''Leave It to the Girls'' is an American radio and television

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

, created by Martha Rountree, and broadcast, in various forms, from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Broadcast details

Radio version

The series was originally a radio program airing on the Mutual radio network starting in 1945 with hostess

Paula Stone Paula Stone (January 20, 1912 – December 23, 1997) was an American theater and motion pictures actress from New York City. Birth She was the daughter of Fred Stone, a stage actor, dancing comedian, and owner of the Fred Stone theatrical ...

. The show was created by ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

'' creator Martha Rountree as a serious-minded discussion of the problems of career women, but soon became a comedic commentary on love, romance, and marriage from an almost-all female panel — one man was always on the panel to provide the male viewpoint. Biography of Martha Roundtree
on th
She Made It
sub-website within the Paley Center for the Media website In addition to Rountree and Stone, women heard on the program regularly included Dorothy Kilgallen,

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for her a ...

, Maggi McNellis,

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...

, Robin Chandler,

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

, and Eloise McElhone.

Ted Malone Ted Malone (May 18, 1908 - October 20, 1989)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 180-181. (born Frank Alden Russell, the son of a ...

posed questions. Andre Baruch and Tiny Ruffner were the announcers.

Television versions

The

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television network broadcast the show August 21, 1947, to December 30, 1951; Maggi McNellis replaced radio show hostess

. Later, the series left NBC and was picked up by the ABC television network, who broadcast it from October 3, 1953, to March 27, 1954. An article in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine said the program "features a panel of four intimidating ladies in low bodices, who alternate between badgering a male guest and solving such deep questions as 'Can a romance that is dead be revived?'". A syndicated weekday daytime version, also hosted by Maggi McNellis, was broadcast 1961–62.Brooks, Tim and March, Earl (2007) "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present", Random House, ,page 587 Another version, called ''Leave it to the Women'', produced by Chuck Barris, and hosted by Stephanie Edwards, aired 1981–1982 in syndication.

Cast

Stage and film actress

was one of the hostesses for the radio version of the show, along with

and Maggi McNellis. The NBC, ABC, and the 1960s television versions were all hosted by McNellis, a 1930s supper club singer, a 1940s radio show hostess for her own shows, and a New York City society hostess through the 1980s. All the female panelists could be characterized as "glamorous, well-dressed, showbiz types". Some of the female television panelists were Eloise McElhone (1921-1974),

Vanessa Brown Vanessa Brown (born Smylla Brind, March 24, 1928 – May 21, 1999) was an Austrian-born American actress who worked in radio, film, theater, and television. Early life Born in Vienna, Austria, to Jewish parents (Nah Brind, a language teacher, a ...

Florence Pritchett Florence "Flo" Pritchett, also known as Florence Pritchett Smith (June 28, 1920 – November 9, 1965), was an American fashion editor, journalist, and radio and TV personality. Biography Florence Pritchett was born on June 28, 1920, in West O ...

Lisa Ferraday Lisa Ferraday (born Lisa Demezey; March 10, 1921 – March 22, 2004) was a Romanian-American model and actress. As an actress she appeared in theatre, radio and television but is best known for her appearances as a leading lady in several Col ...

Ann Rutherford Therese Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1917 – June 11, 2012) was a Canadian-born American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the And ...

, Harriet Van Horne, and

Janet Blair Janet Blair (born Martha Janet Lafferty; April 23, 1921 – February 19, 2007) was an American big-band singer who later became a popular film and television actress. Early years Janet Blair was born Martha Janet Lafferty on April 23, 1921, in ...

. McElhone was also host of the DuMont series '' Quick on the Draw'' and '' Eloise Salutes the Stars''. Among the men appearing as the solitary male presence on the television panel were

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included '' Jezebel'' and '' Dark Victo ...

, Burt Lancaster,

Morey Amsterdam Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago ...

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming we ...

, and George Jessel —

John Henry Faulk John Henry Faulk (August 21, 1913 – April 9, 1990) was an American storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist. Early life John Henry Faulk w ...

was the permanent male panelist in the primetime television show's last year, 1954. The male seemed to be at a disadvantage against the chattering women, as the only way he could manage to break into their constant babbling was to toot a toy horn. Stephanie Edwards was the hostess for the all-female version of the show in 1981 and 1982. Producer Chuck Barris originally had filmed the pilot for sale to the NBC network, but later bought back the rights and syndicated the show. A sampling of the guests from one show ''"Leave It To The Women", a civil precursor to "The View"?''
weblog dated September 23, 2009, from the Buffy W's blog website were TV journalist

Shana Alexander Shana Alexander (October 6, 1925 – June 23, 2005) was an American journalist. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for ''Life'' magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate seg ...

, singer/actress

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

, and 1966 Playboy Centerfold (and wife of Dick Martin), Dolly Martin.

References

External links