Episode 69

Louise Palanker (00:00):

Welcome to Media Path. I am Louise Palanker.

Fritz Coleman (00:06):

And I'm Fritz Coleman.

Louise Palanker (00:07):

We like to go traveling with you through time and space, sampling the finest of media wearers as we go. And this week we've got a special treat planned. We are going to journey through the days of Marion Ross, both happy and otherwise, but mostly happy. And here's why. It's her attitude. Marion Ross is a joyful person, and Joy does not just follow her around. She brings it with her wherever she goes. Marion Ross Star as Marion Cunningham for 11 seasons on Happy Days. She's an award-winning actor of the highest regard, and she's written a book called My Days Happy. And otherwise, she joins us very shortly. But first, Fritz, let's take a look at one of our reader reviews. Do you have that in front of you?

Fritz Coleman (00:49):

I do not, but just gimme a second. Okay. You read? Yeah, you read, because

Louise Palanker (00:52):

This one is, I love the, the screen names they come up with to post these reviews. This one is from Assorted Conversations, and the title is One of My Favorite Pod finds, wonderfully engaging and entertaining. Listen, between the guests who Appear plus Fritz and Weezy. Every episode I've listened to has taught me something made me laugh or made me think. If you've ever wondered what Nickelodeon's slime recipe is, I highly recommend the Mark Summer's episode. I double dare to check it out. Thank you for that kind review. If you write a review in the, uh, apple Podcast store, we may read it right here on the show. We may even accompany it with a few guitar chords. Fritz <laugh>, what have you been sampling this week?

Fritz Coleman (01:31):

Well, uh, I'm gonna talk about Adam Schiff's book Midnight in Washington, how we Almost Lost Democracy and Still Could by Congressman Adam Schiff. You know, at the conclusion of the Trump administration, I promised myself I wasn't gonna read any more Trump books. It turned out I was lying to myself and to you like someone with a porn addiction. My intentions were good, but my problem was bigger than I am. I just finished my fourth book that looks back and tries to make sense of the closing days of that aching hangover. That was the last administration. It's Congressman Adam Schiff's, midnight in Washington, how we almost lost Democracy and still could. That's about as stark a title as you can get. Congressman Schiff is the Congressman from the 24th California District that includes Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Hollywood, and other areas. He's my congressman. Yay. But that has nothing to do with the respect I have for this man.

(02:31):

As you may have noticed, by the way, he led Trump's first impeachment proceeding, Congressman Schiff is maybe the smartest guy in any hearing room in Washington. His analysis in this book of the period between the first impeachment and the January 6th attack on the Capitol is a thoughtful but disturbing reminder of our slow dissent into authoritarianism in this country. He talks about his good work relationships, even friendships with Republicans whose consciences were compromised by this cult of personality. He feels that we are in the midst of democracy's darkest hour. And the outcome, quite frankly, isn't certain. This time period has proven that the threat to democracy truly comes from within. Our democratic institutions have suffered some severe body blows and have yet to start recovering. Ever since his role in the first impeachment trial, I've often said that Congressman Schiff seems like the lone warrior for good on this bloody political battlefield. He's been a liberal lightning rod, especially in the former president's cruel and relentless tweets. It's just like the Congressman said in his concluding remarks at the impeachment trial. If President Trump is not held accountable, he will continue his malfeasance and anti-democratic behavior only worse. This is a great read, but it, you, you have to steal your stomach to read it because it's, it's, it's frightening.

Louise Palanker (03:55):

It's very conversational. And I will say this, Fritz, there's a lot of good guys on Capitol Hill. There really are a lot of good guys, so we have to give credit to a lot of people.

Fritz Coleman (04:03):

Okay, for all you good guys. We didn't mean to eliminate you

Louise Palanker (04:06):

<laugh>, so, but did you know Fritz that Adam Schiff is reading to me via audiobook? He makes a lovely and informative travel companion by most of the way full, uh, through the book. It's very conversational. And since we all know the story of what happened during the Trump regime, it's interesting to hear it from his per perspective juxtapose with his family life, which he had to, you know, continue walking through the world as a human. And, uh, and he had obligations that were pulling him in various different directions. And, and still he kept his head down and got this work done under, under an assault from, from the other side of things. It's very heroic,

Fritz Coleman (04:46):

Right?

Louise Palanker (04:47):

So, uh, yes, uh, absolutely read that book. And now here's something different than I'm going to recommend. It's called The Capote Tapes, and I found it in Apple movies. I think it's also, you can pay for it on YouTube and, uh, rent it. When Truman Capote died in 1984, he left the remains of a novel. He had been hatching and teasing for nearly two decades. And by teasing, we mean appearing on every conceivable talk show to talk about it. The book title was answered Prayers, and it was to be the story of a budding writer screwing his way through polite society, naughty, brazen, and amusing. Capote had risen from a lonely and painful small southern town childhood to become the darling of the society set. He ran with a pack of wealthy fashionable women. He called his swans. They included Babe Paley, slim Keith, Gloria Vanderbilt.

(05:34):

They simply adored his wicked charm. But when he spilled vulgar details in a few advanced chapters published in Esquire, his swans turned and swam away. In the Capote tapes, you'll hear audio recordings from George Plimpton s Archives and see talk show appearances with Dick Katt and interviews with Jay McEnery and Cole to Bean piecing together capote's tragic second act. At the age of nine or 10, young, Truman entered a newspaper competition with an essay called Miss Busybody, which was all about a local woman who sat on her front porch. She was, in fact, Harper Lee's mother. He got in trouble. He got in terrible trouble for writing it, but he won the prize. So the attention was intoxicating. I found the Capote tapes in Apple movies, and it's also available to rent on YouTube.

Fritz Coleman (06:22):

Interesting guy.

Louise Palanker (06:23):

I think he would like it. Fritz,

Fritz Coleman (06:24):

And I'll tell you, in Cold Blood is one of my favorite movies of all time, which has a, has a lot to do with him for having, he was the first journalist to a first writer to sort of become like, uh, Thomas Wolf and those guys that immersed themselves into one topic and then wrote efficiently about it. But he was, he was an interesting dude. He just became a punchline later, which was

Louise Palanker (06:46):

Too bad, right? Well, he embedded himself into that world and actually kind of became infatuated with one of the murderers. So it's, there's a lot of creepy goodness mm-hmm. <affirmative> in that book. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. I would like to go from creepy goodness to absolute goodness. Fritz, can I, can I make that turn?

Fritz Coleman (06:59):

It's a tire squealing transition.

Louise Palanker (07:01):

Let's ly. All right. For 11 seasons, our guest helmed one of America's favorite television households, they share the first name Marion, but Marion Cunningham was mostly home, and Marion Ross was mostly away from home, portraying a mom who was mostly home still Marion Ross did it all, followed her dreams, raised her real life kids and her TV kids. And according to fans, all the kids who were watching at home, please welcome Marion Ross.

Marion Ross (07:27):

Hello, my darlings.

Fritz Coleman (07:29):

We're so happy to have a chance to talk to you.

Marion Ross (07:32):

Thank you. Thank you so much, my dear.

Louise Palanker (07:34):

Well, we just finished your book, and I would say that the resounding refrain of your book is that achieving a Dream requires effort. Talk about your dogged determination to realize your dream of becoming an actress.

Marion Ross (07:50):

Oh, wonderful. You know, I owe a great deal to my mother, my Canadian mother. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and she was an immigrant, of course, and she, I was raised, I was a middle child, so I had a crippled brother, then me, and then an older sister. So it was important that I could be, I could be anything, and I wanted to be mm-hmm. <affirmative>, anything mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I can't imagine being raised and in such a way that you didn't have that kind of energy punched into you.

Louise Palanker (08:23):

It really was a lot of support. And I know that for a lot of your childhood, you kept your dream, uh, secret, but as soon as you began revealing it, your, your mom was very much behind you, correct?

Marion Ross (08:36):

Absolutely. My mother being a Canadian, Irish Canadian, it was very easy for her. And I'm, I look like my mother. I'm quite a bit like my mother. Mm-hmm. So it was, it was fun for, for her to live through me.

Louise Palanker (08:51):

Aw, that's,

Fritz Coleman (08:52):

So, you know, you shot Happy Days at, at Paramount, which had a lot of history for you because you started your career as a Paramount contract player, and I'm just fascinated by that period of Hollywood history. Talk about those days. The studios literally controlled your lives. Women, I think you'll agree, were not treated as fabulously as they should have been. Talk about being a contract player at a major studio back in those years, Marionne.

Marion Ross (09:18):

It was, it was very important. The studios at that point were very, very important. Paramount. We had 20th Century Fox, paramount, and then, uh, that was there. They were the main ones. And we had great movie stars there. So, and, and wonderful makeup man, you know, would fix you up, and they would get rid of my rosy cheeks. Mm-hmm. <laugh>, and I wouldn't feel too bad about that, but that's, they did that <laugh> and, um, it was just, I was an actress already by the time I was 22 years old when I was under contract of Paramount mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and guess who also was there was Audrey Hepburn. Wow. So that, that's a tough one to take, you know, pretty damn wonderful.

Louise Palanker (10:06):

Yeah. There's that scene where you're in the makeup chair and you kind of look over and there she is, and all her magnificent.

Marion Ross (10:11):

It's just, just un unbelievable. You wanna go out and die, that's all.

Louise Palanker (10:16):

That's no. Well, you don't need to do that. But you know, I, I know it's impossible to just kind of measure your own progress against yourself. We're all compelled to measure our progress against those around us. And in the early, uh, years of your career, you were constantly wondering, you know, at this age, should I be here and she's here, should I be there? But you kept that, you really kept that under control, didn't you? With positivity?

Marion Ross (10:41):

Well, it, I was Dr I was always pushing myself, always driving myself. And that really come, came from my Canadian mother. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, because she was like that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, uh, it's, it's important to have such a strong dream that you're constantly dreaming and planning. I lived in the basement because it was in, it was cold in Minnesota, and we had a, a nice room for the, for the, uh, the girls, uh, in the basement. And we had pictures of movie stars on the wall, <laugh>, <laugh>. Uh, it just was, uh, very important walk across the ice in the winter. It was, go to the movies, was thrilling. Thrilling,

Louise Palanker (11:25):

And you had plenty of space to dream, and then, and then plenty of opportunity to make your dreams come true, because you were always making choices that were, that, that would support your dream. And, and for example, the, the man that you chose to marry, I think, you know, you, you talk about him at great length, but I think to a large extent, he was someone who you knew wouldn't interfere with your dream.

Marion Ross (11:47):

Huh. I don't know if I did, but I, it was so interesting. A and I could, I could just walk right through lots of people because I had such a strong dream, and my mother was always there at my elbow or urging me on, and I, I went up to Minneapolis. I was like, just turning 16 years old mm-hmm. <affirmative> so that I could work for a family, take care of their children, and then I could go to McFail School of Music and Drama. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Wow. That was a

Louise Palanker (12:23):

Good idea. That's amazing. Yeah.

Marion Ross (12:25):

And the war was over right. In about another year or so, and we all got on the train and we all went to San Diego.

Louise Palanker (12:32):

Right.

Marion Ross (12:33):

That was a, a really good idea because we had the Globe Theater there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and not only that, Hollywood, Hollywood was just up, up the right, up the hill a little bit.

Louise Palanker (12:44):

Wow. And I know for you that you felt like it was pulling you further away from Broadway, just so your heart's desire, but it's actually pulling you towards your destiny, wasn't it?

Marion Ross (12:53):

No, I did certainly think being pulled away from Broadway, Broadway was the goal. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I must say I'm glad that, that it wasn't the goal because we, I don't know. Broadway was not the way to do it, even though I was on finally on Broadway with Jose Ferrera. Yes. And we, and we did a play, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative> and I love Jose Ferre. Yeah. I mean, something. He was a, he, yeah. Yeah.

Louise Palanker (13:22):

And he loved you

Marion Ross (13:23):

<laugh>. He was married to Rosemary Clooney at the time. <laugh>. No, it's great.

Fritz Coleman (13:28):

I, I, I was fascinated to learn that you, you really had established yourself on the stage on, in particular Broadway, uh, before Mrs. Cunningham arrived. I mean, you did arsenic, an Old Lace with Gene Stapleton, you said, uh, on a number of occasions that one of the great moments of your career was playing opposite Cerno Coward in his play Live Spirit, which was a live theatrical presentation on cbs, which they do very seldom anymore. Talk about working with him. He, he was a very funny man.

Marion Ross (13:59):

Can you imagine? I come over to Humphrey Bogart's house in a, on a Sunday afternoon, married to Lauren McCall, because we're gonna do a readthrough of Blithe spirit with, because sir, no coward is gonna be there. I I had already read Noel Coward's books, and so, so this was extraordinary experience. Can

Louise Palanker (14:20):

You imagine? I can't,

Marion Ross (14:22):

No. First of all, you go to Beverly House, you go to a beautiful home, beautiful Lauren B. McCall, pretty, pretty hot stuff. And here's Humphrey Bogart. And he said to me, I'm so glad I'm not reading today. You know, <laugh> before me, <laugh>.

Louise Palanker (14:38):

Now he was playing with the kids, but the way that you described Claudette Colbert is not quite flattering.

Marion Ross (14:45):

No, she was, she was terrible.

Louise Palanker (14:48):

<laugh>.

Marion Ross (14:51):

Yeah. Isn't that something? Um,

Louise Palanker (14:53):

It is, it is. You can't quite picture it. But then again, you always knew when to keep your head down.

Marion Ross (14:59):

I, I, I was well brought up. So I'm a very polite person, <laugh>, polite. When were we all raised to be so polite? So good. Good heaven. Well,

Fritz Coleman (15:09):

An interesting thing you reveal in your memoir is you say that even though you were hobnobbing with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall, you, you always in your soul always felt like a Hollywood outsider. You didn't really feel connected to those people, but you had your survival instinct took over.

Marion Ross (15:27):

I wasn't really hobnobbing with those people. I just existed in some, some of the same atmosphere, <laugh>, but I, I tell you, you don't hop, hop up. And I very envious of who they were, what they did. It was just amazing to me. Amazing. We would do these, we would do the, all these things at C B S Live. Live.

Fritz Coleman (15:50):

Yeah.

Louise Palanker (15:51):

Yeah. I mean, it's really, it's really phenomenal what you got to experience. But I, I'm, I love the moment when you revealed to Carrie Grant some important news.

Marion Ross (16:03):

Yes. <laugh>, I'm doing operation. Hmm. With Carrie Grant. Oh my God. Now I'm sitting, I'm sitting up on this submarine with Carrie Grant <laugh> and telling him about my life, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, oh, God. He was a really, a charming, charming man. He was very nice to me. Yeah.

Louise Palanker (16:23):

But you were worried about going into the submarine because you had discovered

Marion Ross (16:27):

That's right. I, they said you were going to have to go down in the submarine. I thought, oh, well, I don't, I think that's a good idea. I forgot what was my fifth.

Louise Palanker (16:37):

But you told Carrie Grant that you were pregnant, and I think he's the first person that you told.

Marion Ross (16:42):

I did. I did. And he said, oh, are you really? Are you <laugh>? It's really nice. Oh my goodness, my goodness.

Louise Palanker (16:52):

And he was, and he

Marion Ross (16:53):

Was, you know how old I am now? I'm now 80, 83. 83. So I, I forget some of these things.

Louise Palanker (17:00):

That's perfectly okay. We're here and we have notes so we can help you <laugh>. So I don't know if you go on Amazon and read the reviews for your book, Marionne, but I, I have a couple here that I thought you might enjoy hearing. This one says, um, wow, where do I begin? Other than saying, I truly love this memoir. This is so much more than a book for Happy Days or for Mrs. Cfan, but a profound gift of wisdom for any young artist who cares to listen, unlike many other autobiographies strewn with fascinating tales of old Hollywood, which hers certainly provides. There is a repeated theme of the actions and the mindset that Marion maintained that ultimately led to her success as an actor. So, uh, I think that your book is serving not just as all of the fun inside scoops, it provides about happy days and your career, but also the lessons, you know, because you don't, you don't complain. You just get it done. And that's just something, I think when you look at children, what you really hope of all the attributes that they would be blessed with, that one would be optimism.

Marion Ross (18:06):

That's what I got from my mother. Yeah. She, she would say, you can be anything. I said, I will mother, I'll, I'll

Louise Palanker (18:15):

<laugh>. Yeah. And you made her proud.

Marion Ross (18:17):

Yeah.

Fritz Coleman (18:18):

Let's, let's talk about where Happy Days fits into history. Um, I had, I didn't

Marion Ross (18:24):

Have the question. What happened?

Fritz Coleman (18:25):

No, I haven't asked the question yet. I, I was doing a,

Louise Palanker (18:28):

He's, he's building,

Fritz Coleman (18:29):

I, I was building toward a dramatic conclusion. <laugh>, I, I, I, I just wanna talk about where Happy Days happened in American history. I mean, it happened in a time when America had survived the sixties and, and wasn't really sure where we were headed in the seventies. So it, it, it was the first of the nostalgia wave. I think it harken back to what everybody thought were simpler, warmer times, loving, happy families, minus the dark conflict of the sixties. Did you have a sense of that while you were doing that show?

Marion Ross (19:04):

We, we absolutely did. Because Happy Days, first of all, we've got a title called Happy Days. Yeah. And you've got, you've got Ron Howard, I'm Ron Howard's mother, and we fortunately had Henry Winkler coming in there to be the Fons. But, uh, uh, we, it was, uh, it was grown up, but not so serious. Not so serious children, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Fritz Coleman (19:27):

You got to watch the, the Fonz phenomenon happen. I mean, when he exploded, and I'll, I'll tell you Wheezy, and I know him, and actually produced a, a pilot with him and got to go around town with him and watch the world react to him, <laugh>. And he is, uh, I've, I've met lots of people in show business who are not this way. He is one of the most genuine, warm humans. And it, it wasn't even people's reaction to him. It was the way he reacted very gently and respectfully back to them. Yeah. And I have so much respect for him. Did you have a sense of that before he became a huge

Marion Ross (20:06):

Star? Oh, how lovely. I really did. And I still do. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because he's a lovely, lovely man. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> a lovely man. Yeah. So, no, I, it was hard for him because he was unknown when he came. Here's Ron. Howard has been, been a child actor all his life mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, and all of a sudden here comes this guy in. And, um, he was always absolutely charming and handled it beautifully and fitted in with all of us. And, and, um, we had a softball team, and we got him to do all the pitching

Louise Palanker (20:43):

<laugh>. Oh. He was a pitcher.

Marion Ross (20:44):

He played softball in his life, far as never played soccer. So all, so now he's going to be the, he's gonna pitch everything. Oh, okay. Yeah. And we traveled all over the United States. We met everybody.

Louise Palanker (20:56):

That's so cool. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. And you got in there and, and you weren't quite the softball expert either when, when the team started, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Marion Ross (21:04):

Oh, right. I have a wonderful picture. Can you show, show them my picture of me batting in my uni in my uniform here in this room. I loved, I loved, uh, we would travel all over everywhere and see that picture back there. Right there. Wait a minute, Jim. See that in the red frame? Right. Hold on. It's nice. Okay. It was so fun because it, first of all, it brought us all together. Yeah. Now, can you, children, can you see us?

Louise Palanker (21:34):

Oh my God. That's So,

Fritz Coleman (21:35):

You know what? You've got good form. Yeah.

Marion Ross (21:37):

Yeah. So live. So, okay, now that you've got a

Fritz Coleman (21:41):

Good looking, it's like a, a shot from a league of their own. There it is. That,

Marion Ross (21:44):

Yeah. Okay. Yes. And we just had a good time.

Louise Palanker (21:49):

Well,

Marion Ross (21:49):

I kept us all together.

Louise Palanker (21:52):

Yeah. To have something that you, you did outside of the, the work to have this additional bonding, uh, adventures. It's like when I talk to people from happy days, the one thing they always talk about is the softball

Marion Ross (22:05):

Do it.

Louise Palanker (22:06):

Okay. Oh, yeah. Anson and, and Donnie, they all talk about the softball. Yeah. Right. Of course, Henry, um, now it's been said that fame doesn't change. It reveals. So as you experienced fame descending upon you and your castmates, did you find that to be true? And what did it reveal? Because it wasn't just happening to Henry, it was really happening to all of you, that all of a sudden you'd walk into a grocery store, right. And people would suddenly know who you were. So what did fame reveal as you watched it happen to the entire cast?

Marion Ross (22:38):

Well, it was really pretty comfortable, wasn't it? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we were, we always, we were always accepted. You, they came and just put their arms around you. They wanted you. And, and we were not spoiled. So, uh, it didn't spoil us in any way, but it got, it gave us many, many privileges in which we went. We even went to, uh, Germany, we, and went to Europe. Wow. We went down to New Orleans and played ball, you know, down there. I mean, we had many of, many wonderful experiences.

Fritz Coleman (23:12):

You, you, you,

Marion Ross (23:12):

Where's my bat? Where is my bat anyway?

Louise Palanker (23:15):

Ooh. She's got a bat. Her own bat.

Marion Ross (23:17):

Yeah. Jim, find my bat. <laugh>

Fritz Coleman (23:21):

<laugh>. Jim's exhausted for running

Louise Palanker (23:23):

Around. Jim's got,

Fritz Coleman (23:25):

But but you, you know, you, you worked on this set with all these, uh, younger actors at the beginning of their career. Was this sort of a, a maternal relationship? Did you feel as if you were sort of nur and it was 10 years of your life in the pivotal moments, late teens, early twenties? You must have felt like you were sort of escorting them through some pivotal moments in their lives.

Marion Ross (23:47):

Oh, yes. I was treated like a mother, and they would come and sit beside me and tell me their little secrets and things like that. So it was, I, I, I wanted to be a mother. I didn't want to be some hot item, you know, <laugh>.

Louise Palanker (24:01):

Well, I think you were both, but, okay. Now, Erin Moran says in your book that you are the most wonderful person she has ever known. Oh. Were you aware that she felt this way about you?

Marion Ross (24:14):

Uh, I wonder if I did. I think I did, because she was a darling girl. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, and she had a terrible, uh, home life. And it was a, she played a big price. You know, my son Jim <laugh> is bringing

Louise Palanker (24:29):

Me <laugh>.

Marion Ross (24:31):

Do you see this children?

Fritz Coleman (24:32):

Look at you.

Marion Ross (24:34):

Yeah. Okay. Your name is on the top. Pretty nice. Oh,

Louise Palanker (24:37):

Yeah.

Marion Ross (24:37):

Yeah.

Louise Palanker (24:38):

Can we see, Jim, can we

Fritz Coleman (24:39):

Look at, at, you still have

Louise Palanker (24:40):

Wind? Have Jim come over. We wanna see Jim.

Marion Ross (24:42):

What, what do you wanna see at the end of this space? Hi,

Louise Palanker (24:45):

Jim. Hi, Jim. That's a face. We know.

Marion Ross (24:47):

My name is her name on it. Marion Ross. Big Stick.

Louise Palanker (24:52):

<laugh>. <laugh>. All right.

Marion Ross (24:54):

Well, you know, it's not a, it's not a phony knockoff Marion Ross.

Louise Palanker (24:57):

No, no. That's phony.

Marion Ross (24:59):

Pretty heavy,

Fritz Coleman (25:00):

Actually. Heavy lumber.

Louise Palanker (25:02):

I'm gonna step back. That's impressive.

Marion Ross (25:05):

My son is an actor, and my daughter is an actor, and my daughter was a produ, write a producer on Friends of all things shows. Wow. And, uh, so we're, we're in this business. Yeah,

Louise Palanker (25:17):

Yeah. You're in it together.

Fritz Coleman (25:18):

Were you the only one of your siblings who was, uh, directed to our show business?

Louise Palanker (25:22):

Yes. No, her brother. Your brother did A little bit of, my

Marion Ross (25:25):

Brother was, was a crippled boy, but he, but he was a good actor. He was a good, a very bad, uh, leg. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And my sister was, was shy. She, she didn't like him. She was very pretty and had very nice hair, you know,

Louise Palanker (25:38):

<laugh>, <laugh>. But

Marion Ross (25:40):

I, I would, I always tried to get some attention, if you don't mind, you know,

Fritz Coleman (25:46):

In the forward of your book, uh, which is written by Ronnie Ron Howard. That's your relationship with him? Not me. I wouldn't call him Ronnie.

Louise Palanker (25:54):

Oh, I would, I would call him Ronnie.

Marion Ross (25:56):

I never told called him Ronnie.

Louise Palanker (25:57):

No, you never called him. Okay. Oh,

Fritz Coleman (25:59):

Did you have a sense that he was going to be what he became the, one of the world's great directors?

Marion Ross (26:06):

I, I always did mm-hmm. Feel that the kid was sitting there loaded

Louise Palanker (26:12):

Town, <laugh>,

Marion Ross (26:13):

And, um, and, and, and, you know, meaning what he wanted to do. He would, he didn't want to be to show off in any way. He wanted to be a, a filmmaker. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. When you think of all his big films that he's done, and he's just such a wonderful man, wonderful, wonderful to his brother Clint. Wonderful. And his mother and father have just passed on, right? Yeah. Yeah. Younger than me, I think. But now, so there you are.

Fritz Coleman (26:40):

You, you, you know, Toluca Lake. I used to see his dad sitting at the counter at Patty's restaurant in Toluca Lake all the time. He was just an average American lovely man. He, people would come up and talk to him, and he was very attentive to all of them. So it's not surprising that that sort of became hereditary.

