Doris Singleton Movies

An affirmative-action program at a major metropolitan hospital is threatened when a young African American resident, who owes his job to the program, is suspected of causing a patient's death through negligence (to use the old cliché, the operation was successful but the patient died). The young man's mentor, Dr. Frank Matthews (Brock Peters), takes the blame for the tragedy, arousing the suspicions of Matthews' longtime friend Quincy (Jack Klugman). Racing against time, Quincy must determine the actual cause of the patient's death--and, hopefully, save the affirmative-action program from being eliminated by a disgruntled hospital official. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cissy (Kathy Garver) has been assigned to babysit the twins while Uncle Bill (Brian Keith) is in Hong Kong on business and Mr. French (Sebastian Cabot) is likewise occupied elsewhere. But when Cissy has a chance to go to a concert, she prevails upon her friend Sharon (Sherry Alberoni) to look after the kids. This sets off a chain reaction of hilarious havoc: Sharon comes down with the measles, Sharon's mother (Doris Singleton) assumes the babysitting duties before she too must leave, and the twins end up in the care of Sharon's father (Walter Sande). and his poker-playing buddies. Somehow this messes straightens itself out in a roundabout fashion that also solves Bill's problems with a nagging toothache! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Totally negating what we were told in the second-season episode "Lucy's College Reunion", Lucy (Lucille Ball) is in danger of losing her job at the bank because, way back in her teen years, she was one week shy of getting her high school diploma. Returning to school to make up for this gaffe, Lucy not only becomes the campus' most popular student, but she also helps out a fellow senior (Robert Pine) who is having trouble passing his courses. In the final scene, a beaming Lucy delivers the valedictory speech at the graduation ceremonies. Among the supporting players in this episode are Lucille Ball's real-life daughter Lucie Arnaz and Lucie's future husband Philip Vandervort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a contestant on Art Linkletter's TV show (which looks a lot like People Are Funny), Lucy is offered a 200-dollar prize if she can refrain from talking for 24 hours. To make certain Lucy keeps her end of the bargain, Linkletter chooses a lady from the audience, one Helen Cosgrove (Doris Singleton), to accompany her home. What Lucy doesn't know is that Helen is a "plant," one of several actors hired by the capricious Linkletter to give our heroine as miserable a time as possible while she tortuously attempts to keep her mouth shut. Former child actor Jack Searl appears briefly as an escaped convict who rushes into the speechless Lucy's living room, desperately searching for a "one-armed man" (guess which TV show was popular when this episode was filmed back in 1965!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Herman (Fred Gwynne) begins sneaking out of the mansion on a nightly basis in order to complete a correspondence course as a private detective. Jumping to conclusions as usual, Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) thinks that Herman is having an affair with another woman. The upshot of all this finds Lily hiring a private eye, sight unseen, to put a tail on her husband--little imagining that would-be gumshoe Herman will end up following himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Doris Singleton, best known to TV comedy fans as the nearsighted Caroline Appleby on I Love Lucy, appears in this episode as magazine writer Lorraine Gilman. Preparing a story on "The Alan Brady Show," Lorraine wants to sit in on a typical writing session. Head writer Rob (Dick Van Dyke) is dead-set against the idea, worrying that Lorraine's presence will result in wholesale ego-tripping and one-upsmanship on the part of himself, Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), and Sally (Rose Marie). As it turns out, Rob's instincts are on target -- but not entirely for the reasons that he had listed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When word leaks out that Rob (Dick Van Dyke) has been assigned to audition talented children for "The Alan Brady Show," everyone in the neighborhood wants to get into the act. Before long, the Petrie living room has become a way station for dozens of stage parents and would-be child stars -- one of whom spends what seems like an eternity singing the entire score from Mozart's Don Giovanni. However, there is one parent who appears to be not at all interested in the talent search...so guess whose kid gets picked? Watch for Dick Van Dyke's real-life sons Barry and Chris as two of the hopefuls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Art dealer Milo Gerard (George Macready) convinces wealthy Rufus Vanner (Rhys Williams) that he has a valuable Van Hooten painting, "The Purple Woman", for sale. In truth, the "masterpiece" is a fake, painted by alcoholic artist Aaron Hubble (Robert H. Harris). Worried that Milo will try to shift blame for the fraud on her, his wife Evelyn (Bethel Leslie) goes to Perry Mason for help. She's going to need it: Milo is subsequently murdered, and Evelyn is the number one suspect. (Ironically, in real life actor George Macready was a noted art collector and co-owner, with Vincent Price, of a prestigious Hollywood gallery). This episode was originally slated to air on November 22, 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a gift to his young wife Ethel (Janet Ward), real estate agent Ralph Montgomery (Everett Sloane) hires a cook named Mrs. Sutton (Beulah Bondi). Before long, however, Ralph has reason to regret this act of extravagance, as evidence begins to pile up suggesting that Mrs. Sutton is the same woman who has recently poisoned three people. When traces of arsenic show up in Ralph's hot chocolate, it would appear that his suspicions about Mrs. Sutton have been confirmed. But, as often happens on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the truth of the matter is something else entirely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In one of the best and most popular I Love Lucy episodes of all, Lucy (Lucille Ball) continues her efforts to convince her visiting friend, Caroline Appleby (Doris Singleton), that she has been hobnobbing with all the big stars during her stay in Hollywood. Taking advantage of Caroline's nearsightedness, Lucy hides Caroline's glasses -- and, with the help of some clever costuming and a collection of celebrity masks, she passes herself off as Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Jimmy Durante. Meanwhile, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley) run across Harpo Marx -- in full costume, having just performed a benefit -- near the Beverly Palms Hotel pool. The boys ask Harpo to pay a visit to Caroline so that she can go home claiming to have met a genuine Hollywood movie star. What Harpo doesn't know is that Lucy, in her zeal to keep up her deception with Caroline, has just donned another disguise -- that of Harpo Marx! This is the episode in which Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx, dressed in identical outfits, brilliantly restage the famous "mirror routine" from the 1933 Marx Brothers film Duck Soup -- and as a bonus, Harpo performs a harp rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." ~ All Movie Guide

As part of a fund-raising strategy, the women's club to which Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) belong decides to organize an all-woman orchestra. At first, the musically disinclined Lucy is rejected by the orchestra, but she wangles a spot as a saxophonist by promising to arrange for the aggregation to be led by her husband, Ricky (Desi Arnaz). Alas, none of the ladies has anything remotely resembling talent, so it is up to Ricky to save the day -- and his reputation as a bona fide bandleader -- when the all-girl orchestra is booked for a professional engagement. ~ All Movie Guide