The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1961)

As we documented in our post for the 1960 episodes, The Barbara Stanwyck Show originated when Stanwyck was no longer sought out for feature film work after turning 50. She had originally wanted to star in a western series but said her agents were against it because the western was in decline. In a January 21, 1961 cover story for TV Guide, Stanwyck offers an alternative explanation--that she wanted to play a really active woman in the old west but none of the networks would buy it and instead she was offered the drama anthology series that would win her an Emmy for Best Actress but be canceled after a single season. In the show's last episode, Stanwyck was able to take a potshot at the genre that rejected her in "A Man's Game" (July 3, 1961). Stanwyck provides satiric narration about the current fad in westerns--the lone gunslinger--and portrays independent businesswoman/saloon owner Chris Mathews (note the male-sounding character name) who refuses to give up her career to marry retired, incognito gunslinger Ben Stockton. When the town's sheriffs keep getting murdered and no man is willing to step up and take over the job, Chris decides to take it on herself, a move that the men of the town think is outrageous and which is played entirely for laughs. But Chris is able to handle the petty drunks and small-time nuisances until she runs up against a real gunslinger, Billy Deevers, and finds herself unable to shoot him when she has the chance. Instead she has to be rescued by her suitor Stockton and decides that she really isn't cut out to play "a man's game," though she does insist on keeping her saloon and cajoling Stockton into taking the sheriff's job. This is one of the more disappointing episodes in the series because Stanwyck has the chance to show a woman can do a man's job, as she does in most of the other episodes, but decides in the end to revert to stereotype.

Her other old west episodes are some of the weaker stories in the series. In "Along the Barbary Coast" (February 27, 1961) she plays another saloon owner, Trixie Callahan, this time in 1899 San Francisco, so there are no evil gunslingers here, but she still has to be rescued from an unscrupulous business partner, Sam Verner, by her suitor, police detective and returning war hero Pete Bishop. Trixie is duped into being Verner's partner due to debilitating circumstances--her old place of business burns down and Verner offers to help her finance a new saloon. Given this act of generosity, she is blinded to his illicit side business of trafficking stolen goods and even willing to believe that he is being framed after he kills Bishop's young police partner. After Bishop reveals Verner for what he is and takes a bullet in the process, Trixie comes off her high horse and we hear wedding bells by episode's end. 

The other old west episode is "Little Big Mouth" (May 8, 1961) in which Stanwyck plays trailblazing newspaper reporter Nellie Bly, a concession to NBC's original plan of having her portray "one of history's most noble women" each week, an idea the modest Stanwyck refused to go along with. But in this episode her Nellie Bly is more of a bystander than change-maker. She travels to the Arapaho-Kiowa Indian reservation in turn-of-the-century Oklahoma hoping to uncover a scandal regarding the way the Indians are being cheated by the white settlers (as the real Bly exposed awful conditions for New York mental patients in 1887, while Stanwyck herself was a champion for Indians' rights). But Nellie instead witnesses the way in which one white man, Dr. Mark Carroll, not only tries to stop goods dealers from swindling the Indians but also has to win their trust to allow him to practice medicine, all while raising a 9-year-old daughter. Even though her job is to report on conditions, not change them, Bly does little except interfere in the relationship between father and daughter, thinking that she knows better about how a young girl should be raised. Still, such a depiction is in perfect keeping with Stanwyck's belief in humility--even trailblazers sometimes get it wrong.

The more contemporary episodes have Stanwyck leading businesses and blazing trails. In "Shock" (March 6, 1961) she plays a nuclear physicist who discovers a formula to create an impenetrable field against nuclear power, while in "Size 10" (January 16, 1961) she's Maggie Wenley, a no-nonsense head of a fashion house with men working underneath her. This story scores one for a woman's career over marriage as Maggie discovers that her suitor has been stealing her designs and selling them to a competitor to force her out of business so that her only option left is to marry him. Instead, after uncovering his duplicity, she decides that her work colleagues are her family and vows to give each of them a bigger share of the business. It's a role Stanwyck could empathize with as her career and charitable causes made up her whole life after her divorce from second husband Robert Taylor for his affair with Lana Turner. As she revealed in her TV Guide interview, she needed to work because she had no hobbies and felt that traveling alone was a bore. In "Big Career" (February 13, 1961) Stanwyck plays department store vice president Harriet Melvane, who was worked her way up from a shop girl but is still carrying her alcoholic, resentful, and womanizing husband Roy, who feels emasculated by her success. When Roy is killed crossing the street to get gas for their empty car, she at first blames herself until Roy's mother has a heart-to-heart to let her know that even she, his mother, knew that Roy was pathetic. However, after Harriet decides to move to New York in search of a new career, the mother-in-law encourages her old boss, who always carried a torch for her, to go after her, because that's what women really want.

However, we get a cautionary tale about a woman pushing too hard for what she wants in "The Golden Acres" (March 13, 1961). Stanwyck plays social climber Avis Fleming, who grew up poor and insecure because she was from the other side of the tracks. The man she hoped to marry, Dexter Willis, dumped her and chose someone else, so that when she learns he is coming back to town now a widower, she devises a scheme to quintuple her family estate by buying a local farm and selling it to a rubber manufacturer that is looking to open a new plant there. To make that happen she has to blackmail Dexter's father into signing a forged will and trick her brothers into signing away their objections to using the family estate to buy the coveted farmland. When Dexter learns from his father what she has done, he tells her that her behavior is precisely why he dumped her years ago--because he was afraid of her ruthless drive to get what she wanted. Fortunately, Avis is a woman who can learn from her mistakes and she backs out of the deal, showing Dexter that she is worthy of his affection after all.

