TV Obits: Ferrer, Sills, Bernsen
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- Mel Ferrer: He was best known for his movie work (including such films as The Sun Also Rises, War & Peace, and Lilli) but he was also a regular on the CBS series Falcon Crest. He also appeared on Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, Christine Cromwell, Hotel, Dallas, Return of the Saint, Hawaii Five-O, Baretta, the miniseries How The West Was Won, and many others. He also directed and produced many films and was married to Audrey Hepburn from 1954 to 1968. He died near Carpinteria, CA at age 90.
- Paul Sills: He was the founder of the famous Second City comedy group in Chicago, which trained some of the best known comedians in the business, including Tina Fey, Chris Farley, John Belushi, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Gilda Radner, and many others. He died in Wisconsin of pneumonia at age 80.
- Henry Bernsen, Jr.: He was the father of actor Corbin Bernsen but also a producer, producing such TV shows as The ABC Afterschool Special and the miniseries The Awakening Land. He died in Woodland Hills, CA at age 82.
Mr. Bill makes a comeback
One of the greatest — and most resilient — characters in the history of Saturday Night Live is making a comeback. Or maybe he’s just taking a paycheck. Mr. Bill is the star of a new MasterCard debit card “Priceless” commercial. He’s going to depict how even someone like Mr. Bill is tough enough to survive the rough financial times in which we live, just by using his MasterCard debit card.
The new 30-second commercials will begin airing on June 9, showing Mr. Bill as a typical guy heading in to work at the office. Naturally, along the commute, he stops for coffee and Mr. Hand scolds him accidentally. At the gym, he’s catapulted off the treadmill. Later, an briefcase opens and launches him out the window. Naturally, through it all, Mr. Bill endures. Being made of clay has its pluses.
Why bring a 30 year old character from the Saturday Night Live era that evokes memories of John Belushi and Gilda Radner? Because the target audience for these ads are the Baby Boomers who watched SNL when a weekly Mr. Bill film was part of every show. Those boomers are today struggling financially and could use the advice Mr. Bill’s dispensing about using the debit card which only lets you spend what you have in the bank.
For Mr. Bill, doing commercials has been his main meal ticket since losing his SNL gig. His resume includes Burger King, Lexus, Pringles and Ramada Inn.