# I Married Joan

I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It stars actress Joan Davis as the manic, scatterbrained wife of a mild-mannered community judge (Jim Backus).

## Synopsis

The show, whose syndicated opening makes the claim "America's favorite comedy show, starring America's queen of comedy, Joan Davis, as Mrs. Joan Stevens" focused on a married couple, Joan and Bradley Stevens. I Married Joan's trademark was broad physical slapstick, with Joan Stevens portrayed as bright but somewhat childlike and given to misunderstanding. Virtually every episode had a plot which provided star Davis with a setup for at least one scene of over-the-top physical comedy.
Davis's real-life daughter, Beverly Wills, was a regular cast member for several months of the show's second season, portraying Joan's sister, Beverly Grossman. Early installments began with Backus, as Judge Stevens in chambers, recalling how one of his wife's madcap mishaps paralleled the problems of a couple seeking a divorce; this was followed by the unfolding of the episode, which ended back in chambers with Judge Stevens summing up his tale for the now-reconciled couple. This wraparound scenario was abandoned after a handful of episodes.
Sponsored by General Electric (original network openings extolled the virtues of the sponsor's products rather than those of its star), I Married Joan was aimed at the viewers who watched I Love Lucy, which had debuted the previous year and was already television's top-rated situation comedy; it was considered by many as an I Love Lucy knock-off and not seen favourably in comparison. I Love Lucy and I Married Joan even employed the same director in each show's first season, Marc Daniels.
NBC scheduled I Married Joan Wednesdays at 8:00 ET against the first half of Arthur Godfrey and His Friends on CBS for the entirety of its three-season run. The show performed marginally during its first year, but enjoyed a surge in the Nielsen ratings during its second season in the wake of Godfrey's firing of Julius LaRosa and the resultant negative publicity.
In its third year, I Married Joan withered against the additional competition of ABC's new top-rated hit Walt Disney's Disneyland and was canceled, airing its last first-run episode on March 23, 1955. Davis' personal health problems were cited as a reason for the show's cancellation. Although she was later seen performing robust physical comedy as a guest star on variety series for several years after her own show ended, she died in 1961 at age 48 of an apparent heart attack.

## Cast

| Actor | Role |
| Joan Davis | Joan Stevens |
| Jim Backus | Bradley Stevens |
| Hope Emerson | Minerva Parker (pilot only) |
| Elvia Allman | Aunt Vera |
| Sandra Gould | Mildred Webster |
| Beverly Wills | Beverly Grossman |
| Hal Smith | Charlie Henderson |
| Geraldine Carr | Mabel Henderson |
| Wally Brown | Wally |
| Sally Kelly | Sally |
| Sheila Bromley | Janet Tobin |
| Dan Tobin | Kerwin Tobin |

## Episode list
### Season 1: 1952–53

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Philip Rapp | Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | October 15, 1952 (1952-10-15) |
| 2 | 2 | "Career" | Hal Walker | Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | October 22, 1952 (1952-10-22) |
| 3 | 3 | "Ballet" | Hal Walker | Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | October 29, 1952 (1952-10-29) |
| 4 | 4 | "Jitterbug" | Hal Walker | Richard Powell, Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | November 5, 1952 (1952-11-05) |
| 5 | 5 | "Crime Panel" | Hal Walker | Phil Sharp, Arthur Stander & Frank Tarloff | November 12, 1952 (1952-11-12) |
| 6 | 6 | "Brad's Class Reunion" | Marc Daniels | Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | November 19, 1952 (1952-11-19) |
| 7 | 7 | "Hunting" | Marc Daniels | Phil Sharp & Arthur Stander | November 26, 1952 (1952-11-26) |
| 8 | 8 | "Joan's Curiosity" | Marc Daniels | Phil Sharp, Arthur Stander & Frank Tarloff | December 3, 1952 (1952-12-03) |
| 9 | 9 | "Birthday" | Marc Daniels | Phil Sharp, Arthur Stander & Frank Tarloff | December 10, 1952 (1952-12-10) |
| 10 | 10 | "Bazaar Pie" | Marc Daniels | Phil Sharp, Arthur Stander & Frank Tarloff | December 17, 1952 (1952-12-17) |
| 11 | 11 | "Dreams" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | December 24, 1952 (1952-12-24) |
| 12 | 12 | "Acrobats" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | December 31, 1952 (1952-12-31) |
| 13 | 13 | "Bad Boy" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | January 7, 1953 (1953-01-07) |
| 14 | 14 | "Circumstantial Evidence" | Unknown | Unknown | January 14, 1953 (1953-01-14) |
| 15 | 15 | "Uncle Edgar" | Marc Daniels | Richard Powell, Sol Saks & Arthur Stander | January 21, 1953 (1953-01-21) |
| 16 | 16 | "Moosehead" | Marc Daniels | Unknown | January 28, 1953 (1953-01-28) |
| 17 | 17 | "Fireman" | Unknown | Arthur Stander, Ben Starr & Frank Tarloff | February 4, 1953 (1953-02-04) |
| 18 | 18 | "Memory" | Unknown | Unknown | February 11, 1953 (1953-02-11) |
| 19 | 19 | "Draft Board" | Unknown | Unknown | February 18, 1953 (1953-02-18) |
| 20 | 20 | "Opera" | Marc Daniels | Unknown | February 25, 1953 (1953-02-25) |
| 21 | 21 | "Shopping" | Unknown | Unknown | March 4, 1953 (1953-03-04) |
| 22 | 22 | "The Stamp" | Marc Daniels | Arthur Stander, Ben Starr & Frank Tarloff | March 11, 1953 (1953-03-11) |
| 23 | 23 | "Little Girl" | Unknown | Unknown | March 18, 1953 (1953-03-18) |
| 24 | 24 | "Diet" | Marc Daniels | Arthur Stander, Ben Starr & Frank Tarloff | March 25, 1953 (1953-03-25) |
| 25 | 25 | "Model" | Marc Daniels | Arthur Stander, Ben Starr & Frank Tarloff | April 1, 1953 (1953-04-01) |
| 26 | 26 | "Lateness" | Marc Daniels | Sherwood Schwartz, Arthur Stander & Frank Tarloff | April 8, 1953 (1953-04-08) |
| 27 | 27 | "Eviction" | Unknown | Unknown | April 15, 1953 (1953-04-15) |
| 28 | 28 | "The Recipe" | Marc Daniels | Sherwood Schwartz & Arthur Stander | April 22, 1953 (1953-04-22) |
| 29 | 29 | "Repairs" | Marc Daniels | Sherwood Schwartz & Arthur Stander | April 29, 1953 (1953-04-29) |
| 30 | 30 | "Secrets" | Unknown | Unknown | May 6, 1953 (1953-05-06) |
| 31 | 31 | "The Artist Show" | John Rich | Jesse Goldstein, Sherwood Schwartz & Phil Sharp | May 13, 1953 (1953-05-13) |
| 32 | 32 | "The Threat" | Unknown | Unknown | May 20, 1953 (1953-05-20) |
| 33 | 33 | "Country Club" | Marc Daniels | Sherwood Schwartz & Arthur Stander | May 27, 1953 (1953-05-27) |
| 34 | 34 | "Theatrical Can-Can" | Marc Daniels | Sherwood Schwartz & Arthur Stander | June 3, 1953 (1953-06-03) |
| 35 | 35 | "Neighbors" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | June 10, 1953 (1953-06-10) |
| 36 | 36 | "Talent Scout" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | June 17, 1953 (1953-06-17) |
| 37 | 37 | "Honeymoon" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | June 24, 1953 (1953-06-24) |
| 38 | 38 | "Business Executive" | Marc Daniels | Bob Fisher, Alan Lipscott & Arthur Stander | July 1, 1953 (1953-07-01) |
| 39 | 39 | "Broken Toe" | Ezra Stone | Unknown | July 8, 1953 (1953-07-08) |

