#lawrence dobkin

[sigurism]

John Davis Chandler The Rifleman: The Executioner Dir: Lawrence Dobkin

[radondoran]

Happy birthday to my favorite radio actor, Larry Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002)!

Character actor Lawrence Dobkin was a frequent supporting player in radio, with hundreds of credits across dozens of different programs. He appeared in over 170 episodes of Gunsmoke, playing all kinds of characters from gunmen to gentlemen. Other shows where he was often heard include Escape; Romance; Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; The Whistler; Let George Do It; Frontier Gentleman; Fort Laramie; Have Gun, Will Travel; NBC University Theatre; etc.

Larry Dobkin's only leading role in a radio series was the title sleuth in Ellery Queen from February 1947 to April 1948--and even there he wasn't exactly a headliner, because, in keeping with the pseudonymous source material, the show was always coy about identifying the actors who played Ellery. You might recognize him as Lieutenant Matthews on The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the first of three main Archie Goodwins on The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, Dave on The Man From Homicide, or Pat McCracken (usually) on Johnny Dollar--and if you ask me, his most memorable and lovable radio character was Louie, the Brooklyn cabbie who sometimes played sidekick to Vincent Price on The Adventures of the Saint.

Dobkin also played numerous roles in film and television and later did writing and directing work for television.

Here are a few of my favorite radio episodes featuring Larry Dobkin:

Ellery Queen 1947-12-04 "Man in the Street": A swindler is murdered before Inspector Queen and Ellery can put him in jail. Whodunit? There were only about ten thousand people with a motive!

The Saint 1950-11-19 "No Hiding Place": The Saint tries to help a young man who has escaped from prison after several attempts on his life. Who framed him, who's out to get him, and why? (Louie isn't in this episode as much as in some others, but the lines he does get include some of my favorite lines ever, and anyway I think it's one of the strongest episodes of the series.)

Escape 1949-07-07 "The Fourth Man": Dobkin narrates this classic story of three "civilized" men adrift on a raft in the tropics, battling thirst and each other while their "savage" pilot calmly sits by.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective 1949-07-09: An escaped convict, bent on revenge against Richard Diamond, kidnaps Diamond's girlfriend.

Philip Marlowe 1950-01-21 "The Bid for Freedom": A woman has escaped from an asylum, and now her husband is in danger of being murdered. Or maybe it's not that simple.

Philip Marlowe 1950-07-28 "The Glass Donkey": Lieutenant Matthews calls to ask about a girl Marlowe used to date--a girl who's just been murdered. It's real personal as Marlowe offers his services to find out why a nice girl had to die.

Philip Marlowe 1951-08-18 "The Young Man's Fancy": There's no murder in this somewhat atypical Philip Marlowe episode by Kathleen Hite. Marlowe goes out for Moscow Mule ingredients, and gets involved in the family troubles of the nice old man from whom he buys his limes.

The Story of Dr. Kildare 1950-10-25: A madman with a gun is holed up inside a school building. Dr. Kildare goes in after him, while Dr. Gillespie scrambles to remotely diagnose a mental illness without ever talking to the patient.

Gunsmoke 1952-06-28 "The Ride Back": This recently rediscovered Gunsmoke episode is almost entirely a radio play for only two voices, as Marshall Dillon brings a twisted killer through hostile Indian country.

Gunsmoke 1952-08-02 "Renegade White": Matt goes after a white man who's been selling guns to Indians, and winds up a prisoner of the Indians himself.

Gunsmoke 1953-02-21 "Meshougah": Matt and Chester find a whole town held hostage by a crazed killer and his gang of outlaws.

Fort Laramie 1956-05-13 "War Correspondent": A smart newspaperman from the East tags along with Captain Quince, hoping to show the folks back home a fair picture of life on the frontier. He's got a lot to learn!

Fort Laramie 1956-06-03 "Don't Kick My Horse": One of Captain Quince's soldiers is a meek little man whose only friend is his horse. He's been in the cavalry ten years, and it's time for a new horse. Dude is not ready to accept this. Tragedy ensues.

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 1956-01-09 – 1956-01-13 "The Todd Matter": A tip on an old burglary leads Johnny into a very fresh shooting. Dobkin plays five roles in this story (two of them in close proximity) and what always strikes me is that he doesn't do five radically different voices--he doesn't even change his accent very much! He just acts each character so completely that you're not even inclined to pay attention to the actor.

