Pop Quiz: Trekking on with the Celebrity Name Chain

Yes, I know I just did one of these. Thing is, I've been out of commission a bit as of late. Some (non life-threatening) medical issues along with an avalanche of work have kept me sidelined and unable to put up the sort of posts I would prefer. As I was doing the original Celebrity Name Chain Pop Quiz, I found that, with two exceptions, I could perform the task on virtually everyone from Star Trek (now annoying called "Star Trek: The Original Series" to differentiate it from all the redux that have come in its wake.) With apologies to Majel Barrett and Nichelle Nichols, we proceed onward with the rest of the cast. We don't feel too guilty, though, about Nichols since she actually has her very own tribute on this site already! If you don't know, you guess the first person pictured's name and their last name is the first name of the second performer. (Or vice-versa) Thus, a name chain. Obviously, a working knowledge of the performers' names is key so it will be tougher on non-fans of the show. I learned my lesson, though, and have added some hints this time. Now let's load our photon torpedoes and beam down to the brief quiz!

1. Here we find the original Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the pilot (and later edited into a two-part episode of the series), Christopher Pike paired with the soap opera actress who famously took on Aaron Spelling (and won) over being fired from Melrose Place prior to filming her role because she was pregnant.

2. Next up is one of the early-1930s' most popular actors, famous for portraying questionable gentlemen in a number of racy "Pre-Code" films and later for portraying the attorney-sleuth Perry Mason in a series of movies, long before Raymond Burr scored a hit on television. He's paired with the famous principle star of Star Trek, who played Captain James T. Kirk.

3. The youthful man on the left made an impact in the cinema during the late-1980s and early-'90s before later landing a lengthy role on a prime-time TV medical hit (from 2004-2012.) His counterpart is the famous Mr. Spock, an emotion-free Vulcan on Star Trek. 

4. Oh, if you're a fan of David Letterman you might recognize the man on the left as Larry 'Bud' Melman, but, you see, that was not his real name. That was just a character he played during his many appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. He's paired with the cantankerous Dr. Leonard McCoy, who retained his homespun attitudes despite having been launched into space.

5. Famous as one of the rare Dynasty cast members to appear in its initial episode up until its finale eight years later (with an interruption to star in his own spin-off series) is matched with Mr. Scott, chief engineer of the Enterprise and not only named Scott, but portrayed as a Scot with the actor providing an accent that many people believed was his very own! (It wasn't. He was Canadian!)

6. This British blonde was the leading lady in several sexually-charged movies of the 1970s. She departed the biz for the most part after marrying a handsome fellow actor in 1984, though he died prematurely in 2010. Her name game partner is Enterprise helmsman Mr. Sulu, who has recently found a whole new level of fame as a humorist and activist.

7. Initially intended to be a regular, Yeoman Janice Rand (of the famed beehive hairdo) was fired after about a dozen episodes over personal and physical issues. Probably only fans of the 1960s sitcom Hazel will know the second actress's name, though she is also known as the mother of Meredith Baxter Birney (neither last name giving anything away.) When Hazel changed networks, she and her screen husband were let go.

8. The lady on the left was a popular actress of movies and TV in the '60s and '70s. Later, she found a whole new raft of fans when she turned to alcohol-tinged comedy on a sitcom with a devoted cult following. The final Star Trek cast member of this quiz was added in season two to bring in some of the teen fans who loved The Monkees. He, Mr. Chekov, was even given a Davy Jones-ish wig at first before later getting to use his own brunette locks.

Answers below!



1.

"Jeffrey Hunter Tylo" (One of our favorite actors, talked out of taking the lead in Trek and denied the lead in The Brady Bunch because he was "too good looking to play an architect," Jeffrey Hunter has a brief tribute here. Hunter Tylo is back on The Bold and the Beautiful now, where she got most of her attention to start with back in the 1990s. Her judgement against Spelling was $4.8 million and set a precedent for such cases.)

