Junior Miss
Junior Missis a collection of semi-autobiographical stories bySally Bensonfirst published inThe New Yorker.Between 1939 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories inThe New Yorker,some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Random House published herJunior Misscollection in 1941.[1]
Broadway
[edit]Benson's stories were adapted for theatre by writersJerome ChodorovandJoseph Fields,by producerMax Gordon,and by directorMoss Hart.The play had a successful run of 710 performances on Broadway from November 18, 1941, to July 24, 1943.Patricia Peardonhad the title role of Judy Graves, a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.[2]The sets for the production were designed byFrederick Fox.[3]
Film
[edit]In 1945, 20th Century-Fox released afilm adaptationof the play byJerome ChodorovandJoseph Fieldswhich starredPeggy Ann Garneras Judy Graves.George Seatondirected. Produced byWilliam Perlberg,the 94-minute feature was released by20th Century Foxon June 16, 1945.[4][5]
Radio
[edit]Junior Misswas featured several times in different formats on U.S. radio. Sponsored byProcter & Gamble,the first series was broadcast from March 4 to August 26, 1942, withShirley Templeplaying the lead character Judy Graves. Priscilla Lyon played her friend, Fuffy Adams, "the odd child from the apartment downstairs." Benson andDoris Gilbertcollaborated on writing the show in March, before quitting that April. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the program cost $12,000 a week to produce.[6]
From 1944 to 1946, a Junior Miss segment, based on Benson's short stories, was a regular feature in theMary SmallShow(later changed to theMary Small-Junior Miss Show).[7]
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, theJunior Missradio program starredBarbara Whiting,who had appeared in the 1945 film as Fuffy Adams. That series ran from April 3, 1948, to December 30, 1950, sponsored by Lever Brothers. The music was composed and conducted byWalter Schumann.The 1948-50 cast returned for another season in various formats and timeslots from October 2, 1952, to July 1, 1954.[6]
The film version ofJunior Misswas promoted on radio twice in 1946, withPeggy Ann Garnerperforming her role as Judy Graves in a shortened version of the film on CBS'sHollywood Star Timeas well as Lady EstherScreen Guild Theater.
Television
[edit]Chodorov and Fields’ version ofJunior Misswas adapted as a television musical and broadcast on December 20, 1957, as part ofCBS Television'sDuPont Show of the Month.[8]Carol Lynleyhad the lead role of Judy Graves withDon AmecheandJoan Bennettas her parents and Susanne Sidney as Fuffy Adams. Others in the cast wereDiana Lynn,Paul Ford,Jill St. JohnandDavid Wayne.[9]
References
[edit]- ^Yagoda, Ben.About Town.Scribner, 2000.
- ^"Junior Miss".IBDB.Internet Broadway Database.
- ^"Frederick Fox, Pioneering Set Designer for TV, stage".The Record.September 12, 1991. p. 73.
- ^Goble, Alan (2011).The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film.Bowker-Saur.p. 83.ISBN9783110951943.
- ^Hardy, Jr., James D.; Martin, Ann (2011)."Light of My Life": Love, Time and Memory in Nabokov's Lolita.McFarland & Company.p. 145.ISBN9780786485505.
- ^abDunning, John (1998). "Junior Miss".On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.Oxford University Press.p. 378.ISBN9780199770786.
- ^The Billboard Encyclopedia of Music, Volume 7, Parts 1945-1946.Billboard.1946. p. 140.
- ^Greenspan, Charlotte (2010).Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical.Oxford University Press.p. 246.ISBN9780199723089.
- ^Leonard, William T. (1981). "Junior Miss".Theatre: Stage to Screen to Television, Volume 1.Scarecrow Press.p. 78.ISBN9780810813748.