October 6, 1958 (1958-10-06) – March 30, 1961 (1961-03-30)
The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, who had previously starred in Private Secretary, which also aired on CBS from 1953 to 1957.
Sothern portrayed the character Katy O'Connor, the assistant manager of the upscale New York City hotel The Bartley House. Co-stars for the series included Ann Tyrrell, Don Porter and Jesse White who had also co-starred with her in Private Secretary.
Synopsis
Sothern starred as Katy O'Connor, the assistant manager of a New York Cityhotel: The Bartley House. Katy frequently deals with the hotel's eccentric guests, alongside either her secretary and best friend/roommate Olive Smith (Ann Tyrrell), or her boss, Jason McCauley (Ernest Truex), who is frequently bullied by his wife Flora (Reta Shaw). Katy was also an advanced character for her time, in that she was a woman who had a position of authority. In this position, she oversaw many male employees, including lovestruck bellboy Johnny Wallace (Jack Mullaney) and suave French room clerk Paul Monteney (Jacques Scott). Storylines typically revolve around the personal lives of the staff and guests of the Bartley House. The setting of a hotel gave the series a chance to introduce a plentiful number of guest stars, often playing guests of the hotel.
Midway through its first season, the series underwent a retooling to improve ratings. The McCauleys are transferred to a Bartley House branch in Calcutta, and Katy is given a new boss, James Devery (Don Porter). Whereas Katy and McCauley had a strictly professional relationship seen on an equal level, Katy and Devery's relationship is much more complex. Devery often asserts his authority over Katy, and the two frequently go toe-to-toe with one another over various things. A romantic undertone to the relationship becomes apparent by the final season, and was addressed shortly before the series was cancelled. Due to the retooling, the characters of Johnny Wallace and Paul Monteney also begin to be limited. Jacques Scott was written out after the end of the first season; Jack Mullaney was initially retained for season two, but also written out after the first few episodes.
The Ann Sothern Show had strong ties to Sothern's previous CBS sitcom Private Secretary, which had ended a year before the debut of The Ann Sothern Show. Sothern's characters of Susie MacNamara and Katy O'Connor were similar, though O'Connor held a position of authority MacNamara did not have. Tyrrell had portrayed the character of Violet "Vi" Praskins, who was nearly identical to her character of Olive Smith. Porter's character of James Devery was also similar to his role of talent agent Peter Sands. Jesse White had a recurring role on both series, playing the antagonist to the central characters.
Ann Sothern as Kathleen "Katy" O'Connor: the witty, perceptive assistant manager at The Bartley House, an upscale hotel in New York City. She frequently deals with the various situations that arise from the eccentric customers, or her boss (initially Mr. McCauley, later Mr. Devery). Katy is a spinster, but takes some pride in that fact. Throughout the series, a potential romance between Katy and Mr. Devery lingered; it is finally touched upon in what became the series finale, ending on a cliffhanger ultimately never answered.
Ann Tyrrell as Olive Smith: Katy's secretary and roommate. Olive is a bit scatter-brained and naive, often deferring important decisions to Katy. Nonetheless, she means the best, and is a loyal friend to Katy. Also a spinster, Olive is a romantic often relegated to unrequited crushes such as Paul. In the third season, Olive begins dating – and later marries – dentist Dr. Delbert Gray.
Don Porter as James Arlington Devery: Katy's second boss, who is the manager of The Bartley House. Devery is a younger manager than McCauley, and is a much more stern, stubborn manager than he is. Devery tends to get carried away with new ideas, and frequently finds himself at odds against Katy. In what turned out to be the series finale, Devery realizes he is in love with Katy, and impulsively proposes to her; Katy kisses him back, but leaves her answer on an unanswered cliffhanger.
Tyrrell and Porter were both series regulars on Private Secretary, playing the roles of Vi Praskins and Peter Sands. Unlike Tyrrell, Porter was not initially carried over to The Ann Sothern Show, but was introduced after a midseason retooling of the cast.
Ernest Truex as Jason McCauley: Katy's first boss, the manager of The Bartley House. McCauley is a timid, elderly man, who is more focused on keeping the guests of The Bartley House satisfied. In episode twenty-four ("Katy's New Boss"), McCauley is transferred to The Bartley House in Calcutta, India.
Reta Shaw as Flora McCauley: the wife of Mr. McCauley. Flora is a woman of high standards, who is portrayed as an overbearing, domineering wife who frequently bullies her husband. She is a music lover and patron. She accompanies her husband when he is transferred.
