The Ed Wynn Show (1958 TV series)

The Ed Wynn Show
GenreSitcom
StarringEd Wynn
Jacklyn O'Donnell
Sherry Alberoni
Herb Vigran
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes15
Production
ProducersBen Feiner, Jr
CinematographyFred Jackman
EditorEdwin Bryant
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 25, 1958 (1958-09-25) –
January 1, 1959 (1959-01-01)

The Ed Wynn Show is a filmed sitcom that aired Thursday evenings on NBC[1] from September 25, 1958[2] to January 1, 1959. It was the second TV show of the same name for the veteran comedian Ed Wynn, and his third television series overall. The Thalia-Keethwyn production company,[3] of which he and his son Keenan Wynn were part-owners, worked with Screen Gems to make the show.[2]

Premise

John Beamer (Ed Wynn) is a retired taxidermist[4] in a small college town.[5] He is a widower who lives in a big old house with his two granddaughters.[5] The elder, Laurie (Jacklyn O'Donnell), attends the local college, while Midge (Sherry Alberoni) is a school girl. Their mother is dead, their father is mentioned as working overseas.[6] Advance publicity described Beamer as a "wily old widower with a genius for solving other people's problems".[7] Beamer's attorney and friend, Ernest Hinshaw (Herb Vigran), is the only other regular character. Recurring characters include Pauline (Myrna Fahey), a college friend of Laurie, and Mrs. Creavy (Jesslyn Fax), a gossipy neighbor.

Production

The first public notice of the new series came in May 1958, when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved the contracts between the Thalia-Keethwyn production company and the two minor actors, Jacklyn O'Donnell and Sherri Alberoni.[3] From a later story about the sale of the pilot episode, it must have been made just after the contract approvals.[8] While showing the pilot to prospective buyers, the representatives for the production companies[fn 1] were asked the same question each time: "Isn't he a bit old to risk in the lead?"[8] A previously secured affidavit of 72-year-old Ed Wynn's insurability answered that concern.[8]

Newspapers reported the next month that NBC had picked up The Ed Wynn Show for broadcast on Thursday evenings.[9] By mid-July, the premise of the show was released to the press, along with the starting date.[7] The primary sponsor was Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company for its Chesterfield cigarette brand, with the commercials handled by McCann Erickson.[2] Co-sponsor Bulova Watch Company bought up the remaining commercial time for the fall season.[10]

The producer for Screen Gems was Ben Feiner, Jr.[2] Actual filming, aside from the pilot episode, began August 4, 1958.[11] The film used was 35 mm, with Westrex magnetic sound recording.

IMDb reports this show as having 16 episodes, but lists only 15. It is not known if the discrepancy is due to the pilot episode, the title of which is also not known. From contemporary newspaper accounts, only 14 episodes were listed in television schedules.

Reaction

Reviews after the debut broadcast agreed that the show's concept precluded Ed Wynn from displaying much of his talent, with the writing an even bigger problem. Barbara Delatiner in Newsday said: "...the opener gave the venerable star little opportunity to act and certainly very little in the way of comedy".[12] William Ewald in his UPI syndicated column praised Wynn's performance as "warm and professional" but was blunt about the show itself: "It is a formula comedy complete with contrived situations and ha-ha-ha soundtrack".[13] Harry Harris in The Philadelphia Inquirer felt the same way about Wynn versus the show's writing: "He's an ingratiating fellow, but some of the dialogue and plot assigned to him are almost indigestibly 'folksy'." After seeing two episodes, Canadian reviewer Les Wedman wrote in The Province: "Mr. Wynn is fun to watch but the storyline appears likely to be a continued thin one. And the dialogue isn't half as funny as the canned laughter would try to convince us it is".[14]

When interviewed by Steven H. Scheuer about the critical reception, Ed Wynn defended the show. "People call the show corny... I admit I don't expect Brooks Atkinson to like my little show, but this isn't for sophisticated New York or Hollywood. It's a clean show and it has heart."[15]

Broadcast history

The first episode broadcast was on Thursday, September 25, 1958, at 8 pm. It replaced You Bet Your Life in that time slot, which moved to the later time of 10 pm Thursday.[6] It was initially bracketed by two game shows on NBC Thursday evenings: Tic-Tac-Dough preceded it at 7:30 pm[fn 2] and Twenty-One followed it at 8:30 pm.[16] The latter show had been moved from Mondays.[16]

The show was pre-empted by an hour long Bell Telephone Science Series special on Oct 23rd, 1958.[17] The episode originally scheduled for that date, "Laurie's Career", may not have ever been broadcast.

By early November, a columnist reported that a cigarette sponsor was considering dropping The Ed Wynn Show for a new Jack Webb series.[18]