But perhaps the best portrayal of the career vs. marriage dilemma is in "The Hitch-Hiker" (May 29, 1961) in which Stanwyck plays successful lawyer Maggie McClay, whose husband Mac is a novelist. When Maggie decides to defend an immigrant mother from a custody battle with her wealthy mother-in-law, the most powerful woman in town. Mac pooh-poohs Maggie's idealistic view of the law as being equal for everyone regardless of class and believes that she is making a mistake that will ruin her own career and perhaps even that of her father, for whose firm Maggie works. But after a bitter argument that Maggie believes may have damaged their marriage, Mac recants his position, confessing that he has opposed her career because he wanted to feel that he was all she needed. He then helps dig up some dirt on the mother-in-law and cheers Maggie on to victory. Marriage only works when both partners are on the same side, cheering each other's successes and commiserating their failures, and women aren't one-dimensional creatures whose lives are defined by the man they marry.

Stanwyck relives some of her past successes, too, in some of the series' noirish episodes. In her opening introduction, she compares the episode "Confession" (February 20, 1961) to one of her biggest hits, Double Indemnity. And the plot does mimic the Billy Wilder film's backwards chronology with Stanwyck's Paula Manning dictating her confession about a plot to free herself from a domineering husband, only this time she recruits a shady lawyer, rather than insurance salesman, to help her frame her husband for her supposed murder rather than killing him. "The Choice" (April 17, 1961) plays like a Hitchcock thriller as nightclub owner Amanda Prescott hears a radio report about a violent escaped mental patient and then has to figure out which of two men in her bar matching the escapee's description is the psychopath. "The Frightened Doll" (April 24, 1961) has Stanwyck's barfly Hazel Wexley on the run after befriending a mob bagman with a heart condition, then taking his satchel with $100,000 after he collapses dead. And "Sign of the Zodiac" (April 3, 1961) weaves in the occult when Stanwyck's Madge Terry visits a dockside fortune teller with her sister-in-law, then finds her dead husband's watch transported from the fortune teller's shack to her bedroom overnight.

Though the series had a secondary purpose of trying out potential future series ideas, such as Stanwyck's recurring episodes as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little (in "Dragon by the Tail" [January 30, 1961] and "Adventure on Happiness Street" [March 20, 1961], as well as the 1960 episode "The Miraculous Journey of Tadpole Chan") and Andy Devine as a portly police detective in "Big Jake" (June 5, 1961), The Barbara Stanwyck Show produced no spin-offs. But it kept Stanwyck busy, garnered her an Emmy, and paved the way for future television success on The Big Valley and The Colbys. It may have even helped her get a couple of guest spots as a police lieutenant on Season 4 of The Untouchables. After all, she had already proven that she could play any role a man could.

The Actors

For the biography for Barbara Stanwyck, see the 1960 post for The Barbara Stanwyck Show.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 1, Episode 14, "Night Visitor": Stanwyck plays wealthy doctor's wife Marian Andrews. Michael Ansara (shown on the near left, appeared in Julius Caesar, The Robe, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Harum Scarum, played Cochise on Broken Arrow and Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart on The Rifleman and the Law of the Plainsman, and voiced General Warhawk on Rambo) plays her servant Carl. Julie London (shown on the far left, popular singer, starred in Nabonga, The Fat Man, and The George Raft Story and played nurse Dixie McCall on Emergency!) plays Carol's wife Julie. 

Season 1, Episode 15, "Size 10": Stanwyck plays fashion designer Maggie Wenley. Robert Strauss (shown on the right, appeared in Stalag 17, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Seven Year Itch, The Man With the Golden Arm, and Girls! Girls! Girls! and played Sgt. Stan Gruzewsky on Mona McCluskey) plays her sales manager Herbie Harner. Naomi Stevens (Juanita on The Doris Day Show, Mama Rossini on My Three Sons, Rose Montefusco on The Montefuscos, and Sgt. Bella Archer on Vega$) plays her secretary Miss Pearl. Robert Paige (starred in The Main Event, Highway Patrol, Dancing on a Dime, Son of Dracula, and Bye Bye Birdie) plays Maggie's boyfriend Roger.

Season 1, Episode 16, "Dear Charlie": Milton Berle (shown on the left, legendary comedian, starred in Sun Valley Serenade, Always Leave Them Laughing, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and The Loved One, hosted Texas Star Theatre, The Milton Berle Show, and Phillies Jackpot Bowling, and played Louie the Lilac on Batman) plays grifter Charlie Zane. Katherine Squire (Emma Simpson on The Doctors) plays spinster Elvie. Lurene Tuttle (appeared in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Ma Barker's Killer Brood, Psycho, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and The Fortune Cookie and played Doris Dunston on Father of the Bride and Hannah Yarby on Julia) plays her sister Tessie. Virginia Vincent (Betty on The Joey Bishop Show, Dottie Clark on The Super, and Daisy Maxwell on Eight Is Enough) plays their maid Dulcy. 

Season 1, Episode 17, "Dragon by the Tail": Stanwyck returns as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little. James Hong (shown on the right, played Barry Chan on The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Frank Chen on Jigsaw John, and Doctor Chen Ling on Dynasty) returns as her assistant Sam Wong. Anna May Wong (the first Chinese-American movie star, starred in The Thief of Baghdad, Peter Pan, Shanghai Express, and Island of Lost Men) plays her personal assistant A-Hsing. Weaver Levy (Oliver Kee on Adventures in Paradise) plays bartender Charley. J. Pat O'Malley (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Frontier Circus) plays sea captain Steve Connors. Victor Sen Yung (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Bonanza) plays nuclear scientist Dr. Wing Chin-Ni. Arthur Gould-Porter (Ravenswood on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays British war hero Sir Cedric Carstairs. Philip Ahn (Master Kan on Kung Fu) plays fixer Lee Chin.

Season 1, Episode 18, "Sisters": Stanwyck plays widow Janet Jones. Ellen Drew (starred in Sing, You Sinners, If I Were King, Women Without Names, and Christmas in July) plays her sister Kate. Michael Rennie (shown on the left, starred in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Les Miserables (1952), The Robe, Omar Khayyam, and The Lost World and played Harry Lime on The Third Man) plays Kate's estranged husband Julius Ulrich. 

