Happy (1960 TV series)

The adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, Ronnie Burns was cast as Chris Day in the 1960 NBC television sitcom, Happy.

Yvonne Fedderson (c. 1961)

Happy is a forgotten American situation comedy series that aired on NBC in 1960 and 1961. The series stars Ronnie Burns (1935-2007), the adopted son of George Burns (1896-1996) and Gracie Allen (1895-1964).[1]

## Synopsis[edit]

Burns appears as Chris Day, the manager of the Desert Palm Hotel in the resort city of Palm Springs, California. His co-stars were Yvonne Fedderson as his wife, Sally; Lloyd Corrigan as Sally's Uncle Charlie; Doris Packer as Clara Mason, a woman romantically interested in Charlie; Burt Metcalfe as their friend Joe Brigham; and Wanda Shannon as Terry Brigham, Joe's wife. Chris and Sally have an infant son, Christopher Hapgood Day, called "Happy." The role of "Happy" as a talking child is shared by the twins David and Steven Born. Leone Le Doux (1911-1987) supplied "Happy"'s voice.

The idea of a talking child was adapted from Jackie Cooper's earlier NBC sitcom The People's Choice, which features a talking basset hound named Cleo or on Alan Young's CBS series, Mr. Ed, based on the concept of a wise talking horse.[1]

Notable Happy guest stars included Jack Albertson, Malcolm Atterbury, Richard Deacon, Howard McNear, and Olan Soule.

Happy first ran as a summer replacement in 1960 for The Kraft Music Hall, starring Perry Como, at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesdays. It returned in 1961 at 7:30 p.m. in the first half of the Friday time slot vacated by Skip Homeier's unsuccessful detective series, Dan Raven.

Its Friday competition was the the western Rawhide on CBS and the ABC cartoon series Matty's Funday Funnies.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 357.