Dear Phoebe
Dear Phoebe is a forgotten American situation comedy that aired on NBC Television from September 10, 1954, to April 15, 1955. Starring Peter Lawford (1923-1984), the series was created and produced by Alex Gottlieb.
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 (1924-2006), Lawford's then spouse and a sister of John F. Kennedy, made a cameo appearance in one episode.[3]
Production notes
The series was produced by Chrislaw Productions. It aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern 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's Soups in the original prime time first-runs.
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, Inc.[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 on November 5, 2020.
- ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television, appendix.
- ↑ Comedy Time. tvparty.com. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
- ↑ [1]