''Wendy and Me'' 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 ...

during the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

–

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto". Principally starring

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 ...

and

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

, the series was Burns' first major work following the death of his wife and professional partner,

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ap ...

, who had died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

about a month prior to its debut.

Synopsis

In the series (a slight variation of ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

''), Burns plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. He is the owner of an

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

building, while Stevens plays his

tenant Tenant may refer to: Real estate *Tenant, the holder of a leasehold estate in real estate *Tenant-in-chief, in feudal land law *Tenement (law), the holder of a legal interest in real estate *Tenant farmer *Anchor tenant, one of the larger stores ...

, Wendy Conway. Episodes typically revolved around Wendy pulling Burns into comedic situations mostly involving her husband, played by

Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...

, and other people in the building. As a regular part of its format, Burns would often break the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

to comment directly to the audience about the episode's events.Doug Quick's history of programming on television station WAND
/ref> Burns as landlord would watch his attractive young tenant on what appears to the modern eye to be a surreptitious closed circuit television transmission with hidden cameras (he also accomplished this with his "TV in the den" in later episodes of ''The Burns and Allen Show''). The television was not so much a "surreptitious closed circuit television" but rather a plain old television set where George Burns watched the show "Wendy and Me" along with the television audiences (this was also the case when he watched events unfold on ''The Burns and Allen Show''.)

James T. Callahan James Callahan may refer to: Sports * James Callahan (ice hockey), founder of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925 *Nixey Callahan (1874–1934), also known as Jimmy Callahan, baseball pitcher and manager * Jim Callahan (baseball) (1881–1968), basebal ...

appeared in the series as Danny Adams, a playboy friend of Wendy's strait-laced husband. J. Pat O'Malley played the apartment

handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, are both interior and exterior, and are so ...

. As part of Stevens's contract with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, Burns agreed to produce another series for her studio, ''

No Time For Sergeants ''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on ''The United States Steel Hour'', a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chro ...

'', which appeared before ''Wendy and Me'' on ABC's Monday night schedule.

Episode list

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendy And Me 1960s American sitcoms 1964 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Fictional married couples Television duos Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios