Angel (1960) Information

Angel is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1960"1961 television season. The series was created and executive produced by Jess Oppenheimer, and stars Annie Fargé as the title character.

Synopsis

Fargé portrayed Angelique "Angel" Smith, a pretty, young scatterbrained Frenchwoman who comes to the United States and marries a young architect, John Smith, played by Marshall Thompson. With her distinct French accent, Angel gets into various problems with the culture, language, and procedures in her new country. In the episode "The Dentist", for instance, she learns that she must pay when late for a professional appointment. In this episode character actor Parley Baer portrays Dr. Mathews, with Maudie Prickett as the dentist's secretary.

Though it had much less slapstick comedy, Angel was somewhat akin to two other CBS sitcoms, I Love Lucy (already concluded) and Pete and Gladys, a spin-off of CBS's December Bride, starring Spring Byington.

The series costars Doris Singleton as Angel's sympathetic friend Susie and Don Keefer as Susie's husband George, roughly akin to the Ethel and Fred roles from I Love Lucy.

Co-sponsored by General Foods (Post Cereals) and Johnson's Wax, Angel was initially broadcast at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday evenings between October 6, 1960 and April 13, 1961. On April 19, it mmoved to Wednesdays in the same time slot for the remaining first-run episodes and then summer reruns.

Reception and cancellation

The series' competition included two other sitcoms, My Three Sons, which went on to a twelve-year run, first on ABC and then CBS, and Bachelor Father, then in its last year on NBC, but having been on all three networks during its total five-year run from 1957 to 1962.

Angel followed the final season of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater and preceded what turned out to have been the last of the three-year run of The Ann Sothern Show, which had been highly rated in its two earlier years.

When CBS announced early in 1961 that Angel had been cancelled because of low ratings, Time magazine suggested that at least the talented Fargé should be "salvaged from the wreckage" for another enterprise. Earlier, Time had commented that Fargé "triumphantly resists being merely Lucille Ball with a French accent. She is easily the brightest newcomer to situation comedy"?small, pert, winsome, and somehow giving the impression of being attractively feathered."

Guest stars

• Denise Alexander
• Madge Blake
• Mel Blanc
• Bobby Diamond
• Ross Elliott
• Stuart Erwin
• James Garner
• Ned Glass
• Gale Gordon
• Jonathan Hole
• Dennis Holmes
• Lamont Johnson

• Joseph Kearns
• Tommy Kirk
• Dayton Lummis
• Howard McNear
• Don Megowan
• Stafford Repp
• Hanley Stafford
• Lyle Talbot
• Minerva Urecal
• Herb Vigran
• Jesse White
• Frank Wilcox

Episode list

Episode #	Episode title	Original airdate
1-1	"The French Touch" (pilot)	October 6, 1960
1-2	"Voting Can Be Fun"	October 13, 1960
1-3	"The Easy Touch" (aka "Angel and the Con Men")	October 20, 1960
1-4	"The Maid"	November 3, 1960
1-5	"Angel's Temper"	November 10, 1960
1-6	"Democracy"	November 17, 1960
1-7	"The Trusting Wife"	November 24, 1960
1-8	"The Contest"	December 1, 1960
1-9	"The Driving Lesson"	December 8, 1960
1-10	"The Valedictorian"	December 15, 1960
1-11	"The Museum"	December 22, 1960
1-12	"Togetherness"	December 29, 1960
1-13	"The Goat Dog"	January 5, 1961
1-14	"The Dowry"	January 19, 1961
1-15	"Happy Marriage"	January 26, 1961
1-16	"The Joint Bank Account"	February 2, 1961
1-17	"Call Me Mother"	February 9, 1961
1-18	"The Second Marriage"	February 16, 1961
1-19	"The French Lesson"	February 23, 1961
1-20	"Little White Lies"	March 2, 1961
1-21	"House Guests"	March 9, 1961
1-22	"Phone Fun"	March 23, 1961
1-23	"The Insurance Policy"	March 30, 1961
1-24	"The Dentist"	April 6, 1961
1-25	"The Honest Man"	April 13, 1961
1-26	"Unpopular Mechanics"	April 19, 1961
1-27	"The Guided Tour"	April 26, 1961
1-28	"The Little Leaguer"	May 3, 1961
1-29	"The Trailer"	May 10, 1961
1-30	"Goodbye, Young Lovers"	May 17, 1961
1-31	"Angel of Mercy"	May 24, 1961
1-32	"The Wedding"	June 7, 1961
1-33	"Promise To A Friend"	June 14, 1961