Season 1, Episode 19, "Big Career": Stanwyck plays department store vice president Harriet Melvane. Frank Overton (starred in Desire Under the Elms, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fail-Safe and played Major Harvey Stovall on 12 O'Clock High) plays her husband Roy. Gene Raymond (husband of Jeanette MacDonald, starred in Red Dust, Ex-Lady, Flying Down to Rio, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith) plays her boss Phil Bennington. Amanda Randolph (shown on the right, played Mama on The Amos 'n' Andy Show and Louise on Make Room for Daddy) plays her maid Cora. Elizabeth Patterson (appeared in The Boy Friend(1926), Daddy Long Legs (1931), Little Women, and Pal Joey and played Mrs. Trumbull on I Love Lucy) plays Roy's mother Millicent.

Season 1, Episode 20, "Confession": Stanwyck plays trapped wife Paula Manning. Kenneth MacKenna (starred in Man Trouble, Temple Tower, and Judgment at Nuremberg) plays her husband Morgan. Lee Marvin (shown on the left, starred in The Big Heat, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cat Ballou, The Dirty Dozen, and Paint Your Wagon and played Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger on M Squad) plays ambulance-chasing lawyer Judson Hollister. Penny Santon (Madame Fatime in Don't Call Me Charlie, Madam Delacort on Roll Out, Mama Rosa Novelli on Matt Houston, Muriel Lacey on Cagney and Lacey, and Teresa Giordano on Life Goes On) plays Hollister client Mrs. Donati. Josephine Hutchinson (appeared in The Story of Louis Pasteur, Son of Frankenstein, Tom Brown's Schooldays, and North by Northwest) plays Paula's friend Betty Galloway.

Season 1, Episode 21, "Along the Barbary Coast": Stanwyck plays saloon owner Trixie Callahan. Jerome Thor (Robert Cannon on Foreign Intrigue) plays police detective Pete Bishop. Richard Eastham (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Tombstone Territory) plays Trixie's business partner Sam Verner. Robert Armstrong (starred in King Kong, The Son of Kong, Framed, Dive Bomber, Blood on the Sun, and Mighty Joe Young and played Sheriff Andy Anderson on State Trooper) plays Bishop's boss Inspector Gunnison. Morris Ankrum (starred in Rocketship X-M, Invaders From Mars, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, and The Giant Claw and played the judge 22 times on Perry Mason) plays stolen goods dealer Walter Harwood. Karl Held (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Perry Mason) plays Bishop's colleague Detective Jones.

Season 1, Episode 22, "Shock": Stanwyck plays atomic scientist Rachel Harrison. Carol Nicholson (Laurie Rose on Room for One More) plays her daughter Shirley. Eduard Franz (shown on the left, starred in The Thing From Another World, Lady Godiva of Coventry, The Jazz Singer (1952), Sins of Jezebel, and The Indian Fighter and played Gregorio Verdugo on Zorro and Dr. Edward Raymer on Breaking Point) plays famous psychiatrist Dr. Paul Aldrich. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff Abbott on The Virginian) plays impatient army Col. Hawthorne. 

Season 1, Episode 23, "The Golden Acres": Stanwyck plays social climber Avis Fleming. John McGiver (shown on the right, appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Manchurian Candidate, The Glass Bottom Boat, Midnight Cowboy, The Apple Dumpling Gang and played J.R. Castle on The Patty Duke Show, Walter Burnley on Many Happy Returns, Barton J. Reed on Mr. Terrific, and Dr. Luther Quince on The Jimmy Stewart Show) plays her brother Collins. Robert Emhardt (Sgt. Vinton on The Kids From C.A.P.E.R.) plays her brother Ben. Kent Smith (starred in Cat People, This Land Is Mine, Hitler's Children, Curse of the Cat People, Nora Prentiss, The Spiral Staircase, and The Fountainhead and played Dr. Robert Morton on Peyton Place and Edgar Scoville on The Invaders) plays her former beau Dexter Willis. Jason Robards, Sr. (father of Jason Robards) plays Dexter's father Rupert.

Season 1, Episode 24, "Adventure on Happiness Street": Stanwyck returns as Hong Kong-based importer/exporter Josephine Little. Victor Sen Yung (see "Dragon by the Tail" above) plays sweatshop owner Mr. Chang. Lew Ayres (Dr. James Kildare in 9 Dr. Kildare features, starred in The Dark Mirror, Johnny Belinda, Donovan's Brain, Advise & Consent, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes and played Henry Wade Culver on Lime Street) plays American physician Dr. Paul Harris. Robert Culp (starred in Sunday in New York, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and Breaking Point and played Hoby Gilman on Trackdown, Kelly Robinson on I Spy, Bill Maxwell on The Greatest American Hero, and Warren on Everybody Loves Raymond) plays Josephine's business colleague Archie Bishop.

Season 1, Episode 25, "High Tension": Stanwyck plays socialite Fran Elick. Nora Marlowe (shown on the left, played Martha Commager on Law of the Plainsman, Sara Andrews on The Governor and J.J., and Mrs. Flossie Brimmer on The Waltons) plays judgmental bus passenger Mill Seabright. Richard Hale (starred in Abilene Town, Kim, San Antone, Red Garters, and To Kill a Mockingbird) plays bus passenger Gibson Hunsucker. Nestor Paiva (Theo Gonzales on Zorro) plays bus station owner Joe.

Season 1, Episode 26, "Sign of the Zodiac": Stanwyck plays recently widowed Madge Terry. Joan Blondell (shown on the right, starred in The Public Enemy, Blonde Crazy, Topper Returns, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Desk Set, and The Cincinnati Kid and played Lottie Hatfield on Here Come the Brides and Peggy Revere on Banyon) plays her sister-in-law Helene Terry. Dan Duryea (starred in The Little Foxes, The Pride of the Yankees, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73 and played China Smith in China Smith and The New Adventures of China Smith and Eddie Jacks on Peyton Place) plays fortune teller Pierre. James Chandler (Lt. Girard on Bourbon Street Beat) plays a police lieutenant.

