The Times (24/Jan/2008) - Obituary: Suzanne Pleshette
(c) The Times (24/Jan/2008)
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Bodega Bay, California, New York City, New York, Suzanne Pleshette, The Birds (1963)
Obituary: Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette, actress, was born on January 31, 1937. She died of respiratory failure on January 19, 2008, aged 70.
Suzanne Pleshette built an entire career falling foul of animals in movies. She was overshadowed by dogs in the Disney live-action movies The Ugly Dachshund (1966) and The Shaggy DA (1976). She died from a snake bite in the western Nevada Smith (1966) and, most famously, she was pecked to death in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Pleshette played Annie Hayworth, the Bodega Bay schoolteacher and part of an odd romantic triangle in Hitchcock's classic thriller. In the US Pleshette was at least as well known for playing the wife on The Bob Newhart Show (1972 77).
Born in New York City, Pleshette attended New York's High School of Performing Arts and by the late 1950s was working regularly in theatre, film and television. In 1961 she replaced Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker on Broadway. By the time she appeared in The Birds she had been in a host of hit television shows, including Alfred Hitchcock's own show.
zxz Allan Melvin, actor, was born on February 18, 1922. He died on January 17, 2008, aged 84 For three decades Allan Melvin was a staple of US TV comedy series. He was possibly best known as Corporal Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59), playing sidekick to Sergeant Bilko, the arch-schemer created by the show's star.
Melvin also appeared regularly in multiple roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66) and The Andy Griffith Show (1962-67); he played another sergeant in Gomer Pyle, USMC (1965-69); he was Sam, the housekeeper's boyfriend, in The Brady Bunch (1970-73); and Archie Bunker's friend Barney Hefner in All in the Family (1972-79), the American reworking of Till Death Us Do Part, and in its sequel Archie Bunker's Place (1979-83). He also made many guest appearances on such series as Perry Mason (1963-66) and Lost in Space (1966) and regularly provided voices for animation.
