Craig Zablo

Burt Metcalfe died on Wednesday, July 27th at the age of 87.  Mr. Metcalfe was an actor, writer, director and producer.

Burt Metcalfe began his career as an actor with an uncredited role in The Bridges at Toko-Ri.  That was followed by roles on the tv series The Man Behind the Badge and General Electric Theater.  Mr. Metcalfe was then drafted and spent two years in the Navy.  Burt Metcalfe then resumed his acting career.  Some of his roles included parts on Gidget; Have Gun, Will Travel; Death Valley Days; The Twilight Zone; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; The Outer Limits; Perry Mason; The Fugitive and the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever.

Burt Metcalfe was recruited to serve as the casting agent for the television series M*A*S*H.  He was given the title Associate Producer.  Mr. Metcalfe would go on to serve as a writer, Associate Producer, Line Producer and Executive Producer of M*A*S*H.  In fact Burt Metcalfe was the only Producer to stay with the series for its entire run.  Mr. Metcalfe was nominated 13 times for Primetime Emmy Awards for his work as a writer on the series!  He even returned to serve as the executive producer for the M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Special in 2002.

It’s interesting that Burt Metcalfe  was a successful actor but then transitioned to behind the camera work where he experienced even more success.  Mr. Metcalfe appears in one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street!

Ken Levine, who worked with Mr. Metcalfe as a writer on M*A*S*H has a nice write-up about him.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Burt Metcalfe’s family, friends and fans.

Tony Dow, best known for playing Wally Clever on the television series Leave It to Beaver, died today from complications caused by cancer.  Mr. Dow was 77.

Tony Dow earned the role of Wally Cleaver despite little acting experience.  Mr. Dow played Beaver’s older brother throughout the series run from 1957 to 1963.  He reprised the role in a television movie and the subsequent series The New Leave It to Beaver which ran from 1983 – 1989.

When the original Leave It to Beaver series ended, Mr. Dow continued to act making guest appearances on television series such as Dr. Kildare, My Three Sons and Never Too Young.  From 1965 – 1968, Mr. Dow served in the National Guard.  When Mr. Dow returned to acting he alternated between television and feature films.  Appearances include: Adam 12, Love American Style, The Mod Squad, Emergency, Death Scream, General Hospital, Kentucky Fried Movie, Quincy, Murder She Wrote, Knight Rider, The New Leave It to Beaver, Charles in Charge, Freddie’s Nightmares and Diagnosis Murder.

Mr. Dow also wrote an episode of The New Leave It to Beaver, directed episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Babylon 5, Get a Life and Coach.  He was also a producer on The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space and It Came from Outer Space II.  In addition Mr. Dow was an accomplished sculptor.

Had Tony Dow only played Wally Cleaver in his career, he would merit mention.  His portrayal of Wally Clever made such a huge impact on the many kids who watched the show.  I’m sure that parents would admonish their unruly children to be more like Wally.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tony Dow’s family, friends and fans.

Paul Sorvino died yesterday at the age of 83.  No cause of death was given.

Paul Sorvino began his career acting on the stage.  He appeared in his first feature film in 1970 and his first television role took place a year later.  His talent was such that he was never out of work and alternated between stage, television and feature films for the rest of his career.

Feature films that were graced by Paul Sorvino include: The Panic in Needle Park, The Day of the Dolphin, The Gambler, Oh God!, Bloodbrothers, Reds, I the Jury, Dick Tracy, Goodfellas, The Rocketeer, The Firm and Nixon.

Television appearances include: We’ll Get By (13 episodes), The Streets of San Francisco,  Bert D’Angelo/Superstar (11 episodes), Moonlighting, The Oldest Rookie (14 episodes), Murder She Wrote, Law & Order (31 episodes), Star Trek: The Next Generation, That Championship Season (also directed), That’s Life (36 episodes), Still Standing (4 episodes), The Goldbergs, Bad Blood (6 episodes) and Godfather of Harlem (11 episodes).

When most folks think of Paul Sorvino his roles in Goodfellas or The Rocketeer most often come to mind.  For me, it’s his role as ‘Chubby’ De Coco in Bloodbrothers.  There’s a scene where Richard Gere is trapped in an apartment and guys are waiting to beat him up.  Gere calls his brother (Sorvino) who comes over charging up the stairs yelling that he hasn’t killed anyone since the war.  The guys waiting for Gere are scared off.  The scene cracked me up and made me take notice of Mr. Sorvino.  I was always happy to see his name show up in the credits of anything I was getting ready to watch.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Paul Sorvino’s family, friends and fans.