DAVID BIRNEY IS DEAD TO ME!

HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!

Bridget Mourns Bernie.

Bye Bye Birney.

"This is Larry King Live. Tonight we have an exclusive. David Byrne after whom the famous sports arena in New Jersey is named, has passed away due to complication from a Talking Head injury. Coming up, his step daughter Gwynneth Paltroon will join us with her exclusive memories of David's last days. Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with David's childhood friend Tina. Tina will share her memories of growing up in Weymouth, Ireland, and share with us how she inspired David's children's book Stop Making Bench. Right after this word from our sponsor."

It lacks the brilliance of other Larry Kind threads, but I need more of them. As most of us know, a pale imitation is often the catalyst for the real thing (sure, Jan).

How many women did he turn gay? Will he be sainted by the lesbians for his contributions to their numbers?

I'm pretty sure this draft was leaked on purpose. "Let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it."

Birney's death is just a draft, then? Not yet finalized? He'll be relieved to hear that!

Has Donna Mills or Lezzlie Charleson issued a statement yet?

Eight posts seem about right, alas.

Bridget Loves Birney was family viewing in our home back in the day, even though it lasted only a single season...

A man after my own heart. RIP.

Created by Bernard Slade (The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family) and similar in theme to the 1920s Broadway hit Abie’s Irish Rose, Bridget Loves Bernie premiered in September 1972 in the enviable Saturday night slot between All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Birney portrayed Bernie Steinberg, a Jewish cab driver and struggling playwright, and Baxter played Bridget Fitzgerald, a Catholic grade school teacher from a wealthy family. Their characters wed during the third episode and lived in an apartment above a deli owned by Bernie’s folks.

The premise seems innocent enough now, but Jewish groups back then launched a full-scale protest to get the series off the air. “The program treats intermarriage, one of the gravest problems facing Jews today, not only as an existent phenomenon but one that should be totally accepted,” Rabbi Balfour Brickner, director of the Commission on Interfaith Activities, told The New York Times in 1973.

Baxter even reported getting bomb threats, and the series, though in the top 10 in the ratings, was not renewed after airing its 24th and final episode in March 1973. (M*A*S*H wound up moving from Sundays to take its spot.)

Each divorced at the time, Birney and Baxter (who had two kids from her first marriage) wound up getting married for real in May 1974. They had three kids of their own and were together until their 1989 divorce.

In her 2011 book Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering, Baxter — who went on to star as the mom Elyse Keaton on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, of course — wrote that Birney was emotionally and physically abusive to her, claims that he denied.

The son of an FBI special agent, David Birney was born on April 23, 1939, and raised in Cleveland. After attending West High School, he graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in English literature in 1961, then earned his master’s in theater from UCLA.

After a stint in the U.S. Army and a year with the Barter Theatre in Virginia, Birney appeared in 1967 in The Comedy of Errors, King John and Titus Andronicus in the New York Shakespeare Festival for Joseph Papp.

The following year, he starred with Blythe Danner in Ron Cowen’s Summertree, with his turn as a soldier killed in Vietnam landing him Theatre World and Clarence Derwent awards. And as a member of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center, he appeared in five Broadway productions from 1969-71, including The Playboy of the Western World.

(Meanwhile, he also was playing heartthrob Mark Elliot on the CBS soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. Elliot and Donna Mills’ character got married on that program.)

Birney explained why he signed up for Bridget Loves Bernie in a 1972 interview with the Times.

“I only took the TV series because the options for actors get fewer and fewer,” he said. “I came in in the mid-’60s when British actors dominated the American theater, and for an actor wanting to do Shakespeare you had to steal those parts around the country by hook or by crook. I’m very fortunate to have been almost steadily employed, but I haven’t always done what I’ve wanted to do.

“Another reason I took Bridget Loves Bernie was that it is only a half-hour show with not a lot of work to do and it only takes six months of the year to film, which I hope will leave me time to come back to New York and play parts I like on stage and in film. I’ll go anywhere at any time to do Romeo — you can print that.”

After Bridget Loves Bernie, the actor guest-starred on shows including McMillan & Wife, Bronk and Medical Center and portrayed John Quincy Adams in the 1976 PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles.

