THE HAT SQUAD: SUZANNE PLESHETTE

When I was in my teens and I first saw "The Birds" in a high school film class, it pissed me off that Suzanne Pleshette's character of Annie died yet Tippi Hedren's character lived. Hedren was a cold fish to me, but Suzanne was smoking hot!

I think Walt Disney knew what he was doing when he cast her in movies like "The Ugly Dachshund", "Blackbeard's Ghost", and "The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin". She was an asset that would be sure to keep hold of the boys in his target audience as they matured.

As Emily Hartley on 'The Bob Newhart Show', the Hartleys' relationship was one of the few "adult" ones in sitcoms of that time. And you knew Dr. Bob was an incredibly lucky man in all aspects. Okay, yeah. I'm talking about great sex with his wife.

Other highlights for me in her Toobworld career included the pilot for 'The Wild, Wild West' and an episode of 'The Single Guy' in which she played Jonathan Silverman's mother - and he accidentally stabbed her with a knife while they were making dinner. And as the estranged wife of James Garner's character when he was brought in to help bolster '8 Simple Rules...' after the death of John Ritter, Ms. Pleshette showed that the rapport between her and Garner in "Support Your Local Gunfighter" was the real deal.

Suzanne Pleshette died yesterday at the age of 70 due to respiratory failure; less than two weeks before her birthday and less than a year after her husband Tom Poston.

Expect to see more about Suzanne and her character of Emily Hartley this coming May.....
THE EMILY HARTLEY COLLECTION
"The Bob Newhart Show" .... Emily Hartley
"Newhart"
- The Last Newhart .... Emily Hartley
The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special .... Emily Hartley
"Saturday Night Live - Bob Newhart/Des'ree .... Emily Hartley (uncredited)

TV SERIES
"The Bob Newhart Show" .... Emily Hartley
"Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs" .... Maggie Briggs
"Bridges to Cross" .... Tracy Bridges
"Nightingales" .... Christine Broderick
"The Boys Are Back".... Jackie Hansen

PREQUELS & SEQUELS
Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours (1976) .... Elizabeth Morton

Kojak: The Belarus File (1985) .... Dana Sutton
Bridges to Cross (1985) .... Tracy Bridges
Nightingales (1988) .... Christine Broderick
The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special (1991) .... Emily Hartley

RECURRING ROLES

"Will & Grace"

- Looking for Mr. Good Enough.... Lois Whitley

- Something Borrowed, Someone's Due.... Lois Whitley

- Someone Old, Someplace New.... Lois Whitley

"8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter"
- The First Thanksgiving.... Laura

- Goodbye: Part 1.... Laura

- Goodbye: Part 2.... Laura

"Good Morning, Miami"

- I'm with Stupid.... Claire Arnold

- The Heart Is a Lonely Apartment Hunter.... Claire Arnold

- Pilot.... Claire Arnold

- Power Failure.... Claire Arnold
"The Single Guy"

- The Deepest Cut.... Sarah Eliot

- Like Father,....Sarah Eliot

- Mother Love....Sarah Eliot

GUEST APPEARANCES
"Newhart"
- The Last Newhart .... Emily Hartley

"Bonanza"
- A Place to Hide.... Rose Becket/Katie Summers/Mrs. Ransom

"Ironside"
- But When She Was Bad.... Shelly Kingman

"Medical Center"
- Conspiracy.... Mary

Columbo: Dead Weight .... Helen Stewart

"The Name of the Game"
- A Capitol Affair.... Hallie Manville

- The Skin Game.... Amy Averlin

- The Suntan Mob.... Geneva Rogers

"The F.B.I."