Season 1, Episode 28, "The Choice": Stanwyck plays nightclub owner Amanda Prescott. Robert Horton (shown on the left, see the biography section for the 1960 post on Wagon Train) plays bar customer Horace. James Best (Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard) plays robber Joe. Jimmy Lydon (starred in Tom Brown's School Days, Little Men, Joan of Arc, and 9 Henry Aldrich features and played Biff Cardoza on Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Andy Boone on So This Is Hollywood, and Richard on Love That Jill) plays bartender Harry. George Wallace (starred in Radar Men From the Moon, Destry, and Forbidden Planet and played Judge Milton Cole on Hill Street Blues and Grandpa Hank Hammersmith on Sons and Daughters) plays police officer Tony Johnson.

Season 1, Episode 29, "The Frigthened Doll": Stanwyck plays regular barfly Hazel Wexley. Wallace Ford (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Deputy) plays bartender Harry. Harold J. Stone (shown on the right, played John Kennedy on The Grand Jury, Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget Loves Bernie) plays mob bagman Jake Lytel. Jackie Searl (began as a child actor, appearing in Tom Sawyer (1930), Huckleberry Finn (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Great Expectations(1934), and Little Lord Fauntleroy) plays hotel clerk Roscoe. Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors) plays police Capt. Foyle. Eloise Hardt (Karen Hadley on The Dennis O'Keefe Show) plays bar patron Annie.

Season 1, Episode 30, "Yanqui Go Home": Stanwyck plays oil company manager's wife Fran Evans. Dana Andrews (shown on the left, starred in Tobacco Road, The Ox-Bow Incident, Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, Elephant Walk, and Airport 1975) plays her husband Clint. Rodolfo Acosta (Vaquero on The High Chaparral) plays revolutionary Profirio. 

Season 1, Episode 31, "Little Big Mouth": Stanwyck plays newspaper reporter Nelly Bly. Buddy Ebsen (shown on the right, played Sgt. Hunk Marriner on Northwest Passage, Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones on Barnaby Jones, and Roy Houston on Matt Houston) plays physician Dr. Mark Carroll. Judy Strangis (Helen Loomis on Room 222 and was the voice of Judy/Dyna Girl on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Rota Ree on Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, and Goldie Gold on Goldie Gold and Action Jack) plays his daughter Mildred. Abel Fernandez (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Untouchables) plays white-educated Tom Tall Bear. Roberto Contreras (Pedro on The High Chaparral) plays self-appointed lawman Joe Jack Rabbit. Anthony C. Montenaro (Tony on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Rocky on Guestward Ho!) plays Indian boy Johnny Tail Feathers.

Season 1, Episode 32, "The Assassin": Stanwyck plays investment firm secretary Louise Forest. Leon Ames (starred in East Side Kids, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Son of Flubber and played Clarence Day, Sr. on Life With Father, Stanley Banks on Father of the Bride, and Gordon Kirkwood on Mister Ed) plays her boss Damon Carlisle. Peter Falk (shown on the left, starred in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Murder by Death, and The Cheap Detective and played Daniel O'Brien on The Trials of O'Brien and Columbo on Columbo) plays hired assassin Joe. Dub Taylor (starred in You Can't Take It With You, Bonnie & Clyde, and The Wild Bunch, played Cannonball in 53 western films, and played Wallie Simms on Casey Jones, Mitch Brady on Hazel, and Ed Hewley on Please Don't Eat the Daisies) plays real estate agent George B. Glimes. Lawrence Tierney (starred in Dillinger, Kill or Be Killed, Born to Kill, Back to Bataan, and Reservoir Dogs and played Sergeant Jenkins on Hill Street Blues) plays an unnamed police detective.

Season 1, Episode 34, "The Hitch-Hiker": Stanwyck plays lawyer Maggie McClay. Joseph Cotten (shown on the right, starred in Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Third Man, Niagara, and From the Earth to the Moon and hosted The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial) plays her husband Mac. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy, Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays opposing lawyer James Fitzgibbon. John Gallaudet (Chamberlain on Mayor of the Town, Judge Penner on Perry Mason, and Bob Anderson on My Three Sons) plays Judge Simon. 

Season 1, Episode 35, "Big Jake": Andy Devine (shown on the left, starred in A Star Is Born(1937), Stagecoach, Pete Kelly's Blues, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won and played Deputy Marshal Jingles P. Jones on Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock and Hap Gorman on Flipper) plays police detective Jake Sloan. Paul Bryar (Sheriff Harve Anders on The Long, Hot Summer) plays his colleague Leo Goodnight. Byron Morrow (Capt. Keith Gregory on The New Breed and Pearce Newberry on Executive Suite) plays their supervising lieutenant. John Harmon (Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays safecracker Willie Teeter. Lawrence Tierney (see "The Assassin" above) plays known criminal Larry Duncan. John Qualen (appeared in The Three Musketeers(1935), His Girl Friday, The Grapes of Wrath, Angels Over Broadway, Casablanca, Anatomy of a Murder, and A Patch of Blue) plays ex-con Sam Lundborg. Patricia Huston (Addy Olson on Days of Our Lives and Hilda Brunschwager on L.A. Law) plays his daughter. Carol Anne Seflinger (Susan Talbot on Wonderbug) plays his grand-daughter.

Season 1, Episode 36, "A Man's Game": Stanwyck plays old west saloon owner Chris Mathews. Charles Drake (starred in Winchester '73, Harvey, It Came From Outer Space, Bonzo Goes to College, and I Was a Shoplifter and played John Burden on Rendezvous) plays retired gunslinger Ben Stockton. Edgar Buchanan (shown on the right, played Uncle Joe Carson on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, Red Connors on Hopalong Cassidy, Judge Roy Bean on Judge Roy Bean, Bob/Doc Dawson on Tales of Wells Fargo, Doc Burrage on The Rifleman, and J.J. Jackson on Cade's County) plays cat fancier Judge Franklin. Andy Albin (Andy Gosden on Julia) plays troublemaker Red Quincy. Sam Buffington (John Richards on Whispering Smith) plays bar patron Vic Trenton. Carl Crow (Teddy Nelson on National Velvet) plays a cowhand.

