Lalo Schifrin wrote the catchy theme song for “Mission: Impossible” (CBS, 1966-73).
He was also the composer for Clint Eastwood movies like Dirty Harry (1971) and Magnum Force (1973).
Natalie Wood had a walk-on part in the 1979 pilot of husband Robert Wagner’s TV mystery “Hart to Hart” (ABC, 1979-84). She was billed in the closing credits as Natasha Gurdin, her real name.
Giles French (Sebastian Cabot) was the name of the housekeeper on the TV series “Family Affair” (CBS, 1966-71). On “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” (ABC, 1969-72)? Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki). On “The Jetsons” (ABC, 1962-63)? Rosie the Robot (voice by Jean VanderPyl).
Chuckles the Clown’s sign-off line on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS, 1970-77) was “A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.” The words were remembered by those mourning Chuckles’s death after he was killed by a rogue elephant. Chuckles was dressed as Peter Peanut at the time.
“As the World Turns” (CBS, 1956) was the first soap opera to change its format from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes each weekday.
Corbin Bernsen of “L.A. Law” played a “boy” in the black action film Three the Hard Way (1974). The film, directed by Gordon Parks Jr., starred Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, and Jim Kelly.
Liberal Tom Braden and conservative Pat Buchanan were the original hosts of the cable news show “Crossfire” on CNN. In 1989, Braden was replaced by Michael Kinsley. During Buchanan’s 1992 presidential campaign, several people filled in for him, including Robert Novak and Linda Chavez.