January 20, 2008

Well, then, may Suzanne Pleshette wake up next to God.

The last words of her NYT obituary are an Onion headline:
Arguably Ms. Pleshette’s most memorable television moment was not in “The Bob Newhart Show” but in the final episode of “Newhart.” On May 21, 1990, Mr. Newhart’s character, Dick Loudon, was hit in the head by a golf ball and woke up to find himself in Dr. Robert Hartley’s bed, with his beautiful, unfailingly sane wife, Emily, at his side. The whole second sitcom had been a nightmare.

The episode was considered one of the most successful series finales in television history, partly because it managed to remain a secret until it was broadcast. As time passed, some found the scene a useful metaphor for hopes that a difficult situation might turn out to be just a bad dream. In 1999, a headline in the humor publication The Onion read, “Universe Ends as God Wakes Up Next to Suzanne Pleshette.”
And here's the original Onion squib:
The 15-billion-year-old universe came to a surprise-twist end Tuesday, when God woke up next to actress Suzanne Pleshette. "What a crazy dream I just had," God said to Pleshette at the conclusion of the popular, long-running universe. "I was the Creator of all things, I had this crazy Son who was always getting arrested and wouldn't get a haircut, and My children were always hurting and killing each other in My name." Pleshette reassured God that He had imagined the whole thing and urged the beleaguered, well-intentioned deity to go back to sleep.

29 comments:

Jeff with one 'f' said...

I had a crush on Suzanne Pleshette when I was a boy in elementary school and the feeling never left me.

Meade said...

God she had a sultry voice!

Ann Althouse said...

A sultry voice... and lung cancer.

Meade said...

Do you think the two were connected?

I just learned for the first time about her delayed romance with Tom Poston. Sweet and touching.

Maxine Weiss said...

...uh, isn't Sam the Butcher worthy of a mention on this Blog ?

Ron said...

Yikes, she was born on my birthday! Ernie Banks and Nolan Ryan also better not kick off soon...

Ruth Anne Adams said...

She was born in Brooklyn Heights. I expect you'll scout out that location and post some photos. Noticed how many famous Brooklyn Heights folks have died while you're there?...Death blogging....Althouse laughs at death.

George M. Spencer said...

Poor Annie Hayworth.

If the Birds hadn't gotten her, the cigarettes would have.

Trooper York said...

Brett Farve just woke up next to Suzanne Pleshette and found out he was dead.

GIANTS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIANTS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SUPERBOWL BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Great headline, Ann.

I always wanted to grow up and be Suzanne Pleshette. Beautiful, brunette, and brainy!

Meade said...

"...the beleaguered, well-intentioned deity..."

too funny!

ricpic said...

God woke up next to Suzanne Pleshette and all He did was go back to sleep?

former law student said...

Suzanne Pleshette reprised the Newhart finale on "Saturday Night Live" in 1995 -- and she was still sexy.

Gary Rosen said...

Maxine, who's Sam the Butcher? Anyway, Corporal Henshaw also died yesterday.

Swifty Quick said...

Meade:
God she had a sultry voice!


Ann:
A sultry voice... and lung cancer.

Meade:
Do you think the two were connected?

She was a heavy smoker for 50 years. If you watch some of her earlier stuff, like say as in the Hitchcock film The Birds, you'll see that her voice wasn't like that back then.

So, yes, it unfortunately appears that there was a connection.

But she was a beautiful woman and had a persona that just about everybody liked.

Maxine Weiss said...

Then obviously it was a smoky voice, not sultry.

Smoldering?

Mr. Forward said...

If God woke up next to Laura Petrie they would have separate beds.

Mr. Forward said...

If God woke up next to Ann Althouse He would ask her to quit typing.

Mr. Forward said...

If God woke up next to Christopher Hitchens He would be alone.

Ricardo said...

In the background:

Al di la del bene piu prezioso, ci sei tu.
Al di la del sogno piu ambizioso, ci sei tu.

Suzanne: "What does Al Di La mean?"
Troy: "It's kind of hard to explain. It means 'far far away, beyond the beyond, beyond this world.' That's how much he loves her in this song."

Ci sei tu, al di la, ci sei tu per me.
La la la la.
La la la la.
Ci sei tu.

bearing said...

Ms. Pleshette's passing brings up a fond memory of my late mother, who loved movies and TV (and always beat her daughter the smart-ass at Trivial Pursuit thanks to her complete mastery of "Entertainment" and "Sports and Leisure").

I was sixteen and watching with my mom when the final episode of "Newhart" aired. Immediately after the golf ball hit, my mom turned to me and said, "You just wait. He's going to wake up in bed with Suzanne Pleshette."

I said, "Who's Suzanne Pleshette?" I still remember Mom hooting with satisfaction at her correct prediction of the ending.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Wonder if Daryl and his other brother Daryl will attend her funeral?

Chip Ahoy said...

I did not know any of this.

reader_iam said...

Sam the Butcher was Alice's boyfriend on the Brady Bunch. Not sure why Maxine made the reference.

former law student said...

Sam the Butcher was Alice's boyfriend on the Brady Bunch. Not sure why Maxine made the reference.

Because character actor Allen Melvin just died, too. Along with Sgt. Bilko and the Brady Bunch, he was the voice of Magilla Gorilla. IMDB reports he appeared in episodes of Grindl and Hank, as well.

Trooper York said...

Actually Sam the Butcher was a button man for the Chicago combination and worked with Paul the Waiter and Vinnie Sausages after the suicide of Frank Niti.

Trooper York said...

Sam the Butcher was also one of Maxine's lovers in her heyday as a Hollywood party girl in the '40. They had a three way with Virginia Hill in a booth in the Brown Derby in 1949.

Trooper York said...

Sam was not a hitman, despite his nickname. He was actually more of financial wizard similar to Meyer Lansky in a weaselly sort of way. He got his nickname because of his habit of screaming at the top of lungs "Eat the Meat, BITCH!" while shoving the sausage to whatever bimbo he was banging at the time. He was in fact Jewish and first came up on the lower east side in the Bugs and Meyer gang. He is the reason for Maxine's long time anti-semitism

Original Mike said...

Jef said: I had a crush on Suzanne Pleshette when I was a boy in elementary school and the feeling never left me.

Yeah, me too. I'm bummed.