William Bendix

Perhaps best-known for his role as the beleaguered Chester A. Riley in radio and television's "The Life of Riley," off-screen, William Bendix lived the life of a dedicated San Fernando Valley resident. The actor built a mansion on Encino Avenue in Encino in the early 1940s. It had a natural feel, with two nearly 500-year-old oak trees framing the 2 1/2-acre lot and interior woodwork handcrafted by actor and avid carpenter George Montgomery.

Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News writes that there are no great baseball movies. As for "61*," he says: "It is a lie from the title on. There never was an asterisk attached to Maris' 61 homers. "The press is the villain in this one, as they are in most sports movies, causing another lie, that Maris' hair fell out from media pressure. A spot turned prematurely white, and I've known that to happen to guys who couldn't get the bat off their shoulders.

Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News writes that there are no great baseball movies. As for "61*," he says: "It is a lie from the title on. There never was an asterisk attached to Maris' 61 homers. "The press is the villain in this one, as they are in most sports movies, causing another lie, that Maris' hair fell out from media pressure. A spot turned prematurely white, and I've known that to happen to guys who couldn't get the bat off their shoulders.

Perhaps best-known for his role as the beleaguered Chester A. Riley in radio and television's "The Life of Riley," off-screen, William Bendix lived the life of a dedicated San Fernando Valley resident. The actor built a mansion on Encino Avenue in Encino in the early 1940s. It had a natural feel, with two nearly 500-year-old oak trees framing the 2 1/2-acre lot and interior woodwork handcrafted by actor and avid carpenter George Montgomery.

Doug McClure, the affable, good-looking sidekick Trampas who imprinted himself in the nation's memory riding the Western television range with "The Virginian" for eight years, has died. He was 59. McClure, a native of Glendale who last appeared in the 1994 feature film "Maverick" as one of many Western gamblers, died Sunday night at his Sherman Oaks home after a months-long battle with lung cancer. Last Dec.

Marjorie Reynolds, the actress who endeared herself to audiences as the long-limbed love interest of rivals Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in "Holiday Inn" and as the long-suffering television wife of William Bendix in "The Life of Riley," has died. She was 80. Reynolds, who danced with Fred Astaire and sang with Bing Crosby in the 1942 Irving Berlin musical, died Feb. 1 in Manhattan Beach, her family said Wednesday.

As a young man, I saw the Dodgers play in the Coliseum. I've seen a Sandy Koufax no-hitter, Fernando's no-hitter. I've experienced many wonderful moments at the hands of the Dodgers, but there will never be a team or a season like the 1988 Dodgers. I had to keep wiping the tears from my eyes while reading Tim Kawakami's superb look back at the magic, golden season [Sept. 15]. Thanks for bringing back those memories. Three cheers and a raised fist to Tim Kawakami. CARL T. ANDERSEN, Upland As the 1998 season draws mercifully to a close for us decade-suffering Dodger fans, it was with vivid remembrance that my wife and I read Tim Kawakami's "Destiny's Team."

John Beck, a motion picture producer perhaps best remembered for bringing "Harvey" to the screen starring James Stewart, has died. He was 83. Beck, who had lived in Palm Springs for the past 21 years, died of cancer July 18 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills. A film executive for his entire career, Beck assisted Lew R.

Let it be trumpeted that Hollywood has broken its losing streak, a long one. After a succession of arrogant, in-your-face attempts to cast its actors as legendary baseball heroes, which has been a persistent exercise in chutzpah, a studio now has come close enough to the mark to call for some grateful, unmixed huzzas. Universal Pictures has brought it off with its new offering, "The Babe," which happily bears no resemblance, no kinship, with the 1948 issue "The Babe Ruth Story."

Over the decades, films about legendary baseball players have sometimes knocked it out of the park (1942's "The Pride of the Yankees" about Lou Gehrig) or struck out (1948's "The Babe Ruth Story. ") The latest baseball biopic to step up to the plate is "42," opening Friday, which chronicles Jackie Robinson's (Chadwick Boseman) breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947 when he took the field as a Brooklyn Dodger. Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, 85, who has been with the Dodgers since 1950, knew Robinson and Dodgers executive Branch Rickey.

There has never been a worse sports movie than "The Babe Ruth Story," the 1948 film in which William Bendix portrayed baseball's Great Bambino. Not only was much of it fantasy, but Ruth swung bats bigger than Bendix. At least NBC's new "Babe Ruth" is an improvement over that, although hardly very distinguished. It airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on Channels 4, 36 and 39, with Stephen Lang performing credibly as baseball's epic slugger and pot-bellied party boy.

A woman called Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific and inquired about signing up for a family membership. She asked questions about how many children could be put on the membership, what the age limits were, etc. After her questions were answered, she said, "Thank you. You see my children are a bit of a story. Do you allow cats on a family membership? My cats meet all your family membership requirements--they are between the ages of 3 and 17 and they live in the same household as myself."