''Valiant Lady'' is an American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

which ran daily on

CBS 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 and television from October 12, 1953, to August 16, 1957, at 12:00 PM (EST). The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through life but is otherwise very different. Like many early soap operas, the show was broadcast live from CBS Studio 57 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The series was created by Adrian Spies; the head writer was Charles Elwyn.

Storyline

Helen Emerson, the focus of the show,Cox, Jim (2006) "The Daytime Serials of Television, 1946-1960" McFarland Publishers, , page 93 was a forty-ish matron whose husband died in the show's first year. Because of her widowhood, she endured financial hardship while continually worrying about her three children's lives. Headstrong son Mickey fell for a divorcee, impulsive daughter Diane ran off with a married man, and bratty Kim constantly implored Helen to teach her the latest dance step. Helen's biggest romance throughout the series was with Hal Soames, a married airline pilot in the midst of a divorce. She finally found peace and happiness in the show's final year, when she married Governor Lawrence Walker.

Cast

During the run of the show, two actresses played Helen Emerson, and two played daughter Kim. Son Mickey was played throughout by

James Kirkwood Jr. James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway h ...

, the 1970s/1980's novelist and playwright best known for ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

''. Kirkwood would learn his lines while driving into work with director John Desmond.Egan, Sean (2011) "Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood" Bearmanor Media, , page 115 Though the wife of the airline pilot was played by four different actresses (one of whom,

Sue Randall Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits isla ...

, became best known as Theodore Cleaver's teacher Miss Landers in the TV series '' Leave It To Beaver''), the airline pilot himself, Hal Soames, was played by only one actor throughout,

Earl Hammond Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor, who has appeared in several films and television series. Career Earl Hammond began acting in radio at the age of 7, and continued ...

, who later became well known as the deep bass voice of many television cartoon heroes and villains in the 1980s. Helen's husband, on the series for only the first year, was played by

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...

, best known for playing Miles Archer, the private eye partner of Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade in '' The Maltese Falcon''.

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New ...

appeared late in the series as an undesirable boyfriend of daughter Kim who ends up saving the lives of the entire family during a hostage situation. A minor character was played by

Helen Wagner Helen Losee Wagner (September 3, 1918 – May 1, 2010) was an Emmy award winning American actress.HEVESI, DENNIS (May 3, 2010). "Helen Wagner, Longtime Actress on 'As the World Turns,' Dies at 91". ''New York Times''. Retrieved August 13, 2 ...

, who, later on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'', played

Nancy Hughes Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

, the longest-running character on any television soap opera. *

Nancy Coleman Nancy Coleman (December 30, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American film, stage, television and radio actress. After working on radio and appearing on the Broadway stage, Nancy Coleman moved to Hollywood to work for Warner Bros. studios. Ea ...

- Helen Emerson #1 (1953–1954; original cast) * Flora Campbell - Helen Emerson #2 (1954–1957) * Anne Pearson - Diane Emerson Soames #1 (1953–1954; original cast) * Dolores Sutton - Diane Emerson Soames #2 (1954–1955) *

- Diane Emerson Soames #3 (1955–1956) * Lelia Martin - Diane Emerson Soames #4 (1956–1957) *

- Jane (1953–1954) *

- Frank Emerson (1953–1957) *

- Mickey Emerson (1953–1957) * Lydia Reed - Kim Emerson #1 (1953–1954) * Bonnie Sawyer - Kim Emerson #2 (1954–1957) * Joan Lorring - Bonnie Withers #1 (1954–1955) * Shirley Egleston - Bonnie Withers #2 (1955) *

- Hal Soames (1954–1955) * Margaret Hamilton - Mrs. Sayre (1955) * Frances Helm - Linda Kendall (1955) * Terry O'Sullivan - Elliott Norris (1955) * Larry Weber - Capt. Chris Kendall (1954–1955) *

- Joey Gordon (1955) *

Katherine Squire Katherine Squire (March 9, 1903 – March 29, 1995) was an American actress who appeared on Broadway and in regional theater, movies and television, from the 1920s through the 1980s. Early life Squire was born in Defiance, Ohio. She attende ...

- Gertrude Harper (1956–1957) * Betty Cakes - Roberta Wilcox (1956–1957) * John Graham - Gov. Lawrence Walker (1956–1957) * Doro Merande - Ivy Harper (1956–1957) *

Lilia Skala Lilia Skala (née Sofer; 28 November 1896 – 18 December 1994) was an Austrian-American architect and actress known for her role in the film '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), for which she received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination ...

- Mme. Garstel (1957) *

Joan Tompkins Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005), previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage. Career Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains ...

- Marion Walker (1957) * Abby Lewis - ? (?) Writers included Charles Elwyn, Charles Spies, and Robert J. Shaw. It was directed by Herb Kenwith and produced by Leonard Blair.

Ratings

In the Nielsen ratings for daytime soaps in the United States,Waggett (1997). "Soap Opera Nielsen Ratings". ''Soap Opera Encyclopedia''. pp. 626-628. ''Valiant Lady'' never did better than 4th in its first two seasons (around 10.5%) where it had no competition its first season and then went against the ''Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' starting in early 1955. Though dropping to 6th (9.2%) in its third season, the show held its own against the competition. In the 1956/1957 season, the wildly popular ''Tic Tac Dough'' was new competition and ''Valiant Lady'' dropped to 9th (7.0%). The #1 & #2 soap operas during these years were ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...

'' and ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' with ''Search for Tomorrow'' averaging 14.2% and ''

'' averaging 12.9%.Cox, Jim (2006) "The Daytime Serials of Television, 1946-1960" McFarland Publishers, , page 37

References

External links

*
Public domain episode of ''Valiant Lady'' can be viewed at the Internet Archive
{{US radio soaps 1953 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings American television soap operas American radio soap operas Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming CBS Radio programs English-language television shows CBS network soap operas