Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Born on this day – Bruce Bilson:


Bruce Bilson


Producer

Director

Producer

Writer

May 19, 1928 – January 16, 2026

Credits:

Alias Smith and Jones (1972); Alice (1976); Almost Home (1993); Aloha Paradise (1981); Arnie (1971); B.J. and the Bear (1978–1980); Barbary Coast (1975); Barefoot in the Park (1970); Barney and me (1973); Barney Miller (1976–1981); Bewitched (1968); Blondie (1968); Bonanza (1970); Bring 'Em Back Alive (1982); Camp Runamuck (1966); Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984); Chopper One (1974); Dallas (1986); Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (1979); Dead Man on the Run (1975); Deadly Games (1996); Delta House (1979); Dinosaurs (1991–1993); Duffy (1977); Dusty's Trail (1973–1974); Dynasty (1988–1989); Emergency! (1975); Finder of Lost Loves (1984–1985); Flash III: Deadly Nightshade (1992); Get Smart (1965–1968); Get Smart Reunion Seminar (2006); Gidget (1966); Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985); Glitter (1984); Green Acres (1971); Half Nelson (1985); Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981); Hawaii Five-O (1974–1976); Hogan's Heroes (1967–1971); Hotel (1983–1987); House Calls (1980–1982); Hull High (1990); Human Target (1992); Hunter (1977); Inside TV Land (2001); Jigsaw (1972); Journeys Below the Line: 24 - The Editing Process (2005); Journeys Below the Line: ER - The Prop Masters (2006); Journeys Below the Line: Lost - The Cinematography Team (2007); Just Our Luck (1983); Knight Rider (1982); Life with Lucy (1986); Love Boat: The Next Wave (1998); Love, American Style (1969–1971); M*A*S*H (1972); Matt Helm (1975); Nanny and the Professor (1970–1971); One Potato, Two Potato (1964); One West Waikiki (1994–1995); P.S.I. Luv U (1991); Pate Katelin en Buenos Aires (1969); Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1999); Pioneers of Television (2011); Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1966–1967); Pleasure Cove (1979); Private Benjamin (1981–1982); Quark (1978); Roll Out (1973); Route 66 (1962–1963); Run Buddy Run (1966); S.W.A.T. (1975–1976); Sanford and Son (1972); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1985); Science Fiction Theatre (1956); Sierra (1974); Simon & Simon (1981); Skag (1980); Sledge Hammer! (1987); Smokey and the Bear (1986); Spencer's Pilots (1976); Spenser: For Hire (1987–1988); Stu's Show (2016); Tabitha (1977); Teenage Millionaire (1961); That Girl (1967); The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1962); The Bad News Bears (1979); The Baileys of Balboa (1964–1965); The Banana Company (1977); The Brady Bunch (1973–1974); The Bradys (1990); The Colbys (1987); The Doris Day Show (1968–1972); The Fall Guy (1982–1986); The Feather and Father Gang (1977); The Flash (1990–1991); The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1969); The Ghosts of Buxley Hall (1980); The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974); The Good Life (1971); The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979); The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (2008); The Lawbreakers (1964); The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1957–1958); The Love Boat (1981–1986); The Magical World of Disney (1980); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1971); The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979); The Munsters Today (1989); The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968–1969); The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1976); The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972); The North Avenue Irregulars (1979); The Nutt House (1989); The Odd Couple (1970–1971); The Partridge Family (1972–1973); The Patty Duke Show (1965–1966); The Paul Lynde Show (1972); The Powers of Matthew Star (1982); The Renegades (1983); The Rookies (1974–1975); The Secret History of Get Smart (2006); The Sentinel (1996–1998); The Six Million Dollar Man (1974); The Texan (1959); The Tim Conway Show (1970); The Twilight Zone / Segment: Welcome to Winfield (1986); The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976); They Came from Outer Space (1990); Too Close for Comfort (1983); Too Soon to Love (1960); Touched by an Angel (1995); Turnabout (1979); U.S. Marshal (1958–1959); Viper (1994–1999); When Things Were Rotten (1975); Whirlybirds (1957–1958); Wild Harvest (1962); Wonder Woman (1977).

