Meet Millie
Encyclopedia
Meet Millie, a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secretary from Brooklyn, made a transition from radio to television in the early 1950s. In the live television version, Mom and Millie were living in Jackson Heights, Queens. The popularity of this series led to a four-year run on CBS
television.
began on CBS July 2, 1951, continuing until September 23, 1954. Audrey Totter
created the role of Millie Bronson on radio, but she dropped out when her film studio refused to allow her to appear as the character on television.
After seeing Elena Verdugo
in Columbia's Thief of Damascus
(1952), Eddie Bracken
’s secretary recommended her to Bracken when a replacement for Totter was needed. Verdugo brought the character to television in October 1952 and also took over the radio role beginning January 1, 1953.
), who is continually on the lookout for a possible husband for Millie. Millie's boyfriend, J.R. "Johnnie" Boone, Jr. (Ross Ford), is the son of her boss (Earle Ross
, Roland Winters
). Aspiring poet-composer Alfred Prinzmetal (Marvin Kaplan
) drops in for friendly visits. Isabel Randolph
portrayed Mrs. Boone. Other cast regulars were Virginia Vincent, Harry Cheshire and Ray Montgomery.
Meet Millie, one of the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood, was seen on CBS from October 25, 1952 until March 6, 1956. The live studio audience responded to Meet Millie with such enthusiasm that it was sometimes necessary for the actors to freeze in position until the laughter stopped. Kaplan and Verdugo became friends during the years the show was in production, and their close friendship continued for decades.
An episode of Meet Millie was shown September 15, 2000 at the Library of Congress' Mary Pickford Theater. Shows are in the collection of the Paley Center for Media.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television.
Radio
The radio seriesRadio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
began on CBS July 2, 1951, continuing until September 23, 1954. Audrey Totter
Audrey Totter
Audrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
created the role of Millie Bronson on radio, but she dropped out when her film studio refused to allow her to appear as the character on television.
After seeing Elena Verdugo
Elena Verdugo
Elena Verdugo is an American actress who began in films at the age of six in Cavalier of the West . Her career in radio, television, and film spanned six decades....
in Columbia's Thief of Damascus
Thief of Damascus
Thief of Damascus is a 1952 Technicolor Arabian Nights comedy adventure produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Will Jason, and starring Paul Henreid, John Sutton, Jeff Donnell.The film features a generous use of stock footage from such films as Joan of Arc...
(1952), Eddie Bracken
Eddie Bracken
Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...
’s secretary recommended her to Bracken when a replacement for Totter was needed. Verdugo brought the character to television in October 1952 and also took over the radio role beginning January 1, 1953.
Characters and story
The show opened with the announcer's introduction: "A gay, new comedy about the life and loves of a secretary in Manhattan. It's time to Meet Millie." Millie lived in an apartment with her mother (Florence HalopFlorence Halop
Florence Halop was an American actress. Best known for her role as the raspy-voiced bailiff Florence Kleiner on the sitcom Night Court, Halop was the sister of Billy Halop, one of the original Dead End/East Side Kids....
), who is continually on the lookout for a possible husband for Millie. Millie's boyfriend, J.R. "Johnnie" Boone, Jr. (Ross Ford), is the son of her boss (Earle Ross
Earle Ross
Earle Ross was an American radio and film actor.While in school he became interested in dramatics and was usually cast as a villain or an old man because of his unusual voice characteristics. In 1908 he worked with Colonel Bill Selig in his first 5-reel movie film The Holy Cross...
, Roland Winters
Roland Winters
Roland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
). Aspiring poet-composer Alfred Prinzmetal (Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Kaplan
Marvin Kaplan is an American character actor and voice artist. Kaplan is probably best known for his recurring role on the sitcom Alice where he portrayed a phone company employee named Henry Beesmeyer who frequented Mel's diner. He was a part of the cast from 1977 to the series end in 1985...
) drops in for friendly visits. Isabel Randolph
Isabel Randolph
Isabel Randolph was an American character actress active in radio and film from the 1940s through the 1960s, and in television from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s.- Early life :...
portrayed Mrs. Boone. Other cast regulars were Virginia Vincent, Harry Cheshire and Ray Montgomery.
Meet Millie, one of the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood, was seen on CBS from October 25, 1952 until March 6, 1956. The live studio audience responded to Meet Millie with such enthusiasm that it was sometimes necessary for the actors to freeze in position until the laughter stopped. Kaplan and Verdugo became friends during the years the show was in production, and their close friendship continued for decades.
An episode of Meet Millie was shown September 15, 2000 at the Library of Congress' Mary Pickford Theater. Shows are in the collection of the Paley Center for Media.