The Betty Hutton Show
| The Betty Hutton Show | |
|---|---|
 Richard Miles, Dennis Joel and Betty Hutton in a scene from the show, 1959. | |
| Also known as | Goldie |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Stanley Roberts |
| Written by | Ed Jurist Laurence Marks Stanley Roberts Terry Ryan |
| Directed by | H. Bruce Humberstone Robert Sidney Jodie Copelan |
| Starring | Betty Hutton Gigi Perreau Richard Miles Dennis Joel David White |
| Theme music composer | Jerry Fielding |
| Opening theme | "Goldie" |
| Composer | Jerry Fielding |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Producers | William Harmon Marvin Marx L.B. "Doc" Merman |
| Cinematography | Charles Van Enger |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company | Hutton Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | October 1, 1959 – June 30, 1960 |
The Betty Hutton Show is an American sitcom that aired from October 1, 1959, until June 30, 1960,[1] on CBS's Thursday schedule (8-8:30 pm Eastern). The show was sponsored by General Foods' Post Cereals, and was produced by Desilu and Hutton Productions.
The series, which was originally entitled Goldie,[2] would retain its original title during its syndication run.
Synopsis[edit]
Hutton stars as Goldie, a showgirl-turned-manicurist. One of Goldie's regular customers is a millionaire, Mr. Strickland. After he suddenly dies, Goldie discovers that he has left everything he owns, including his $60 million fortune and his three children, to her.[3] The children were a 12-year-old boy and girl and boy teenagers.[4]
Cast and characters[edit]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Betty Hutton | Goldie Appleby[5] |
| David White | Mr. Strickland |
| Gigi Perreau | Pat Strickland[5] |
| Peter Miles | Nicky Strickland |
| Dennis Joel | Roy Strickland[3] |
| Tom Conway | Howard Seaton[5] |
| Gavin Muir | Hollister |
| Norma Varden | Aunt Louise |
| Jean Carson | Rosemary[5] |
| Joan Shawlee | Lorna[5] |
Guest stars included Don Grady, Dennis Hopper, Phil Harris, and Cesar Romero.[5]
Production[edit]
In addition to being the star, Hutton "insisted on creative control of everything from writing to directing to designing", which resulted in the resignations of three producers and two directors.[6] Becker wrote, "by the season's midpoint, Hutton was largely producing the show alone".[6]
Stanley Roberts created The Betty Hutton Show., and William Harmon was a producer. Directors included Jodie Copeland, Jerry Hopper, Richard Kinon, and Robert Sidney. Writers included Ralph Goodman, Ed Jurist, Bob Kaufman, Kip King, Philip Lloyd, Laurence Marks, Marvin Marx, and Jack Wilson. Jerry Fielding composed the theme song.[5]
Thirty episodes were filmed in black and white with a laugh track.[5] Hutton owned the company that produced the program, which was filmed by Desilu.[4] Post Cereals sponsored the program.[6]
Reception and cancellation[edit]
Although Hutton was a popular actress, the show only lasted for thirty episodes before being cancelled, mainly because it was scheduled opposite ABC's popular series The Donna Reed Show.[citation needed] In a short review of the first episode, John P. Shanley wrote in The New York Times, "Miss Hutton worked conscientiously but the show was just another trifling addition to television's roster of mediocre situation comedies."[7]
Christine Becker, in her book It's the Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television, wrote that the show's premise of combining sudden single parenthood with inheriting millions of dollars "was decidedly unconventional at a time when domestic sitcoms were supposed to feature an approximation of the cohesive, middle-class suburban nuclear family so desired by sponsors and networks."[6]
Episodes[edit]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Goldie Crosses the Tracks" | Edward Ludwig | Stanley Roberts | October 1, 1959 |
| 2 | "Goldie and the 400" | Unknown | Unknown | October 8, 1959 |
