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Ugly John - The nickname of captain John Black (John Orchard), an
anesthesiologist stationed in Korea during the 1950s at the 4077th Mobile Army
Surgical Hospital during the first season of the military sitcom
M*A*S*H/CBS/1972-83. In the movie M*A*S*H (1970) Ugly John was played by
Carl Gottlieb.
Ugly Sam See - "Salami
Sam"
Ugly Naked Guy, The See -
FACELESS FAVORITES: "Friends"
Uhura - Swahili for "Freedom" and the surname of the black, female
communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) stationed on the USS
Enterprise, a starship on the sci-fi series STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69 and subsequent
movie sequels.
Uh-Huh! Girls, The - Three gorgeous women who responded "Uh-Huh!" to
legendary bluesman Ray Charles in a series of immensely popular Diet Pepsi
commercials produced in the 1990s. Culled by Pepsi from among 400 auditioning
dancers, models and singers, Melaini Paul, 25, Gretchen Palmer, 28, and Darlene
Dillinger, 26, debuted as backup singers in a Diet Pepsi TV ad that aired during
Super Bowl Sunday 1991. They earned their nickname by lip-synching the two
syllables "Uh-Huh" in the commercial spots. The Uh-Huh Girls have been
occasionally mistaken for Ray Charles' real backup singers, the Raylettes. (People
Weekly 12/20/93) See also - "The
Pepsi-Cola Girl"
Ultraman - Teenage superhero on the sitcom MY SECRET IDENTITY/SYN/1988-91.
When fourteen-year-old Andrew Clements (Jerry O'Connell) was hit by blue gamma
rays while visiting the laboratory of Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoat (Derek McGrath), he
was endowed with super powers and became Ultraman. Living under cover as a
mild-mannered student at Briarwood High School, Andrew (a.k.a. "Ultraman") now
battled evil with his newly found powers of flight, strength, and
indestructibility. See also -
ALIENS: "Ultraman"
Unblonde - Internet nickname for Fox Mulder's (David Duchovny) United
Nations government source, Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) on the fantasy
drama THE X-FILES/FOX/1993-2002. Her surname means "yellow cave." See also
- "Cancer Man"
Uncle Miltie - At the start of the 1949 television season on the TEXACO
STAR THEATRE as he attempted to signoff his show, Milton Berle got a signal from
his floor man (the program was broadcast live) that the show was running short
by a few minutes. Immediately, Milton requested a chair, sat down and ad-libbed
the remainder of the show as follows: "Since this is the beginning of the new
season, I want to say something to any of you kiddies, who should be in bed
getting a good nights rest before school tomorrow. Listen to your Uncle Miltie
and kiss Mommy and daddy goodnight and go straight upstairs like good little
boys and girls." The ad-libbed reference of "Uncle Miltie" caught on all over
New York City. Everywhere Berle went he was greeted by thousands of newly
adopted relatives. Thereafter, every show signoff contained the closing phrase,
"Good night to all you boys and girls, my nephews and nieces, this is Uncle
Miltie saying Good Night." The Uncle Miltie nickname became so popular that once
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, began his popular religious program by saying "Good
evening, this is Uncle Fultie." See also - "Mr.
Television"; "Mr. Tuesday Night" and "The
Thief of Bad Gags"
Unco - The childhood nickname of Australian born actress Lucy Lawless,
apparently because she was a "uncoordinated" [a klutz] as a kid. In her later
years, however, Lawless put any rumors of her ability to move effectively aside
when she starred as an athletically agile and might warrior and healer on the
action adventure series XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS/SYN/1995-2001.
Undateable, The - On the sitcom AMEN/NBC/1986-91 Thelma Frye (Anna Maria
Horsford), the hulking, and opinionated daughter of Deacon Frye, was called "the
undateable" when she attended West Holmes High School. Thelma later married
minister Reuben Gregory (Clifton Davis) in February of 1990. J. T. Lambert
(Brandon Call) from the sitcom STEP BY STEP/ABC/1991-98 also called his
stepsister, Dana Foster (Staci Keanan) "The Undateable."
Unfinished Furniture Capital Of The World, The - The satirical nickname
of the fictional town of Alta Coma, California on the talk show spoof AMERICA
2-NIGHT/SYN/1978 hosted by the egocentric Barth Gimbles (Martin Mull).
Unknown Comic, The See -
FACELESS FAVORITES:
- "The Gong Show"
Untouchables, The - The name of the submachine gun-totting squad of
federal Treasury agents headed by Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) on the police crime
drama THE UNTOUCHABLES/ABC/1959-63. The series is based on the memoirs of
real-life federal agent Eliot Ness (co-written by Oscar Fraley). According to
the program Ness says "What if you have a special squad, small, operating on its
own; every man thoroughly investigated; brought in from all parts of the
country. Men who'll spit on Capone's graft; just a few he can't buy." These men
were dubbed "The Untouchables" by Chicago newspapers because they were so
incorruptible, so above taking a bribe. The Untouchables included Jerry Paris as
Marvin Flaherty; Nicholas Georgiade as Enrico Rossi; Abel Fernandez as Bill
Youngfellow, Paul Picerni as Lee Hobson; and Steve London as Rossman. The TV
pilot movie The Scarface Mob introduced the series to television and the
likes of such criminal adversaries as Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon), aka "the
Enforcer", the heir to Al Capone. In 1987, Brian De Palma directed the feature
film The Untouchables with Kevin Kostner as Federal Agent Eliot Ness and
Robert De Niro as mobster Al Capone. Robert Stack reprised his role as Chicago
crime buster in the CBS made-for-TV movie The Return of Eliot Ness that
aired 11/10/91. In 1993, THE UNTOUCHABLES resurfaced in a first-run syndicated
crime drama with Tom Amandes as Eliot Ness and William Forsythe as mobster Al
Capone. TRIVIA NOTE: The term "Untouchables" also describes those indigent
people of India who belonged to none of the main cast systems (social levels).
It was believed that if a high-ranking Hindu stepped into their shadows or was
touched by them they would be made unclean. This system was abolished in 1947.
The "Untouchables" are now referred to as the "Scheduled Classes" or "Depressed
Classes."
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