Actress Patsy Garrett 1921-2015 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 01-16-2015, 06:41 PM

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Virginia “Patsy” Garrett, a well-known character actress best known as the “chow-chow-chow” lady on the Purina Cat Chow commercials, her recurring roles on TV’s “Nanny and the Professor” and “Room 222” and in the “Benji” movie series, died Jan. 8 after a brief illness in Indio, Calif. She was 93.

Garrett played nosy neighbor Florence Fowler on “Nanny and the Professor” (1970-71), school secretary Miss Hogarth on “Room 222” (1972-73) and Mary Gruber in the “Benji” series of family films beginning in 1974. Her numerous TV appearances from the 1960s through the ’80s included “Family,” “Kojak,” “Medical Center,” “The Waltons,” “Medical Center” and her final TV role as a bigoted mother on Redd Foxx’s “Sanford” in 1981.

U.S. TV audiences of the 1960s and 1970s will remember Garrett for her role in a series of commercial messages as the Purina Cat Chow Lady. A post-production trick involving the controlled forward motion and reversal of the film had Garrett dancing the “chow-chow-chow” with a cat in a good-humored parody of the cha-cha-cha. Garrett also appeared as the mayor’s wife in the 1969 Elvis Presley film “The Trouble With Girls,” which led to a lifelong friendship with the singer.

In the late 1960s, Garrett provided cartoon voiceovers for a number of Hanna-Barbera projects, including “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.”

She most recently appeared onscreen in a small role in the 1991 film “Mississippi Masala.”

Born in Atlantic City, N.J., to parents who were vaudevillians (“Mason & Gwynne”), the actress and singer had her own children’s radio show on a Richmond, Va., station at the age of 7. At age 17, she became a regular on Fred Waring’s national radio show “Pleasure Time” as a comic singer from 1938 to 1945. During this time, she was approached by Cole Porter to promote the now-standard ballad “Begin the Beguine,” which he had written for a new musical.

Garrett was preceded in death by husband Alexander Kokinacis, a composer who wrote under the name Nick Alexander.

She is survived by a son and a daughter, a stepson, and and a number of grandchildren.

Services were held Jan. 13 at Forest Lawn in Cathedral City, Calif.

Donations may be sent to Children’s Playtime Productions at http://www.justgive.org/chowchowchow

Patty Duke · 01-16-2015, 11:16 PM

Marvo301 · 01-17-2015, 05:31 PM

Patsy Garrett

AB · 01-17-2015, 05:45 PM

Rest in peace.

01-16-2015, 06:41 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,362	Actress Patsy Garrett 1921-2015 Link Virginia “Patsy” Garrett, a well-known character actress best known as the “chow-chow-chow” lady on the Purina Cat Chow commercials, her recurring roles on TV’s “Nanny and the Professor” and “Room 222” and in the “Benji” movie series, died Jan. 8 after a brief illness in Indio, Calif. She was 93. Garrett played nosy neighbor Florence Fowler on “Nanny and the Professor” (1970-71), school secretary Miss Hogarth on “Room 222” (1972-73) and Mary Gruber in the “Benji” series of family films beginning in 1974. Her numerous TV appearances from the 1960s through the ’80s included “Family,” “Kojak,” “Medical Center,” “The Waltons,” “Medical Center” and her final TV role as a bigoted mother on Redd Foxx’s “Sanford” in 1981. U.S. TV audiences of the 1960s and 1970s will remember Garrett for her role in a series of commercial messages as the Purina Cat Chow Lady. A post-production trick involving the controlled forward motion and reversal of the film had Garrett dancing the “chow-chow-chow” with a cat in a good-humored parody of the cha-cha-cha. Garrett also appeared as the mayor’s wife in the 1969 Elvis Presley film “The Trouble With Girls,” which led to a lifelong friendship with the singer. In the late 1960s, Garrett provided cartoon voiceovers for a number of Hanna-Barbera projects, including “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.” She most recently appeared onscreen in a small role in the 1991 film “Mississippi Masala.” Born in Atlantic City, N.J., to parents who were vaudevillians (“Mason & Gwynne”), the actress and singer had her own children’s radio show on a Richmond, Va., station at the age of 7. At age 17, she became a regular on Fred Waring’s national radio show “Pleasure Time” as a comic singer from 1938 to 1945. During this time, she was approached by Cole Porter to promote the now-standard ballad “Begin the Beguine,” which he had written for a new musical. Garrett was preceded in death by husband Alexander Kokinacis, a composer who wrote under the name Nick Alexander. She is survived by a son and a daughter, a stepson, and and a number of grandchildren. Services were held Jan. 13 at Forest Lawn in Cathedral City, Calif. Donations may be sent to Children’s Playtime Productions at http://www.justgive.org/chowchowchow
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

01-16-2015, 11:16 PM	#2
Patty Duke Good night, John Boy Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 09, 2013 Location: The Land of Milk and Honey Posts: 788
	__________________ Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

01-17-2015, 05:31 PM	#3
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,452	Patsy Garrett
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

01-17-2015, 05:45 PM	#4
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,429	Rest in peace.