sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...
that aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
McHale's Navy
''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...
'' creator
Edward Montagne
Edward J. Montagne Jr. (May 20, 1912 – December 15, 2003) was a television series producer and film director who directed the films '' McHale's Navy'' (1964) starring Ernest Borgnine, its sequel ''McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' (1965) sta ...
, starred
Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan (born Joycelyn Schrum, September 27, 1933) is an American actress and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. From 1957 to 1962, she played Kate McCoy, a housewife, on the television series '' The Real McCoys''.
Early years
...
, formerly of ''
The Real McCoys
''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, it ...
''.
Synopsis
The series centered on the women of the Navy (
WAVES
Waves most often refers to:
*Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass.
*Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water.
Waves may also refer to:
Music
* Waves (band ...
) on "a supply base somewhere in the South Pacific, 1944," who found themselves transferred to the island of Ranakai to run the motorpool in an otherwise all-male environment. Lt. Anne Morgan (
Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan (born Joycelyn Schrum, September 27, 1933) is an American actress and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. From 1957 to 1962, she played Kate McCoy, a housewife, on the television series '' The Real McCoys''.
Early years
...
) was in command of the man-crazy, wisecracking Selma Kowalski ( Sheila James), the alternately chipper and worried Molly McGuire (Lois Roberts), the slow-witted blonde and former exotic dancer Roberta Love ( Joan Staley), and the unit's only male recruit, Marion Botnik (
Jimmy Boyd
Jimmy Devon Boyd (January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor known for his 1952 recording of the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".
Early years
Jimmy Boyd was born in 1939 Mississippi into a musical fam ...
), assigned to the WAVES due to a clerical error.
Their nemesis was the rarefied Commander Roger Adrian (
Edward Andrews
Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films from the 1950s into the 1980s. His stark white hair ...
), who regarded the war as a major intrusion on his idyllic, luxurious lifestyle; he felt that the WAVES experiment would attract official government supervision, endangering his private paradise. Adrian and his easily flustered junior officer Ensign Beasley (
George Furth
George Furth (born George Schweinfurth; December 14, 1932 – August 11, 2008) was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.
Life and career
Furth was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of George and Evelyn (née Tuerk) Schweinfurth. He was ...
) constantly conspired to get rid of the WAVES, while executive officer Lt. Max Trotter (
Dick Sargent
Richard Stanford Cox (April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994), known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on ABC's fantasy situation comedy ''Bewitched''. He took the name ''Dic ...
) and streetwise sailor Nicky D'Angelo (Don Edmonds) sided with the girls in their counter-attacks on Adrian. Completing the ensemble was Adrian's fussy personal chef Bernard (Richard Jury).
Producer Montagne had produced movie short subjects starring comedian
Arnold Stang
Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009) ''
in the early 1950s. Midway through the ''Broadside'' run, Montagne recruited Stang to join the series and gave him co-star billing. Stang replaced both Richard Jury and Don Edmonds in the ensemble cast. He appeared as outspoken master chef Stanley Stubbs, reunited with his high-school classmate Selma of the WAVES motor pool.
''Broadside'' boasted clever scripts and good direction by the ''
McHale's Navy
''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...
'' staff, and enthusiastic performances by the ensemble cast. As it was a rule that vehicles on set could only be operated by union members, the cast playing drivers got honorary Teamsters’ cards.
Though ratings weren't bad, the series ran for just a single season. The executives at
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
felt the tropical exteriors being used by ''Broadside'' and ''McHale's Navy''—and nothing else—were taking up too much space on the
backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction.
Uses
Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...
, so ''Broadside'' was canceled and the setting for ''McHale's Navy'' was changed to Italy, which could be shot on the studio's more frequently used sets with European facades).
Cast
* Kathleen Nolan as Lieutenant Anne Morgan
* Edward Andrews as Commander Roger Adrian
* Dick Sargent as Lieutenant Maxwell Trotter
* Jimmy Boyd as Marion Botnik
* George Furth as Ensign Beasley
* Sheila James as Selma Kowalski
* Lois Roberts as Molly Maguire
* Joan Staley as Roberta Love
* Arnold Stang as 1st Class Stanley Stubbs