Dagmar - The nickname of Virginia Ruth Egnor (Her acting name was Jennie Lewis), a statuesque blonde bombshell who was a regular on the talk variety show BROADWAY OPEN HOUSE/NBC/1950-51. Program host Jerry Lester renamed Virginia "Dagmar" for her walk on parts which featured humorous poetry readings done in deadpan. Reportedly, just before the June 14, 1950 broadcast of the program, Jerry Lester told the five-foot, eight and a half-inch Jennie Lewis "You just sit there next to the orchestra and look dumb. Your name is Dagmar." One evening in 1951 while performing, Dagmar's strapless gown slipped off her bosomy body, exposing her private parts. She later starred on DAGMAR'S CANTEEN/NBC/1952 where she repeated her hilarious tributes to literature by reading "original" silly plays to an audience of military servicemen. See also - SEX, LOVE & NAUGHTY BITS: "Voluptua"

Dame Edna - Celebrity pseudonym for Australian comedian Barry Humphries, who was popular down-under and in England for his female impersonation of a character called Dame Edna Everage who wore flamboyant glasses, jewelry and lavender wigs. Her (or should I say his) interview style was akin to Arsenio Hall (fun & informal). In the fall of 1991, this outrageous female impersonator starred in his own NBC specials entitled "Dame Edna's Hollywood," which featured a number of bawdy conversation with Hollywood celebrities including Burt Reynolds, Mel Gibson, Bea Arthur, Barry Manilow, Cesar Romero, Larry Hagman, Sean Young, Jack Palance and Cher. A January 1993 special "Edna Time" on the Fox network starred Roseanne and Tom Arnold, Luke Perry and Supermodel Kathy Ireland. On the 4/15/2002 episode "Love is All Around" on the legal dramedy ALLY MCBEAL/FOX/1997-2002, Humphries reprised his persona as Dame Edna to play a character named Claire Otoms, a rich (and butt ugly women) who is advised by her lawyers to get a pre-nuptial agreement before she gets married. See also - "The Hag of Haute Couture" 

Dancin' Homer See - DANCE & DANCING

Dancing Bandit, The See - DANCE & DANCING

Dancing Doctor, The See - DANCE & DANCING

"Dating Capital of the World" - Hollywood, California was billed as "The Dating Capital of the World" when it hosted the game show THE DATING GAME/ABC/1965-73 and THE NEW DATING GAME/SYN/1973 & 1977-80 emceed by Jim Lange and later by Elaine Joyce on the 1986 version and Jeff MacGregor on THE ALL NEW DATING GAME in 1988. See also - CITIES & TOWNS: "Hollywood"

David Letterman Pseudonym's - Once a top ten list on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN/CBS/1993+ revealed nicknames that guest stars have given talk show host David Letterman over the years. Dave's pseudonym's included Weasel Boy (Heather Locklear); Nurse Dave (George Clooney); Bonehead (Cybill Shepherd); Lucky (John Travolta); David Friggin' Letterman (Rosie O'Donnell); Lou (Mary Tyler Moore); Monkey Boy (John Goodman); Gump (Siskel & Ebert); Liberal Media Bubblehead (Senator Bob Dole); and Cabin Boy (Helen Hunt).

Dago Red - The nickname of Father John Francis Patrick Mulcahy, the chaplain stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea in the 1950s on the military sitcom M*A*S*H/CBS/1972-83. The “Dago Red” moniker was used frequently in the book [written by Richard Hooker] and the 1970 Robert Altman film that inspired the series by was only used in a few early episodes.  

Deep Throat - The cover name of a secretive government agent on the fantasy drama X-FILES/FOX/1993-2002. FBI Agent Fox Mulder crusaded to uncover the truth about alien visitations on Earth. His hunt for the truth caught the attention of a world-weary government official known as Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin), who supplied Mulder with highly sensitive materials. Deep Throat once advised Mulder to "Keep your friends close, but keep you enemies closer."(Don Corleone quote from The Godfather). When agent Mulder was kidnapped by rouge agents, Deep Throat procured the remains of an alien fetus from a high security laboratory as a bargaining chip to save Murder's life. Unfortunately, while exchanging the alien artifact, Deep Throat was shot in the chest. His dying words were "Trust...Trust no one." (Episode No.23 "The Erlenmeyer Flask"). He was replaced by X (Steven Williams) who later was slain by Syndicate henchmen but not before writing the letters SRSG in his blood (Episode No.73 "Herrenvolk"). Both Deep Throat and X worked for the Cigarette-Smoking Man. TRIVIA NOTE: Deep Throat was also the name of the adult X-rated film starring Linda Lovelace as a woman with a clitoris in her throat. The movie later inspired the nickname of the informant who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post (upon which the X-FILES agent was named). See also - TOBACCO PRODUCTS: "The Cigarette-Smoking Man" 

