Junior Miss
Encyclopedia
Junior Miss is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson
first published in The New Yorker
. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in The New Yorker, some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Doubleday published her Junior Miss collection in 1941.
and Joseph Fields
into a play, directed by Moss Hart
, which had a successful run on Broadway from November 18, 1941 to July 24, 1943. Patricia Peardon had the title role of Judy Graves, a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.
of the play starred Peggy Ann Garner
as Judy Graves. George Seaton
directed. Produced by William Perlberg
, the 94-minute feature was released by 20th Century Fox
on June 16, 1945.
radio situation comedy. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble
. The series was first heard from March 4 to August 26, 1942 with Shirley Temple
as Judy Graves. Priscilla Lyon played her friend, Fuffy Adams, "the odd child from the apartment downstairs." Benson and Doris Gilbert were the credited writers. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the program cost $12,000 a week to produce.
In the late 1940s, the Junior Miss radio program starred Barbara Whiting
, who had appeared in the 1945 film as Fuffy Adams. This series ran from April 3, 1948 to December 30, 1950, sponsored by Lever Brothers. the music was composed and conducted by Walter Schumann
. The 1948-50 cast returned for a series in various formats and timeslots from October 2, 1952 to July 1, 1954.
. Carol Lynley
had the lead role of Judy Graves with Don Ameche
and Joan Bennett
as her parents and Susanne Sidney as Fuffy Adams. Others in the cast were Diana Lynn
, Paul Ford, Jill St. John
and David Wayne
.
, introduced in 1949 by the Cambridge, Massachusetts
-based James O. Welch Company
. The name of the product is a pun on Sally Benson's Junior Miss. According to one past official company history, when James Welch developed and launched the product in 1949, he named the candy after his favorite Broadway show. Yet the candy came six years after the play had closed on Broadway. The Junior Miss radio series was being broadcast weekly on CBS at the time Junior Mints were first marketed in 1949. Thus, Welch had cleverly created a product sold at movie theater concession stands and identified with a specific movie and then-current radio series and displaying a name that sounded almost exactly like that property—yet different enough that it avoided any fees for licensing and merchandising.
Sally Benson
Sally Benson was an American screenwriter, who was also a prolific short story author, best known for her semi-autobiographical stories collected in Junior Miss and Meet Me in St...
first published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in The New Yorker, some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Doubleday published her Junior Miss collection in 1941.
Broadway
Benson's stories were adapted by Jerome ChodorovJerome Chodorov
Jerome Chodorov was an American playwright and librettist.-Biography:He was born in New York City, and entered journalism in the 1930s. He is best known for his 1940 play My Sister Eileen, its 1942 screen adaptation, and the musical Wonderful Town, which based on his play. Joseph A. Fields was...
and Joseph Fields
Joseph Fields
Joseph Albert Fields was an American playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Life and career:Fields was born in New York City, the son of vaudevillean Lew Fields...
into a play, directed by Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
, which had a successful run on Broadway from November 18, 1941 to July 24, 1943. Patricia Peardon had the title role of Judy Graves, a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.
Film
In 1945, a film adaptationJunior Miss (film)
Junior Miss is a 1945 American comedy film starring Peggy Ann Garner as a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.Junior Miss was published by Doubleday in 1941. This collection of Sally Benson's stories from The New Yorker, was adapted by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields into a successful...
of the play starred Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner was an American actress.A successful child actor, Garner played her first film role in 1938 and won the Academy Juvenile Award for her work in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...
as Judy Graves. George Seaton
George Seaton
George Seaton was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director.Born George Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, Seaton moved to Detroit after graduating from college to work as an actor on radio station WXYZ. John L...
directed. Produced by William Perlberg
William Perlberg
William Perlberg was an American film producer.William Perlberg was born Wolf Perelberg, son of Israel Jakob Perelberg , a fur manufacturer, and Tajbe Markus. Seven months after his father, he came to the U.S.A...
, the 94-minute feature was released by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
on June 16, 1945.
Radio
Junior Miss had different runs as a CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio situation comedy. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
. The series was first heard from March 4 to August 26, 1942 with Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
as Judy Graves. Priscilla Lyon played her friend, Fuffy Adams, "the odd child from the apartment downstairs." Benson and Doris Gilbert were the credited writers. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the program cost $12,000 a week to produce.
In the late 1940s, the Junior Miss radio program starred Barbara Whiting
Barbara Whiting Smith
Barbara Whiting Smith was an actress in movies and on radio and television, primarily in the 1940s and 1950s. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Background:...
, who had appeared in the 1945 film as Fuffy Adams. This series ran from April 3, 1948 to December 30, 1950, sponsored by Lever Brothers. the music was composed and conducted by Walter Schumann
Walter Schumann
Walter Schumann was an American composer for film, television, and the theater. His notable works include the score for The Night of the Hunter and the Dragnet Theme...
. The 1948-50 cast returned for a series in various formats and timeslots from October 2, 1952 to July 1, 1954.
Television
Junior Miss came to television on December 20, 1957 as a production of CBS' DuPont Show of the MonthDuPont Show of the Month
DuPont Show of the Month, an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series, aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour anthology drama series hosted by June Allyson, The DuPont Show with June Allyson .During the Golden Age of Television, DuPont...
. Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
had the lead role of Judy Graves with Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
and Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
as her parents and Susanne Sidney as Fuffy Adams. Others in the cast were Diana Lynn
Diana Lynn
Diana Lynn was an American actress.Born Dolores Marie Loehr in Los Angeles, California, Lynn was considered a child prodigy because of her exceptional abilities as a pianist at an early age, and by the age of 12 was playing with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra.-Film career:Dolores Loehr...
, Paul Ford, Jill St. John
Jill St. John
Jill St. John is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Tiffany Case, the lead Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever.-Early life:...
and David Wayne
David Wayne
David Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
.
The curious candy connection
One curiosity is the association of this property with the candy Junior MintsJunior Mints
Junior Mints are a candy consisting of small rounds of mint filling inside a dark chocolate coating. Currently produced by Tootsie Roll Industries, the product is packaged in varying amounts from the fun-size box to the much larger 12.0 oz. box....
, introduced in 1949 by the Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
-based James O. Welch Company
James O. Welch Co.
James O. Welch Company was an American confectionery manufacturer. James O. Welch founded the company that bore his name in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1927. The company introduced many enduring brands, including Junior Mints, Sugar Daddys, and Sugar Babies. Other candies they produced were...
. The name of the product is a pun on Sally Benson's Junior Miss. According to one past official company history, when James Welch developed and launched the product in 1949, he named the candy after his favorite Broadway show. Yet the candy came six years after the play had closed on Broadway. The Junior Miss radio series was being broadcast weekly on CBS at the time Junior Mints were first marketed in 1949. Thus, Welch had cleverly created a product sold at movie theater concession stands and identified with a specific movie and then-current radio series and displaying a name that sounded almost exactly like that property—yet different enough that it avoided any fees for licensing and merchandising.