Packy - Real-life family nickname of actress Sally Struthers who played Gloria, the scatterbrained daughter of the working class bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) on the sitcom ALL IN THE FAMILY/CBS/1971-83 and GLORIA/CBS/1982-83. When Sally was a child she was very chubby. Her sister decided to call her "Packy"...short for "pachyderm." 

Papa Bear - Radio code name used to identify American Colonel Robert Hogan (Bob Crane) when conducting secret missions for the Allies from his headquarters in POW camp Stalag 13 in Germany on the military comedy HOGAN'S HEROES/CBS/1965-71. "Mama Bear" was code name used to contact Allied submarines and "Goldilock" was used to communicate with underground resistance fighters. 

Pappy - Affectionate nickname of WWII Marine pilot Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (Robert Conrad) on the military drama BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP/NBC/1976-78 coined by his fellow pilots (average age 18) because they considered anyone over the age of 35 an old man. The Pappy character is loosely based on the book Baa Baa Black Sheep written by WWII Marine Corps flying ace Gregory "Pappy" Boyington who had flown numerous flights in both Burma and the South Pacific. TRIVIA NOTE: On January 3, 1944, Pappy's kill record for downing enemy airplanes tied with the WWI record of German pilot Baron Von Richtoffen. He added two more kills before he was shot down by the Japanese. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW His Marine Corps flight record for number of kills has to this day never been matched. After suffering bouts with alcoholism and cancer, he spent his retirement years visiting local air shows and signing autographs to copies of his books which chronicle his experiences as a pilot. Baron Von Richthofen, mentioned above was the German fighter pilot who led Von Richthofen's Circus, an elite WWI German fighter squadron of brightly painted airplanes responsible for introducing new aerial team tactics which were to replace the individual one-on-one dogfight tactics of the past. Richthofen was shot down in 1918. 

Patch - Nickname of the leading hunk who starred on the daytime soap opera DAYS OF OUR LIVES/NBC/1965+. Stephen Nichols played Patch, a handsome young loner who loved Kayla (Mary Beth Evans). His nickname came from the black patch he wore over his left eye which covered the scars of a knife attack. Patch normally wore a black leather jacket and uttered such classic lines as "Babe" and Hey, Dude." In 1988 Patch and Kayla tied the knot at a spectacular waterfront wedding. 

Peaches - Affectionate nickname bestowed on tomboy Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence by big brother Willie Lawrence (Gary Frank) on the domestic drama FAMILY/ABC/1976-80. Peaches was also the nickname used by the father of public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post) to describe his daughter on the sitcom NIGHT COURT/NBC/1984-92. 

Peeper, The -  The college nickname of Cliff Murdock (Tom Poston) a friend of psychologist Bob Hartley on the sitcom THE BOB NEWHART SHOW/CBS/1972-78. Cliff earned his moniker for looking through binoculars into the girl's campus dormitory. Cliff was also a practical joker and once put raw pieces of chicken in Bob's sock drawer (neck, wings, thighs and gizzards). See also - "Nature's Revenge on Peeping Tom's"

Penguin - Fred Berry, the short 200-pound black actor who played the popular "Rerun" character on the sitcom WHAT'S HAPPENING!!/ABC/1976-79 and WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW!!/SYN/1985-88 was given the nickname "Penguin" by his real-life friends because when he walked, he waddled. The fantasy adventure BATMAN/ABC/1966-68 featured a tuxedo wearing villain known as The Penguin, a notorious Gotham City purveyor of perfidy played by veteran actor Burgess Meredith. The Penguin (a.k.a. "Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot") resurfaced in the sequel 1992 motion picture Batman Returns (played by Danny DeVito) and on a Fox Network animated series. See also - "Rerun" and  CLOTHING: "Elaine Vassal's Face Bra" 

Penis Von Lesbian - The tongue-in-cheek nickname of actor Dick Van Dyke given to him by fellow actors Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie etc. while filming the now classic sitcom THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW/CBS/1960-66. Of course, the name is a play on words with the actor's own name "Dick" (Penis) "Van" (Von) "Dyke" ("Dyke" being a slang name for a Lesbian).