 

We've never gotten enough of Hunter's winning smile and bright blues eyes...

...nor of his lean tan physique in many rugged movies from Sailor of the King (1953) to White Feather (1955) to The Searchers (1956) among many others.

Hunter was taken from us altogether too early (aged forty-two) when an on-set accident left him with a concussion. A drinking problem compounded this condition and he fell on some steps, fracturing his skull on a banister.

2.

"Warren William Shatner" (Mr. Warren William was, surprisingly enough, one of the more physically fit and active stars of his time in an era where this was not particularly emphasized. He not only played amoral businessmen in films like Skyscraper Souls (1932), but also was Julius Caesar to Claudette Colbert's Cleopatra (1934) - the film in which she bathed in ass's milk.  You'd have to have lived under a rock to not know who William Shatner is!

Mr. William as 1930s audiences saw him on and off screen.

3.

"Robert Sean Leonard Nimoy" (Robert Sean Leonard starred in films like Dead Poets Society, 1989, Swing Kids, 1993, and Much Ado About Nothing, 1993, before costarring in House with Hugh Laurie. Leonard Nimoy initially resented his association with his alien character, penning a book called "I Am Not Spock," but later grew to appreciate its legacy and impact, penning a book called, "I Am Spock!"

4.

"Calvert DeForest Kelley" (Calvert DeForest eventually began appearing with Letterman using his own name, but for many folks he was eternally "Larry 'Bud' Melman." DeForest Kelley played a lot of shady characters in westerns on TV and in movies. He also appeared in the howler Where Love Has Gone (1964) just before heading onto Trek.

5.

"John James Doohan" (John James wasn't even supposed to be a regular on Dynasty, just a guest in the pilot, but he was able to talk his way into a role that buttered his bread for a decade! His spin-off, The Colbys, only lasted two seasons, but was glitzy fun while it lasted. Years later, he popped up as a bad guy on As the World Turns. James Doohan was a decorated Canadian soldier prior to his busy acting career. Like most of his Trek costars, he was typecast thereafter, but in time was able to parlay that into further notoriety and income.

Like most soap actors, daytime or prime-time, James was enlisted to remove his shirt. Often. 

No matter what anyone else thought or said, I LOVED The Colbys, especially because of (not pictured) Stephanie Beacham. This publicity shot between takes is a lot more loose than the drama-fueled show ever was...!

Like many late-1970s and '80s TV stars, James was poured into a Speedo for the semi-annual Battle of the Network Stars specials.

6.

"Susan George Takei"  (Susan George costarred with Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs, 1971, with Peter Fonda in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, 1974, and Perry King in Mandingo, 1975. Her handsome husband was Simon MacCorkindale, of Death on the Nile, 1978, among many other things. Takei, after some lean year post-Trek, began appearing on The Howard Stern Show, revealing a clever sense of humor (and later the fact that he was gay.) He became a heavy LGBT activist and a popular Internet humorist and has a gargantuan following today.

Jogging your memory with a glimpse of Mr. Simon MacCorkindale.

7.

"Grace Lee Whitney Blake" (Grace Lee Whitney had at the time of Star Trek an alcohol problem which led to some weight gain, a big no-no when handed a micro-miniskirt as her uniform. She was also the victim of a decision to leave Captain Kirk open to romance with female guests on the show. Her quasi-romantic attachment to him became a problem in that vein. Whitney Blake later co-created and wrote for the sitcom One Day at a Time.

8.

"Jessica Walter Koenig" (Jessica Walter was one of the ladies who formed The Group, 1966, and is well-known as the crazed, knife-wielding lover of Clint Eastwood in Play Misty for Me, 1971. Later, she scored as the heavy-drinking mother on Arrested Development. Walter Koenig later had a recurring part on Babylon 5 and served as Best Man to  George Takei at his 2008 wedding to his longtime partner Brad Altman.

Till next time!  Take care... Or perhaps I ought to say, "Live Long and Prosper!"  Ha ha!