Have Gun, Will Travel 1958-12-14 "The Outlaw": Paladin makes a deal with a convicted killer who wants to see his newborn son before being hanged.

Suspense 1954-07-27 "Destruction": "And it had a kind of warmth to it, this dying…" A strange, melancholy, poetic script by radio noir greats Fine and Friedkin, about a pathetic little man at the end of his rope.

[kwebtv]

From the Golden Age of Television

France's Greatest Detective - ABC - May 16, 1955

A presentation of "TV Readers Digest" Season 1 Episode 18

Drama

Running Time: 30 minutes

Stars:

Arthur Franz as Alphonse Bertillion

Lawrence Dobkin as Renault

Ian MacDonald as Andrieux

Edgar Barrier as Camecasse

Philip Van Zandt as Boyoval

Peter Brocco as Jacques

Gene Reynolds as Hugo

Paul Frees as Vigeois

Claude Akins as Dupont

Belle Mitchell as Emilie

[perfettamentechic]

28 ottobre … ricordiamo …

28 ottobre … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2022: Heinz Winkler, cuoco e imprenditore italiano. Nato a Bressanone, nel 1978 si trasferì in Germania Ovest. Divenne il più giovane chef a ottenere tre stelle nella guida Michelin, nel 1981, a soli 32 anni, oltre che il primo italiano in assoluto. Nel 1991 aprì l’Hotel Residenz Heinz Winkler ad Aschau in Chiemgau: l’annesso ristorante ottenne tre stelle Michelin. Si specializzò nella cucina…

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY & THE CRIMINALS

Lucy’s Encounters with the Criminal Underworld ~ Part 1

To add drama and an element of danger to her sitcoms, Lucy would often encounter burglars, thieves, robbers, and other criminals.  Here’s a look at some of those on the ‘other side of the law’ in early Lucycoms. 

“The Burglar” (1947) ~ Lucille Ball guest stars on the radio show “The Smiths of Hollywood” starring Arthur Treacher and Brenda Marshall. At Lucille Ball’s home, a burglar and a concerned neighbor break in!  

BILL: “By the time he finishes off that Scotch, you’ll wish the real burglar had gotten in!”  BURGLAR: “I am in.”  LUCY (screams): “They’re coming through the woodwork!”

“The Fur Coat” (1951) ~ To get an expensive fur back from Lucy, Ricky enlists Fred to paly a burglar to steal it back. Naturally a real burglar (Ben Weldon) shows up on the same night! 

“New Neighbors” (1952) ~ Lucy believes the actors who move in to the building are actually dangerous spies intent on blowing up the capitol. This leads to a shoot-out with the police. Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens play the couple. 

“The Kleptomaniac” (1952) ~ When Lucy is caught collecting household items for the club’s tag sale, Ricky and Fred believe she is a kleptomaniac, a theif who steals uncontrolably. Lucy finds out about their misapprehension and decides to teach them a lesson by pretending to be real theives - robbing a bank and stealing a baby elephant from the circus. 

“The Publicity Agent” (1952) ~ To get Ricky’s name in the papers, Lucy at first thinks that she should stage a robbery, but after a quick inventory her jewels are only worth $43. 

LUCY: “You know how those Hollywood stars get their name in the paper when their jewels are stolen.” 

This actually happened to Lucille Ball when on tour with Desi in 1950. Their Chicago hotel room was robbed and nearly all Lucy’s jewelry was stolen.

“Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953) ~ Lucy and Ethel are arrested attempting to cut the wires on the roof of their apartment building. At the station, the desk sergeant (Frank Nelson) assumes they are wanted female felons “Pickpocket Pearl and Sticky Fingers Sal”. Later, Sergeant Nelson apologies when he finds out that the criminals are already in prison. 

“Too Many Crooks” (1953) ~ The entire neighborhood is on alert over a prowler nicknamed Madame X.  Ethel thinks it may be Lucy and Lucy thinks it may be Ethel!  Then the real Madame X (Alice Wills) shows up!  The original script had Madame X get away at the end, taking both Ricky and Fred's suits along with her! In the filmed ending, justice is served!  

