he was in the hospital dying ( I didnt know this)-in 1974. he was a dear man. he seemed a novelty act to most fello1w actors, truly one of a kind but talented bristling with fun , carefree and a joy. Doris Day and him who made several films together were very close. she made sure he had a recurring role on her tv series 1968-73. He performed with TAGS alumni Ronnie Schell in 1967 nin the critically acclaimed but diastrous series Good Morning World.Because Billy as we all know was somewhat different than most , he was looked upon as an oddity but to us fans he was brilliant. its a darn shame he did few films and nit much television til he came into his own on talk and variety shows in the 60s. Blue Skies was my favorite of his films. he was a favorite on the talk show circuit. Thank you Gritton Joe for correcting me on Robert Emhardt aka Mr Tucker Mr Foster shouting at Barney to do what he says he's going to do. it was good to see Tom Jacobs on (I wont say it) last night in Goober Takes a Car Apart .And another alumni who did a bit part in If i Had a Quater Million was Hank Patterson aka Fred Ziffel from Green Acres. I heard stories galore that this late blooming character actor (who seemed to be born old) wasca problem on the set of GA in the sense his memory was going but very bad by this time. He was all over the tube in the 60s including a role on Gunsmoke but he'll always be Fred Ziffel to us TAGS fans. Yes he was forgetful with his lines and yes he was terribly deaf by this time but his letters never indicated he had any acting problems. His humor was evident in one letter saying to me in 1971 (WEll they cancelled GA but i can always rely on Gunsmoke). He died 1975 the year Gunsmoke was cancelled. Did anyone know that in 2006 at age 93 Jack Smith of Aunt Bee on Tv passed away? With obituaries from 1965-present ive collected on a daily basis of celebrities in every field, i must be getting senile before my time if i didnt see his obituary in either NY Times or Variety. I get the the papers every day and Variety once a week for 43 yrs non stop. but i guess im entitled to miss a "death" . i still got a good tracking record. Its odd he is remembered as the host of You asked For It when he more or less recreated that part to a degree on TAGS. its ironic he only did the show for one season, its last 1958-59 when in fact the first host creator was the forgotton Art Baker 1950-58. he died 1966. ANd whos still alive and holding his own at 88 god bless him is Sid Melton , He was Alf in Green Acres and had a running role as Charlie Halper on the Danny Thomas Show for 6 years. oddly he never appeared on TAGS and isnt that strange seeing he had a tie in with Griffith Leonard-Thomas producing teams of the 60s. He was in Petticoat Junction , Gomer Pyle (Friendley Freddie the con artist) That Girl and others. This is one character actor i never contacted. i must be slipping up. hes a dear sweet man from what ive heard over the years. Ive known many character actors but many more had no part with the TAGS. THats sad but we treasure their film and tv appearences all the more. Someones got to speak up for them. And in bringing an end to this is as i sit here and reflect on observations made to me by these performers from the comfort of their living room by phone or in letter, i like it when i recall Robert Emhardt aka Mr Tucker Mr Foster saying to me "You like that hah?" in reference to the muff line from Man in a Hurray Gritton Joe so kindly corrected me on,how many times have we heard someone say that line to all of us? its a reassurance some what a confirmation the need they heard right when they say "You like that hah" years ago it didnt have the impact it has now with us TAGS fansLike i said , actor like it when you go out of your way to recite lines, spoken dialogue that sticks in ones memory for life. I can almost envision the smile on this actors face when he poised that question. its his way of knowing he left us with a memorable line or a unforgettable scene or both. He thanked me. But i had the sense to pick up quickly with my standard "No thank you Mr. Emhardt" . No good character supporting actor wants to be forgotton. as long as we TAGS fans are around for generations yet to come these superb actors will never ever be forgotton. and with that God Bless all. its back to chatting with Col. Tim..Thank you too Col. Tim. Tom Kessel _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
