Hazel Shermet - Archive Interview Part 1 of 5

In her 5-part (each 30 minute segment is posted separately) oral history interview, actress Hazel Shermet speaks of her work on stage and her many radio appearances on such shows as The Kate Smith Hour, The Milton Berle Show, and The Fred Allen Show, as well as playing "Miss Duffy" in the series Duffy's Tavern. She talks about her work on the late 40s series The Morey Amsterdam Show in which she played the character "Lady Clippingham" to Morey Amsterdam's "Lord Cloppingham." She describes her role as one of a stock company of players when television station WOR went on the air, including hosting her own show Songs You've Never Heard Before and Won't Ever Want to Hear Again, in which she sang unrecorded songs. She discusses her other appearances on television including as a regular on the series Blondie and The New Zoo Revue, and guest appearances on Mister Ed, The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, and That Girl. She talks about her commercail work in which she introduced such products as Head and Shoulders and appearing with Merle Olson (FTD Florist), Dorothy Hamill (Sanka), and Phil Silvers (Preem), in others. To access additional segments from the interview collection visit http://tvinterviewsarchive.blogspot.com

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Howto & Style

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• archive
• american
• television
• interview
• emmy
• tv
• legends
• history

[retrounderground1]

I most remember Ms. Shermet from The Beverly Hillbilly episode when Jed bought a movie studio. Ms. Shermet played a stage mother who brought her young daughter to see Mr. Clampet trying to get her in the movies. The little girl started tap dancing, and the Clampetts thought the child had a nervous tick. Then Hazel commanded her daughter to turn cartwheels (shown in fast motion) as Hazel rolled her hands and made her trademark trilling sound from the back of her throat.

[Smartboy8877]

@jeguerin

I remember that too! That was her third and last appearance on the show. Her first was as a saleslady in the episode called "Mom's Birthday" and her second was the one where she was the busy body on the phone. Do you remember either of those episodes?

[TimFrith24]

That's the lady who did the voice of Mrs. Bailey in the 80's cartoon, "Jem".

[Smartboy8877]

I just read on two sites that Hazel's birthday is August 1st, 1921. Here she says she was born 1920! I wonder whether she is either lieing or mistaken here or if the source that whomever created those two sites was inaccurate. Anyone have any ideas?

[Smartboy8877]

Of all of the things that I have seen her in, I would say that my favorite was on the "Gimme a Break!" episode known as the "Emergency". On this episode, she played a busy body on a pay phone in a hospital. I thought that her scene was priceless! Is anyone here familiar with this?

[Sandguy99]

I grew up on Tigertail Road and went to school with her son Bobby. She was always a very nice mom in the neighborhood.

[Smartboy8877]

For a long time, I have thought that Hazel Shermet was hot stuff! My favorite part of this interview is when the talks about a time when she was wearing pantyhose! Wow!

[simonmoves]

just seem her on addams family as melancholia--very pretty in1964