Starring Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, John Payne, William Frawley, Gene Lockhart, Jerome Cowan, Thelma Ritter, Percy Helton, and Porter Hall. Directed by George Seaton. Kris Kringle is indignant to find that the person assigned to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he complains to event director Doris Walker, she persuades Kris to take his place. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New York City store on 34th Street. Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's sells, Kris directs one shopper to another store for a fire engine for her son that Macy's does not have. She is so impressed she tells the head of the toy department that she will become a loyal customer. Kris later informs another mother that archrival Gimbels has better skates for her daughter. Fred Gailey, an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young divorcee's six-year-old daughter Susan and takes her to see Kris. When Doris finds out, she asks Kris to tell Susan that he is not really Santa Claus, but Kris surprises her by insisting he is.
Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Faylen, Charles Lane, Jimmy Hawkins, and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. Directed by Frank Capra. Attempting to commit suicide on Christmas Eve, a man is rescued by a guardian angel and shown what his hometown would be like had he never lived.
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall, Reginald Gardiner, and Dick Elliott. Directed by Peter Godfrey. Desperate for some real food, the survivor of a U-boat sinking pretends to be in love with his nurse, and it works. In fact, it works so well that she is prepared to marry him. As a way of escaping her attention, the soldier tells her that he's never really known what a real home is like. Determined to see the engagement through, the nurse reads an article in a housekeeping magazine by Elizabeth Lane, who writes about her life on a Connecticut farm with her husband and baby. She is a model of domesticity — a gourmet cook admired by housewives across the country. Mary decides to write to the publishing magnate, Alexander Yardley, asking if her fiance can spend Christmas on Mrs. Lane's Connecticut farm, and Mr. Yardley, sensing a public relations boon, supports the idea wholeheartedly. There is only one problem with the idea: Elizabeth Lane is not what she appears to be. In reality, she lives in a small apartment in New York City, is unmarried, and cannot cook.
Character actor Harry Morgan, best known for playing Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H”, died on Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. In more than 100 movies, he played Western bad guys, characters with names like Rocky and Shorty, loyal sidekicks, judges, sheriffs, soldiers, thugs and police chiefs.
On television, he played Officer Bill Gannon who provided a light touch to Jack Webb’s always-by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday in the updated “Dragnet,” from 1967 to 1970. He starred as Pete Porter, a harried husband, in the situation comedy “Pete and Gladys” (1960-62), reprising a role he had played on “December Bride” (1954-59). He was also a regular on “The Richard Boone Show” (1963-64), “Kentucky Jones” (1964-65), “The D.A.” (1971-72), “Hec Ramsey” (1972-74) and “Blacke’s Magic” (1986).
But to many fans he was first and foremost Col. Sherman T. Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit in Korea. With a wry smile, flat voice and sharp humor, Harry Morgan played Colonel Potter from 1975 to 1983, when “M*A*S*H” went off the air. He replaced McLean Stevenson , who had quit the series, moving into the role on the strength of his performance as a crazed major general in an early episode.
Born in New York City on November 30, 1918, actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. turns 93 years old today.
Flip side of Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind
Album cut from the 1966 LP "Changes"
