Zebradelic: June 2012

Meg Foster visits the Old West: the clips

Recently, we took a look at two of Meg Foster's early television guest appearances on a pair of shows set in the Old West. For the sake of To adding another dimension, here are some clips of those guest roles.

First, a clip of Meg Foster chatting with David Soul on a 1970 episode of Here Comes the Brides:

And here's a clip of Meg Foster on a 1971 episode of Bonanza:

Kathleen Beller and The Danger Team

In 1991, Kathleen Beller starred in the pilot for a proposed TV series called The Danger Team. The project was a mixture of live action and claymation, with Kathleen Beller playing an aspiring private detective named Cheryl. Chris, her friend/boyfriend (I'm not sure his status was clarified), makes animated safety films and after a strange meteorite strikes, three clay figures known as the Danger Team come to life and make their existence known to Cheryl. After Chris is mistakenly kidnapped, Cheryl and the Danger Team partner up to rescue him.

The Danger Team never took off which is unfortunate because it probably would have been a fun show. Its also too bad because it would have been a great vehicle for Kathleen Beller and a chance for her to return to television in the 1990s (she had been a cast member on Dynasty and The Bronx Zoo in the 80s). As it turned out, she retired from film and television work not long after. On The Danger Team, Kathleen Beller was in her mid-30s but she looked quite youthful and certainly gave a very energetic and endearing performance.

Charlotte Rampling: Sherlock Holmes promo photos

Some time ago, we examined Charlotte Rampling's take on the character of Irene Adler in the 1976 movie Sherlock Holmes in New York. Reprising that subject ever so briefly, here are two great black and white images of Charlotte Rampling and her co-star Roger Moore.

Charlotte Rampling: Long Duel promo photos

A while back, we took a look at Charlotte Rampling's role in the 1967 film The Long Duel. Returning to that subject briefly, here are two more promotional photos of her for that movie. You may note that, in the film, the actress does not actually wear either of the somewhat bold costumes she is posing in.

Meg Foster visits the Old West

Throughout her film and television career, Meg Foster didn't appear in all that many Westerns. Sure, there was Oblivion and Oblivion 2 in the 1990s, but those were sci-fi westerns. There was also a 1990 guest appearance on the Western series The Young Riders. However, if you look far enough back, you'll find that Meg Foster made a pair of TV appearances on shows set in the Old West right at the beginning of her screen career.

Here Come the Brides - "Two Worlds" (February 20, 1970)

Meg Foster's guest role on Here Come the Brides is certainly earliest TV appearance I have seen of hers. Indeed, IMDb only lists an appearance on NET Playhouse as occuring earlier than this (though they could be and often are wrong).

Meg Foster has intense, bright blue eyes and because of this she has often played blind characters in various projects throughout the years. In this episode of Here Come the Brides, Meg Foster plays a blind girl whose father does not want her gain her vision for fear of losing her. Despite this, Joshua Bolt (played by David Soul) takes her from Seattle to San Francisco to see a doctor who thinks he might be able to help her see.

Looking quite young, Meg Foster handles her role on Here Comes the Brides quite deftly. It's really no wonder that she worked so steadily on TV throughout the 1970s if she could turn out performances this good so early in her career.

Meg Foster and David Soul

Bonanza - "The Silent Killer" (February 28, 1971)

Meg Foster's second Old West television appearance was on the long-running Bonanza series. The actress gives an expert performance as a woman who happens to be at the Ponderosa when an influenza epidemic breaks out.

As you can see above, Meg Foster even got a positive press blurb concerning her guest role on the show. Her scenes with guest co-star Louise Latham alone are nearly worth the price of admission.

It's actually a bit strange that Meg Foster never really got a chance to follow-up with any other Western work...It would have been nice to see her in an Old West film or miniseries (if you think about it, Meg Foster never really did all that many period pieces during any phase of her career...which is odd!)

Kathleen Beller in Deadly Messages

In 1985, Kathleen Beller starred in the TV thriller Deadly Messages. Her co-star was Michael Brandon, who she had previously shared the screen with several years before in the 1979 film Promises in the Dark.

Deadly Messages can be seen as a successful conclusion to a trio of TV thrillers featuring Kathleen Beller. In 1978 she had starred in Are You in the House Alone? and in 1981 she had done No Place to Hide, both fun made-for-television projects. After taking a break from TV movies, Kathleen Beller returned to the format in 1985 with Deadly Messages, perhaps her campiest foray into the TV thriller genre. Looking exceptionally cute with short hair, she unravels the mystery of her identity, beginning with the use of a Ouija board.

Here are some contemporary newspaper clippings concerning Deadly Messages and its star Kathleen Beller:

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