Topper in Other Media - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

tv star collector · 12-19-2005, 07:01 PM

Thorne Smith wrote the novel TOPPER in 1926. It was adapted to the movie
screen in 1937, starring Constance Bennett, Cary Grant and (as Topper) Roland Young. The picture was followed by two sequels ("Topper Returns" and "Topper Takes a Trip"); and, in 1953, by the TV series starring Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper and Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling (as the ghostly Kerbys). Interestingly, the dog Neil (a St. Bernard) was not in the novel or the movies. He was created specifically for the television series (after the automobile wreck was changed to a skiing accident). Neil did, however, appear in the only TOPPER comic book--aptly titled TOPPER & NEIL--published by Dell, in 1957. Oddly, though, neither George nor Marion Kerby appear (and Neil is referred to as merely an "invisible" dog instead of a ghostly dog).

Next came a 1979 made-for-TV movie starring Kate Jackson and Andrew
Stevens. By the way, the original 1937 "Topper" has the dubious distinction of being the first motion picture to be "colorized." But it all began with a daring, ribald (for its time) novel published almost 80 years ago.

TV Knowledge Fan · 04-10-2006, 04:25 PM

the 1945 NBC Radio summer replacement series, "THE ADVENTURES OF TOPPER", starring Roland Young? A few episodes are floating around....and there was an unsold NBC comedy pilot called "TOPPER RETURNS", starring Roddy McDowall, in 1973......

12-19-2005, 07:01 PM	#1
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,486	Topper in Other Media Thorne Smith wrote the novel TOPPER in 1926. It was adapted to the movie screen in 1937, starring Constance Bennett, Cary Grant and (as Topper) Roland Young. The picture was followed by two sequels ("Topper Returns" and "Topper Takes a Trip"); and, in 1953, by the TV series starring Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper and Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling (as the ghostly Kerbys). Interestingly, the dog Neil (a St. Bernard) was not in the novel or the movies. He was created specifically for the television series (after the automobile wreck was changed to a skiing accident). Neil did, however, appear in the only TOPPER comic book--aptly titled TOPPER & NEIL--published by Dell, in 1957. Oddly, though, neither George nor Marion Kerby appear (and Neil is referred to as merely an "invisible" dog instead of a ghostly dog). Next came a 1979 made-for-TV movie starring Kate Jackson and Andrew Stevens. By the way, the original 1937 "Topper" has the dubious distinction of being the first motion picture to be "colorized." But it all began with a daring, ribald (for its time) novel published almost 80 years ago.

04-10-2006, 04:25 PM	#2
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	Aren't you forgetting.... the 1945 NBC Radio summer replacement series, "THE ADVENTURES OF TOPPER", starring Roland Young? A few episodes are floating around....and there was an unsold NBC comedy pilot called "TOPPER RETURNS", starring Roddy McDowall, in 1973......