Diet Coke Hunk, The - In the 1990s, the handsome actor Lucky Vanous, (a.k.a. "The Diet Coke Hunk") starred in the "Diet Coke Break Commercial" about a bunch of women looking out of an office window during their work break at a slender yet muscular construction worker, who had just taken off his shirt. As the sweaty laborer refreshed himself with a nice cool Diet Coke, the bug-eyed women staring down from their window perch filled their imaginations with all sorts of fantasies. At break's end, the women seemingly fulfilled, moved away from the window but not before saying "Same time Tomorrow?" to their voyeuristic colleagues. Lucky Vanous, who set all the women's heart's a flutter later starred in his own work-out video entitled The Ultimate Fat-Burning System. In 1994 Psychology Today displayed Lucky Vanous on their front cover sporting the words "From Pecs To Sex" and an inside story about "The Beefcaking of America" that explored changing gender roles which shifted the spotlight to include men's bodies. In 1997 Lucky Vanous got the role of bad guy Matt Dunning, the deceptively charming contractor on FOX's primetime soap PACIFIC PALISADES. TRIVIA NOTE: Diet Coke soda was introduced to the public on July 8, 1982. Coca-Cola is consumed 448 million times a day in 160 countries. See also - "The Coca-Cola Girl" 

Digger - The nickname of the friendly mortician, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown) who was a regular on the sitcom THE LIFE OF RILEY/NBC/1949-58. Using occupational puns, "Digger" the smiling undertaker greeted his friend Riley by saying "You're looking fine, Riley, very natural" and then closed each conversation with "Well, guess I'll be shoveling off...." The name "Digger" was also used prominently in the prime time soap DALLAS/CBS/1978-91 in reference to the father of wealthy executive, Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval). Willard "Digger" Barnes (David Wayne/Keenan Wynn) was a partner with Jock Ewing (Jim Davis) in their early days of wildcatting for oil and was cheated out of his shares of the company profits by the Ewings, a fact that his son, Cliff never forgot. 

Dime Lady, The - Nickname of actress Candice Bergen earned while commercial spokesperson for Sprint Telephone Company which advertised their "Dime-a-Minute" promotions during the 1990s. The TV spots followed a reluctant Candice Bergen as she tried to elude the many fans who were continually asking her "Is it true..." questions concerning Sprint's inexpensive Dime-a-Minute phone rates. Eventually she took to dressing in disguises to hide from her adoring public. On the final first-run episode of her comedy MURPHY BROWN/CBS/1988-98 Murphy's son Avery uses his mother's Sprint card to track down their friend Eldin Bernecky the painter (Robert Pastorelli), to let him know his mother had cancer. Eldin was living in Spain in a tiny peasant village at the base of the Pyrenees. As Eldin reunites with Murphy, Avery approaches and says "Do you know you could call anywhere in the world on Sunday for only a dime." Murphy replies "Yeah, I knew that, Honey. Now why don't you go set another place at the table."

Dimples  See - "Angel-face"

Ding-a-Ling Sisters - Four gorgeous but ditzy dancers featured during the 1970-73 seasons of the musical variety program THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW/NBC/1965-74. The Ding-a-Ling Sisters were originally part of the larger all-female dance troupe called the Goldiggers who also danced on the program from 1967-71.

Dingbat - On the sitcom ALL IN THE FAMILY/CBS/1971-83, the blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) insultingly referred to his dimwitted, yet sensitive wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton) as a Dingbat whenever she expressed an opinion on anything. Archie once inquired "How long does it take for one dingbat to go twenty feet for one beer?" According to the dictionary, a dingbat is an "eccentric, silly or empty-headed person." TRIVIA NOTE: The wife counterpart on the British sitcom TILL DEATH US DO PART/BBC/1966-75 that inspired ALL IN THE FAMILY was referred to as a "Silly old moo." 

