Question: My husband insists that racing celebrity Tommy Ivo appeared on an episode of Leave it to Beaver as a child, but we've never been able to spot him. Any help with this one, oh, wise and wonderful visionary? — Mary S., Ellijay, Ga.
Televisionary: But of course, oh, good-with-the-kissing-up Mary.
Hubby's correct. Ivo, the famed drag racer, first appeared in the Oct. 3, 1959
Beaver episode, "Blind Date Committee," in which Wally headed up (what else?) the blind date committee for a school dance and ended up trying to land a companion for a new girl in town. He played the same character, Duke Hathaway, in the June 11, 1960 episode, "Wally's Play." (See our
Beaver ShowGuide page for info on that and all other episodes.)
And actually, Ivo had quite a show-biz career going in a
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Question: What was the name of the TV show in the '80s that C. Thomas Howell was in? It was a drama with two different families. It is killing me! Please help. — A.K., Walnut Creek, Cal.
Televisionary: Oh, come now, A.K. — killing you? Usually that's caused by remembering most of the Howell oeuvre, not forgetting it.
Anyway, you're thinking of Two Marriages, a drama that ran on ABC from August 1983 to the following April. It focused on two families in the Iowa suburbs: the Daleys, Jim (Tom Mason) and Ann (Karen Carlson), and the Armstrongs, Art (Michael Murphy) and Nancy (read more
Here's a shocker: A film no one has ever heard of won top honors at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend. Gus Van Sant's Elephant, a drama about U.S. students coping with gun violence in their schools, was awarded the coveted Golden Palm prize for best picture.
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Question: On this week's season finale of CSI: Miami one of the escaped prisoners (the child molester) looked so familiar. I think he was on a sitcom but for the life of me I can't remember where I've seen him before. Please help! — K.M., Hamden, Conn.
Televisionary: Actor William O'Leary may have played a murderous child molester on the May 19 episode of CBS's hit crime drama (a role he first tackled for the show last Oct. in the "Broken" episode), but he did some much lighter guest-acting as Marty Taylor, Tim's youngest brother on Home Improvement, from 1994-99. You may also have caught him in guest appearances on series like Dear John, Miracles NYPD Blue, Matlock or
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Question: I would like to know what happened to Tremors, the series on the Sci-Fi Channel. Are they ever going to bring it back? Right now they are showing Stargate SG-1 in the time slot. — Kim V., Warren, Mich.
Televisionary: The good news is that new episodes of Tremors: The Series return on June 20 at 8 pm/ET, Kim. However, beyond that the show's future remains up in the air. The network has aired about half of the 13 Tremors episodes produced, but has made no decision on whether or not more will be on the way, a spokeswoman tells me.
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Question: I was wondering when Angels in America will appear on television. It seems like a racy play for network television, especially with strong homosexual issues that make Will & Grace look like Pillow Talk. — Sean, Burke, Va.
Televisionary: It is indeed a racy play for network TV — too racy, in fact, which is why it'll be on HBO when it debuts in December. A six-hour miniseries adapted by Tony Kushner from his acclaimed play, it's directed by Mike Nichols and stars Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, read more
Question: I've got a question that will set you up for a dirty joke, I'm sure, but when I was a kid I swear I had a Partridge Family love kit. I'm sure it got thrown out years ago, but no one else I know has ever heard of such a thing. Did I imagine it? — Lisa M., Newberry, S.C.
Televisionary: Dirty joke? This is a family column, Lisa. I don't work blue — what do you think I am? (As the old gag says: Don't answer that.)
No, you didn't imagine it. After the hit sitcom launched on ABC in September 1970, a wave of Partridge merchandise hit the American public, which bought it all and asked for more. A good portion of that wave was based on teen heartthrob David Cassidy (Keith), and it included a two-dollar "David Cassidy Love Kit." Those who bought said kit were the proud owners of "a life-size, full-length portrait; an a
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