Thanks for posting this! Married-in-real-life Robert Sterling (35 years old here) and Anne Jeffreys (29 years old here) met each other in 1949 in New York when both were performing in different plays. Their marriage two years later lasted 55 years until his death in 2006. Leo G. Carroll was 66 years old here and had already been acting for over 40 years. He was one of the most successful character actors in Hollywood and worked constantly until shortly before his death in 1972 at age 85.
@DennisMSulliva8 ай бұрын
WOW!
@user-ct3lz9ho4j2 ай бұрын
Thanks for this info. Good to know they had good long lives.
@susanstanley50989 ай бұрын
Enjoyed so much as a kid, and still at 70
@Downecker8 ай бұрын
I'm 74 and remember Topper very well! Great times growing up in the 50's and classic TV ! Find some photos of Ann Jeffries . A VERY GORGEOUS woman! A " 10 " anytime!😊
@lemorab19 ай бұрын
I loved this show as a little kid in the early 1950's. I don't remember ever seeing the origin story of how TV George and Marion and Neal all became ghosts, or how Cosmo and Henrietta Topper got the Kirby house. We heard about the avalanche, but I never saw it happen. Finally, after all these many, many years! Thank you!
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
Yeah! If we missed one back then, we'd likely never see it. The casting on this one was perfect. Anne Jefferies was gorgeous as was Neal as a dog. "My Little Margie" we were also watching at this time.
@srothbardt9 ай бұрын
Read the novel.
@kennethdegruchy55039 ай бұрын
Yes Ann Jeffries was my first heart throb at the tender age of about 5 when I watched the show in syndication on WNEW TV in NY.@@jamesmiller4184
@kindredspirit38759 ай бұрын
Ditto! 74
@hlnbee9 ай бұрын
And I Married Joan!
@5ivestring9 ай бұрын
Brings back such great memories
@roseyc.58462 жыл бұрын
I LOVED this show. I was just a kid, but, I loved it. 🤗❤️
@lonniebishop77783 жыл бұрын
So, THAT'S how it all began. In any case, another tv classic is rescued for all to enjoy.
@PuffKitty2 жыл бұрын
I wondered why the dog was named Neil; it seemed so odd to me lol 🐶
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
Now . . . if ONLY someone might find all the Jackie Gleason items OTHER than The Honeymooners! Of all of Jackie's characters, it was that mad-cap playboy, the pride AND envy of all of the New York 400, who was my viewing fave! Talk about class, savoire faire et bon vivant 'man about town' style -- he had it all !! One kiss as bestowed upon any lucky lady . . . and she was toast, burned to an over exhilarated crisp!!
@user-ct3lz9ho4j2 ай бұрын
Always loved these ghosts! The TV show came before the movies for me. Grew up in mid 1940s to mid 1960s and enjoyed this show very much then and now. THANK YOU!
@user-oj5bw7sl8p6 ай бұрын
What a lovely old movie! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
@hcombs0104 Жыл бұрын
I used to watch this all the time circa 1963 as a five year old.
@kennethdegruchy55039 ай бұрын
Me too but I was a 5 year old in 1959 watching it in syndication on WNEW TV ch 5 in NY. I do recall this first episode vaguely
@user-qo3jh9mn1t9 ай бұрын
I'm amazed at how much of this episode I remember. I use to watch it every day after school.
@RandyStalding9 ай бұрын
I never missed an episode of Topper back in the 50's. Hopalong Cassidy, Sgt Preston of the RCMP and Zoro were on our black and white TV about the same time. Of course, we also watched Amos n Andy before the NAACP had it abolished.
@howardkerr81742 жыл бұрын
I watched this as a kid in the early 60s, I always thought George and Marion were so sophisticated and urbane. I never knew Topper met the Kirbys before their skiing accident.
@evilmothericebearkillerbir601610 ай бұрын
watch the topper 3 movies
@patriciafeehan773210 ай бұрын
They were wealthy socialites and Topper was their Banker. The Kirby’s owned a fancy race care and loved to go racing down country roads. They died in a car accident leaving Cosmo Topper as their heir. That was the movie with Cary Grant.
@evilmothericebearkillerbir601610 ай бұрын
ya i seen all 3 when i was a kid late night tv like 3 in the morning i am 56 now so
@sandybruce909210 ай бұрын
I remember watching this at that time too!!! Loved this show!
@maxinemccartney52849 ай бұрын
❤
@PuffKitty2 жыл бұрын
Thanks a million for taking the time to upload this wonderfully clear first episode of Topper 🎩! I can't believe I got a chance to see it 🤗 PS: your channel content is pretty good too 📺 ☺️
@john-brady10 ай бұрын
Not a bad print. Thanks for posting this - it’s a ‘crucial’ episode to the series… Long live Thorne Smith…. !
@doraran21388 ай бұрын
First saw this on some obscure cable channel in the '90s along with I Married Joan, My Little Margie, Original Dragnets, Highway Patrol, and Sheriff of Cochise. The writing on this pilot episode as well as timing of dialogue is excellent. So many double entendres with more 'adult' humor for 1950's. Early TV of late '40s early '50s was aimed at a more sophisticated, upper class audience due to cost of TVs and old shows reflect that.
@rickhaydan34339 ай бұрын
I loved this show. None of today's ghost shows are nearly as sophiticated or humorous.
@jaxwest67039 ай бұрын
Really enjoyed this show, liked it better than the movie which doesn't happen often,, btw Anne Jefferys was one of the most beautiful women that ever graced the screen.
@jimmymiller779 ай бұрын
This was one of my favorite tv shows. Thanks so much for posting such a "Clastic"
@marthagilbert34596 ай бұрын
It is a classic show.
@ellenchavez20439 ай бұрын
I loved the movie with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as the Kirbys. Leo G Carroll played Topper. Billie Burke (Glenda, the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz) played his wife. It's hilarious!
@akrenwinkle9 ай бұрын
Constance Bennett. She was an enormous star, billed over Cary Grant.
@user-qo3jh9mn1t9 ай бұрын
The female lead was actually Constance Bennett. But Cary and Irene made some of my all time favorite movies together. The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife. Great movies.
@akrenwinkle9 ай бұрын
@@user-qo3jh9mn1t "My Favorite Wife" was remade as "Move Over, Darling" with Doris Day in the Irene Dunne part. Irene's even mentioned in it.
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
Nice try Ellen and a very easy little mistake to make. I would have thought and said that same.
@georgemoore71869 ай бұрын
and Leo G Carroll wasn't in the Topper movies with Cary Grant, that was Roland Young, Roland Young made Topper movies with Cary Grant(only in the first movie) and Constance Bennett(in the 1st and 2nd movie,but not the 3rd) Roland Young then carried on and made a 3rd Topper movie with Joan Blondell which I thought was the best of them all
@dysfunctional_vet9 ай бұрын
i think i saw all of these episodes so long ago and loved them i had forgotten them until the title pulled up. a simply tiime and real good comedy
@skreety0455 Жыл бұрын
My first intro to Leo G Carroll.... Loved the series😊
@ex-engineer6657 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
@Old-Time-Fun2 жыл бұрын
How very delightful ! This was one of my favorite shows while it was broadcast but I never saw this before ! I'd love to see a detailed description of how the special effects were accomplished -
@sandrarice419710 ай бұрын
I love Topper movies. I never knew there was a tv show called Topper. Thank you for posting. Blessings.❤
@sandybruce909210 ай бұрын
And I didn’t know there were movies!😄🥴😄. Till I got older!!!
@estoy10016 ай бұрын
Books as well: 'Topper' and 'Topper Takes a Trip' by Thorne Smith, 1926 & 1932, respectively.
@gracieallen82854 ай бұрын
This was a favorite show of mine in the 50s
@susancorvalan67652 ай бұрын
I watched this on TV as a child. The TV screen was about 10” diameter and round! The image was fuzzy. But the joy was great.
@markgregorio37710 ай бұрын
What a 'find'! This is a fun series! This must have been a big hit then! It is for me.
@jeraldbaxter35329 ай бұрын
Normally, I dislike remakes, but this one is enjoyable. The actress who plays Mrs. Topper is not quite in Billie Burke's league, but she comes within a hair's breadth.
@curtisdaniel92949 ай бұрын
A later role for Leo G Carrol was Mr Waverly. The Boss of Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin - Robert Vaughan and the Late and Marvelous David McCallum, aka Ducky on NCIS. ❤😊
@kenr470910 ай бұрын
I watch this in the 50s and I love the show back then it actually got me interested in ghosts. I loved the show. 25:27
@jamesgraham9483 жыл бұрын
very nice video quality and the full 25 minute version, all of the versions I have seen have been cut down to 22 minutes , I wish someone would put the Pilot and other episodes on DVD, only a small number of episodes are out there and it would be nice to see a complete and unedited set.
@JENDALL7142 жыл бұрын
It seems that the avalanche scene coming down is cut out for some reason.
@adiconstantin4598 Жыл бұрын
@@JENDALL714 maybe to keep it as a comedy 🙂
@RetiredSchoolCook10 ай бұрын
❤ 📺 Great old tv show 📺 Thank you 📺 👍 Oct . 13 , 2023
@alfredpambuena68749 ай бұрын
I too watched this show...one of the best shows on TV at that time...
