Wendy and Me
| Wendy and Me | |
|---|---|
 Ron Harper and Connie Stevens as Jeff and Wendy Conway. | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Written by |
Norman Paul Bob O'Brien Elon Packard Willy Burns |
| Directed by |
Richard Crenna Gene Reynolds Willy Burns |
| Starring |
George Burns Connie Stevens Ron Harper James T. Callahan J. Pat O'Malley Bartlett Robinson |
| Narrated by | George Burns |
| Theme music composer | Ervin Drake |
| Opening theme | "Wendy" |
| Composer(s) |
George Duning Frank Perkins |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 34 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | William T. Orr |
| Producer(s) | Gordon Bau (make-up) |
| Cinematography |
Louis Jennings Jacques R. Marquette |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Natwill Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 14, 1964 – May 24, 1965 |
Wendy and Me is an American sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1964–1965 television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto". Principally starring George Burns and Connie Stevens, the series was Burns' first major work following the death of his wife and professional partner, Gracie Allen, who had died of a heart attack about a month prior to the debut of Wendy and Me.
Synopsis
"Connie Stevens plays Wendy, and I play "me", quipped the cigar-puffing George Burns in advertising for his unsuccessful Wendy and Me situation comedy series on ABC, 1964-1965.
In the series (a slight variation of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), Burns plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself. He is the owner of an apartment building, while Stevens plays his tenant, Wendy Conway. Episodes typically revolved around Wendy pulling Burns into comedic situations mostly involving her husband, played by Ron Harper, and other people in the building. As a regular part of its format, Burns would often break the fourth wall to comment directly to the audience about the episode's events.[1] 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). Viewers of the show, may remember 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 appeared in the series as Danny Adams, a playboy friend of Wendy's strait-laced husband. J. Pat O'Malley played the apartment handyman.
As part of Stevens's contract with Warner Bros., Burns agreed to produce another series for her studio, No Time For Sergeants, which appeared before Wendy and Me on ABC's Monday night schedule.
Wendy and Me was followed on the ABC schedule by The Bing Crosby Show, an unsuccessful attempt by Bing Crosby to establish a situation comedy of his own. Wendy and Me faced stiff competition from Lucille Ball's The Lucy Show on CBS and The Andy Williams Show on NBC, and only lasted one season.[2]
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Molehills To Mountains" (pilot) | September 14, 1964 |
| 1-2 | "Wendy's Anniversary For...?" | September 21, 1964 |
| 1-3 | "Swing Low, Aunt Harriet" | September 28, 1964 |
| 1-4 | "Wendy's Secret Wedding" | October 5, 1964 |
| 1-5 | "George Burns While Rome Fiddles" | October 12, 1964 |
| 1-6 | "Jeff, the Senior Citizen" | October 19, 1964 |
| 1-7 | "It Takes Two To Tangle" | October 26, 1964 |
| 1-8 | "Wendy's Private Eye" | November 2, 1964 |
| 1-9 | "Room at the Bottom" | November 9, 1964 |
| 1-10 | "Danny, the Married Bachelor" | November 16, 1964 |
| 1-11 | "Wendy, the Waitress" | November 23, 1964 |
| 1-12 | "Belle of the Malt Shop" | November 30, 1964 |
| 1-13 | "East Is East and West Is Wendy" | December 7, 1964 |
| 1-14 | "Four Of A Kind" | December 14, 1964 |
| 1-15 | "Wendy, the Woman In the Gray Flannel Suit" | December 21, 1964 |
| 1-16 | "Five Minutes To Show Time" | December 28, 1964 |
| 1-17 | "A Bouquet For Mr. Bundy" | January 11, 1965 |
| 1-18 | "The Wendy Mob" | January 18, 1965 |
| 1-19 | "Who's In the Guest Room Tonight?" | January 25, 1965 |
| 1-20 | "Wendy Sails In the Sunset" | February 1, 1965 |
| 1-21 | "Tea Leaves For Two" | February 8, 1965 |
| 1-22 | "Happiness Is A Thing Called Misery" | February 15, 1965 |
| 1-23 | "Jeff Takes a Turn For the Nurse" | February 22, 1965 |
| 1-24 | "How Not To Succeed In Stealing" | March 1, 1965 |
| 1-25 | "Wendy Gives Uncle the Brush" | March 8, 1965 |
| 1-26 | "Wendy Is Stranger Than Fiction" | March 22, 1965 |
| 1-27 | "Let's Go Where the Wild Geisha Goes" | March 29, 1965 |
| 1-28 | "You Can Fight City Hall" | April 5, 1965 |
| 1-29 | "Wendy Lends A Helping Voice" | April 12, 1965 |
| 1-30 | "Wendy's Instant Intellect" | April 19, 1965 |
| 1-31 | "Danny's Double Life" | April 26, 1965 |
| 1-32 | "Wendy's Five Thousand Dollar Chair" | May 10, 1965 |
| 1-33 | "Call Me Or I'll Call You" | May 17, 1965 |
| 1-34 | "Tacos, Enchiladas and Wendy" | May 24, 1965 |
References
- ↑ Doug Quick's history of programming on television station WAND
- ↑ 1964-1965 American network television schedule, in appendix of Alex McNeil, Total Television