Mathijs from the Netherlands was kind enough to send this picture of Cheryl Miller with a fan named Todd (check out Google Groups Todd’s Day of TV Nostalgia). She was 55 at the time.
Recently a reader (aptly named “Cheryl”) mentioned a German magazine article that appeared last year on Cheryl Miller. She graciously shared with us the article, a beautiful two-page spread. She writes, “The magazine is called Freizeit Revue and I believe that it is issue number 11 of 2012 which I think came out last March. I found it online while doing a search on Cheryl Miller after the Daktari season 1 came out and this was for sale on a German eBay-type site called hood.de so I bought it.”
The article is of course in German so I asked if she could send us a summary of the content. She did and I also translated it through Google Translate and added my own comments in the brackets.
Title: Daktari’s Paula is still entirely crazy about wild animals.
Page two, first paragraph talks about how Judy, the chimp was giving her a kiss on the mouth but suddenly a leopard which was supposed to go after the chimp went after her and knocked her to the ground. It took three men to get the leopard off. The men stared at her with shocked looks to see if she had any injuries.
Second paragraph – She only had a few bruises but the attack scared the pants off of her. Another time she had to wrestle a crocodile with a a rubber knife underwater. The croc’s mouth was wired shut and she had to do wrestle it three times which was not fun. (Note: this was for the episode “Terror in the Bush” which I wrote about in the last post. There is a picture of her wrestling with the crocodile.)
Third paragraph talks about how much Clarence liked her.
Fourth paragraph – Cheryl says her time on Daktari was wonderful compared to what came after, a soap opera and a couple of mediocre films. Eventually she gave up acting altogether. She had saved up enough money to start a family. She didn’t want her son and stepsons to think their mother was anything special. [She has a son Eric, 31, and two stepsons, Ronn, 45, and Rob, 43.]
Fifth paragraph – she didn’t have much luck with love. Her first marriage started to fall apart after two months and a second marriage only lasted a few years. Finally in 1987 she found the man of her dreams, Robert Kasselmann. They were married about 20 years. Seven years ago he died of a rare, incurable heart disease.
Last paragraph– talks about how she works for the diocese [Diocese of Tucson] with terminally ill children which she says is very hard, yet fulfilling. She has many friends with whom she goes to the theatre. Sports play a large role in her life as well. She participated in the senior Olympics (she and her group, the Pebblecreek Panthers took the silver in the Bocce). She shoots bow and arrow, swims and cross country skis. And there is still always the wild animals. The time she spent on Daktari seems like only yesterday.
Cheryl is featured in the Pepplecreek Press displaying her medal with her teammates.
My thanks again to “Cheryl” for all this wonderful information! It sounds like Cheryl Miller Kasselmann is leading a happy and fulfilling life.
Here is the spread. If you would like the full size scan of the article, email me at daktartvshow@gmail.com and I’ll send it to you.
Freizeit Revue March 2013, first pageFreizeit Revue article on Cheryl Miller, page 2
Freizeit Revue March 2013, first page
Freizeit Revue article on Cheryl Miller, page 2
Cheryl is featured in the Pepplecreek Press displaying her medal with her teammates.
Mine is from Season 2, called “Terror in the Bush.” This is why I was so excited when the announcement came from Warner Archives that they were releasing the complete second season on DVD (see here for more information).
First of all, “Terror in the Bush” featured my favorite character front and center: Paula Tracy. In the episode, she and Marsh are out on a training run. He is determined to teach his daughter to be responsible when all she really wants is to just be like every other girl her age. He reminds her that no every girl lives in Africa. Paula has not prepared well for the trip and many vital supplies are missing. She even scolded Judy unfairly for emptying out the medical kit when in fact Marsh had done it to teach her the necessity of check and double check.
All a hint that something bad was about to happen …
As Paula, Marsh and Judy started for home, the jeep struck a log and flipped over. Everyone was knocked out but Marsh was the most seriously injured with a concussion and a badly broken leg.
What few supplies were on hand had been destroyed in the crash and Paula had to rely on her wits, strength and resourceful thinking to bring her father to safety.
As a kid and as an adult
When I was ten, I loved this episode because it made Paula a heroine. It was exciting watching her do everything she could to save her father.
I still love this episode, perhaps even more now, because of the wonderful messages contained therein:
A young woman comes of age, showing incredible guts, self-control and quick thinking.
A daughter risks her life to save her beloved father
A father cares enough for his daughter to teach her to be strong, independent and responsible.
A father and daughter share a close and loving relationship.
Getting the message across
These are simple but important messages and the best part is, the writers use the story to impart them rather than pontificate about them. This is Daktari’s charm to me – in its gentle and unassuming way, the show conveys wonderful themes that are beneficial to children and good reminders for adults.
