Actor Alan Dinehart co-starred with Shirley Temple in two films. First, he played a private investigator determined to get Shirley’s father (played by James Dunn) behind bars again in “Baby Take A Bow” (1934). Four years later, he had a short role as Purvis, the rival radio executive of Tony Kent (Randolph Scott) in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” (1938). Below is a screenshot with William Demarest, Ruth Gillette, Shirley, and Dinehart.
How did Dinehart’s name appear in my brain? As I was re-watching childhood TV favorite, “The Brady Bunch,” I encountered yet another Shirley connection.
The Season One November 14, 1969 episode was titled, “A-Camping We Will Go.”
I noticed on the credits the name Alan Dinehart as one of the writers. Did Dinehart become a writer? Thirty-one years after “Rebecca” was made? It didn’t seem possible.
The episode is cute. This panorama shows the location of where the blended Brady family went camping, the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir in Los Angeles. If it looks familiar, you might recognize it from the opening of “The Andy Griffith Show.”
The story is a mix of boys vs. girls and “The Parent Trap” (1961). With the family unable to catch fish for lunch, Carol (Florence Henderson) pulls through with her backup picnic basket.
Fried chicken and cold cuts for days! Greg (Barry Williams) scoffs at the basket, calling it “sissy food.”
Yes, there are some cringe moments when watching this vintage show, but for the most part, the stories promote equality, and not just between the sexes. It was also groundbreaking in showing the mother and father’s love for each other. Almost every episode shows them in bed (the same one!), kissing, hugging, and flirting with each other. While today’s jaded generation may find the show laughable, for me, it evokes a sadness for a time when healthy relationships were promoted in the media. Sadly, “healthy” has become “corny.”
As always, I digress. Turns out that the Alan Dinehart in the credits was actually Alan, Jr., son of the actor and his first wife, Louise Dyer. This 1934 photo shows Alan and his son, with Dinehart’s second wife between them.
From the accompanying vintage publicity blurb:
Alan Dinehart, stage and screen star, and his bride, flew back to California April 17th, after a brief ten days sojourn in New York, accompanied by Dinehart’s 16-year-old son, Alan, Jr. who is to make his home henceforth in California. Like his dad, Alan, Jr., is a polo enthusiast and the new estate they have secured in Riverside, Calif., will offer plenty of opportunity to improve his game. The trio is shown above at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, shortly before leaving New York. Mrs. Dinehart is the former Mozelle Britton. 4/18/34.
Alan Dinehart, Sr. died of a heart attack in 1944 and was buried at Forest Lawn (Mozelle would “join” him there in 1953). Alan, Jr. (1918-1992) worked as a producer, scriptwriter, voice-over artist, and voice director for “Top Cat” and “The Flintstones.” Besides “The Brady Bunch” episode, he also wrote for “Gilligan’s Island.”
Yet another mystery solved here at Daveland! See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
2 comments:
Kind of odd that there wasn't some requirement for a "Jr." on his name in a heavily regulated industry like entertainment. Some union rule or something? Alan Hale Jr. had to.
Senior was born Harold Alan Dinehart, but had his name legally changed to Mason Alan Dinehart in 1936.
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