Peter Bonerz
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
In the television world, there are a group of sitcoms that I strongly consider to be my shows. Some are obvious, some are not, and a few are very obscure. Among the not-so-obscure are the four major TV series starring one of my all-time comic idols Bob Newhart. The earliest of these series is The Bob Newhart Show, the story of a Chicago psychologist trying to survive amidst a bevy of crazies. Peter Bonerz played the role of Jerry Robinson, orthodontist inhabiting the same office building of Bob’s. Mr. Bonerz also made cameos on two of Newhart’s later series Bob and George & Leo. Read the rest of this entry »
As a huge Honeymooners fan, I’ve always recognized that although Jackie Gleason and Art Carney always portrayed Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton respecitively, there were four actresses each who played their wives Trixie and Alice. I had always been puzzled as to why I had never seen one single photo of Sue Ann Langdon in her portrayal of Alice (nor Patricia Wilson as Trixie) from the time when Gleason performed Honeymooners sketches on The American Scene Magazine. Pictured at right is a rare shot of Frank Fontaine, June Taylor, Jackie Gleason, and Sue Ann Langdon – but obviously not in character. I later learned one reason that shots of her on the Honeymooners set were uncommon (or possibly non-existant): there were only two episodes of this Honeymooners incarnation. I had always assumed that there was an entire season’s worth of episodes. 
June Allyson was an actress of high caliber, starring in many classic films including Little Women, Royal Wedding, The Glenn Miller Story, My Man Godfrey, and my personal favorite, a little-known short subject that also starred the 
…into an autograph! Because she was pretty and because I often watched Wheel of Fortune while growing up, I sent off an autograph request to the lovely Vanna White on September 12, 1997. I remember this show from the days not long after my age was adding on a second digit – in the days when contestants would take their winnings and ‘go shopping’, buying such an odd assortment of prizes as a vaccum cleaner, a painting of a smoking dog, a trip for two to Merry Old England, and a bag of licorice. Everything was way overpriced, the licorice probably costing about $25. 
Happy Days has always been one of those shows that I had always enjoyed whenever it happened to be on TV, but that I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch. And still, even as the proud owner of the first three seasons of the series, I generally pop it in when I want some ‘comfort food’ sitcoms to grace my screen. But no one who lived through the late 1970’s can forget the Fonzie phenomenon as he made motorcycles, leather jackets, and greasy hair cool again.