''Jamie'' is a
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 ...
television series, created by
David Susskind
David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...
's
Talent Associates
Talent Associates, Ltd. (also known as Talent Associates-Paramount, Ltd. and Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc.), was a production company headed by David Susskind, later joined by Daniel Melnick, Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.
Origins
In the ...
, that was telecast
live in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
by
ABC-TV from October 5, 1953, until October 4, 1954. It aired live in
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
on ABC in the 7:30 pm Monday timeslot.
History
The series was the result of the success of the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
, the episode "Jamie" of ''
ABC Album/Plymouth Playhouse''. It was broadcast on April 26, 1953. The pilot cast would return for the series, except that of
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
who would be replaced by
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
B ...
.
The star of the show was 11-year-old
Brandon deWilde
Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...
, whose rising fame had catapulted him to national prominence in a period of three years. Debuting on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in ''
The Member of the Wedding
''The Member of the Wedding'' is a 1946 novel by Southern writer Carson McCullers. It took McCullers five years to complete, although she interrupted the work for a few months to write the novella '' The Ballad of the Sad Café''.McDowell, Marga ...
'' in 1950, he followed with the film version in 1952. He then received a nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his 1953 portrayal of the young Joey Starrett in
George Stevens
George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...
' film ''
Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
'', his most memorable role.
As ''Jamie'' was to be aired live, and there was some publicity at the time about the problems of a youngster, however gifted, being so deeply involved in the pressures of a weekly series. deWilde's parents had obtained a contract that allowed him to drop out of the series on short notice if he wanted to, or if his parents felt it was impairing his emotional growth.
After ''Jamie'' ran through the 1953–54 season, it began its second season, but after two episodes, it was abruptly cancelled. ABC was having trouble with one of the show's sponsors over what was described as "mundane" business matters, having nothing to do with deWilde's age issue.
A revival of the game show ''
The Name's the Same
''The Name's the Same'' is an American game show produced by Goodson- Todman for the ABC television network from December 5, 1951 to August 31, 1954, followed by a run from October 25, 1954 to October 7, 1955. The premise was for contestants ...
'' was the replacement for the time slot.
Synopsis
![Ernest Truex Brandon de Wilde Jamie 1953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Ernest_Truex_Brandon_de_Wilde_Jamie_1953.JPG)
Jamie is a 7-year-old boy whose parents had recently died and found himself with no place to unpack his suitcase. Moved from relative to relative, he finally arrives at the home of Aunt Laurie. There he takes on the persona of a modern-day
Tom Sawyer
Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...
. He immediately bonds with Grandpa, another forgotten soul, and they share in a number of "adventures" together.
Episodes of the series contained plot lines ranging from Jamie's disapproval over having to wear spectacles, to running away to the circus, to visiting a rich aunt in Boston, to having his birthday go by forgotten.
Combining both comedy and drama elements, many of the show's plot lines centered on Jamie's and Grandpa's friendship sharing the experiences of growing up and growing old together.
Numerous scenes in the series take place on Aunt Laurie's back porch, where many of the day's problems are discussed and solved.
Cast
*
Brandon deWilde
Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...
portrayed Jamison "Jamie" Francis McHummer, a likeable 7-year-old orphan who had been shunted from one uncaring relative to another, until he landed in Aunt Laurie's household.
*
Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
Career
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...
as Grandpa McHummer, a kindred spirit played by the 63-year-old
character actor, who was similarly ignored by his kin.
*Polly Rowles as Aunt Laurie, a widow and matron of the household. There she runs a catering business.
*
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
B ...
(as Kathy Nolan) as Liz, Jamie's teenage cousin.
*
Alice Pearce
Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of '' On the Town'' (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in ...
as Annie, Aunt Laurie's helper in the catering business. Pearce was later best known as the nosy
Gladys Kravitz
This is a list of characters in '' Bewitched'', an American fantasy television sitcom which aired from 1964 to 1972.
Cast Main
Recurring
Cast notes:
Main characters Samantha Stephens
Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) is a witch an ...
in ''
Bewitched''.
Theme song
The main theme for ''Jamie'' was composed by
Hugh Martin, Jr. and is titled "Whistle Stop". It is derived from "The Grandma Moses Suite", the score of the 1950 Oscar®-nominated documentary film about the celebrated and gifted painter Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as
Grandma Moses
Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), or Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age. H ...
. It is also known as "Movement II" of the Suite. A tune highlighted by flute, oboe and horn, it renders itself to both youth and age. First copyright on April 1, 1952 and renewed on January 4, 1980. "Grandma Moses Suite" has been released on
CD by
DRG Records
MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...
.
Home media
''Jamie'' has never been available on home media. Of the pilot and 22 episodes of ''Jamie'' broadcast live, at least some are known to have survived on film by the
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
process. (
Videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...
was not introduced until 1956.) The pilot of ''Jamie'' and four episodes, including the final, October 4, 1954, airing, are available for viewing at ''
The Paley Center For Media
The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...
'' (formerly ''
The Museum of Television and Radio'') in New York City and in Beverly Hills, California.
References
External links
*
''Jamie'' Episode "Bicycle Built for Jamie"at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
''Jamie'' Pilotpreserved at Paley Center for Media
archived 3 March 2012 from RememberingBrandon.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamie
1953 American television series debuts
1954 American television series endings
1950s American sitcoms
American Broadcasting Company original programming
Black-and-white American television shows
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series by Talent Associates