''Margie'' is an American television

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 ...

starring

Cynthia Pepper Cynthia Pepper (born Cynthia Anne Culpepper; September 4, 1940) is an American actress whose principal work was during the early 1960s. She was the star of the 1961–62 television series ''Margie''. She played Midge (a WAC PFC) in Elvis Presley ...

that was broadcast 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 October 12, 1961 to August 31, 1962.

Premise

''Margie'' was set in the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...

. Margie Clayton lived with her parents, a little brother, and an aunt. Maybelle Jackson (her best friend) was a

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

. Two boys, Heywood Batts and Johnny Green, vied for Margie's affection. The locale was Madison, a small town "somewhere in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

". The series was adapted from the 1946 film of the same name starring

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...

, one of the producers, said, "We have preferred to create our own family and situations rather than rely on fixed characters created by someone else." Among the differences, the film had Margie living with her grandmother because her mother had died when the title character was a little girl.

Cast

as Margie Clayton *Dave Willock as Harvey Clayton *Wesley Tackitt as Nora Clayton *

Tommy Ivo Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

as Haywood Botts *Penney Parker as Maybelle Jackson *Richard Gering as Johnny Green *Hollis Irving as Aunt Phoebe *Johnny Bangert as Cornell Clayton

Production

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

produced ''Margies 26 episodes. They were in black-and-white, and they included a laugh track. Crest toothpaste, Prell shampoo, and Ralston-Purina were among the sponsors. William Self was the executive producer. Harry Goodman and Klein were the producers. Among the directors were

Rod Amateau Rodney Amateau (December 20, 1923 – June 29, 2003) was an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. Career Among the programs that he directed were ''The Dennis Day Show'', ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ...

, Jack Donohue,

Gene Reynolds Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal (April 4, 1923 – February 3, 2020) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series ''M*A*S*H''. Early life Reynolds was born on April 4, 1923, ...

, Don Richardson,

James Sheldon Leonard James Schleifer (November 12, 1920 – March 12, 2016) was an American television director. Sheldon directed for television programs including ''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone'', ''The Fugitive (1963 TV series), T ...

, and

Jack Sher John Jacob Sher (16 March 1913 – 23 August 1988) was an American newspaper columnist, songwriter, film director, film writer, and producer. Career Born in Minneapolis, Sher wrote for several magazines, including the '' Saturday Evening Post,' ...

. The theme song was the 1920-vintage ''

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Margaret, Marjorie or Margarita. Margie may refer to: People * Margie Ackles (born 1939), American retired figure skater * Marjorie Margie Alexander (1948–2013), American ...

'', by

Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

, and

J. Russel Robinson Joseph Russel Robinson (July 8, 1892 – September 30, 1963) was an American ragtime, dixieland, and blues pianist and composer who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. Career Robinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his teen ...

Publications

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

produced two issues of ''Margie'' comic books based on the TV series.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0054555, Margie 1960s American sitcoms 1961 American television series debuts 1962 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Live action television shows based on films Television series about families Television series about teenagers Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series set in the 1920s Period television series Flappers Television shows set in New England