The Betty Hutton Show

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The Betty Hutton Show
Richard Miles Dennis Joel Betty Hutton Betty Hutton Show 1959.jpg
Richard Miles, Dennis Joel and Betty Hutton in a scene from the show, 1959.
Also known asGoldie
Genre Sitcom
Created byStanley Roberts
Written byEd 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"
ComposerJerry Fielding
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes30
Production
ProducersWilliam Harmon
Marvin Marx
L.B. "Doc" Merman
CinematographyCharles Van Enger
Running time2224 minutes
Production companyHutton Productions
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseOctober 1, 1959 (1959-10-01) 
June 30, 1960 (1960-06-30)

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.

Contents

The series, which was originally entitled Goldie, [2] would retain its original title during its syndication run.

Synopsis

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

ActorRole
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

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

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

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Goldie Crosses the Tracks"Edward LudwigStanley RobertsOctober 1, 1959 (1959-10-01)
2"Goldie and the 400"UnknownUnknownOctober 8, 1959 (1959-10-08)
3"Goldie Goes to a Dog Show"UnknownUnknownOctober 15, 1959 (1959-10-15)
4"Goldie Knots the Old School Tie"UnknownUnknownOctober 22, 1959 (1959-10-22)
5"Who Killed Vaudeville?"UnknownUnknownOctober 29, 1959 (1959-10-29)
6"Goldie Goes Broke"Bruce HumberstoneMarvin Marx & Robert Van Scoyk & Terry RyanNovember 5, 1959 (1959-11-05)
7"Goldie's Playground"UnknownUnknownNovember 12, 1959 (1959-11-12)
8"Nicky's First Love"UnknownUnknownNovember 19, 1959 (1959-11-19)
9"Hollister's Mother"UnknownUnknownNovember 26, 1959 (1959-11-26)
10"Art for Goldie's Sake"Robert SidneyLaurence Marks & Ed Jurist and Marvin MarxDecember 3, 1959 (1959-12-03)
11"Jenny"UnknownUnknownDecember 17, 1959 (1959-12-17)
12"The Christmas Story"UnknownUnknownDecember 24, 1959 (1959-12-24)
13"Goldie Goes to Court"UnknownUnknownDecember 31, 1959 (1959-12-31)
14"Love Comes to Goldie"Robert SidneyStory by: Betty Hutton & Marvin Marx
Teleplay by: Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder
January 7, 1960 (1960-01-07)
15"Goldie's Birthday Party"UnknownUnknownJanuary 14, 1960 (1960-01-14)
16"Roy Runs Away"Robert SidneyLaurence Marks & Ed JuristJanuary 21, 1960 (1960-01-21)
17"Rock 'n' Roll"UnknownUnknownJanuary 28, 1960 (1960-01-28)
18"Goldie and the Tycoon"Robert SidneyDick Conway & Roland MacLaneFebruary 4, 1960 (1960-02-04)
19"Goldie Meets Betty Hutton"UnknownUnknownFebruary 11, 1960 (1960-02-11)
20"Rosemary's Romance"UnknownUnknownFebruary 18, 1960 (1960-02-18)
21"The Cold War"UnknownUnknownFebruary 25, 1960 (1960-02-25)
22"Goldie Gets Amnesia"UnknownUnknownMarch 3, 1960 (1960-03-03)
23"The Seaton Story"Robert SidneyStory by: Bob Kaufman
Teleplay by: Jack Wilson
March 10, 1960 (1960-03-10)
24"Goldie Meets Mike"UnknownUnknownMarch 17, 1960 (1960-03-17)
25"Daddy Goldie"UnknownUnknownMarch 24, 1960 (1960-03-24)
26"Gullible Goldie"Jodie CopelanStory by: Ralph Goodman & Philip Lloyd
Teleplay by: Ralph Goodman & Philip Lloyd and Kip King
March 31, 1960 (1960-03-31)
27"The School Bully"UnknownUnknownApril 7, 1960 (1960-04-07)
28"The Flashback Story"UnknownUnknownApril 14, 1960 (1960-04-14)
29"Goldie Without Men"UnknownUnknownApril 28, 1960 (1960-04-28)
30"Goldie on 'Face to Face'"UnknownUnknownMay 5, 1960 (1960-05-05)

DVD release

Four episodes of the show were released on DVD by Alpha Video on July 31, 2007.

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References

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 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.
  4. 1 2 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.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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.
  6. 1 2 3 4 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.
  7. Shanley, John P. (October 2, 1959). "'Betty Hutton Show'" . The New York Times. p. 59. Retrieved November 18, 2022.