Sunday, August 19, 2012

William Windom's World and Welcome To It



Today there are reports of the passing of actor William Windom. Windom was one of THE great TV character actors, leaving behind a legacy of performances in many classic episodes of TV series such as NIGHT GALLERY, STAR TREK and MURDER, SHE WROTE. I first "met" him, however, in the Fall of 1969, as a new TV series called MY WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT premiered. It was not a success but it WAS unique in terms of sitcoms. 


The show was based on the works of humorist James Thurber with Windom playing a cartoonist with a Walter Mitty tendency to drift into his own fantasies, much to the confusion and consternation of his wife and daughter. It was apparently too different for America at the end of the sixties. Although critically somewhat successful, it lasted only a  single season with some reruns a bit later, then obscurity. Windom, however, rode it on to a long and successful career.  In later years, he even toured in a couple of one man shows as Thurber. Rest in Peace, sir. Thanks for all the great performances.





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