Category Archives: Memory Lane

How Alan Thicke turned failure into success

By Ray Bennett Canadian writer and performer Alan Thicke, who died on Tuesday aged 69, was one of the good guys. He found lasting fame on the Eighties sitcom “Growing Pains” but he was multi-faceted and he had to overcome … Continue reading

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Angie Dickinson was TV’s first top female cop

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Angie Dickinson, who turns 85 today, claimed many a young man’s heart in 1959 when, as a woman named Feathers, she squared off in only corset and tights against John Wayne in the great Howard … Continue reading

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Breaking even with Nicol Williamson

By Ray Bennett One afternoon in 2004 or so, I was in one of my local London pubs, The Cock and Bottle in Notting Hill. The saloon bar was empty except for me and the actor Nicol Williamson. We sat … Continue reading

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Mark Harmon always had the right moves

By Ray Bennett LONDON – I first met Mark Harmon, who turns 65 today, when he was 29 years-old and it was clear then that he had the talent and determination to become one of the most enduring and popular … Continue reading

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Why Wilder and Brooks stopped making films together

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks made three films together and each one is regarded as a comedy classic. Neither man achieved the same degree of success on his own but Wilder, who died Monday aged … Continue reading

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‘Jeannie’ Barbara Eden dreamed of being a TV cop

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Barbara Eden, who turns 85 today, is remembered most fondly as the sexy genie in the Sixties sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie” but what she really wanted to be was a TV cop.

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When I spoke to Wonder Woman, she had no clothes on …

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lynda Carter, in her “Wonder Woman” prime, stepped naked and wet from the shower as I said “hello” to begin our interview about life after three seasons as TV’s top female superhero.

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Cheryl Ladd on ‘Charlie’s Angels’, Farrah Fawcett and bikinis

LONDON – Cheryl Ladd, who turns 65 today, was always the most fun and down-to-earth of TV’s “Charlie’s Angels”, friendly and a bit flirty, and she wasn’t catty about Farrah Fawcett when she had every right to be.

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Why Bill Murray had all the good lines in ‘Ghostbusters’

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Bill Murray not only got all the big laughs in the original “Ghostbusters”, he also got the girl and he told reporters at the New York junket for the film in 1984 that it was … Continue reading

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When Gordie Howie pretended that we were buddies

By Ray Bennett LONDON – In Canada, Gordie Howe, who has died aged 88, has long been revered and will always be remembered as Mr. Hockey, the greatest ever ice hockey player. I will always remember the day he made … Continue reading

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