Marion Ross (26:56):

No, he's a very nice guy. Ron was a very nice guy. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> treated people very nicely. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Louise Palanker (27:03):

Well, Marion, are you ready to play some happy days? Trivia? I don't know how sharp you are here, but what, let,

Marion Ross (27:08):

Let's see how dumb I am today.

Louise Palanker (27:10):

Yeah, but see, for me, this is easy cuz the answers are right in front of me. Okay. All right. So who was Fonzie's Idol? <laugh>. I'll give you a hint. He wore a mask. Fritz, any guesses?

Fritz Coleman (27:26):

The Lone

Louise Palanker (27:27):

Ranger. The Lone Ranger. It's the loan I

Marion Ross (27:29):

Have no, I have no idea.

Louise Palanker (27:30):

It's the Lone Ranger who I guess eventually appeared in an episode.

Marion Ross (27:34):

He did? Yes.

Louise Palanker (27:35):

All Nu number two. Why is Warren Webber nicknamed Potsy?

Marion Ross (27:42):

Oh, isn't that something? You can't call somebody Warren. You know what I mean?

Louise Palanker (27:46):

I agree. <laugh>.

Fritz Coleman (27:47):

It's

Louise Palanker (27:48):

Just cruel. It's just unnecessarily cruel.

Marion Ross (27:51):

No <laugh>.

Louise Palanker (27:51):

The answer is he.

Fritz Coleman (27:52):

So Warren

Louise Palanker (27:53):

Harding, apparently he'd liked to make things with Clay, and one day his mother called him Patsy. Why did she name him Warren in the first place?

Marion Ross (28:00):

You never heard that story? Okay. You just made

Louise Palanker (28:02):

It up. Yeah. Maybe I've just made it up. Yeah. What was Fonzie's middle name? Now you're the only one who called him Arthur, so you may actually know his middle name.

Marion Ross (28:11):

You know that. I have no idea what Arthur's, uh, middle

Louise Palanker (28:14):

Name was. It's worse than Arthur. Is it? That's your clue. It's Herbert.

Marion Ross (28:19):

No, I never, I don't

Louise Palanker (28:20):

Know that. All right. You might know this one. What was Marion's major in college?

Marion Ross (28:27):

Oh, I don't know that there was even any talk about her having been to

Louise Palanker (28:33):

College. Well, apparently people on the internet know that she's been to college and her major was archeology.

Marion Ross (28:39):

Okay. Alright.

Fritz Coleman (28:40):

<laugh>, did you know that?

Marion Ross (28:42):

No.

Louise Palanker (28:42):

Well, I, I want, I wanna hear about the, the statue because you were just honored with a statue in your hometown. Pronounce the name of your hometown for us. W would you please?

Marion Ross (28:55):

Alright. My town is named after a colonel in the Civil War. Oh, okay. It was named Colonel Albert Lee.

Louise Palanker (29:03):

Lee. Okay. Lee,

Marion Ross (29:05):

L e a.

Louise Palanker (29:06):

Right. And

Marion Ross (29:07):

It was during the Civil War, and so it was a darling town built around the lake. Wonderful, wonderful. And a beautiful childhood.

Louise Palanker (29:17):

Well, they have named a lot of stuff. After you over there, if you get down that way, you'll see that there's a performing arts center named after Marion Ross. There's a street named after Marion Ross Rosson. Now there's a statue. So we,

Marion Ross (29:31):

I want you to see the statue. Yes. Can you, do you have a picture

Louise Palanker (29:34):

Of the statue? We do. Do you? Is it It's in the attachments. We got a picture of the statue and you and the statue are sitting together. Very, very friendly. <laugh>. Um, I think you're getting a little fresh with the statue. You've got your hand on her lap.

Marion Ross (29:48):

<laugh>. I don't know. Wow. That's great. I dunno. But it's a sweet town. Really nice people.

Fritz Coleman (29:55):

Did you have to sit for the statue for the artist?

Marion Ross (29:59):

Oh, there we are. Look at

Fritz Coleman (30:01):

Her. Fantastic.

Marion Ross (30:01):

There in her dress. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, her little ankles crossed. Okay.

Louise Palanker (30:05):

She's very proper.

Marion Ross (30:07):

Yes. Isn't she nice? Mm-hmm.

Louise Palanker (30:08):

<affirmative>. Okay. And you wrote that you love where the statue is positioned cuz you get to look out across the lake where you used to play when you were a child.

Marion Ross (30:15):

E Exactly. It's so li nice to look across the park, down across the water on the lake and over to the beach. And that's where my friend mugs, her family ran the beach in the bathhouse and the lifeguards and it was great.

Louise Palanker (30:30):

Ah, that's

Fritz Coleman (30:31):

So cool. How did your family react to your fame, Marion, since you were the first person to

Marion Ross (30:36):

They <laugh> they didn't, they didn't make a big, big fuss with me. Really? It is, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I don't know my, because my brother was a crippled boy, so a lot of the attention went to my brother Gordon, who was awful. Nice guy. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Louise Palanker (30:54):

Yeah. That's interesting that you always felt like you were, he was the star of the family. And I think that happens in a family where there's someone is ill, that person demands the focus.

Marion Ross (31:06):

Oh, absolutely.

Louise Palanker (31:07):

And then you, and then you feel guilty and that makes you feel, or you feel angry and that makes you feel guilty. And the complicated emotions that, uh, ensue. Um,

Marion Ross (31:16):

Well, it's just, uh, it was just fun. And we all got on the train and went to California, went to San Diego where they had the Globe Theater. Wow. How

Louise Palanker (31:29):

About that? And how did your dad do in San Diego? Did he do better? Did he feel better about the way things were going in San Diego?

Marion Ross (31:36):

Uh, absolutely because the, this is a big Navy base, right.

Louise Palanker (31:39):

So

Marion Ross (31:39):

He was working for the Navy there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Alright. So absolutely. He had a really, I think he had a pretty damn good job. You know?

Louise Palanker (31:49):

And you found a good theater out.

Marion Ross (31:50):

Not very rich. We didn't have, we, we had a, a a, we rented out the upstairs in our house, and I slept down in the basement by the, by the canned goods. You know, they, they got <laugh>.

Fritz Coleman (32:07):

You

Louise Palanker (32:08):

Have to be careful that you don't kick in your sleep, because that could be painful

Marion Ross (32:12):

<laugh>.

Fritz Coleman (32:13):

But what, what great timing that you ended up in saying, because the Globe Theater is still one of the preeminent development points for theater that ends up on Broadway in the United States. I mean, their, their reputation is stellar.

