Junior Miss
Junior Miss is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in The New Yorker. Between 1939 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in The New Yorker, some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Doubleday published her Junior Miss collection in 1941.[1]
Broadway
Benson's stories were adapted for theatre by writers Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields, by producer Max Gordon, and by director Moss Hart. The play had a successful run of 710 performances on Broadway from November 18, 1941, to July 24, 1943. Patricia Peardon had the title role of Judy Graves, a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.[2] The sets for the production were designed by Frederick Fox.[3]
Film
In 1945, a
Radio
Junior Miss was featured several times in different formats on U.S. radio. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble, the first series was broadcast from March 4 to August 26, 1942, with Shirley Temple playing the lead character Judy Graves. Priscilla Lyon played her friend, Fuffy Adams, "the odd child from the apartment downstairs." Benson and Doris Gilbert collaborated on writing the show. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the program cost $12,000 a week to produce.[6]
From 1944 to 1946, a Junior Miss segment, based on Benson's short stories, was a regular feature in the Mary Small Show (later changed to the Mary Small-Junior Miss Show).[7]
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Junior Miss radio program starred
The film version of Junior Miss was promoted on radio twice in 1946, with
Television
Chodorov and Fields’ version of Junior Miss was adapted as a television musical and broadcast on December 20, 1957, as part of
References
- ^ Yagoda, Ben. About Town. Scribner, 2000.
- ^ "Junior Miss". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
- ^ "Frederick Fox, Pioneering Set Designer for TV, stage". The Record. September 12, 1991. p. 73.
- ISBN 9783110951943.
- ISBN 9780786485505.
- ^ ISBN 9780199770786.
- ^ The Billboard Encyclopedia of Music, Volume 7, Parts 1945-1946. Billboard. 1946. p. 140.
- ISBN 9780199723089.
- ISBN 9780810813748.