Golden Rendevous?

Life continues to get in the way of my working on this blog, but it's always a goal of mine to get to it, trust me! In the meantime, here's a quickie. Actually a quickie in two ways! Ha ha!

During season eight of Dynasty, Jeff Colby (played by John James), having burnt through almost every available female on the show except for Krystle and Alexis, turned his attentions to Sammy Jo (played by Heather Locklear.) What was initially a ski trip with their two boys, who were cousins, started to flicker into more.

James and Locklear later found themselves on a little trip to L.A., ostensibly part-business but with time for a seaside stroll. This stroll then turned playful, then romantic.

And... before you know it they've done the deed (according to the episode, at The Beverly Hills Hotel!)

The next day, James has to leave in a hurry back to Denver to help with Blake Carrington's campaign for governor along with other interests, but Locklear speaks to him on the phone.

So why do we give a shit?  LOL  Well, it's just that this room at the "Beverly Hills Hotel" seemed to have some remarkably familiar wallpaper. In fact, it was so familiar that we just HAD to do some digging and see if it was the same as another famed boudoir...

Turns out it is practically identical to that of Miss Blanche Devereaux's on The Golden Girls! In Blanche's room (as played by Rue McClanahan), the wallpaper is cut out and formed as a mural of sorts above the hotbed of action.

She scores points, though, (or is that the wrong term when referring to something so putrid?!) for having coordinating bedding and draperies, something the "Beverly Hills Hotel" wasn't able to accomplish!

It's a toss-up which bedroom saw more action over the years, the California hotel room or the bedroom of one of Miami's most eligible middle-aged widows!

Of course, die-hard Golden Girls devotees will immediately recall the Christmas episode in which McClanahan's Blanche gave each of her three roomies a homemade present for the ages... "The Men of Blanche's Boudoir!"

As an in-joke, the calendars contained semi-clad photos of real crew members who worked on the series and Betty White, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty weren't given the actual props to view until the filmed dress rehearsal in order to record their true, amusingly-startled reactions to the photos. This one, for example, is of two guys who wrote: "To Rue, We wanted to take the towels off for you, but we didn't know how the others would react. Sooooo use your imagination!"

Too bad John James wasn't able to "check in" to Blanche's boudoir, but in this particular episode of Dynasty, he came close!

Have a Memorable Memorial Day!

In The Underworld, the weeks and months from early-September to late-May are spent with one thing on our minds and that is the opening of the swimming pools during Memorial Day weekend. This coming weekend is the one in question at last and we cannot wait to grab our towels, our iced tea, our paperback books and our sunglasses for a season of fun in the sun! (Especially since the shackles of commitment to my recent - thankfully very successful - play have been cast aside.) To commemorate the occasion, we do as we have been for some years now and celebrate the swimsuits of a passel of celebrity men (and in as many cases as possible, The Speedo!) We hope you enjoy this parade of pleasure. Our cover boy, by the way, is not famous, but in my search for pictures at our sister site Krazy Kaptions, I sometimes come upon some like this one (and these!) that aren't right for there, but are just too great to ignore.

I was truly born too late since I prefer the looks of the suits of the '60s, '70s and early-'80s over what guys tend to wear now. I was really born too late in that the days of clothing-absent and clothing-optional swimming at the YMCA were already gone by the time I came along! See an example here.

Anyway, let's stroll down memory lane at some stars in their suits beginning with Olympic Gold Medal swimmer-turned-actor Buster Crabbe (best known as Flash Gordon, 1936-1940.)

Hmmm. That might deserve a closer look.

Another Olympic Gold Medalist-turned-actor is famed Tarzan (from 1932-1948) Johnny Weissmuller.

Did you ever think you'd see Fredric March looking like this? Handsome!

What about this twosome, Tyrone Power and close pal Cesar Romero?

Recognize this scantily-clad swimmer?  It's "The Duke," John Wayne!

