Mrs. Muir and Friends

In her spare time, Carolyn acts in community theater plays held in a converted cod liver oil plant. She eats at a local restaurant named "The Lobster House." Once, to earn extra money Carolyn collaborated with Captain Gregg to write a tale of a female stowaway on the high seas from a women's perspective. Called "Maiden Voyage," the manuscript was praised by the editor of "The Feminine View" Ellsworth Gordon who wanted to publish the story and others if she decided to write them. Unfortunately, Carolyn's virtuous nature was compromised when she discovered that the Captain had taken liberties with the final manuscript and added "spicy" scenes which lead people to believe that Carolyn, too, was a "wild woman." She quickly put those rumors to rest by telling her publisher that she could no longer write any more such tales because her collaborator, a ghostwriter" (Gregg) had died.

Carolyn's other acquaintances included Mr. Wilkin's the general storekeeper; Norrie Coolidge, the town Constable; her Uncle Arnold, a traveling salesman with a penchant for corny jokes and inept magic tricks (as old as the Captain); Blair Thompson, a wealthy old flame whose proposal attempt made the Captain jealous; Psychiatrist Dr, Jim Mead, a family friend from Philadelphia who tried to convince Carolyn that Gregg was just a delusion, a figment of her imagination; Ralph and Marjorie Muir, her in-laws who urge Carolyn to return to Philadelphia to provide her son Jonathan with the opportunity of a good education at Dexter Academy, the same school his father attended; Admiral Snedaker, a soup manufacturer who placed a photograph of Captain Gregg on the label of Yankee Skipper Clam Chowder; newspaper editor Mark Finley who hires Carolyn to write for the local Schooner Bay Beacon (the paper prints - although 100 year late - a retraction that reveals that Captain Gregg did not die of suicide, but rather from a gas leak); Aggie Berns, a friend of Carolyn's from Philadelphia; Sean Callahan, a Irish writer who looks just like Captain Gregg and writes a book entitled "The Great Ghost Gregg"; Carolyn's inquisitive cousin Harriet from Philadelphia (who has a twin sister, Hazel). and Carolyn's parents Emily and Bradford Williams who learned about "The Captain" from snoopy cousin Harriet.

A Poem written by Captain Gregg to Carolyn

If only I could touch your hand,
The shore bird's call, the sea breeze,
The spruce-wood mast that rises tall --
I'd happily forget them all,
If only I could touch your hand.

If I could link your arm in mine,
The tropic sun, the emerald surf,
The fleecy clouds like sugar spun --
I'd happily forget each one,
If I could link your arm in mine.

Of all the things that cannot be,
There's one alone means most to me --
It's not the lure of distant shores.
It's that my lips cannot touch yours.
My lips cannot touch yours.
 

TRIVIA NOTE: The "Ghost & Mrs. Muir" TV series is based on the 1945 novel of the same name written by Josephine Aimee Campbell Leslie under the pseudonym R. A. Dick and the 1947 movie adaptation starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney [called Lucia “Lucy” Muir]. The cottage used as Gull Cottage was located in Montecito, California.

Hope Lange: Born November 28, 1931 in Redding Ridge, Connecticut, Hope Lange died Friday December 19, 2003 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica after suffering an infection caused by an intestinal inflammation known as ischemic colitis. She was 70. Lange earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Selena Cross in the  film Peyton Place (1957). Her later credits included the TV sitcom THE NEW DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1971-74) and the movies in Blue Velvet (1986) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).

Edward Mulhare: Born April 18, 1923 in Cork Ireland, Edward Mulhare died at his home in Van Nuys, California on May 24, 1997 after a five-month battle with lung cancer. He was 74. On Broadway, Mulhare succeeded Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" Mulhare is also remembered as the Devon Miles, the head of  The Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) on the adventure KNIGHT RIDER/NBC/1982-86 and KNIGHT RIDER 2000/NBC/2001.

Charles Nelson Reilly - Born January 13, 1931, the 5' 11" actor/comedian/acting teacher was born in the Bronx in New York City and raised in New Haven, Connecticut.  As of 2002 he appeared as Uncle Vincent in Gaydar  and Men's Mix 1: Gay Shorts Collection (2004)