Born on this day – Dora Doll:


Dora Doll


Actress

May 19, 1922 – November 15, 2015

Credits:

125 rue Montmartre (1959); A Funny Boss (1964); A Man Walks in the City (1950); Has Strong Commitment (2002–2005); Act of Love (1953) Adorable Demons (1957); Ah What a team! (1957); Thus Ends the Night (1949); Allô police (1967–1969); Angel of Death (1985); Angels and Wolves (1988); Antoine et Julie (1981); Any Number Can Win (1963); Archimedes, the Tramp (1959); Au bon beurre (1981); Beyond The Screen (1967); Ave Maria (1984); Bastille (1984); Heartbeat (1940); Bed for Two (1950); Bernard Quesnay (1979); Black and White in Color (1976); Bloody Murder (1974); Boomerang (1976); Cabaret du soir (1958); Catherine & Co. (1975); Catherine, il suffit d'un amour (1986); This World Is Wonderful (1981); It's Even Better in the Afternoon (1986); He Was a Gentleman (1957); Champagne aus dem Knobelbecher (1975); Heir Finder (2001); Cloud Waltzing (1987); Cocagne (1961); Commander X (1964); Compression (2023); Love at First Sight (1992); In Life Everything Is Arranged (1952); Daughters of Destiny (1954); From the head to the feet (2002); Dehors c'est nulle part (1978); Two Happy Fools (1976); Devil and the Angel (1946); Dictionary of Sex (1964); Funny Stories (1995); Of the Lead in the Head (1973); Édith Piaf: A Brief Encounter (1993); Ein Fall für Männdli (1975); El señor president (1983); Elena and Her Men (1956); In large push-ups (1974); In Your Soul and Conscience (1957); Enigma at the Folies-Bergère (1959); Entente cordiale (1939); Spy and Shut Up (1988); And tomorrow, Paula? (2002); Femmes Fatales (1976); Ferbac (1992); Fernand Cowboy (1956); Foreign Intrigue (1952); Four Flights to Love (1939) François Villon - Poetul vagabond (1987); French Cancan (1955); Gaston Phoebus (1978); Girl on the Third Floor (1955); Godefinger or Some cats don't like the soft (1975); Grandison (1979); Gros dégueulasse (1986); Gueule d'ange (1955); Gueule d'arnaque (1989); Hell (1994); Hellé (1972); Hey Good Looking! (2006); Hortense Schneider (1964); Hotel Baltimore (1976); Hôtel du Nord (1938); Hothead (1979); Human Cargo (1954); He was a musician (1978–1979); Imogene (1991); Incorrigible (1975); Inspector Sergil (1947); Jacques Martin behind your applause (2022); Jacquou the croquant (2007); Jealousy (2001); Jeanne (1952); Jenny Lamour (1947); Julia (1977); Julie Lescaut (1995); Julien Fontanes, magistrate (1983); The salt box (1960); The Mouse Cage (1954); The Key to the Fields (1998); The Countess of Charny (1989); La derelitta / Cinema 16 (1977–1989); The Italian's Wife (1998); The Ivory Woman (1984); The Lost Girl (1954); La liberté en croupe (1970); The House Under the Sea (1947); The animal share (2007); The Passenger (1949); The Passante (1951); La ramandeuse (1981); La reina del Tabarín (1960); The rose red (1951); The Steppe (1982); Over there... My Country (2000); The Agency (1989); Love descend from the sky (1957); Le baladin du monde occidental (1971); The Good Number (1962); Le Chambon (1994); Le chapeau du p'tit Jésus (2006); The Castle (1984); The Château des Oliviers (1993); The Chevalier de Pardaillan (1988); The knight Tempest (1967); Le colonel est de la revue (1957); The Bravag (1955); The last episode of Dallas (2006); The Last Quarter of an Hour (1962); The diamond Salisbury (1985); The donation made to Catchaires (2003); The Savoyard Boy (1967); The