Jack Mullaney as Johnny Wallace: a bellboy at The Bartley House. Johnny is a college student, who is working at the hotel to pay for his classes. He has an unrequited crush on Katy, who usually ignores it. Mullaney was the only one of the first season semi-regulars to appear in season two, though he is written out after the first couple of season two episodes to be replaced by Woody Hamilton.
Jacques Scott as Paul Monteney: a room clerk at The Bartley House. He is a suave Frenchman. Though he survived the series' retooling midway through the first season, Scott was written out after the end of the first season.
Recurring
Jack Wagner as Alfred, a desk clerk at The Bartley House. (seasons 1–2)
Jesse White as Oscar Pudney, a scheming and dishonest newsstand owner who is the nemesis of Katy and Mr. Devery. White was previously a semi-regular on Private Secretary. (seasons 2–3)
Jimmy Fields as Richy Gordon, a child prodigy playing the piano, who helps support his widowed mother and three sisters by delivering newspapers. (seasons 2–3)
Ken Berry as Woody Hamilton, a young bellhop. Berry's role replaced that of Jack Mullaney's character Johnny. (seasons 2–3)
Louis Nye as Dr. Delbert Gray, a dentist who becomes Olive's boyfriend and eventual husband. (season 3)
Gladys Hurlbut as Mrs. Gray, Delbert's overbearing mother who dislikes Olive. (season 3)
The second-season premiere featured a crossover between The Ann Sothern Show and The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour (then titled The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show). In the episode "The Lucy Story", Katy is greeted by her old friend Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), who has checked into The Bartley House after an argument with Ricky (Desi Arnaz).[1] Lucy attempts to play matchmaker for Katy and Mr. Devery, but ultimately spreads chaos through her scheme, which backfires on her.
Ball was the only cast member to appear in the episode, with Ricky being mentioned as having gone on vacation with Charlie Snyder; at the time of filming, Arnaz and Ball were on the verge of a divorce. Ball and Sothern had been close friends since the beginning of their careers in the 1930s. In 1957, Sothern had guest starred on the premiere of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour ("Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana") as her Private Secretary character, Susie MacNamara, who was also a friend of Lucy Ricardo.
Production
Development
A film actress for many years, Sothern moved to television with the CBS sitcom Private Secretary in 1953. During the series' fifth season, Sothern discovered her business manager had embezzled money from her, and she owed back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service as a result. Following the season's end, Sothern discovered Private Secretary producer Jack Chertok had sold the series rights to Metromedia without her permission and sued him.[2] Although CBS had renewed the series for a sixth season, Sothern departed the series due to the lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court. However, she reprised her character of Susie McNamara on the first episode of The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show in November 1957, co-starring with her friend Lucille Ball.
Following the success of the special, and wanting more control over her project, Sothern established her own production company Anso Productions, to develop a new series with Desilu Productions, owned by Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. Ball and Arnaz enlisted their writers, Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, to develop a series for Sothern with producer Arthur Hoffe. Hoffe kept rejecting Schiller and Weiskopf's pitches, before they eventually went to Arnaz directly with the idea to center Sothern as a career woman managing a hotel. The duo also oversaw the first few episodes before returning to the Ball specials.[3] Sothern enlisted her Private Secretary co-star Ann Tyrrell to co-star with her in her new series, and added Ernest Truex in place of Private Secretary co-star Don Porter. After General Foods agreed to sponsor the first season, CBS picked up The Ann Sothern Show in May 1958.[4]
The series was filmed at Desilu Studios though not in front of a live studio audience like most other Desilu sitcoms of the era. Sothern reportedly did not like to perform comedy in front of an audience, and thus, a laugh track was used throughout the show's run. Some episodes featured a disclaimer during the end credits reading "Audience Reaction Technically Produced".[5] Sothern and her sister, Bonnie Lake, wrote the series' theme song "Katy".[6]
The series initially premiered to satisfactory ratings and an earned a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show. Although Variety described the series as representing "moderate or nervous hits" in February 1959, it was also noted that the series was among the top-rated non-Western series.[7] However, ratings began to decline and Sothern was reportedly dissatisfied that Ernest Truex's character was garnering more attention. On January 27, 1959, United Press International correspondent William Ewald reported in his column that Truex would depart the series.[8] A few weeks later, on February 3, Ewald reported that Don Porter, Sothern's former Private Secretary co-star, would replace Truex.[9] Ratings for the series improved, prompting CBS to renew the series for a second season.[10]
Jack Mullaney and Jacques Scott were also dropped from the cast at the beginning of the second season, and Private Secretary alum Jesse White joined the series in a recurring role towards the end of the season. The second season also did well enough for CBS to renew the series for a third season.
At the beginning of the third season, CBS moved The Ann Sothern Show from its timeslot on Mondays at 9:30 pm EST (immediately following The Danny Thomas Show) to Thursdays at 9:30 pm EST.[11] The move put the series in direct competition with the highly popular top 10 hit The Untouchables, and ratings declined as a result. On February 15, 1961, CBS announced that The Ann Sothern Show had been cancelled.[12]
Attempted spin-offs
During The Ann Sothern Show's third season, two episodes aired which were intended to be spin-offs. The series would have been produced by Sothern's company Anso Productions, but were not picked up by any network.
The first backdoor pilot, "Always April", aired on February 23, 1961, and starred Constance Bennett, John Emery and Susan Silo. In the episode, Bennett portrayed Guinevere Fleming, a former actress who had retired along with her actor husband David Fleming (Emery) to Vermont. Much to their chagrin, their daughter April (Silo) longs to be an actress and runs away from boarding school to the Bartley House. April meets Katy O'Connor, who convinces her to tell her parents of her plans.[5] The second proposed spin-off episode was "Pandora", which aired on March 16, 1961. The episode featured Pat Carroll as Pandora, a young, slightly eccentric country girl who traveled to Los Angeles on the advice of her mother. Katy O'Connor hires her as a secretary for handsome Hollywood actor Anthony Bardot (Guy Mitchell).[13]
Olive's infatuation on Paul the desk clerk has caused her to act strange, and worries Katy even more. Katy's attempts to help Paul cause Olive to believe that Katy is after him as well. The two friends and roommates to fight.
4
4
"Governess for a Day"
Unknown
Unknown
October 29, 1958 (1958-10-29)
5
5
"The Masquerade Ball"
Sidney Miller
Bob Ross
November 3, 1958 (1958-11-03)
6
6
"A New Lease on Life"
Sidney Miller
Barbara Avedon & Henry Sharp
November 10, 1958 (1958-11-10)
Katy and Olive celebrate "Roommate Day", the anniversary of their moving in together as roommates. However, the dynamics of their friendship are tested when Johnny reveals that he is writing his psychology paper on Katy's more dominant personality over Olive.
7
7
"The Countess of Bartley"
Paul Harrison
Barbara Avedon & Henry Sharp
November 17, 1958 (1958-11-17)
When a dutchess (Gladys Cooper) stays at the hotel, she attaches herself to Katy - to the point that she interrupts her date at the opera. However, she goes too far when she "appoints" Katy to be engaged to her nephew Count Ferdinand (Alan Marshal). Katy is determined to break the engagement - even if it means taking Ferdinand for a night out on the town.
While Mr. McCauley is away to Miami on a business trip, Katy rents out his room to a guest (Sylvia Field) when the hotel is full. However, she finds her choice has threatened the reputation of the hotel when the guest runs illegal gambling games out of the room.
11
11
"It's a Dog Life"
Unknown
Unknown
December 15, 1958 (1958-12-15)
12
12
"The Boss's Son"
Sidney Miller
Mel Diamond & John Kohn
December 22, 1958 (1958-12-22)
When the son of The Bartley House's owner visits, the entire staff is on edge. Katy manages to charm the playboy, but is uninterested. When he decides to settle down and stay around the hotel for awhile, she has to fend off his increasing advances. However, her schemes to get him disinterested backfire – and result in a short-lived engagement to him.
When Mr. Devery orders all employees to take an "aptitude test" to determine they are fit for employment at the Bartley House, the employees go into a panic. However, Katy is forced to fire a Hungarian waiter who is popular among the employees and guests. When she discovers Mr. Devery himself failed the test, Katy battles against him to reinstate the waiter — and for himself to stay at the Bartley.
