Benjamonster's TV

The great Bob Newhart passed away yesterday at the age of 94. In a career lasting over 60 years, he went from a little-remembered variety show to finally earning an Emmy Award for guesting on The Big Bang Theory . But it was what he did in-between that landed him among TV icons. He was the star of not one, but two long-running and beloved TV sitcoms, both named for him. The Bob Newhart Show ran from 1972-1978. And while it never got the acclaim or awards as its studio stablemate (and lead-in), The Mary Tyler Moore Show , it became an iconic show that earned legions of fans for its sophistication. Newhart insisted that his on screen persona, Bob Hartley and wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) never had kids because he didn't want the show to be like all the family sitcoms that had mostly dominated the TV landscape since its inception. As a result, the Chicago-set sitcom had a sophistication. It wasn't often racy like the Norman Lear shows, but it was very clearly a show made for adul...

As its season one theme tells us, Rhoda Morgenstern was born in the Bronx, New York in December 1941 (she always felt responsible for World War II). Valerie Harper was born in Suffern, NY in 1939, but she and Rhoda always felt a little bit like the same person, and it was so sad to hear of the passing of the iconic actress today at the age of 80 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was a Tony-nominated stage actress and starred in a handful of other series, but she will always be remembered as Rhoda Morgenstern, first on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then on her spinoff, Rhoda. That role earned her eight straight Emmy nominations and three wins and cemented her as one of TV's greatest characters. While Mary Richards was pure, pretty and perfect, Rhoda was probably the character the audience identified with much more. She was urban, Jewish, struggled with her weight and her dating life, and yet had a sarcastic and funny sensibility about it all. Mary Tyler Moo...

The world lost a TV icon today with the passing of Mary Tyler Moore at the age of 80. When you think of the greatest sitcom actresses of all time, there are two that stand above the rest: Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore. Much of the coverage today has focused on her iconic role on her self-titled show but no tribute of Mary would be complete without talking about her brilliant work first on The Dick Van Dyke Show as Laura Petrie. In an era where TV wives were confined to a stereotypical June Cleaver-style housewife role, Moore and the creators of The Dick Van Dyke Show clearly wanted more. They made her a partner in the marriage and quickly realized she was a gifted comedienne and used it to great effect. Who can forget her classic timing as she rolled in on top of a pile of walnuts or frantically tried to stuff an inflatable raft back in its box or tearfully explained to her husband that she told a TV audience that Alan Brady was bald. We also got to see her become a fashion ...

The versatile and talented Larry Hagman died today at the age of 81 from throat cancer. Hagman was the son of famed actress  Mary Martin and had a long and very successful career in television. He was first known as Major Anthony Nelson, the harried and manic master of Jeannie on the classic 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie . The show was never a major hit in its day but has lived on for decades in syndication. For a lot of people, that could be their best known role but Hagman became iconic as the sinister oilman JR Ewing on the long running primetime soap Dallas from 1978-1991. Hagman's portrayal of JR is one of the most memorable roles of all time and his hard living during that era only further added to the legend. Hagman had a couple unsuccessful series too including the sitcom Here We Go Again (1973) and drama Orleans (1997) but he came back to the forefront of pop culture just this year in TNT's highly praised reboot of Dallas where he put the cowboy...

One of the great classic sitcom actors, Andy Griffith, died today at the age of 86. Griffith's career spanned over 60 years and included television, movies, recording, and stage work. He was a Grammy Award winning artist who recorded many Christian and Gospel albums and was well known for his lead role in the long running drama Matlock (1986-1995). But to most people, he will always be remembered as Sheriff Andy Taylor, the kind moral center of small town Mayberry, NC on the classic sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960-1968. The show was a starring vehicle for Griffith but when the ensemble cast proved to be such an interesting and wacky crew including Don Knotts as Barney Fife and Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, Griffith became the straight man in the show and he did it with excellence. Andy Taylor was always kind, always gentle, and always fair. He was a beacon of moral values in his relationships with his friends, jail dwellers, and especially his son Opie (Ron Ho...