Not at all Jeanne! I love this kind of info! I want to hear more about your family, what they did and what movies/shows they worked on!!! You have never mentioned all of this before!
I will try to put it in a nutshell. I grew up in Culver City, which isn't far from where BK and Jane and PennyO grew up. Virtually all the family worked in movies or TV at some point in their lives, but for most of them it was simply a way of earning a living. My uncle's position was the most notable--he was the only one to receive screen credit. My father didn't usually work directly on the shows, what he did was more support stuff. For instance, he wallpapered the sets for the Andy Hardy series with Mickey Rooney. I recall this because I watched the show as a very little girl and my dad would ALWAYS say, "I didn't get that seam straight" or something like that and I'd moan because I'd heard that sooo many times.
My dad worked at Desilu for many years (what was it before it was Desilu? I don't remember) and would sometimes get off work early. When I'd get home from school he'd sometimes ask me if I wanted to go over to the studio. I always said yes. Over the years I met Johnny Weismiller (sp?) on the Tarzan set, the Real McCoys, Batman and Robin and saw the Batmobile, saw the sets for The Greatest Story Ever Told, met Robert Stack and the Untouchables (a school chum was an enormous fan, so we arranged that for her). My dad also built the munchkin houses for the 1939 Wizard of Oz--but I wasn't around in 1939 to see them!
Once I reached high school, we'd often get tickets for the live Lucy show and Danny Thomas. I'd often bring my friends and we'd be part of the audience. (You had to be at least a certain age; they didn't want young children.) So that was partly my laugh you heard on those shows!
I've always felt a debt to Hollywood because it literally put food on our table. But I also grew up hearing stories of how cut-throat it was. Eddie was shooting some film from a helicopter when he and the camera fell. I recall visiting him in the nursing home--he survived, but it was a long recovery. That was just an accident, but it could be quite treacherous. As a result, I have a sort of love-hate relationship with Hollywood. I left acting because I had NO illusions whatsoever about the business, only to learn, sadly, that the rest of the world is often no different and no better.
But, DR Mike, I cannot tell you all my stories because then there'd be no mystery! I did try to tap both my dad and my other uncle for stories before their deaths, but so much had already been forgotten. I suppose I should write down what I recall before I get to the can't-remember-anything stage!
