TV FLASHBACK : THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER .... 1972.

NBC
Presents
A Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation.

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER ..

Starring
ORSON WELLES as Sheridan Whiteside
JOAN COLLINS as Lorraine Sheldon
LEE REMICK as Maggie Cutler
DON KNOTTS as DR Bradley
PETER HASKELL as Bert Jefferson
MARY WICKES as Nurse Preen
MARTY FELDMAN as Banjo
MICHAEL GOUGH as Beverly Carlton
 .........................................................

JOAN as LORRAINE Calls Sheridan

LORRAINE tries to keep her chin up as Sheridan rambles on!

When international orator Sheridan Whiteside accepts an invitation to dinner with the Stanley's, a prominent Ohio family, the scene is set for upheavel of the highest order! Whiteside slips on some ice approaching their house and apparently breaks his leg, thus threatening a lawsuit. With Whiteside, is his faithful but tolerant secretary Maggie Cutler, who sparks up a friendship with local newspaper editor Bert Jefferson, to the annoyance of Whiteside, who is now confined to a wheelchair and decides to upset the whole household for devilment and fun! When the doctor calls and tells him his leg is fine, the old goat bribes him to say otherwise, so he can continue with his mischief making! Into the scene comes sex-pot actress Lorraine Sheldon, who is more than a match for Whiteside and the fun and games really begin, with the family regretting inviting - The Man Who Came To Dinner!!
 This 1972 TV production, although set in America, this was filmed in England by ATV as part of the long running "Hallmark Hall Of Fame" strand of movies and specials, which first appeared on American television at Christmas 1951 with the opera, " Amahl and the Night Visitors", and by 1955 it began it's regular series of 90 to 120 minutes movies/specials... 

JOAN puts the finishing touches to LORRAINE

LORRAINE makes her entrance

"The Man Who Came To Dinner" first appeared on the Broadway stage in 1939 and was written by the legendary duo of George S Kaufman & Moss Hart, as a comedy in three acts. Orson Welles heads the cast in this production and he claimed to have been offered the role of Sheridan in both the stage version and the now classic 1942 film. But he rejected them and Monty Wooley played the part in both. Welles commented that he was glad he had not done either, of the film he said it was "Awful".. Joan was asked to play the role of Lorraine Sheldon by director Buzz Kulik, whom she knew since they worked together on the David Janssen thriller "Warning Shot"... Joan was delighted to take the role as a wonderful cast was assembled. However much as she was delighted to be working with the legendary Welles, she was also in awe of his great presence. However as Joan recalled, Orson was not the easiest to work with..

Hotline to JOAN!

JOAN on set

" Orson and I were rehearsing one scene which included a longish speech, which he had to preform to me. I was standing on my correct mark when all of a sudden he ended the speech with ... ' I cant read the rest of the lines because Miss Collins is standing in front of the damn cue cards!'
I was mortified! 'But I am standing where I am supposed to be!'
It was pointless arguing as Orson was the star and made sure everyone knew it, even poor Don Knotts had his best scenes cut, as not to upstage the great Welles!"

JOAN on set

The cast rehearsed for three weeks and Orson insisted on reading all his lines from large cue cards which two students from RADA had to hold up for ages..Welles was also fond of red wine as he consumed endless cups of the stuff..Taping of the show was slated to last only three days but as Welles was difficult and still consuming the red wine even during taping, the shoot lasted almost six days. Joan was delighted when Kitty Carlisle paid a visit to the set and told her how she loved Joan's performance as Lorraine and she had seen every actress who played the part since it's original run from Carol Goodner in 1939 to Ann Sheridan in 1942 and other over the years... Actress Mary Wickes who plays Nurse Preen, also appeared in the original stage version and the film playing the same character...

DON KNOTTS barely gets a look in as JOAN is overcome by ORSON'S presence!

Although the production has a stagey feel, the excellent cast makes it an interesting view and Joan is in sparkling form as the selfish, vain Lorraine, with the late Lee Remick as Maggie, the complete opposite in temperament to the vampish Miss Sheldon.... Probably not screened in many years, but worth seeking out if you can find a copy!! 

ON THE SET : THE EXECUTIONER ... 1970

This rare shot pictures Joan in a pensive mood between takes on the set of the 1970 Columbia Picture "The Executioner" which co-starred George Peppard...

EVENT FLASHBACK : INFAMOUS BOOK SIGNING .. SAM'S CLUB .. DULUTH...1996

This rare flyer features a date on Joan's book tour of America in 1996 to promote the hardback edition of her novel "Infamous"... This stop on the tour was at Sam's Club in Duluth on March 20th 1996.. This location is a members only club on the lines of the European cash & carry!

TV FLASHBACK : THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW ... 1974

MERV GRIFFIN PROMO AD

ELEGANT JOAN

DINA MERRILL

ANN MILLER

"The Merv Griffin Show" returned to TV in this form in 1972 and ran until 1986 and also won 3 daytime Emmy awards. Joan has made a couple of more appearances on the show during her "Dynasty" days. I have not seen this edition, so I don't know if Joan was promoting anything or just on as she had been friends with Merv for many years. Merv was also the regular walker of Eva Gabor, another good frirnd of Joan, both sadly no longer with us. Other guests on this edition were elegant Dina Merrill and the much missed legendary Ann Miller. I don't have any photos from this episode, but wanted to post it for the record, as where!

PARTY JOAN : MONIKA BACARDI BIRTHDAY PARTY. THE BYBLOS ST TROPEZ 28TH JULY 2010

JOAN with IVANA & ANGELA

JOAN & IVANA

JOAN with ANGELA

JOAN & IVANA TRUMP

JOAN & PERCY

Joan and Percy along with Joan's daughter-in-law Angela attended the birthday party of  socialite Monika Bacardi at the legendary Hotel Byblos in St Tropez, last night..... Joan met up with some old friends including Ivana Trump..

TV FLASHBACK : THE DAVID FROST SHOW ... 1972

Joan appeared on an edition of David Frost's nightly chat show, which ran from 1969 to 1972 , this ninety minute show featured a host of stars and Joan appeared along with star of "Gunsmoke", Amanda Blake.. and George Plimpton and rock group Three Dog Night... Like the previous post, I do not have any photo's at present from this show.. As it was 1972, Joan may have been on to promote her appearance in the classic chiller "Tales From The Crypt"....

ON THE COVER : THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE.... MARCH 2006 .

This glamorous cover, which is pure Joan, is from the March 5th issue of "The Observer Magazine"... Inside was an interesting article entitled... "From Bitches To Riches".....

"The Observer Magazine" is issued weekly on Sunday's with "The Guardian" newspaper....

TV FLASHBACK : ALL KINDS OF MUSIC .... 1970 .. ATV TELEVISION

RUSS CONWAY

DANA

JOAN

JULIE ROGERS

HARRY. H. CORBETT

INDIA ADAMS

STUART DAMON

NICHOLAS PARSONS

FRANK IFIELD

As I mentioned previously I do not have material on all of Joan's appearances, but for the sake of continuity will feature those shows also.. This show screened on British television in November of 1970, was a benefit for CHAD (Cheshire Alliance for Disabled ).. Joan was a presenter at this gala which also featured singers India Adams, Dana, The Settlers, Julie Rogers and Frank Ifield, with appearances by Russ Conway, Harry H Corbett, Stuart Damon, Ronald Fraser and Nicholas Parsons among others.. As I don't have any photos from the actual show, shown are some of the artists involved....

ON THE COVER : NEW STATESMAN ... JUNE 2004

This cover from June 2004 features Joan and broadcaster/politician Robert Kilroy Silk on the cover as Joan was linked to his UKIP party for a short period... This magazine is politics based....

BETWEEN THE COVERS : TV BABYLON ..1984..

Over the years Joan has appeared on the cover of various books, other than her own, plus she has been mentioned in various books by people she has worked with. I have many of those books and would like to start a new thread featuring such books.  Today Joan is featured on the cover of this popular 1984 book "TV BABYLON" by Jeff Rovin, who at that time was one of America's leading writers about TV. As well as writing for such popular publications such as Ladies Home Journal, Video Movies and TV-Cable Week, he has also written best-selling biographies of Richard Pryor and Joan herself in 1984. The cover of "TV Babylon" features a photo used in the shoot for the cover of the paperback edition of the revised "Past Imperfect"..  TV Babylon features stars who have either committed suicide, became drunks or died in tragic circumstances.. Joan has her own chapter entitled "The Ultimate TV Bitch!".. Here is an edited version of the chapter..

" There are two kinds of people in TV Babylon, the survivors and the dead. The survivors, those who don't gulp down an overdose of pills or put a slug in their brain, cope with TV Babylon in two ways...by capitulating to the powers that be..or by kicking, screaming and fighting until the people around them give in from sheer exasperation. Joan Collins of "Dynasty" is the premier example of an actress who kicked and screamed her way to stardom.. TV Guide once noted of the character she plays, Alexis Carrington Colby, that "when she flings herself assertively onto an oversized white sofa and crosses her shapely legs all in one motion, we know that Alexis is out for blood or money." Of course Joan Collins has paid her dues..in spades. For most of her career, she has had to develop a thick skin to survive the years of bad films and anonymous work in television, where it was often a struggle to earn a living.. Ironically things finally got going for Collins in the late 70's when she made the low budget film's "The Stud" and "The Bitch" and she then was offered the role in "Dynasty"...In fact when Collin's agent phoned to tell her about the role, among the first words out of his mouth was "She's a bitch!"...Goodness and sweetness won't help you to survive in the peculiar land of TV Babylon..Joan Collins has learned to roll with the punches. She has learned to sell herself as a bitch goddess and to stay in control of her own image... Which, as we shall see, is as neat a trick as there is in Babylon!!
Apart from Joan also featured in the book are...Inger Stevens.. Nick Adams.. Freddie Prinze.. John Belushi.. Brenda Benet.. George Reeves.. Pete Duel.. Jack Cassidy.. Bruce Lee.. Barbara Colby.. Boris Sagal.. Sal Mineo.. Farrah Fawcett..James Garner.. Robert Blake.. Mackenzie Phillips.. Dick Van Dyke.. David Soul.. Sid Caesar.. Robert Young.. Rod Serling.. Pernell Roberts.. Lorne Greene.. Mary Tyler Moore.. Suzanne Somers.. Lynda Carter and many more....

EVENT ALERT: FETISH AT THE LA SHORTS FEST JULY 2010..

Good luck to Charles & Joan and the entire team of  "Fetish which will get it's first screening tonight, Monday July 26th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres on Sunset Blvd. "Fetish" will screen in the Program 22 strand from 5:30.

TV FLASHBACK : THE MOVIE GAME ... APRIL 1970

JAN MURRAY

GALE STORM

JILL ST JOHN

SHARON FARRELL

Between her many film and television appearances, Joan appeared on many of the popular game-shows over the years.  Much as I would love to, I don't have photos from all of her game-show appearances, however to keep the thread in sequence will feature them anyway.. Joan guested on this short lived show in 1970. The game here was based on the classic movie trivia parlor game, where contestants answered a series of movie based questions. The show first aired in 1969 with kids show host Sonny Fox, but he was not to popular with viewers and was replaced with host Larry Blyden..  Other guests appearing with Joan on this edition were.. Sharon Farrell, Jill St John, Stu Gilliam, Jan Murray and Gale Storm.. Army Archerd was a regular guest on the show.  As I don't have any images or video of Joan on the show, click above to see a clip from the show featuring Hollywood legend Shelley Winters...

ON THE COVER : YOU MAGAZINE ... SEPTEMBER 2009

This cover from the Irish Daily Mail You magazine from September 2009, features a suitably glamorous 50's photo of Joan and her pet poodle, which was used for the cover of the coffee table book " Dogs in Vogue: A Century of Canine Chic". Inside the magazine featured more photos from the book featuring celebrities and their pets.. 

TV FLASHBACK : MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ... NICOLE .. 1969

                                                                                                                                                                       
Paramount Television
Presents
A Desilu Production

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE .....

" NICOLE"
Starring
PETER GRAVES as Jim Phelps

MARTIN LANDAU as Rollin Hand
BARBARA BAIN as Cinnamon Carter
GREG MORRIS as Barney Collier
PETER LUPUS as Willy Armitage
   Guest starring....
JOAN COLLINS  as Nicole Vedette
LOGAN RAMSEY as Anton Valdas
ANN SHOEMAKER as Madame Prokov
DAL JENKINS as Razoff
JAMES NC CALLION as Sparrow

The mission is to get hold of a master list of all of the Allied agents who have defected...one man has the list, Anton Valdas, the enemy's highest ranking intelligence minister. The contact for Jim and Rollin's is Nicole Vedette, who happens to be Valda's secretary. Nicole is working as a double agent and Jim becomes attracted to her, but can they both survive the mission to forge a new romance? On a Mission Impossible, there is danger around every corner and only the strong will survive!

"Mission Impossible" first aired on CBS television on September 1966 and is now among the few truly cult classic series. Created by Bruce Gellar, it began life in script form as "Briggs Squad" and was inspired by the 1964 movie "Topkapi"...The script was given to Desilu Productions, where Desi and Lucy sat up all night going through scripts for the coming season and they liked the idea of the show, which was now retitled "Mission Impossible".. Lucy commented .."while she liked the script..she did not quite understand it!".. Joan appeared in the third season, which by then had become a hit and very popular with viewers.. By this time the show had also become very expensive, for it's time to produce and almost always went over it's $185,000 an episode budget..Star Barbara Bain won her third Emmy award for her role as Cinnamon Carter, but by the end of the season, both she and husband Martin Landau had decided to leave the series..
In this episode, Joan's character Nicole Vedette is shot in the climax, Star Peter Graves recalled..
" Marty (Landau), had caught up with us and she dies in my arms. I figured it was about time to shed a tear or two! So I am trying to squeeze out a trear and I look up at Marty and there are tears streaming down his face! I said to him...'What are you doing..Crying in my goddam scene!'
Landau explains.....
" Well! I was moved! Tears were just flowing- But I don't think I was on camera!"
After eight seasons and as rating had fallen, the team completed their final mission in February of 1973.. although the series was revived with Peter Graves in the 80's and of course the blockbuster movies with Tom Cruise.. But they are not a patch on the style and quality casting of the original "Missions"......