''Honestly, Celeste!'' is an American television situation comedy that was broadcast on CBS from October 10, 1954, to December 5, 1954. It starred

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to ...

in her first regular TV series.

Premise, cast and characters

Celeste Anders left her position as a college journalism teacher in the American Midwest to work as a reporter at a newspaper in New York City. As a reporter, she devoted "virtually all of her time to being a Good Samaritan to everyone she meets." Actors and the characters they portrayed were as follows: *Celeste Holm - Celeste Anders * Scott McKay -Bob Wallace (Anders's friend) *Geoffrey Lamb - Mr. Wallace (Bob's father and editor of the newspaper) *Mary Finney - Mary (Mr. Wallace's secretary) *

Mike Kellin Mike Kellin (born Myron Kellin, April 26, 1922 – August 26, 1983) was an American actor. Early life Kellin was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian-Jewish immigrants. His younger sister, Shirley Ann ...

- Marty Gordon (Anders's friend and a former gangster) Themes of episodes included Anders's beginning a new life in New York City, her search for an apartment, and Marty's boredom when he drove a cab. In a move that ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called "unusual in broadcasting circles", Holm asked to be released from her commitments for ''Honestly Celeste!'' and CBS granted the request. She said later that she felt that Anders lacked audience appeal because the character was too dull. She had hoped to "have some control over the writing", but that did not happen,

Schedule

''Honestly, Celeste!'' was broadcast on Sundays from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time. Its competition included '' Life Begins at Eighty'' (DuMont), ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

'' alternating with ''

Goodyear Television Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Te ...

'' (NBC), and '' Talent Patrol'' and its replacement '' What's Going On'' (ABC). ''Honestly, Celeste!'' was replaced by '' Stage 7.''

Production

''Honestly, Celeste!'' was filmed in Hollywood. Joseph Scibetta was the initial producer and director; and

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

was the initial writer. By early November 1954 they had left those roles. Val Adams wrote in ''The New York Times'', "The exact circumstances under which they left could not be learned, but it was reliably reported that there had been differences of opinion among the personnel on the show as to the staging and story line." Dave Alexander became the producer and director. Other writers included Norman Lear, Hal Collins, and Ed Simmons. Jerry Fielding provided the music. Bristol-Myers was a sponsor.

Critical response

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomi ...

, in a review of the show's premiere episode in ''The New York Times'', noted the overuse of coincidence and repeated switching of apparently identical suitcases (one containing Anders's clothes and the other containing $400,000 in cash) that left the audience confused, as were the characters in the episode. Gould described the episode as an "artificial and shoddy shambles" with "frantic direction". He praised Holm as "a most sprightly and personable artist" who tried with limited success to make the episode seem plausible, but he said that her talent was wasted. Anton Remenih, writing in the ''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...

'', said that ''Hello Celeste!'' stood out among a glut of new situation comedies in its season not because of the show's quality (perhaps "class B") but because of Holm's presence. "It feels good to have her in the living room," he said. "She's talented, telegenic, and warm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honestly, Celeste! 1954 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings 1950s American comedy television series CBS original programming