The Jack Benny Program (1960)

Jack Benny has been called both the father of modern comedy and the father of post-modern comedy, and either title would be apt, though perhaps the latter is a better fit because without Benny there would be no Garry Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld, or Larry David, all comedians who exploit a self-referential, unflattering version of themselves for their popular TV series. But Benny had done all that decades before, both on his popular long-running radio show and the TV series that evolved from it and ran for 15 years from 1950-65. While Shandling's late 1980s series It's Garry Shandling's Show is considered innovative for "breaking the fourth wall," reveling in its artificiality, including the audience and show staff as participants and characters, and using crude sight gags chosen specifically for their phoniness, Benny had done all that, too. The show was all about the comedian Jack Benny and his show, serving up a riff on Shakespeare's "play within the play" for comic effect. Shandling joked about his hair and sexual prowess, or more often lack thereof, while Benny portrayed himself as vain, self-important, and excessively miserly, not unlike a certain George Costanza of Seinfeld whom Larry David has admitted was modeled after himself. The only difference is that Constanza is an unremitting failure, whereas Benny is and was a successful performer, though not irreplaceable, as demonstrated in the episode "Final Show of the Season" (May 1, 1960) in which Benny's sponsors haul out an animatronic dummy that mimics his mannerisms of folding his arms and turning his head for comic effect.

Speaking of sponsors, it's well known that they wielded considerable influence over television content during the 1950s and early 60s. As mentioned in other posts on this blog, they were the reason John Cassavetes quickly grew tired of the TV world and abandoned his series Johnny Staccato before completing even a single season. And they brought down Blake Edwards' promising and popular crime drama Mr. Lucky after one season because a few watchers complained about the title character's casino business. But Benny was fearless in poking fun at his sponsors and mucking up his in-show commercials. Shandling, in his talk show parody The Larry Sanders Show, may have mildly covered the same ground in having his character object to and then sabotage an in-show promotion for the Garden Weasel, but that was only a made-up product lampooned years after commercial sponsors had lost much of their clout. Benny would often avoid approving commercial jingles run by him by his long-time announcer Don Wilson, who frequently had to revert to subterfuge to squeeze the required commercials into the program. In "Easter Show" (April 17, 1960) Wilson dresses in drag, but without gloves, and gives an interview to a TV fashion reporter during the annual Hollywood Easter Parade to show off how Lux Pink Liquid Dishwashing Soap is mild on the hands. It would be interesting to know how Lux responded at the time to having a 300-pound man in women's clothing promoting their product.

The Jack Benny Program was also ahead of its time in dealing with racial stereotypes. Though the character of Benny's valet Eddie "Rochester" Anderson was originally drawn in the racial stereotypes of the era early in the radio show's tenure, after World War II those stereotypes were eliminated, at least for African-Americans, when the production re-ran a pre-War episode in 1948 and received many complaints from listeners about the racist depiction of Rochester. Thereafter Benny and his writers made every effort to show Rochester as his own character, not a type indicative of the race as a whole. As noted in the biographical section below, Anderson was the first African-American star in a nationwide program and by the 1950s was making the considerable salary of $100,000 per year. But during the TV era, the Program could lapse into stereotypical portrayals of other races, such as in the episode "Hong Kong Suit" (November 6, 1960) when Jack is quite proud of a suit he bought cheaply in Hong Kong but had to go to the section of town known only to locals and change his appearance by pulling at the edges of his eyes to make them slanted in order to fit in. And yet Benny skewered Asian stereotypes in the aforementioned "Final Show of the Season" when Wilson brings out the most famous announcer in Japan, Mr. Kyoto, to deliver the Lux in-show commercial. At first Kyoto reads the ad copy mispronouncing all the L's as R's, finishing with the tag line "Buy rots of Rux." Benny says that his sponsor would be very unhappy about this, so he and Wilson each recite the ad copy pronouncing the L's correctly, then invite Kyoto to give it another try. When he reads the copy flawlessly without a touch of accent, Benny asks why he did so poorly the first time. Kyoto replies that Benny's stupid writers wrote it that way, apparently unaware that some Japanese people can pronounce L's correctly.

Benny was also keenly aware of how his brand of comedy was different from the cornball jokes of Bob Hope or the over-the-top slapstick gags of Milton Berle. This is made evident in the "Milton Berle Show" episode (October 30, 1960) in which Berle offers his advice for how Benny can keep up with the rigors of doing a daily show by "socking it to" the audience with the physical brand of humor he had used a decade earlier. He persuades Benny to let him help Benny with that night's show and has Benny come out in a ridiculous clown outfit and tell painful jokes accompanied by gags like the top of his hat popping open and exploding. Benny complains repeatedly to Berle that this is not right for him, but Berle continues pushing him to do more of the same until Berle is the recipient of a pail of water over the head.

Benny was also very aware that people at that time saw him, like Berle, as members of the old guard of comedy, and when he decided to move the show from bi-weekly to weekly for the 11th season in the fall of 1960, he dedicated his first show, "Nightbeat Takeoff" (October 16, 1960), to having friends like George Burns advise him against going to a weekly format, particularly at his advanced age. He continues to insist that people love him, even after a terrifying nightmare in which he is grilled by Mike Douglas about why he thinks he can do a weekly show and having his adoring fans throw rocks through his windows.

But the rigors of a weekly show may have been one reason why the production recycled skits from previous broadcasts, as mentioned in the Rochester racist affair above. One favorite plot that got repeated airplay was the annual "Christmas Shopping" skit in which Jack goes Christmas shopping for various employees and causes all sorts of problems in the process. The "Christmas Shopping" episode for Season 11 (December 18, 1960) was one first aired on radio in 1948. In this version Benny is shopping for a wallet for Don Wilson and decides to repeatedly change the inscription on the accompanying greeting card, driving the beleaguered sales clerk, played by Mel Blanc, to suicide. Though suicide hardly seems like a comic subject, doing the skit even 12 years after its original performance cracks Benny up when he interacts with the increasingly frenzied Blanc.

