THE HAT SQUAD: LARRY HAINES

Actor Larry Haines passed away at the age of 89 on July 17th in Florida. He's best known for playing Stu Bergman on 'Search For Tomorrow' from 1951 to 1986. That was the show's entire run, although he didn't appear in the first two months of the show.

Stuart Bergman lived in the town of Henderson, next door to the main character of the show, Joanne Gardner Barron Tate Vincente Tourneur. (She had been married four times, widowed three times.) Stu was married to Joanne's best friend, Marge, who passed away in 1971. They had several children - Janet, Tommy, Jessie, and Jimmy - and all but Jimmy would become "Quantum Leap"-styled test cases. This means that they were replaced by others who resembled the originals to those around them. Stu and Marge never noticed that their own children had been replaced, but to the audience viewing in the Trueniverse they looked like other people. (And that's how we deal with recastaways on soap operas. All of these soap opera towns were chosen in the future for these experiments.)

Stu Bergman survived the massive flooding which nearly destroyed Henderson, but outside of the show's reality none of them could survive the low ratings after the show switched from CBS to NBC. In the last episode of 'Search For Tomorrow' (which aired after Christmas in 1986), Stu Bergman was seen with Joanne Tourneur gazing at the night sky as Joanne said, "Tomorrow, I can't wait!"

For playing the role of Stu, Haines won two Daytime Emmy Awards - in 1976 for Outstanding Actor and in 1981 for Outstanding Supporting Actor. (He is shown here accepting the award in 1981.)

Despite spending 35 years on 'Seach For Tomorrow', Larry Haines was still able to populate Toobworld with other characters. Here is a rundown of those roles:

STARRING ROLES
"Loving" (1983) .... Neil Warren
(unknown episodes, 1994-1995)

"Another World" (1964) .... Sidney Sugarman (aka 'Sharky')
(unknown episodes, 1989)

"Phyl & Mikhy" (1980) .... Max Wilson

"Search for Tomorrow" (1951) .... Stuart 'Stu' Bergman
(entire run) (unknown episodes)

"The First Hundred Years" (1950)

GUEST ROLES
"Starting from Scratch" .... Alfred
- Episode #1.5 (1988)

"CBS Summer Playhouse" .... George Sr.
- Baby on Board (1988)

"Kojak" .... Michaels
- Kiss It All Goodbye (1977)

"Doc"
- All Work and No Pay (1976)

"Maude"
- Arthur's Medical Convention (1975) .... Ted
- The Tax Audit (1974) .... IRS Agent Harold Clarke

"Hawk"
- Legacy for a Lousy Future (1966)

"For the People"
- A Competent Witness (1965) .... Hyman
- The Killing of One Human Being (1965) .... Madigan

"The Defenders" .... Dr. Wallace
- Comeback (1964)

"Mr. Broadway" .... Holman
- The He-She Chemistry (1964)

"The Nurses"
- Credo (1964)

"Deadline" .... Victor Reisel
- Victor Reisel (1959)

"The Man Behind the Badge"
- The Case of the Reluctant Flop Artist (1954)

"Eye Witness"
- Burial Plot (1953)

TV MOVIES
Miss Jones (1991) (TV) .... Larry Shapiro

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1975) (TV) .... Bratt

The Country Girl (1974) (TV) .... Phil Cook

Larry Haines also appeared in the movie version of 'The Odd Couple' as Speed, one of the poker-playing buddies of Felix and Oscar.
BCnU.....
Toby O'B