Pop Culture Roundup for July 19-24: TV Women, Iconic and Bionic

by Karen A. Romanko

This week PCR focuses on TV actresses from the 60s through the 90s, some who appeared in different guises or under different names, but all of whom had beauty and talent to burn. Please join me as we remember these iconic women of television.

July 19: As a former reference librarian and current author of books and a blog about popular culture, I have FREQUENT occasion to think about the miracle of quick research answers as provided by the Internet. My search history says I used Google 10 times today alone. One of those queries arose while watching an episode of That Girl, “Ann vs. Secretary” (1968). I clearly recognized Mary Frann, best known as Joanna Loudon on Newhart, in a guest-starring role as Donald’s new secretary, but was surprised when the credits rolled to see her listed as “Jennifer Douglas.” Off to the Internet I went, and learned that Frann, born Mary Frances Luecke, briefly adopted the name Jennifer Douglas, which she picked out of a phone book, because her agent thought Mary Frann didn’t have marquee value. After the cancellation of the one-season series My Friend Tony, where she was credited as Jennifer Douglas, she returned to the name Mary Frann. Here is “Jennifer” (right) with Marlo Thomas and Ted Bessell in That Girl.

July 19: Female TV Crimefighter of the Day! Cinnamon Carter of Mission: Impossible (1966–1973, 171 episodes, USA). Barbara Bain portrays Cinnamon Carter, an elite operative with the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). Cinnamon, a former top model, is adept at role-playing, posing as a psychic, photographer, or lost princess, to help the team with its elaborate deceptions, which thwart assassinations or bring down governments. Available on Paramount+, others for a fee.

July 20: Female TV Crimefighter of the Day! Jane Marple of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple (1984-1992, 12 episodes, UK/USA). Joan Hickson stars as Jane Marple, an octogenarian who enjoys knitting and gardening. Sounds harmless enough, but Marple’s cool-blue eyes take in EVERYTHING, and she not only hears, but listens, allowing her to combine observation with intellect to solve mysteries where the authorities can’t. Available on Amazon Britbox and DVD.

July 21: The latest addition to my book in progress, Historical Women on Scripted Television, is Lotta Crabtree, a 19th century actress who was known as “the nation‘s darling.“ Both Death Valley Days and Bonanza (twice) had Lotta Crabtree episodes, and I just had to grab a screen cap from the Bonanza entry, “A Rose for Lotta” (1959). Yvonne De Carlo starred as Lotta in this one, and you can see for yourselves just how breathtakingly beautiful she looked. Many will remember Yvonne as Lily Munster from The Munsters (1964–1966).

July 22: Female TV Crimefighter of the Day! (As selected from my book Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters (McFarland, 2016.) Jane Tennison of Prime Suspect (1991-2006, 15 episodes, UK/USA). Helen Mirren stars as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, a woman placed in charge of her first major murder investigation, much to the consternation of her all-male squad. This dark, but groundbreaking series won multiple awards over its lifetime, including a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Mirren. Available on Hulu, BritBox, and Acorn (according to the Reelgood app).

July 24: Female TV Crimefighter of the Day! Jaime Sommers of The Bionic Woman (1976-1978, 58 episodes, USA). Lindsay Wagner stars as Jaime Sommers, a former tennis star who suffers critical injuries during a skydiving accident and is saved by the addition of some computerized body parts. Jaime becomes a schoolteacher by day, but moonlights as an operative for the Office of Scientific Investigations, using her exceptional abilities, such as massive strength and lightning speed, for the cause of good around the world. Available for free on the NBC app (according to Reelgood).

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Last, but not least, please check out my books about women and television from McFarland Publishers, available in trade paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon:

Television's Female Spies and Crimefighters and Women of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television
 On sale now!