“Equal Rights” (1953) ~ Over the telephone, Lucy and Ethel pretend to be held up at gunpoint by robbers to get Ricky and Fred to rescue them from washing dishes. But when the boys discover that they were faking, they pretend to be burglars to teach them a lesson. When the police arrive, it is Ricky and Fred who are arrested. 

“Lucy Cries Wolf” (1954) ~ Lucy is overly-worried about her safety during a local crime spree, demanding Ricky demonstrate her love by protecting her against made-up thieves. Whe real burglars break in and kidnap her, Ricky and the Mertzes think Lucy is just ‘yelling tiger’ - Ricky’s version of ‘crying wolf’!  The same two actors who played the policeman in “Equal Rights” (Fred Aldrich and Louis Nicoletti) turn to the darkside here as the burglars. 

“The Great Train Robbery” (1955) ~ A jewel thief (Harry Bartel) is aboard the train and Lucy is tricked into telling him that there is a jewelry salesman in the next compartment. 

“Paris at Last” (1956) ~ Lucy gets a taste of the dark side of the City of Light. First she encounters a counterfeitter (Lawrence Dobkin)...

Followed immediately by a forger (Shepard Menken), who passes off a mass-produced painting as an original. 

“Off to Florida” (1956) ~ During a rideshare to Florida, Lucy and Ethel hear a radio report about Evelyn Holmby, a hatchet murderess driving south and believe it to be their driver, Edna Grundy, who matches the description. While Lucy and Ethel take a cat nap, Mrs. Grundy hears a report that the hatchet murderess is traveling with a red-haired companion and believes it to be Lucy. Finding a hatchett in the car’s trunk convinces Lucy her hunch is correct. 

“Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (1957) ~ To convince the Spauldings  that they are undesireables and give Ricky his deposit back, Lucy and the Mertzes pretend to be Runyonesque gangsters and Ricky their mob boss!  Believing them, the Spauldings (Eleanor Audley and Frank Wilcox) hold them at gunpoint! 

“K.O. Kitty” (1958) ~ An episode of “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” in which Lucille Ball played a dance teacher who inherits a prize fighter. Two mobsters (Jesse White and Sid Melton) hold Kitty at gunpoint, pressuring her to fix the fight. In the end, the criminals reveal that they are not real mobsters and their guns are nothing but cigarette lighters!

“Sunday Showcase: The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” (1959) ~ Lucy and Desi play the Ricardos on a Milton Berle special on NBC. In the story set in Las Vegas, Lucy gets an expensive ring intended for Mrs. Berle stuck on her finger.   Two jewel thieves (George Macready and Mike Mazurki) approach Lucy and tell her they are jewelry wholesalers. When the ring won’t come off, the thieves pursue Lucy and Berle all around the hotel. 

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 8

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’ve been counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we focus on Number 8: The Saint.

I’ve talked a lot on this countdown of Price’s work on film, and his work on television. However, there’s one avenue of performance Price worked on I haven’t discussed at all yet: radio. Let’s not forget, Price’s career started during radio’s heyday, and while he became most famous for his work in movies and on TV, the actor’s mellifluous voice and versatile range made him an excellent candidate for radio work. He appeared frequently on several classic programs, such as “Escape,” “Suspense!”, and “Lux Radio Theatre,” just to name a few. However, by far my favorite of Vincent’s radio appearances – and one in which he was the undeniable star – was the radio version of the crime and mystery series, “The Saint.” “The Saint” was based on a series of books by Leslie Charteris. In the books, the title character, Simon Templar – a.k.a. “The Saint” – was a so-called “Robin Hood of Modern Crime.” He was a little bit like the Netflix version of Carmen Sandiego: a morally ambiguous gentleman thief who targeted much worse criminals as a way of helping others. For the radio version that ran between 1947 and 1951, however, the concept was changed: Templar now became a more or less standard private detective, who was called “The Saint” due to a combination of his excellent manners, and the good deeds he did for those who needed help most. He was helped on many of his cases by a cab driver, simply named Louie (played by Lawrence Dobkin), who could essentially be considered the Watson to Templar’s Holmes. Onscreen, the Saint has famously been played by actors like George Sanders, Roger Moore, and even Val Kilmer. All of them do a good job, and are admittedly much more accurate to the book version of the character…but for some reason, whenever I think of The Saint, it’s the radio version starring Price that I think of first and foremost. Price plays Templar absolutely perfectly: he has the same sense of sophistication and charisma many of the screen actors have, but he also has a sort of grounded edge to his performance. He’s also INCREDIBLY funny: The Saint radio show was chock full of one-liners and bits of dark humor that are actually still quite amusing to this day, at least in my opinion. The interactions between the Saint and Louie are just wonderful, and the two actors play the voices so illustratively, you can easily see the action in your head without much trouble at all. This is the only case, by the way, of Vincent effectively playing a good guy to make it into my Top 10. (Well…technically speaking, but we’ll get to those technicalities when we get to them.) It's interesting to hear the man play such an unflappably heroic character, and he does so in a way that never makes things dull or daft. Other actors would occasionally step into the role when Price was unavailable – such as Tom Conway, a radio actor known for playing various detectives (including Sherlock Holmes), and Barry Sullivan. They were both good, but in my opinion, Price topped them all. While he may not have been the most accurate depiction of the Saint from the original stories, he is, was, and likely always will be my favorite incarnation. Next to “The Shadow,” this is probably my favorite old time radio program, and Vincent Price is probably the primary reason why. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 7!

