Here you name some of your TV FACTS

Married With Children--->1.)The bundy name was taken from KING KONG BUNDY the wrestler, and so was mr.rhodes name also taken from another wrestler.2.)The Bundys Address changes alot during the series.

"Green Acres" was based on a radio show called "Gabbeys Green Acres"

the "lost episodes" of "The Honeymooners" weren't really lost. Jackie Gleason knew about them, and was just waiting until "the time was right" to tell about them.

CBS first wanted to do "I Love Lucy" live, and put it on kinescope which was the way that just about all sitcoms were done back then. But Desi Arnez insisted they film it, so it would have lasting value.

Barbera Eden was pregnant during the first season of "I Dream of Jeannie".

Buddy Ebsen was reluctant at first to take on the role of Jed Clammpet in "The Beverly Hillbillies" since he had already played mountain men before (including Georgey Russel in Disneys "The Adventures of Davey Crockett" in the 50s).

Roseanne Barr forced Carsey Warner to change the production team (writers and such) 4 times in the first 3 seasons before she took over fully...

Sherman Hemsley wanted his character to stop calling a Honkey

Bonnie Franklin didn't want Mackenze to play her daughter because she was too TALL

Isabel Sanford was upset when she found that Sherman Hemsley would play her TV husband because he was too small

Dont tell me that Tom Poston who played the caretaker on "Newhart" was originally slated to be Maxwell Smart....I asked you not to tell me that!!!:eek:

Mike and Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch were originally going to be played by Gene Hackman and Joyce Bulifant, respectively, instead of Robert Reed and Florence Henderson. Robert hated the concept of the show since he was a Shakespearean actor, which makes me believe that had the show gone on for a sixth season, Gene should have taken Robert's place (instead of the writers experiencing with fatherlessness), especially given his battles with producer Sherwood Schwartz.

and a picture of Joyce Bullifant (Murrays wife on "THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW") is in the first BB episode, as a picture of the boys former mother, in their bedroom.

Jerry Van Dyke was originally wanted for Gilligan in "GILLIGANS ISLAND" but he looked at the script and called it "the worst piece of crap I ever saw"

Carroll O'Conner was originally wanted for the skipper, but they thought people would feel sorry for Gilligan when the skipper yelled at him.

In "MASH" the picture of Col. Potters wife, Mildred, on Potters desk was actully a picture of Spring Byington, who had starred in a sitcom that Harry Morgan did in the late 50s, called "DECEMBER BRIDE".

Mickey Rooney was first asked to play Archie Bunker on "ALL IN THE FAMILY" but declined when he realized how controversole the show might become.

On "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" Jed was originally supposed to be the dumb one, and Jethro the smart one. I think Buddy Ebsen suggested they switch the roles because it might make the show funnier.

On "MASH" Radar didn't wear glasses at first, but Gary Burghoff suggested he wear them, because he felt Radars eyes would be weak, because of his ESP.

the "doubletalk" that Radar did sometimes, was also his idea. He felt it would make the role funnier.

Alan Alda only agreed to do it once they promised him it wouldn't become, in his words, "Abbott & Costello go to war".

John Ratzenberger was originally wanted for Norm on "Cheers".

William Devane and Julia Duffy were first wanted for Sam & Diane.

Originally, Sam was going to be an ex-football player. They changed it to an ex-baseball player when Ted Danson was hired, since he didn't look like a football player.

Shelly Long was against having Frasier as an inntellect; she thought that having another intellect wouldn't make the show very funny.

Originally, the bar was going to be set in California.

They set "Frasier" in Seattle because they wanted it as far away, geographiccly, from "Cheers".

Kelsey Grammar shaved off the beard that Frasier had in the last season of "CHEERS" because they didn't feel that John Mahoney would be belivable as his father.



The first commercial use of Television was Franklin D. Roosovelt presiding over the opening day ceromonies of the Chicago Worlds Fair, in 1939, where Television was also displayed to the public for the first time. The first experimental broadcasts were the year before, in 1938.

