American TV series or program
Private Secretary
|
---|
Sothern as Susie McNamara, 1954
|
Also known as
| Susie
|
---|
Genre
| Sitcom
|
---|
Created by
| Ned Marin
[1]
|
---|
Starring
| |
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
Original language
| English
|
---|
No.
of seasons
| 5
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 104
(
list of episodes
)
|
---|
|
Executive producers
| |
---|
Running time
| 24-25 mins
|
---|
Production company
| Jack Chertok Television Productions
|
---|
|
Network
| CBS
|
---|
Release
| February 1, 1953
(
1953-02-01
)
?
March 17, 1957
(
1957-03-17
)
|
---|
Private Secretary
(also known as
Susie
) is an American
sitcom
that aired on
CBS
from February 1, 1953, to March 17, 1957. Created by
Ned Marin
, the series stars
Ann Sothern
as Susan Camille "Susie" MacNamara, devoted secretary to handsome talent agent Peter Sands, played by
Don Porter
.
Overview
[
edit
]
Susie MacNamara (Sothern) is a former stage actress, a
WAC
veteran of
World War II
and single woman who works as the private secretary for theatrical agent Peter Sands (Porter) at the fictional New York theatrical agency International Artists Inc. Susie's honest, good-natured attempts to help Mr. Sands, especially in romantic matters, always leads to comedic complications. Susie is usually assisted by her best friend, Violet "Vi" Praskins (
Ann Tyrrell
), the office's nervous and bumbling receptionist. Recurring characters include
Jesse White
as Mickey "Cagey" Calhoun, a chief competitor and loudmouthed agent business rival to Susie and Sands; and
Joan Banks
as Sylvia Platt, a fellow secretary frenemy of Susie.
One of the show's trademarks was the set decoration portraying a 1950s state-of-the-art executive office, with stylish decor,
IBM
typewriters and the latest office telephone gear from
Western Electric
. There are occasional references to a young actress, never seen, who was a client of Mr. Sands named Harriet Lake (Sothern's real name).
Series ending
[
edit
]
Although ratings had dropped in its fifth season, CBS renewed the series for a sixth season in Spring 1957. However, Sothern discovered that producer
Jack Chertok
sold the series rights to
Metromedia
without consulting or compensating her. Sothern, who owed back taxes to the
Internal Revenue Service
, sued Chertok and departed the series.
[2]
[3]
In November, Sothern reprised the character of Susie MacNamara for the premiere episode of
The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show
(later shown in repeats as
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
). In this installment, entitled "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana" (which was originally a 75-minute episode), Sothern appeared opposite series regulars
Lucille Ball
,
Desi Arnaz
,
Vivian Vance
,
William Frawley
and
Richard Keith
as well as guest stars
Hedda Hopper
,
Rudy Vallee
and
Cesar Romero
. As a result of the success of the special, Sothern developed a new series with Ball and Arnaz through
Desilu
. The resulting series,
The Ann Sothern Show
, would air for three seasons on CBS from 1958 to 1961. The series employed much of the same cast and writers as
Private Secretary
.
[4]
Episodes
[
edit
]
Release
[
edit
]
Private Secretary
aired on CBS for all of its five seasons, alternating opposite weeks with
The Jack Benny Program
on Sundays at 7:30pm EST. However, in an unusual move, the series also had two brief runs on rival network
NBC
during the summers of 1953 and 1954. The series served as a summer replacement for
Your Hit Parade
, which like
Private Secretary
, was sponsored by Lucky Strike Cigarettes.
[9]
Syndication
[
edit
]
Before
Private Secretary
went into
syndication
, the opening title sequence and series name were changed. The series, which was sponsored by
American Tobacco
for
Lucky Strike cigarettes
during its original run,
[10]
featured the company’s
sponsor I.D.
in the opening title sequence which could not be aired in syndication. An animated title sequence was made featuring a cartoon "Susie."
The series' name was also changed when producer Jack Chertok withheld the rights to the show's original title in hopes of replacing Sothern with another actress in the title role. Chertok released
Susie
into syndication in the fall of 1957. The original title sequence has not been viewed since
Private Secretary's
original run.
Susie
aired on
Nick at Nite
from January 1987 to June 1990.
Home media
[
edit
]
In 2006, two video distributors, Critics' Choice and
Alpha Video
, released one volume of the series on Region 1
DVD
in the United States. Both releases were identical with the exception of the artwork. Both companies released three more identical volumes. The latest, volume four, was released in April 2007. Each volume contains four episodes of the series from varying seasons.
Reception
[
edit
]
Nielsen ratings
[
edit
]
- Season 1: N/A
- Season 2: #24
[11]
- Season 3: #19
[12]
- Season 4: #12
[13]
- Season 5: #25
[14]
Award nominations
[
edit
]
Year
|
Award
|
Category
|
Nominee
|
1955
|
Emmy Award
|
Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series
|
Ann Sothern
|
1955
|
Emmy Award
|
Best Situation Comedy Series
|
Private Secretary
|
1956
|
Emmy Award
|
Best Cinematography for Television
|
Robert Pittack
|
1956
|
Emmy Award
|
Best Actress - Continuing Performance
|
Ann Sothern
|
1957
|
Emmy Award
|
Best Continuing Performance by a Comedienne in a Series
|
Ann Sothern
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"PRIVATE SECRETARY {A.K.A. SUSIE}: HOW TO HANDLE A BOSS (TV)"
.
Paley Center for Media
. Retrieved
January 9,
2024
.
- ^
Sterling, Tisha
(2016).
Why I Failed Charm School: A Memoir by Tisha Sterling
. Bookstand Publishing.
- ^
Steven Sanders, Coyne; Gilbert, Thomas W. (1993).
Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
. HarperCollins. p. 133.
ISBN
0-688-13514-5
.
- ^
Karol, Michael (2006).
Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen
. iUniverse. p. 30.
ISBN
0-595-40251-8
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1953-1954"
.
Classic TV Guide
. Retrieved
January 9,
2024
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1954-1955"
.
Classic TV Guide
. Retrieved
January 9,
2024
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1955-1956"
.
Classic TV Guide
. Retrieved
January 9,
2024
.
- ^
"TV Ratings: 1956-1957"
.
Classic TV Guide
. Retrieved
January 9,
2024
.
- ^
Hawes, William (2002).
Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958
. McFarland. p. 95.
ISBN
0-7864-1132-5
.
- ^
Terrace, Vincent (1979).
The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs, 1947-1979
. A. S. Barnes. p. 809.
ISBN
0-498-02177-7
.
- ^
TV Ratings: 1953-1954
classictvhits.com
- ^
TV Ratings: 1954-1955
classictvhits.com
- ^
TV Ratings: 1955-1956
classictvhits.com
- ^
TV Ratings: 1956-1957
classictvhits.com
External links
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]