But CBS eventually grew tired of Benny's brand of humor, canceling the series after its 14th season in 1964 as the TV comic landscape had shifted to zany-premised sitcoms like Bewitched, Mr. Ed, and My Favorite Martian. Benny was able to move the series to NBC for one final season but says that he, not the network, chose to end the show in 1965 because he had grown tired of the chase for ratings. He remained a fixture on television with various specials and appearances on shows like The Tonight Show and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, but one can't help but feel that he hasn't continued to be held in the high esteem he deserves, considering the blueprint he set for so many of today's most critically acclaimed comics. Likewise his recorded legacy has been not well preserved. Whereas consumers today can buy every single episode of I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners on DVD and soon on Blu-ray, there are scant few offerings of Benny's work available. What's currently available is a hodge podge of low-budget collections, a random assortment of episodes from the 256 he produced over the life of the series and a recently released 3-disc collection "The Lost Episodes" taken from his personal collection of kinescopes donated to UCLA after his death. The video quality for all of these is hardly top notch. It's a sad state of affairs that the work of such a comic icon and innovator has been so poorly preserved.

The music for the series was composed and conducted by Mahlon Merrick, who had joined Benny's radio program in 1937. He was born in 1900 in Farmington, Iowa and attended what later became Washington State University, graduating in 1923 (in the 1940s he would write the school's fight song). After teaching music for 3 years, he became a professional saxophone player, eventually moving to Los Angeles and working in radio orchestras. Besides working on a number of radio shows, sometimes under the pseudonym of Gene LaGrande, Merrick also provided music for The Abbott and Costello Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Bob Cummings Show, and Blondie. He also composed the "Look Sharp March" for the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. When Benny's program ended in 1965, Merrick retired to Palm Springs and died of cancer on August 7, 1969 at the age of 69.

As mentioned above, there is a disorganized collection of various episodes from the show's 15 years issued by low-budget outfits like Alpha Video, Passport Video, and Echo Bridge, many containing the same episodes. Some of these episodes are also available on youtube.com. The aforementioned "Lost Episodes" released by Shout! Factory contains selected episodes from 1956-64 and includes bonus material such as a couple of Benny's later TV specials and newsreel footage from the 1940s. From calendar year 1960, there are a total of 11 episodes available--6 on youtube and 6 in the "Lost Episodes" set, with 1 episode (the "Milton Berle Show") appearing in both.

The Actors

Jack Benny

Benjamin Kubelsky was born in Chicago and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. He began studying the violin from the age of 6, taking lessons at one time from Otto Graham, Sr., father of Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham, Jr. By age 14 he began playing with dance bands and by 17 was playing in local vaudeville theaters. Here he was seen by Minnie Marx, mother of the Marx Brothers, and asked to join their outfit, but his father refused to let him go on the road at age 17. He then formed a musical duo with pianist Cora Salisbury, during which time he was forced to change his name due to legal proceedings from another performer named Jan Kubelik and took the stage name of Ben K. Benny. When Salisbury left, Benny replaced her with Lyman Woods and the two began adding comedy bits into their routine. He joined the Navy during World War I and was forced to develop his comedic skills further when he was booed while trying to entertain the troops with his violin playing. After the war he began to get more work combining his newly developed comedic talents with music. In 1922 he met his future wife Sadye Marks while attending a Passover seder with Zeppo Marx, though at the time he was 27 while she was 14 and disliked him enough to go to his next performance and heckle him from the front row, according to one version of the story. After a couple more chance encounters over the next five years, they married, and she became a collaborator and performer from that point forward, taking the stage name Mary Livingstone, until her increasing stage fright caused her to give up performing. Jack first made his mark in radio after a brief unsuccessful stint in movies with MGM; he appeared on Ed Sullivan's radio show in 1932 and later that year began to host his own program on NBC. The popular show ran for 16 years and made Benny a national figure before moving over to CBS in 1949. That same year he made his first television appearance on the initial broadcast of Los Angeles station KTTV. The following fall The Jack Benny Program made its television debut, initially as a series of five specials. The next season it aired once every six weeks, going to once every four weeks in 1952-53, and once every three weeks in 1953-54. It then aired every other week starting in the fall of 1954 until the fall of 1960 when it became a weekly broadcast. For five years he was appearing both on radio and television, finally ending his radio show in May of 1955, though CBS ran reruns until 1958.

His television show was finally canceled by CBS in 1964 and he moved over to NBC for one last season, then decided to cancel the series himself, having grown weary of the chase for ratings. He continued to host occasional specials and appeared on shows hosted by his friends Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop, Dinah Shore, and many others. He also made multiple appearances as himself on shows such as Here's Lucy and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His last appearances were as roaster and roastee on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, In December 1974 he was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, and he died at his home on December 26 of that year. His wife Mary Livingstone outlived him by 9 years, passing away June 30, 1983.

Eddie Anderson

Edmund Lincoln Anderson was born in Oakland, California, the son of a minstrel performer and a tightrope walker. His signature hoarse vocal tone was due to straining his vocal cords while hawking newspapers on the streets of Oakland as a boy. By age 14, he was part of a vaudeville act called The Three Black Aces with his brother Cornelius, eventually working his way to New York to perform at the Roxy and Apollo theaters. His success in the theater led to appearances at the Los Angeles Cotton Club and thereafter he began a film career, once established out west, beginning with various uncredited servant roles in 1932. His first credited roles came in Transient Lady in 1935, followed the next year by his most notable early role as Noah in The Green Pastures. His first appearance on Jack Benny's radio program came in 1937 when he played a railroad redcap. Anderson had a couple more appearances in other roles over the next few months and because of the positive audience response, Benny brought him on the show in the permanent role of his valet Rochester Van Jones, a name Anderson said that Benny invented. In his role as Rochester, Anderson became the first African-American to have a regular role on a national radio show. Though Rochester's early appearances were marked by the same stereotypical racial humor of the era, Benny made a concerted effort after World War II to remove black racist jokes about the character, particularly after the show reprised a 1941 script on a 1948 show and drew many complaints from listeners about the racial jokes recycled from the earlier program. While working on Benny's radio program and ensuing television show, Anderson continued taking film roles, appearing in such notable features as You Can't Take It With You, Gone With the Wind, Cabin in the Sky, and Brewster's Millions, though he stopped doing feature films after 1946.