- The Inheritors.... Temple Alexander

- The Mercenary.... Marie Zimmerman

- List for a Firing Squad.... Marya Pazmany

"The Courtship of Eddie's Father"

- Hello, Miss Bessinger, Goodbye.... Valerie Bessinger

"Marcus Welby, M.D."
- Daisy in the Shadows.... Ann Logan

"Gunsmoke"

- Stark.... Glory Bramley

"Love, American Style"

- Love and the Fly
"It Takes a Thief"

- A Sour Note .... Angela

"The Invaders"

- The Pursued.... Anne Gibbs

- The Mutation.... Vikki
"Cimarron Strip"

- Till the End of Night.... Sarah Lou Burke

"Run for Your Life"

- Baby, the World's on Fire .... Susan Church

"Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre"

- After the Lion, Jackals.... Adrian Harris

- Corridor 400.... Anita King

"The Fugitive"

- All the Scared Rabbits.... Peggy Franklin

- World's End.... Ellie Burnett
"The Wild Wild West"

- The Night of the Inferno.... Lydia Monteran
"Dr. Kildare"

- Goodbye Mr Jersey.... Ellen Adams

- The Soul Killer.... Cathy Benjamin

- A Shining Image.... Julie Lawler

"Channing"
- The Potato Bash World.... Lori Moore

"Wagon Train"
- The Myra Marshall Story.... Myra Marshall
"Alcoa Premiere"

- The Contenders.... Carla Hammond

"The Dick Powell Show"
- Days of Glory.... Marta Van Meer
"Ben Casey"
- Behold a Pale Horse.... Carolyn Stanley

"Route 66"
- Blue Murder.... Blossom Bludge

- The Strengthening Angels.... Lotti Montana

"General Electric Theater"
- Love Is a Lion's Roar.... Renee Fontaine

- The World's Greatest Quarterback

"Target: The Corruptors"

- Viva Vegas
"The Tab Hunter Show"

- Weekend on Ice.... Julie Carroll

"Hong Kong"

- Lesson in Fear.... Diane Dooley

"The Islanders"

- Forbidden Cargo.... Iris

"Naked City"

- The Pedigree Sheet .... Nora Condon

"Riverboat"

- The Two Faces of Grey Holden.... Marie Tourette

"Play of the Week"
- The House of Bernarda Alba

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"

- Hitch Hike.... Anne

"Adventures in Paradise"

- The Lady from South Chicago.... Minette

"Sunday Showcase"

- Murder and the Android.... Mari Sutton

"Black Saddle"
- The Long Rider.... Nedda Logan

"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond"
- Delusion.... Marta"Playhouse 90"
- Diary of a Nurse

"The Third Man"

- Listen for the Sound of a Witch.... Caroline Humphrey

"Have Gun - Will Travel"
- Death of a Gunfighter.... Maria
"Decoy"
- The Sound of Tears.... Wendy Jenkins

"Harbourmaster"

- Night Rescue.... Barbara Benson

TV MOVIES
Summer of Decision (1959) .... Susan

Wings of Fire (1967).... Kitty Sanborn
Flesh and Blood (1968) .... Nona

Hunters Are for Killing (1970) .... Barbara Soline
Along Came a Spider (1970) .... Anne Banning/Janet Furie
In Broad Daylight (1971) .... Kate Todd
River of Gold (1971) .... Anna

The Legend of Valentino (1975) .... June Mathis

Law and Order (1976) .... Karen Day
Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978) .... Kate Bliss

Flesh & Blood (1979) .... Kate Fallon

If Things Were Different (1980) .... Janet Langford

The Star Maker (1981) .... Margot Murray
Help Wanted: Male (1982) .... Laura Bingham
Fantasies (1982) .... Carla Webber
Dixie: Changing Habits (1983) .... Dixie Cabot
One Cooks, the Other Doesn't (1983) .... Joanne Boone
For Love or Money (1984) .... Joanna Piper
A Stranger Waits (1987) .... Kate Bennington

Alone in the Neon Jungle (1988) .... Capt. Janet Hamilton
Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1990) .... Leona Helmsley

Battling for Baby (1992) .... Marie Peters
A Twist of the Knife (1993) .... Dr. Rachel Walters

BCnU and May God Bless......
Toby OB