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Somebody Has to Play Cleopatra
Rob recalls the casting problems he encountered in a PTA variety show., Rob recalls the casting problems he encountered in a PTA variety show. Rob: Dick Van Dyke. Laura: Mary Tyler Moore. Jerry: Jerry Paris. Millie: Ann Morgan Guilbert. Cynthia: Valerie Yerke. Harry: Bob Crane. Shirley: Shirley Mitchell. Mrs. Billings: Eleanor Audley., In flashback, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) explains to Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) why he intends to avoid speaking to local PTA president Mrs. Billings (Eleanor Audley) at all costs. It seems that the previous year, the unctuous Mrs. Billings had dragooned Rob in directing the PTA’s annual fundraising variety show. What sticks most vividly in Rob’s mind is not Laura’s sexy tango number, but the monumental headaches he accrued while trying to properly cast a sketch based on the then-current film Cleopatra — especially since “Cleo” (aka Laura) would have to be kissed by a handsome neighbor (played by a pre-Hogan’s Heroes Bob Crane).
