I saw an episode the other day that was about Ann's agent wanting her to change her name because Marie didn't sound like a last name, so wouldn't be a good name for an actress. The whole time I'm thinking, what about Ann-Margret? I thought that would be mentioned sometime in the episode but it never was. I then got to thinking, was the name Ann Marie inspired by Ann-Margret (who was a very big name at that time)?

You could tell they recycled some clips from the original pilot in which Don played her agent/love interest. Still can't figure out why it was important to make Don native-American. Anyway, Here's what gave it away: the scene where Ann is filming her part and "Don" comes on the set. She didn't do her typical "oh Donald" reaction when seeing him. Also he said that he kind of had a personal interest in her. By then she and DOn were serious so he would not have said such a line. THe scene was generic enough to fit but once you see the pilot and watch the re-shoot you definitely notice.;)

Okay, that's an interesting topic but still doesn't address any of my question. I'm wondering whether Ann-Margret inspired the name Ann Marie. And whether or not it did, it seemed odd to me that an entire episode was built around the idea that Ann Marie isn't a good name for an actress because Marie doesn't sound like a last name. I thought at some point they would give a nod to Ann-Margret, but they didn't.

Hmmm. Good question. Too bad Marlo and Bill Persky didn't address it on the DVDs.

I doubt that the name Ann Marie was inspired by Ann Margaret. I would think that there would have been mention about it in the "That Girl" book. I cannot remember for sure if the book even discussed the origin of how they selected Ann's last name. Off hand, I do not recall reading anything about it.

My own last name is also used as a first name too.

I doubt that the name Ann Marie was inspired by Ann Margaret. I would think that there would have been mention about it in the "That Girl" book. I cannot remember for sure if the book even discussed the origin of how they selected Ann's last name. Off hand, I do not recall reading anything about it.

My own last name is also used as a first name too.

Hmm. Could it be Ann-Margret's name was the inspiration and they just don't want to admit it? She had become a very big star by the time That Girl hit the airwaves, with hit films like Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas under her belt, among others. Even The Flintstones had created a stone-age animated version of her in 1963 called Ann-Margrock (with Ann-Margret supplying the voice). Even if nobody consciously came up with the name Ann Marie with Ann-Margret in mind, it's hard for me to imagine the name similarity never occurred to anyone working on That Girl. And I suspect it at least subconsciously influenced the name creation.

It was mentioned in the unaired pilot, which was reworked into that episode. Ann asks Don "What about Ann-Margaret?" Don says people would accuse Ann of copying her.