Questions
Based on this year's VFF movie program
- Who is the only actor to appear in both the movie and TV versions of M*A*S*H?
- Here's one you won't believe. What someday-famous pop star was a 13-year-old extra in A Hard Day's Night?
- Long after they appeared in the supporting cast of Inherit the Wind, four actors— Harry Morgan, Norman Fell, Claude Akins and Dick York—went on to TV fame and fortune. Indeed, a couple of them became TV legends, appearing in several series. Name as many of their shows as you can.
- What, there are words to the M*A*S*H theme song?
- Did you catch the significance to the casting of Florence Eldridge in Inherit the Wind?
Answers
- Gary Burghoff, (top row, left) who made Radar O'Reilly his signature role. In the movie, Radar is a much darker character.
- Phil Collins (top row, centre), although it's impossible to pick him out among the screaming fans recruited for the audience during the final concert footage.
- Baritone-voiced Harry Morgan was a veteran TV player, co-starring in December Bride, Pete & Gladys, Dragnet, and of course, he was Col. Potter in M*A*S*H. Likewise, Norman Fell was a familiar face on TV through the'60s and '70s, ultimately landing the part of henpecked Mr. Roper on Three's Company. Claude Akins was even more prolific with dozens of TV guest appearances and starring roles on Daniel Boone and Sheriff Lobo. Most recognizable of them all is baby-faced Dick York (top row, right), who, five years after Inherit the Wind, became the first Darrin on Bewitched.
- Yes, indeed. The famous theme song is officially titled "Suicide is Painless," ("Painless" is a reference to the nickname for the M*A*S*H dentist) and only in the movie will you hear it sung with lyrics. The words were written by director Robert Altman's son, Michael, who was 14 at the time.
- Eldridge played the wife of attorney Matthew Brady, who was played by her real life husband, Fredric March (the couple is shown, above). A stage actress, most of Eldridge's movie roles were with him, playing his wife.