Roger Smith, 77 Sunset Strip star, dies

Roger Smith, top center, in a TV Guide cover featuring the cast of 77 Sunset Strip

Roger Smith, who starred with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip, has died at 84, according to Variety.

The 1958-64 series was an early hit for ABC. Warner Bros., which produced the TV series, quickly launched other private eye shows.

77 Sunset Strip was part of an “extended universe” decades before the term was coined.

Other shows part of that universe included Hawaiian Eye (with Anthony Eisley and Robert Conrad), Bourbon Street Beat (with Richard Long and Andrew Duggan) and Surfside 6 (with Troy Donahue and Van Williams).

All of the shows featured snappy theme songs by Mack David and Jerry Livingston.

Smith was fired with most of the 77 Sunset Strip cast following the show’s fifth season. Only Efrem Zimbalist Jr. remained as Jack Webb and William Conrad revamped the show, turning Zimbalist’s Stuart Bailey into a lone-wolf PI. The experiment didn’t last the 1963-64 season.

Smith married actress Victoria Shaw in 1956, but the couple divorced in 1965, according to a biography on IMDB.COM. In 1967, Smith married Ann-Margaret. He gave up acting and managed her career.

One of his final public appearances was with Ann-Margaret for the premiere of the 2017 movie Going In Style.

When does the 007 franchise face forward again?

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

The past few weeks have reminded James Bond fans of the tremendous history of the film franchise.

Events included the passing of the longest-serving film Bond, Roger Moore; the passing of a fondly remembered 007 actress in Molly Peters from Thunderball; the chance to see Bond on the big screen via a double feature of For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me.

The question is when will 007 face toward the future once again?

More than 18 months since the last Bond film arrived in theaters, nobody really knows when agent 007 will again be on movie screens in a new adventure.

There is, still, no studio to release Bond 25. There is, still, no firm Bond actor for Bond 25. Many assume Daniel Craig will be back but that’s a matter of faith, rather than fact. There is, still, no supporting cast or firmed up crew.

Some fans have faith that Bond 25 can still be made in time for a 2018 release. Maybe they’re correct, but the clock is ticking.

The purpose of this post isn’t to be a downer. Rather, it’s to note how the attention has been to the past.

It is an amazing past. It’s a past to be proud of.

Still, one is reminded of a line uttered by the Roger Moore 007 in Octopussy.

“I collect memories,” says Kristina Wayborn’s Magda.

“Well, let’s get on with making a few,” Sir Roger’s Bond replies.

Indeed.