Why did Don DeFore and Whitney Blake leave the show?

[Hazel Anyday]

I know! I know! (My hand is wildly waving.) I read that Don actually cut his finger off while he was working in his shop making some wood item, furniture? The electric saw he was using cut off his finger, it had to be sewed back on and his hand was in that cast we see in the first season. So, how'd I do, was I pretty much right?

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by RD4

Well, you all are somewhat in the ballpark as to why my Dad did not continue with the Hazel series. Real answer: he was holding out for more money because he believed that his value was greater than his compensation. Let history be the judge...and when I have time I'll tell you why my Dad had his hand bandaged in several episodes. Hint: It wasn't the dog that bit him :-)

I agree with your Dad. What made Hazel work was the relationship between Hazel and the Baxters ( George and Dorothy). I never did warm up to the new Baxters.

[Michelle66]

Hazel is on Atenna TV which switched today to WDCWDT2 . Thank you Commander Benson for answering what happened to the original Baxters. I tuned in today to a new family with Harold and was so confused.

[peppypacer]

Why did the Baxters even need Hazel or a maid? They had one school age kid and they lived in a regular size house. I guess Mr B hired Hazel because of his wife who worked at decorating once in a blue moon and I guess she didn't want to be bothered with housework. You'd think Hazel would have been a bit nicer to Mr B, he gave her a place to live, a salary and yet she still rudely criticizes him about all sorts of things like his weight, not taking his son to some lame event, etc.

[Hazel Anyday]

First off, I have always wondered, as the person above also notes, Hazel has NO housing bills, no rent, no mortgage, no car (most of the time), no electric, gas, and phone bills, she basically pays for nothing every month except for an occasional pair of shoes. So, here's what I have always wondered, WHY IS HAZEL CONSTANTLY BROKE?? Anytime Hazel has to buy something that costs more than $5 she's suddenly dead broke. No money anywhere, she has to finagle and work around getting the money instead of simply going to the bank and making a small withdrawal on what must be a massive savings account after all the no expense living she does at the Baxters.

That's the first thing, second. (Mind you Hazel is one of my all time favorite shows, so this is not some sourpuss complaining, I really like Hazel, but these are my 2 main long held pet peeves. I watched Hazel when it was on in the '60's and I started watching Hazel again when it finally came back in the late '80's and I've been watching Hazel on weekly basis ever since the '80's, almost 30 years of constant Hazels, it used to be a twice weekly basis ever since I started recording her in the '80's off Family channel and TBS.) OK, back to my second big complaint. If I were Mr. Baxter (either George or Steve, but especially George) I would have fired Hazel the second time she ever did not do what I wanted her to do, undermined me, worked actively against me (as she often does) or contradicted me or insulted me (as she always does). Hazel would have been gone by the second episode of the series. Now this would have made a bad TV sitcom decision but the only wise decision Mr. B could have made if this were real life. No wonder he had high blood pressure. I think the only TV sitcom reason Mr. B didn't fire her was Dorothy's constant threats to leave him if he dared to do the right thing and go against Hazel. Sadly it seems Mr. B was p... whipped.

I think after the end of the current 5th season that I'm now in the middle of, I will finally give my Hazel watching a hiatus. Maybe a year or 2 off and I may then come back to Hazel with more welcoming arms. At this point I boil over every time she goes up against Mr. B. Making me madder is why Mr. B doesn't just fire her. This is my constant question now as I watch this series, this is a change for me. I used to love watching, now, sadly (for me) I don't.

[stevea]

I think you nailed it when you mentioned Dorothy's threats to leave him if he fired Hazel. He knows that Hazel has been with Dorothy since she was a little girl. Letting Hazel go would also devastate Harold.

Remember when George was all set to fire Hazel (I think it was when she blabbed about his judge appointment--a note about that--I really can't blame Hazel for that one, since George didn't tell her to keep it to herself) and she cut him off by saying, "I love you, Mr. B."? She had a way of taking the wind out of his sails, and this one was particularly touching.

On the other hand, I try to put myself in George's place when she ordered him to bed (and, on top of that, Mr. Griffin). I think she would be gone, if that had been me.

[1960'sTVfan]

I look at it from the viewpoint that it's a TV show. This was Shirley Booth's show, she was the star, so of course Hazel would never be fired even though there might have been times she would have deserved to be fired. Poor Mr. Baxter, whether it be George or Steve, they might have been the men of their households but Hazel was the boss and really the one in charge. I like watching the show but Hazel's buttinsky ways can get irritating after awhile.

