Cathy Lewis article

My Friend Irma - a review

The music I have written in my lifetime - literally, thousands of pieces, I have been told that the darker, sadder things are the best.  I tell you this because I think it's true that I enjoy writing about OTR that I find intolerable.

One of those shows is My Friend Irma.  Now I know some of you like the show - and hey, I'll be the first to admit that even I LOVE THE THREE STOOGES.

However, My Friend Irma is not the Three Stooges.

What we have here is Irma, who did such a good job of playing a completely ditzy blonde that she was typecast forever afterwards.  I actually feel sorry for her because everything I have ever read about her is positive and she was not a ditzy blonde in real life.  As a matter of fact, she was a "blonde bombshell."

Marie Wilson (Irma)

However, on My Friend Irma she plays a COMPLETE airhead.  She is played perfectly by Marie Wilson.  But no  one - not any of the Three Stooges even - could be as dumb as she portrayed.  If anyone were that dumb, they'd be classified as someone with mental conditions - and then it just wouldn't be funny.

And to me, it's not funny.  Irma has her funny moments (I suppose) but I think what makes it not so funny are the even more not-so-funny supporting characters.

One of those actors is John Brown, someone I love in everything he does - but here, he's tepid and while not awful, just not funny.  He plays Irma's "boyfriend" but he treats her awful and never works.  He's a bum but he's a bum that's almost as dumb as Irma.  He knows the street, maybe, but he's dumb.  And not funny.

The same goes with the other actors involved.  Jane Stacy, the level-headed roommate of Irma (played by Cathy Lewis) is too straight with no sense of humor and little personality.  As a matter of fact, she's a little snooty.  And oh, she's definitely not funny.

Mrs. O'Reilly the nosy landlady and Professor what's-his-name; they pop in now and then to see what kind of mess Irma has gotten herself into - they sound they like they are straight out of a 7th grade Junior High School comedy. And oh, they aren't funny either.

I've endured at least 20 episodes of this nonsense and that's at least 19 more episodes than I needed to endure.

A one half star rating - if that, I'll give it.  It's not even a time-killer.  It's just something I have tried to endure so I could write about it.


©Jimbo 2010/2011

"Suspense" promos, early 1950's [#02]

Obscure photos

These pictures of a real bad quality - taken from a 1950 newspaper.  However, they are quite rare or quite obscure:

Elliott and Cathy Lewis article

Ditzy! My Friend Irma

Rare John Brown photo (right)

A million screengrabs of Cathy Lewis

I found out her name is actually spelled "Cathy" not "Kathy" - even though it is spelled that way plenty of places, but I went to the enclyclopedia to check it out.

Well - not a million photos here, but a few.

Elliott and Cathy Lewis