[jingszo]

Hosted by Lawrence Dobkin, this lovely documentary gives you a basic look at such subjects like UFOs, Bigfoot, psychic energy, ghosts, ancient aliens, black holes, lost civilizations, even the morals of cloning before it was scientifically possible.

Through interviews, you will meet the people who have experienced such things as alien abduction, hauntings, UFO encounters, and even a woman who claims to be a witch. While the movie might be a little dated, it is no less interesting, especially for those who wonder whether or not aliens have visited this planet or whether ghosts and physic energies are real.

[content-content-log]

Sunday. January 1st. 2023.

Star Trek (1966) - Television - Paramount+ - Season 1, Episode 2 - "Charlie X" (50m)

written by - D.C. Fontana directed by - Lawrence Dobkin

The crew of the Starfleet Enterprise must deal with a 17-year-old found stranded on a planet, who has an uncontrollable temper, and peculiar powers.

Meet Me In the Bathroom (2022) - Documentary - Showtime - (1h45m)

based on the book by Lizzie Goodman directed by - Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern, Andrew Cross, Vivienne Perry, Sam Rice-Edwards

Documenting the Brooklyn music scene in the early post 9/11 days centering the narrative on the meteoric rise of The Strokes.

[byneddiedingo]

Not Wanted (Elmer Clifton, Ida Lupino, 1949) Cast: Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle, Leo Penn, Dorothy Adams, Wheaton Chambers, Ruth Clifford, Ruthelma Stevens, Lawrence Dobkin, Patrick White, Rita Lupino, Audrey Farr, Carole Dunn. Screenplay: Paul Jarrico, Ida Lupino, Malvin Wald. Cinematography: Henry Freulich. Art direction: Charles D. Hall. Film editing: William H. Ziegler. Music: Leith Stevens. Not Wanted, Ida Lupino's first feature as director, begins well (after a gratuitous assertion of the film's moral intentions in a title card), with Sally Kelton (Sally Forrest) trudging uphill toward the camera, a glazed look in her eyes, until she reaches the top, where an infant has been left in a carriage outside a shop. It gurgles and coos at her and Sally can't resist: She picks up the baby and walks away with it, only to be accosted by the mother who calls the cops and has her arrested. In jail, where Sally is thrown in with some tough-looking dames (there's a rather clichéd touch of predatory lesbianism here), she looks at the camera and begins to ponder what brought her to this moment. Cue flashback. The sequence is handled deftly, and we can only assume that it was directed by Lupino instead of the credited Elmer Clifton, who suffered a heart attack three days into shooting the film. Lupino, who was the producer, took over for the rest, but declined credit because she wasn't yet a member of the Directors Guild. The movie also ends well, with an exciting chase sequence in which a guilt-ridden Sally runs from the man who loves her, Drew Baxter (Keefe Brasselle), climbing steps to a bridge that crosses the railroad tracks and at one point threatening to leap onto the tracks below. Only when Drew collapses -- he's a World War II veteran with a prosthetic leg and has struggled to follow her -- does Sally turn and go to him for the inevitable happy ending. What comes between these scenes is often less impressive: a tear-drenched story about a young woman who falls for the wrong man (a musician, of course), gets pregnant, has the baby and gives it up for adoption, and suffers from self-loathing and remorse. To appreciate it we have to remember what was deemed possible for American filmmakers under the Production Code, as well as what was deemed possible for American women of the era. Even within the confines of the "problem picture" compromises, Lupino provides some interesting touches, such as the giddy, speeded-up carousel in the background when when Sally faints -- a sure indication for anyone familiar with movie pregnancy clichés that she's going to have a baby -- and the subjective camera that takes over during Sally's Demerol-numbed labor and delivery. Lupino's ability to think originally even when the material lacks originality is one of her strengths as a director.

