I never figured out why I had such a crush on Suzanne Pleshette. As as young man I used to watch the The Bob Newhart Show on TV, where she played Emily - his, schoolteacher, wife. This was in the 70's (72-78') and I would have been 10-16 years of age. She can look darn pretty at times but I also sense something enigmatic behind those green eyes.  When I got into DVD, she would occasionally pop up - some TV appearances (Naked City, The Fugitive Season Two, The Invaders - Season One, Columbo Season One), many small film parts (The Birds, Mister Buddwing) or Disney-esque comedies (40 Pounds of Trouble, Blackbeard's Ghost, The Geisha Boy, The Shaggy D.A., The Ugly Dachshund). So I made an effort to seek out features where she had more meatier roles; like The Power, Wall of Noise, Youngblood Hawke, or A Rage to Live where she plays a nymphomaniac <eyebrows raised>. None of these four films have reached Blu-ray status yet. Her parents were Jewish, the children of emigrants from Russia and Austria-Hungary. Suzanne was noted for a deceptively angelic appearance and sultry voice utilized in the US DUB of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (as Yubaba / Zeniba) also as The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (Zira) of which she was nominated for an 'Annie' award.

I think Suzanne had more to offer in her film career but it never blossomed the way it could have. She was talented, attractive but never got that one defining movie part. She died at 70 years of age in 2008, buried beside her third husband, Newhart regular, Tom Poston. Most famously she reprised her role of Emily Hartley in the final episode of Newhart (1990) aptly titled "The Last Newhart" where it was revealed that the entire show was a dream - ending with a few bars of the theme from 1972-78 "The Bob Newhart Show" series. Perfect.