Friday, May 24, 2024

Thespian Torsos

I've recently caught a few re-runs of The Facts of Life that have been airing on one of my retro channels.  The other day, I caught an episode from the show's last season, meaning Mrs. Garrett has left, and her sister Beverly Ann (Cloris Leachman) has taken over as Den mother to the now adult four girls.

I've always been fascinated with Cloris Leachman's career.  I know she's known to most for playing Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but she caught my attention when watching her films on TCM.  I especially loved her in The Last Picture Show and Young Frankenstein.  After recently seeing her as Beverly Ann, I decided to Google and see if there were others films of her I might want to see.

I found a few, but also discovered she had a son whose an actor.  Maybe I knew this before, but I never really made the connection until now.  Actor, now music producer Morgan England is maybe best known for his turn on the soap opera Guiding Light.  I've never seen even a second of the show, so didn't think I'd ever seen him on screen.

Then I made the connection.  I just watched Englund as Bombe when I was putting together my series on the play Picnic.  Englund played the role in the 1988 television production alongside Gregory Harrison and Jennifer Jason-Leigh.  Englund was even in the clip I posted, (HERE:) when I featured the production.  It's always interesting when little moments connect together.

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