@phylis3917Ай бұрын
Been waiting forever! Favorite when you g. 😅. Keep happy all 💕
@user-mw8xd1pg8g9 ай бұрын
I was 2 in '53. God I feel old. If you were out doing something and somebody phone you, they would have to call back. My mother's arm was my safety device in the car. If I had a place on this earth for approx. 100 years I would choose to be born in 1867 (end of civil war and entering reconstruction) and die in 1967 (summer of love). Horses and dirt roads through super highways and flight. AND too old for either World War! Seems so quaint. My little Margie, The Betty White Show ('52 - '54), The Peoples Choice (with Jackie Cooper and Cleo the talking basset hound '55 - '58) and so many more. Car 54 where are you, The Life of Riley and a little later Hollywood Squares. Paul Lynde joke, (center square) ... When a man falls overboard from a boat into the water, what do you shout, MAN OVERBOARD. When a woman falls overboard into the water what do you shout, FULL SPEED AHEAD! Now we're stuck with the kardashians, house wives of wherever. "Reality" programs are crap. We've had a lot of good shows too.
@davidbaise5137Ай бұрын
Yep, that’s Lee Patrick, Mrs. Topper aka “Effie” in the Maltese Falcon.
@CarolE.Johnson8 ай бұрын
😎Say, I remember watching this show as a child! Leo went from "Topper" to "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." WoW! Everything changes. 😊 🏁♥ EnJoy the show! C'ya, CJ-4-JC always
@rpgober30486 ай бұрын
Love it!
@fromthesidelines3 жыл бұрын
Oiginally telecast on October 9, 1953. Most of the episode was later reworked into the second season episode "Topper Tells All".
@psychedelicpython Жыл бұрын
I wasn’t born until 1963. This show came out 10 years before I was born. Now I’m 60 and enjoying the Topper shows. Better late than never. 😁
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
@@psychedelicpython Gosh, that's too bad. Well, it is just as you say.
@richardvillafana81118 ай бұрын
Used to come on everyday after I got home from school in the 60's.
@reg98314 ай бұрын
Cosmo Topper ❤
@srothbardt9 ай бұрын
Great show based on a nice novel . I forget the author. Leo G Carroll is great in anything, such as “North by Northwest “. Same story was used for the movie with Cary Grant
@celesasheldon69319 ай бұрын
This actress is gorgeous 😂
@MissouriPenny6 ай бұрын
Watching for the 1st time at 58 ....on January 2024
@hf6150 Жыл бұрын
Thought of this show tonight while pondering the current CBS comedy "Ghosts". Same idea, reworked 70 years later.
@curtisdaniel92949 ай бұрын
"Why Cosmo..." pretty Racy for 1953!😊😊
@jamesnorris12729 ай бұрын
And how about a little trivia for everyone to chase down: 'Cosmo' was 'Mr. Waverly' on 'The Man From Uncle,' and 'George' was the Executive Officer on board the submarine 'Seaview' in the movie 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' with Walter Pidgeon and Barbara Eden. 'Henrietta' had a part in the movie: 'The Five Faces of Doctor Lo' with Tony Randall and Barbara Eden!
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
Chic and stylish was this one. One does not get that very often THESE days!
@valeriemoore27629 ай бұрын
I also watched this as a, kid. George Cerby played by Carry Grant in original movie. Topper and wife played by same actors. O,
@stevehartman1730 Жыл бұрын
Saw topper as a 3 yr old.
@gljm9 ай бұрын
I would love to see the second episode or any of the other episodes that Stephen Sondheim was one of the writers for.
@alanstrong55 Жыл бұрын
Saw the show briefly on TV in 1967. Got no further chance after that.
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
NOW, your luck has finally arrived !! Congratulations, Alan!
@liz6cats2809 ай бұрын
A home costing $16,000 in 1953 would be $184,442.85 today, according to the inflation calculator. If they paid the agent's price of $28,000, that would be $311,247.30. Seems like this house would fetch more than that.
@GirGir1832 жыл бұрын
why does it have "not for broadcast" in the corner?
@pauldouglas4158 Жыл бұрын
I was 7 and thought this was a great show
@ta192utube9 ай бұрын
Always wondered why Hollywood, post-Hayes, didn't jump in with both feet on Smith's work. His stuff gets really raunchy for its day, but would make for some good R rated comedy movies in the last 1/2 century. For those not familiar with the overall Topper series, George goes off to do his own thing, Cosmo ditches his wife and he and Marian become a VERY busy item...
@alvindimes47299 ай бұрын
The gentleman in the top hat! I'm sure its Mr Waverly from the Man From Uncle. 😮
@prudencehorvath84669 ай бұрын
Actually there are is another version of topper with Gary Grant and Carol Lombar where they get into a car accident . I loved all the toppers as a kid and still do.
