An Interview with Barbara Bain

Barbara Bain was born in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied sociology and philosophy. After graduating in 1952, she moved to New York to study dance with acclaimed dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. She became interested in acting, studied with Lee Strasberg, and was cast in stage roles, including a touring company of Paddy Chayefsky’s Middle of the Night. That led to guest star roles in TV shows such as Adventures in Paradise, Perry Mason, and Richard Diamond, Private Detective. In 1966, producer Bruce Geller cast Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter in the hit TV series Mission: Impossible. She won three consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series. She left Mission: Impossible after three seasons and appeared in acclaimed made-for-TV films such as Goodnight, My Love (1972) and A Summer Without Boys (1973). From 1975-77, Barbara Bain starred in the science fiction TV series Space: 1999. She has continued to act in films and television and on the stage for the last four decades. She won Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and DramaLogue Awards for her work in Arthur Kopit's Wings, Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, and Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs.

Café:  I have read where Bruce Geller created the role of Cinnamon Carter on Mission: Impossible for you. How did that come about? And were you and then-husband Martin Landau cast at the same time?

Martin Landau and Barbara Bain.

Barbara Bain:  Martin was teaching an acting class. We were all there trying to become better actors. We were young back then--and awfully cute (laughs). Bruce Geller was a writer who had been brought out from New York. Martin wanted writers to see the actor's process. Bruce was quite captivated with watching us, so he wrote the part of Rollin Hand--the man of a thousand roles--for Martin. When he got to the part of "the girl," as Cinnamon was then known, he wrote it for me--although he wasn't clear about that in the beginning. He had to deal with the network and various folks because I was an unknown actress. Even though I had done a number of guest-starring roles, they kept saying: "Who is she? Who is this girl?" Bruce didn't tell me about any of that. So, I had to keep going in for auditions until the last person who needed to see me was Lucille Ball (who ran Desilu Productions), which, of course, was terrifying at the time. I walked in and she took one look at me. "Looks okay to me," she said in her very deep voice. And there I was on the show. So, Martin and I weren't cast exactly at the same time. He was cast first and then me. It was a very exciting, extraordinary time. I was fortunate to work with Bruce Geller. He told the writers: "Write anything. She can do it." That was handing me something golden on a plate, a dream for any actress.

Café:  You mentioned Bruce Geller was in your acting class. Did he aspire to be an actor at one time?

Barbara Bain:  Never, never. Bruce Geller could hardly say three words in a row. He was the most taciturn human being I have ever known. He was in the class solely as a writer. There were a number of writers in the class. At the time, Martin and others had this idea to try to get the writers to understand and develop a relationship with the actor's process. The same thing for directors. Directors are looking for results and actors are going through a process to get those results. The writer, director, and actor have to all try to understand each other in some way to create something. That was the intent. Chinatown writer Robert Towne--Bobby Towne, we called him at the time--was in that class. Nicholson was, too. It was quite a wonderful time for all of us. We would talk through the night after class. We were just so full of ourselves at the time, if you know know what I mean (laughs).

Cinnamon disguised as
a blind princess.

Café:  In her book Tough Choices: A Memoir, Carly Fiorina noted that Cinnamon “neither hid her intellect nor her beauty…she was a full partner to the men on the team.” Were you aware of your character’s impact on young women when you were playing the role?

Barbara Bain:  There wasn't a woman in that regard on television at the time. Young women were writing to me and saying: "I never thought of becoming a so-and-so, but because of watching you on Mission: Impossible, I'm going to get my degree." As the years have gone on, I have gotten a lot of comments like that. For example, I just received a letter from a woman who has retired from NASA and said that she was inspired to pursue her dream because of watching me on Mission: Impossible. I'm just extraordinarily moved by all of this. You're not sure of the impact you have while you're doing it. I'm forever being stopped in markets and told these stories, which is just great.

Café:  What was your favorite episode of Mission: Impossible and why?

The "racy little costume."

