You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: I vaguely recall a show called "Happy" about a baby whose thoughts were heard by viewers, sort of like Cleo on "The People's Choice." Am I dreaming?
A: You are not dreaming. “Happy” aired on NBC for a single season in 1960-61. Ronnie Burns and Yvonne Lime played a young couple running a motel and dealing with their infant son Happy (played by twins David and Steven Born). Happy’s observations were shown “through facial expressions and an off-screen voice,” says “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.” This, as you noted, was similar to the device used on “The People’s Choice” (1955-58, NBC), where the basset hound Cleo was commenting.
Q: What happened to Maggie on “Chicago Med”? Someone else is playing her who looks quite a bit like her but isn’t.
A: While the medical drama has undergone a lot of cast changes during its run, that is still Marlyne Barrett playing Maggie Lockwood, as she has since the first episode. But her appearance has changed noticeably, and the actress is being treated for a tumor on her uterus and left ovary. There’s been speculation about plot developments suggesting Maggie was leaving the show. On the other hand, Barrett signed a new contract not long ago and said in a September interview with People that she has continued working: “I start an hour earlier to get my bearings before I start my day,” as well as taking naps and occasional days off.
As for her appearance, she told People, "because of the mass, my mid-range is a different size, so the costume department does an incredible job.” Having shaved her head since the cancer diagnosis, she wears a wig on the show but noted “my character on the show already wears a wig!"
Q: My wife and I were wondering if "The United States of Al" got picked up by anyone, maybe as a midseason replacement somewhere. It is our favorite sitcom.
A: CBS canceled the comedy about an interpreter from Afghanistan moving to Ohio earlier this year, after two seasons on the air. The series encountered controversy over its character portrayal and struggled against the flow of current events. The second-season premiere, for example, was completely rewritten after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover. A top CBS executive said at the time that the creative team was “working hard to find the appropriate tone as the show moves forward.” But after two seasons there was no moving forward for the show, nor have I seen any news about it coming back somewhere.
Q: I have watched “The Real McCoys” with Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna and Kathy Nolan. It seems not long into the show, Nolan’s character Kate was killed off; her husband Luke (played by Crenna) was said to be widowed. Did Kathy Nolan actually die? Or was there a dispute that led to her being written off the show?
A: Nolan, known in more recent years as Kathleen, is 89 years old and still with us as I write this. She has had a successful acting career that also included her presidency of the Screen Actors Guild from 1975 to 1979, the first woman in that post. She left “The Real McCoys" in 1962 after five seasons. Although her time there included a severe fall from a horse that left her hospitalized for months in 1961, one source said she decided to leave the series because she was on a career high. It was also at a time that "McCoys" was facing uncertainties including a change in networks and time slots. With her departure, the series killed off her character — but Nolan went on to plenty of other work.
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