I have read that before they settled on Danica McKellar for Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years the role was originally going to be done by her sister Crystal, who would later play another girlfriend of Kevin's (but more importantly, a nemesis), Becky Slater. What's interesting is that Danica is brunette (unless she did like Ashlee Simpson for the show :lol: :D, which I doubt, by the way, since her picture on her website is brunette), but Crystal is blond!

Bea Benederet first auditioned for the role of Granny on "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES". She didn't get it, but she recomended Irene Ryan for the role. (they were both friends, and had the same agent) As she was walking out, she saw Irene Ryan waiting to audition for the role, also. She pointed to her and said "There's your Granny"!

When Jackie Gleason found out that "THE FLINTSTONES" was loosely based on "THE HONEYMOONERS" he was going to sue Hanna-Barbera, but his lawyer talked him out of it.


This is a fun thread, whoever came up with the idea!:)

QUOTE:Jerry Van Dyke was originally wanted for Gilligan in "GILLIGANS ISLAND" but he looked at the script and called it "the worst piece of crap I ever saw"

Yeah ... and the following year, Jerry Van Dyke went on to star in that classic
television masterpiece (choke!) MY MOTHER THE CAR.

Contrary to popular belief, Captain Kirk never said, "Beam me up, Scotty," in any episode of Star Trek: TOS, but for some reason that became a popular catchphrase from the Star Trek franchise.

"Green Acres" was based on a radio show called "Gabbeys Green Acres"



Actually, it was called "Granby's Green Acres".

Other TV facts I've come across from various books:

I Love Lucy --- Vivian Vance was asked to gain weight so that she would be at least 20 pounds heavier than Lucille Ball in order to make her character more believable.

The idea of Lucy having a baby was frowned upon by CBS network executives. You couldn't say the word 'pregnant' on TV in 1951, so the episode where Lucy tells Ricky he's about to become a father was titled "Lucy Is Enceinte", the French word for pregnant. All subsequent episodes were then carefully screened by a priest, a rabbi, and a minister before receiving further approval.

Beverly Hillbillies --- Bea Benaderet was not given the part of Granny because her figure was too---how shall I put this?---noticeable.

One of the bank's secretaries was played by Sharon Tate. She was hired to play one of the Bradley sisters on "Petticoat Junction" but didn't get the part because she had posed for Playboy a few years earlier. She appeared in a few episodes of "Beverly Hillbillies" before being murdered by Charles Manson and his gang of thugs.

Gilligan's Island --- Raquel Welch, who would have made a perfect Ginger, instead auditioned for the role of Mary Ann and was rejected.

The series was cancelled because CBS wanted to move "Gunsmoke" to a different night and couldn't find room on its schedule.

The Dick Van Dyke Show --- Mary Tyler Moore had wanted to play Danny Thomas's daughter on his hit TV series but was turned down because her nose was too small, hence no one would believe that she was his daughter. While trying to find someone to play Laura Petrie, Carl Reiner suddenly remembered meeting Mary at that same audition and literally dragged her to producer Sheldon Leonard's office to convince him that she was right for the part.

Buddy Sorrell was going to be a teenager, working as an intern. When Morey Amsterdam became interested in playing Buddy, the part was rewritten especially for him.

Carl Reiner had made the pilot episode "Head Of The Family" hoping he would play Rob Petrie, but quickly realized he was all wrong. The final decision came down to two men: Dick Van Dyke and Johnny Carson.

(Picture it: Heeeeerrrreee's Robbie! :lol: )

The series was not an immediate hit and was cancelled after its first season because of low ratings. Hoping to save the show, Carl Reiner pleaded with his network bosses for one more chance. CBS agreed with him and moved the show from Tuesday to Wednesday nights after a new series that CBS had high hopes for: "The Beverly Hillbillies". The Clampetts were an instant smash, grabbing the #1 spot in the ratings after only 5 weeks and finished #1 overall for the entire 1962-63 season. With such an impressive lead-in, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" became a hit as well, and was a favorite of TV fans from that point on. At the 1963 Emmy Awards, Van Dyke was named Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Before making his acceptance speech, he looked at the table where the Hillbillies cast was sitting and bowed to them, "Wayne's World" style, out of thanks for keeping his show alive.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show --- Mary Richards was supposed to be divorced. Her character became single because CBS feared that viewers would think that she had divorced Dick Van Dyke.