Despite playing a servant for most of his career, Anderson became quite wealthy, making over $100,000 per year, such that he could afford to hire his own valet, and he owned a company that made parachutes during World War II and owned race horses, one of which ran in the Kentucky Derby. He returned to films in a small role in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963 (Benny had a cameo in the same film), and occasionally appeared on other TV programs, usually as Rochester, such as The Red Skelton Hour and Bachelor Father. After The Jack Benny Program went off the air, he appeared in single episodes of It Takes a Thief and Love American Style, the movie Watermelon Man, and provided the voice for Bobby Joe Mason on the animated Harlem Globe Trotters and The New Scooby Doo Movies. He died of heart failure on February 28, 1977 at the age of 71. After his death his son established the Eddie Rochester Anderson Foundation for assisting homeless substance abusers.

Don Wilson

Don Wilson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1900 and played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920's. He was a radio singer at Denver radio station KFEL in 1923 and by 1929 had a similar role at KFI in Los Angeles. He then went on to work as a sportscaster, covering the opening of the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was working as a radio announcer two years later for George Gershwin's program Music by Gershwin when Jack Benny heard him and insisted that he be hired for his program. At 6 feet and 300 pounds, Wilson quickly became a constant target of Benny's jokes about his girth, though he also occasionally had acting roles on the show in addition to reading the commercials and forever trying to get Benny to approve commercial jingles sung by the vocal quartet The Sportsmen. Though Wilson continued working for Benny through the remainder of his radio career and his entire television career, he also took occasional outside work. He had actually made his first film appearance, though uncredited, before joining Benny in the 1932 feature Million Dollar Legs. He was the narrator for the 1938 Disney animated short Ferdinand the Bull and appeared in Du Barry Was a Lady, Sailor Beware, and Marilyn Monroe's Niagara, not to mention Benny's own Buck Benny Rides Again. He also made rare TV appearances, such as on The Red Skelton Hour, Death Valley Days, and as the TV announcer Walter Klondike on two episodes of Batman. He was a regular performer on the 1946 daytime comedy Glamour Manor. In the late 1960s and early 70s he was the spokesman and commercial voice of Western Union's Candygrams. He and his fourth wife Lois Corbet retired to the Palm Springs area in the late 1960s and together hosted a local TV talk show called Town Talk into the mid 1970s. He died of a stroke at his Cathedral City home on April 25, 1982 at the age of 81.

Dennis Day

Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty was born in the Bronx to an Irish Catholic family. Singing was his vocation from an early age, being a member of his high school glee club and while attending Manhattan College. Though he originally planned to study law and used his singing ability to earn money for tuition, his self-recorded "I Never Knew Heaven Could Speak," which he distributed to local New York radio producers, found its way to Mary Livingstone, wife of Jack Benny, who insisted that her husband hire Day for his show. When incumbent Irish tenor Kenny Baker objected to his role as dingbat singer and left the show, Day was brought in as his replacement and for nearly three decades both on radio and television played the naive comic foil to the constantly befuddled and exasperated Benny. After a stint in the Navy during World War II, Day's popularity was such that he was given his own radio show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day, in which he played a naive soda jerk, which ran concurrently with Benny's own radio program for 5 years from 1946-51. After Benny made the move to television, Day also scored his own musical variety program The Dennis Day Show which ran for two seasons from 1952-54. Day made his first film appearance in Benny's Buck Benny Rides Again in 1940 but then began securing work on his own, usually including a vocal number or two, in films such as The Powers Girl, Sleepy Lagoon, and The Girl Next Door, though this last 1953 feature was his last. However, he did find occasional TV work during his long stint on Benny's various programs, including appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Burke's Law, The Lucy Show, and Love American Style. At the end of his career he found voice work on animated TV fare such as Frosty's Winter Wonderland and The Stingiest Man in Town. He and his wife had 10 children and at one point ran an antique shop in Santa Monica. He died from ALS on June 22, 1988 at the age of 72.

Frank Nelson

Frank Brandon Nelson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and by age 15 was working as a radio announcer in the Denver area. At age 18 he moved to Hollywood and found work as a radio actor in dramas and comedies such as Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, which also starred Groucho and Chico Marx. He began playing announcers in movies, often uncredited, in 1937 and first appeared on television on The Hank McCune Show in 1950. Nelson developed a comedic character with a distinctive catchphrase, a high-pitched, unctious, drawn-out "Yes?" that made him instantly recognizable, though he often was first shown with his back to the camera. On The Jack Benny Program he played a variety of department store floorwalkers, ticket agents, and other customer service roles, delivering sarcastic answers to Benny's questions. He performed a similar role playing Ralph Ramsey on I Love Lucy and had multiple appearances on a variety of shows through the decades from Our Miss Brooks to Sanford and Son. He also continued doing voicework on animated shows such as The Mister Magoo Show and The Flintstones with the last performance of his career coming on the 1994 series Garfield and Friends. He died from cancer on September 12, 1986 at the age of 75, but his legacy lives on in occasional parodies on shows such as The Simpsons and Jon Stewart's mannerisms on The Daily Show.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 10, Episode 11, "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace": Mel Blanc (the voice of countless cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester the cat, and Barney Rubble on The Flintstones) plays a drunk in lockup. Frank Gerstle (Dick Gird on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and voice of Raseem on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour) plays the lockup policeman. Herb Vigran (Judge Brooker on Gunsmoke) plays an investigating policeman. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays the court clerk. Lewis Charles (Lou on The Feather and Father Gang) plays a criminal in lockup.

