"Say, Aren't You..."

Here's a face you probably never expected to see on I Married Joan. Bing Crosby makes a cameo appearance in the closing scene of "Opera," a first-season episode which aired on February 25, 1953. Der Bingle plays a new neighbor who drops by, though he firmly insists he's not...you know. At this juncture, General Electric was sponsoring both I Married Joan and Crosby's CBS radio show, explaining the unexpected walk-on.

Joan and Bing also appeared in print ads for their sponsor, as you can see below:

Our Special Guest Tonight

That Girl: Marlo meets the Merm.

For some viewers, it's a special treat that makes an otherwise run-of-the-mill sitcom episode stand out. For others, it's a sure sign that the show's writers are fresh out of story ideas. I'm talking about the use of celebrity guest stars in your favorite sitcom.

The idea isn't a new one; radio stars like Jack Benny and Burns and Allen regularly welcomed guest stars at least back to the 1940s. In the mid-1950s, the I Love Lucy writers had the inspired notion to send Lucy, Ricky, and the Mertzes to Hollywood, resulting in unforgettable scenes like Lucy's disastrous meeting with William Holden at the Hollywood Brown Derby, or a classic pantomime with Harpo Marx. Surely no one will ever top Lucy's record for meeting (and annoying!) celebrities in her four weekly series.

Obviously, some shows lend themselves to the concept better than others. Since That Girl told the story of an aspiring actress building a career in New York, it was easy enough to work in guests such as the queen of Broadway musical comedy, Ethel Merman (above). It was a little tougher to logically place Hollywood stars in Hooterville, and you would have thought being stranded on an "uncharted isle" would have kept the cast of Gilligan's Island pretty isolated. That didn't stop Zsa Zsa Gabor, Phil Silvers, and a few others from stopping by, though.

Do you have a favorite sitcom episode featuring a big-name guest star? Feel free to post your choice in the comments below.

The Case of the Captivating Cast

David White: not just Darrin's boss.

Around my house, we've been watching the classic Perry Mason series on DVD lately. Aside from the main selling point -- this is one of TV's all-time best mystery shows -- it's fun to check out the guest players each week and say to yourself, "Hey, isn't that...?" I enjoy seeing some of my favorite sitcom actors playing roles quite different from the one(s) for which I know them. Unlike the later Murder, She Wrote, the producers of Perry Mason weren't really engaged in stunt casting; many of these actors were little-known at the time. It was just a question of using some of Hollywood's best character actors to make the show the strongest it could be. Little wonder that Mason's real-life creator, author Erle Stanley Gardner, wrote the show's producer after seeing an early episode, saying, "I kept wondering how on earth you ever chose every single actor so they were perfectly cast."

In The Case of the Witless Witness, for example, a highly respected judge faces an embarrassing scandal just as he's nominated to run for Lieutenant Governor. He finds himself on the wrong end of a warrant when the key witness in his corruption case turns up conveniently dead before having a chance to testify. Who could have done the dastardly deed? Could it be the judge's chief rival for the party nomination, played by David White ("Larry Tate" from Bewitched)? Maybe it was the sleazy lobbyist, played by Jackie Coogan (The Addams Family's "Uncle Fester"). Surely no one suspects the judge's loyal, longtime secretary, played by Florida Friebus ("Winnie Gillis" from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis).

I'd like to recommend a book to read about this marvelous series, but unfortunately the best one I know is out of print. However, the authors maintain a website at www.perrymasontvshowbook.com that's chock full of information about the show and its cast. If you haven't experienced this classic series from TV's golden age, by all means give it a trial (so to speak). I think your verdict will be favorable.