My Little Margie

My Little Margie
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Frank Fox
Directed by	Nate Watt Hal Yates
Starring	Gale Storm Charles Farrell
Theme music composer	Alexander Lazlo
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	126
Production
Executive producers	Roland D. Reed Hal Roach Hal Roach, Jr. Guy V. Thayer, Jr.
Running time	30 mins. (Approx.)
Production companies	Roland Reed TV Productions Rovan Films
Original release
Network	CBS (1952-1953) NBC (1952-1955)
Release	June 16, 1952 – August 24, 1955

For the 1920 jazz standard, see Margie (song).

My Little Margie is an American situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California at Hal Roach Studios by Hal Roach, Jr. and Roland D. Reed.

My Little Margie premiered on CBS as the summer replacement for I Love Lucy on June 16, 1952, under the sponsorship of Philip Morris cigarettes. Its success prompted NBC, at the sponsor's request, to give it a regular berth - Saturday at 7:30 pm(et) - on its fall schedule, where it lasted for two months. In January 1953, it returned to CBS [Thursdays, 10pm(et)], where it remained until July. Two months later, it was back on NBC (for new sponsor Scott Paper Company) on Wednesday nights at 8:30, where its final broadcast was on August 24, 1955. In an unusual move, the series -- with the same leads -- aired original episodes on CBS Radio, concurrently with the TV broadcasts, from December 1952 through August 1955. Only 23 radio broadcasts are known to exist in recorded form.

Synopsis

Set in New York City, the series starred Gale Storm as 21-year-old Margie Albright and former silent film star Charles Farrell as her widowed father, 50-year-old Vern Albright. They shared an apartment at the Carlton Arms Hotel. Mr. Albright was the vice president of the investment firm of Honeywell and Todd, where his boss was George Honeywell (Clarence Kolb). Honeywell's partner in the firm was played by George Meader. Roberta (Hillary Brooke) was Vern's girlfriend, and Margie's boyfriend was Freddy Wilson (Don Hayden). Mrs. Odetts (Gertrude Hoffman) was the Albrights' next-door neighbor and Margie's sidekick in madcap capers reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel in I Love Lucy. When Margie realized she had blundered or got into trouble, she made an odd trilling sound. Also in the cast were Willie Best as the elevator operator and Dian Fauntelle.

The series was canceled in 1955. Gale Storm went on to star in The Gale Storm Show which ran for 143 episodes 1956-1960.

The show has been compared with two other 1950's sitcoms which aired at the same time, I Married Joan and Life with Elizabeth. All three programs were inspired by the success of I Love Lucy, but despite their own merits, have fallen into obscurity only to gain some popularity after entering the public domain. I Love Lucy, however, is still under copyright in the United States.

Theme song

The program's theme song was originally titled "Bows and Strings in Teasing" by its composer, Alexander Laszlo, when he composed it for a 1946 Republic Picture, The French Key. When My Little Margie contracted to use his music, Laszlo wrote a new arrangement with added bars of music, which then became the "My Little Margie Theme" from 1952 to 1955. The show's music should not be confused with the 1920s popular song "Margie," also known as "My Little Margie," though the title of the TV program may have been inspired by the song.

Syndication

Since the series was canceled in 1955, My Little Margie has aired on local TV stations, often paired with I Married Joan. Both series aired on CBN during the 1980s and then on ION.

External links

• My Little Margie at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• My Little Margie from Tim's TV Showcase
• Museum of Broadcast Communication page on My Little Margie
• My Little Margie online comic books from FuryComics.com