Marion Ross (32:24):

Absolutely. The Gloat Theater at that point, it was run by Craig Noel. And Craig Noel was a CO's close friend of mine. And I just, I I lived there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I loved it. It was perfect.

Fritz Coleman (32:38):

It's a beautiful facility. Mm-hmm.

Louise Palanker (32:40):

<affirmative>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I wanna talk for a moment about Brooklyn Bridge, because that's what you did right after Happy Days, and you had to audition many, many times because nobody saw you as a, as a Jewish bubby. But

Marion Ross (32:54):

I

Louise Palanker (32:55):

Know, but you nailed it.

Marion Ross (32:56):

Yeah.

Louise Palanker (32:56):

But you nailed it, right? Yeah. Cuz you're good at dialects. Talk about auditioning for that and getting that role.

Marion Ross (33:02):

Yeah, no, I always did dialect, so mm-hmm. <affirmative> being, uh, Jewish as I, I'd tell you, it was very important to me. And Brooklyn Bridge meant everything to me. And we had, we had a wonderful cast. And, uh, and I don't know, we did it at Paramount. It was wonderful there.

Fritz Coleman (33:28):

Y and you've had lightning strike even more than twice. Uh, uh, listen to this, uh, list of credits. Uh, I mean, Mrs. Cunningham, on Happy Days, drew Carey's mother on the Drew Carey show, the feisty mother on the Gilmore Girls, you've, you're multi-generational. The mother-in-law on that seventies show even the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants grandmother. I mean, seriously, you've, you've, I'm very proud. Yes. You, you've, uh, you are a multi-generational what, what an amazing career. So other than being Mrs. Cunningham, your iconic role, what were some of your other high points within that body of work?

Marion Ross (34:06):

I was on the Lone Ranger.

Fritz Coleman (34:08):

Holy cow.

Marion Ross (34:09):

I loved it. I

Louise Palanker (34:10):

Loved it. And now Fonzis really jealous.

Marion Ross (34:12):

Who is that mask man? I said

Fritz Coleman (34:14):

<laugh>. Wow. That

Louise Palanker (34:15):

Was good. You got to say that.

Marion Ross (34:16):

Right? Wow.

Louise Palanker (34:19):

And then, and now you do a lot of voiceovers.

Marion Ross (34:22):

Not so much. I'm very, very retired because I'm so old, you know, <laugh>. But, um, it's just, I've been having, I've had a wonderful life and, uh, I, I've done what I want to do.

Louise Palanker (34:36):

But writing the book, how, how many years did that take you? Because I was getting the sense that it took you several years to write the book, that you took your time with it

Marion Ross (34:46):

To write a book. You know, you, you have the front part of the book and then you go along and then it's so interesting. And thank God there's always somebody that's helping you, you know? Mm-hmm. Thank God.

Louise Palanker (34:59):

So, yeah. And, and you had David Laurel, it was just an interesting kind of arrangement that you wrote the first half of the book, and then you had your friend David Laurel interview all the key people in your life, including your children. Right. And then, so when you went to read those interviews, were you nervous about what they were gonna say?

Marion Ross (35:18):

<laugh>? No. I mean, what, what, I'm a pretty nice person, so, you know, <laugh>. So, but it was fun because David, uh, was so generous with me and he would make me talk. And I, I've just had a good time with this whole skit that I've done with my life. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> hit him. Them.

Louise Palanker (35:37):

Yeah. Well, I've, I've found it really in interesting device. Instead of you talking to the people or just saying to them, go ahead and write something and we'll include it in the book. They were actually interviewed, so they were sort of prompted and encouraged to remember things perhaps that they would not have. So it was, it was really fun to read.

Marion Ross (35:54):

I think so. I think so.

Fritz Coleman (35:57):

Including Gary Marshall's last interview, and I was a huge fan of Gary.

Marion Ross (36:01):

Gary Marshall was so important to me. Right?

Fritz Coleman (36:04):

Yeah. Talk, talk about him and his relationship to the other actors on the show.

Marion Ross (36:07):

A good man, he was mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, first of all, he was a good ball player mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, and he, he just, I don't know, took care of all of us. Isn't that something? And we would, when we'd take us all to Europe and, and it was just a, a wonderful, he's a wonderful man. He is a wonderful family. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And he's got daughters and a son. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> in this business and a wonderful wife. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> Gary. My Gary is gone now. Isn't that something? Wow. Wow.

Louise Palanker (36:39):

And did your kids grow up with his kids or did everyone kind of stay home while work was happening?

Marion Ross (36:45):

No, my kids, no. <laugh> for our, our kids were never together. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they were sometimes together on a bald field. Okay. No, but other, other than that, uh, they didn't wanna hang around with actors and things like that. You

Louise Palanker (36:59):

Know? I wanna talk for a moment about your relationship with Tom Bosley. You're married to the guy on the show, and at the, at the beginning you didn't really like him.

Marion Ross (37:09):

Well, he's, he's hard. And you know him,

Louise Palanker (37:11):

Did you? No, I, I didn't know him. No,

Marion Ross (37:13):

He didn't know him. No, he's hard. And, and so he was very hard to get, to get along with <laugh> and, and he would be rude to me, you know, and I, I'm think Oh, okay. Okay. Alright. Alright. <laugh>. So, which made me a very good wife, you know, <laugh>, but he's a, but he was so talented. Yeah. And he had come from Chicago and he had gone to Broadway and well, he had done really, really well. Yeah.

Louise Palanker (37:43):

And what do you think it was that helped kind of like, melt the frost? Was him just getting used to people?

Marion Ross (37:49):

No, the Frost never melted. No

Louise Palanker (37:52):

<laugh>. But it seems like Gary had a knack for, and maybe he just had a sense of it, you know, the way you talked about how when you hired your assistant, you just kind of looked at her face and said, I love this face. You're hired. Maybe Gary had a knack for putting together a cast that was gonna love each other.

Marion Ross (38:11):

I think that's a very valid kind of observation because he, he would look at people and, and accept what he saw there. Okay. And, uh, everybody in our company was a very nice person. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that was because Gary wanted it that way. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And he picked people like that.

Louise Palanker (38:30):

Yeah.

Fritz Coleman (38:31):

Talk about navigating the difficult world between playing the world's happiest Mother on this happy show, and then trying to raise your own family in the real world and, and giving your children, especially a sense of what, what is real?

