HELLO FROM FRED & ETHEL'S HOUSE

Monday, July 2, 2012

Ken Curtis (1916 - 1991)

Actor Ken Curtis was born in Lamar, Colorado, on July 2, 1916, and died in Fresno, California, on April 28, 1991, at the age of 74. A former big-band vocalist (he joined the Tommy Dorsey Band after Frank Sinatra left) and singing cowboy in low-budget westerns of the 1940s, Curtis is best known as the scruffy, bewhiskered deputy sheriff Festus Haggen in the hit western TV series "Gunsmoke" from 1964 to 1975. He also appeared in several films by his then father-in-law John Ford including "Mister Roberts" (1955), "The Searchers" and "Wings of Eagles" (both 1956), "The Last Hurrah" (1958) and "The Horse Soldiers" (1959).

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Don Grady (1944-2012)

Actor Don Grady, best known for his portrayal of Robbie Douglas on "My Three Sons" died last Wednesday, June 27, at age 68 of cancer. Don was born Don Louis Agrati in San Diego, California, on June 8, 1944, and grew up in Lafayette, California. His acting credits included several Western series, including The Restless Gun, Zane Grey Theater, Wagon Train, and The Rifleman. Originally the frustrated middle brother on My Three Sons, he became the confident elder brother with the departure of Mike (Tim Considine)and the adoption of Ernie (Barry Livingston), who became the new third son. During production of My Three Sons, Grady both appeared with his own band The Greefs on the series, and was the drummer for The Yellow Balloon, whose self-titled song, Yellow Balloon, became a minor hit during the summer of 1967. After My Three Sons ended in 1972, Don pursued a musical career. His works included music for the Blake Edwards comedy film Switch, the theme song for The Phil Donahue Show, and for EFX, a Las Vegas multimedia stage show which starred Michael Crawford, David Cassidy, Tommy Tune, and Rick Springfield. In the fall of 2008, he released Boomer: JazRokPop, a collection of songs written for and about the baby boomer generation. Boomer was his first original album as an artist since Homegrown was released by Elektra Records in 1973.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO. . .OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

Actress Olivia de Havilland celebrates her 96th birthday today. Olivia Mary de Havilland, born in Tokyo, Japan, on July 1,1916, is a British-American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine, age 94. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.