Billie Rae Bates's Blog, page 31

Six Feet Under: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

She was a University of Michigan grad? We had no idea. Learn more about the life and death of Ann Davis, known best as Alice the maid on "The Brady Bunch," on the Six Feet Under blog: 

Ann Bradford Davis was born on May 3, 1926 in Schenectady, New York.  Growing up, she had always planned on a career in medicine.  However ... [Read on]

Six Feet Under: Stow it, Dingy!

It's a celebration of actor Vic Tayback of TV's "Alice" and quite a lot more, on the Six Feet Under blog: 

Victor Tayback was born in Brooklyn on January 6, 1930.  He was the son of Syrian immigrants who came to America in the 1920s.  By the ...  [Read on]

Announcing the second edition of the "Shazam!" BRBTV Report

With one mighty word he transforms from the teenage Billy Batson into the powerful hero ... Shazam! Or Captain Marvel, as he was originally called, and as he was called in the 1970s Saturday-morning TV series for kids. This was a live-action half-hour show based on the popular hero of the comic books. And now, as a little TGIF treat this week, BRBTV announces an updated version of its report on the TV show.

The BRBTV Reports are feature-length magazine stories, essentially, not so much "books," though they are sold in a sort of "book" format on Amazon's Kindle platform. But they also include extras like an episode guide, or a cast list, a look maybe at the show's merchandise. And for this "Shazam!" BRBTV Report, you'll see some great content additions from the recent panel discussion of two of the show's stars at the Great Lakes Comic Con in Michigan, as well as updated info on the release of the big-screen movie last year. You'll get the perspectives of the cast members, Jackson Bostwick, Michael Gray and John Davey, on this wonderful kids' show on comics' own "Big Red Cheese."

Happy reading!
Get the Report on Kindle.

Spotted at the mall: the Super Friends, Curious George and more

This author wandered into a unique mall store recently and spotted these TV-show-related goodies. And by unique, I mean "Uneek," as in the name of the store was Uneek Gifts. This was in Metro Detroit, and I have no idea if this is a chain or an independent, but mixed among the various diverse wares were these delights, two of which I purchased. Can you guess which ones?









Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTVCopying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Toyalicious -- that's the only way to describe today's show in Royal Oak

Wow, we're really getting diverse with this crop of TV-related collectibles. Just about any kind of classic TV show you could name was represented there in some way, at the toy show today at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market in Royal Oak, Michigan. Amazing. Not only the regulars like Scooby-Doo, Batman, "The Flintstones," "Happy Days" and "Starsky and Hutch," but we've even got some "Simon and Simon" going on, some "Hong Kong Phooey," "The Cat in the Hat," even "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl." We are going to post even more photos in an album on the Terrific TV Toys Facebook page on Monday, but this will tide you over for now ...














Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTVCopying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Thanks to Dylan for sharing this photo of his Megos!

We see some TV-related goodies in there .... "Charlie's Angels," "Happy Days," "Charmed," "Married With Children" ... any others??? These are figures from Mego Corp.'s reboot of the past couple years, and they're so fun. You've seen a few of them on the Terrific TV Toys series, which premiered on YouTube but is now reairing on Facebook. Come join the fun! And thanks, Dylan! Nice collection!

Coming up in the fall for Tom Wopat: Cooter's Place in Pigeon Forge

Thanks once again to Kimberly for keeping us updated on the comings and goings of our beloved Broadway star and Luke Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard," Mr. Tom Wopat. Here's what's coming up for him later this year:

Cooter's Pigeon Forge for Meet and GreetSaturday, October 10, 2020, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, October 11, 2020, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cooter's Place
177 East Wears Valley Rd Ste 23
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 37863

Diahann Carroll’s belongings to be auctioned off next week

This author and longtime “Dynasty” fan will be bidding on a few of these items; I think there are some jewelry pieces that have my name on them. And you, too, can have an opportunity to own a little slice of the life of revered actress Diahann Carroll, whom we fans of “Dynasty” know as the lovely songstress and half-sister of Blake Carrington, Dominique Deveraux.

Bonhams auction house has listed 150 items from the collection of the award-winning actress and is now accepting bids, with the auction culminating on March 10. Go to Bonhams.com at the link below to see the listings, which don’t include a whole lot of “Dynasty” (a gown she wore to promote the series, for instance), but nevertheless provide some neat insight into the more private side of this longtime star, who died just a few months ago.
Catalog:https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26327/

ChellyWood.com shows you how to care for those precious vintage dolls, and more

If you like to get crafty, maybe want to make something creative with the kids, and especially if you've ever made your own clothing for vintage dolls like some of the ones you've seen on BRBTV's Terrific TV Toys series, then you've got to check out ChellyWood.com. It's where you can find free patterns for clothes to make for dolls of the standard 11-inch variety like Barbie, 8-inch, even 18-inch and more. Pretty much any size doll you've got, you can find a clothing pattern for it.

Chelly Wood did a blog post this week discussing the fact that leaving your doll dressed in her clothes can actually stain her body over time, and as an example of this, she cited our own Dusty doll example from the T3 episode of a few years ago. This author's poor Dusty has expelled some chemicals in her joints, so to speak, over time, and for a while her lovely white slacks were cemented onto her. It happens! Chelly Wood talks about that and more. Thanks for the link-up, Chelly Wood!

Both parts of the "Shazam!" panel are now up!

Happy Monday morning! Time to start off the ole workweek again, and just to cheer you into it a bit, it's both parts of the "Shazam!" panel discussion from this past weekend's Great Lakes Comic Con in Warren, Michigan, where stars Michael Gray and John Davey discuss their time on this 1970s Saturday-morning TV show. This one starts out with Michael Gray telling a couple stories about the late Les Tremayne, who by that point was already a revered classic actor.