https://yakima.craigslist.org/cto/d/yakima-mercury-comet-wagon/7155916429.html Reading the ad, it sounds like someone who doesn't know much about cars is giving the description. I wonder if the owner has passed and someone is dealing with their collection. Regardless, looks like a very nice little wagon. You don't see many of these around, that's for certain.
I always think of Ellie Walker, from the drug store when I see one of these. Looks like a nice car, wonder if the last owner was the one that got it at Mecum.
Miss Ellie Mae! She was a feisty one. Though I enjoyed her character. I always wondered why they never wrote an explanation for her departure into the story. Ever notice how everyone seems to enter their cars from the sidewalk, through the passenger's side on that program? I always wondered if that was just something they did for shooting the show or if it was actually a common practice at the time. Good question. It's here in town, so I may actually go and look at it in person.
They did a lot of getting In and out on the passenger side of cars on Perry Mason as well. Unless Della was getting in and out of the car, Perry always grabbed her door in or out, which was a common practice of the day then. Sadly that’s gone by the way of the dodo bird as well. So glad you enjoyed the Andy Griffith reference. I knew you would pick it up. They used that Comet Wagon, along with that ‘61 White Squire at gas station, and several other establishing shots around town.
Oh BTW I had read at some point that there was just no chemistry between Eleanor Donahue and Andy Griffith professionally. They decided to move another direction for him romantically on the series. They had an out as she came into fill in for the uncle anyway, so they had a way for her to go away without a death, or even anyone speaking of her. He kinda had the same relationship with Aunt Bee. She was apparently mean to everyone.
Thought they got out of the passenger side in movies and tv shows so they could have the camera, lights, etc on the sidewalk instead of the street. But maybe it was a safety thing back when parallel parking on city streets was more common. The generation that would know has probably all passed on.
I’m sure the camera position was probably the overriding reason plus I think back then with those huge vinyl couches you could just slide across and get out closer to the curb, and the fact other than the rear view mirror you really had a lot of blind spots for approaching cars, seems like if you could it was just safer to scooch across to the passenger exit.
I've read that too. I also read that Andy said he felt like the lack of chemistry was his fault. I still always found it strange that there was no explanation for her departure. Like a "Well, now that Miss Ellie's Uncle is back, she's heading back to (wherever it was she came from)." Same thing happened when Don Knotts left. One day Barney was there, the next he was gone. Of course we found out later he was in the big city, but for a long time there was no mention of him at all, like he had never existed. And to throw the whole thing out of whack, they had an entire episode dedicated to Gomer joining the Marine Corp. Of course that was because he was getting his own show. But it still seemed a little goofy.
Well it was about that time that her sister Kitten was falling apart and having drug issues. Maybe she felt like she had to move back home and help her mom and dad out, as Bud was no help at all..... Oh wait. That was a different show. I too liked her on both Andy Griffith and Father Knows best. I thought she was a very sincere person. To me Helen Crump was kinda mean and conniving some times.