After Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) retired in “Law & Order” there haven’t been too many characters that have really grabbed my fancy on network TV. I like Young Sheldon these days but who else?
You have to go over to the streaming side to find cool characters — like Ted Lasso (Apple TV), Vera (Amazon Prime) and Longmire (Netflix).
But when I was growing up and only getting the three major networks, there were a plethora of memorable individuals. I’m sharing with you some of mine from the late 1950s and 1960s:
Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver) — Maynard was the “beatnik” on “The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis,” and the first free spirit I had ever come across. He both entranced and baffled me. I later saw plenty of his ilk in college. Maybe I would have become one if not for my ROTC haircut.
Denver’s real claim to fame, of course, would be as Gilligan in “Gilligan’s Island.” (Yeah, I liked Mary Ann better than Ginger.)
Sort of funny that in at least a couple of episodes, Gilligan dreamed of being Matt Dillon and shooting it out with villains.
Matt Dillon (James Arness) — Six-foot-six, big spurs on his boots and a voice out of the Grand Canyon, Matt was the longtime U.S. marshal in “Gunsmoke.” Loved him — for the 20 years that “Gunsmoke” ran.
He had some weird friends — Chester, Doc Adams (what a grouch) and Miss Kitty — but don’t we all.
And, yes, the guy who drew on him in the opening sequence of every show was a split second faster even if Matt was apparently more accurate.
Donna Stone (Donna Reed) — Even as a kid, I thought it was neat that a woman seemed to be calling the shots around a busy household in “The Donna Reed Show.” Sort of like my own mom.
Jane Wyatt as Margaret Anderson had similar qualities on “Father Knows Best,” although in a more subtle and serious way.
It wasn’t until decades later while watching Donna Reed in “It’s a Wonderful Life” every Christmas Eve that I realized what a beautiful woman she was. As a kid, I was more in awe of Donna’s TV daughter, Shelly Fabares, especially when she launched her No. 1 hit, “Johnny Angel” on one of the episodes.
Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) — Eddie taught me what “two-faced” meant on “Leave it to Beaver.” He would heckle and cajole The Beaver and then put on his best manners with a sugar-sweet voice when Beaver’s and Wally’s parents came into the room.
It was nice to see that Beaver’s parents never bought Eddie’s act. Neither did Beaver’s older brother, Wally, but I guess he felt Eddie had some redeeming qualities. He occasionally showed them — even though he looked uncomfortable doing so.
In real life, Osmond served as a Los Angeles police officer after becoming so memorable as Eddie Haskell that he was type-cast, causing him to have trouble finding other acting work.
Wishbone (Paul Brinegar) — Full name: George Washington Wishbone. He got to drive a chuck wagon, have a cool beard and yell at all the wranglers and his assistant Mushy when they complained about his cooking on the cattle drives in “Rawhide.”
He was a bit of a father figure for some of the cowpokes although a cantankerous one. Wishbone did a little bit of everything — sewed up wounds, diffused heated arguments and made bad coffee — all with little fanfare.
Clint Eastwood (as Rowdy Yates) might have gotten his acting start on the show but what I remember most about him was his bulging Adam’s apple above his bandana.
Hamilton Burger (William Talman) — My whole family watched “Perry Mason” on Saturday nights — usually with TV tables and snacks in front of us. Besides murder, I learned a lot about morality from the show. I also loved how you could always count on Perry Mason to come across a clue that exonerated his client and put the finger on someone else sitting in the courtroom.
I sometimes felt a little bad for the show’s district attorney, Hamilton Burger, who always seemed to lose a case at the last moment. We called him Ham Burger. He tried not to be a sore loser but you could tell he got a little tired of Perry Mason (played by Raymond Burr) always getting the best of him.
Talman made a deep impression on me years later when he did the first anti-smoking TV commercial for the American Cancer Society. It was just before he died of lung cancer. I think his words may have helped my mom give up smoking.
Barney Fife (Don Knotts) — To be honest, I always thought Barney was more pathetic than funny on “The Andy Griffith Show.” A self-important little dude who looked pretty cowardly to me. I liked Sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith) so much more.
I guess the reason Barney was so memorable to me as a kid was because I didn’t want to be like him — unintentionally making himself the butt of too many jokes.
Maybe if I had been older, I would have appreciated the humor of his character a little more. I do remember my dad saying that there was too much comedic talent wasted on such a silly show.
Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) — How could a young teen-age boy not be in love with a beautiful witch who could merely twitch her nose and make a family crisis or somebody else’s problem take a turn for the better in “Bewitched.”
There were some pretty cool other characters, too, including Samantha’s cynical mother Endora and bumbling Aunt Clara. The Stephens’ nosy next-door neighbor Gladys Kravitz (love that name) was a hoot. The women ruled this show.
And Samantha, without any help from magic, was a 10.
Hey, share some of your favorite characters with me if you get a chance. Do you think anyone will mention Jethro Bodine?
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