Barbara Bain:  You can't have a favorite. They're all like my kids. Certainly, I'm rather fond of the three episodes I won an Emmy for. One of them was called "Illusion." In another, I played a blind Russian tsarina ("The Heir Apparent"). And then there was one that I was captured in. I don't know the name of that one. I think those were the three, but it's been a long time. In "Illusion," which was kind of a take-off on Cabaret, I played a Marlene Dietrich-like character. I sang three songs and did a little dance in a supposedly East German nightclub wearing--for the time--a racy little costume. It had to be approved by CBS. Those were different times. (Click here to watch one of Cinnamon's nightclub numbers on our YouTube Channel.)

Café:  I also liked "The Seal," in which a cat was used to steal a jade seal from the bad guys.

Barbara Bain:  That was brilliant. This person had a trained cat that would do what he wanted him to.

Café:  Why did you and Martin Landau leave Mission: Impossible at the end of three highly-successful seasons?

Barbara Bain:  It's a sad and very difficult thing to explain. It had nothing to do with us leaving together. Some new people took over the show and they wanted to cut down the shooting schedule. They were very eager to have Bruce Geller leave, who was the heart and soul of the show. Martin had a year-to-year contract. The studio didn't like that and wanted to sign him to a longer contract. He did not want to sign one once he knew Bruce was leaving. He wanted to stay for a year and see who was taking over the show. He had that option. I had no option. I had a contract to fulfill. There was extraordinary confusion and misunderstanding on the part of "them"--a long list of names. So, I was caught up in this mess that had to do with Martin's contract. So they put out a lot of publicity that the two of us were standing at the studio gates and holding out for more money. It was never a money question. It was a contract question with Martin. I got caught in it...and it was totally awful. But the true story was only told once, about a year later in a TV Guide article. That's about as much as I want to talk about it. I did want to clarify that it never had to do with money.

Café:  Although the last four years of Mission: Impossible still featured some good episodes, the series was never the same after you and Martin Landau departed.

Barbara Bain:  They removed Bruce Geller from it. Bruce was the center of it. He was the one that understood every single moment of it. He was the one who wrote most of the scripts for the first year. You can't remove that person and expect it to remain the same. And, of course, the two of us departed and it was a different show.

Café:  Before we move on to another topic, I want to ask about the replacement of Steven Hill with Peter Graves as the IMF leader after the first season.

The IMF Team in the second
and third seasons.

Barbara Bain:  Steven had his difficulties that first year. Bruce did want him. He knew the various limitations Steven had in terms of shooting time and he was good with all that. We were all careful not to upset Steven or cause any incidents. It wasn't an easy first year, but we got through it. Of course, Peter was a grown-up; he wasn't like a silly kid. He was a very reliable, wonderful person and we didn't have to be skittish about offending him.

Café:  It always seemed like such a tight team.

Barbara Bain:  It was. And we kept it tight even in that first year, though it was more difficult to do so.

Café:  How would you describe your experience starring as Dr. Helena Russell with Martin Landau in the British science fiction series Space: 1999?

As Dr. Russell in Space: 1999.

Barbara Bain:  It was wonderful. It was very different obviously. The offer that came to us was very posh. One of the things that attracted me were the work hours. To do another U.S. television series, I would have missed a lot of time with my kids. In England, we were told that we would be finished at 5:20 every night--an odd number, but that was the number. That meant I could have dinner with my kids. I'm not so sure my kids were dying to see me at the time (laughs), but I did not want to miss those years. That was one of the considerations. Also, the idea for Space: 1999 was very exciting. The producers came here for some meetings and they really wanted us, which was nice. There was the adventure of going to England. We packed up and took the kids, of course, though the Brits thought that was unusual. Everything about it had appeal. We were there for almost four years; it was intriguing, wonderful, and exciting in so many ways. That group of people from Space: 1999 are still passionately connected to the show. In fact, I will attending a convention in Pennsylvania this month to celebrate Space: 1999. It has been exciting to remain connected to that show.

Café:  Your 1972 made-for-TV movie Goodnight, My Love, co-starring Richard Boone, has become something of a cult film. What was it like playing a femme fatale in a throwback 1940s film noir?

A publicity still with Richard Boone
and Michael Dunn.