Dinghy - Waitress Vera Louise Gorman (Beth Howland) was called "Dinghy" (referring to her lack of intelligence) by her boisterous boss Melvyn Sharples (Vic Tayback), the owner of Mel's roadside diner on the sitcom ALICE/CBS/1976-85. Once Mel explained to a former Navy buddy the reason why he called Vera "Dinghy" Simply, he was the Captain of his ship and every ship has a "dinghy" (a dinghy being a small boat, rowboat carried on a warship, yacht or motor cruiser).

Dippy - College nickname of architect Wilbur Post (Alan Young) on the sitcom MISTER ED/SYN/CBS/1961-66. When Wilbur attended college he was a member of the wrestling and debating teams. He earned the sorry nickname of "Dippy" when he carried water for the football team. See also  - "Weebie"

Dishonest John See - "The World's Greatest Liar"

Doctor Death - The somber nickname given to Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a physician who took the limelight in 1990-91 when he advocated helping people to die. He called himself an "obitiatrist," preferring to be known as someone who engaged in "medicide." Dr. Death provided the "means, expertise, counseling and assuredness" to leave this world in peace. Critics however called him a "serial mercy killer." The controversy over his tactics in helping patients with Alzheimer's Disease, or other terminal/painful disorders kill themselves made this physician the man of the hour in the media. He made the rounds on the talk show and news magazine circuit defending his position, even appearing as a guest on ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE hosted by Ted Koppel. Dr. Death's suicide list included an Alzheimer patient whom he helped die in June of 1990; and two Michigan women, a former elementary school teacher who had suffered from a painful genital disorder and a former housewife with Multiple Sclerosis both whom died in a double doctor-assisted suicide on October 23, 1991. Dr. Death wasn't in this for the money, however. He provided his suicide machine at no cost. The machine consisted of three bags of solutions that dripped into an intravenous line attached to the body of the person to die. In the case of a person whose veins were too weak to take an intravenous needle, Dr. Death had a back-up system-a face mask attached to a canister of carbon monoxide. On November 22, 1998 CBS 60 MINUTES news magazine broadcast Dr, Kevorkian actually administering death to a patient. The following week he was accused  of 1st degree premeditated murder by the State of Michigan and later found guilty of second degree murder in March of 1999. Dr. Kervorkian's videotape of the injection death of Lou Gehrig's disease patient, Thomas Youk, prompted his arrest. Michigan Judge Jessica Cooper sentenced Kevorkian to 10 to 25 years in prison but not She rebuked his behavior saying "You had the audacity to go on national television, show the world what you did and dare the legal system to stop you. Well, sir, consider yourself stopped." TRIVIA NOTE: In 1991, The Hemlock Society published their controversial suicide manual entitled Final Exit. The 5/9/95 broadcast of THE LATE SHOW with David Letterman featured the top ten Dr. Kevorkian Pick Up lines: No.10 "Some Call me Dr. Death, but you can call me Dr. Love"; No.5 "If you ever want out of the relationship...that can be arranged"; and No.1 "Can I buy you a last drink?" On the 12/9/98 installment of THE TONIGHT SHOW, host Jay Leno mentioned Dr. Kevorkian's Christmas TV special entitled "Not a Creature Was Stirring." On the sitcom LEARNING THE ROPES/SYN/1988-89, professional wrestler Steve "Dr. Death" Williams doubled as a  wrestler known as "The Masked Maniac."  

Doctor Fad - Nickname of Ken Okuda, an Asian -American entrepreneur who merchandised unique inventions and weird toys like the "Wacky Wall Walker" and helped promote them to "Fad" status. 