Gyrfalcon (1987); Le grand Batre (1997); Tom Thumb (1980); The Gambler (1962); The Wedding Day (1977); The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1964); The Mythomaniac (1981); The payS Blue (1977); Le petit théâtre d'Antenne 2 (1979–1983); The smartest is there let it take (1973); The Bridge of Sighs (1985); The Refuge (1996–1999); The Red Curtain (1960); The Secret of the Andrenes (1982); The Sorcerer of the Sky (1949); The triple win (1989–1992); The Journey to Paimpol (1985); L'éclaire (1979); The other side Paradise (1953); Leon's Husband (1993); The 2 Crocodiles (1987); The Swedish Matches (1996); The Tramps vs. Dracula (1980); The desert chestnut trees (2010); The Last Five Minutes (1959–1982); The Burning Hearts (1992); The Columns of the Sky (1985); The Uprooted (1972); The mixed waters (1969); The Stuffed (1969); The investigations of Commissioner Maigret (1972–1989); The Daughters of the Regiment (1978); The Sisters (1960); Les givrés (1979); Rose's Men (1978); The Idiots (1987); Days of the Moon (1991) The binoculars (1972); The Keufs (1987); The Monday Optimists (1962); Red summer (2002); The Strange Castle of Doctor Lerne, 1983; The story of Saturday (1996–1997); The Handyman (1988); The Man of the Night (1983); The Inspector Leclerc Investigates (1962); The Sunday Guest (1969); Madam... Are you free? (1971); Mademoiselle Ardel (1990); Mademoiselle Strip-tease (1957); Maigret and La Grande Perch (1991); Main Street (1956); Maniac Killer (1987); Manon (1949); Marianne, a Star for Napoleon (1983); Marie Pervenche (1990); Have you seen me? (1988); Clandestine Maternity (1953); Night Doctors (1981); Most Promising Actor female (2000); Mélissol (1999); Hostage Contempt (1992); Midi-Première (1981); Miss Pigalle (1958); My Friend the Traitor (1988); Monsieur Scrupule gangster (1953); Morasseix!! (1993); Moulin Rouge (1940); Music Hall (1986); Musicolor (1969); Nana (1955); Napoleon (1955); Night in December (1939); We Didn't Love Her Enough (1981); Obsession (1954); On déménage le colonel (1955); Once More (1988); Parade in 7 nights (1941); Pardon My French (1951); Paris Vice Squad (1951) No love without love! (1993); No Caviar for Aunt Olga (1965); No grisbi for Ricardo (1957); No Pity for the Cellars (1955); No mice in business (1955); Peppermint Soda (1977); Midnight Leave (1987); Poésie del amor (2006); First Criminal Brigade (Interpol File M.A.T. 444) (1961); Princess Alexandra (1992); Puzzle for Demons (1976); When Jean became Renoir (2017); What a Sacred Evening (1957); Research in the interest of families (1977); Reflections of Cannes (1956); Sabbath (1989); Sapho (1997); Savage Triangle (1951); Secret File 1413 (1961); Suspicions (1956); One-Night Show (1969); That Night in Varennes (1982); The Curtain Rises (1938) The Heart of a Nation (1943); The Little Rebels (1955) The Maiden (1955) The Marked Woman (1992); The School Teacher (1994); The Tide of Life (1998); The Young Lions (1958) Tides of Passion (1956); Don't Touch the Grisbi (1954); Thirty-six Candles (1956–1957); A Shock Curé (1974); One Equals Three (1964); A Frenchman named Gabin (2017); A Woman with a Heart Too Small (1972); Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1956); Violette (1978); Car 7, seat 15 (1958); Your Devoted Blake (1954); Witness in the City (1959); Women in Cellblock 9 (1978); You Are So Beautiful (2005); Zerschossene Träume (1976).

