Saturday Morning on the Obituary Page

 The first one to note is the death of actor/comic Ronnie Schell, 94, known for his many television appearances and roles, including Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and a completely forgotten sitcom of the 1960s but one of the best, Good Morning World.  It was an absolute classic and featured Billy De Wolfe, who stole every scene he was in.

He died of natural causes.

Snip:

Schell got his start in entertainment as a stand-up comedian while a senior at San Francisco State University and later performed at supper clubs around the country. He made his television debut in 1959 on "You Bet Your Life," the quiz show hosted by Groucho Marx.

In 1964, he landed the role of Marine Pvt. Duke Slater, the best friend of the title character on "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." Three years later, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in the CBS sitcom "Good Morning World." His other television credits included "That Girl," "General Hospital," "Yes, Dear" and Disney's "Phil of the Future." He also appeared in more than two dozen films, including "The Revenge of the Red Baron" and "Fatal Instinct."

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Film critic, author, television personality, and author Gene Shalit, 100, also passed away.  He was best known for his regular appearances on the Today show.  He had a trademark fuzzy mustache and what can only be termed as frizzy hairstyle, which distinguished him from just about everybody else on the planet.  Unlike the caustic late critic Rex Reed, who died a few weeks ago, Shalit was quite likeable.

He had turned 100 in March.

Snip:

Shalit started his career as a print journalist. He was the senior film critic for Look Magazine and wrote the “What’s Happening?” page for Ladies Home Journal for a dozen years. He published articles in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, TV Guide, Seventeen, Glamour and McCall’s.

He composed and broadcast a daily “Man About Anything” essay on NBC’s coast-to-coast radio network from 1969 to 1982, according to his profile on the “TODAY” show website. He was also a regular panelist on the game shows “What’s My Line?” and “To Tell The Truth.”

In other words, Shalit packed a lot of living in the brief time he had on this earth.

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Good Morning, World Review

I have been enjoying my time up here in Oregon with the family and doing other things. I am finally getting caught up on my television DVDs. I don't always "rush" through them, and I still have some series sets I haven't watched. However, I am finishing up "Good Morning World," a 1967-1968 sitcom created by Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard of "Dick Van Dyke Show" fame. For those not familiar with the former but with the latter, "Good Morning World" was much like the Van Dyke series except the setting was at a radio station instead of a television show. The writing and acting were superior, and the series gave Goldie Hawn one of her first roles. She had a supporting role in the series as a ditzy neighbor of the series DJ Joby Baker and his series wife Julie Parrish (who died in 2003). Hawn was in love with Baker's DJ partner Ronnie Schell (who was seemingly in every television series in the 1960s), but Schell preferred to play the field. Both Schell and Baker worked for station manager Roland Hutton, played by Billy De Wolfe, who really stole this show. Anyway, the series was way ahead of its time and had an influence on later series such as WKRP in Cincinnati.

The high point of this series, in my opinion, was an episode titled "No News is Nude News," but I won't give away the plot. It was so hilarious, I fell on the floor from laughing. This episode, and the show in general, was as funny as anything in television history. What a shame the sitcom lasted only one season.

Joby Baker, born in 1934, ended up quitting show business and is an artist. He is married to Dory Previn, ex-wife of Andre Previn, who in turn was also married to Mia Farrow, who shacked up with Woody Allen before he dumped her for her adopted daughter. Ronnie Schell, born in 1931, is still around and had some commentary about the series on the DVD set. Billy De Wolfe, a superior comic talent, died in 1974.