Hazel, TV Show of the Past

"Hazel" started on NBC in 1961 and was shown in black and white, but it then changed to color thereafter. The show's fifth and last season saw the comedy transfer to CBS, with some cast changes. "Hazel" was about a maid, played by Shirley Booth, who worked for the Baxter family.: George Baxter, played by Don DeFore, was a lawyer, his wife Dorothy, played by Whitney Blake, and their son Harold, played by Bobby Buntrock. Shirley Booth always reminded me of my paternal grandmother, and so in many ways, I suppose, I associate Hazel with my grandmother (see a few lines down about what character Mr. Griffin said about Hazel in the show). Hazel was a down-to-earth, strong willed, highly opinionated person, who helped more than a little in managing the Baxter household, often bringing her into some conflict with George, whom she called "Mr. B," but who usually came to see Hazel's wisdom after a bit of a tussle, and he also knew she had his and the family's best interests at heart. George also needed Hazel beyond her reliability and common sense, as she was able to soften his most important client, hard-nosed and difficult businessman Harvey Griffin (played by Howard Smith), who fawningly would say, "She reminds me of my mother." Hazel's great cooking also helped soothe Mr. Griffin's cantankerous personality, and he loved being invited to dinner, so much so, that at times he pretty much invited himself. Hazel gave advice to any and all, including other maids in the neighborhood, and to Barney the mailman. She was a good bowler and she got along well with everyone, except George's snooty sister, who would occasionally try to get Hazel into trouble. 

The show just wasn't the same when it switched to CBS, and that's because both Don DeFore and Whitney Blake were dropped by CBS, and the audience dropped "Hazel." In a post-show tragedy, Bobby Buntrock was killed in an automobile accident on a bridge just a few years later. Shirley Booth lived to be 94, passing away in 1992, followed a year later by Don DeFore at the age of 80, and by Whitney Blake in 2002 at the age of 76.

Photo is from the 2006 Sony Home Entertainment First Season DVD set (now sold by Shout! Factory)

WORD HISTORY:

Can-This is the noun for "a metal container." It goes back to Indo European "gann," which meant "container, vessel for drinks." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "kanna/kanno," which followed the same meaning of "vessel for drinks, cup." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "canne" (the ending "e" pronounced "eh/ah"), with the same general meaning. The word remained as such until much later when it was eventually spelled "can," and it was not until the mid 1800s that the meaning of "metal container for preserved food," became widespread, as such a container had been more commonly called a "tin," before that, and even by some long after "can" came to be applied to the container. The verb, meaning "to store and preserve food in a container, either glass or metal," came into use in the mid 1800s. By the way, it does not seem that "can" is related to "canister," which originally meant "wicker basket," but it had its meaning later altered by the influence and similarity of "can." The other Germanic languages have retained the "container for liquids" meaning, which is now archaic in English: German "Kanne," meaning "coffee or tea pot, jug," Low German Saxon "Kann," meaning "jug," West Frisian "kanne," meaning "jug, pitcher, tea/coffee pot," Dutch "kan" meaning "jug, pitcher, crock," Danish "kande," meaning "jug, pitcher," Norwegian "kanne," meaning "pot, jug," Icelandic "könnu," meaning "pitcher, tea/coffee pot," and Swedish "kanna," meaning "pitcher, jug."