Season 10, Episode 12, "Natalie Wood/Robert Wagner": Natalie Wood (shown on the left, starred in Miracle on 34th Street, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Rebel Without a Cause, The Searchers, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, This Property Is Condemned, Inside Daisy Clover, and Love With the Proper Stranger and played Ann Morrison on The Pride of the Family) plays herself. Robert Wagner (shown on the right, starred in Titanic (1953), Prince Valiant, All the Fine Young Cannibals, The Pink Panther, and Curse of the Pink Panther and played Alexander Mundy on It Takes a Thief, Maj. Phil Carrington on Colditz, Peter T. Ryan on Switch, Jonathan Hart on Hart to Hart, James Greyson Culver on Lime Street, Jack Fairfield on Hope & Faith, Teddy Leopold on Two and a Half Men, and Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. on NCIS) plays himself.

Season 10, Episode 14, "Easter Show": Barbara Nichols (played Ginger on Love That Jill) plays Jack's girlfriend Mildred Meyerhouser. Madge Blake (see her biography in the post for The Real McCoys) plays Jack super-fan Clara.  Mel Blanc (see "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace" above) plays Jack's violin teacher Prof. Pierre LeBlanc.

Season 10, Episode 15, "Final Show of the Season": Joyce Davidson (co-host with Mike Wallace of PM East/PM West and later wife of talk-show host David Susskind) is the commercial announcer. William Schallert (Justinian Tebbs on The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Mr. Leander Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show, Admiral Hargrade on Get Smart, Teddy Futterman on The Nancy Walker Show, Carson Drew on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Russ Lawrence on The New Gidget, and Wesley Hodges on The Torkelsons) plays sponsor executive Mr. Lewis.  John Hoyt (shown on the left, starred in My Favorite Brunette, The Lady Gambles, and Blackboard Jungle and who played Grandpa Stanley Kanisky on Gimme a Break!) plays sponsor executive Mr. Hall.

Season 11, Episode 1, "Nightbeat Takeoff": Mike Wallace (co-host of PM East/PM West and host of Nightbeat, The Mike Wallace Interview, and 60 Minutes) plays himself. George Burns (starred in The Big Broadcast, Here Comes Cookie, A Damsel in Distress, The Sunshine Boys and the Oh God! trilogy and played himself on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The George Burns Show, and Wendy and Me) plays himself.  Tony Curtis (starred in Houdini, Sweet Smell of Success, Some Like It Hot, The Defiant Ones, The Great Race, and The Boston Strangler and played Danny Wilde on The Persuaders!, McCoy on McCoy, and Roth on Vega$) plays himself. Robert Wagner (see "Natalie Wood/Robert Wagner " above) plays himself.  Johnny Green (composer, arranger and pianist) plays himself.

Season 11, Episode 3, "Milton Berle Show": Milton Berle (shown on the right, starred in Sun Valley Serenade, Always Leave Them Laughing, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Loved One, and The Muppet Movie and played the host on The Milton Berle Show and Louie the Lilac on Batman) plays himself.

Season 11, Episode 4, "Hong Kong Suit": Rolfe Sedan (Mr. Beasley the Postman on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and Mr. Briggs the Postman on The Addams Family) plays barbershop owner Andre. Richard Deacon (Sherman Hall on The Charles Farrell Show, Roger Finley on Date  With the Angels, Uncle Archie on Walt Disney Presents: Annette, Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver, Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Roger Buell on The Mothers in Law) plays Harry the barber. Shirley Mitchell (Yvonne Sharp on Sixpenny Corner, Kitty Devereaux on Bachelor Father, Janet Colton on Pete and Gladys, and Clara Appleby on The Red Skelton Hour) plays Goldie the manicurist. Iris Adrian (Dottie on The Ted Knight Show) plays Mildred the manicurist. Gisele MacKenzie (singer and musician who played herself on The Gisele MacKenzie Show and Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless) plays herself.

Season 11, Episode 5, "John Wayne Show": John Wayne (shown on the left, starred in Red River, Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, The Alamo, True Grit, and The Green Berets) plays himself. Jaye P. Morgan (popular singer) plays herself. Frank Fontaine (played Crazy Guggenheim on Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine and The Jackie Gleason Show) plays audience member John L.T. Savonie. Betty Furness (one-time spokesperson for Westinghouse and consumer affairs reporter for  the Today Show for 16 years) plays herself.

Season 11, Episode 7, "Lunch Counter Murder": Dan Duryea (starred in The Little Foxes, The Pride of the Yankees, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73 and who played China Smith in China Smith and The New Adventures of China Smith and Eddie Jacks on Peyton Place) plays a murder gang leader. Verna Felton (the voice of the fairy godmother in Disney's Cinderella and played Hilda Crocker on December Bride and Pete and Gladys) plays Dennis Day's mother.

Season 11, Episode 8, "Jack Goes to a Concert": Jimmy Stewart (shown on the right, starred in You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Shop Around the Corner, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, The Philadelphia Story, Destry Rides Again, Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Anatomy of a Murder, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and played Prof. James K. Howard on The Jimmy Stewart Show and Billy Jim Hawkins on Hawkins) plays himself. Gloria Stewart (shown on the left, Jimmy Stewart's wife) plays herself. Barbara Nichols (see "Easter Show" above) returns as Mildred Meyerhouser. Damian O'Flynn (Dr. Goodfellow on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a member of the concert audience.

Season 11, Episode 9, "Christmas Shopping": Mel Blanc (see "Jack Is Arrested for Disturbing the Peace" above) plays a sales clerk. Richard Deacon (shown on the left, see "Hong Kong Suit" above) plays a sales clerk. Maxine Semon (Honeybee Gillis on The Life of Riley and the voice of Mrs. Jillson on The Joey Bishop Show) plays a jewelry saleslady. Rolfe Sedan (see "Hong Kong Suit" above) plays a lingerie salesman.