Penny  - Childhood nickname given to actress/director Penny Marshall because she once saved pennies to buy a horse. Born 11/15/42  in the Bronx, New York, Carole Penelope Marsciarelli, a.k.a. Penny Marshall is best known for her role in the sitcom LAVERNE & SHIRLEY/ABC/1976-83. Penny's character Laverne suffered from claustrophobia, loved to mix milk and Pepsi for a drink and enjoyed sandwiches made of peanut butter and sauerkraut on raisin bread. In high school Laverne's nickname was "Dufus' DeFazio." Another Penny was "Penny" Gordon Woods played by Janet Jackson on the sitcom GOOD TIMES/CBS/1974-79. Penny was Willona Woods' adopted daughter. Penny's name was derived from Millicent. Get it -"cent", "penny." Janet Jackson later appeared as Jojo Ashton on the series A NEW KIND OF FAMILY/ABC/1979-80 as Charlene DuPrey on the series "DIFF'RENT STROKES/NBC/1978-86, and then as Cleo Hewitt on the series FAME/NBC/SYN/1982-87." On the contemporary western adventure SKY KING/ABC/1953-54 Gloria Winters played Penny King, the teenage niece of Arizona pilot-rancher Sky King (played by Kirby Grant). See also -  "Muffin"

Pepper - Nickname of police officer Lee Anne "Pepper" Anderson (Angie Dickinson), a glamorous fashion model turned police officer who worked for the Criminal Conspiracy Division of the Los Angeles Police Department on the police drama POLICE WOMAN/NBC/1974-78. 

Pepsi-Cola Girl, The - Singer/actress Polly Bergen earned the nickname "The Pepsi-Cola Girl" when she appeared as hostess on the dramatic anthology PEPSI-COLA PLAYHOUSE/ABC/1953-55. Arlene Dahl and Anita Coley also hosted the series. See also - "The Coca-Cola Girl" and "The Diet Coke Hunk"

Perfect Fool, The - Comedian Ed Wynn, the recipient of one of the very first Emmy Awards in 1949 for "Best Live Show & Most Outstanding Live Personality," was known nationally as "The Perfect Fool," a nickname derived from the title of one of his hit comedy's which he wrote in the 1920s. Born Isaiah Edwin Leopold, he performed in vaudeville, Broadway, radio (as the "Texaco Fire Chief") and television including ALL STAR REVUE/NBC/1950-53 (comedy/variety); THE ED WYNN SHOW/CBS/1949-50 (comedy/variety); and THE ED WYNN SHOW/NBC/1958-59 (sitcom). His film roles in The Great Man (1958), Marjorie Morning Star (1958), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) established Ed Wynn as a acclaimed dramatic performer. Two of his finest television performances were given on the PLAYHOUSE 90 episode "Requiem for a Heavyweight" on CBS in 1956; and on the anthology series episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE/CBS/1959-65 entitled "One for the Angels" where he played an aging, sidewalk salesman, who hustled Death to delay him from taking the soul of a small child. 

Pickles - The nickname of the wife of New York comedy writer Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell on the sitcom THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW/CBS/1961-66. Actresses Barbara Perry and Joan Shawlee appeared in the recurring role of Buddy's shrill, blond-haired wife Pickles, a former showgirl with a bubble brain and a voracious appetite. Her maiden name was Fiona Conway. 

Pig Boy - Workplace nickname of Sal (Curtis Armstrong), a half-man, half-pig researcher who worked for The World Chronicle newspaper in New York City on the occult newspaper adventure THE CHRONICLE/SCI/2001-2002. Headquartered in the basement archives of the Chronicle, Sal (who sports the snout of a pig) uses his talents as a  computer hacker to locate archived stories and other pertinent bits of information needed by the newspaper's investigative reporters. Sal aggressively pursued the women on the staff and when rebuked for his behavior, he replied "What' do you expect, I'm a pig!" When criticized for his porcine condition, Sal proudly proclaims "I maybe half-pig, but I'm half-man and that's 1/4 of what I need." At the height of passion, Sal squeals like a pig.

Pinkie & Pinky - Ken Howard and Blythe Danner starred as husband and wife lawyer team, Adam "Pinky" and Amanda "Pinkie" Bonner on the sitcom ADAM'S RIB/ABC/1973 based on the romantic comedy film Adam's Rib (1949) starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.

Pipeline - Island nickname of Hawaiian surfer Danny "Pipeline" Kahala (Andy Bumatai) on the drama MARKER/UPN/1995. Pipeline was also the nickname of Marilyn Tokuda who costarred as Shana "Pipeline" Akira, an innocent Eskimo-American member of an all-girl roller derby team known as "The Pittsburgh Pitts" on the sitcom THE ROLLER GIRLS/NBC/1978. 

