I'm looking for ANY "PRIVATE SECRETARY" episode which
has the original PRIVATE SECRETARY open, not
the syndicated SUSIE opening. The MUSEUM OF RADIO
and TV has one, but I don't know of any in circulation.

www.bobobrien.tv/videos/

"PRIVATE SECRETARY", as you know, was originally sponsored by American Tobacco {for Lucky Strike}, and was seen on alternate Sundays with "THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM" on CBS. The original titles have a Lucky Strike sponsor I.D., which made it impossible to be seen in future syndication. And there was the problem of Ann Sothern's fight with producer Jack Chertok in early 1957- she walked away from the show, yet he still owned the rights to the program, including the title. He hoped that he would be able to replace Ann with another "Susie McNamera", and retained the rights to use the original title. When he released the show into syndication in the fall of '57, he used "SUSIE" as a reissue title, creating a new animated title sequence. Years later, Ann somehow acquired the rights to the show, and had a NEW "PRIVATE SECRETARY" title created when the series was revived on 'Nick At Nite' in the late '80s.

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.I have an episode of THE JACK BENNY SHOW on VHS; and at the end the announcer (Don Wilson) says "be sure to tune in next week for PRIVATE SECRETARY starring Ann Sothern at this same night and time".


(I know that really belongs in a thread for THE JACK BENNY SHOW but there isn't one)

Ann somehow acquired the rights to the show, and had a NEW "PRIVATE SECRETARY" title created when the series was revived on 'Nick At Nite' in the late '80s.

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The title remained Susie (unfortunately) for the Nick @ Nite run. The new opening sequence montage was certainly more visually appealing than the one it replaced, but the music used was not the from syndie opening, it was instead just a snippet from the end theme.

...at the end of "THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM", between February 1953 and February 1957, Don Wilson (and sometimes Jack) would remind viewers to watch "PRIVATE SECRETARY" "next week'" [this reminder was courtesy of Jack's sponsor, American Tobacco, who, as I've said, sponsored both series on alternate Sunday nights]. As for the "new" "SUSIE" title, 'TD', that stemmed from the fact that Ann Sothern did not have the right to use the original title {possibly, the rights to the "PRIVATE SECRETARY" title are still held by Chertok's company}.

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