Every once in a while, those on-screen TV guides make really big mistakes -- often it's when they display an actor's photo that's actually someone else in public life who has the same name. Usually, I assume, this is because the systems are computerized. My favorite may have been when an actor in some old movie was named George Mitchell, and the on-screen guide showed a photo of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. But the service that Spectrum uses in Los Angeles may have topped itself. Because this was a weird, glaring error totally different from that. It was for a 1965 romantic comedy that was showing on Saturday afternoon called Do Not Disturb, which starred Rod Taylor and Doris Day. Part of the plot summary described the couple moving to London, and Day thinking that Taylor was having an affair with "his attractive secretary, Claire." And as these summaries do, they often include a parenthetical for the name of the actor playing the role. So, in this case, it read, "...thinks her husband is having an affair with his attractive secretary, Claire (Leon Askin)." Now, okay, needless-to-say, that caught my eye as being a bit off, most especially for a mid-60s Doris Day romantic comedy. And I'm sure that people who stopped reading their TV screen right there might have been bewildered. But I figured, well, it's possible that "Leon" was a nickname for "Leona." Or a typo for "Leora." Or some women have a man's name, perhaps for a family reason. For example, there was an actress on the TV series Trapper John, MD, named Christopher Norris. And there is an actress/model James King. Except in this case, I know well who the actor Leon Askin is. And as wonderful an actor as he is, no one would ever confuse him with playing an attractive secretary, whatever his gender. So, I was sure that that Leon Askin was in the movie, just not in the role of "attractive secretary, Claire." (This was confirmed by his photo being included at the bottom of the screen with other cast members, identified with his name and proper character. So, they just screwed up the summary, with some really odd glitch.) In fact, I suspect that most people here might even recognize him because Askin was a very popular character actor, and is probably especially recognized by many for having played the recurring role of 'Gen. Burkhalter' on Hogan's Heroes. This is Leon Askin, who we are informed plays "his attractive secretary, Claire." And sometimes, beauty is in the eye of the Burkhalter...
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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