July 30, 1955
On July 30, 1955, TV Guide (volume 3, number 31, issue 122) featured Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Barbara and Margaret Whiting, stars of “Those Whiting Girls” (1955).
The cover photograph of the Arnaz’s and the Whitings was credited to Charles Rhodes. During the 1940s, Rhodes was photographer for Fawcett Publications and often photographed movie star Lucille Ball.
This is Lucille Ball’s sixth national TV Guide cover out of a total of 39. A little more than two years earlier, she was on the first national edition with her newborn son, Desi.
“Those Whiting Girls” was a Desilu-produced summer replacement series that premiered on July 4, 1955. A second series of the situation comedy was aired during the summer of 1957. The cover was symbolic of the Whiting Girls taking over “I Love Lucy’s” Monday night time slot on CBS while they were on hiatus.
The series was written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Pugh, the “I Love Lucy” writers. “I Love Lucy” director James V. Kern helmed the premiere and one other episode.
The Whitings were pop and country singers although Margaret was more interested in acting than her sister Barbara. Their father is composer Richard A. Whiting. Margaret was the inspiration for his classic song “On the Good Ship Lollipop.”
The only other actor to appear in all 26 episodes of “Those Whiting Girls” was Mabel Albertson, who played their mother, Eleanor. She is best remembered by TV viewers as Darrin Stephens’ mother on “Bewitched” (1964-71). Her first appearance on “Bewitched” was aired just four days before her only episode of “The Lucy Show.” In 1956 she had appeared with Lucille Ball in the film Forever Darling. Her brother, Jack Albertson, appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13) the same time as Forever Darling was in movie theatres.
In 1957, Jerry Paris (later of “The Dick Van Dyke Show”) appeared in 13 episodes as the Whitings’ accompanist, Artie. He later directed a couple of episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” including the most famous, “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (HL S3;E1) in 1970, but was not compatible with Lucille Ball and dismissed before his contract was up.
In 1955, Beverly Long played the recurring role of Daisy Dunbar, the girls’ best friend.
Over the two seasons, “I Love Lucy” cast members Norma Varden, Herb Vigran, and Maxine Semon also appeared on the show.
The episode listed in this TV Guide was “The Carnival Incident’ (S1;E5) on August 1, 1955. In it, Barbara learns a lesson in showmanship at the campus carnival. When her boy friend persuades her into serving as the lure who gets dunked when baseball throwers hit the target, she tries to get sister Margaret to take her place. Margaret sings “Meet Me at the Station.”
The show was sponsored by Proctor and Gamble, General Foods, and Max Factor.
When “The Handcuffs” (ILL S2;E4) was re-run at the end of season 4 in 1955, Lucy and Desi (as themselves), standing in the Hollywood hotel room set, tell the TV audience they are going on vacation for the summer (“13 weeks, to be exact” Lucille says) and reminds them to tune in to the new Desilu show “Those Whiting Girls” starring Margaret Whiting and her sister Barbara, which filled their time slot during the summer.
Much later, the series was mentioned by Desi Arnaz Jr. on a February 1976 episode of “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.
Over the masthead is a headline that teases an article about the Arthur Godfrey scandal during 1955. The Mariners were a four-piece all-male racially integrated group (two white and two African American members). Arthur Godfrey hired them, and they were regulars on his radio show and later his television shows for several years.The presence of the integrated Mariners brought complaints from Southern politicians and Southern CBS affiliates, which Godfrey publicly and scathingly rebuffed. Despite this, Godfrey summarily fired the group in 1955. The Mariners then guested on other shows and appeared on New York radio, but with diminishing popularity.
Another inside article was “The Rise and Fall of Mr. Peepers” (aka Wally Cox). Cox was one of Lucille Ball’s favorite performers and appeared on several episodes of “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”
The cover also promoted (in a corner banner) a contest to win a role on a television show! The winner would play Dr. Tim Watson in “Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal” for at least three episodes. Entrants had to be male (sorry ladies) and between the ages of 17 and 21 (sorry Dad). The role eventually went to Joe Walker, who appeared on the medical series in late 1956 and early 1957. This was his only screen credit. Young actor Harvey Grant appeared on one episode of the series in 1955, just before playing Kenneth Hamilton, Lucy Ricardo’s dance partner on the S.S. Constitution. Sammy Ogg, who played one of Lucy’s terrible Hudson twins, was also in a 1956 episode. Coincidentally, Jerry Paris of “Those Whiting Girls” played a doctor on the show. The cast also included “The Lucy Show” actors Vito Scotti and Max Showalter.
The back cover featured a message from Ted Mack, the host of “Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour.”
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