Updates to Blondie On Television

I’ve totally rewritten my article about Blondie on Television, having uncovered new details about not one but two early attempts to bring the comic strip to television. A pilot was produced between 1951 and 1953 starring Jeff Donnell and John Harvey but failed to turn into a series. Another pilot was produced in 1954 with Pamela Britton and Hal LeRoy but it, too, was never sold.

I’ve also expanded the section about Blondie on the big screen and on radio. And I’ve added several reviews from critics relating to the 1968 version. Here’s the new summary:

Chic Young’s long-running comic strip found lasting success on the big screen (with a series of 28 movies) and radio (a solid eleven-year run). But it just couldn’t translate to television. The first two attempts, in 1952 and 1954, never made it past the pilot stage. And the two versions that did make it to the air lasted, at best, a single season. The first was broadcast on CBS in 1957 (26 episodes) with Arthur Lake, reprising his role from the film series, and Pamela Britton. The second ran on NBC from 1968 to 1969 (13 episodes) with Patricia Harty and Will Hutchins.


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3 Replies to “Updates to Blondie On Television”

  1. Actually, “BLONDIE” lasted as a radio series for 11 years (1939-’50) on three different networks {CBS, NBC, ABC}, ‘RGJ’. NBC telecast the first TV version [under the co-sponsorship of Lorillard’s “Old Gold” cigarettes and The Toni Company’s “Toni Home Permanent” and their other products] on Fridays at 8pm(et), just before “THE LIFE OF RILEY”, from January through September 1957, with several episodes repeated on NBC’s Saturday morning schedule (11:30am) during the summer of 1958. CBS presented the second version [produced by Joe Connelly & Bob Mosher for King Features TV] from September 1968 through January 1969 on Thursdays at 7:30pm(et).

  2. Yes, I admire your ability to gather information and create an article for others to enjoy and gain information from, ‘RG’. “Close”, in this case, is another story.

    Because one person incorrectly (or didn’t dig deep enough to verify the fact) believed that Jackie Gleason’s “THE LIFE OF RILEY” aired on DuMont instead of NBC [because his “CAVALCADE OF STARS” series aired just a few months after “RILEY” ended], that bit of information went unchallenged in some books and reference works for years…all the way to Wikipedia- until I finally corrected that in their article on the series a while ago. And that fable about finding the original 1951 “I LOVE LUCY” pilot “under Desi’s bed”…do you know how many people accepted that as FACT?

    Sometimes, “close” isn’t enough. But I admire your efforts in research!

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