[genevieveetguy]

When people love each other, they don't stop loving when things go wrong.

Never Fear, Ida Lupino (1950)

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Patton 1970

[sigurism]

John Davis Chandler The Rifleman: The Executioner Dir: Lawrence Dobkin

[almeriamovies]

“Johnny Yuma” by Romolo Guerrieri (1966) Lawrence Dobkin in Polopos (Lucainena de las Torres), Almeria.

[kwebtv]

The Living Christ Series - NBC - January 7, 1951 - March 25, 1951

Religious Miniseries (12 episodes)

Running Time: 30 minutes

Stars:

Art Gilmore as Narrator

Robert Wilson as Jesus

William Henry as Andrew

Tyler McVey as Simon Peter

Robert Bice as Matthew

Lawrence Dobkin as Caiaphas

Michael Whalen as Simon the Zealot

Lowell Gilmore as Pontius Pilate

Eileen Rowe as Mary the mother

Will Wright as Herod the Great

Martin Balsam as Townsman

John Phillips as Thomas

Paul Picerni as James

Mel Marshall as John

Gayne Whitman as Judas Iscariot

John Alvin as Joseph

Peter Whitney as Herod Antipas

Episodes

Holy Night

Escape to Egypt

Boyhood and Baptism

Men of the Wilderness

Challenge of Faith

Discipleship

Return to Nazareth

Conflict

Fate of John the Baptist

Retreat and Decision

Triumph and Defeat

Crucifixion and Resurrection

[perfettamentechic]

29 aprile … ricordiamo …

29 aprile … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2022: Mike Hagerty, Michael Gerard Hagerty, conosciuto anche come Michael G. Hagerty, attore statunitense. Hagerty è stato sposato con Mary Kathryn. (n.1954) 2022: Joanna Barnes, attrice, scrittore e editorialista statunitense. Si sposò tre volte: con Richard Edward Herndon, con Lawrence Dobkin e con l’architetto Jack Lionel Warner. Non ebbe figli. (n.1934) 2021: Frank McRae, attore e giocatore…

[papermoonloveslucy]

RIP JOANNA BARNES

1933-2022

Joanna Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She moved to Los Angeles soon after finishing her education in 1956, and was put under contract with Columbia Pictures. In the original The Parent Trap (1961) she was gold digger Vicki Robinson. Thirty-seven years later she played Vicki Blake, mother of the new gold digger, in the remake The Parent Trap (1998).

Barnes joined the Desilu family doing an episode of their celebrity interview show, “Here’s Hollywood” in 1961.  She returned for a second episode in 1962. 

In between, she did an episode of “The Untouchables” titled “The 90-Proof Dame.” 

In 1963, she did a week on Desilu’s game show “You Don’t Say” hosted by Tom Kennedy. She was paired with Wendell Corey, who had also done an episode of “The Untouchables”. 

In 1968, just before Lucille Ball sold Desilu to Paramount, Barnes appeared on an episode of “Mannix”, a series shot at Desilu and rescued from cancellation by Lucille Ball. 

Barnes’ second husband was Lawrence Dobkin, who played three roles on “I Love Lucy”:  The Counterfeiter in “Paris at Last” (1956); The Waiter in “Equal Rights” (1953); and Max, the Counter Man in “Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953). Like his wife, he was also in “The Untouchables” doing three episodes. They divorced in 1967.

Barnes’ final screen appearance was in 2000. She died at age 87. She is survived by two sisters, three children, and her dog, Gracie Warner.