Barbara Bain:  I'm just tickled. I didn't know that Goodbye, My Love had become any kind of cult film. I just loved doing that movie with Richard Boone and Michael Dunn. It was interesting to play this woman about whom we find out all kinds of things by the end. She's all "poor me" in the beginning and not so "poor me" by the end of it. I received extraordinary compliments about my performance. I spent some time with (director) Peter Hyams in the last year or two and we recalled making the film. Lee Strasberg (the famous acting teacher) said I was just wonderful. I can't even say it. I can't quote somebody else talking about me without being a little embarrassed. But after all these years, it was very nice to hear that from one's master teacher.

Café:  I recall it being a very good film. It's hard to see these days, as I don't believe it's been released on DVD. There's currently a print on YouTube, although the quality isn't great.

Barbara Bain:  It's nice to know that the things you did a long time ago still resonate. It feels good.

Café:  You have been actively involved in children’s literacy for many years. How did the non-profit Storyline Online (storylineonline.net) come about and what is its mission?

Reading The Kissing Hand for
Storyline Online.

Barbara Bain:  It's something that happened out of playing a board game with my younger daughter Juliet. It was called "Personal Preference" and you were given a card with three topics. Another player challenged you and you had to pick your most favorite thing. One of my cards had to do with reading to children and I hadn't picked it. And Juliet said: "Wait a minute. You always love to read to kids." I said: "Well, I do, but you all grew up in two minutes so I didn't get to read to anybody." She wanted her game point; that's what it was all about. But the next day, I got to thinking about it. I thought, wait a minute, why don't I go somewhere and read to kids? I considered a library, but then decided that kids in a library probably have someone reading to them. So, I went to a park, a sort of summer day camp for kids. And I asked the person in charge if I could read to the kids. We sat on the grass and I read stories to all different ages. That was where it started. Then, I went to Tom Bradley, our mayor (in Los Angeles) and to the Screen Actors Guild. I said: "Here is this enormous population of actors that can read...we have to read to get roles. It's a large population that likes an audience. And we have an awful lot of time on our hands." So, it was a a perfect fit for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, which at the time was looking for some kind of project that had to do with the city and some kind of giving back. Within three or four weeks, it all happened. It was very fast for a specific project. That was the beginning of it almost twenty years ago.The actors went to the schools and to the kids' rooms and read. I went to a neighborhood called Watts and read for one day a week to kindergarten and first-grade students for 15 years. Ultimately, it morphed into an online program known as Storyline Online. It's enormously successful and involves actors from all over the globe. You pick a story and an actor reads it. It's a wonderful way to get kids interested in literature. I am a reader. I have been a reader my entire life. I love reading. It was just something I cared about tremendously. I find it exceedingly rewarding. Every time I would leave that kindergarten or first grade class, I was all excited and happy as well as the kids. There is something about that connection.

Café: It's a wonderful way to promote children reading.

Barbara Bain: It was so important to me. I remember getting my first library card and it had my name on it. It made me a very important person.

Café: You have been involved in the Los Angeles theater scene for many years—as an actress, director, and mentor to drama students. Which do you find more fulfilling:  your stage work or your work in film and television?

Barbara Bain:  You know, I love it all. I love the process. All these years later, I'm enamored with this ephemeral thing where you're trying to grab air all the time. In so doing, you're coming together with all these people and trying to make something. It's my second love affair. My first love affair was dance. I'm still dancing and taking classes. There are still things about dance class that I just love.

Café: Didn't you go to New York to study with choreographer Martha Graham?

Barbara Bain:  Yes. My first love was dance. And then, I segued into acting, which became my life, which was wonderful. I don't have a complaint in the universe. I've just had an extraordinary time and I'm still doing what I want to do.

Café: What can you tell us about your forthcoming appearance in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks, co-starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones?

Barbara Bain:  You know as much about it as I'm allowed to speak about it. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so I can't say anything until they start releasing press about it. Before I spoke with you, I asked if I could talk about it. And they said: "No. Not yet." So, my lips are sealed. But yes, it was great fun. Sofia Coppola is just a darling person. It was a wonderful experience.

Café: Are there other upcoming projects you’d like to share with our readers?

Barbara Bain:  I have a short film we did last summer, which is in a festival this weekend. It called Take My Hand, and will probably start hitting the festival circuit. I find short films very interesting to work on because they're mostly made by young people trying to get a feature film made. So, you can get a sense of what's on their mind, what they've written, and what kinds of things they're cooking up. Take My Hand stars Sondra Currie and Eileen Grubba and is directed by Alan J. Levi, who probably directed 500 television shows. He's a very knowledgeable director. We all know each other by working in The Actors Studio. It was something that Eileen started writing there for the two of us. It's great.