Dr. Fix-Um - The nickname of Arthur Youngquist who hosted the home repair show DR. FIX-UM/ABC/1949-50. This program was the precursor of such home improvement gurus as THAT'S O'TOOLE/ABC/1949 with Arthur Peterson as handyman Tinker O'Toole; Norman Brokenshire, an ex-radio announcer from THE BETTER HOME SHOW/ABC/1951-52; HANDYMAN/SYN/1955, a program for home-workshop addicts; Bob Vila from THIS OLD HOUSE/PBS/1979+; HOMETIME/PBS/1987+ with Dean Johnson (and assorted female assistants); HOME AGAIN WITH BOB VILA/SYN/1990+; and comedian Tim Allen's klutzy TV Fix-It Show host Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor on sitcom HOME IMPROVEMENT/ABC/1991-99. See also  - "The House Doctor"          

Doctor Johnny Fever - Disc jockey Johnny Caravella's (Howard Hesseman) on-air persona while he worked the morning shift for the "Top 40" rock and roll radio station WKRP IN CINCINNATI/CBS/1978-82. Johnny was a burned-out 60s rocker who avoided responsibility, mismanaged money and always had a glazed over look in his eyes. Before coming to WKRP he was fired from a Los Angles radio station for saying the word "Booger" on the air. His first day on the radio in Cincinnati went something like this: "You've got the Doctor, I'm burning up in here. We're all in critical condition, babies. But you can tell me where it hurts, because I got the healing prescription here from the big WKRP musical medicine cabinet. Now I'm talking about a 50,000 watt intensive care unit, babies. So just sit right down, relax, open you ears real wide and say give it to me straight Doctor, I can take it!" A few seconds into a rock and roll song, he interrupted the record to say the "Oh yeah, BOOGERS!" The Johnny Fever character returned for a few episodes as the overnight DJ on the syndicated revival of the series THE NEW WKRP IN CINCINNATI/SYN/1991-93. TRIVIA NOTE: The first song played on WKRP when it switched to a rock and roll format was "Queen of the Forest" from Stranglehold performed by Ted Nugent. See also - "Venus Flytrap"

Dr. Shock  See - HORROR SHOW HOSTS

 

Doctor Sphincter - The alter-ego of cable celebrity Rich Kornfeld a former computer programmer who starred in a short series called TIGHTLINE on community public access in Minneapolis in the 1990s. Doctor Sphincter was a TV host of TIGHTLINE (a parody of ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE) who was so tense and repressed that he made Richard Nixon look like Richard Simmons. Dressed in a gray suit with his shirt tightly buttoned about his neck, Dr. Sphincter questioned his guests as his forehead sweated and his face strained like a constipated person on a toilet. Dr. Sphincter's worry-wart mentality forced him to ponder "Why people were so sloppy?...so lax?", "Why they don't clean up?," and "Why they don't produce?" His conclusion? "I think the answer is tightness!" He warned his viewers that we "must keep aware at all times of how loose we can become." Kornfeld created the Dr. Sphincter character in college. He continued producing the program with the assistance of his close friends who met weekly at a restaurant to brainstorm for ideas the day before the show was to be recorded. The Dr. Sphincter character has appeared on public service announcements and industrial films. 

Dog  See - "Cat"

Doll - The affectionate nickname of Roger "Doll" Addison (Larry Keating) given to him by his wife Kay Addison (Edna Skinner) on the sitcom MISTER ED/CBS/1961-65. Even during an episode "Ed the Pilgrim" set in Plymouth Rock, Kay referred to her husband as "Dolleth. Kay also called her husband Sour Puss, Lemon Puss, Diamond Jim and Mother's Little Financial Genius.

Doodles  See - "Gidget"

Doublemint Twins, The  See - ADVERTISING MASCOTS

Dowager Queen of the Game Shows, The - Self-proclaimed nickname of actress, comedienne Pat Carroll whose early years in television consisted of being a panelist or guest on numerous game shows including WHO SAID THAT?/ABC/1955; MASQUERADE PARTY/CBS/ABC/NBC/1952-60; KEEP TALKING/CBS/1958-60; PASSWORD/CBS/1962-64; and THE PRICE IS RIGHT/CBS/ABC/1962-64. TRIVIA NOTE: The dictionary defines a "Dowager" as an "elderly woman of wealth and dignity." See also - "Bunny" 

Downtown Brown -The street name of Detective Marcel "Downtown" Brown (Tim Reid), a San Diego police detective on the detective drama SIMON & SIMON/CBS/1981-88. See also - "Venus Flytrap"

