Exciting news! For those of you living in the United States, all four seasons of Daktari are now available on Tubi, a free streaming service.
If you are unable to stream on your TV, you can watch it on your computer, tablet or phone by visiting Tubi.com and signing up for an account.
I’ve watched several episodes already and am focusing on Season 4 which I have not viewed since I was a kid. It’s actually not as bad as I remembered it. Erin Moran is sweet as Jenny and I really like the relationship she has with Dr. Tracy. I could do though without Ross Hagen – his character of Bart Jason is not likable. I miss Yale Summers! Fortunately I can watch older episodes to get my dose of him. 🙂
Let us know what episodes you are watching and enjoying. Remember to check out our excellent Episode Guide.
Fans of Yale Summers, get ready! Thanks to the great detective work of our friend Ken, we now have a pretty comprehensive list of guest appearances by Yale Summers on various TV shows.
English fans of Daktari were lucky! In Great Britain there were annuals published with pictures and stories about Daktari. Our friend Ken has these annuals and he is sharing them with us.
Here are pictures from the first annual. Click on the picture to see an enlargement.
A fan of Daktari came upon this site and saw the German article on Cheryl Miller. A German speaker, this fan took the time to translate the article so we can all read it for the first time.
Thank you Lutz; that was such a generous thing to do and we are all grateful!
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FREIZEIT REVUE 11/2012: Celebrities at home – Cheryl Miller
Daktari’s Paula Moonstruck by Wild Animals to This Very Day
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FREIZEIT REVUE visited the former actress in her native Arizona (USA). She told us, how she lives today, and how dangerous the shootings were in those days. And what blows of fate she had to cope with afterwards.
Freizeit Revue March 2013, first page
[Caption, Big Picture]Daktari-Star Cheryl Miller loves animals — equally behind the camera. To the right [small inset]: She’s fond of this lama-foal.
[Caption, left Inset 1]In 1966, with the cross-eyed lion Clarence: “That was a really dear one.”
[Caption, left Inset 2]Fond of animals: Jack Dane (Yale Summers, left), Dr. Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thompson) and his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller).
[Caption, left Inset 3]The “Daktari” Crew with Chimp Judy. “She constantly kissed me on the lips,” the former actress told us.
[Page 2]
Freizeit Revue article on Cheryl Miller, page 2
[Caption, inset top left]Tenderly she feeds a young giraffe. The animal is trustful right away.
[Caption, inset top right]Only occasionally Cheryl sits leisurely at home. She’s into sports, visits the opera, exhibitions, or the theater.
[Caption, small inset to the right]The former actress has got things straightened out with herself. “I’m doing fine,” she says.
[Caption bottom, left]The secret of her vivid complexion: “I wash my face with water and baby oil exclusively.”
[Caption bottom, right]Curious for life: “I want to learn something new constantly,” Cheryl says, laughing.
Main text
Tenderly Chimp-Lady Judy presses her a kiss on the mouth. Cheryl Miller laughs — without noticing the leopard, who is stalking her from the rear. He’s preying on the Chimpanzee, but suddenly changes target. Out of a sudden the wild animal pounces on Cheryl, presses her to the ground severely. It takes three men to intervene, pull the big cat away from her. Shocked the rescuers gaze at the victim, looking for injuries.
“I Fought a Crocodile”
“But I took a few bruises”, Cheryl remembers. “And wetted my pants out of fear.” It’s now fourty years since the shooting of Daktari took place. And nowadays “Paula” can laugh about it. To find out, how she’s doing today, FREIZEIT REVUE-reporter Simone Vollmer travelled to Cheryl’s home state of Arizona (USA). There the former actress told her about another thrilling Daktari-anecdote: “I had to fight a crocodile under water with a plastic-knife. Its jaws were tightly shut with a wire. It tumbled me over three times. That wasn’t funny.”
But Cheryl even today cherishes a heart for wild animals. Affectionate she feeds a giraffe. Astonishing-in her presence the majestic giant turns tame. Nothing new for Cheryl. “Clarence, the cross-eyed lion, liked me. Suprisingly nearly all big cats were comfortable in my presence. They put their head in my lap and clung to me.”
“My time with Daktari was wonderful”, Cheryl relates wistfully – completely to the contrary to what happened afterwards. “A soap-opera and some fair to middling flickers.” Eventually she gave up on acting. “I had earned enough money. I wanted to concentrate purely on my family. My children (son Eric (31), stepsons Ronn (45) and Robb (43)-editor’s note) shouldn’t get the feeling that their mother was something special.”
“The heart – my ideal man died”
Cheryl had no luck with love. In 1968 she got married for the first time. The marriage failed after only two months. The second marriage too, with a businessman, broke up after a few years. Only with Robert Kasselmann (died with 68) had fortune smiled on her. “He was my ideal man,” she fancies. “Our marriage lasted for twenty years. But seven years ago, he died of a rare heart disease.” Both didn’t believe in the chances of healing. “We handled his outlook realistically,” she confesses.
An experience that Cheryl helps today. She works with incurable children in a church community. “This can be rough but fulfilling at the same time.” On her own, but not lonely. That’s the way Cheryl lives today. She has many friends, who accompany her to the theater. And sports play a big role in her life. Cheryl even takes part in the senior citizen Olympics. “I can handle bows and arrows, I swim, I ski.” And at times she’s even attracted to wild animals again. “My memories of Daktari are as vivid then, as if it were only yesterday.”
There are Daktari tribute videos popping up all over the place on YouTube! Here’s a particularly cute one honoring the chemistry between Jack and Paula (Why didn’t the writers see this through??):
One of the nicest couples on television. If only …
Aren’t we lucky to live during this time of renewed interest in our favorite TV shows! Cheryl Miller, in particular, seems to be enjoying new popularity.
Our friend down under, Ken, found this wonderful video which features new pictures of Cheryl:
While looking at this video, I found a playlist of a whole bunch of Daktari videos:
THE SMITH FAMILY Cindy (20 Jan 1971)
Here’s a great find from our friend, Ken: Yale Summers’ first appearance since leaving Daktari as an astronaut going to the moon.
Daktari TV Show 