Pirate Girl, The - Clad in a sexy pirate costume, Marian Stafford "The Pirate Girl" assisted host Jan Murray on the quiz/audience participation show TREASURE HUNT/ABC/NBC/1956-58. Greta Thyssen inherited the role in 1957-58 when the program moved to the NBC network. 

Pistin' Packin' Mamas - Group of all female truck drivers who operated out of Winslow County on the trucking adventure B.J. & THE BEAR/NBC/1979-81. Snow White (Laurette Spang) was the groups' leader. 

Pizza Man - The affectionate nickname of Italian-American police captain Frank Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) used by his public defender wife Joyce Davenport (Veronica Hamel) on the drama HILL STREET BLUES/NBC/1981-86. TRIVIA NOTE: On the 'The Nerds' skit on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Bill Murray played a teenager Todd DiLaMuca who was called "Pizza Face" by his close friend Lisa Loopner (Gilda Radner). He called her "Four Eyes." On the "Our Tribe" episode on the drama NORTHERN EXPOSURE/CBS/1990-95 while Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) was looking at the moon he recalled an ER doctor friend named Mitch (a.k.a. "Pizza Face") who had the worst case of acne he had ever seen. See also - "Johnny Pizza"

Polish Prince, The - Nickname given to popular Polish-American singer Bobby Vinton who had a number of hits in the 1960s including "Roses Are Red, My Dear," "Blue on Blue" and "Mr. Lonely." He hosted the Toronto produced musical variety series THE BOBBY VINTON SHOW/SYN/1975-78. His song "My Melody of Love" was adopted by his Polish fans as their official anthem. See also - WORDS OF WISDOM: "There's an old Polish proverb..." 

Pony Boy  See - "Soda Pop"

Pookie Poo - Childhood nickname of Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), a struggling black mother of three who lived in Apartment 17-C in Chicago's Cabrini Housing Project on the sitcom GOOD TIMES/CBS/1974-79. 

Poopsie - Pet name of Dobie Gillis, a girl-crazy teenager on the sitcom THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS/CBS/1959-63. Poopsie was the name given to Dobie by his female friend, Zelda Gilroy (Sheila James), a plain-looking egghead who was determined to marry Dobie in the future. Her unwanted attention often made Dobie cry "Now, cut that out!" Their roles were revived in 1977 pilot episode What Ever Happened To Dobie Gillis? and in the 1988 made-for-TV movie Bring Me The Head of Dobie Gillis. 

Porky - Childhood nickname of Sylvester "Porky" Brockway (Donald Keeler), a plump youngster living in the farm community of Calverton, near Capital City on the family drama JEFF'S COLLIE/CBS/1954-57. Porky shared a friendship with youngster Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig) who owned a dog named Lassie. Porky was also the college nickname of lawyer Alonzo Sparks (James Avery) on the sitcom SPARKS/UPN/1996-97. When Alonzo attended law school, he had difficulty standing up in class and talking to his intimidating law professor. He earned the nickname of Porky (after Porky Pig) because he stuttered and stammered. 

Portia - What portly, aging barrister Horace Rumpole (Leo McKern) calls colleague Phillida Trent Erskine-Brown (Patricia Hodge) on episodes of the British legal drama THE RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY/THA/1977-1992. Portia is a female character in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," who dresses in legal garments and masquerades as a male Doctor of Law named Balthazar and pleads for clemency for Antonio, the "Merchant of Venice." In the play another character, Shylock was suing for a pound of Antonio's flesh, which was collateral for a loan. In defense of her client Portia's speaks the now famous quotation "The quality of mercy is not strained..." 

Postcard Girl, The - Marilyn Toomey and later Rita Hayes were the beautiful assistants on the quiz show WIN WITH A WINNER/NBC/1958 hosted by Sandy Becker/Win Elliot. Known as "The Postcard Girls" their job included pulling postcards from a large drum. Each week at the end of the show, the names of next weeks contestants were disclosed to the audience. Viewers (hoping to split the winnings) were urged to send their predictions on postcard as to whom they thought would be the "Big Money" winner. 