Café:  We look forward to seeing it. Thank you again for taking the time to talk with us and for sharing your love of acting and your passion for children's literacy.


Editor notes:

1.  The Mission: Impossible episode in which Cinnamon was captured may have been "The Exchange" from the third season.

2.  Breakaway: 2019, a Space: 1999 convention, will take place September 12-15, 2019, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Click here for details.

3.  Reference the Mission: Impossible shooting schedule during the first season, Steven Hill left the set early on Friday afternoons and did not work on Saturday because he was an Orthodox Jew.

Mission: Impossible - "The Town" (S2 E21)

Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) stops at a gas station in the small California town of Woodfield. The radiator in Jim's big blue convertible is overheating, so he heads toward a nearby drugstore while the gas station attendant tends to his car. As he's chatting with the pleasant girl behind the soda fountain, a young couple walks in and asks for a prescription.

On the way out of the drugstore, the woman trips and a gun emitting blue smoke dumps of a bag. After everyone gets safely out of the drugstore, Jim tries to quietly leave town--but he's detained. 

The sheriff takes Jim to a town meeting presided over by Doc (Will Geer), the local physician. This is no ordinary town meeting, though, as it turns out that the residents of Woodfield are all spies. Jim learns that the young couple have been sent on an assassination mission to Los Angeles.

In Doc's office, he administers a dose of curare to Jim to replicate the symptoms of a stroke. Doc's intent is to gradually increase the dosage until Jim dies. Meanwhile, Rollin, who has been waiting for Jim at a lodge, goes looking for his friend. He arrives in Woodfield--much to everyone's surprise--and sees Jim's car.

Doc tells Rollin that Jim has had a series of strokes and can't be moved. Rollin senses something is amiss and confirms it when he realizes Jim is trying to communicate with him by blinking his eyelids. Rollin calls "Mrs. Phelps" and tells her the bad news about Jim. He recommends she get someone to drive her to Woodfield. He also asks who will take care of "Little Willie" while she's gone. 

Cinnamon (Barbara Bain) and Barney (Greg Morris) arrive in Woodfield first, followed by Willie (Peter Lupus) in the guise of a truck driver. Willie fakes an arm injury to get into Doc's office. Rollin knocks out Doc while...

Cinnamon drugs the nurse. Using Morse code, Jim tells his IMF team about the plan to kill a foreign scientist at a convention in L.A. Rollin hatches a plan to stop it and prevent Woodfield residents from further espionage and assassinations. 

What would a Mission" Impossible episode be without a cool Rollin Hand disguise? Thus, Rollin and Cinnamon use materials in the medical office to make a mask of Doc's face. But will Rollin be able to pull off the deception? Can the young assassins in L.A. be stopped in time? And how will the IMF team escape from a town in which everyone will try to kill them?

Broadcast in 1968, this is one of the best--and one of the most different--episodes of Mission: Impossible. It may have been the first to omit the traditional prologue in which Mr. Phelps or Mr. Briggs receive their mission from a tape that self-destructs in five seconds. Instead, this episode's opening scenes could be right out of Thornton Wilder's Our Town with the small town gas station, the cute soda fountain girl, and the young photogenic couple. But, in a matter of minutes, this slice of Americana is turned upside town when we learn this is a town of spies.

Veteran TV director Michael O' Herlihy (brother of actor Dan O' Herlihy) uses the most cant angles this side of Batman to portray a state of unease until Rollin's arrival. Writer Sy Salkowitz injects some wonderfully dark humor, especially with a scene in which town residents are trained how to drown someone and make it look like an accident (be sure to break a finger so it will appear as if the victim tried to break his fall in the tub).

Finally, if you're going to cast someone as a kindly small town doctor who is actually a spy ring leader, you can't do better than Will Geer (after all, he was Grandpa Walton!). 

A first-rate episode from start to finish, "The Town" is further evidence that Mission: Impossible was one of the best television series of the 1960s and 1970s.

