Temperatures Rising

When I was little, I could remember very few things at the age of seven on television except Captain Kangaroo. However, lightening had struck the night I first saw Nancy Fox on ABC's "Temperature's Rising". She was my FIRST childhood crush. I can remember seeing her in TV Guide, and when my dad threw the magazine in the garbage, I had lost my soul-mate and my whole world was in a mess.

The only reason that I am giving this TV show a perfect "10" is because of Nancy's presence on the sitcom. I remember she played a gorgeous, dim-witted student nurse, Ellen Turner. After the show went off the air, I searched and searched for Nancy, but I couldn't find her on TV. She was such a goddess, and I'm sure she still is, and had a sultry, perky voice with fabulous curves. For years I thought she had played "Vera" on the popular CBS TV show, "Alice", but it was a different actress, Beth Howland. Nancy did appear on episodes of "Charlie's Angels" and was a childhood friend of Jaclyn Smith.

In case you should happen to come across this writing, Nancy, I guess the world wants to know how you're doing these days??? You should have a website and photos on the Internet. We, who miss you, bow in prayer and say, "Hail, Nancy!"

I watched this show as a child and enjoyed it. It was groundbreaking to have an African American in a lead role. This show and "Julia." Would really love to stream it.

I recall this series and the first season was funny. OK, so as a 12 year old my tastes were a bit different than now, but regardless, I did find it funny. Clevon Little was (is?) a comic master and was allowed to be funny. Then the show was 're-configured' with some, eh, funny people and the emphasis was taken off Little and he was made essentially a straight man for some very marginally funny cast members. I don't recall the last season, maybe I just gave up at that point. The few past posts I've done and all future ones concerning TV will show what my true feelings are towards television executives. Too much responsibility placed on too little brain power.

There, I've said it.

I just watched a "Columbo" episode that either included Nancy Fox or a very good double for her. But she has no "Columbo" episodes listed for her in IMDb. The time frame would have been perfect to parallel her work in "Temperature's Rising" -- the Columbo episode was done in 1973.

In any case, Nancy Fox was a "dream girl" for me, back then, and I used to watch "Temperature's Rising" each week, just to see her!

The "Columbo" episode sent me here to see if she was in its cast. And in the process of checking it out, it appears that she hasn't worked as an actress since 1989. 17 years ago!

So does anyone know why she left, and what she's doing now? Just curious. She was beautiful and talented, so it puzzles me that she no longer seems to be acting.

This short-lived hospital sitcom set in Washington, DC lasted only two seasons but had three distinct versions during that time. The only constant throughout the show's run was Cleavon Little. After one season featuring Little, James Whitmore as an older doc, and several nurses and staffers, the show was reconfigured into "The New Temperatures Rising" with Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley and Sudie Bond brought in as the family who owned the hospital and were primarily concerned with cutting costs. After a few months with them, the show was put on hiatus, only to return a few months later in a third version with more new cast members (plus Nancy Fox from the original cast) but without Lynde, Ghostley and Bond. Needless to say, a third season was not forthcoming. In all three versions, the laugh count was about average for this type of show (that is to say, too low). TV never has really managed to produce a top quality, long-running hospital sitcom; we'll have to see if "Scrubs" stands the test of time.