The last episode broadcast was on January 1, 1959. A week later Steve Canyon was moved from Saturdays to replace The Ed Wynn Show in that Thursday 8pm time slot.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Sincerely Sam Hill"UnknownUnknownSeptember 25, 1958 (1958-09-25)
Laurie's college friends fill the spare rooms at the Beamer house, causing John's arrest on a zoning violation.[19] Cast: Jesslyn Fax, Myrna Fahey, Maureen Cassidy, Norman Ollestad, Gary Vinson, Charles Arnt
22"The Crossing Guard"Arthur LubinArthur Julian
Bill Davenport		October 2, 1958 (1958-10-02)
John Beamer substitutes for vacationing crossing guard but nearly costs him his job.[20] Cast: Howard Wright, Ross Ford, Elaine Edwards, Frank Wilcox, June White
33"The Scholarship"UnknownUnknownOctober 9, 1958 (1958-10-09)
John Beamer helps student get college scholarship over faculty objections.[21] Cast: Eugene Persson, Sheila Bromley, Ralph Clanton
44"Nature Knows Best"UnknownUnknownOctober 16, 1958 (1958-10-16)
Beamer disapproves of Laurie's new boyfriend hanging around, so tries to find him a job.[22] Cast: Robert Levin
55"Laurie's Career"TBATBATBA
(Pre-empted episode)[17] Cast:
66"Lover's Lane"UnknownUnknownOctober 30, 1958 (1958-10-30)
Beamer launches crusade to save public recreation area from highway development.[23] Cast:
77"The Jalopy Derby"UnknownUnknownNovember 6, 1958 (1958-11-06)
After catching a juvenile car thief, Beamer enters him into a hot rod race.[24] Cast:
88"Younger Than Autumn"UnknownUnknownNovember 13, 1958 (1958-11-13)
Beamer volunteers for town's centennial celebration but finds he isn't needed.[25] Cast:
99"A Date with Mrs. Creavy"UnknownUnknownNovember 20, 1958 (1958-11-20)
Beamer's efforts to play Cupid for Laurie land him a date with Mrs. Creavy.[26] Cast: Jesslyn Fax
1010"The Parking Ticket"UnknownUnknownNovember 27, 1958 (1958-11-27)
After giving a radio lecture on good citizenship, Beamer gets a parking ticket.[27] Cast:
1111"Aunt Lydia Comes to Town"UnknownUnknownDecember 4, 1958 (1958-12-04)
Beamer fears Laurie's Aunt Lydia is turning her into a cynical sophisticate.[28] Cast: Virginia Field
1212"New Boy in Town"UnknownUnknownDecember 11, 1958 (1958-12-11)
Show biz "brat" makes himself unpopular at the local junior high school.[29] Cast: Carol Morris,[30] Richard Eyer, Harvey Grant[31]
1313"Exchange Professor"UnknownUnknownDecember 18, 1958 (1958-12-18)
Physics professor lets Beamer down by no-showing a paid speaking event.[32] Cast: Duncan McLeod
1414"Midge's Award"UnknownUnknownDecember 25, 1958 (1958-12-25)
Midge fears having to live with Aunt Gertrude if she doesn't win scholarship award.[33] Cast: Isabel Randolph
1515"New York Adventure"UnknownUnknownJanuary 1, 1959 (1959-01-01)
Beamer goes to New York to persuade company heads to keep local pajama factory open.[34] Cast:

Notes

  1. ^ Harold Cohen of the Ashley-Steiner talent agency, representing Thalia-Keethwyn, and Henry White from Screen Gems
  2. ^ In a few markets a game show called Haggis Baggis was seen instead.

References

  1. ^ "Ed Wynn Signed for New NBC Show". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). Melville, New York. July 8, 1958. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ed Wynn Slated for Return in Fall". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. July 19, 1958. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Contracts Approved (photo caption)". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. May 13, 1958. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Smith, Cecil (August 3, 1958). "Gentle Charm of Ed Wynn to Glow in New TV Series". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 129 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Coleman, Bill (July 12, 1958). "RADIOpinion and TELEVISIONotes". The Tablet. Brooklyn, New York. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Humphrey, Hal (September 8, 1958). "Even the Medics Can't Stop Ed Wynn". Los Angeles Mirror. Los Angeles, California. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Pantell, Hope (July 15, 1958). "To View". Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c Pack, Harvey (August 2, 1958). "Selling T.V. Pilot Can Be Tough Chore". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Ewald, William (June 26, 1958). "Wagon Train Cast Reflects Hard Travel". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Playhouse Signs Gleason for 'Time of Your Life'". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. August 1, 1958. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Rogers, Helen (July 23, 1958). "Videosyncracies". The News-Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Delatiner, Barbara (September 26, 1958). "On Television". Newsday (Nassau Edition). New York, New York. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Ewald, William (September 26, 1958). "Last Night's Television". The Herald News. Passaic, New Jersey. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Wedman, Les (October 6, 1958). "T.V. In Review". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Scheurer, Steven H. (October 19, 1958). "Ed Wynn Hot After Dramatic Comeback During Past Year". Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, Kansas. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Gaver, Jack (September 3, 1958). "NBC Is Scheduling 12 New TV Shows". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b Stancil, Bill (October 22, 1958). "What's Doing For Fun?". Rocky Mount Telegram. Rocky Mount, North Carolina. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Ewald, William (November 6, 1958). "The Channel Swim". Daily Press Journal. Wilmington, California. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Staling Bites the Dust in 'Playhouse' Premiere". Tampa Bay Times. Tampa, Florida. September 21, 1958. p. 128 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "TV Best Bets on the Nets". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. October 2, 1958. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "TV Previews, Programs". Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. October 9, 1958. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "TV Best Bets on the Nets". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. October 16, 1958. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "TV Best Bets on the Nets". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. October 30, 1958. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Turre, Marie (November 6, 1958). "Today's TV Briefs". The Lima Citizen. Lima, Ohio. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "TV Best Bets on the Nets". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. November 13, 1958. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "KTSM-TV Channel 9 NBC". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. November 20, 1958. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "KTSM-TV Channel 9 NBC". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. November 27, 1958. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "KTSM-TV Channel 9 NBC". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. December 4, 1958. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "TV Best Bets on the Nets". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. December 11, 1958. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Top Viewing Today". The Independent. Long Beach, California. December 11, 1958. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Television Programs". Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News. Hollywood, California. December 11, 1958. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ Cain, Ira (December 18, 1958). "Hussein Assassination Plot on Behind Closed Doors". Star-Telegram. Ft. Worth, Texas. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Today's Television Highlights". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. December 25, 1958. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "TV Highlights". The Daily Times. Davenport, Iowa. January 1, 1959. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.