 

Potato Man, The - Frank William Tucker (David Proval) was a homeless Vietnam veteran known as Frank the Potato Man, who wandered around the town of Rome, Wisconsin carrying a five-pound bag of Idaho potatoes on the drama PICKET FENCES/CBS/1992-95. Originally vagrancy laws, which prohibited sleeping on public property, forced the Potato Man out of town but on a later episode he returned in the cold of winter to seek shelter. He didn't like the noise of the nearby cities of Madison or Green Bay and preferred the quiet of the small town of Rome. Unfortunately, the town did not have accommodations for the homeless and Mayor Rachel Harris (Leigh Taylor-Young) refused to build one for such a "micro-minority." Fortunately, a compassionate police officer Deputy Maxine Stewart (Lauren Holly) and the local lawyer Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel) pleaded his case to Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston) who ruled that the town must build a shelter for him. Unfortunately, the good news arrived too late for the Potato Man who was found frozen to death in a cave on the outskirts of town. The medical examiner placed his time of death at 11:04 from probable hypothermia. The Potato Man's heart was defrosted and donated to a needy patient with a back ticker. The town of Rome had other eccentrics including K. C. McDonald (Jessica Tuck) a.k.a. "The Snake Lady" who collected snakes and carried a boa snake around with her; a bizarre town criminal called "The Serial Bather" who broke into people's home and took a bath while the property owners were gone; Louise Talbot (Natalija Nogulich), the town's transsexual schoolteacher (formerly known as Walter Souder); The Frogman (Michael Jeters) a man named Peter LeBeck who dressed in a frog costume to protest killing of frogs in biology class (singing the "Be a Frog" song); and a town clergyman with a fetish for women's shoes. See also -  "The Log Lady"

Potsie - Childhood nickname of Warren Weber (Anson Williams), a Milwaukee teenager on the sitcom HAPPY DAYS/ABC/1974-84. Warren was dubbed "Potsie" when his mother noticed he liked to make things out of clay. 

Power Rangers  See - "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"

Prairie Blossom  See -  "Bunny"

Prince - Childhood nickname a.k.a. "Fresh Prince" given to actor Will Smith by his grade-school teachers because he acted so smooth and had the ability to charm his way out of trouble. Born Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Will Smith starred on the sitcom THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR/NBC/1990-96. He played an inner-city black teenager also named Will Smith  whose mother feared that he would fall into the wrong crowd, and so she decided to send her son from Philadelphia to live with his wealthy married aunt in Bel Air, California. Smith grew up in middle class section of West Philadelphia. Before his gig on TV, Will and his  friend Jeff Townes began performing together as DJ. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and soon they became popular on the music charts as rap singers. Will Smith has also authored the children's book 'Just the Two of Us' with pictures by Kadir Nelson, May 2001 His film credits include such movies as Six Degrees of Separation (1995), Bad Boys (1995), Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), Wild Wild West (1999) and Ali (2001) the story of boxer Cassius Clay, a.k.a. Mohammad Ali.

Prince of Late Night Television, The - When comedian and game show host Johnny Carson took over the reigns of THE TONIGHT SHOW from Jack Paar on October 2, 1962, he remarked on the air "Jack Paar was the King of late-night television. Why don't you just consider me the "Prince"? Johnny relinquished his desk (to Jay Leno) on May 22, 1992 after thirty years at the throne. His last show was a national event and featured guest Bette Midler who intimately sang a comic love song to Johnny Carson as a final expression of her admiration, an admiration mirrored by millions of his faithful viewers. See also - "The King of the Late Night Television"

Prince of Menace, The - The sinister nickname given to actor Vincent Price for his roles in such horror film classics as the 3-D thriller House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958) House on Haunted Hill (1958) and a number of Edgar Allen Poe inspired films The House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961); The Raven (1963), and  The Masque of the Red Death (1964). In 1957 Vincent Price appeared on the quiz show $64,000 QUESTION where he showcased his considerable knowledge of art. Some of his memorable TV performances included the villainous Egghead on the fantasy BATMAN/ABC/1966-68; his regular role on the children's program THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN/SYN/1975; the mysterious Jason who escorted passengers through time on the fantasy series TIME EXPRESS/CBS/1979; and the sophisticated host of the PBS anthology MYSTERY! from 1982-89 that featured mystery stories (made mostly in England). Vincent Price died in 1993. 

Prince of Pain, The - The showbiz sobriquet of Richard Lewis, the black clad comedian (fond of running his hands through his hair) whose standup routine focused on tales of his personal anxieties and neuroses. He also starred in the sitcom ANYTHING BUT LOVE/ABC/1989-92 as Marty Gold, a neurotic investigative magazine reporter. 

Prince of Puckers, The - Richard Dawson, host of the quiz game show FAMILY FEUD/ABC/1976-85 was famous for his habit of kissing all of the lady contestants on the show, hence the nickname "The Prince of Puckers." Some people, who didn't feel it was very appropriate for him to be sucking face with the contestants, wrote letters of disapproval. In an attempt to resolve the problem Dawson asked for a write-in-vote to finally answer the question "to kiss" or "not to kiss" on the show. As he explained on-the-air "I'm a toucher. It's how we expressed affection in my own family, and it just comes naturally to me. My mother always said, you can't ever hate anyone your on kissing terms with." When the votes were tallied, the verdict was overwhelmingly in his favor: 14,600 to 704. Richard Dawson won an Emmy Award for Best Game Show Emcee in 1978. See also - "The Most Kissed Man in America"

Princess of Perpetual Blondeness, The  See - SEX, LOVE & NAUGHTY BITS: "Voluptua" 

Psycho Dad -  On the sitcom MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN/FOX/1987-97 frustrated shoe salesman Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) had little to be happy about in life. His only solace were his nudie magazines, the local nudie bar and his favorite TV show "Psycho Dad" (played by Andrew Prine). He especially enjoyed the show's rousing themes song which began "Who's that riding into the sun/Who's the man with the itchy gun/Who's the man who kills for fun!/...Psycho Dad!" When Al's favorite show was scheduled for cancellation, he contacted a US Senator to intervene. During the investigation Senator Furman queried Al saying "Is it not true that the lyrics to the 'Psycho Dad' theme song read 'Killed his wife 'cause she weighed a ton'?" Frantic, Al cried "But in Psycho Dad's defense, when he married her, she wasn't fat, your bigness." Sadly, Psycho Dad was canceled. When Al's nemesis Marcy Darcy (Amanda Bearce) heard the news she chanted a parody of the show's theme song: "Who's the guy who's show is done?/Who's TV hero's on the run?/Who'll be watching VH1?/Loser Al, Loser Al, Loser Al." Dejected, poor Al Bundy retreated to the beautiful babes at the nudie bar and his fellow colleagues from NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood). For the feminine viewers there was the spin off series "Psycho Mom" whose theme songs lyrics read: "Who's the gal who needs no man?/Killed him dead with the frying pan./Did it 'cause he missed the can./Psycho Mom, Psycho Mom, she's Psy-cho Mom!" [From "Teacher's Pets" episode]  

Puce Goose - CB handle/radio call sign adopted by Los Angeles police detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) on the police drama STARSKY AND HUTCH/ABC/1975-79. His partner, Ken Hutchinson (David Soul) used the CB name "Blond Blintz." Their police mobile radio code was ZEBRA-3. They drove around in a red and white 1974 Ford Torino. 

Puddin' Head - The nickname of Army Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan) on the military comedy M*A*S*H/CBS/1972-83. He was dubbed "Puddin' Head" by his wife Mildred Potter who lived stateside while Sherman ran a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital near the front lines of the Korean War. 

Pumpkin - Through the years, the term "Pumpkin" has been a popular term of endearment used by many script writers when referring to TV characters, especially by a father towards his daughter. On the sitcom MARRIED WITH CHILDREN/FOX/1987-97 shoe salesmen Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) used this affectionate nickname for his teenager Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate). Since Kelly was not the brightest girl around, this vegetable nickname suited her quite well. Once Kelly's frustrated dad said "Pumpkin, when Daddy goes to the chair, would you sit on my lap one last time?" Kelly responded "I'd be honored." Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) on the sitcom FRIENDS/NBC/1994-2004 was also called Pumpkin by her father.  On the occult drama MEDIUM/NBC/2005+ Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette) can communicate with the dead. She affectionately calls her daughters Pumpkin. See also - "NICKNAMES: "The Dumbest Girl in America"

Punky  See - CATCHPHRASES: "That's Punky Power!" 

Puppy - The childhood nickname of actress Jennifer Garner, the star of the spy drama ALIAS/ABC/2001+  On an installment of the NBC late night talk show THE TONIGHT SHOW with JAY LENO (aired 12/13/2002) Jennifer revealed her family nickname was "Puppy." When Jay asked why she was called Puppy, Jennifer replied  because she was "kinda of a tail-waggin' kid." Joking, Leno asked "Did they keep you in a kennel." Amused, Garner replied "No, but they made me wear a collar"; that her "nose used to run a lot" and now that she is older she has a "lot more to wag." The entire conversation about "Puppy" began when Jennifer mentioned that at Christmas time while handing out presents, she wears a Santa hat that sports the name "Santa Pup."