The Andy Griffith Show --- When the series was about to start, Andy Taylor worked alone as sheriff of Mayberry. That changed when Don Knotts phoned his good friend Andy Griffith after seeing him play Sheriff Taylor on "Make Room For Daddy" and suggested that he could use a deputy.

Bewitched --- The first choice to play Samantha was actress Tammy Grimes.

Dick Sargent (Darrin #2) was supposed to play Darrin from the beginning, but a busy schedule kept him from accepting the part, so Dick York stepped in. Dick York played Darrin until 1968, replaced by Sargent, when he quit due to severe back pain that prevented him from even appearing in certain episodes.

My Three Sons --- Fred MacMurray was not happy about being on TV every week because he already had a busy movie schedule. He had it written in his contract that he would only be willing to work 65 days out of the year. The rest of the time, the cast had no choice but to work around him, so most of the scenes were shot out of sequence.

John Ratzenberger originally read for the part of Norm, but, not getting it, he had to think of a way to get a part ( and a steady job ) and aproached the producers with the line " Does your show have a bar "know-it-all"? Every bar ive been in had a "know-it all." " He convinced them to give the character ( Cliff Claven ) a 2 show trial run, and never looked back.

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - The first two episodes (since it was a sitcom/soap, two episodes were needed as "pilot") were shot in 1974. Norman Lear shopped the show around for nearly two years before settling on first-run syndication. The show premiered in January 1976.

And I know that most people probably don't care, but eh, here are some interesting stories about Irna Phillips, who basically created the soap opera genre...

1. In 1930 Phillips created Painted Dreams, the first radio soap. It aired locally in Chicago. By 1932, it became a big hit and Irna wanted to put it on a national network. WGN refused and Irna took them to court. While the case went on, Irna went on to create the nationally broadcast Today's Children, which, in essence, was a big old ripoff of PD (PD's leading moral figure, Mother Moynihan became Mother Moran, etc.). By 1938, with TC running strong, PD finally made it to CBS, but was cancelled that same year, never getting as big as TC. TC was cancelled shortly after, when Irna's mother passed away. Her mother was the inspiration for both Mother Moynihan and Mother Moran, and therefore Irna cancelled the show out of respect for her memory. She began work on Woman in White.

2. It was while writing Woman in White that Irna began to teach her craft to Agnes Eckhardt Nixon and William J. Bell. Nixon went on to create One Life to Live, All My Children, and Loving. Bell created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.

3. She authorized the publication of the first soap opera "coffee table book" in 1938 when The Guiding Light, which traced the history of the characters on the radio show of the same name (which premiered on January 25, 1937, and is still on television to this day), was published.

4. She created the first network serial for television as well: These Are My Children. TAMC was a ripoff of radio's Today's Children, which was a ripoff of Painted Dreams, which means that the first radio soap also was the first television soap. It was cancelled after merely a month on the air in 1949.

5. Irna found her stride on TV in the 1950s when she brought The Guiding Light and The Brighter Day to TV in 1952 and 1954, respectively. GL is still on the air, while TBD was cancelled after eight years in 1962. They were the first successful radio-to-tv soaps.

6. Irna created the first ever 30-minute soap in 1956 with As the World Turns. She used the extended format (all other soaps up until ATWT were 15 minutes long) to explore character development and to perfectly set up plots that made sense. The same day ATWT premiered, The Edge of Night (created by Irving Vendig and based on "Perry Mason") made its debut, making it the second 30-minute soap on the air. At first, critic and viewers were turned off by the concept; critics believed that the average soap opera viewer did not have the attention span for 30 minutes. By 1958, ATWT became the highest rated soap on the air, a spot it would hold until 1978. EON ended its run in 1984 while ATWT recently celebrated 50 years on the air.

