Wendy and Me
Encyclopedia
Wendy and Me is an American sitcom
that aired on ABC
during the 1964
–1965
television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto". Principally starring George Burns
and Connie Stevens
, the series was Burns' first major work following the death of his wife and professional partner, Gracie Allen
, who had died of a heart attack
about a month prior to the debut of Wendy and Me.
In the series (a slight variation of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), Burns plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. He is the owner of an apartment
building, while Stevens plays his tenant
, Wendy Conway. Episodes typically revolved around Wendy pulling Burns into comedic situations mostly involving her husband, played by Ron Harper
, and other people in the building. As a regular part of its format, Burns would often break the fourth wall
to comment directly to the audience about the episode's events. Burns as landlord would watch his attractive young tenant on what appears to the modern eye to be a surreptitious closed circuit television transmission with hidden cameras (he also accomplished this with his "TV in the den" in later episodes of The Burns and Allen Show). Viewers of the show, may remember the television was not so much a "surreptitious closed circuit television" but rather a plain old television set where George Burns watched the show "Wendy and Me" along with the television audiences.
James T. Callahan
appeared in the series as Danny Adams, a playboy friend of Wendy's strait-laced husband. J. Pat O'Malley
played the apartment handyman
.
Stevens's contract with Warner Bros.
, Burns agreed to produce another series for her studio, No Time For Sergeants
, which appeared before Wendy and Me on ABC's Monday night schedule.
Wendy and Me was followed on the ABC schedule by The Bing Crosby Show
, an unsuccessful attempt by Bing Crosby
to establish a situation comedy of his own. Wendy and Me faced stiff competition from Lucille Ball
's The Lucy Show
on CBS and The Andy Williams Show
on NBC, and only lasted one season.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
during the 1964
1964 in television
The year 1964 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1964.For the American TV schedule, see: 1964-65 American network television schedule.-Events:...
–1965
1965 in television
The year 1965 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1965.For the American TV schedule, see: 1965-66 American network television schedule.-Events:...
television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto". Principally starring George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
, the series was Burns' first major work following the death of his wife and professional partner, Gracie Allen
Gracie Allen
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
, who had died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
about a month prior to the debut of Wendy and Me.
Synopsis
"Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
plays Wendy, and I play "me", quipped the cigarCigarA cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
-puffing George BurnsGeorge BurnsGeorge Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
in advertising for his unsuccessful Wendy and Me situation comedySituation comedyA situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, 1964-1965.
In the series (a slight variation of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), Burns plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. He is the owner of an apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
building, while Stevens plays his tenant
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
, Wendy Conway. Episodes typically revolved around Wendy pulling Burns into comedic situations mostly involving her husband, played by Ron Harper
Ron Harper (actor)
Ronald Robert "Ron" Harper is an American television and film actor.- Biography :Harper was born in Turtle Creek in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Mabel Grace Champion and George Harper...
, and other people in the building. As a regular part of its format, Burns would often break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
to comment directly to the audience about the episode's events. Burns as landlord would watch his attractive young tenant on what appears to the modern eye to be a surreptitious closed circuit television transmission with hidden cameras (he also accomplished this with his "TV in the den" in later episodes of The Burns and Allen Show). Viewers of the show, may remember the television was not so much a "surreptitious closed circuit television" but rather a plain old television set where George Burns watched the show "Wendy and Me" along with the television audiences.
James T. Callahan
James T. Callahan
James Thomas Callahan was an American film and television actor who appeared in more than 120 films and television shows between 1959 and 2007...
appeared in the series as Danny Adams, a playboy friend of Wendy's strait-laced husband. J. Pat O'Malley
J. Pat O'Malley
James Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...
played the apartment handyman
Handyman
A handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...
.
Stevens's contract with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, Burns agreed to produce another series for her studio, No Time For Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
, which appeared before Wendy and Me on ABC's Monday night schedule.
Wendy and Me was followed on the ABC schedule by The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show is a 28-episode situation comedy television program starring crooner, film star, iconic phenomenon, and businessman Bing Crosby and actress Beverly Garland as a middle-aged couple, Bing and Ellie Collins, rearing two teenaged daughters during the early 1960s...
, an unsuccessful attempt by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
to establish a situation comedy of his own. Wendy and Me faced stiff competition from Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
's The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
on CBS and The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show which ran from 1959 to 1971 , and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976...
on NBC, and only lasted one season.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Molehills To Mountains" (pilot) | September 14, 1964 |
| 1-2 | "Wendy's Anniversary For...?" | September 21, 1964 |
| 1-3 | "Swing Low, Aunt Harriet" | September 28, 1964 |
| 1-4 | "Wendy's Secret Wedding" | October 5, 1964 |
| 1-5 | "George Burns While Rome Fiddles" | October 12, 1964 |
| 1-6 | "Jeff, the Senior Citizen" | October 19, 1964 |
| 1-7 | "It Takes Two To Tangle" | October 26, 1964 |
| 1-8 | "Wendy's Private Eye" | November 2, 1964 |
| 1-9 | "Room at the Bottom" | November 9, 1964 |
| 1-10 | "Danny, the Married Bachelor" | November 16, 1964 |
| 1-11 | "Wendy, the Waitress" | November 23, 1964 |
| 1-12 | "Belle of the Malt Shop" | November 30, 1964 |
| 1-13 | "East Is East and West Is Wendy" | December 7, 1964 |
| 1-14 | "Four Of A Kind" | December 14, 1964 |
| 1-15 | "Wendy, the Woman In the Gray Flannel Suit" | December 21, 1964 |
| 1-16 | "Five Minutes To Show Time" | December 28, 1964 |
| 1-17 | "A Bouquet For Mr. Bundy" | January 11, 1965 |
| 1-18 | "The Wendy Mob" | January 18, 1965 |
| 1-19 | "Who's In the Guest Room Tonight?" | January 25, 1965 |
| 1-20 | "Wendy Sails In the Sunset" | February 1, 1965 |
| 1-21 | "Tea Leaves For Two" | February 8, 1965 |
| 1-22 | "Happiness Is A Thing Called Misery" | February 15, 1965 |
| 1-23 | "Jeff Takes a Turn For the Nurse" | February 22, 1965 |
| 1-24 | "How Not To Succeed In Stealing" | March 1, 1965 |
| 1-25 | "Wendy Gives Uncle the Brush" | March 8, 1965 |
| 1-26 | "Wendy Is Stranger Than Fiction" | March 22, 1965 |
| 1-27 | "Let's Go Where the Wild Geisha Goes" | March 29, 1965 |
| 1-28 | "You Can Fight City Hall" | April 5, 1965 |
| 1-29 | "Wendy Lends A Helping Voice" | April 12, 1965 |
| 1-30 | "Wendy's Instant Intellect" | April 19, 1965 |
| 1-31 | "Danny's Double Life" | April 26, 1965 |
| 1-32 | "Wendy's Five Thousand Dollar Chair" | May 10, 1965 |
| 1-33 | "Call Me Or I'll Call You" | May 17, 1965 |
| 1-34 | "Tacos, Enchiladas and Wendy" | May 24, 1965 |
External links
- Wendy and Me at Classic TV Archives