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Originally Published July 16th, 2003
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Two versions of Chic Young's classic comic strip have aired on television. The first, broadcast in black & white in 1957 starred Arthur Lake (who had starred in a series of films based on the strip) and Pamela Britton. The second, this one in glorious color, was aired in 1968 and starred Patricia Harty and Will Hutchins. The first lasted an entire season, the other half a season.
Chic Young's classic comic strip began way back in 1930, chronicling the life of one Blondie Boopadoop, a single young woman who soon fell in love and married. As the strip's popularity grew it began to branch out into other mediums.
In 1938 a film version of the strip was released. Starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead, the film spawned an impressive twenty-seven sequels, all starring Singleton and Lake.
Given how popular, and lucrative, the film franchise had become, it was only a matter of time before a television version was launched. In March of 1954, Hal Roach Jr. announced that his studio would produce a television version of Blondie, set to last for thirty-nine episodes [1]. At the time, Roach was producing five television shows, including My Little Margie and Racket Squad. To the best of our knowledge, this series never materialized.
Two years later, in June of 1956, Hal Roach announced that as part of a new "spot sales program" with the Vitapix Corporation, it had sold a syndicated version of Blondie to some sixty-five stations. The series would be co-sponsored by the Wesson Oil Company and would star Arthur Lake and Pamela Britton. A total of fifty-two episodes would be produced [2]. An additional co-sponsor, Sunkist, was added in July [3.
In December of 1956, however, NBC announced that it would premiere Blondie on Friday, January 4th, 1957 at 8:30PM. Hal Roach Studios was still producing, but the Toni Company was now sponsoring the series -- there no word of the Wesson Oil Company, Sunkist or the Vitapix Corporation [4]. It seems that Hal Roach Studios decided airing the series on a network was a better idea than airing it in syndication.
Arthur Lake had last played Dagwood in 1950 when the final Blondie film was released. Pamela Britton had only a handful of television appearances under her belt when she "replaced" Penny Singleton as Blondie (there is no evidence that Singleton was ever approached for the role). Son Alexander (played by Alexander), daughter Cookie (played by Ann Barnes), and dog Daisy and an assortment of other dogs rounded out the Bumstead family.
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Episodes were simple, with plots reflective of the comic strip. Jokes were mild and physical gags were common. Any problem that developed at the start of an episode was resolved happily by the conclusion. The pilot episode, for example, involved Blondie deciding that her husband should be vice president of the J.C. Dithers Construction Company. To boost his confidence she sends Dagwood a fake telegram stating that his equally fake uncle has died and left him well over $100,000.
In another episode Mr. Dithers, hospitalized with an ulcer, leaves Dagwood in charge of a construction job. Things grind to a halt when a small tree with a bird nest is found at the construction site. Cookie compels her father to halt the project until the birds have hatched.
The remainder of the episodes were more of the same. Dagwood would find himself in some sort of trouble, typically with his boss, and he would somehow stumble and bumble his way out of trouble, doing the right thing in the process. Stumbling and bumbling made up a good portion of the series. Dagwood was an accident waiting to happen. A running gag in the series saw Blondie having to race into the kitchen to catch salt & pepper shakers as Dagwood returned home for lunch and slammed the door.
Dagwood's disorderly nature is best exemplified by his crashing into the mail man on the front walk, something readers of the comic strip should recognize and appreciate. And according to television critics, only fans of the strip would enjoy such antics [5]. Other holdovers from the strip included Dagwood's love for massive sandwiches (known as Bumstead specials) and the manner in which he would call out his wife's name at the first sign of trouble -- loudly.
The most unfortunate aspect of the comic strip to television series transition was the way the characters looked on screen. When drawn on paper Dagwood's hair could fly up at odd angles, his trademark look. Despite an obvious attempt to give Arthur Lake the same look the series suffered from many of the actors looking very little like the characters they were portraying. At least Blondie was blonde.
Overall, critics were unimpressed with the humor in the series. A three-panel comic strip with a single gag may be good for a laugh on a daily basis but turn that into a thirty minute sitcom and the laughs fall flat. It didn't help that Arthur Lake, who was 33 when he first played Dagwood, was 52 when he returned to the character of a father of two young children. Still, he managed to pull of a convincing and slapstick Dagwood.
NBC managed to get a full season's worth of episodes out of its version of Blondie before the series was cancelled. The final original episode aired on July 5th, 1957. Repeats aired through the summer before being replaced by Court of Last Resort on October 4th, 1957. Eleven years later CBS would try its hand at new adventures of Dagwood and Blondie with even less success.
CBS announced its adaptation of Chic Young's comic strip in February of 1968 [6]. It would air Thursdays at 7:30PM opposite The Ugliest Girl In Town on ABC and Daniel Boone on NBC. Daniel Boone easily crushed its competition. Blondie never stood a chance. Only thirteen episodes chronicling the adventures of the Bumstead family aired. The final episode was broadcast on January 9th, 1969.
In this version, Blondie was played by Patricia Harty and Dagwood by Will Hutchins. Jim Backus and his real-life wife appeared as J.C. Dithers and Cora Dithers, respectively. Unlike the earlier NBC version, CBS's attempt presented Blondie as a head-strong, independent woman prone to jealousy. But aspects of the earlier series were present in the new one. Dagwood, as clumsy as ever, still managed to rush out the door and crash into the mailman.
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This time around the episodes weren't just about Dagwood and his problems. The entire family could get into trouble. In one memorable episode featuring Bruce Lee, both Dagwood and Alexander find themselves being bullied. Dagwood, hoping to learn to defend himself, turns to karate.
The problem of transforming a comic strip into a television series had not gone away in the decade that had passed since the first television attempt. Will Hutchins looked even less like Dagwood Bumstead than Arthur Lake had back in 1957. A critic reviewing the premiere called the humor "very basic" and suggested that the series played like a show for kids [7].
Although rumors circulating in November that the series was doomed were "discounted" by CBS, Blondie was replaced by The Queen and I on January 16th, 1969 [8; 9].
Two networks, two shows, two failures. Maybe Blondie and Dagwood just aren't meant for television success.
Works Cited:
1 Pryor, Thomas M. "Hal Roach Plans 2-Fold Program." New York Times. 24 Mar. 1954: 32.
2 Godbout, Oscar. "C.B.S. Commissions Three Pilot Films For Comedy and Adventure Programs." New York Times. 11 Jun. 1956: 43.
3 "'Snooks' Revival Planned By N.B.C." New York Times. 19 Jul. 1956: 55.
4 Adams, Val. "Second Sponsor to Drop Winchell." New York Times. 17 Dec. 1956: 42.
5 Shanley, J.P. "TV: Genesis of a Show." New York Times. 5 Jan. 1957: 33.
6 Dallos, Robert E. "Few Changes Due in C.B.S. Programs." New York Times. 19 Feb., 1968: 80.
7 Gent, George. "TV: The Dagwood Bumsteads Return." New York Times. 27 Sep. 1968: 94.
8 "A.B.C. to Replace 6 of Its TV Shows With 5 New Ones." New York Times. 14 Nov. 1968: 95.
9 Gould, Jack. "TV Review." New York Times. 17 Jan. 1969: 95.
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