7. In 1964, Irna created Another World for Proctor & Gamble Productions (which already produced GL, ATWT, EON, and the Roy Windsor-created Search for Tomorrow) and CBS. Originally, AW was concieved as a sister show to ATWT, but when CBS had no room on its schedule, NBC picked it up and most ties to ATWT were severed, besides several characters mentioning Oakdale (ATWT's setting) in conversation. AW had a slow start but eventually became a huge success when Agnes Nixon became headwriter in 1965. The show enjoyed a healthy run, ending in 1999.

8. Agnes Nixon, one of Irna's proteges, created her own soap in 1965 for PGP and NBC. Set in a small Pennsylvania town, the show focused on a widowed doctor and his family, a well-to-do clan, and a mother-daughter duo. The show was not picked up. In 1968, ABC wanted Nixon to create a show and she came up with One Life to Live, the first soap to regularly tackle social issues. In 1969, ABC wanted another Agnes Nixon soap, but they wanted to put it on the air by January of 1970. Agnes panicked until her husband told her to use the 1965 show she created. She turned it in to ABC and they loved the soap, which ended up being All My Children. Both shows became hits and have been a back-to-back institution since 1977. Incidentally, while headwriting AW after the original AMC failed, Nixon put the mother-daughter duo from AMC on AW, naming them Ada and Rachel. When AMC finally saw light five years later, she retained the characters, naming the mother Mona and the daughter Erica Kane. She went on to create Loving (1983-1995; 1995-1997 as The City) with Douglas Marland and continues to be a consultant at AMC, her "baby."

9. Irna Phillips also dabbled in primetime. She was responsible, with Paul Monash, for bringing Peyton Place from the big screen to televison in 1964. In 1965, she created the first, and only, nighttime show spun-off from a daytime soap: Our Private World, which focused on largely popular ATWT character Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi, played by Eileen Fulton. The limited run series ended the same year and Fulton returned to ATWT, where she remains to this day.

10. Within months of ATWT being on the air, Irna fired lead actress Helen Wagner (who played Nancy Hughes) because she didn't like the way Helen poured coffee (conversations over coffee and tea were vital parts of ATWT in its first ten years). Helen had CBS on her side and she was quickly rehired. Helen played the role regularly until 1981, when she and leading Don McLaughlin left because the show was focusing too much on younger characters. They returned in 1985 (McLaughlin died the next year) and Helen Wagner still portrays Nancy Hughes today, giving her the record for playing the same character for the longest amount of time in all of television.

11. Irna watched her own soaps regularly to make sure the shows followed her vision. After watching ATWT one afternoon, she was very disappointed in the episode. She picked up the phone and dialed the show's main offices. A receptionist answered with the greeting "As the World Turns!" to which Irna responded "Not today it didn't!"

12. Irna did not have much respect for the actors and actresses on her soaps, despite being an actress on most of her radio shows. She discouraged her stars to go by their real names in public and drove ATWT star Rosemary Prinz to a nervous breakdown. When GL executive producer Lucy Ferri became fed up with Irna's endless butting in, she stopped accepting her phone calls (Irna oversaw all of her soaps from Chicago; the shows taped in NYC). Eileen Fulton dropped a script one the ground one day, but a PGP executive quickly picked it up so that Irna would not become angry. One day, after an ATWT episode aired, Irna called Rosemary Prinz and belittled her for several minutes. Kay Campbell, who was on ATWT at the time, refused a GL role to avoid working with Irna.

13. She fired an actor from Another World simply because she did not like the way he looked.

14. In the 50s, CBS was experimenting with color television. They wanted to use an episode of The Guiding Light for the experiment. Irna was appalled because she did not have any control over the matter. Vindictively, she had the entire color episode set in a hospital with black, grey and white walls. All of the characters wore black, grey, and white clothes. Needless to say, no one could tell if the show was in color or black and white.

15. In 1958, Irna killed off a very popular GL character in hopes that fans would tune out and run to ATWT, which was yet to find its fans. ATWT's ratings shot up soon after and when angry GL fans sent in protest letters, Irna sent her own letter out to the fans, which, in almost poetic style, began with "You have only to look around you, read your daily papers, to realize that we cannot, any of us, live with life alone..."

