Thursday, March 25, 2010

3/25 - Eve Plumb

Eve Aline Plumb  - "The Brady Bunch"
Eve Aline Plumb (born April 29, 1958 in Burbank, California) is an American actress and painter. She is also a former child actress. Plumb is best known for her portrayal of Jan Brady in the television sitcom The Brady Bunch.   Eve played Eve Bowers a terminally ill classmate of Buffy and Jody in the Family Affair episode Christmas Came a Little Early.  In the 1969–74 ABC hit series The Brady Bunch, Plumb portrayed Jan Brady, one of three sisters. Various episodes included her character's insecurity over wearing glasses, embarrassment over not having a boyfriend, jealousy of her older sister, Marcia, and concerns over her future appearance.  In 1976, Plumb appeared in the made-for-television movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, and joined the LA-based Groundlings improv comedy troupe.  Plumb was the only original cast member who chose not to participate in the 1976–77 Brady Bunch Hour variety show. During production of the show, Plumb appeared as Beth in NBC productions of Little Women, both a TV movie and a short-lived series.  Plumb worked steadily on stage and in television roles through the 1990s. She appeared in the Saturday morning sitcom Fudge (1995–1997) as the title character's mother, Mrs. Ann Hatcher, and in the movie Fudge-A-Mania (1997). She was also the original Pam Burkhart on That '70s Show (only seen in episode 6 "The Keg"). In addition, Plumb made a cameo appearance in the 1988 movie I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.  She appeared as one of the "Strangers" on the December 18, 2006 premiere episode of the NBC game show Identity. She was introduced at the start of the show as "Eve Plumb from The Brady Bunch." The contestant incorrectly selected her as an "Academy Award Winner," despite host Penn Jillette cautioning the contestant that The Brady Bunch was a TV show and the Academy Awards were for films. Plumb's actual identity was a painter.  In August 2008, she appeared on an episode of Days of our Lives. In addition to acting, she has been painting for over 20 years and is now enjoying success being carried by select galleries across the country.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

3/18 - Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak visits

Pat Sajak - "Wheel of Fortune"
Pat Sajak was born Patrick Leonard Sajdak on October 26, 1946.  He is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune. Sajak, son of a Polish American trucking foreman, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Joyce, remarried Walter Backal.  He graduated from Farragut High School in 1964 and then went on to Columbia College Chicago while working as a desk clerk at the Palmer House hotel Sajak won a contest on WLS radio's Dick Biondi Show to be a guest "teen deejay". While at Columbia College Chicago, his broadcasting instructor Al Parker told him that a local radio station (WEDC) was looking for a newsman. Sajak applied for the job and was hired to work from midnight to 6:00 AM. In 1968, Sajak joined the U.S. Army, and was sent to Vietnam, where he deejayed on Armed Forces Radio. In 1975, he began DJ'ing at 50,000-watt WSM in Nashville; at the time WSM was playing pop music during the day, and Sajak was the 3:00–5:00pm afternoon personality. Sajak moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to find work, and answered phones as a clerk at numerous hotels while job hunting. Later, in 1977, KNBC-TV in Los Angeles was looking for a weatherman, and spotted Sajak working for NBC affiliate WSM-TV in Nashville. Sajak accepted KNBC's request for him to be a full-time weatherman for the station.  In 1981, Merv Griffin asked Sajak if he would be interested in taking over the duties as emcee of Wheel of Fortune from Chuck Woolery. However, Fred Silverman, then president and CEO of NBC, rejected his hiring, claiming he was "too local", and Merv responded by imposing a moratorium on new tapings until Sajak was hired. Sajak, who had already hosted a few game show pilots, accepted the position. He hosted both the daytime (NBC) and syndicated evening versions of Wheel from 1983 to 1989, and continues to host the latter version. Sajak is  married to  Lesly Brown, a photographer, with whom they have son, Patrick (born September 22, 1990) and a daughter, Maggie (born January 5, 1995). The couple splits time between Severna Park, Maryland and Manhattan Beach, California.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

3/11 - Actress Michele Lee

Michele LeeMichele Lee (born June 24, 1942) is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer , director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera , Knots Landing . She also co-starred with Dean Jones in the 1968 Disney film, The Love Bug . Lee was born Michelle Lee Dusick in Los Angeles, California , the daughter of Sylvia Helen (née Silverstein) and Jack Dusick, a make-up artist. [1] Lee began her career on television in an episode of the late 1950s sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis . She attended Alexander Hamilton High School where she became popular with her class, she in turn also attended the same high school as did Joel Siegel , Al Michaels and Michelle Phillips (who would later co-star with her in Knots Landing ) did. When she was 18, after graduation from high school, she auditioned for the Broadway play Vintage '60. She began appearing in musicals, becoming a star on Broadway at the age of 19 in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the role of "Rosemary", opposite Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee , a role she reprised in the film version. She also appeared in more plays, such as the Los Angeles production of Jerry Herman 's Parade and the Broadway productions of Bravo Giovanni and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife .