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An area where fans from all over can ask each other questions and voice their own ideas and opinions on anything Columbo.

This Forum is fondly dedicated in memory of  "cassavetes45"  (Carleen Zink),
Columbo's greatest fan and a great friend to us all.
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Alex Benedict's Backyard

I just finished watching an episode of McCloud on the Chicago Superstation WGN. It was entitled Sharks!. Well, I am watching right along and then there is a shot of a house....It was Alex Benedict's house from Etude! There were 2 exterior shots of the front of the house..and then there was one scene that was shot in the back...lots of trimmed hedges and a large sculptured fountain...and McCloud is talking to the guy who lives there....and I just said to myself...get out of Alex's backyard!!!
As a friend pointed out to me J D Cannon, who starred as police Chief Clifford recently passed away.

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Lol! Was the date of this episode after "Etude in Black"? Alex's wife was so devastated when she found out the truth, maybe she sold the house and bought a condo.

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

I think you may be right, laura11!!

That McCloud episode originally aired on February 23,1975..And Etude aired on September 17,1972....So I guess Janice Benedict went condo shopping!!

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

I suppose she couldn't have afforded to keep the house by herself..and what with the memories and all that. Actually, does anyone know if the wife of Alex Benedict would have received any kind of financial aid etc?

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Paul..I don't know about financial aid for poor Janice...where would it come from?......But I would think that her mother, Lizzie Fielding, would have kept her financially safe...if she only stayed out of the gin!!!

One other thing.....I love this forum for a lot of reasons..but one thing that tickles me so much is when we talk about these people as if they were actual human beings!!! ......I don't know...I just find it kinda cool....

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Hmm. I just happen to be sitting here playing canasta with Lizzy Fielding. She wants to know what you mean by "as if they were actual human beings."

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Ok laura, you just tell Lizzie to put down the gin bottle and also the canasta cards and have her realize that she is a character in a tv episode....and if she gives you any flack..let me know!!

Now that being said...Miss Myrna Loy..was the tops!!! She was a wonderful actress...a beauty...and so much more!!

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

heh heh...okay, we'll deal you in.

i agree. i love myrna loy. i wish i had grown up to be just like her.

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

aahh...me too laura..she was wonderful.

Re: Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Manhattan Melodrama, the Thin Man movies. She was great! She and William Powell worked so well together.

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

weren't they great together....oh wow...she was really a great dramatic actress as well as a comedic actress..and she was so adorable to boot!! she never overdid her part..she always played it by her book...and it was a great book!!

Re: Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

I have always enjoyed Myrna Loy, she always played the type of woman a man always wanted. Always great in the "Thin Man" series. I also have enjoyed her in:

-The Best Years of Our Lives. One of my top 10 favorite films.

-Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Great with Cary Grant.

-The April Fools. A really funny film with Jack Lemmon. A small part with Charles Boyer as her husband, but very entertaining.

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

The Best Years Of Our Lives was one of my parent's favorites....I love it too. And I just recently saw Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House....sadly I only saw part of it....but it was really a goodie!! And she was just so natural...I love when she is discussing the wallpaper and stuff...she was cool.

Re: Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

[The Best Years Of Our Lives was one of my parent's favorites]

Believe it or not I remember seeing the film in the movies with my grandmother, mainly because of the Harold Russell character, the sailor who lost both hands and had hook replacements. He was great, and won an Oscar for his performance. He actually was in the Army, and lost his hands as a demoltion instructor. The film had great acting and dialogue. Homers wedding scene is a real tear jerker....

Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Wow...what a nice memory of seeing it with your grandmother..very sweet.....
And that guy wasn't even an actor right? He was wonderful in it.

Re: Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

No he wasn't an actor, but played the part perfect.

Harold Russell
Harold John Russell (b. January 14, 1914 at Sydney, Nova Scotia, d. January 29, 2002 at Needham, Massachusetts) was a Canadian-American World War II veteran who became one of only two non-professional actors to win an Academy Award for acting.

Harold Russell was born in Canada and moved to Massachusetts with his family in 1933. He was so profoundly affected by the attack on Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the Army on December 8, 1941.

While on a training mission in 1944, some dynamite used for the mission exploded in his hands. As a result, he lost both hands and was given two hooks to serve as hands. During his recovery, a film called Diary of a Sergeant was made featuring Russell.

When film director William Wyler saw the film on Russell, he cast him in the film The Best Years of Our Lives starring Fredric March and Myrna Loy. Russell played the role of Homer Parrish, a soldier who lost both hands during the War.

For his role as Parrish, Russell won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1947. He was also awarded an honorary Oscar for "bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans." It was the only time the Academy awarded two Oscars for the same role.

Upon completion of the film, Wyler told Russell to return to school since there "weren't many roles for actors without hands." Russell later graduated from Boston University.

Russell appeared in only two other films after his debut, Inside Moves in 1980 and Dogtown in 1997. He also appeared in a two-part episode of the television series China Beach in 1989.

Russell became active in AMVETS, serving three terms as National Commander. As such, he wrote to President Truman in 1951, supporting his decision to dismiss General MacArthur. In his letter, Russell wrote: "The issue is whether the ultimate civil authority of the United States can tolerate actions in contempt of constitutional lines of authority. Any lessening of civil power over military power must inevitably lead away from democracy."

In 1992, Russell needed money for his wife's medical expenses. In a controversial decision, he sold his Oscar to a private collector for $60,500. Russell defended his action, saying: "I don't know why anybody would be critical. My wife's health is much more important than sentimental reasons. The movie will be here, even if Oscar isn't." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences now requires all Oscar receipients to sign an agreement forbidding them from selling their award.




Re: Alex Benedict's Backyard

Thanks so much Mrs. Peck. That was really nice of you to post that......really very interesting...I guess the thing that touched me the most was the last bit about him selling his Oscar to pay for his wife's medical care....I think that was beautiful...and I don't see anything wrong with it...it was a caring sacrifice that he made for her....