During the 8 years, we went through a lot including illnesses, accidents, and national incidents from that era.”One of the most memorable was the 1963 Kennedy assassination.“We were rehearsing and a guy from the radio station across the street called with a real quiver in his voice asking for Donna,” said Petersen who remembers answering the phone. The show originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1958, to March 19, 1966. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary and Jeff.
“We all got together for lunch and were very close – uniquely close compared to other television families.”A potentially tragic incident occurred when Paul crashed his Pontiac Grand Prix during the series. “When I got the job, the most excited person in my family was my grandfather who insisted on taking me to work to film the pilot. I loved that car!” Patty Petersen, Paul’s sister, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Peterson | Provided by Paul Petersen. But Donna came to his rescue.“The accident was my fault and for punishment I had to ride a bicycle 8 miles to work every day.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carl Betz was the oldest of four to parents Carl and Mary Leona. We just packed up and went home for a very painful weekend.”Most of Petersen’s memories of the show are far more pleasant, however, like the first day filming on the set.“Donna was from a little town in Iowa called Denison, in the county right next to where my mother was born around the same year,” he explained. He marched right up to Donna and said, ‘Donna Belle Mullenger (her birth name) I knew your dad!’”Reed was gracious, and remained personable and well-liked throughout the series, according to Petersen. Carl Betz as Dr. Alex Stone was the backbone of the family in "The Donna Reed Show." I loved that car!”During the show’s run, Petersen obviously called Reed ‘mom’ while filming; but it was always ‘Miss Reed’ away from the set.“It wasn’t until four years after the show ended when I was in my mid-20s and we were at Chasen’s restaurant; I remember her learning across the table and saying, ‘Paul, I think it’s time you started calling me Donna!’”Having a close ‘second mom,’ especially a famous one, could have created friction between Petersen’s real mother and the actress.“I remember in an interview my mother said, ‘how could I ever compete with Donna Reed?’ But she understood I had an ongoing professional relationship with Donna; it sometimes required spending more time with her than my actual mother.”“Donna was my de facto mother and guardian on the set, a pretty safe person to leave your kids with,” added Petersen.
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Donna Reed (January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American film and television actress.. With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lorene Burke in the war drama From Here to Eternity.She is also well known for her role as Mary Hatch in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films.
“Donna then told us the president had been shot and it shut down the studio. The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. “She was an Iowa bred farm girl, the oldest of five children; she had lived through the depression and came out to California to be a Hollywood star and succeeded. In an interview on Monday with the New York Post, President Donald Trump was asked about his contentious relationship with the media -- particularly CBS News' Paula Reid…
[Donna] was a wonderful role model.” The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation PresentsJeffrey Hayden on stories from his personal life that writer-producer Paul West used on Fred de Cordova on producing and directing several series for Screen Gems including Jeffrey Hayden on stories from his personal life that writer-producer Paul West used on EMMY, EMMYS, and the Emmy Statuette are registered trademarks and/or copyrights Of ATAS and NATAS.TELEVISION ACADEMY and ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES are registered trademarks of ATAS. Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American film and television actress and producer.
During the show’s run, Petersen obviously called Reed ‘mom’ while filming; but it was always ‘Miss Reed’ away from the set. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. Watch Queue Queue. Watch Queue Queue But Donna and Tony (her husband) felt sorry for me and gave me a brand-new Volkswagen Bug. Fond memories of matriarch from "The Donna Reed Show"While most of us will be remembering mothers on May 10 this year, entertainers who worked as child actors in television sitcoms may also have special memories of their ‘TV mom.’ For Paul Petersen, that was Oscar winner Donna Reed, matriarch from “The Donna Reed Show.”In 2018 for the anniversary of the show’s first broadcast, Petersen (and coauthor Deborah Herman) released “The Donna Reed Show: A Pictorial Memoir” (see “It’s kind of an archival look back at an iconic television show,” said Petersen who, like Reed, appeared in all 275 episodes during the series run from 1958 to 1966.
Here's what the beloved actor's life was like before he passed away too soon.
But Donna and Tony (her husband) felt sorry for me and gave me a brand-new Volkswagen Bug. She is well known for her role as Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. “I wanted the book to not only examine the people who made the show, but to put television in the historical context of the period. This video is unavailable.