The People's Choice (TV Series)
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''The People's Choice'' 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 ...
that aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from 1955 to 1958. It was primarily sponsored by the
Borden Company Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in ...
. Production of the series was overseen by
George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...
's company, McCadden Productions. It stars
Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
as Socrates "Sock" Miller, who is a former
Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
veteran and a young politician living in fictitious New City,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Sock has a
basset hound The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog in the hound family. The Basset is a scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ''ground-scent'' is second only to the Bloodhound.Har ...
named "Cleo", whose thoughts (voiced by
Mary Jane Croft Mary Jane Croft (February 15, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on ''I Love Lucy'', Miss Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of ''Our Miss Brooks'', Mary Jane Lewis on ''T ...
), baleful observations of Sock's dilemmas, are recorded on the soundtrack for the viewers' amusement. The real name of the dog that played Cleo was "Bernadette". Much of Cleo's dialog consists of wisecracks. The popularity of the basset hound breed increased markedly with the run of the show.


Overview

In the first season, Sock is an
ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
and a city council member, who is living in a trailer park with his maiden Aunt "Gus" Bennett, short for Augusta (
Margaret Irving Margaret Irving (January 18, 1898 – March 5, 1988) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1898, Irving is best remembered today for her roles as Aunt Gus in the 1950s sitcom '' The People's Choic ...
) who had raised Sock after his parents' death when Sock was three years of age. Sock is dating Amanda "Mandy" Peoples (
Patricia Breslin Patricia Rose Breslin (March 17, 1925 – October 12, 2011) was an American actress and philanthropist. She had a prominent career in television, which included recurring roles as Amanda Miller on '' The People's Choice'' (1955–58), and as Laur ...
), the daughter of the mayor (
Paul Maxey Paul Regan Maxey (March 15, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American actor. Born in Wheaton, Illinois, the rotund Maxey played character roles in films from 1937, notably as the composer Victor Herbert in ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' (1946) ...
), who does not entirely approve of the relationship, but he gradually warms to Sock. Later, Sock takes courses (though he is not in law school) to pass the California bar exam to become an attorney, so he can then afford to marry Mandy. In the first-season finale, Sock suddenly proposes to Mandy and wants to elope. He is afraid the mayor will want to stage a big wedding, and they will not be able to get married for many months. The couple drives to
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
for a quickie wedding, intending to return in time for Sock to take his bar exam. On the way back, they are arrested for a traffic violation and must spend the night in jail. This causes Sock to miss the bar exam. Sock wants to be independent of his father-in-law, so the couple agrees to keep their marriage a secret from the mayor until Sock gets his law license. Most episodes in the second season are about Sock and Mandy trying to be together (as much as this could be depicted in the 1950s), while keeping the mayor from finding out that they are married. At some point during the season, Aunt Gus and the mayor get married, and she learns that Sock and Mandy are married and agrees to keep their secret from the mayor. By the end of the season, Sock has passed the bar, and their marriage is out in the open. Sock's scheming Marine buddy, Rollo "the Hex" Hexley ( Dick Wesson), moved in with Sock during the second season and appeared in 27 episodes and the original 1955 pilot. In the third season, Sock manages a residential real-estate development called Barkerville Estates. They still return to New City often enough for Mayor Peoples and Aunt Gus to appear regularly.


Guest stars

* Nick Adams *
Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfor ...
*
Lola Albright Lola Jean Albright (July 20, 1924 – March 23, 2017) was an American singer and actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV series ''Peter Gunn''. Early ...
*
Eleanor Audley Eleanor Audley ( Zellman; November 19, 1905 – November 25, 1991) was an American actress with a distinctive voice and a diverse body of work. She played Oliver Douglas's mother, Eunice Douglas, on the CBS sitcom ''Green Acres'' (1965–1969) ...
*
Jacqueline Beer Jacqueline Beer (born Jacqueline Vangramberg; 14 October 1932 in Paris, France)Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. , pp. 39-40, is a French-American film and television actress who ...
*
James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...
*
Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
*
Shirley Bonne Shirley Mae Tanner (born May 22, 1934) is an American former film and television actress. She is known for playing the role of "Eileen Sherwood" in the American sitcom television series ''My Sister Eileen''. Born in Los Angeles, California, the ...
*
Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...
*
George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...
*
Harry Cheshire Harry V. Cheshire (August 16, 1891 – June 16, 1968), originally from Emporia, Kansas, was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, mostly playing small roles. He was also a stage actor and performed on a St. Louis radio ...
* Andy Clyde *
Joe Conley Joe Conley (March 3, 1928 – July 7, 2013) was an American actor who played many small roles on television and is most remembered for his role as the storekeeper Ike Godsey in ''The Waltons''. Personal life and career Joe Conley was born in Bu ...
*
Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earned ...
*
Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...
*
Ellen Corby Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series ''The Waltons'', for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also ...
* Richard Deacon *
Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
*
King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...
*
John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he ...
*
Ross Elliott Ross Elliott (born Elliott Blum, June 18, 1917 – August 12, 1999) was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career in the Mercury Theatre, where he performed in ''The War of the Worlds'', Orson Welles' fam ...
*
Yvonne Lime Fedderson Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupatio ...
*
Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...
*
James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...
*
Ned Glass Nusyn "Ned" Glass (April 1, 1906 – June 15, 1984) was a Polish-born American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly, or deceitful characters. ...
* Charles Lane *
Joi Lansing Joi Lansing (born Joy Rae Brown, April 6, 1929 – August 7, 1972) was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous o ...
*
Nan Leslie Nanette June Leslie (June 4, 1926 – July 30, 2000) was an American actress. She was known for playing Martha McGivern in the American western television series '' The Californians''. Life and career Leslie was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...
*
Forrest Lewis Raymond Forrest Lewis (November 5, 1899 – June 2, 1977) was an American actor of the theater, radio, motion pictures and television. Early years Lewis was born in Knightstown, Indiana, the son of Joseph Saint Lewis and Myla Leota Lewi ...
*
Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...
*
Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three sibling ...
*
Louis Quinn Louis Quinn (born Louis Frackt; March 23, 1915 – September 14, 1988) was an American television and film actor, best known for his role as Roscoe, the comic relief racetrack tout, from 1958 to 1963 in the ABC/Warner Bros. detective televi ...
*
Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richa ...
* Hal J. Smith *
Doris Singleton Dorthea "Doris" Singleton (September 28, 1919 – June 26, 2012) was an American actress, perhaps best remembered as Lucy Ricardo's nemesis/frenemy, Carolyn Appleby, in ''I Love Lucy''. Early life and career Singleton, born in New York City, ...
*
Olive Sturgess Olive Sturgess (born October 8, 1933) is a Canadian former actress who worked in films, television shows, and theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Sturgess. Leonard hosted his own radio show. She came to Hollywood ...
*
Ann Tyrrell Ann Tyrrell (February 6, 1909 – July 20, 1983) was an American stage, film and television actress. Tyrrell is best known for her roles in both of the Ann Sothern CBS sitcoms ''Private Secretary'' (1953–1957) and ''The Ann Sothern S ...
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Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...
*
Gregory Walcott Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in th ...
as Stone Kenyon *
Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...


Production notes

The series was created and co-produced by
Irving Brecher Irving S. Brecher (January 17, 1914 – November 17, 2008) was a screenwriter who wrote for the Marx Brothers among many others; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film, penning the screenplays for '' At the Circus'' ( ...
, who was also the creator of the 1949 sitcom, ''
The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. Radio The radio program initially aired on the Blue Network (later kn ...
''. Although ''The People's Choice'' never made the top 30 programs, its ratings were respectable enough to warrant a place on NBC for three seasons. The show later became quite popular in
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
enjoying continuous daytime repeat broadcasts for more than a decade in several local markets following its original network run. During its first year, ''The People's Choice'' aired opposite '' Stop the Music'' as that long-running
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 ...
series was concluding its final season.


Spin-off

From ''The People's Choice'', Cleo the talking dog spawned the idea of a talking baby in the 1960–1961 NBC sitcom, '' Happy'' starring Ronnie Burns and Yvonne Lime Fedderson, who had also guest starred on ''The People's Choice.'' In Spanish the show was known as "Cleo y yo".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:People's Choice, The 1955 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings 1950s American sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming 1950s American political comedy television series Television shows set in California