29
29
"Geisha Girl"
Abby Berlin
Louella MacFarlane & Arthur Phillips
April 27, 1959 (1959-04-27)
When Katy struggles to juggle her regular duties on top of Mr. Devery's meaningless chores, she decides to find him a servant. However, the only one qualified enough to do it (i.e. in the pay range) is the cousin of a Japanese flower shop owner, who turns out to the surprise of Katy and Mr. Devery to be a Geisha named Michiko. Katy soon becomes jealous when Mr. Devery begins giving her duties to Michiko, and schemes to get Mr. Devery to let go Michiko.
30
30
"The Ugly Bonnet"
Unknown
Phil Davis
May 4, 1959 (1959-05-04)
31
31
"The Raise"
Unknown
Unknown
May 11, 1959 (1959-05-11)
32
32
"Springtime for Katy"
Abby Berlin
Arthur Phillips & Leo Solomon
May 18, 1959 (1959-05-18)
Mad after being called "one of the boys" by Mr. Devery, Katy attempts to make him see her as a woman by being seen with Randy Rand (Patrick O'Neal), an actor with a playboy reputation who is staying at the hotel. But the issue gets out of hand when Randy genuinely does like her, and Olive takes things a little too far, causing Mr. Devery to believe they're getting married.
Katy's old friend Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) checks into The Bartley House after a fight with Ricky, and is appalled to find Katy happy with her life unmarried. Lucy attempts to make Katy jealous by creating an affair with Mr. Devery. After overhearing Katy insult him behind his back, Mr. Devery begins taking the affair seriously, and brings Katy and Lucy to try and out scheme each other.
Story by : George O'Hanlon Teleplay by : Bill Manhoff & George O'Hanlon
November 23, 1959 (1959-11-23)
43
8
"Queen for a Night"
Unknown
Unknown
November 30, 1959 (1959-11-30)
44
9
"Katy and the New Girl"
Unknown
Terry Ryan and Robert Van Scoyk
December 7, 1959 (1959-12-07)
45
10
"The Tender Trap"
Unknown
Terry Ryan and Robert Van Scoyk
December 14, 1959 (1959-12-14)
46
11
"Top Executive"
Unknown
Unknown
December 21, 1959 (1959-12-21)
47
12
"Katy Mismanages"
Unknown
Unknown
December 28, 1959 (1959-12-28)
48
13
"The Woman Behind the Throne"
Unknown
Unknown
January 4, 1960 (1960-01-04)
49
14
"Slightly Married"
James V. Kern
Richard De Roy & Danny Simon
January 11, 1960 (1960-01-11)
When a young boy (Charles Herbert) comes to the hotel alone, Katy and Mr. Devery argue whether to report him to the police. Katy learns that he is a Canadian boy who was to meet his American adoptive parents, but they never showed up. While the authorities search for the parents, Katy lies and tells the social worker that she is married so she and Olive can watch him. Things get complicated when both the social worker and Mr. Devery unexpectedly visit.
Olive's fear of the dentist has kept her from going to the dentist for years, even when she develops a toothache. Katy forces her to go to Dr. Delbert Gray (Louis Nye), and Olive soon begins a relationship with Gray. However, Katy soon finds herself defending the blossoming romance from Gray's mother, who doesn't want her son leaving her anytime soon.
69
2
"Loving Arms"
James V. Kern
Robert Van Scoyk
October 13, 1960 (1960-10-13)
Mr. Devery is furious about a new television program called Loving Arms, which he believes portrays the hotel business in a bad manner. When Katy lets the show's writer Terry Tyler (Van Johnson) do his research at the Bartley House for a retooled show, it makes Devery so furious, he refuses to speak her. To get Devery to change his mind, Katy attempts to have Devery watch the show — but first, his television set needs to be fixed. Sothern's daughter Tisha Sterling cameos, as does Sothern as herself.
