Ted Key: "Hazel's An Unfulfilled Woman And Knows IT!"

A recent question in a blog comment echoed this old comment by jxbarela (Sun Oct 28 2007)...

"I seem to recall seeing what looked like an early Hazel episode in which the actor playing George Baxter was not the dark-haired Don DeFore but instead was an older white-haired fellow. Shirley Booth was there, and Whitney Blake, but not Don DeFore. I admit not having the DVDs so you all may know I'm mistaken but I'd bet money that it was a Hazel episode - perhaps a pilot episode that replaced the older man with someone closer to Whitney's age. Am I even close? IMDB doesn't list any other actor as ever playing George Baxter. Yet you may know different..."

Yes, in answer to that question there was another George Baxter. But that was just for the pilot - which is not circulated on-the-air found so far on the DVD releases. Edward Andrews played George in that single episode.

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With Season Two of Hazel arriving on Tuesday from Shout! Factory (Season Three in May), I offer a salute to the show with this excerpt from Ted Key's "HAZEL Bible " (used with permission by The Estate of Ted Key):

"HAZEL has worked a great number of years for these people, the Baxters, so long that she is now an indispensable fixture. There have been times when they thought of firing her, or the suggestion has been made to them by friends of the Baxters, but somehow this never came about. Or perhaps it has, years ago, and the house went into such a tailspin that she was recalled; HAZEL, herself, would have gone into a tailspin. Because she needs them as much as they need her.

And it's possible that HAZEL was first hired not as a maid, but as a practical nurse, when Harold was born; and from this, the strong emotional bond grew. It's now indissoluble; where they go, she goes, home, or on vacation.

HAZEL is basically a sympathetic, warm, compassionate woman, in great need of love, and giving it. Her wisecracks, her wit and the dominating, aggressive "take charge" attitude are a defensive bastion. But she's an unfulfilled woman and knows it. And when the armor cracks, we are torn by the poignancy. She doesn't stay exposed long, though because HAZEL'S best defense is an offense. And an overwhelming sense of humor.

Of course, Shirley Booth owned a Cape Cod cottage and lived there in Chatham, Massachusetts with her maid Eleanor and pets.

But still, in the late evening hours back in that nicely appointed, lived-in rear bedroom, its furniture decked with the photos of dear ones, and the walls with a few pin-ups of athletic heroes, we are confronted with a human being. A small phonograph plays Dixieland Jazz, her kind of music. There's a portable TV set, turned off; she prefers the one downstairs. This woman, like any other, has plans; she has hopes and dreams. HAZEL lies in her bed, in her room, in her home. And in this home, she is alone."

Vacation, incidentally, often means a cottage on the dunes of Cape Cod, or Martha's Vineyard. Here, amidst miles and miles of pure white sand, the cat still insists on using kitty litter. And where, upon the approach of a "Bikini," George unconsciously sucks in his gut.

It's a place that once you visit, you will want to stay forever near the beautiful sand dunes."

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THANKS FOR VISITING!

JOIN ME AGAIN TOMORROW!

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For Bill, His Pinup Girl: The Shirley Booth & Bill Baker Story
by Jim Manago
Foreword by Leslie Sodaro
Published December 1, 2010
Further details at: http://shirleybooth.blogspot.com

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Now available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076ZCBM2

Love is the Reason for it All: The Shirley Booth Story
by Jim Manago
Radio Research by Donna Manago
Foreword by Ted Key
BearManor Media, May 2008
http://bearmanormedia.bizland.com