Downtown Julie Brown - The on-air persona and veejay Julie Brown who hosted the weekly dance show CLUB MTV/MTV/1987-92 broadcast from the Palladium in New York City. The primary function of this hot and sassy, black female with a British accent was to provided friendly, zany chit-chat in-between MTV music videos. She often wore funky see-through clothing (pants with no butts) and was famous for her trademark purple bra. After five years Julie Brown left MTV saying in an interview segment of THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW "my boobs couldn't take it anymore jigglin' up and down." In 1992 she was featured on the call in radio show AMERICAN DANCE TRAXX. Downtown got her nickname from her sports broadcasting days when she reported from "Downtown" while interviewing the Pistons and other sports figures. She was also a former World Disco Dancing Champion. TRIVIA NOTE: Don't confuse the black Downtown Julie Brown with the white Julie Brown who starred on the MTV Network program JUST SAY JULIE. Her credits included "Medusa: Dare To Be Truthful? (a scathing parody of Madonna's "Truth Or Dare" documentary) originally broadcast on the SHOWTIME cable network; the sketch comedy series THE EDGE/FOX/1992-93; and the musical comedy gems "The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun" and "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid." 

Drywall Master of the Universe, The - The self-proclaimed title of blue-collar worker Dan Conner (John Goodman) on the sitcom ROSEANNE/ABC/1988-97. When Dan's wife Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) teasingly doubted her husband's ability to get a dry-walling job, Dan kicked back his kitchen chair, flexed his arm muscles and roared "I am the dry-wall Master of the Universe!" in an attempt to convince his wife and himself of his worthiness. 

Duck Boys, The - On episode "The Promise" on the police drama DUE SOUTH/CBS/SYN/1994-98, detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) referred to two fellow detectives Jack Huey (Tony Craig) and Louis Gardino (Daniel Kash) as "The Duck Boys." His sarcastic remark was in reference to the two detective slick interrogation style ("nothing sticks to their feathers" nor "ruffles their feathers") and thinly veiled reference to Donald Duck's three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Later in the series, Det. Gardino dies in a car bomb meant for Ray Vecchio. 

Duke, The - Celebrity pseudonym of Marion Michael Morrison known to the public as western film star John Wayne. His nickname was taken from a pet Airedale named Big Duke that he owned as a child. Wayne was called "Little Duke." Besides the many films featuring the Duke kicking the butts of Indians, outlaws and WWII bad guys, he is also remembered for introducing the first episode of the western GUNSMOKE/CBS/1955-75. John Wayne was offered the part of Matt Dillon but turned it down in favor of a young actor named James Arness. 

Duke of Funk  See - "Venus Flytrap" 

Dumbest Girl in America, The - Self-proclaimed title of Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate), a beautiful blond rock bimbo on the dysfunctional sitcom MARRIED WITH...CHILDREN/FOX/1987-97. At one point, Kelly's greatest aspiration was to get groupie bragging rights and say "I'm with the band!" Kelly did earn the distinction of playing the "Rock Slut" in the Gutter Cats music video. Her popularity with the boys once made her say she was "The Beatles of the 1980s." When asked her birth sign she replied "I'm an Aquarium." Later, she was hired by Channel 83 as the "Action News" TV Weather Bunny Girl. See also - "Spud" 

Duncan the Wonder Horse - The showbiz moniker of TV news anchor Tom Brokaw. The nickname came about during the 1980 political campaign when executive producer Steve Friedman dubbed him "Duncan the Wonder Horse" as Brokaw galloped tirelessly back and forth between his daily responsibilities on the morning TODAY show and weekend assignments covering elections around the country. 

Durwood - On the sitcom BEWITCHED/ABC/1964-72, Endora the witch (Agnes Moorehead) hated the fact that her daughter Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) had lowered herself to marry a mortal man, Darrin Stephens (Dick York/Dick Sargent). In an effort to forget this fact or just to bother Darrin, she never pronounced his name properly. Endora has called him: Durwood, Darwin, Dagwood, Donald, Dennis, Dum-Dum, Dumbo, Derek, Darwood, Durweed, Darius, David, and Dobbin (a term also used by his warlock  father-in-law, Maurice). See also - CLOTHING: "Kerwood Derby" 

Dynamic Duo See - BATS: "Batman"