Sure, Daktari’s story lines are simplistic, the show’s pacing is very slow and the characters can be two-dimensional. But the scenery is beautiful, the themes universal and timely, the graphics in the opening sequence still cool and the music, cutting edge for that time.
In comparison with other popular shows
My husband and I have had a hankering lately for 60s shows since he got The Invaders with Roy Thinnes for Christmas. We traded in a bunch of DVDs and bought the second season of Bewitched starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York, and The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves. We also have I Dream of Jeannie starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.
For the sake of laughs
Bewitched is still just as funny as it was in the 60s. I must say though that it is horrifying to see Samantha continually give up her identity as a witch just because her husband demands it of her, and often he is not appreciative of the difficulty of her task or the effort she makes. I’m no militant feminist but I do believe that each person, man or woman, deserves to be accepted for who they are.
This storyline is essential to the conflict in Bewitched that creates the funny situations. And the same is true with I Dream of Jeannie – goodness, a genie in a sexy costume is a slave to Tony, her master who doesn’t even want what makes Jeannie unique! Sets back the accomplishments of the women’s movement back fifty years. 🙂
Why Daktari ages well
The only point I’m trying to make is this: shows from the 60s often don’t age well and it’s not just the clothes, cars and the ancient technology. Daktari remains timely for me because it promotes themes that never age. I will be more than happy to save these DVDs for the days when I have grandchildren to share them with.
More power to girls like Paula! And kudos to fathers like Marsh who teach their daughters to be all they can be.
Here are some screen captures from the episode showing the many ways that Paula was a heroine in saving her father:
Dad and daughter discuss responsibility …
Marsh is seriously injured in the jeep wreck.
Paula is very concerned for her father …
who suffers from a concussion and broken leg.
Paula can tell Marsh is getting a fever but she has no water …
so she gathers bark she knows is wet and cool …
to set on her father’s forehead to cool the fever.
Paula must build a mat to carry her father to safey. Judy comforts her.
Hari Rhodes, actor, author, veteran of television and films was born in 1932 in the East End of my hometown in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He graduated from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor Of Arts Degree. At age 15, he forged his mother’s signature to enlist in the Marines. He served in Korea.
Acting Career
In 1957, he appeared in an episode of Zane Grey Theater which included Sammy Davis, Jr. Throughout the decade of the 60’s, he could be found in numerous television shows such as Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, he was featured in an Outer Limits episode called “Moonstone”, (1964). other roles included Rawhide, Wagon Train and The Fugitive.
In 1966 he starred in Daktari, (1966-1969) which was broadcast on CBS. Rhodes played Mike Makula, one of the assistants of Dr. (Daktari) Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thompson), and his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller), at the Wamaru veterinary hospital in Africa. The series also featured Clarence The Cross-Eyed Lion and Judy, the Chimp.
After Daktari ended, Rhodes continued acting in movies and on television throughout the 70’s and 80;s. He could be seen in the blaxploitation film Detoit 9000 (1973), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and most notably as Brima Cesay in the 1977 mini-series, Roots.
As an author, Mr. Rhodes published several novels, including one titled The Chosen Few, written about the African-American experience in the Marines.
Mr. Rhodes passed away in 1992 of a heart attack at age 59, in Canoga Park, California.
Rhodes brought an elegance to Daktari as Mike Makula. Handsome with a deep, melodic speaking voice, he was a favorite with fans. Daktari was one of a group of pioneering shows including Julia starring Diahann Carroll and Star Trek with Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura that featured African American actors in key roles.
from preview clip of Daktari The Complete Second Season on DVD from Warner Archives
I got my copy of Daktari The Complete Second Season today in the mail and just finished watching the first episode, “The Return of Clarence” where Clarence lost his memory. He tried to attack Paula and she fell into a pit with a leopard! When Marsh and Jack finally found her (thanks to Clarence), Marsh had a fierce fight with the leopard. Pretty exciting!
I am pretty impressed with the quality of these DVDs considering they are made on demand. The packaging and discs are very attractive and II only had to wait a few days for the DVDs to arrive.
They are pricey but it’s so worth it being able to watch my favorite show again after all these years.
Without this technology of one-offs, we wouldn’t have this show available again for new generations.
Courtesy of crazymonkey1958 – from Season 4. Shelly Manne’s theme was very cool!
It’s too bad though that Daktari lost its edge in Season 4 (you might even say it started losing it in Season 3). Adding Erin Moran as orphan Jenny Jones might have been a good move (but it certainly reduced Cheryl Miller’s role) but I don’t get the addition of Ross Hagen as Bart Jason. If they were going to add characters, why not a romantic interest for Marsh Tracy? Or for that matter, for Paula with Bart since Yale Summers left the show at the end of Season 3. It was getting a little crowded at Wameru …
Click to Tweet & Share: Cheryl Miller back in 1998 – we should all look this good! http://wp.me/p3hKG3-9E
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