Question: My father and I were chatting about Clint Eastwood's talent for directing actors to Academy Awards, now I'm wondering which director has directed the most actors to Oscar victories. My father is thinking William Wyler. Is he right?
Answer: Yes, he is: It's William Wyler. He directed 31 actors and actresses in performances that earned them Academy Award nominations. Bette Davis (Jezebel), Fay Bainter (Jezebel), Greer Garson (Mrs. Min
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Question: Who costarred on the old TV show To Catch a Thief with Robert Wagner? I say it was Eddie Albert, but my husband insists it was Norman Fell. Thanks much.
Answer: Well, I insist that both of you need a little straightening out, Ms. Wendy. For one thing, To Catch a Thief was the Hitchcock film that starred Cary Grant and Grace Kelly as a former high-class thief and the socialite who had designs on him. It Takes a Thief was the Wagner vehicle that swiped the basic concept and made it into a series, which ran on ABC's schedule from January 1968 to September 1970. The general setup was that high-end thief Alexander Mundy (Wagner) was cooling his heels in prison but was offered a chance to work for the government on clandestine operations. Since tooling around Europe and living the high life with various gorgeous babes was more
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Question: I enjoyed the Flipper column where you talked about their using female dolphins, but it got me wondering. What about Arnold, the pig on Green Acres? Boy or girl?
Answer: As you might expect, the rule for pigs was the same as it was with dolphins: Girls (or "gilts" in pig-breeding lingo) may not be made of sugar, spice and everything nice like their human counterparts, but they are easier to deal with. The first pig to play Arnold, farmer Fred Ziffel's brilliant and adorable oinker on CBS' 1965-71 rural sitcom, was male, but after that it was all ladies. And that included the Arnold doubles and stand-ins (not counting the cardboard ones used to set up and light shots), which numbered anywhere from two to four per season.
The reason for the high Arnold turnover is that pigs stop being cute o
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