Dick and the Duchess

O'Neal in 1968

Hazel Court in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Dick and the Duchess is a 1950s CBS television situation comedy filmed and set in London, England, and starring Patrick O'Neal (1927-1994) and Hazel Court (1926-2008).[1] O'Neal, a cousin of actor Ryan O'Neal, starred as Dick Starrett, an American insurance claims investigator, who is married to Jane, an attractive patrician Englishwoman whom he calls "Duchess." Court was also known for her roles in horror films. Sheldon Reynolds was the executive producer of the series, filmed by Associated-Rediffusion Television.[2]

Twenty-six episodes aired between September 28, 1957, and March 22, 1958. The series aired in Britain during the following 1958–1959 season. In the story line, Jane's family had difficulty accepting Dick both as an American and a "commoner." Jane often got involved in a comical vein in Dick's insurance cases. Beatrice Varley (1896-1964) appeared in a supporting role as Mathilda. Richard Wattis (1912-1975) was cast as Peter Jamison, Dick's friend and office associate, in three episodes entitled "Maude," "The Wild Party," and "Bank Robbery." Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (1907-1961) played Inspector Stark of Scotland Yard, who sometimes helped Dick with his cases. English actor Ronnie Stevens appeared as Rodney, an employee in Dick's office.[1]

Series guest stars were mostly English actors. Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972), for instance, appeared as Cynthia Gordon in the 1957 episode "The Kissing Bandit."[3]

Dick and the Duchess aired on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, sandwiched between the legal series Perry Mason, and the comedy The Gale Storm Show. Its principal competition was the second half of The Perry Como Show on NBC.[4] After the initial run., rebroadcasts of Dick and the Duchess aired on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from March to May 1958 in the time slot formerly held by Leave It to Beaver, which then switched to Wednesday evenings for the remainder of its first-season run on CBS.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946-Present, New York: Random House, 1992, p. 224.
2. ↑ Dick and the Duchess title page. Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on April 26, 2009.
3. ↑ Episode list of Dick and the Dutchess. IMDB. Retrieved on April 26, 2009.
4. ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1997, appendix.
5. ↑ Episode list for Leave It to Beaver. IMDB. Retrieved on April 29, 2009.