Dick and the Duchess

Dick and the Duchess is an American-British sitcom filmed and set in London, England, and starring Patrick O'Neal and Hazel Court.[1] O'Neal starred as Dick Starrett, an American insurance claims investigator based in London, who is married to Jane, an attractive patrician Englishwoman whom he calls "Duchess". Court was also known for her roles in horror films. Sheldon Reynolds was the executive producer of the series, filmed by Associated-Rediffusion Television.[2] Shooting took place at the MGM-British Studios at Elstree.

Twenty-six episodes aired between September 28, 1957, and March 22, 1958. The series aired in Britain during the following 1958–1959 season. In the story line, Jane's family had difficulty accepting Dick both as an American and a "commoner". Jane often got involved in a comical vein in Dick's insurance cases. Beatrice Varley appeared in a supporting role as Mathilda. Richard Wattis was cast as Peter Jamison, Dick's friend and office associate, in three episodes entitled "Maude", "The Wild Party", and "Bank Robbery". Michael Shepley played Inspector Stark of Scotland Yard, who sometimes helped Dick with his cases. English actor Ronnie Stevens appeared as Rodney, an employee in Dick's office.[1]

Series guest stars were mostly English actors. Margaret Rutherford, for instance, appeared as Cynthia Gordon in the 1957 episode "The Kissing Bandit".[3] Other actors who appeared included Kenneth Williams, Richard Wattis, Roddy Hughes, Fabia Drake, Michael Shepley, Beatrice Varley, Ronnie Stevens, Sydney Tafler, Marne Maitland, Victor Maddern, Leslie Dwyer, Michael Medwin, Maxine Audley, Ronald Adam and Lionel Jeffries.

Dick and the Duchess aired on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, sandwiched between Perry Mason and The Gale Storm Show. Its principal competition was the second half of The Perry Como Show on NBC.[4] After the initial airing, rebroadcasts of Dick and the Duchess aired on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from March to May 1958 in the time slot formerly held by Leave It to Beaver, which then switched to Wednesday evenings for the remainder of its first-season run on CBS.[5]