70
3
"The Girls"
Richard Whorf
Bob Fisher & Alan Lipscott
October 20, 1960 (1960-10-20)
71
4
"The Pinch-Hitter"
James V. Kern
R.S. Allen
October 27, 1960 (1960-10-27)
72
5
"Olive in Love"
Unknown
Leonard Gershe and Robert Van Scoyk
November 3, 1960 (1960-11-03)
73
6
"Go-Go Gordon"
Richard Whorf
Robert Van Scoyk and Art Baer & Ben Joelson
November 10, 1960 (1960-11-10)
74
7
"Hasta Luego"
Richard Whorf
Leonard Gershe
November 17, 1960 (1960-11-17)
75
8
"The Proposal"
James V. Kern
Barry E. Blitzer
November 24, 1960 (1960-11-24)
76
9
"Secret Admirer"
Richard Whorf
George O'Hanlon & Robert Van Scoyk
December 1, 1960 (1960-12-01)
77
10
"Option Time"
James V. Kern
Robert Van Scoyk and Nancy Clark
December 8, 1960 (1960-12-08)
78
11
"Setting the Date"
James V. Kern
Leonard Gershe
December 15, 1960 (1960-12-15)
79
12
"The Other Woman"
Unknown
Unknown
December 22, 1960 (1960-12-22)
80
13
"The Elopement"
Richard Whorf
Barry E. Blitzer & Robert Van Scoyk
December 29, 1960 (1960-12-29)
81
14
"Operation Pudney"
Richard Whorf
Bob Barbash
January 5, 1961 (1961-01-05)
82
15
"Mr. Big Shot"
Unknown
Unknown
January 19, 1961 (1961-01-19)
83
16
"Toujour L'amour"
Richard Whorf
Leonard Gershe
January 26, 1961 (1961-01-26)
84
17
"The Royal Visit"
James V. Kern
Bob Fisher & Alan Lipscott
February 2, 1961 (1961-02-02)
A princess (Eva Gabor) stays at the Bartley, immediately enchanting Mr. Devery. When the princess asks that Mr. Devery let her keep her dog despite the "No Dogs Allowed" policy, he is only happy to let her. But Katy is not so happy, since she is the one who has to deal with the other guests, who are upset since they don't get special privileges.
85
18
"Just Friends"
Unknown
Robert Van Scoyk, Arthur Phillips, and Ashe King
February 9, 1961 (1961-02-09)
86
19
"The Widow"
James V. Kern
Bob Barbash
February 16, 1961 (1961-02-16)
87
20
"Always April"
Richard Whorf
Robert Van Scoyk
February 23, 1961 (1961-02-23)
A young girl named April runs away from her fancy boarding school, and comes to the Bartley to pursue her dreams of becoming a Broadway actress like her mother (Constance Bennett). And unfortunately, Katy and Mr. Devery are the ones left dealing with girl's parents, former actors who retired to a Vermont farm years ago — and don't want their daughter anywhere near show business.
88
21
"Two's Company"
Richard Whorf
Story by : Danny Simon and Jack Roche Teleplay by : Danny Simon
March 2, 1961 (1961-03-02)
89
22
"Vamp 'Til Ready"
James V. Kern
R.S. Allen
March 9, 1961 (1961-03-09)
90
23
"Pandora"
Richard Whorf
Benedict Freeman & John Fenton Murray
March 16, 1961 (1961-03-16)
91
24
"The Wedding"
Richard Whorf
Leonard Gershe & Robert Van Scoyk
March 23, 1961 (1961-03-23)
92
25
"The Beginning"
Richard Whorf
Robert Van Scoyk
March 30, 1961 (1961-03-30)
After Olive and Delbert return from their honeymoon with happy stories and photos, the pair try to pair a stubborn Katy with Mr. Devery. However, the couple's separate meddling leads to a misunderstanding that causes Katy to believe Mr. Devery plans to replace her, and she quits to leave and "find herself in Rio de Janeiro". Mr. Devery catches her on her flight and confesses his love for her, which she returns by kissing him.
While Sothern was known for bringing strong women to screen with Maisie Ravier and Private Secretary, the character of Katy O'Connor was an unusual character in her time. Unlike Susie McNamara in Private Secretary, and other working women of the era, O'Connor held a position of authority in a mostly male-dominated profession. She also was the supervisor of many male staff members. Her position allowed the series to explore the issues women faced in the work force. As such, Katy O'Connor can be seen as a precursor to other working women, such as Mary Richards of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.[16]
Sponsors and syndication
During its run, The Ann Sothern Show was also sponsored by General Foods Corporation (Tang, Maxwell House coffee), Johnson Wax (Glo-Coat and Pledge), and Post Cereals. Sothern and her cast mates would often appear in commercials for the sponsors' products at the end of the episode. Sothern would then sign off with, "Well, goodnight everybody. Stay happy!".[5]
Cable channel Nick at Nite aired The Ann Sothern Show from 1987 to 1990.
Notes
1.^ Ernest Truex is a main cast member for the first twenty-three episodes. Don Porter joined the cast in the twenty-fourth episode of the first season ("Katy's New Boss").
2.^ "The Invitation" remained unaired in the series run, but premiered in syndication in 1961.
