''Miss Susan'' is a daytime drama which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from March 12 to December 28, 1951. The main writer was William Kendall Clarke. The show, originating from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and later retitled ''Martinsville, U.S.A.'', aired for 15 minutes at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays, and starred

Susan Peters Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...

, who had previously garnered critical acclaim as a film actress before suffering an accidental gunshot wound that left her

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

. It was the first program with a handicapped person as the star.

Premise

Susan Martin is an attorney who moved back to her hometown of

Martinsville, Ohio Martinsville is a village in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 463 at the 2010 census. History Martinsville was platted in 1816. By 1833, Martinsville had 75 inhabitants. In 2013, prosecutors charged a former Martinsville ...

to practice law after she was paralyzed following an auto accident. Soon after Susan returned to town, she had to decide whether or not the family housekeeper, Laura, was an art thief. When not dealing with these matters, Susan agonized over marrying Bill Carter, who wanted to have many children. Susan is unsure if she is able to bear children due to her disability.

Cast

as Susan Martin * Mark Roberts as Bill Carter *Helen Ray as Laura * Kathryn Gill as Mrs. Peck *Natalie Priest as the Housekeeper * Betsy Palmer *Joseph Foley *Robert Pike

Production

Actress Susan Peters had garnered attention in films such as '' Random Harvest'' before a 1945 hunting accident left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Peters returned to films in 1948, with little success. In 1951 NBC approached her to star in her own series. Peters agreed, later elaborating in an interview: "I'll play a woman lawyer who was injured in an automobile accident. It won't be one of those tearful serials, though." Production on the first episode began in Philadelphia on March 5, 1951. The production however was temporarily delayed after Peters developed the flu and

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and dysphagia, trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is c ...

upon arriving in Pennsylvania. The program was produced live in the studios of WPTZ-TV.

Cancellation

Some viewers at the time were critical of the series, alleging that NBC had exploited Peters's real-life tragedy. In response, NBC shifted the focus from Susan to other peripheral characters, subsequently retitling the series ''Martinsville, U.S.A.''. However, after these changes failed to attract larger ratings, Colgate, the main sponsor of the series, cancelled it in late 1951, replacing it with ''

The Big Payoff ''The Big Payoff'' is a daytime and primetime game show that premiered on NBC in 1951, and ended its network run on CBS in 1959. It had a brief syndication revival in 1962. NBC used ''The Big Payoff'' to replace the 15-minute show '' Miss Susan'' ...

''. Peters, who had been in declining health during the series' run, died less than a year after the final episode.

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
Susan'' - TV Obscurities
1951 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings American television soap operas Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming Television shows set in Martinsville, Ohio Television series about lawyers Television shows about disability {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub