Dear Phoebe
Dear Phoebe is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1954 to April 1955. The series stars Peter Lawford, and was created and produced by Alex Gottlieb.
| Dear Phoebe | |
|---|---|
 Bill Hastings (Peter Lawford) gets some advice when J. Fred Muggs visits the set, 1954. | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Alex Gottlieb |
| Directed by | Don Weis |
| Starring | Peter Lawford Marcia Henderson Charles Lane Joe Corey |
| Theme music composer | George Gershwin Ira Gershwin |
| Opening theme | "Love is Sweeping the Country" (from "Of Thee I Sing") |
| Composer(s) | Raoul Kraushaar |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Alex Gottlieb |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24–25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Chrislaw Productions Dear Phoebe Productions, Inc. |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 10, 1954 – April 15, 1955 |
Synopsis
Lawford stars as Bill Hastings, a former college professor who becomes the writer of the advice-to-the-lovelorn column at the fictitious Los Angeles Daily Star.[1] Hastings writes under the pseudonym "Miss Phoebe Goodheart". Marcia Henderson portrayed Mickey Riley, the female sportswriter at the newspaper and Hastings's own romantic interest. Charles Lane, who later portrayed J. Homer Bedloe in the CBS series Petticoat Junction, played newspaper boss Mr. Fosdick. Joe Corey played Humphrey Humpsteader, a copy boy trying to become a reporter.[2]
Among the better-known guest stars were Jan Clayton, Chuck Connors, and Jesse White. Patricia Kennedy Lawford, Lawford's then spouse, made a cameo appearance in one episode.[3]
Production notes
The series was produced by Chrislaw Productions and Dear Phoebe Productions, Inc., and filmed by Conne-Stephens, Inc., at American National Studios in Hollywood. It aired at 9:30pm ET/PT Fridays on NBC between September 10, 1954, and April 15, 1955, opposite Eve Arden’s sitcom Our Miss Brooks on CBS.[4] Afternoon reruns aired from June 24 to August 9, 1957, and from December 19, 1957, to February 4, 1958.[5] This series was sponsored by Campbell Soup Company in its original prime time run.
Other mediums
Writers James Reach and Tom Taggart adapted the characters into a three-act comedy, releasing it in 1956, a year after the series was cancelled. Performance rights are managed by Samuel French.[6]
References
- TV.com refers to the paper as the Daily Star, but The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946-Present and Classic TV archives lists it as the Los Angeles Daily Blade.
- Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946-Present, New York: Ballantine Press, 1992, p. 216
- "Episode List of Dear Phoebe". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Alex McNeil, Total Television, appendix
- "Comedy Time". tvparty.com. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- "Dear Phoebe | Samuel French". www.samuelfrench.com. Retrieved Jul 14, 2019.
External links
- Dear Phoebe on IMDb
- Dear Phoebe at TV.com