An Old Friend Departs

[klondike]

Hey Guys;

Just found this byte on MSN.com:

'Newhart' Actor Tom Poston Dies at 85
May 1, 4:24 PM EST

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as "Newhart" and "Mork and Mindy," has died. He was 85.

Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of "The Bob Newhart Show," died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.

Poston's run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with "The Steve Allen Show" after Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct "man in the street" interviews with.

Don Knotts was the shaky Mr. Morrison, Louis Nye was the suave, overconfident Gordon Hathaway and Poston's character was so unnerved by the television cameras that he couldn't remember who he was. He won an Emmy playing "The Man Who Can't Remember His Name."

But when Allen moved the show from New York to Los Angeles in 1959, Poston stayed behind.

"Hollywood's not for me right now; I'm a Broadway cat," he told a reporter at the time.

When he did finally move west, he quickly began appearing in variety shows, sitcoms and films.

His movie credits included "Cold Turkey," "The Happy Hooker," "Rabbit Test" and, more recently, "Christmas With the Kranks," "Beethoven's 5th" and "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."

On "Mork and Mindy," which starred Robin Williams as a space alien, Poston was Franklin Delano Bickley, the mindless boozer with the annoying dog. On "Newhart," he was George Utley, the handyman who couldn't fix anything at the New England inn run by Newhart's character. And on Newhart's show "Bob," he was the star's dim-bulb former college roommate.

"These guys are about a half-step behind life's parade," Poston commented in a 1983 interview. "The ink on their instruction sheets is beginning to fade. But they can function and cope and don't realize they are driving people up the walls.

"In ways I don't like to admit, I'm a goof-up myself," Poston continued.

>> There's a "next page" to the MSN coverage, but I'm averse to beaucoup cutting & pasting, so I'll let those who so desire track it down on their own time.
Boy, I sure adored this fella; he was kind of a Boomer icon, in a pleasantly hometown kind of way.
I'll never forget going to see him in the Bill Castle film "Zotz" when I was 8, and being all bummed-out that there were no more plastic, promo Zotz "coins" to pass out with the tickets.
I'd buy one on eBay, but I have a mortgage & a truck payment to cover this month!

Klondike

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I loved Tom Poston. Sorry to hear of his passing, but I'll just bet Suzanne Pleshette helped him enjoy his last remaining years. I think he did some of his funniest stuff on Newhart. Thank you for the info.

[ken123]

Very sad news. I liked him best on the old Steve Allen Show.

[Ayres]

Everyone associated with Steve Allen was so talented. How I wish that his various shows were available on DVD.

It's sad to lose yet another of the ensemble...

[jdb1]

I once saw Poston walking on Park Avenue - he was dressed very nicely, as I recall, in a buff-colored suede jacket and brown trousers. He was quite tall and, just being himself, without being any spacey character we are used to seeing, he was extremely good looking in person.

He is part of my lifelong television experience - I remember him playing Shakespearean comic parts on live TV and of course from the Steve Allen show -- the man who couldn't remember his own name. That was too, too funny.

Sic transit gloria mundi, and all that. He was lovely.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Tom Poston had such great expressions, and his comedic timing was so precise. How great that you got to see him once. I didn't realize he was so tall, but he was cute!

[sandykaypax]

I LOVED him as handyman George Utley on Newhart! Why isn't that series on dvd?

One of my favorite moments from that show is when George gets a boom box and he walks through the lobby of the inn with the box on his shoulder singing "That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it."

Sandy K

[jdb1]

I LOVED him as handyman George Utley on Newhart! Why isn't that series on dvd?

One of my favorite moments from that show is when George gets a boom box and he walks through the lobby of the inn with the box on his shoulder singing "That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it."

Sandy K

And how about on the first Newhart show - where he was Bob's old friend "The Peeper." They thought they were two wild and crazy guys.

I also remember his wonderful performance in the film "Cold Turkey," as the alcoholic rich playboy of the town. In reading over his bio on IMDb, I noted that he was a popular celebrity panelist on many game shows of the 50s and 60s - I had forgotten about that. He was a smart and witty guest.