One of the most curious sitcoms of the 1950s was "Topper", based on the 1937 screwball comedy movie (and its sequels). For those that don't know, it's the story of the ghosts of a husband and wife, George and Marianne Kirby and their dog Neil who were killed, and now haunt "Topper", the new owner of their house. They try to help him out, but cause comical problems as only he can see and hear them. Beyond the rather bizarre concept, and the ghostly goings-on, I notice that it ran for 2 seasons on CBS, then ran in re-runs the following year on ABC... and then, if you can believe this... ran on NBC a few months after ABC dropped it. I wonder why this happened? I'll bet it's the only case of a series that, when it changed networks, did so with no new episodes produced. The fact that it ran on both ABC and NBC with nothing but re-runs makes it a real "Topper"!
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Topper
- Thread starter johnbasalla
- Start date
Sponsored by Camel cigarettes. At the beginning of each program, the announcer would tell viewers that only three people can see the ghosts: you and I and Cosmo Topper.
Were there just two TV shows with a character named Cosmo? (Topper and Seinfeld.)
oldiesfan6479 said:
Two TV shows and one magazine.
Anne Jeffreys as Marion Kirby, the Ghostess with the mostest,
Robert Sterling as George Kirby, that most sporty spirit,
And Leo G. Caroll, host to said ghosts as...Topper.
Loved this show as a little kid...in reruns, early 60s. Gentle, but rather sophisticated comedy - at least for TV in those days.
And I think I also had a crush on Ann Jeffreys. She and co-star Robert Sterling were married in real life, and (I believe) stayed together until his death in 2006. She is still with us (age 88), and continued acting until a couple of years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKa7RenCyNA&feature=related
Robert Sterling as George Kirby, that most sporty spirit,
And Leo G. Caroll, host to said ghosts as...Topper.
Loved this show as a little kid...in reruns, early 60s. Gentle, but rather sophisticated comedy - at least for TV in those days.
And I think I also had a crush on Ann Jeffreys. She and co-star Robert Sterling were married in real life, and (I believe) stayed together until his death in 2006. She is still with us (age 88), and continued acting until a couple of years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKa7RenCyNA&feature=related
I first saw "Topper" as a little kid watching re-runs on daytime TV during the early 1960s. My favorite "Topper" story is anti-Topper. Us kids were probably watching too much TV. Mom didn't like this. It was "Topper" that set her off! On an episode, there was a ripping sound, and then you saw the dog Neil come out of a room with some underwear in his mouth (done to a cackling laugh track). Mom came in, yelled about 'this stupid stuff', shut the TV off, and forced us to go outside. I wonder what would have been worse. Neil ripping clothes off of someone (off screen, of course), or Neil swigging beer.
I seem to recall that Neil came out with an undershirt. It certainly wasn't a bra or panties.
In the 1980's The Hal Roach studios were "colorizing" Topper. I don't know what ever became of those episodes. Maybe they were released of VHS or DVD. They were, also, colorizing McHales Navy but only got thru the first season. I saw some of those.
I can see why people object to "colorizing". McHales Navy looked awful. But in defense of the colorizing process, you can always turn off the color and watch a mint print.
I can see why people object to "colorizing". McHales Navy looked awful. But in defense of the colorizing process, you can always turn off the color and watch a mint print.
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