Happy December Birthday to Classic TV Notables

Deciding who to celebrate each month is always an adventure! 

My heart got all warm and fuzzy with nostalgia when I discovered these talented performers from days gone by were born on December 14^th.  

Happy 122^nd Birthday to Frances Bavier

Actress

Born: December 14, 1902

Birthplace: New York, New York

Died: December 6, 1989 (a week before her 87^th birthday)

• Best known as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68) and Mayberry R.F.D. (1968-1971).
• She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy (1967).

Frances Bavier’s career, spanning almost fifty years, included vaudeville, theater, movies, and television. 

Two of her most well-known movies (at least to me) are The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Bad Seed.

 

Ms. Bavier landed the role of Aunt Bee after appearing on an episode of The Danny Thomas Show that also featured Andy Griffith and Ron Howard in their iconic roles as Andy and Opie Taylor. 

 

Her eight seasons with The Andy Griffith Show and two seasons with its spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D., meant she played Aunt Bee longer than Griffith and Howard played the sheriff-without-a-gun and his adorable, freckled son. She also made an appearance as Aunt Bee on the related series, Gomer Pyle, USMC.

 

After she retired, Ms. Bavier lived a quiet life in her Siler City, NC, home. She is buried in the town’s Oakwood Cemetery.

"To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die."

[From Ms. Bavier’s headstone.]

 

Happy 116^th Birthday to Morey Amsterdam

Actor

 

Born: December 14, 1908

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois

Died: October 27, 1996 (87 years old)

• Best known as Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966). 

Morey Amsterdam, a talented comedian known as the Human Joke Machine, was also a versatile performer, actor, cellist, writer, and producer. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Central Europe.

 

Like many entertainers in the pre-television days, Mr. Amsterdam rose to fame in vaudeville. He even worked at Al Capone’s Chicago speakeasy for a time, then moved to California after being involved in a gunfight.

 

In the late 1940s, he hosted his own radio and television programs in New York City then guest-starred in popular sitcoms and variety entertainment shows.

 

The Buddy Sorrell character, created by Carl Reiner, was based on Mel Brooks. However, it was co-star Rose Marie, who played comedy writer Sally Rogers in the show, who recommended Mr. Reiner cast Mr. Amsterdam in the role. 

 

Once the popular comedy ended, Mr. Amsterdam worked steadily in television and film. In the 1990s, he even played a small-time criminal in the soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

“Was known for his extensive knowledge of The Bible.”

[IMDB.com Trivia.]

 

Happy 107^th Birthday to June Taylor

Choreographer

 

Born: December 14, 1917

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois

Died: May 16, 2004 (86 years old) 

• Best known for founding the June Taylor Dancers. 
• Won an Emmy Award for choreography for The Jackie Gleason Show (1955).

Marjorie June Taylor’s “inventive choreography and elaborate dance sequences became a signature of the [Jackie Gleason variety] shows” [Famous People]. 

Ms. Taylor’s trademark chorographical sequence was “the overhead camera shot of the dancers making kaleidoscopic geometric patterns” (AceArchive).

 

A Choreographer is Born

• 8 years old ~ first dance lessons;
• 14 years old ~ joined Chez Paree, a Chicago nightclub, as a dancer after lying about her age;
• 19 years old ~ dancing in various nightclubs while touring the US and Europe; 
• 21 years old (1938) ~ collapsed on stage and diagnosed with tuberculosis;
• Spent two years in a sanitarium;
• 1942 ~ Founded her own dance troupe;
• 1948 ~ Debuted on television with The Toastettes on Ed Sullivan’s show, The Toast of the Town;
• 1950 ~ Joined Gleason’s Cavalcade of Stars and then The Jackie Gleason Show;
• 1978-1990 ~ choreographed the Dolphin Starbrites, the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad, who performed Broadway-style halftime shows.

Your Turn

Whose birthday party do you want to attend? Will you:

• Swap recipes with Aunt Bee?
• Swap jokes with Buddy Sorrell?
• Swap dance moves with June Taylor?

Johnnie Alexander is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of more than thirty works of fiction in multiple genres. She is both traditionally and indie-published, serves as board secretary for the Mosaic Collection, LLC (an indie-author group) and faculty chair for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference; co-hosts Writers Chat, a weekly online show; and contributes to the HHHistory.com blog. With a heart for making memories, Johnnie is a fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips. Connect with her at JohnnieAlexander.com.

 

Photos ~ all photos are in the public domain and posted images were created with Canva.

 

Sources

Morey Amsterdam ~ IMDB.com.

Morey Amsterdam ~ Encyclopedia.com.

June Taylor ~ Famous People.

June Taylor ~ AceArchive.