''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' 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 ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1962-1963 television season on Friday nights from 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

. Created by Don McGuire, the 18-episode series starred Josh Peine, Linda Lawson, John Hubbard,

Arte Johnson Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American comic actor who was best known for his work as a regular on television's '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Biography Early life Johnson was born January 20, 1929, i ...

, Penny Santon, Cully Richards, Louise Glenn, and

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

Synopsis

Dr. Judson McKay (Josh Peine) is a small-town veterinarian from Muscatine,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, who suddenly gets drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and finds himself stationed as a private at an Army veterinary post in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 231.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 282. Upon arriving, Judson finds that the officer in charge of his post,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

U. Charles Barker (John Hubbard), had requested a bandmaster who played the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

to be sent to the unit, but due to a clerical error Judson had been assigned to Barker instead. Judson′s fellow soldiers attempt to get him to change his small-town ways, but he refuses to let the sophistication of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

change him. Misadventures ensue as he tries to remain the simple country boy he had been in Muscatine, often leading to conflicts with Colonel Barker. Among the soldiers Judson serves with in addition to Colonel Barker are First Sergeant Stanley Wozniak (Cully Richard) and

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

Lefkowitz (Arte Johnson).

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Steele (Alan Napier) is Colonel Barker′s superior officer. Patricia Perry (Linda Lawson) is General Steele′s secretary, Selma Yossarian (Louise Glenn) is Colonel Barker′s secretary, and Madame Fatime (Penny Santon) is the concierge. The Army veterinary station sees little action, and Colonel Barker has a lot of free time. Barker is pompous, but friendly with the troops under his command and loves to play gin rummy. Barker hates to be called "Charlie" and often tells people, "Don't call me Charlie!"

Cast

* Josh Peine as Judson McKay, D.V.M. * Louise Glenn as Selma Yossarian * John Hubbard as Colonel U. Charles Barker *

as Corporal Lefkowitz * Linda Lawson as Pat Perry * Alan Napier as General Steele * Cully Richards as First Sergeant Stanley Wozniak *

Penny Santon Pierina Burlando (September 2, 1916 – May 12, 1999) was an American film, stage and television actress. She was known for playing the role of Mama Rosa Novelli in the American crime drama television series ''Matt Houston''. Santon died in May ...

as Madame Fatime

Production

The series originally was titled ''Vive Judson McKay!'' after its main character, but advance surveys showed that potential viewers thought it was going to be a series about a Mexican revolutionary. The title was changed to ''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' Don McGuire, who previously had created, co-produced, directed, and written scripts for the 1959–1962 military comedy-drama series '' Hennesey'', also created, produced, directed, and wrote for ''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' and guest-starred in the 1962 episode "Play It, Sam."

Frank Inn Frank Inn, born Elias Franklin Freeman (May 8, 1916 – July 27, 2002), was an American animal trainer. He trained several animals for movies, including the dogs in the ''Benji'' series and the cat Orangey. He also trained the dog in ''Honey, I ...

trained the many animals used in ''Don′t Call Me Charlie!''

Reception

Just after ''Don't Call Me Charlie!''′s eighth episode was broadcast in mid-November 1962,

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

distributed a scathing review of the series by critic Rick Du Brow titled "Don't Call It Comedy." Describing the show as "daringly billed as comedy," a "catastrophe," and "a witless, amateurish abortion," Du Brow asserted that "anyone who comes in contact with ''Don′t Call Me Charlie!'' is bound to suffer," that it "putrefies the public property that is the airwaves," and that it would be best if the show were "removed from the air instantly." Du Brow wrote that "of the writing, directing, and acting, there is much to say, but none of it fit for print." He described Peine′s portrayal of Judson McKay as "stiff and high-schoolish" and claimed that the show′s creators realized it and had moved toward making John Hubbard′s Colonel Barker character the show′s star as a result. Du Brow also wondered why the series was set in Paris when no depiction whatsoever of Paris occurred in its episodes, speculating that the worsening reputation of Charles de Gaulle at the time had prompted producers to minimize references to modern-day France.

Broadcast history

''Don′t Call Me Charlie!'' premiered on NBC on September 21, 1962. Its last original episode aired on January 25, 1963. Of the 26 episodes filmed, only 18 were broadcast.

Episodes

SOURCE TV Guide Don't Call Me Charlie! Episode Guide
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References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0055668
''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' opening credits on YouTube

''Don't Call Me Charlie!'' closing credits on YouTube
1960s American sitcoms 1962 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows Military humor in film American military television series Military comedy television series NBC original programming Television shows set in Paris Television series by Universal Television