Born on this day – Renée Ascherson:


Renée Ascherson


Actress

May 19, 1915 – October 30, 2014

Credits:

A Man Called Intrepid (1980); Armchair Thriller (1978); At Home (1960); Away from It All (1973); Bookmark (1993); Brighton Belles (1994); Caesar and Cleopatra (1945); Chain (1990); Clayhanger (1976); Country Matters (1973); Crown Court (1984); Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978); Edwin (1984); Flesh and Blood (1980); Goodbye Darling (1981); Grey Owl (1999); Happy and Glorious (1952); Harnessing Peacocks (1993); Henry V (1944); ITV Play of the Week (1960–1962); ITV Television Playhouse (1960–1961); Johnny in the Clouds (1945); Jubilee (1977); Kate (1971); Larry and Vivien: The Oliviers in Love (2001); Life After Life (1990); Lilli Palmer Theatre (1955); Love and Marriage (1984); Love Story (1963); Lovejoy (1993); Malta Story (1953); Maniacs on Wheels (1949); Midsomer Murders (1997); Midsomer Murders: 25 Years of Mayhem (2022); Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985); Miss Nightingale (1974); Performance (1995); Pool of London (1951); Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966); Rheingold Theatre (1953–1956); Romance on the Orient Express (1985); School for Unclaimed Girls (1969); Screen One (1992); Sir Norbert Smith, a Life (1989); Smiling at Grief (1939); Somerset Maugham Hour (1961); Strange Report (1969); Tenko (1981); Tenko: An Introduction (1981); The British Greats (1980); The Cure for Love (1949); The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961); The Madhouse on Castle Street (1962); The Magic Box (1951); The Others (2001); The Pursuers (1961); The Red Dress / Segment: Red Dress' story (1954); The Rivals (1948); The Small Back Room (1949); The Way Ahead (1944); Theater of Blood (1973); Thirty Minute Theatre (1963 / 1966); Time for Murder (1985); Time Is My Enemy (1954); Tom's Midnight Garden (1989); Turner Classic Movies Remembers 2014 (2014); Two's Company (1979); Victorian Scandals (1976).

Born on this day – Bruce Bennett:


