Political Intrigue on ‘Dobie Gillis’ Set

News flash: Energy conservation, of course, was on people’s minds long before the current electricity crisis. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) recalled a letter she received from a constituent last winter.

“This woman thought all menopausal women should stop taking their hormonal therapy,� Kuehl said, “because then they would have hot flashes and wouldn’t have to turn on the heat.�

Zoo revolt: In her former life, Kuehl was a comedic actress who played love-struck Zelda on TV’s “The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis.� I got to talking with her about how much Universal Studios has changed since she was under contract there in the early 1960s.

Tourists could take a tram tour back then, but there was no theme park. If a show was being shot, she said, the actors “were the entertainment.�

The performers were supposed to stop what they were doing and wave. “It was very disruptive,� Kuehl said.

One day the actors decided to get even.

“We all dressed up in ape suits and sprang out� at a tram, she said.

Alas, the ploy proved counterproductive. “Those suits were very hot,� she explained. “And the tourists loved it.�

Good looks lose at the polling place: Speaking of “Dobie Gillis,� Kuehl became a regular on the series after the departure of another cast member who is now active in politics: Warren Beatty.

Some Democrats have urged Beatty to seek office. Actually, he has--at least, his character, snobby rich kid Milton Armitage, ran against Dobie for junior class president in one episode. Armitage lost, muttering afterward: “Washed up at 17.�

I asked Kuehl if she’d ever heard Beatty talk about his fictional political career. She said no, adding that he seemed “somewhat sensitive� about the “Dobie Gillis� phase of his career.

Unclear on the concept: Today, we share these contradictory items with you (see accompanying), including:

* A couple of structures that sure look like doors (submitted by Richard and Sharon Kobayashi of Orange).

* A not-so-hands-free fan (Darryl Snyder of Northridge).

* A puzzling shoe offer (Betsy Emanuel and Hal Bryman). Bryman wondered which shoes he was

entitled to, “the shoes that don’t fit or the ones they don’t have?�

Dot’s the truth: That puncturer of myths, the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society, to be found at https://www.snopes.com, is taking aim at the story that Caltrans employee Elbert Botts became rich from his famous invention.

You know, Botts dots, those raised-lane markers, millions of which line the roads of California. Actually, the Folklore Society points out, Botts, who died in 1962, was just a diligent chemist “who worked a 9-to-5 job.� No truth to the rumor that “he sold his idea to Caltrans� and shrewdly insisted “on payment of a small royalty per dot installed.�

Well, I hope Botts was at least given a souvenir dot.

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miscelLAny: A couple of readers told me about a curious colonoscopy ad on the radio, and I finally heard the blurb myself. The seemingly serious ad is narrated by a guy who calls himself “Benjamin Dover.� Get it? Ben Dover. An, uh, inside joke?