The Ann Sothern Show

The Ann Sothern Show

Genre: Sitcom

Written by: Tom Adair, James B. Allardice, Phil Davis, John Kohn, Terry Ryan, Bob Schiller, Robert Van Scoyck, Marvin Worth

Directed by: James V. Kern, Richard Whorf

Starring: Ann Sothern, Don Porter, Ann Tyrrell, Jesse White, Jack Mullaney, Ernest Truex, Reta Shaw

Theme music composer: Bonnie Lake and Ann Sothern

Opening theme: "Katy"

Composer(s): Tom Adair

Country of origin: United States

Original language(s): English

No. of seasons: 3

No. of episodes: 92

Production

Producer(s): Arthur Hoffe

Cinematography: Robert Pittack

Running time: 24 mins.

Production companies: Anso 

Productions and Desilu Production (Hey Lucy!)

Broadcast

Original channel: CBS

Picture format: Black-and-white

Audio format: Monaural

Original run: October 6, 1958 – September 25, 1961

The Ann Sothern Show is an Americansitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired onCBS for 93 episodes. The
series began on October 6, 1958, and ended on September 25, 1961.

The Ann Sothern Show was Sothern's second sitcom for CBS. Her first series,Private Secretary, ended
in 1957 after a contract dispute occurred between Sothern and Secretary's producer Jack Chertok.

Several of Private Secretary's cast members appeared in the show.

Katy O'Connor (Sothern) is the assistant manager of the Bartley House, a swankNew York City hotel.

Katy's boss, Jason Macauley (Ernest Truex), was a timid, elderly man who was constantly bullied by his overbearing wife, Flora (character actress Reta Shaw). Katy's secretary, roommate, and best friend

Olive was played by Ann Tyrrell, who had also appeared in Sothern's first series, Private Secretary, in a similar role. Other characters included Johnny Wallace (Jack Mullaney), a bellboy who had a crush on Katy, and Paul Monteney (Jacques Scott), a suave, French room clerk.

After twenty-three episodes, the show was retooled.  Katy's boss, Mr. Macauley was transferred to the Bartley House hotel in Calcutta, along with wife Flora. Don Porter, who had also appeared in Private Secretary as Sothern's character's boss, portrayed James Devery, Mr. Macauley's replacement. Mr.Devery was a younger, somewhat stubborn manager who tended to get carried away with some new, far-fetched idea. After Porter joined the cast, ratings for the series increased. In 1959, the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show.

In 1960, the series cast was changed again. The characters of Johnny Wallace and Paul Monteney were written out. Three new characters were added; Jesse White, another Private Secretary alum, appeared as Oscar Pudney, a dishonest newsstand owner who was Katy'snemesis. Child actor Jimmy Fields joined the cast as Richy Gordon, a musical child prodigy whom Katy helped. Dr. Delbert Gray (Louis Nye), a humorous dentistwho became Olive's boyfriend and eventually, her husband was also added along with Ken Berry as Woody the bellboy.

Storylines typically revolve around the personal lives of the staff and guests of the Bartley House.

Throughout the three-year run, a storyline of potential romance between Katy and Mr. Devery lingered. In the third season finale episode, Mr.

Devery realizes that he is in love with Katy and proposes to her. The episode ending was cliffhanger as Katy kisses Mr. Devery but does not answer his proposal.

Cast

Ann Sothern as Kathleen "Katy"O'Connor
Ann Tyrrell as Olive Smith

Ernest Truex as Jason McCauley (1958–1959)

Reta Shaw as Flora McCauley (1958–1959)

Don Porter as James Devery (1959–1961)

Jack Mullaney as Johnny Wallace (1958–1960)

Jacques Scott as Paul Monteney (1958–1960)

Jesse White as Oscar Pudney (1960–1961)

Louis Nye as Dr. Delbert Gray (1960–1961)

Jimmy Fields as Richy Gordon (1960–1961)

Ken Berry as Woody Hamilton (1960–1961)

Guest stars

In 1957, after her first television series ended its prime-time run, Ann Sothern guest-starred on the first episode of Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, "Lucy Takes a Cruise To Havana". Sothern appeared as her character from Private Secretary, Susie MacNamara. In the episode, it is explained that Susie met and became friendly with Lucille Ball's
character Lucy MacGillicudy Ricardo, when the two worked as stenographers in New York City. The two later go on a cruise to Cuba together where Lucy meets Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) and Susie meets Carlos Garcia (Cesar Romero). The episode is one of the earliest examples of a television character
"crossing over" from one series to another. Lucille Ball, one of Sothern's close friends and part owner of Desilu Studios (where The Ann Sothern Show was produced), reciprocated two years later, when she guest starring on a 1959Ann Sothern episode entitled "The Lucy Story". This time, Ball's character (Lucy Ricardo) is an old friend of Katy O'Connor (Sothern), who checks into the Bartley House Hotel after having an argument with Ricky.

Other notable guest stars include:

Jack Albertson
Frances Bavier
Joe Besser
Joe E. Brown
Jackie Coogan
Jeff Donnell
Kathleen Freeman
Eva Gabor
Don Grady
Joel Grey
Charles Herbert
Marty Ingels
Van Johnson
Guy Madison
Jayne Meadows
Sid Melton
Sal Mineo
Howard McNear
Janis Paige
Alice Pearce
Stefanie Powers
Cesar Romero
Olan Soule
Connie Stevens
Lyle Talbot
Mary Treen
Lurene Tuttle
Estelle Winwood
Attempted spin-offs

During The Ann Sothern Show's third season, two episodes aired which were intended to be spin-offs.

The series were to be produced by Sothern's company Anso Productions. The first episode, "Always April", aired on February 23, 1961 and featured Constance Bennett. In the episode, Bennett starred as Guinevere Fleming, a former actress who had retired along with her actor husband David Fleming (John Emery) to Vermont. Much to their chagrin, their daughter April (Susan Silo) longs to be an actress and runs away from boarding school to the Bartley Hotel. April meets Katy O'Connor who
convinces her to tell her parents of her plans.

The second proposed spin-off episode was "Pandora", which aired on March 3, 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).