16. By 1971, Irna was old news. Her adopted daughter, Katherine Phillips, went on the create the one-year wonder soap A World Apart in 1970 for ABC, which was similar to Irna's life as it focused on a soap opera headwriter.

17. The same year, ATWT began to suffer a minor ratings decrease (brought on by exciting plots from General Hospital and Another World). CBS brought Irna back as headwriter to help refocus the show and keep it on top. When she learned that popular actress Jane House was appearing naked on Broadway while working on ATWT, she proceeded to kill her character, Elizabeth Talbot, off the show. Fans protested and CBS made Irna write in a miracle for Liz to live. Jane House left the show soon after, but Irna continued to hate the character of Liz Talbot. Realizing that fans wouldn't care if she killed off Liz if she was played by a different actress, Irna proceeded to go through with her plans. It resulted in perhaps the most bizarre death ever in daytime history: Elizabeth Talbot ruptured her spleen while falling up the stairs. Needless to say, CBS and PGP were not amused and Irna was fired. Before she was fired, she attempted to pair main character Bob Hughes with the sister of his wife (Jennifer his wife; Kim her sister). CBS and fans refused to let it happen and Bob stayed with Jennifer. Ironically, Bob and Kim were eventually paired together in the late 80s under Douglas Marland and have become one of the most beloved couples in the show's history.

18. Irna died in December 1973. At the time, the world of daytime was changing drastically. Irna's stories of good, moral heroines braving life seemed outdated as youth-themed soaps such as AMC and Y&R became more popular. Because of this, Irna did not want people to know that she had died. When Harding Lemay (then headwriter of AW) found out that no one had written her obituary, he and his wife put something together for the New York Times. Agnes Nixon learned of Irna's death when she failed to recieve a Christmas phone call from her.

Ah, I love the world of daytime...

saturday night live's weekend update segment was originally going to have producer lorne michaels in the anchor chair it seemes that lorne worte it for himself as a way to keep preforming on tv as he had done in his native canada but at the last minute he backed out and gave the update desk to chevy chase. also heres a werid fact for all that 70s show fans the first choice for the role of red forman was karate master chuck norris but he had to back out when cbs renewed walker texas ranger for that season

Contrary to popular belief, Captain Kirk never said, "Beam me up, Scotty," in any episode of Star Trek: TOS, but for some reason that became a popular catchphrase from the Star Trek franchise.acctully, Kirk WAS going to end "STAR TREK VI" (the last "original crew" movie) with that line; but Paramount-the company that "owns" STAR TREK-had a "shake-up" in upper managment, and they (the new guys in charge) ended up using an entirely different story for the movie.

Actually, it was called "Granby's Green Acres".

Other TV facts I've come across from various books:

I Love Lucy --- Vivian Vance was asked to gain weight so that she would be at least 20 pounds heavier than Lucille Ball in order to make her character more believable.

The idea of Lucy having a baby was frowned upon by CBS network executives. You couldn't say the word 'pregnant' on TV in 1951, so the episode where Lucy tells Ricky he's about to become a father was titled "Lucy Is Enceinte", the French word for pregnant. All subsequent episodes were then carefully screened by a priest, a rabbi, and a minister before receiving further approval.

Beverly Hillbillies --- Bea Benaderet was not given the part of Granny because her figure was too---how shall I put this?---noticeable.

One of the bank's secretaries was played by Sharon Tate. She was hired to play one of the Bradley sisters on "Petticoat Junction" but didn't get the part because she had posed for Playboy a few years earlier. She appeared in a few episodes of "Beverly Hillbillies" before being murdered by Charles Manson and his gang of thugs.

Gilligan's Island --- Raquel Welch, who would have made a perfect Ginger, instead auditioned for the role of Mary Ann and was rejected.

The series was cancelled because CBS wanted to move "Gunsmoke" to a different night and couldn't find room on its schedule.

