The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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twint9
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The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by twint9 »

Does anyone know the name of the actress who played Bonnie, Commissioner Gordon's secretary, in The Purr-Fect Crime?
Thanks!
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vintagematt
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by vintagematt »

She does not seem to be credited in the end credits and no mention on IMDB, gang, looks like we got a mystery on our hands!!!
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Therin of Andor
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Therin of Andor »

THE BATPHONE! wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 7:59 pm She does not seem to be credited in the end credits and no mention on IMDB, gang, looks like we got a mystery on our hands!!!
We recently learned, from an early draft of the teaser scene for Season Three's "Ring Around the Riddler", that Bonnie received a scripted surname, Patterson. (A stage instruction specified that we know the Riddler is at her usual desk, outside Gordon's office, because of the name plaque.)
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John Mack
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by John Mack »

THE BATPHONE! wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 7:59 pm She does not seem to be credited in the end credits and no mention on IMDB, gang, looks like we got a mystery on our hands!!!
Oh, there's probably thousands of mysteries that haven't been solved concerning our show. I'm going to start a thread....I'll link it here.
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Kite Kid
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Kite Kid »

I don't have any information about the actress, but a while ago, to satisfy my own curiosity (and because I had way too much time on my hands :shock: ), I did a survey of all of Bonnie's "appearances" (in person, vocally or just mentioned). This thread seems as good a place as any to share the results.

Bonnie is heard through the phone in The Curse of Tut, The Devil's Fingers, That Darn Catwoman, Batman: The Movie, Ring Around the Riddler, Louie the Lilac, The Ogg and I, The Bloody Tower, Catwoman's Dressed to Kill, Louie's Lethal Lilac Time, The Great Escape and The Joker's Flying Saucer. (Yes, I documented exactly what she said in each instance and can post that, too, if anyone is curious.) Whether it's the same person providing the voice throughout is anyone's guess, but it certainly does sound like it.

She is spoken to on the phone, but not heard, in The Joker Goes to School, The Minstrel's Shakedown, Hizzoner the Penguin, The Cat's Meow, Batman Displays His Knowledge, A Piece of the Action, Ice Spy, The Duo Defy, The Joke's on Catwoman and Penguin's Clean Sweep. She also is called on the phone in Fine Feathered Finks (more about that below).

She is mentioned by name in The Spell of Tut, Tut's Case Is Shut, Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds, Enter Batgirl Exit Penguin and The Wail of the Siren.

Her onscreen appearance in The Purr-fect Crime has been documented in a number of places, and is usually cited as her only appearance, but that brings up a question: Who is this woman who shows Warden Crichton into Commissioner Gordon's office in Fine Feathered Finks? Gordon calls Bonnie and tells her to show Crichton in, so I always assumed that this was Bonnie also (even though it's a different actress from the one seen in The Purr-fect Crime).
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And finally, a few curiosities:
* As mentioned, an early draft of the teaser for Ring Around the Riddler (when it was at the end of the original Ogg Couple three-parter) reveals her last name as Patterson.
* I've seen the name rendered in a couple of places as "Bonnie Williams" but I think that's just because someone thought that the "Miss Williams" crying in the commissioner's office in The Bookworm Turns was she. I don't believe that was supposed to be Bonnie (if it were, why would Gordon call her "Miss Williams" when he's only ever called her "Bonnie"?)
* In The New Adventures of Batman episode The Bermuda Rectangle, Gordon's secretary is "Miss Horton."
* In the Batman '66 comic book story The Sandman Says Goodnight, a woman appears entering from the outer office in the next-to-last panel on the second page and reports an armored car robbery. Later, the same woman (possibly) stops Gordon from opening the windows in his office. She's never identified (I think), but again I assumed this was Bonnie because who else would it be?

Additions? Corrections? Thoughts? All welcome. :)
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by TedTedTedTed »

I watched "The Purr-fect Crime" the other day and it occurred to me when Bonnie walked in carrying that box that while I'd been aware Commissioner Gordon had an assistant or secretary named Bonnie, I never remembered actually seeing her before. So after the credits rolled and she wasn't listed, I looked online to find out who played her, out of curiosity. Which brought me to this neat site.

I didn't have any clue from her brief on-screen appearance, but seeing that screen grab on the original post up there, I have a guess: Could the actor have been (the coincidentally same first-named) Bonnie Boland? The only thing I know her from is a fun appearance as loony, hippie-dippy acting coach Myrna Carter on "The Brady Bunch." Here she is from that, which would have been filmed in 1971, about five years after "The Purr-fect Crime."

bonnie.jpg
bonnie.jpg (47.03 KiB) Viewed 11934 times

I've been accused of seeing (imagined?) resemblances between actors before, so maybe I'm completely off-base here and these are two different actresses.
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Scott Sebring
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Scott Sebring »

Don't think it was Bonnie Boland. Checked her out in some other shows and her cheek bones and neck are distinctively different from Gordon's Bonnie. Her first official acting credit was in 1968 and she skews a bit younger than secretary Bonnie. Too bad I don't know of anybody with a call sheet from this episode.
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by bat-rss »

Anyone got a call sheet or cast list for THE PURR-FECT CRIME? I don't seem to have that one.
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Batman65
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Batman65 »

Stupid question here, but wouldn’t Julie or Burt know who it was? I don’t know if they ever see these threads or not.
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High C
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by High C »

Batman65 wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:48 am Stupid question here, but wouldn’t Julie or Burt know who it was? I don’t know if they ever see these threads or not.
The chances of either of them recalling the name of a one-shot bit player from a scene 54 years ago that neither one of them was in are not good. I'm not being mean, just realistic.
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by PNGUINN »

Agreed. Burt seems to only remember his wildly exaggerated revisions that have grown more and more elaborate over decades of retelling them at expos.
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bat-rss
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by bat-rss »

Looking at the American Heritage Center's holdings online, they only have call sheets back to July 14, 1966. In other words, they appear to have no season one call sheets at all. So, unfortunately, this woman's identity might be an unsolvable mystery.
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Jimmy L. 66 »

bat-rss wrote: Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:52 am Looking at the American Heritage Center's holdings online, they only have call sheets back to July 14, 1966. In other words, they appear to have no season one call sheets at all. So, unfortunately, this woman's identity might be an unsolvable mystery.
On this board?
I doubt that.
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dell
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by dell »

twint9 wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 5:57 pm Does anyone know the name of the actress who played Bonnie, Commissioner Gordon's secretary, in The Purr-Fect Crime?
Thanks!
I tried a visual search using the photo and cropping just her head. I came up with several possibilities:
Elisa Ingram - IMDB lists her having credits in 1965 through 1971, including Hogan's Heroes, Bewitched, etc. No Batman episodes listed. I think she looks very similar.
Elisa Ingram

Sarah Ross/Sarah Jane Ross/Sonia Romanoff - IMDB lists her having credits in 1964 through 1969, mostly foreign, but an episode of the Munsters in 1964.
Sarah Ross
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Re: The Purr-Fect Crime - Who Played Bonnie?

Post by Scott Sebring »

Dell,
I think you nailed it with Elisa Ingram. I just checked out her Wild Wild West and Mannix appearances. Looks, basic body language, height, voice and general line delivery really seem to fit our "Bonnie." In Mannix, she's practically wearing the same outfit.
At the moment, I'm sold. Well done.
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Right down to the lapels and big button, I actually think this is the same outfit. lol. The production guy in me would think that wardrobe would have provided something but heck, if the outfit works.
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