[biffbronson]

I think sometimes when we watch multiple eps, we lose the sense of more gentle familiarity the viewers originally got -- what was originally not TOO tiresome or stale can become so (I'm currently watching about 15 eps per week: 10 on Antenna and 5 on WHME).

The running gag of Hazel always reminding Mr. B to change his socks is a good example. Combined with the barbs about his weight, Hazel comes off as a persistent nuisance. But I don't think she comes off quite as strong if we're only watching one ep per week, the original pacing. It just reinforces her character.

I like also that Hazel goes right to work on "Mr. Steve [Baxter]" at the start of the final season, counting his vitamin pills to see if he took one. This type of thing shows a really good grasp of the character in the scripting.

[Hazel Anyday]

Ahh, now there, I just boiled again thinking about it. That was a perfect example of where I would have fired Hazel on the spot if she tried force feeding me vitamins, esp. as she did in front of business clients!! Hazel would have been gone in an instant.

This is where I boil everytime when watching nowadays, everytime Hazel acts in her outrageous disrespect of Mr. B's (George or Steve) I want to scream and many times I actually do yell out, FIRE HER! I tell you I really need to take a break from watching Hazel, I never used to feel like this when watching, but now I just blow my top FOR Mr. B and am furious they don't speak up and fire her after repeated offenses. (And yes I did cut my Hazel watching down to once a week for the past couple of years since I was getting so angry almost every time I watched. But it hasn't changed me, the once a week plan didn't work, I still get furious.

Maybe I'm just getting old and no longer have patience with people like this, because I used to love watching Hazel, I really did, I never had this reaction of extreme anger. I'm worried about me. )

[Monorail 2 Mayberry]

I realize this thread was started MANY years ago, but since I see recent posts, I will add my 2 cents. As a child I HATED this show (now 55)... but as an adult, I realize it's always interesting, FAR more than ... say... Dennis the Menace, or "I Love Lucy" for the MILLIONTH rerun! (By the way, don't get me started about Andy Griffith reruns, where ME-TV shows ONLY the black and white ones, and IGNORES the better color ones. Incidentally, I prefer Mayberry RFD over Andy Griffith ANY day.) But back to Hazel... George was never a favorite, and although I liked Ray Fulmer as Steve, he seemed a slightly angry man to me, or was that just my imagination? I sometimes felt like he would explode at any minute! But overall, yes, Hazel could be annoying. But I still watch every day...

[Chip J]

Well, I am somewhat of a new fan to Hazel (I may have seen it years ago in reruns when I was a kid, I just don't remember). However, I will say I think the first four seasons were the best. The chemistry with Shirley Booth, Whitney Blake and Don DeFore was just right. I didn't get the same sense with Ray Fulmer and the actress who played his wife (don't recall her name right now). That's just my opinion though.

[NoraBatty]

I personally love Hazel and enjoy watching the series everyday on Antenna Tv. It's "feel good" tv! I'm somewhat new to the show 🎥 coming across it by accident and have been hooked since. I much rather watch classic shows from the 50s & 60s with better morale and family standards then the crap that is on TV nowadays. Even with her stepping out of bounds on most occasions with Mr. B, the bond the Baxter's have with Hazel is wonderful. For me this brings back memories of simplier times that I wish was still here of love and family 💖.

[TMC]

There are several theories that I've heard regarding what happened behind the scenes during the final season. The consensus seems to be that when the show changed networks, a younger family was desired by the brass. Don DeFore was considered too old to attract younger viewers whereas the more attractive and "hunky" Ray Fulmer was a draw. Consequently, Whitney Blake was out, too.

Other theories include the fact that Lynn Borden and Fulmer were cheaper than DeFore and Blake. Also, there's a rumor that rumor that Whitney Blake got wind the 1965-66 season would be the series last, so she refused to renew her contract in retaliation. Of course, that meant the end of Don DeFore too.

[PracTz]

While I'm not about to argue what Miss Booth's role may have been re the Mr. and Mrs. B. leaving/getting kicked out, I have to say that I like that she seemed to have gone to bat to keep the young performer, Mr. Buntrock in the last season when they could have easily had Hazel join an entirely new family! I wonder if she kept up with him and knew about his too-early-death as soon as it happened (as Miss Blake did NOT keep up with the performer playing her son and evidently only learned about the death roughly a decade later when an interviewer mentioned it while I have no idea re Mr. De Fore's bond with Mr. Buntrock).

[i29u]

I think I read on another web site that Shirley did not find out about Bobby's death until 1985- and I also seem to have read on the Internet that Don Defore didn't find out for more than a decade.