''Meet Millie'', a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secretary from Brooklyn, made a transition from radio to television in the early 1950s. In the

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television over the Internet when content or programming is played continuously (not on deman ...

version, Mom and Millie were living in

Jackson Heights, Queens Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, northern Astoria ( Ditmars-Steinwa ...

. The popularity of this series led to a four-year run on

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Radio

The

radio series A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

began on CBS July 2, 1951, continuing until September 23, 1954.

Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...

created the role of Millie Bronson on radio, but she dropped out when her film studio refused to allow her to appear as the character on television. After seeing

Elena Verdugo Elena Angela Verdugo (April 20, 1925 – May 30, 2017) was an American actress who began in films at the age of five in '' Cavalier of the West'' (1931). Her career in radio, television and film spanned six decades. Early life Elena Angela V ...

in Columbia's ''

Thief of Damascus '' Thief of Damascus '' is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Will Jason and starring Paul Henreid. The film features a generous use of stock footage from such films as ''Joan of Arc''. The film, produced by Sam Katzman, was ...

'' (1952),

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

’s secretary recommended her to Bracken when a replacement for Totter was needed. Verdugo brought the character to television in October 1952 and also took over the radio role beginning January 1, 1953.

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that s ...

originally appeared on Millie's mother on radio, but due to her commitment to play "Blanche Morton" on ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts i ...

'', her role was filled by

Florence Halop Florence Halop (January 23, 1923 – July 15, 1986) was an American actress. Best known for her roles as surly patient Mrs. Hufnagel on the drama ''St. Elsewhere'' and the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom '' Night Court''. H ...

on TV (and eventually on the radio show).

Characters and story

The show opened with the announcer's introduction: "A gay, new comedy about the life and loves of a secretary in Manhattan. It's time to ''Meet Millie''." Millie lived in a Jackson Heights apartment with her mother (

), who is continually on the lookout for a possible husband for Millie. Millie's boyfriend, J.R. "Johnnie" Boone, Jr. (Ross Ford), is the son of her boss (

Earle Ross Earle Ross (March 29, 1888 – May 21, 1961) was an American radio and film actor. While in school he became interested in dramatics and was usually cast as a villain or an old man because of his unusual voice characteristics. In 1908 he worke ...

Roland Winters Roland Winters (born Roland Winternitz; November 22, 1904 – October 22, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 287. was an Ame ...

). Aspiring poet-composer Alfred Prinzmetal (

Marvin Kaplan Marvin Wilbur Kaplan (January 24, 1927 – August 25, 2016) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Best known as Henry Beesmeyer in ''Alice'' (1978–1985). Early years Kaplan was born on January 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, th ...

) drops in for friendly visits.

Isabel Randolph Isabel Randolph (December 4, 1889 – January 11, 1973) was an American character actress in radio and film from the 1940s through the 1960s and in television from the early 1950s to the middle 1960s. Early life She was born in 1889 in Ch ...

portrayed Mrs. Boone. Other cast regulars were Virginia Vincent, Harry Cheshire and Ray Montgomery. ''Meet Millie'', one of the first series telecast from the CBS

Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and C ...

facility in Hollywood, was seen on CBS from October 25, 1952, until March 6, 1956. The live studio audience responded to ''Meet Millie'' with such enthusiasm that it was sometimes necessary for the actors to freeze in position until the laughter stopped. Kaplan and Verdugo became friends during the years the show was in production, and their close friendship continued for decades. An episode of ''Meet Millie'' was shown September 15, 2000 at the Library of Congress' Mary Pickford Theater. Shows are in the collection of the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...

Production (TV version)

Jack Donohue and Frank Galen were the producers, and Donohue directed. Galen,

Howard Leeds Howard Michael Leeds (June 27, 1919 – February 11, 2017) was a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and series creator. Among Leeds' most notable work, he served as a producer and writer for the ABC sitcom, '' The Brady Bunch'', and ...

, and

Arthur Julian Arthur Julian (March 7, 1923 – January 30, 1995) was an American actor, producer and television writer. Some of Julian's production credits include the television shows '' Vacation Playhouse'', ''Gimme a Break!'', and ''Amen''. Julian als ...

were the writers. The sustaining program originated at KNXT in Hollywood.

References

Listen to

Same Time, Same Station: ''Meet Millie'' (October 22, 1953)

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0044276
''Meet Millie'' by Cary O'Dell
1950s American radio programs 1950s American sitcoms 1952 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings American comedy radio programs American live television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming CBS Radio programs Queens, New York, in fiction Television series based on radio series Television shows set in Queens