Marion Ross (38:48):

That's a, that's a very good question. And because I, yeah. I, I don't think I was very protective of them, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because they just kind of k put their, well, kept their eyes open and just did what they could, you know? But, uh, it was a, it was fun. And by putting them, letting them come to the set, let 'em play ball with us, occasionally they would have a line mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, they could walk in and say a line mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But, um, uh, it was just nice, nice nice people. Always nice people.

Louise Palanker (39:24):

I think they were, they were loved and they, they understood that you were, that the chief earner in the household. And maybe they, they felt a little jealous of the Cunningham kids, but they also knew enough about show business to know that the Cunningham kids are not real, and that they're, they're in a time period that no longer exists. And sometimes moms have to work, and our mom loves the heck out of us. So we've got a pretty good deal here.

Marion Ross (39:51):

That's a very good observation, because all, even in the community here, these are, these mothers are all working mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know that mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And if they're not in show business, they're in advertising. They're, it's, everybody was very, very competitive and hardworking.

Fritz Coleman (40:06):

And you must have made the comfortable, because they're all in show business and they, they sought that out later when they became adults, right?

Marion Ross (40:13):

Yeah. Yeah. We, we, we had such a good time together mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we would, we would go in New York City, we would pick a, a, a restaurant down in the worst part of town, you know, and then, then we would all go there to have a supper. Alright. And this is kind of rough and rough neighborhood. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So here we all are whole happiness, cast and crew and everybody. And we, we just had always, we had fun.

Louise Palanker (40:44):

Wow. Yeah. I think it shows shows when, when the show comes on, do you ever find yourself watching it? Or do you just think, oh, I've seen this, I know what, I don't have to watch this

Marion Ross (40:55):

<laugh>. No, I forget. I forget to watch it. Okay. <laugh>, right? <laugh>, yeah.

Fritz Coleman (41:02):

I know you say you're retired, but if, if somebody were to come along and present to you an age appropriate role in a Broadway production, eight shows a week, um, would you consider it?

Marion Ross (41:17):

What an interesting question. What attempting idea? <laugh>. If it was something that I really liked, you could get yourself so well organized, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that, that you would, might wanna do it. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> we're, we're very competitive and ambitious. All of every one of us was ambitious. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Louise Palanker (41:41):

And do you still feel that that kind of like, you're still supposed to be competitive? Or do you allow yourself to relax and enjoy what you've already accomplished?

Marion Ross (41:50):

No, I, I always feel that I should do more, you know, and have, have surges of energy and be, you know, uh, wonderful. Aren't I lucky? I've, I've had, I've followed my dream all the way through, didn't I?

Louise Palanker (42:05):

Yeah. I mean, what's interesting to me though about that is that, you know, the way that you describe it in your book, you always felt like you still weren't there. You always felt like you were in pursuit of the dream. And I'm wondering if that, if that wasn't even, uh, more creative and more productive be than somebody like the kids on the show that were already famous at 22. You know, you just kept going and going and going, and then in your fifties happy days hit. And it was only then I think that you allowed yourself to really believe that you had achieved your dream.

Marion Ross (42:39):

Well, I probably never did believe that I had achieved my dream, because it's a, it's a constant searching and looking and, uh, aren't we, uh, aren't we fun, aren't we? I think

Louise Palanker (42:52):

But don't you think that's what we're meant to do? We're just meant to, we're meant to keep striving. Right?

Marion Ross (43:00):

I, I always was striving. Yeah. All you, I i, if I, if I was in school and there was a girl who I liked her clothes and her hair mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, God, I, I I was very competitive. I was very competitive.

Louise Palanker (43:18):

Right. So, but I don't, I don't, I don't feel like you were hard on yourself. I think that you took that energy and used it mostly productively. I mean, you talk in the book about being despondent and then shaking it off and moving on.

Marion Ross (43:32):

Oh, yes. I didn't, I didn't spend too much time being despondent and, and down mm-hmm. <affirmative>, no. And Muon MoveOn.

Louise Palanker (43:40):

Yeah. And I think that's a wonderful quality,

Marion Ross (43:42):

Ben. I think I got that from my Canadian mother. Yeah. Isn't it?

Louise Palanker (43:46):

Now, when, go ahead, Frise. No, I was your mother born in Canada? I'm trying to remember how everybody got to Canada. That's where your parents met, right? Right.

Marion Ross (43:55):

She's a Irish, uh, Canadian up on, on the Wheat Farms up there. And she, uh, learned to become a teacher and she taught, and she just was smart and cute and ambitious. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and cute.

Louise Palanker (44:14):

Now, was she born in Ireland?

Marion Ross (44:16):

No. No. She was born in Canada.

Louise Palanker (44:18):

Right. Do you know what county your people are from?

Marion Ross (44:21):

No, I don't. It was Saskatchewan. It was, this was the Wheatland. Right. So that when it was wheat time, the, the tractors would come, the, the, what do you call those things? And they would work on, uh, and all of the

Fritz Coleman (44:36):

Main combine.

Marion Ross (44:37):

Yeah. The the combine. Yeah. Right. And they would come and, uh, get all that grain and, uh, lot of stuff.

Louise Palanker (44:45):

Now do you have any grandchildren that are expressing an interest in the entertainment business?

Marion Ross (44:51):

I have <laugh> grandchildren that are very good looking, I must say

Louise Palanker (44:58):

<laugh>

Marion Ross (44:59):

About Taylor. Taylor, my, she might, my, my Taylor is like about 31, you know, end of her twenties. Yeah. Very, very pretty. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And she has naturally red hair. Ah. And, uh, she's just smart and wants to become, she <laugh> telling me what to do. So she would, she would cue me too, you know,

Louise Palanker (45:27):

<laugh>. Yeah.

Marion Ross (45:29):

Sees how hard it's, yeah. So when, when you see it, how hard it is, uh, you're kind of torn. You can go a step back. Mm-hmm.

Louise Palanker (45:39):

<affirmative>. So how do, how do you guys feel about how hard it is today when you have all of our attention spread out? All of all these streaming services and all these, all the programming, and when you were starting out, it was three networks and everybody was watching you, especially if it was live, they were watching Happy days. There were only three networks, and now people can go to YouTube and find, pick, and choose. Is, is there more work for actors or less work for actors?

Marion Ross (46:06):

Oh boy. Well, isn't that something? Yeah, no, there were lots of competition, but lots of product. Yeah. Lots of product right now. Right. And that's a good thing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's a good thing. If you want it, go get it. Go go after it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, go get it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. Yeah.

Fritz Coleman (46:24):

Do you think that, um, that your background, your mother's, um, agrarian background in Canada was a good base for you before you came out here? I always love to talk to people. Say, I'm so glad I was born and raised in the Midwest because I, I got my roots firmly established, and I had a sense of reality before I came out here. So did your mother give you that sort of awareness before you came out here?

Marion Ross (46:52):

Yes. My mother, my mother had a lot of personality, so, uh, she was very important as far as lighting a fuse under me mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And since I had a crippled brother, and I had an older sister, and I'm in the middle, so I responded well. And, uh, it just was, and there just seemed to be so much outlet and the fact that we went, now I'm like 8, 16, 17, we moved to San Diego. Yeah. Ah, what do we have there? We've got the Globe Theater, right? Shakespeare. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Isn't this wonderful?

Louise Palanker (47:32):

All the stuff you loved, and you'd been reading all these plays your whole childhood, so you knew all the plaques.

Marion Ross (47:36):

Yes, absolutely. I was ready to, to be on in the theater. Mostly the theater, not movies, but in the theater.

Louise Palanker (47:44):

One of the interesting aspects of your story was reading about how you handled advances from men. You were very, uh, clear about your intentions and, and so nobody messed with you, but you talk about that a little bit. You know, give, give some young women advice when they, when they encounter such a thing.

Marion Ross (48:07):

Yes. I, it's funny, I don't have much memories of that because I was, I was compulsively nice person, a really nice person, <laugh> mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So that was, uh, a little battle that I would have to, and I would watch the other girls that were in like, going to lunch mm-hmm. <affirmative> with guys.

Louise Palanker (48:30):

Right. You know? Yeah.

Marion Ross (48:31):

And I think, no, don't do that. <laugh>. Mm-hmm.

Louise Palanker (48:36):

<affirmative> don't. But I remember you saying, you know, you went to somebody's apartment or you went and you said, I don't know what you think is happening. And then you just walked out <laugh> and he gave you a job anyway, showing the scarves at Nord Star, nor like,

Marion Ross (48:53):

Oh, I did. That's right. That's in the book, right. <laugh>. Right. Oh,

Louise Palanker (48:58):

Even though you turned him down, he still gave you a job.

Marion Ross (49:01):

I know. I was very strict with myself. Yeah.

Louise Palanker (49:05):

Yeah. I mean, I think you, you know, you have to be, and I, I

Marion Ross (49:09):

Didn't you, I didn't wanna watch some of the girls and think, Hmm, don't do that.

Louise Palanker (49:15):

Or you would hear people talk about a girl.

Marion Ross (49:18):

No.

Louise Palanker (49:18):

Yeah. You know, you'd hear there were a bunch of girls that were all the, the, the, um, contracted players at Paramount, and you'd hear the way they talked about a certain girl, and then you'd say, I don't wanna be talked about that way.

Marion Ross (49:30):

No, no. So,

Louise Palanker (49:33):

But yeah, I think people will do anything sometimes to catch a break and sometimes they don't know what their rights are or what would, what, what's wise when it's, what, you know, when it's actually more advantageous to say no and, and

Marion Ross (49:48):

What Yeah. Who didn't sleep with who, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Right. Almost all young actresses. I think lots of them did.

Louise Palanker (49:54):

So yeah. I think they feel like they don't, that those are, there aren't any,

Marion Ross (49:57):

Cause I was already married, I'd run off and, and eloped and gotten married when I was like 22. So that helped.

Louise Palanker (50:06):

Yeah. I mean, maybe that was a good ballast for you to be able to say, I'm married.

Marion Ross (50:12):

Yes. No, I'm married. I can't, I can't possibly <laugh>.

Fritz Coleman (50:18):

I I love to ask people in your position, um, and there are a few, only a few in your position, but is there a part that you were presented with that didn't seem right for you and you turned it down and it turned out to be some iconic role in the movie that everybody loved? Do you have one of those stories?

Marion Ross (50:34):

No, I, I don't have a story like that because if I did turn it down, it probably was something that I should have kept. And, uh, now I can remember being, being on the Loan Ranger, the Lone Ranger. Oh man. And at, at one point the, the Lone Ranger had to carry me on, on this horse. Now I'm on Wow. Horse. I can't believe. So it's, it's just been a, it's been a wonderful life. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and as I went with Carrie Grant and we all went and we were in the Army, you know, what was that Operation Penny coat

Louise Palanker (51:12):

Operation Penny Coat. And, and you guys were, was it a bunch of women that worked on a submarine wearing Pink Uni? Great.

Marion Ross (51:18):

Yeah.

Louise Palanker (51:19):

So all kinds of wonderful adventures. It's been just a joy to read your book. And so thank you for sharing your story with us. We really appreciate it. Great.

Marion Ross (51:28):

Good. Alright,

Louise Palanker (51:30):

Children, well, we're gonna, we're gonna sign off, but before we do that, Fritz is gonna help people find our show. Go ahead. Fri,

Fritz Coleman (51:35):

If you enjoyed this episode of Media Path, how could you not? It would help us to be more discoverable by potential new listeners. If you leave us a quick review on Apple Podcast, and if you're new here and this is your first time with us, please check out our back catalog. You may even find us binge-worthy. Many people do. Recent episodes include Gary Puckett and the Cows Seals, and Keith Morrison and Henry Winkler and a few of our friends have made great advances in their career. For instance, we had Dana Gould on here, and he has just been released in Bobcat Gold's new documentary about being on the road that apparently, particularly for performers, is wonderful. Sean Peloski, uh, one of my favorite people and one of the funniest ladies working is touring all over the United States. Look for her. Elaine Busler, Steve Bluestein and Wayne Federman and Ed Begley Jr. And I mentioned the, uh, documentary about Mr. Kelly's, which is a place our friend Tom Dreesen performed that. So we'd just like to give shout outs for them. Yeah. So please, uh, know that we appreciate you spending an hour with us, and we would be overjoyed if you took a moment to share your thoughts with us or recommend us to a friend.

Louise Palanker (52:40):

We would love for you to join us online on Instagram and Twitter, where we are at Media Path Pod, and on Facebook where we are. Media Path Podcast. You can find full episodes with all kinds of bonus visual content on our YouTube channel Media Path podcast. We would love to know what media you've been enjoying. You can contact us at our social media or email us at Media Path podcast@gmail.com. You wanna thank our wonderful and beautiful guest, Marion Ross. Our team includes Dean of Friedman, Francesco Desmond, John Madox, Sharon Beo, bill Philipp, Thomas Hubble, Mason Brown, and you. Our theme music is by me and John Maddox. I am Louise Lanker here with Fritz Coleman, and we will see you along the media path.