Gorgeous Charles Starrett of the Durango Kid series (more than sixty of them between 1940 and 1952) of westerns.

Here we find John Howard (of The Philadelphia Story, 1940, and The High and the Mighty, 1954.)

Troubled hunk Tom Neal, a boxer-turned-actor who had a stormy relationship with Barbara Payton and later shot and killed his third wife.

Looking "maahvelous" is Fernando Lamas and his wife Esther Williams.

Few men were quite as yummy as Guy Madison.

Look how young movie musical star Dennis Morgan is in this shot.

Speaking of young, Tab Hunter is shown here in his early days.

Here he is again a couple of years later.

In this photo, he's seen fishing around with the white-hot John Bromfield!

Peter Lawford is lean and healthy-looking here.

Farley Granger poses in his trunks.

Burly Mickey Hargitay is seen emerging from the water.

Rory Calhoun and Jeffrey Hunter share a day of fun at the shore.

This guy always makes me feel "dewy."  Dewey Martin!

'50s matinee idol turned genuine movie star Tony Curtis takes a break while boating.

Burt Lancaster pops up with a rather lucky Margaret O'Brien.

Burt's good friend Kirk Douglas could often be seen (at Cannes or elsewhere) in a snug swimsuit.

The beard above was for his 1954 Italian-made movie Ulysses.

Here he is, sans beard, on another occasion.

This next picture is of 1940s and '50s actor Dennis O'Keefe, sitting on a dock in his pale trunks.

With a little doctoring, it can be made to seem as if he's even MORE comfortable than he was!

Likewise, dead-handsome Hugh O'Brian is shown here swimming in a soothing stream.

...but a bit of tampering makes it seem like he's skinny-dipping instead.  What a sexy man. (Never believe everything you see, folks! Most pictures in magazines and online today are manipulated somehow...)

Here we see him in 1965 loading three babes (the one in the middle being Stefanie Powers) on to his shoulders during the filming of Love has Many Faces!

I consider this a pretty rare find. You might recall John Kerr's light-colored swim trunks in the movie South Pacific (1958) during his waterfall courtship of France Nuyen, but here is a wardrobe test that would have had him in a very skimpy set of patterned briefs! Check out the tan line.

Here is the delicious French actor Alain Delon, emerging from the water.

Lloyd Bridges of Sea Hunt (1958-1961) is seen with a guest star.

Fortunately, this water-based show gave viewers many a glimpse of Bridges and others in their trunks.

This is a rare chance to see The Rifleman (1958-1963) Chuck Connors out of his western gear and in a pair of trim swim trunks.

Clint Eastwood, then the popular star of Rawhide (1959-1965) also gives up his buckskin trousers for an abbreviated pair of trunks.

Gardner McKay of Adventures in Paradise (1959-1962) enjoys a rest by the pool. (I seem to remember the handsome McKay typically looking leaner than this, don't you?)

The Untouchables (1959-1963) star Robert Stack looks nice sprawled out on this diving board.

The good-looking cast of Surfside 6 wore more swimwear in the publicity photos than on the show itself.

But thank goodness for those photos so that we can see hunky Van Williams in ensembles like this one!

Edson Stroll (of McHale's Navy, 1962-1966) compares and contrasts with a friend in this shot.

Pop singing sensation Cliff Richard has an interesting get-up going on in Expresso Bongo (1959.) Check out the shoes and socks!

Elke Sommer has two hot friends in 1961's Why Bother to Knock. To the right of her is Richard Todd and to the left is the dead-sexy Rik Battaglia.

Here are some beach frolickers from Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) including James Darren and Michael Callan.

Darren (and in this case, more importantly, his friend to the right) was back on the beach in 1964's For those Who Think Young.

The 1962 Italian Comedy Crazy Desire has Ugo Tognozzi joining up with a band of rowdy youngsters including this Speedo-clad collection of guys.

