Remembering Ted Bessell: "That Guy" On "That Girl" - Herbie J Pilato

It39s been nearly 15 years since Ted Bessell passed away On that day October 5 1996 the entertainment industry and the world lost to a heart attack a beloved and talented human beingThe versatile actor producer and director was best known as the fictional Newsview newsmagazine writer and boyfriend Don Hollinger to Marlo Thomas39 Ann Marie on TV39s classic That Girl sitcom ABC 19661971 which is now available on DVD But he39s also forever remembered as just a great guyShortly before Bessell died That Girl was scheduled to be honored with an allstar tribute in Los Angeles at the Museum of Television and Radio on October 11 1996 Instead the remaining cast and crew from the show including Bernie The Love Boat Kopell who played Don39s best friend and coworker Jerry Bauman mourned the loss of their friend whom they affectionately referred to as TeddyBessell believed to be 61 when he died was accessible such that he was unaffected by his celebrity and came to grips with his Hollinger persona by which he first felt stereotyped but which would later bring him sentimental eminence After That Girl folded it was a challenge for him to win other roles and be at peace with the character quotDonald Hollinger made me a name but took away the heart of mequot he said in 1989 when he labeled the part a creative quotimpositionquotYet with its original renewed interest and affection shown to That Girl via Nick at Nite and TV Land Bessell began to realize his importance and endearing contribution to television39s grand Hall of FameI was scheduled to meet with Bessell with regard to his thenassignment as director of the Bewitched feature film which at the time was being produced only by Penny Marshall39s Parkway Productions The first time I telephoned Bessell39s office it was he who answered the phone I explained who I was and though he sounded extremely busy he took the time to chat a little bit about Bewitched and we set up a time to meet for lunchUnfortunately our meeting never took place Shortly after our conversation he was goneHowever the lingering impression of his complete lack of arrogance lingers on I remember thinking at the time quotWell of course he39s down to earth Anyone who could have played so consoling warmhearted and supportive a character as Don Hollinger with such credibility would have to be as sincere in real lifequotThe fondest memory I have of Bessell rests with my first view of his onscreen character39s initial meeting with aspiring actress Ann Marie in That Girl39s pilot Thinking she was under assault when she was actually filming a commercial in Hollinger39s Newsview building Don with his brief case as a weapon came along and slammed Ann in the head After she explained the situation and sought to further generate an alreadystressful situation Don realized his mistake and labeled himself quotCaptain Dumb DumbquotThe line was priceless and Bessell39s delivery of it was done with all the charm and likability that any one actor could muster At that moment Ann fell in love with Donald Hollinger along with the rest of usAs Marlo Thomas herself once noted quotOur show was called That Girl but we all knew that guy was the successquotHad Ted Bessell lived not only would the Bewitched feature film have taken quite a different turn but the bigscreen adaptation of That Girl with Bessell and Thomas reprising their smallscreen roles would have become historic It would have been the first time that a classic TV series would have transferred to the big screen with its original stars in a sequel formatBessell was very much looking forward to the movie quotI wanted to see what happened to those charactersquot he told me And though the original Girl sitcom completed its run with Don and Ann engaged to be wed Bessell envisioned the couple finally exchanging vows quotThey would have remained friendsquot he said quotAnd I think they would have gotten back together again He probably would have married and she might have done well as an actressquotOf his potential motion picture pairing with Thomas Bessell relayed to TV Guide quotAs long as we39re still alive and kicking I think it39s a mistake not to do itquotInstead it became a dreadful mistake that Bessell left us too soonThat Girl may still one day make it to the big screen But it just won39t be the same without Bessell and Thomas And with regard to Bessell39s involvement with the Bewitched feature film his good friend Penny Marshall a classic TV star in her own right as one of the brilliant guiding lights of Laverne and Shirley was devastated upon learning of his death quotHe was a great force behind a lot of creative peoplequot she said at the timeGood souls usually areHerbie J Pilato is a WriterProducer who has worked for Syfy AampampE TLC Bravo The Discovery Channel Universal Warner Bros and Sony Herbie J is the author of a number of acclaimed TV tiein books The Bionic Book Life Story The Book of Life Goes On The Bewitched Book Bewitched Forever The Kung Fu Book of Caine The Kung Fu Book of Wisdom and NBC ampamp ME My Life As A Page In A Book In 2010 Herbie J founded The Classic TV Preservation Society a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gap between positive TV shows and education and presently serves as Creative Director for Erie Street Entertainment a TV production company that is geared toward scififantasy andamp160familyoriented materialamp160 For more information please log on to wwwClassicTVPSblogspotcom or wwwErieStreetEntertainmentblogspotcom or contact Herbie J directly via hjpilatoyahoocomRead all Herbie J39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Herbie J39s Classic TV CornerCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory 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Remembering Ted Bessell: "That Guy" On "That Girl" - Herbie J Pilato

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