''Date with the Angels'' is an American
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 ne ...
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 ...
from May 10, 1957, to January 29, 1958. The series, which stars
Betty White
Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...
and
Bill Williams, began as a late season replacement for ''
The Ray Anthony Show'' for the same sponsor,
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
's
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
division.
Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to:
Politics
*Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21
* Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...
was the show's announcer and spokesman for Plymouth.
Synopsis
The series revolves around newly married Vicki Angel and her
insurance salesman husband Gus Angel who get themselves and their friends and neighbors into various
comedic
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
situations. Besides Betty White and Bill Williams, the series also featured for several episodes
Richard Deacon, Richard Reeves,
Maudie Prickett
Maudie Prickett (born Maudie Marie Doyle; October 25, 1914 – April 14, 1976) was an American character actress who performed in over 300 stage, film, and television productions during a career that spanned nearly four decades.
Death
In ...
and
Burt Mustin
Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin (February 8, 1884 – January 28, 1977) was an American character actor.Obituary ''Variety'', February 2, 1977, page 94. Over the course of his career, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He ...
.
Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to:
Politics
*Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21
* Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...
's voice also appeared as announcer at the end of episodes.
Among the series'
guest star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s were
Nancy Kulp
Nancy Jane Kulp (August 28, 1921 – February 3, 1991) was an American character actress and comedienne best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies''.
Early life
Kulp was born to Robert Tilden and Mar ...
,
Madge Blake
Madge Blake (née Cummings; May 31, 1899 – February 19, 1969) was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ ABC sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', as Flora MacMichael on ...
,
Joan Vohs
Joan Vohs (July 30, 1927 – June 4, 2001) was an American model and film and television actress.
Early years
Vohs was a native of St. Albans, Queens, in New York City, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs William Vohs, who also had two younger daughter ...
,
Chuck Connors
Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
,
Reta Shaw
Reta Shaw (September 13, 1912 – January 8, 1982) was an American character actress known for playing strong, hard-edged, working women in film and on many of the most popular television programs of the 1960s and 1970s in the United Sta ...
,
Dave Willock
David Willock (August 13, 1909 – November 12, 1990) was an American character actor. He appeared in 181 films and television series from 1939 to 1979.
Biography
Born in 1909, Willock began his professional career in vaudeville in 1931, teamin ...
,
Sid Melton
Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor. He played the roles of incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom '' Green Acres'' and Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor ...
,
Russell Hicks,
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–196 ...
,
Hanley Stafford
Hanley Stafford (born Alfred John Austin, September 22, 1899 – September 9, 1968), was an actor principally on radio.
He is remembered best for playing Lancelot Higgins on ''The Baby Snooks Show''. Stafford also assumed the role of Mr. Dithers ...
, and
Willard Waterman
Willard Lewis Waterman (August 29, 1914 – February 2, 1995)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . was an American ...
.
The show's theme song was "Got A Date With An Angel", a semi-standard introduced in 1932 and long associated with the orchestra of Hal Kemp.
''Date with the Angels'' was loosely based on the Elmer Rice play ''
Dream Girl'', and the series was originally intended to revolve heavily around Vicki's daydreaming tendencies, with more than half of a typical episode dedicated to fantasy sequences. However, the sponsor was not pleased with the fantasy elements and successfully exerted pressure to have them eliminated. "Without our dream sequences," White later said, "our show flattened out and became just one more run-of-the-mill domestic comedy''
..'I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show."
The series produced 33 filmed episodes before it was canceled in late January 1958. White fulfilled her series commitment by reviving her previous live variety/comedy show, ''The Betty White Show'', for the rest of the season.
Cast
Episodes
References
External links
*
*{{Internet Archive film clip, id=DateWithTheAngels-1950sFamilySitcom-ChristmasEpisode, description=of a christmas episode of ''Date with the Angels''
1957 American television series debuts
1958 American television series endings
1950s American sitcoms
American Broadcasting Company original programming
Black-and-white American television shows
English-language television shows
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series about marriage
Television series based on plays