The 5 Best “Mission: Impossible” Episodes

This post is part of Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon, hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Go to http://classic-tv-blog-assoc.blogspot.com to view more posts in this blogathon. You can also go to www.metvnetwork.com to learn more about Me-TV and its summer line-up of classic TV shows.


My wife and I compiled this list of favorite episodes of Mission: Impossible, the TV series created by Bruce Geller and which ran for seven seasons. For those unfamiliar with the series, it details the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), a secret agency enlisted for more sensitive assignments, both domestic and foreign. The following selections do not include any episodes from either season of the 1988-90 series update.

1. “The Seal” (Season 2, Episode 9/Written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter; Directed by Alexander Singer) The team is tasked to recover a jade seal from a tycoon (Darren McGavin). Cinnamon (Barbara Bain) as a TV reporter and Rollin (Martin Landau) as a psychic provide a distraction as Barney (Greg Morris) and Jim (Peter Graves), the latter in a rare position of handling grunt work, pilfer the seal. The real star, however, is Rusty the cat, who is coaxed by Barney to walk across a makeshift plank and carry the item back to the IMF agents. The always reliable Barney must bypass a sonar alarm and pressure-sensitive floor, a seemingly impossible burglary that’s reminiscent of Brian De Palma’s 1996 feature film. (For dog lovers, Season 4 offers “Chico”, in which the four-legged titular hero has to squeeze himself into a small air duct to recover an item and has to return it. Interestingly, the bad guys are after a list revealing agents’ names, which is legible only when two separate lists are placed together, another plot device taken for the ‘96 movie -- though they’re the names of IMF agents in the film, not in the episode.)

2. “The Heir Apparent” (Season 3, Episode 1/Written by Robert E. Thompson; Directed by Alexander Singer) To stop a villain from taking power, Cinnamon poses as a long-lost blind princess. To prove that she is who she claims, she must solve a complicated puzzle box. Barney and Willy (Peter Lupus) dig and crawl through walls to reach the puzzle box, which Barney has to solve and mark for Cinnamon mere moments before the woman is asked to open the box. Equally impressive is Rollin, who alters his disguise and changes identities while sitting in a crowd of onlookers.

3. “Old Man Out: Parts 1-2” (Season 1, Episodes 4-5/Written by Ellis Marcus; Directed by Charles R. Rondeau) Acrobat Crystal Walker (Mary Ann Mobley), who has history with team leader Dan (Steven Hill), is recruited for a mission to extract an 80-year-old priest from a high security prison. The team poses as circus performers who set up just outside the prison walls, while Rollin gets himself arrested and subsequently imprisoned. Though Landau was still only credited as “guest star” in Season 1, this two-parter is a showcase for Rollin, who not only skillfully escapes his cell, but, due to the priest being moved without anyone’s knowledge, must sneak back into the cell and execute the jailbreak again.

4. “Hunted” (Season 5, Episode 10/Written by Helen Hoblock Thompson; Directed by Terry Becker) While freeing a man from captivity in Africa, Barney is critically injured and left behind. After ensuring that the hostage is safe, the team returns to save Barney, who has been taken in by a deaf-mute seamtress (Ta-Tanisha). The scenes shared by Barney and his savior, Gabby, including one in which Gabby digs a bullet out of Barney’s leg, are wholly engaging and sweetly romantic. Suspense is heightened when Paris (Leonard Nimoy), acting as a decoy (to mislead authorities on the search) and feigning an injury similar to one which Barney sustained, is genuinely wounded in the process. The episode is an expression of both Barney’s versatility and the team’s loyalty. Other members, such as Cinnamon and Paris, have been captured or hurt during assignments, but, despite the knowledge that they will be disavowed if caught or killed, there’s never a debate as to whether or not a team member will be forgotten. It quite simply becomes another mission.

5. “Encore” (Season 6, Episode 2/Written by Harold Livingston; Directed by Paul Krasny) The team makes an aging gangster, Thomas Kroll (William Shatner), believe that he’s 30 years younger and in 1937, all to obtain any evidence linking him directly to an unsolved murder. Each member portrays a figure in Kroll’s life, including Casey (Lynda Day George) as the murdered man’s sister and Doug (Sam Elliott) as the murdered man, with the hopes that the gangster will lead them to the body. One of the team’s more elaborate missions, it thrives on the atmosphere and surroundings (there’s a great moment when Jim removes an extra’s too-modern sunglasses), and the episode has an appropriately apocalyptic ending.