1963's Of Love and Desire (soon to be profiled here in The Underworld!) had Merle Oberon and Steve Cochran sharing a swim in her Acapulco pool.

Speaking of Acapulco, here we find Mexican demi-god Jorge Rivero splashing around along the surf.

The Rat Patrol (1966-1968) offered few chances to get a good look at Lawrence Casey out of uniform, but fortunately we have this picture of him at the beach.

Get a load of the suit that celebrity hairdresser and man-about-town Jay Sebring is sporting alongside close friend Sharon Tate.

How about humpy Tom Jones in a slinky pair of briefs?

Bekim Fehmiu gets some (limited) direction from Lewis Gilbert during the making of the super-hooty The Adventurers (1970.)

1973's The Paper Chase, all about Harvard Law School affords a couple of surprising glimpses of skin. Here, Timothy Bottoms and James Naughton head to the pool for some laps.

This was the type of suit worn at the time for competitive swimming (or in many cases recreation as well.)

I was six at the time of this movie, so my memories of guys like this is hazy at best.

Still, I can recall lifeguards at nearby Old Coney's Sunlite Pool being dressed this way (but tan rather than pale.)

The laps seemed to be keeping Mr. Bottoms in pretty good shape!

Here is singing actor Rex Smith hamming it up by the pool with his guitar and some flippers.

Let's zoom in for a closer look.

Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner (with first wife Chrystie?)

We now enter the John James (of Dynasty, 1981-1989) wing with a set of photos from Battle of the Network Stars.

You can see a wet and pasty Robin Williams (then of Mork & Mindy, 1978-1982) behind him in this shot.

The fact that John James was a smoker is something that was deftly obscured from most photos and articles about him during his heyday.

Marc Singer is a frequent part of these posts, too, but wow what a set of eyeglasses on him! His suit deserves the lion's share of attention, though.

Happy Days, 1977-1984, (and Joanie Loves Chachi) star Scott Baio.

Now a pair of soap studs, peddling their wares in Speedos.  First, the well-oiled Steve Bond of General Hospital (1983-1985.)

Then comes Terry Lester of The Young and the Restless (1984-1988) and later As the World Turns (1993-1994.)

Knight Rider (1982-1986) and Baywatch (1989-2000) star David Hasselhoff got his big break on The Young and the Restless, too, from 1975-1982.

The 1984 miniseries The Last Days of Pompeii found Duncan Regehr as a gladiator, often found wearing teensy loincloths like this one.

Here's another pose of Regehr from the same photo shoot.

Major action star of the '80s and '90s Sylvester Stallone had a fondness for the Speedo.

Here we see Fernando Lamas son Lorenzo (of Falcon Crest, 1981-1990) shucking off his shorts for a Speedo-y swim in the ocean.

Fans of the Speedo cannot afford to miss Campus Man (1987) based on the real-life efforts of a college student to create the first beefcake calendar as a fund-raiser. Among the models is this young man.

But the main attraction is blond, beautiful Steve Lyon who plays a diving champ.

He's very frequently shown in a variety of tiny, clingy swimsuits throughout.

In 1985, People magazine instituted its annual "Sexiest Man Alive" issue.  The 1986 winner was Mark Harmon, who went on Saturday Night Live and lampooned his title.

The skit in question had him competing against F. Murray Abraham (played by John Lovitz) for the honor!

The 1987 Canadian movie Too Outrageous! (a sequel to 1977's Outrageous!) had drag queen Craig Russell flanked by a pair of guys in black Speedos.

As we grind to a halt, I give you two shots of the divine one, Jon-Erik Hexum, one of the most beautiful men ever created, during photo shoots in a snug, black suit.

This man was special...

But as a finale, I give you Willie Ames (of Eight is Enough, 1977-1981) during his athletic duties on Battle of the Network Stars.

I'm not sure if it was Eight, but I can tell you that I've had Enough of typing this lengthy post!  Ha ha!  Till next time, my loves...