My Friend Irma (TV series)

My Friend Irma
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Cy Howard
Written by	Cy Howard Jay Sommers John L. Greene Paul West
Directed by	Richard Whorf George Cahan
Starring	Marie Wilson Mary Shipp Richard Eyer Cathy Lewis Gloria Gordon Donald MacBride Sid Tomack
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	39
Production
Producers	Cy Howard Nat Perrin
Running time	30 min
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	January 8, 1952 (1952-01-08) – June 25, 1954 (1954-06-25)

My Friend Irma is an American comedy television series ^[1] that was broadcast on CBS from January 8, 1952, until June 25, 1954. ^[2]

Premise and characters

My Friend Irma began on radio and moved to television with a similar format. Irma Peterson ("the proverbial dumb blonde" ^[3] ) and her roommate lived at Kathleen O'Reilly's boarding house in Manhattan. Irma was secretary for Milton J. Clyde, the owner of a real estate company. Her initial roommate, Jane Stacy, was secretary for Richard Rhinelander III, the owner of an investment company. Stacy's transfer to Panama in 1953 brought Kay Foster, a newspaper reporter, in as Peterson's new roommate. Both Stacy and Foster sometimes spoke directly to the viewers, commenting on developments in an episode, ^[1] a technique that George Burns used on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show . ^[2]

When the program began, Peterson was in love with Al (no last name given), an unemployed con man. Al was replaced by Joe Vance, a "more respectable boyfriend", who worked for a cleaning company. Other characters who frequently appeared were Brad Jackson, Kay's boyfriend; Professor Kropotkin, Irma's neighbor; and Bobby, Peterson's nephew. ^[1] In 1953-54, Kropotkin was gone and Mr. Corday, an eccentric actor, was added. ^[4]

Cast

Characters and Actors on My Friend Irma's TV Version

Character	Actor
Irma Peterson	Marie Wilson [1]
Jane Stacy	Cathy Lewis [1]
Kay Foster	Mary Shipp [1]
Al	Sid Tomack [1]
Joe Vance	Hal March [1]
Richard Rhinelander III	Brooks West [1]
Brad Jackson	Gerald Mohr [1]
Milton J. Clyde	Donald MacBride [1]
Professor Kropotkin	Sig Arno [1]
Mrs. O'Reilly	Gloria Gordon [1]
Bobby Peterson	Richard Eyer [1]
Mr. Corday	John Carradine [1]
Richard's mother	Margaret DuMont [1]

Frank Bingham and Bob Lemond were the announcers. ^[1]

Schedule and production

My Friend Irma debuted at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays. From April 1952 through June 1953, it was broadcast at 8:30 p.m. E. T. on Fridays. From October 1953 through June 1954, it was on Fridays at 10 p.m. E. T. ^[4]

Cy Howard created the program. Richard Whorf was the director, and Nat Perrin was the producer. ^[2] Howard and Frank Galen were the writers. ^[3] Sponsors included Lever Brothers (Swan soap), and Kool cigarettes. ^[1] The October 4, 1952, episode of My Friend Irma came from a "nearly completed" sound stage in CBS's new Television City facilities, ^[5] making it the first series to be broadcast from that Hollywood site. ^[2]

Critical reception

Critic Jack Gould wrote in The New York Times that the series's debut episode "was a decided disappointment". ^[3] He felt that the innocent, fragile nature of Peterson was an asset, but that benefit was undermined because Wilson seemed to recite her lines more than portraying her character. ^[3] Gould praised Lewis's performance for providing substance and pace. He criticized the writers for using "trite coincidences and old jokes". ^[3] Whorf's direction received mixed reviews, described as "on the erratic side" although "in some of the lesser scenes he had nice imaginative touches". ^[3]

Proposed sequel

When My Friend Irma ended, Wilson still had a $100,000-per-year contract with CBS. Network officials worked with Burns to try to develop a sequel, My Wife Irma, with Wilson as the star, but CBS rejected it. ^[6] My Friend Irma had ended with Peterson's becoming engaged to Vance. The sequel would have picked up with her adapting to life as a newlywed. ^[7]

Episode status

UCLA has one 1952 episode of the program in its archives. ^[8]

References

1. Terrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 730. ISBN   978-0-7864-8641-0 . Retrieved May 18, 2022.
2. 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. 579. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
3. Gould, Jack (January 11, 1952). "Radio and Television: Shift of 'My Friend Irma' to TV Underlines Danger of Riding on Radio Reputation" . The New York Times. p. 28. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
4. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows – 1946–present (9 ed.). Ballantine Books. pp. 940–941. ISBN   978-0345497734 . Retrieved February 26, 2025.
5. Spigel, Lynn (2008). TV by Design: Modern Art and the Rise of Network Television. University of Chicago Press. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-226-76968-4 . Retrieved May 18, 2022.
6. Irvin, Richard (2014). George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950-1981. McFarland. pp. 106–107. ISBN   978-0-7864-9486-6 . Retrieved May 18, 2022.
7. Terrace, Vincent (2018). Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018. McFarland. p. 168. ISBN   978-1-4766-3349-7 . Retrieved May 18, 2022.
8. Spigel, Lynn; Mann, Denise (1992). Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer. U of Minnesota Press. p. 265. ISBN   978-1-4529-0264-7 . Retrieved May 18, 2022.