Honorable Mentions: “A Spool There Was” (S1, E9) -- Cinnamon and Rollin work an assignment with just the two of them, searching for a wire of recorded audio well hidden by a murdered agent. A solid pairing of the couple, made all the more watchable knowing that actors Landau and Bain were husband and wife. “Charity” (S2, E10) and “The Mercenaries” (S3, E4) -- Both of these episodes feature an immensely entertaining and memorable method of theft, as well as ingenious ways to deceive the villains who have just been robbed.

15 Greatest TV Characters of the 1960s: Barney Collier

Name: Barnard "Barney" Collier

Portrayed by: Greg Morris

TV series: Mission Impossible (1966-73)

Occupation: Member of the Impossible Missions Force, the team's resident electronics expert, forger, and all-purpose handyman; also owner of Collier Electronics.

Lifestyle: Travels throughout the world; permanent residence unknown. Single, but has a son named Grant.

Family and Friends: Co-workers Jim Phelps and Willie Armitage are his most enduring friends. Brother Larry, a newspaper publisher, died in a season 5 episode. His son Grant eventually joined the IMF for the TV series' 1988-90 revival.

Trademarks: His slide ruler--he's holding it in his portfolio photo.

Hidden Talent: He was the Sixth Fleet boxing champ when he was in the Navy; the IMF puts his boxing skills to use in the two-part season 3 episode "The Contenders."

Classic episodes: "Death Squad" (Barney falls in love while on vacation--but ends up in prison marked for execution); "The Money Machine" (Barney hides inside a big box and makes it look like Jim can feed paper into one end of the "machine" and get printed currency out of the other end).

The 5 Best Smart and Sexy Female TV Characters

Good TV shows have strong female characters. The greatest shows have women who steal the series and leave lasting impressions. This is a list of my personal favorite of all those wonderful ladies who have graced the television screen.

1. Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg/The Avengers). The Avengers was the first British series to be broadcast for a fall schedule in the U.S., but that wasn’t until 1965 with the fourth season (or fourth series, as they say in the UK). That particular year was the introduction to the beguiling Emma Peel, her name derived from a condensed version of “Man Appeal” in the original script. An agile fighter and skilled agent, Emma was most often adorned in a variety of attire, with, particularly in her second series, a predilection for jumpsuits. Her presence literally made the series glow, as The Avengers moved from black-and-white to full, radiant color, and audiences were treated to the resplendence of Mrs. Peel’s red hair. Her physical attributes were pronounced, but one of Emma’s most prominent qualities was her above-average intelligence, most amply displayed in “The Master Minds”, when she takes an IQ test on behalf of her partner, John Steed, for admittance into a school of intellectuals. She also aces her own test and later, working at the school as a secretary, must “fix” a test Steed takes on his own, even with some answers provided for him (“And now you’re brilliant,” Emma tells him, “genius level”). It is fitting that Mr. Peel is never shown (he can be seen only from afar in Emma’s final episode, “The Forget-Me-Not”), as no man seems worthy of such a woman. Rigg was irresistible in the role that made her a star: delightful, charming and undeniably beautiful.

2. Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn/Twin Peaks). Twin Peaks was a small town in Washington with a brooding, underlining evil that began exposing itself following the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. But the town did have a pleasant side, and nothing shone more brightly than Audrey Horne. When Audrey walked into a room, everyone noticed, like in the pilot when she turned the heads of a roomful of investors. She even had her own theme, “Freshly Squeezed” (as named on the show’s soundtrack), a reference to Audrey’s breakfast encounters with Special Agent Dale Cooper at her father’s hotel. She set her eyes solely upon Special Agent Cooper, and she used her wits to conduct her own investigation (simply to help the object of her affection). Though she’s halted by being held captive, Audrey was actually a few steps ahead of the cops. The consummate professional, Cooper never reciprocated Audrey’s advances, but because Audrey craved a relationship that seemed unattainable, it’s an indication of her unfaltering determination and independence. Fenn is classically beautiful, as if she’s stepped off a film lot in Old Hollywood (and aided in Twin Peaks with Audrey’s retro wardrobe). And like a softly-lit movie star on a giant theatre screen, Audrey remains forever graceful and poetic. Special Agent Cooper dreams of Laura and the Black Lodge, but the viewers’ dreams are filled with Audrey Horne.

3. Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist/Remington Steele). In a male-dominated world, gumshoe Laura Holt creates a non-existing male detective for her agency, hoping to earn clients who are confounded by a female sleuth. With some actresses given little to do, Remington Steele is a refreshing change of pace by making a male the eye candy (in this case, the Irish Pierce Brosnan). The unnamed conman, assuming the role of Remington Steele, was the front, as Laura did the majority of the crime solving. But while having a capable, smart female character in the lead is noteworthy, the show’s most commendable trait is helping an audience see that the attractive characters in the past were more than their external beauty. Laura’s expertise and proficiency are unprecedented, but with Zimbalist portraying the detective, she was also alluring, a vision in a fedora (allowing other fedora-donning sleuths such as Sam Spade to fall into obscurity). The series title is an allusion to the agency’s name, not the man. And the responsibility of running the agency, as well as the true source of all that romance, fell at the rather adept feet of Laura Holt.

4. Amy Allen (Melinda Culea/The A-Team) It takes quite a woman to stand out among a cast full of testosterone, but reporter Amy Allen did just that with minimal effort. It was her newspaper article (which she was researching) that introduced audiences to the A-Team. She was a good fit with the men: not constantly barraged by Face’s flirtatious ways, never the victim of B.A.’s infamous bad attitude, and respected by Hannibal as if she were a soldier under his command. Amy could even understand the sometimes incomprehensible (and legally insane) Murdock. Culea played the character as resilient and flexible in largely unfamiliar circumstances, and her girl-next-door appeal was a way that young male viewers could, perhaps ironically, relate to stories involving Vietnam War vets. Unfortunately, Amy was gone halfway through the sophomore season, but Culea’s female replacement wasn’t genuinely a replacement, as she only appeared sporadically and was dropped early in the subsequent season. Reportedly, Tia Carrere, a guest star in the Season 4 finale, was meant to join the cast in the fifth season but was unable to do so (due to her role in General Hospital). In short, there was no one equivalent to Amy, as she is not remembered as a cohort, but rather a former member of the A-Team.

5. Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray/Buck Rogers in the 25th Century). In the 30+ years since its debut on television (the pilot actually premiered in theatres months before), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century has aged considerably, its more derivative features all the more noticeable with the growing popularity of 1977’s Star Wars (an obvious source of, let’s say, “inspiration”). Colonel Wilma Deering, however, was a character all her own, and her skintight uniforms and corresponding outfits made it easy to forget that she was a high-ranking officer. More significant was the fact that the presumably dashing titular character, who caught the fancy of the villainous Princess Ardala and somehow managed to bed a new woman each week, had to earn any respect and potential affection from Col. Deering. Romance between the two was not a focus of the series, which seems to suggest that even the writers did not believe Buck Rogers was a worthwhile partner for Wilma. Gray’s bright eyes and warm smile (with those impossible-to-miss dimples), along with her rank, gave her a commanding presence. Producers reportedly asked her to lighten her hair for the show, but as the series progressed, she returned to her natural brunette hue, because, behind all the spaceships and lasers, the real reason to watch Buck Rogers had not a thing to do with Buck What’s-his-face and everything to do with a certain Colonel in snug apparel.

Honorable mentions: Cinnamon (Barbara Bain/Mission: Impossible) -- The sole female IMF member (for the first three seasons), she was more than just the female agent, as she was often pitted in dangerous situations like the men. Cinnamon also had the distinction of retrieving the mission details in Season 1’s “Action!”, the only other person aside from team leaders Dan and Jim to do so. Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith/Charlie’s Angels) -- A seemingly ever-changing cast did not deter from the draw of Smith or her portrayal of Kelly. She was the only actress who starred in all five seasons of the series, a beautiful constant and an incentive to continue watching. Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones/The Addams Family) -- With her perpetual smirk and her arms generally crossed, the Addams Family matriarch evidently believes that running a household filled with eccentric characters is a cakewalk. A precursory look at promotional shots for the series is telling: Morticia, surrounded by her family, is sitting in her famous chair, the center of everything.