| 3 | "Goldie Goes to a Dog Show" | Unknown | Unknown | October 15, 1959 |
| 4 | "Goldie Knots the Old School Tie" | Unknown | Unknown | October 22, 1959 |
| 5 | "Who Killed Vaudeville?" | Unknown | Unknown | October 29, 1959 |
| 6 | "Goldie Goes Broke" | Bruce Humberstone | Marvin Marx & Robert Van Scoyk & Terry Ryan | November 5, 1959 |
| 7 | "Goldie's Playground" | Unknown | Unknown | November 12, 1959 |
| 8 | "Nicky's First Love" | Unknown | Unknown | November 19, 1959 |
| 9 | "Hollister's Mother" | Unknown | Unknown | November 26, 1959 |
| 10 | "Art for Goldie's Sake" | Robert Sidney | Laurence Marks & Ed Jurist and Marvin Marx | December 3, 1959 |
| 11 | "Jenny" | Unknown | Unknown | December 17, 1959 |
| 12 | "The Christmas Story" | Unknown | Unknown | December 24, 1959 |
| 13 | "Goldie Goes to Court" | Unknown | Unknown | December 31, 1959 |
| 14 | "Love Comes to Goldie" | Robert Sidney | Story by : Betty Hutton & Marvin Marx Teleplay by : Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder | January 7, 1960 |
| 15 | "Goldie's Birthday Party" | Unknown | Unknown | January 14, 1960 |
| 16 | "Roy Runs Away" | Robert Sidney | Laurence Marks & Ed Jurist | January 21, 1960 |
| 17 | "Rock 'n' Roll" | Unknown | Unknown | January 28, 1960 |
| 18 | "Goldie and the Tycoon" | Robert Sidney | Dick Conway & Roland MacLane | February 4, 1960 |
| 19 | "Goldie Meets Betty Hutton" | Unknown | Unknown | February 11, 1960 |
| 20 | "Rosemary's Romance" | Unknown | Unknown | February 18, 1960 |
| 21 | "The Cold War" | Unknown | Unknown | February 25, 1960 |
| 22 | "Goldie Gets Amnesia" | Unknown | Unknown | March 3, 1960 |
| 23 | "The Seaton Story" | Robert Sidney | Story by : Bob Kaufman Teleplay by : Jack Wilson | March 10, 1960 |
| 24 | "Goldie Meets Mike" | Unknown | Unknown | March 17, 1960 |
| 25 | "Daddy Goldie" | Unknown | Unknown | March 24, 1960 |
| 26 | "Gullible Goldie" | Jodie Copelan | Story by : Ralph Goodman & Philip Lloyd Teleplay by : Ralph Goodman & Philip Lloyd and Kip King | March 31, 1960 |
| 27 | "The School Bully" | Unknown | Unknown | April 7, 1960 |
| 28 | "The Flashback Story" | Unknown | Unknown | April 14, 1960 |
| 29 | "Goldie Without Men" | Unknown | Unknown | April 28, 1960 |
| 30 | "Goldie on 'Face to Face'" | Unknown | Unknown | May 5, 1960 |
DVD release[edit]
Four episodes of the show were released on DVD by Alpha Video on July 31, 2007.
References[edit]
- ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 89. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. Psychology Press. p. 544. ISBN 9780415938532. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b Leszczak, Bob (2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 165. ISBN 9781442242746. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b Irvin, Richard (September 11, 2017). Film Stars' Television Projects: Pilots and Series of 50+ Movie Greats, 1948-1985. McFarland. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-1-4766-2843-1. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Leszczak, Bob (November 8, 2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide. McFarland. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-7864-9305-0. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Becker, Christine (2008). It's the Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 169–171. ISBN 978-0-8195-6894-6. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ Shanley, John P. (October 2, 1959). "'Betty Hutton Show'". The New York Times. p. 59. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
External links[edit]
- 1959 American television series debuts
- 1960 American television series endings
- 1950s American sitcoms
- 1960s American sitcoms
- Black-and-white American television shows
- American English-language television shows
- Television series by CBS Studios
- Television series by Desilu Productions
- Fiction about inheritances
- CBS sitcoms