Actress Karen Rushmore

Karen Rushmore is an actress who made television history in the late seventies, though it was a history that went from distinguished to disappointing.

Ms. Rushmore, a former model, starred in not one but two TV series that debuted during the 1978-79 television season: the syndicated sketch comedy "Madhouse Brigade" and the ABC sitcom "13 Queens Boulevard," about a motley crew of residents of an apartment complex Queens, New York.  In the latter show, Ms. Rushmore played an apartment tenant named Camille.

Despite a favorable response, however, "Madhouse Brigade" didn't last long.  And "13 Queens Boulevard" - which starred a pre-"Coach" Jerry Van Dyke back when Dick's brother was known to be a curse on every show he ever starred in - lasted only four months. 

Ms. Rushmore kept on keeping on, though, appearing in several movies and TV shows in the 1980s and 1990s.  And I honor her here to drive the point home that, contrary to popular wisdom, Heather Locklear was not the first television actress to appear in two series simultaneously. 

Fun fact 1: Joe Piscopo appeared on "Madhouse Brigade" with Karen Rushmore before he joined the second cast of "Saturday Night Live."

Fun fact 2: Don't look for an apartment building numbered 13 on Queens Boulevard in Queens - it doesn't exist.  It couldn't.  As everyone in the New York Tri-State area knows, Queens addresses are hyphenated to give people an idea of where in the borough they are. The two numbers before the hyphen indicate the closest cross street or avenue, while the two numbers at the end of the hyphen indicate the number of the building or house.