Shark Bytes

I'm glad Ann lived in a time when the world appreciated a woman with her figure! Mwah, Annie!

I just caught some episodes of "Private Secretary AKA Susie" on a cheap public domain dvd....it wasn't bad at all. In fact, there was a really funny one about Vi's aunt trying to marry Vi off to Don Porter...and insulting Susie the whole time.
This hasn't been re-run often, which seems a shame. Ann Sothern is really good in it.

I have always loved the Ann Sothern show, and Executive Secretary (Susie) - In these series, Ann had great style, and I never felt her weight was terrible - why should all women have to be skinny? Also, Ann's last work - The Whales of August - was fantastic, with a great performance by Lilian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, and others.

If you read the Autobiography of Ann Sothern, by Margo Schultz, if I remember right - Ann was quite a lady, and often very inspirational.

Ann's weight problem stemmed from her bout with hepatitus, not over-eating per se.

Ann Sothern had a wonderful sense of humor and could deliver even the most cliched line with great timing. But she was a bit old to be playing the "girl" that "all the guys love". At least she had an age appropriate love interest (Don Porter, who was a more convincing sex object). Her "mature" figure just added to the ridiculous premise. It also created problems behind the scenes---the camera people had to get more and more creative to distract from her bulk. Ann was rarely photographed with a full frontal standing up and they resorted to having her covered by credenzas. She used to insist on taking an afternoon break were she consumed mass quantities of ice cream, with crushed cookies, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. However, Louis Nye was priceless as her friend Olive's love interest.

The Ann Sothern show/Susie Private Secretary had to have been one of the greatest competitors to "Lucy" there could have been with a female lead in the 1950s! What show were others watching? Great ensemble that "worked well together" (in addition to them actually being staged as just that, coworkers). Even though women in the workplace were not really represented much in those days here was a pioneering show with a strong and funny heroine (Susie/Katie played by Sothern) and her mousy pal Vi/Olive and don’t forget the sassy girl from the other office (Joan Banks played). All sitting around on desktops complaining about their windbag bosses, getting through life dating in their off-time or preventing their single boss-men from falling for the latest femme-fatale chasing them (Zsa Zsa Gabor for one! Classic!) Don’t forget the funny period "hep" dialogue too with expressions like "don’t snap your cap, Mr. Devery!" It also launched careers of young talents too (Ken Berry, for one). Sure Ann was getting a little "poundy" as years progressed; hence a wardrobe of lots of black dresses and peplum "hip-hiding" skirts! But she was another that was a few years older than her characters like Lucille Ball was, so give her a break! She had a certain air of dignity and glamour no matter what her size became. Probably the worst way to end the series was when Katie and her boss Jim Devery suddenly discovered they were madly in love and married! Talk about a forced plot! Nickelodeon dropped running this way too soon and literally drove the "Lucy" series (2 out of 3 of them) in to the ground ad-nauseaum a few years ago!

"The Ann Sothern Show" was NOT the series set in the office. That was Ann's earlier 1950s effort "Private Secretary," which took the name "Susie" in syndication. "The Ann Sothern Show" featured Ann as assistant manager of a hotel. http://us.imdb.com/Details?0051251 Part of the confusion may be that both shows featured the same supporting cast, notably Don Porter as the boss, Ann Tyrrell as the sidekick, and the great Jesse White as a troublemaker.

First, "Private Secretary" came first. It was later re-run under the title "Susie". While the opening and closing for "Susie" were lack-luster, the original "Private Secretary" openings had more flare. Susie was actually a fairly big hit in it's day. It originally shared a prime time slot with Jack Benny. Later gaining once a week status. It lasted for four years and only ended because of a dispute between Ann Sothern and the shows producer. The next season Ann was back doing a new series, "The Ann Sothern Show". Other than the cast, there was no connection to "Susie".

You know, Ann Sothern was pretty chunky, but she was still pretty hot. Any show that continues to produce wood doesn't jump any sharks.