Mary Kay Stearns

In the two-hour joint portion of their interview, Johnny Stearns (1916-2001) and Mary Kay Stearns (1925-2018) how they met and their work together. They discuss their television debut, including Mary Kay’s debut on the DuMont network on a show called J.J. Juniors, in which she modeled junior fashions. They detail their work on the very first television situation comedy, Mary Kay and Johnny (1947-50), on which they co-starred. They talk about the week-by-week production of the show, storylines used, format, premise, production, and crew of the program, as well as its run on three different networks (Dumont, NBC, CBS). They discuss Mary Kay’s later show, Mary Kay’s Nightcap (1951-52), on which she “signed off” for NBC by telling the viewers what would be on television the following day and doing occasional interviews. They also talk about serving as the spokespeople for U.S. Steel in the 1950s, appearing in commercials during the U.S. Steel Hour. Michael Rosen conducted the interview on August 25, 1999 in Corona del Mar, CA.

In the half-hour solo portion of her interview, Mary Kay Stearns describes her stage debut as a toddler at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. She talks about her appearances on stage and in film on the West Coast before moving to New York to appear on Broadway. She recalls appearances on live television shows such as Armstrong Circle Theatre and Kraft Television Theatre.