The Dick Van Dyke Show --- Mary Tyler Moore had wanted to play Danny Thomas's daughter on his hit TV series but was turned down because her nose was too small, hence no one would believe that she was his daughter. While trying to find someone to play Laura Petrie, Carl Reiner suddenly remembered meeting Mary at that same audition and literally dragged her to producer Sheldon Leonard's office to convince him that she was right for the part.

Buddy Sorrell was going to be a teenager, working as an intern. When Morey Amsterdam became interested in playing Buddy, the part was rewritten especially for him.

Carl Reiner had made the pilot episode "Head Of The Family" hoping he would play Rob Petrie, but quickly realized he was all wrong. The final decision came down to two men: Dick Van Dyke and Johnny Carson.

(Picture it: Heeeeerrrreee's Robbie! :lol: )

The series was not an immediate hit and was cancelled after its first season because of low ratings. Hoping to save the show, Carl Reiner pleaded with his network bosses for one more chance. CBS agreed with him and moved the show from Tuesday to Wednesday nights after a new series that CBS had high hopes for: "The Beverly Hillbillies". The Clampetts were an instant smash, grabbing the #1 spot in the ratings after only 5 weeks and finished #1 overall for the entire 1962-63 season. With such an impressive lead-in, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" became a hit as well, and was a favorite of TV fans from that point on. At the 1963 Emmy Awards, Van Dyke was named Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Before making his acceptance speech, he looked at the table where the Hillbillies cast was sitting and bowed to them, "Wayne's World" style, out of thanks for keeping his show alive.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show --- Mary Richards was supposed to be divorced. Her character became single because CBS feared that viewers would think that she had divorced Dick Van Dyke.

The Andy Griffith Show --- When the series was about to start, Andy Taylor worked alone as sheriff of Mayberry. That changed when Don Knotts phoned his good friend Andy Griffith after seeing him play Sheriff Taylor on "Make Room For Daddy" and suggested that he could use a deputy.

Bewitched --- The first choice to play Samantha was actress Tammy Grimes.

Dick Sargent (Darrin #2) was supposed to play Darrin from the beginning, but a busy schedule kept him from accepting the part, so Dick York stepped in. Dick York played Darrin until 1968, replaced by Sargent, when he quit due to severe back pain that prevented him from even appearing in certain episodes.

My Three Sons --- Fred MacMurray was not happy about being on TV every week because he already had a busy movie schedule. He had it written in his contract that he would only be willing to work 65 days out of the year. The rest of the time, the cast had no choice but to work around him, so most of the scenes were shot out of sequence.ok; just a few corrections: with "THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW" they also didn't want her divorced, because divorce was a hot topic on TV in 1970.

about "THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW" it was the shows sponsor, PROCTOR & GAMBLE, who cannceled it after the first season (back then, sponsors had a lot more "say" in the fate of a show) But Sheldon Lenoard, the producer, went to the P & G headquarters and litteraly BEGGED them to reconsider. They did, but only said they'd sponsor part of the show. So, they got the American Tobbaco Company to sponsor it with them.

After Carl Reiner made the pilot episode-"HEAD OF THE FAMILY"-and CBS decided to go with it, he thought about it and realized he didn't want to go on playing Rob Petrie ("PEETRIE" in the episode) so that's when they got Dick Van Dyke, etc...

It was Danny Thomas who suggested Mary Tyler Moore for Laura Petrie, not Carl Reiner. (Carl auditioned her and realized she was perfect, then brought her into Sheldon Leanords office to see what he thought).
Dannys line to the producers was "Who was that girl with the 3 names and the funny nose"?:lol:

Concerning Buddy Ebsen(Jed Clampett) I read that he would not play the part if they made him look like a fool.

Isabel Sanford was about 20 years older than Sherman Hemsley.

Someone mentioned that Jackie Gleason wanted to sue Hanna Barbara. Well he al;so wanted to sue Marvin Gaye for his recording "How Sweet It Is"(to be loved by you) because he felt that it was plagarism. I think that Gleason (though funny and talented) was full of himself.:rolleyes:

Hanna-Barbera did the animation for the openings of both "I Love Lucy" and "Bewitched" and Depatti-Frelang did the opening of "I Dream of Jeannie"