April 1945 to August 1954 on CBS; 30 minute situation comedy. It starred Cathy Lewis as best friend and roommate Jane Stacy; and Marie Wilson as Irma Peterson.
Also in the cast: John Brown, Gloria Gordon, Hans Conried, Alan Reed, Leif Erickson. Cy Howard was its creator, writer, producer and director.
Theme of the show: Friendship by Cole Porter; secondary theme and midbreak bridge: Street Scene, by Alfred Newman.
Irma was naively friendly, with a blue-eyed innocence, and would typify most of the "blonde" jokes that we've heard. Jane was the complete opposite-completely sane, logical, dependable. Jane was the narrator of the series, with weary resignation.
Jane: Wouldn't it be great if I wound up being Mrs. Richard Rhinelander the third?
Irma: What good will that do if he's got two other wives?
Jane, looking out for Irma's best interests, disapproved and tried to discourage Irma's relationship with boyfriend Al. A Brooklyn hustler, Al worked very hard to avoid working for a living, always called out "Hi-ya, Chicken", and then embroiled Irma in some new scheme. Upstairs neighbor Professor Kropotkin, the violinist at the paradise Burlesque, was played by Hans Conreid. And there was a fierce Irish battleaxe of a landlady, Mrs. O'Reilly (played by Gloria Gordon).
In 1949, Irma became a movie, but it was mainly a launching pad for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. In 1952, Irma went to television for a couple of years, while the radio show continued at the same time. The Hooper ratings were consistently healthy, peaking at 20-plus.
The show made Marie Wilson a national figure, but it typecast her without redemption. Just as other television stars found out, when they played a similar character. Even though her personality was far from Irma's, Marie was constantly compared to her fictious alter ego by critics and her fellow cast members. The hazard of playing the part too well.
In our script, Irma is helping Al with a political campaign. The script comes to us via SPERDVAC.
