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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"
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