#Middlebury
Q: One of my favorite shows of all time was “Hart to Hart.” Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner were so good together. Were they married to each other in real life? – D.J.
A: “Hart to Hart” was a popular series about two wealthy globetrotting detectives named Jennifer and Jonathan Hart. It aired from 1979-84 and starred Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner, but they were never a couple off-screen. Wagner was married to actress Natalie Wood and Powers was in an on-again, off-again relationship with actor William Holden.
Tragically, Wood and Holden both died unexpectedly in November 1981 (Wood drowned, and Holden tripped and hit his head). Wagner later wed his current wife, actress Jill St. John. In a fairly recent interview with Fox News, Powers said that she still keeps in touch with Wagner and that the two are like “siblings who really like each other.”
Ovation TV recently signed a deal to air reruns of “Hart to Hart” on Wednesday nights beginning Nov. 17. For more information, visit OvationTV.com.
Bette Midler in “Hocus Pocus” (Walt Disney Pictures photo)
Q: When is the “Hocus Pocus” sequel coming out? Will it be in theaters, and are the original stars a part of it? – E.S.
A. The 1993 comedy about a trio of witches has become a cult classic. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy starred in the Disney film, and its recent surge in popularity has inspired a sequel. All three stars will be reprising their roles, along with new characters played by Sam Richardson and Tony Hale (both from “Veep”) and Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso,” “Game of Thrones”). Filming has started, with an anticipated release date in autumn 2022, perhaps just in time for Halloween. In the meantime, you can watch the original “Hocus Pocus” on Disney+.
Q: Can you help me? There was a TV movie in the 1970s or 1980s about a women’s football team. I think the lead star had blond hair and worked in a factory. I loved it as a kid, but only saw it that one time. – G.G.
A: It’s most certainly “The Oklahoma City Dolls” (1981) starring Susan Blakely, who played a factory worker who moonlighted as a quarterback. It was a fictionalized script based on a real semi-pro female football team of the same name that was active for three years.
SBNation.com called “The Oklahoma City Dolls” “the best sports film of all time” and showed Blakely the film 40 years after it originally aired before interviewing her. She said that she was a feminist and campaigned for equal rights for women back then. In the film, Blakely’s character gets angry when she learns her male co-workers get time off to play on the company’s football team, while the women pick up the slack. Their boss said the only way the women could get time off is if they played football, too. His challenge was accepted.
Unfortunately, you can’t find the film on cable or any official streaming services, but there is a grainy bootleg copy available on YouTube.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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