Bruce Bennett


Actor

May 19, 1906 – February 24, 2007

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1958); A Bundle of Bliss (1940); A Million to One (1936); A Stolen Life (1946); Amateur Crook (1937); Angels in the Outfield (1951); Atlantic Convoy (1942); Babies for Sale (1940); Beer Barrel Polecats (1946); Before I Hang (1940); Blake of Scotland Yard (1937); Blazing Six Shooters (1940); Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939); Boobs in the Woods (1940); Branded (1965); Cafe Hostess (1940); Cavalcade of America (1954); Cheyenne (1947); College Humor (1933); Convicted Woman (1940); Crossroads (1956); Daktari (1968); Damon Runyon Theater (1955); Danger Patrol (1937); Danger Signal (1945); Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956); Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939); Dark Passage (1947); Deadhead Miles (1972); Death on the Diamond (1934); Dragonfly Squadron (1953); Dream Wife (1953); Escape to Glory (1940); Fireside Theatre (1953–1954); Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1939); Five Little Peppers at Home (1940); Flaming Frontier (1958); Flying Fists (1937); Frontier Fury (1943); Girls of the Road (1940); Glamour for Sale (1940); Hawk of the Wilderness (1938); Hidden Guns (1956); His Bridal Fright (1940); Hi-Yo Silver (1940); Honolulu Lu (1941); I'm from Arkansas (1944); Invisible Stripes (1939); Island of Doomed Men (1940); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1965); Laat de dokter maar schuiven (1980); Land of Fighting Men (1938); Laramie (1960); Lassie (1970–1971); Lassie: Well of Love (1970); Lazy River (1934); Lost Island of Kioga (1966); Love Me Tender (1956); Lux Video Theatre (1953–1957); Madison Square Garden (1932); Meet the Baron (1933); Mildred Pierce (1945); Million Dollar Legs (1932); Million Dollar Racket (1937); Mooching Through Georgia / The Spook Speaks (1940); Mooching Through Georgia / The Taming of the Snood (1940); Movie Crazy (1932); Murder in Times Square (1943); My Son Is Guilty (1939); Mystery Street (1950); No Census, No Feeling (1940); Nora Prentiss (1947); O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971); Panic! (1958); Perry Mason (1958–1965); Playhouse 90 (1957); Rescue 8 (1958); Riptide (1934); Robbers' Roost (1955); Sabotage Squad (1942); Sahara (1943); Sappy Birthday (1942); Schlitz Playhouse (1954); Science Fiction Theatre (1955–1957); Shadow of Chinatown (1936); Shakedown (1950); Silks and Saddles (1936); Silver River (1948); Sky Racket (1937); Smart Girls Don't Talk (1948); So Long Mr. Chumps (1941); So You Won't Talk (1940); Stories of the Century (1954); Strategic Air Command (1955); Student Tour (1934); Submarine Raider (1942); Sudden Fear (1952); Tales of Wells Fargo (1958); Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938); Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan (1996); Task Force (1949); The Alligator People (1959); The Big Tip Off (1955); The Bottom of the Bottle (1956); The Case of the Dangerous Robin (1961); The Clones (1973); The Cosmic Man (1959); The Doctor and the Girl (1949); The Fiend of Dope Island (1960); The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938 / 1943); The Ford Television Theatre (1952–1954); The Great Missouri Raid (1951); The Heckler (1940); The House Across the Street (1949); The Last Outpost (1951); The Linkletter Show (1952); The Lone Ranger (1938); The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date (1940); The Loretta Young Show (1953); The Man from Tumbleweeds (1940); The Man I Love (1946); The Man with Nine Lives (1940); The More the Merrier (1943); The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935); The Officer and the Lady (1941); The Outsider (1961); The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1955); The Phantom Submarine (1940); The Second Face (1950); The Secret Seven (1940); The Texan (1958); The Three Outlaws (1956); The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); The Virginian (1967); The Younger Brothers (1949); There's Something About a Soldier (1943); Three Girls About Town (1941); Three Missing Links / Dutiful But Dumb (1941); Three Missing Links / How High Is Up? (1940); Three Violent People (1956); To the Victor (1948); Torpedo of Doom (1966); Touchdown! (1931); Tramp, Tramp, Tramp! (1942); Treasure Island (1934); Two Latins from Manhattan (1941); Two Minutes to Play (1936); U-Boat Prisoner (1944); Underground Agent (1942); Undertow (1949); West of Abilene (1940); West Point (1957); Whirlybirds (1957–1959); With This Ring (1954); Without Honor (1949); You Can't Buy Everything (1934); Your Jeweler's Showcase (1952–1953).

Recommended reading - The Ross Macdonald Collection, by Ross Macdonald (2017):


The Ross Macdonald Collection

By Ross Macdonald.

Edited by Tom Nolan.
Published by Library of America.
Box edition.
Published 2017.
Hardcover.
ISBN-10: 1598535528
ISBN-13: 978-1598535525

Description:

“The finest series of detective novels ever written by an American.” – The New York Times Book Review.

“Macdonald brought a new method of psychological construction to the hard-boiled novel … he was in line with many of the important mid-century movements of American literary fiction, and deserves to be seen as a worthy addition to them.” – The Times Literary Supplement.

Ross Macdonald transformed the detective novel into a literary expression of unique psychological depth and drama. Here, for the first time in a deluxe three-volume Library of America boxed set, are eleven of his classic Lew Archer mysteries.

Contents: The Way Some People Die; The Barbarous Coast; The Doomsters; The Galton Case; The Zebra-Striped Hearse; The Chill; The Far Side of the Dollar; Black Money; The Instant Enemy; The Goodbye Look; The Underground Man.

Virginia Woolf, on writing:


The way to write well is to live intensely.

- Virginia Woolf.

Monday, May 18, 2026

On this day in television history - Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss (2023):


Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss

documentary directed by Niharika Desai,
written by Eric Weiner,
based on the book by Eric Weiner,
was released in the United States on May 18, 2023.

Cast:

Rainn Wilson, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Ari Meyers, Jón Gnarr, Georgi Gospodinov, Ivo Dimchev, Hreimur Örn Heimisson, Margaret Liefsdóttir, Tinna Thorlacius, Jewells Chambers.