He always did have to steal a scene.

I was a Gayling in 1972 when the show premiered but I had an immediate crush/ attraction to David Birney.

I think my taste in men was set in stone by the mid 70’s- I was very attracted to that other slim good looking guy- Randolph Mantooth from Emergency!

To this day I prefer slim good looking guys over muscular ones.

As a theatre guy I'm sad to report I often heard stories of him being a backstage asshole on those various occasions he trod the boards.

Meredith Baxter Birney first mistake was getting into his taxi back in 1972, although I would not have hesitated to get into his taxi - he was DEFINITELY my type.

I remember watching an Archive of American Television interview about St Elsewhere and the producers mentioned David wanted to quit halfway through Season 1 when he realised just how much of an ensemble piece it was and that he would not be the main character. They managed to convince him to stick it out until the end of the season but he certainly wasn't missed when he left. There were other much better actors and characters on that show.

r17 zzzzzzzz

R18- I was under the impression that they just got rid of him. I did not know that he wanted to quit. He went on to do NOTHING after that show. He should have stayed. He was STILL good looking in 1982/83.

R20 I will try and find the video on YouTube but an old article online here mentions something similar

David Birney was a very boring actor, dull as dishwater. However, they did give him another series - the lead in a TV version of SERPICO. They pasted a beard on him, and it lasted four months.

He sounds as insufferable as Bonnie Franklin. Only taking a sitcom for the money so he can return to New York for theater. He should have stayed there and wouldn't have been missed. Or he could have done theater and soaps during the day.

[quote]He sounds as insufferable as Bonnie Franklin.

Did he hate to exercise but love to tap?

Has Meredith Baxter-Lesbian commented yet?

I thought he was good on St. Elsewhere. Yes, it was an ensemble piece, but he was given star billing and was obviously the romantic lead in a sea of mostly unknowns.

[quote] Did he hate to exercise but love to tap?

He hated ladies and loved to SLAP!

Didn't he know that while a shorter role, Mercutio is the better role for the man in "Romeo and Juliet"?

I saw him on the street near Radio City Music Hall years ago, and he was very tall, very slim and very handsome.

Hold me, David. I'm scared.

All That Glitters isn't gold.

Why should she, R25? He was not a "star" worthy of public comments and she's ooh soo happy to be away from him.

Mark Elliott!

R29- I had a crush on him during St Elsewhere but the guy although handsome and slim was not tall. He always wore boots with a higher heel to give him some height.

R28 Thank you. Of all Shakespeare's characters, he wanted to play Romeo?? Romeo is a cypher. He exists to tell us how wonderful Juliet is.

Birney sounds like a poseur.

Alzheimer's disease is so cruel.

If we're talking 1970s hot Jews I'd have held out for Paul Michael Glaser. And he was the real thing.

Was David Doyle Jewish? Another sexy (Jewish?) fucker from the '70s that I used to rub one off to.

What is it like to be married to someone for that long and then to find out that partner was gay? Does that make you question everything that was said or done or not said and not done?

Did she fake it all that time? Did it make her an undercover antagonistic partner?

I know some women who have been abused by men, whether it's physical/emotional abuse from a spouse or sexual abuse from a male family member, end up having relationships with women. That may have been what led Meredith to explore that path.

That cold, distant bitch Kate Lawrence raised two dykes. Was it any wonder?

David Doyle? Jewish??

Remember GLITTER - A Spelling trash show about attractive tabloid types? Morgan Brittany and Timothy Patrick Murphy were in the cast. When David signed up for that, his tv career was in the shitter.

"I know some women who have been abused by men, whether it's physical/emotional abuse from a spouse or sexual abuse from a male family member, end up having relationships with women. That may have been what led Meredith to explore that path."

Do tell, R40! And if you'd had bad relationships with woman, did that turn you into a gay man?

Inquiring minds want to know!

In her autobiography, Meredith Baxter-Lesbian claims all three of her ex-husbands beat her at one time or another.

R41 I got your number, hussy.

[quote]In her autobiography, Meredith Baxter-Lesbian claims all three of her ex-husbands beat her at one time or another.

That many huh?

Then perhaps the problem was not so much the husbands...

R15, that too is what I have heard.

I only ever recall David Birney for an episode of The New Twilight Zone, S01E16c, 'Tooth and Consequences,' 1985.

There was also a sci-fi thing, 'Nightfall' (1988), which was kind of offputting.

Has Susan Dey released a statement?

I hate to suck dick but I love eating pussy!

I had the hots for him when I was a youngster and he was on Bridget loves Bernie.

[quote]Did she fake it all that time?

Most women fake it, dummy.

R51- Welcome to my club

I would love for him to have posed FULL FRONTAL in Playgirl back in the 1970's.

If they'd asked me to sing that theme song, I'd have give it some oomph and the show might have lasted longer than one lousy season!

Who was the icier, more distant WASP mother...Kate Lawrence or Beth Jarrett?

Didn't he die like five years ago? I've already made my peace with it.

Lyon Burke number two!

R56- Kate Lawrence was DOLL compared to Beth Jarrett and especially Barbara Thorndike.

Breaking news: Bridget Loves Bernie is on Crackle (free app). Mrs. Roper and Bosley are on it. LOL!!!

Glitter on YouTube. Starring dead David, Katherine Wentworth, Mickey Trotter, anorexic Tracy Nelson, and Arte Johnson! Guest stars are Carol Brady, Schneider, Nary Ingalls, and Rhoda's friend Myrna.

^^MARY! Ingalls

Funny (well not funny coincidental) that he just died because i was watching the Whitney doc on Saturday and she was supoosedly named after - of all people - MBB’s mother Whitney Blake. So bizarre that she would be named after some random not really famous white woman.

[quote]they did give him another series - the lead in a TV version of SERPICO. They pasted a beard on him, and it lasted four months.

I have a feeling he starts wearing out his welcome after a few months. What is that called when people are like that?

OMG Glitter! It seemed to follow the HOTEL guideline, down to to the benign black actor (Dorian Harewood) comparable to the Security Guard on Hotel. The 'couple' TPM and Tracy Nelson, ala Heidi Bohay and Michael Spound. I wish I'd seen the follow up ep in that last clip with Billy Moses and Charlene Tilton (or was that Kitty Ruth?) and Robert Goulet.

[quote]I have a feeling he starts wearing out his welcome after a few months. What is that called when people are like that?

Being a troll on DL?

R16, the school that MB-B goes into is on Madison Avenue and was the school in Kramer v Kramer.

I remember this show when I was a kid. '72-73, I was 9-10...I was intrigued by him (little Ding going off as an indicator of my gayness). I am Irish/Italian-American, and I can remember my parents talking about interfaith marriages.

R38, Really? Rubbing one out to David Doyle? Really?

To each his own, I guess.

No R66, I really mean that. I actually know two people who are like that. They're very charismatic, but after 3 or 4 months they wear out their welcome at their jobs. What is that called?

R68, it's called INSUFFERABLE. Duh!

[quote]I would love for him to have posed FULL FRONTAL in Playgirl back in the 1970's.

Even better... a Mapplethorpe spread with Birney being penetrated by a fireplace poker.

Besides the abuse, Meredith's biography paints him as a pompous actor who berated her when she did TV movies. A bit ironic considering the dreck he did later.

R67 yes, it’s called PS 6!

Also, this is something I never thought I would say, but that intro is way too long.

It’s also interesting to look back and see what was considered “so pretty” then Vs now.

R71- He was probably also JEALOUS of her relative success on shows like Family then Family Ties and while he spent most of his career in obscurity.

MBB probably made more in one season of Family Ties, then he made in a whole decade during the same period.

He probably lived the rest of his life off of half her Family Ties money.

MBB was no great beauty or talent. Her long blonde hair was her everything. David had the talent and the looks, but it sounds like he was a bitter diva who pissed off a lot of people.

R76- When she was on the show Family she was VERY pretty.

What "Family Ties money"? LMAO! Meredith wasn't paid very much per episode. No one watched the show because of Meredith. Any other late 70s/early 80s TV actress could have done her role, like Joyce Bulifant, Barbara Rhoades, Julie Kavner, Georgia Engel, Marlo Thomas, etc.

Did MBB resent MJ Fox more than Valerie Harper resented Jason Bateman?