Steven Hill -- Impossible to Work With

Rick's new poll on your favorite Mission Impossible character got me thinking of the actor who played the leader of the group in this show's first season, Steven Hill, who portrayed Dan Briggs. Steven Hill is probably best remembered for his role as Adam Schiff in the first 10 seasons of Law and Order. Events surrounding Hill's hiring and firing from Mission Impossible included religious issues, ego trips, a studio sale, Lucille Ball, and a ladder.

Steven Hill is an actor who shot himself in the foot and derailed what could have been a major career. He was a founding member of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and was considered by many to be the finest actor of his generation, which included fellow founding members of the Actors Studio, Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. But his tendency to believe that his interpretation of a role could not be improved upon, led to many disruptive arguments with writers and directors; he was even dubbed "the Director killer". Despite his reputation he landed a role in the Broadway hit "Mister Roberts" and later appeared as Sigmund Freud in the 1961 play "A Far Country". It was during the run of this play that Hill made a decision that would determine the course of his career. "You are a Jew", a line delivered in the play by Kim Stanley awoke in Hill a need to reevaluate the tenets of Judaism and eventually he adopted an Orthodox Jewish way of life. Bruce Geller the producer of Mission Impossible was so determined to have Hill portray Dan Briggs that he agreed to Hill's demand that he didn't have to work on the Sabbath, from sunset Friday evening to sunset Saturday evening. This meant that Hill could leave the set at sunset even if he was in the middle of a scene. Production costs began to increase because of the necessary changes required to adjust to Hill's absence. The production team wanted him ousted, but faced Geller's objections. And Geller had the approval of Lucille Ball head of the production company, Desilu. But Geller's tolerance had its limits. During the filming of a scene which required Hill to climb a ladder, he stated adamantly that he would not do so and proceeded to walk off the set. At first he was suspended, but when he came back to the show his role had been diminished to just three scenes. In the meantime Gulf+Western bought Desilu and Lucille Ball no longer had a say in Hill's future. As Hill became increasingly difficult to work with Geller's patience ran out. The plan was to replace Hill and his character Dan Briggs with Peter Graves as Jim Phelps. Hill didn't know about this decision until he read it in one of the Hollywood trade papers.

After the Mission Impossible debacle, Hill gave up acting and retreated to a Jewish community in upstate New York. He didn't act again for 10 years.

A New Poll That's an Impossible Mission

Last week, the Cafe asked readers to vote on their favorite character from 1939's The Wizard of Oz and the Scarecrow danced away with an easy win by garnering 35% of the votes. We think this week's poll poses a tougher question:  Who was the most valuable member of the Impossible Mission Force on TV's Mission: Impossible? Ladies and gentlemen, here are your candidates--

   

Jim Phelps (Peter Graves). He was the team leader, he picked who participated in each mission, and he planned each one. And, by the way, he played an active role in the missions himself!

Rollin Hand (Martin Landau). A magician and, more importantly, a master of disguises, Rollin could transform himself in a military dictator, an elderly man, a woman...just about anyone. He was often so good that you couldn't tell him apart from the guest stars!  (OK, sometimes the guest stars played Rollin playing the guest star, but he was still really good.)

 

Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain). Her portfolio listed her job as fashion model, but this beauty certainly had brains, too...playing scientists, politcians, and femme fatales. Plus, she was tough--maybe tougher than the guys--as evidenced by an episode in which she was captured and underwent grueling torture.

  

   

Barney Collier (Greg Morris). Need a gadget...any kind of gadget? Barney can make it and install it. How many times does Jim ask: "Can you do it, Barney?"  To which Barney replies calmly: "I just need a little time, Jim."

Willy Armitage (Peter Lupus). Sure, it's easy to dismiss Willy as the "muscle." Yet, there are missions that would have failed without him. In the pilot episode, he carried two suitcases--each filled with a man--into a vault. Let's see Jim, Rollin, or Barney do that!

I realize that I've omitted some characters, but I focused on the classic Seasons 2 and 3 cast due to space requirements. To cast your vote, click on your favorite character in the poll located in the green sidebar to the right.