Hoppy Easter!

We're almost ready to say goodbye to March and enjoy the oncoming spring weather (and it cannot come soon enough!) One of the touchstones of the season is Easter and we're marking the occasion with a handful of publicity portraits that range from the cute to the corny to the campy. Thanks to little Shirley Temple for serving as our cover girl this time out!

Little Jon Provost seems to have temporarily shifted his attention from his pal Lassie (1957-1964), though I'm sure his canine companion will still rescue him when this killer bunny turns on the poor boy!

1930s actress Jean Parker (of Little Women, 1933, and others) gets into the spirit of 
 things with both a bunny suit and some eggs to decorate.

Dancing film star Vera-Ellen (of On the Town, 1949, and White Christmas, 1954) explores other artistic endeavors such as painting.

A young Susan Hayward gets cozy with a furry Easter bunny in this seasonal publicity shot.

Miss Ann Miller stumbles on one serious Easter egg during this 1946 hunt!

Starlet-turned-character actress Jeff Donnell (the onetime wife of Aldo Ray and of In a Lonely Place, 1950) sports an angora crop top in her Easter-time publicity photo!

Tim Conway (then of McHale's Navy, 1962-1966) has his hands full not only with a sizable Easter egg, but also with a curvy starlet named Chickie Lane!

Marianna Hill (of Medium Cool, 1969, and High Plains Drifter, 1973) gets her inner bunny on.

Eggs (and legs!) for days, courtesy of Phyllis Elizabeth Davis, then popping up in Last of the Secret Agents? (1966) with Marty Allen & Steve Rossi, but soon to appear in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) and later Vega$ (1978-1981.)

It's rather rare to see a star like Elizabeth Taylor in a shot this goofy. She clearly had not quite reached A-level status at the time of this photo shoot.

I love the colors in this publicity portrait of pretty Pat Crowley (then of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, 1965-1967.)

Gorgeous and sweet Sharon Tate has her hands on an unusual Easter bunny in this portrait.

Though Robert Morse wasn't seen in the animated special The First Easter Rabbit (1976), he sorta has the teeth for the role of Stuffy, a plush bunny who comes to life and delivers eggs to everyone(!)

This promotional photo of Sally Struthers was released during the run of the (now practically forgotten) All in the Family spin-off sitcom Gloria (1982-1983.)

Here we find Sandy Duncan during the time she was starring on the convoluted sitcom Valerie. Named for star Valerie Harper, it was changed to Valerie's Family when Harper was suddenly fired (!), with Duncan brought in as the (now-dead) Harper's sister-in-law. Next it was called The Hogans before settling on The Hogan Family. Somehow, despite all the brouhaha, the show ran from 1986-1990.

Because having male and female Easter bunnies in formal dress at Walt Disney World isn't quite kitschy enough, we have to deck out Joan Lunden in a drapey 1980s concoction and throw in Alan Thicke as her cohost for a televised Easter parade! (The Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade, 1988.)

Finally, we leave you with the boys (Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges) of Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986) as they pitch in on painting up some oversized Easter eggs. We hope your holiday is a hoppy one and will be back soon with more show business fun!