Zebradelic: August 2011

Jan Smithers on Hotel

Jan Smithers is certainly best remembered for playing Bailey Quarters on WKRP in Cincinnati. However, she also made a number of guest appearances on various television shows from 1983 to 1986 following the demise of WKRP in 1982. Jan Smithers made two appearances on the guest-star driven Hotel, first in 1984 and then again in 1986. As you may know, Jan Smithers used to be married to Hotel star James Brolin and they supposedly met on the set of Hotel.

Encores

Jan Smithers first appeared on Hotel in an episode called 'Encores' which originally aired in March, 1984. In this episode, Jan Smithers plays a woman named Lacey Grant who has ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's disease) and claims that Peter McDermott (James Brolin) is the father of her young son.

Triangles

Jan Smithers second appearance on Hotel was in an episode called 'Triangles' which was first broadcast in March, 1986. In this episode she played Janice Copeland, the wife of a man who is recovering from heart surgery but wants to take part in a yacht race. She wants her husband to take it easy but he resents her for it and ends up having an affair with another woman. Peter (James Brolin) must see to it that they stay together, especially since her husband is an old friend of his.

Also, I hadn't seen Jan Smithers with this particular hairstyle before and I think it really suits her! In her first Hotel appearance her hair was still in the same general style as it had been on WKRP, which is of course wonderful. However, this particular short hair style does seem to work for her.

Wendy Kilbourne on Hotel

Between North and South and North and South Book II, Wendy Kilbourne made only one other appearance on television and that was on the show Hotel.

Hotel was one of those shows that was built around the various guest stars that would be featured in each episode. Wendy Kilbourne appeared in a third season episode entitled 'Changes of Heart', which aired originally aired in April 1986, just a month prior to the premiere of North and South Book II.

In 'Changes of Heart', Wendy Kilbourne played the daughter of Sir John Mills, a wealthy British hotel owner who wants Hotel star James Brolin to come work for him in London. Wendy Kilbourne and James Brolin share a mutual attraction and, during the course of the episode, also share a kiss. Of course, James Brolin doesn't end up moving to London and instead convinces John Mills to give his daughter the job.

Here are some images of Wendy Kilbourne's guest appearance on Hotel:

Samantha Eggar in Dr. Crippen

In 1964, Samantha Eggar co-starred alongside Donald Pleasance in Dr. Crippen. Vased on a true story, the film deals with a man with an unpleasant wife who begins to have an affair with his secretary, a much younger woman. He ends up killing his wife to be with her and then attempts to leave Britain with his young lover, but of course all does not go as planned.

Samantha Eggar portrays Ethel Le Neve, the younger woman who engages in an affair with Dr. Crippen (played by Doanld Pleasance). She does not know that he killed his wife to be with her and eventually Dr. Crippen convinces Ethel to dress up as a boy so they can leave the country together without arousing suspicion. Samantha Eggar displays an androgynous side in her performance which I had never expected but now seems obvious.

Dr. Crippen was Samantha Eggar's first movie after abandoning television to focus solely on the cinema. Previosuly, she had appeared in two other feature films (The Wild and the Willing and Doctor in Distress) and had made a handful of UK TV guest appearances, perhaps most notably on Ghost Squad and The Saint. Dr. Crippen was a nice start to her proper film career and indeed her early roles are often considered by many to be her best. Her portrayal as Ethel Le Neve is wonderful and great contrast to the over-the-top performance of Coral Browne as Dr. Crippen's wife.

Here are some images of Samantha Eggar in Dr. Crippen: