Margie (TV series)

Margie
Cynthia Pepper as Margie.
Starring	Cynthia Pepper Penny Parker Dave Willock Wesley Tackitt Tommy Ivo
Theme music composer	Con Conrad J. Russell Robinson Benny Davis
Composer(s)	Warren Barker
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer(s)	Hal Goodman Larry Klein
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Black and white
Original release	October 12, 1961 – April 12, 1962

Margie is an American television sitcom starring Cynthia Pepper that was broadcast on ABC from October 12, 1961 to April 12, 1962 in the 9:30 Eastern Thursday time slot, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was adapted from the 1946 film of the same name starring Jeanne Crain.

The show is set in a small New England town in the Roaring Twenties. The character Margie Clayton, played by the then 21-year-old Pepper, attends Madison High School and lives with her parents Harvey Clayton (Dave Willock) and Nora Clayton (Wesley Marie Tackitt). Also in the home are her brother Cornell Clayton, portrayed first by Johnny Bangert and then by Billy Hummert, and her aunt Phoebe, played in four episodes by Hollis Irving. Margie's best friend Maybelle Jackson, was played by Penney Parker. Her boyfriends Haywood Botts and Johnny Green were played by Tommy Ivo and Richard Gering, respectively. Jimmy Hawkins, originally a child actor also appeared in the series.

In the first episode "The Vamp", Margie's aunt gives her advice on how to attract boys, much as Maybelle appears to be doing. Other episodes include "County Fair" on October 19, "Margie, the Matchmaker" on November 16, "The Jazz Band" on November 30, "Whatever Mama Wants" on March 15, "Friendship is for Friends" on March 22, "Margie, the Gossip Columnist" on March 29, and the final episode, "The Professional Man" on April 12. In that segment, Margie meets a new boy at the dentist's office and waits for him to ask her to the big dance.

Margie is unique in that it featured cues from silent movies which remind viewers to "Please pay attention" or "The plot thickens" during critical times. The show features raccoon coats, open-top jalopies, music of the 1920s (see Jazz Age), and references to flappers. Margie was the big break for Cynthia Pepper. Thereafter, Pepper starred as Corporal Midge Riley in Elvis Presley's 1964 film Kissin' Cousins.