True r78. Salaries for tv actors back then were nowhere near the megabucks they later became.

R78 she had a favored nation clause in her contract so whatever MJF was raised to, she always got just a little bit more. By the late 80s she was the highest paid woman on television - which I agree no one would ever guess if you were playing the guessing game. But she was. I remember ET had a special on TV salaries and she was getting 120k an episode - more than Joan Collins.

Meredith had a bit part in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, which is classy.

But where is her Phaedra? Her Lady Macbeth?

[quote]R45 In her autobiography, Meredith Baxter-Lesbian claims all three of her ex-husbands beat her at one time or another.

Wow. She must have been really insufferable!

R44 Sexual fluidity is far more common in women than men, research shows.

R81 Thank you for defending my honor, maybe we are among the few who remember that bit of trivia I guess? Us, and Michael J. Fox that is.

R76 = needs an optometrist

R85- Why are you talking about that FAGGOT Michael J Fox?

My father worked with David briefly in the '70s, and used all the same adjectives that have been used upthread in other anecdotes -- difficult, arrogant, pompous. Nonetheless, we were invited to brunch at the Birneys' home one weekend when I was about nine years old.

I remember almost nothing about David from that day, because I was too smitten by Meredith. She was just so, SO pretty and seemed like a hip, fun mom. (I was the same age as her eldest kids, but my mother was 20 years her senior, which felt like 50 years). After brunch, when my dad & David retreated to the living room to talk, Meredith joined us (the kids) in the driveway for handball against their garage door.

The other thing that made a big impression on me was their house. I thought it was so COOL! Obviously, I knew nothing about architecture at that age. I only knew that it was really different from the houses in my neighborhood, and I loved all the wood & the spiral staircases. And the setting was beautiful (Rustic Canyon).

Did Meredith build that house with her own two hands?

No, but she had a Lesbian affair with the forewoman.

The house in Rustic Canyon was built for, and originally owned by, DTLA real-estate developer Robert Maguire (U.S. Bank Tower, Wells Fargo Center, KPMG Tower, Gas Company Tower, etc). Sorry if that mucks up your lame lesbian joke, R89.

That house must have been so amazing back in the 1980s. There was a very similar house like that where I lived back then. I LOVED it and used to drive by it all the time.

This was the southern exposure of the house:

Will we be view all the homes of the Birneys and Baxter-Birneys both collective and single?

I dunno R94. Will you be view? You can try that thing called Google.

Sada Thompson in above clip! She had a rare talent. Greatly missed.

I think a lot of gay men had mothers like Kate Lawrence.

He didn't help himself when he said most of the scripts he got were awful in interviews, especially after being on a few shows that were quickly cancelled.

He was good looking and talented but had way too high of an opinion of himself for his own good. He also tried shaving a few years off his real age.

R88- Was this during the time she was on Family?- she was SO pretty in the late 1970's. By the time she was on Family Ties in 1982 a bit of the bloom was faded from her Rose.

Yes, R99, it was very early Family's run.

Is Meredith ever commenting?

I've been watching Family online, and I watched an episode last night where Willie's friend Zeke comes out of the closet. There is a scene where Kate and Nancy are discussing the issue and mention how scared and confused Zeke must be. I had to wonder what was going to MEREDITH's mind when she played that scene.

Commenting on what, Dorothy @r101?

R103 Commenting on the sale at Gimbels, Rose!

Susan Dey must be counseling her to sit tight, and wait for a Lifetime Original Movie offer that will focus on her (varied, highly dramatic) response.

That Susan Dey shit is not funny and never was, you Aspie fuckwit

^^ And yet you sound like a barrel of laughs. ^^

Susan Dey is yet another unfunny meme that has been run into the ground by our Aspie posters

[quote]Susan Dey is yet another unfunny meme that has been run into the ground by our Aspie posters

Well, all DL memes can't as unfailingly hilarious as "So-and-so is DEAD TO ME!" Oh, look. It's in the title of this very thread.

The original series "Gidget Loves Ernie" starring Sally Field and Barry Livingston.

R108- Along with that other UNFUNNY meme- Darfur Orphan

Bridget Loves Building Barns

R106 = another humorless homosexual