FORGOTTEN FILMS: TV TRANSITION

Though typically overshadowed by Hollywood's A-list, there were respectable performances by numerous actors and actresses who never became major film stars. A common occurrence was their transition to the new medium of television, often becoming familiar faces in homes across America. These periodic posts offer insight into their transition.

Richard Denning: Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger, Jr. (1914-98)

Richard Denning got his start in Hollywood starring in a few popular radio programs of the 1940s and early 1950s. The most famous was being opposite Lucille Ball in the radio comedy, My Favorite Husband, which set the groundwork for her Lucy Ricardo character. But with no face for radio, the handsome Denning soon was singled out, first as a bit player then gained starring roles in mostly low-budget films. He was always fun to watch in spite of being cast in some forgettable films.

Denning was successful at garnering many supporting film roles during his early years in Hollywood as in the musical comedy, The Farmer's Daughter (1940), or The Glass Key (1942), and Black Beauty (1945) all the while rubbing elbows with some major film stars. He was the lead in numerous routine B-movies where he often played cool, easygoing characters able to hold his own in a fistfight. The 6’ Denning could deliver sarcastic quips with coolness in a Dick Powell fashion. Perhaps his most infamous role was in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) supporting Richard Carlson and Julie Adams followed by his lead in another science-fiction cult classic, Target Earth (1954). He had a nice turn in The Crooked Web (1955) as an undercover government agent routing out a German war crimes officer.

Television credits began to pile up with the lighthearted crime show, Mr. & Mrs. North (1952-54). Denning played a mystery magazine publisher who—along with his wife—moonlight as amateur detectives, echoing the Thin Man film series of the 1930s. The show was also a follow-up to a decade-old film as well as a radio mystery program of the same name. Denning kept busy with lead roles in the series The Flying Doctor (1959) and as the private investigator, Michael Shayne (1960-61) tooling around Miami in a 1960 Oldsmobile convertible. Beyond his screen time, the show was a dud. The comedy dud, Karen (1964-65), was next followed by his being called out of retirement to play Hawaii’s governor in seventy-three episodes of the classic police show, Hawaii Five-O (1968-80).

Note: Richard Denning was born in Poughkeepsie, New York but his family moved to Los Angeles before his second birthday. He attended Manual Arts College earning a Master of Business Administration degree from Woodbury Business College in Los Angeles. Denning married horror film and B-movie actress Evelyn Ankers in 1942. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1985.

FORGOTTEN FILMS: TV TRANSITION

Though typically overshadowed by Hollywood's A-list, there were respectable performances by numerous actors and actresses who never became major film stars. A common occurrence was their transition to the new medium of television, often becoming familiar faces in homes across America. These periodic posts offer insight into their transition.

Merry Anders: Mary Anderson (1934-2012)

Merry Anders and her mother moved from Chicago to Los Angeles before her sixteenth birthday and doors opened for her to become a junior model. She never got much traction in her acting career—despite an uncustomary first name change—perhaps being born a decade too late to compete in a wardrobe full of attractive mid-century blondes. Her acting was adequate though her roles were not. Anders made her film debut in 1951 for 20th Century Fox films appearing in several uncredited small and supporting roles. She was indistinguishable as one of the fashion models in the film, How to Marry A Millionaire (1953) opposite the high profiles of Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. She played a college girl in the film Titanic (1953) and appeared briefly in Three Coins in The Fountain (1954). Also that same year she was overpowered in another forgotten role for the comedy, Phffft (1954). Perhaps not knowing—or caring—what to do with her, Fox studios dropped her in 1954. Larger roles awaited her in the television universe.

Anders was a regular cast member of The Stu Erwin Show (1954-55) and the lead role in It’s Always Jan (1955-56). She landed a lead role in the NTA Film Network and syndicated TV sitcom, How to Marry a Millionaire (1957-59) co-starring, Barbara Eden and Lori Nelson. Anders appeared on several episodes of the Warner Bros. westerns, Cheyenne and Maverick. Also for Warner’s, 77 Sunset Strip provided numerous appearances during its entire run. Finally, in seven episodes she played Policewoman, Dorothy Miller, on Dragnet 1967. Producer and star, Jack Webb, had her wear a brunette wig suggesting that it made her look more serious. Someone should have advised the same for Heather Locklear of T.J. Hooker fame, though hair color was not her only believability problem.

Note: Wanting to live a normal life with a steady paycheck, Anders eventually became a successful customer relations coordinator at Litton Industries, where she remained until her retirement in 1994.