@AngusMacKinnon-xm5ko10 ай бұрын
FANTASTIC. This was my favourite show back in 1955. I have the full disk set but I have unfortunately misplaced them. Time to turn the house upside down!
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
YES! I'd say. Let us know when and where found.
@AngusMacKinnon-xm5ko9 ай бұрын
@@jamesmiller4184 I certainly will mate. From memory they cost me around AUD $50.00 about 10 years ago.
@jamesmiller41849 ай бұрын
@@AngusMacKinnon-xm5ko Very good! Down under, I see that you are. Were these broadcast there so early as then? Assuming it as-so, I am happy to know the most worthy series got around and, that you Angus were able to view it first-run as I did. Cheerio !!
@AngusMacKinnon-xm5ko9 ай бұрын
@@jamesmiller4184 Hello James. Yes my friend, I first watched this show on with Channel 7 or Channel 9 in Melbourne Australia as far back as 1961. I remember this being on in the UK back in 1955 when I saw a couple of episodes but subsequent to emigrating to Australia arrive here on Sunday 23 April 1961, that's when I watched the series for a brief period of time before the show was cancelled about 12 months later. I never forgot the show and always kept a lookout for the series when I came across it about 10 years ago. I jumped at the chance to buy the set which looked like a copy taken off the TV however; I didn't care; I was happy to buy it. As you well know James, TV back in the 1950s was an innocent time. TV was introduced into Australia in 1961. The shows then were FANTASTIC. I even have the full run of THE LIFE & LEGEND OF WYATT EARP starring Hugh O'BRIAN. I have the full series and watched it about four times thus far. I love those old shows. The other series I watched in 1961 was "THE REAL MCCOYS" with Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna and Kathleen Nolan puls a Scottish actor Andy Clyde. That series was NEVER repeated after it ended but I was able to lay my hands on the full serie. Cheer my friend,
@hlnbee9 ай бұрын
My parents bought houses in the 50’s for $10,000, $15,000 and $16,000.
@loveheals1020 Жыл бұрын
Nicknamed my Leo "Topper"
@joeharris38789 ай бұрын
The Topper tv show was shown y again ears later, probably around 1960 . I watched it I guess 4 or 5 and realized that ghosts are real, but not spooky.
@kennethdegruchy55039 ай бұрын
I wonder why the the actual snow falling from the avalanche was cut. If the show was cut for time to get in more commercials it seems odd that they would cut out such a pivotal scene. Maybe a film editor needed some stock footage of an avalanche and grabbed it from this show.
@josephcollins60339 ай бұрын
LYLE TALBOT!!!!!
@mfb30423 ай бұрын
As good as the original movie.
@kazprado53563 жыл бұрын
Do you have a classic commercial of Max Factor in the 50's?
@larryaldrich43519 ай бұрын
George and Marion made being dead look like fun.
@georgemoore71869 ай бұрын
I am always fascinated by how we perceive death, obviously when we die our clothes die with us, why do Ghosts always wear clothes? While on the subject of things I don't understand, Why do aliens from other Planets all wear the same uniform???....... and why doesn't Earth have a Uniform, how embarrassed are we going to be when the Aliens come for a visit and we are in shorts and singlet etc and they're all dressed up?
@ajmarr567110 ай бұрын
end music be George M. Cohan Yankee Doodle Dandy!
@rentslave Жыл бұрын
The Seattle Mariners have a good rookie pitcher named George Kirby.
@psychedelicpython Жыл бұрын
Too funny! I live in Washington State.
@Downecker6 ай бұрын
George Kirby was a stand up comedian from the 60's !
@nickjames30499 ай бұрын
Very casual and relaxed regarding their demise weren't they? 😕
@DennisMSulliva8 ай бұрын
They were a beautiful couple, especially her. Their three children?
@im1who84u5 ай бұрын
13:53 So............. Ghost have shadows?
@curtisdaniel92949 ай бұрын
27 000 $ today (2023) would barely get you some new cars! 😂❤
@Telephonebill519 ай бұрын
Damn, this was way back in the days of My Little Margie and December Bride. Heady times, heady times...
@noraarico1313 Жыл бұрын
Why is there a laugh-track in this video?
@LLewis-vu9qf Жыл бұрын
Nora -- that's what the networks did with comedies back then and for many years thereafter. Guess they didn't trust the audience to laugh without 'encouragement'. 😊
@srothbardt9 ай бұрын
It’s TV
@celesasheldon69319 ай бұрын
Ha ha how to's and process isnt allowed 😅
@greendeane19 ай бұрын
It makes one realize who pathetic laugh tracks are...