### Season 2: 1953–54

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 40 | 1 | "Brad's Moustache" | October 14, 1953 (1953-10-14) |
| 41 | 2 | "First Lie" | October 21, 1953 (1953-10-21) |
| 42 | 3 | "Furniture Quick Changes" | October 28, 1953 (1953-10-28) |
| 43 | 4 | "Sister Pat" | November 4, 1953 (1953-11-04) |
| 44 | 5 | "Tropical Fish" | November 11, 1953 (1953-11-11) |
| 45 | 6 | "Culinary Nightmare" | November 18, 1953 (1953-11-18) |
| 46 | 7 | "Initiation" | November 25, 1953 (1953-11-25) |
| 47 | 8 | "Bev's Boyfriend" | December 2, 1953 (1953-12-02) |
| 48 | 9 | "Lost Check" | December 9, 1953 (1953-12-09) |
| 49 | 10 | "The Shotgun" | December 16, 1953 (1953-12-16) |
| 50 | 11 | "The Musical" | December 23, 1953 (1953-12-23) |
| 51 | 12 | "Double Wedding" | December 30, 1953 (1953-12-30) |
| 52 | 13 | "Superstition" | January 6, 1954 (1954-01-06) |
| 53 | 14 | "Barbecue" | January 13, 1954 (1954-01-13) |
| 54 | 15 | "Mothers-in-Law" | January 20, 1954 (1954-01-20) |
| 55 | 16 | "Mabel's Dress" | January 27, 1954 (1954-01-27) |
| 56 | 17 | "Monkeyshines" | February 3, 1954 (1954-02-03) |
| 57 | 18 | "Bev's Mistaken Marriage" | February 10, 1954 (1954-02-10) |
| 58 | 19 | "Missing Witnesses" | February 17, 1954 (1954-02-17) |
| 59 | 20 | "Anniversary Memo" | February 24, 1954 (1954-02-24) |
| 60 | 21 | "Dented Fender" | March 3, 1954 (1954-03-03) |
| 61 | 22 | "Mountain Lodge" | March 10, 1954 (1954-03-10) |
| 62 | 23 | "Home of the Week" | March 17, 1954 (1954-03-17) |
| 63 | 24 | "Pop Retires" | March 24, 1954 (1954-03-24) |
| 64 | 25 | "Changing Houses" | March 31, 1954 (1954-03-31) |
| 65 | 26 | "Jealousy" | April 7, 1954 (1954-04-07) |
| 66 | 27 | "Get Rich Quick" | April 14, 1954 (1954-04-14) |
| 67 | 28 | "Masquerade" | April 21, 1954 (1954-04-21) |
| 68 | 29 | "The Milkman Cometh" | April 28, 1954 (1954-04-28) |
| 69 | 30 | "Predictions" | May 19, 1954 (1954-05-19) |
| 70 | 31 | "Brad's Initiation" | June 9, 1954 (1954-06-09) |
| 71 | 32 | "Confidence" | June 23, 1954 (1954-06-23) |
| 72 | 33 | "Joan's Haircut" | July 7, 1954 (1954-07-07) |

### Season 3: 1954–55

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 73 | 1 | "New House" | September 29, 1954 (1954-09-29) |
| 74 | 2 | "Party Line" | October 6, 1954 (1954-10-06) |
| 75 | 3 | "Wall Safe" | October 13, 1954 (1954-10-13) |
| 76 | 4 | "Alienation of Affections" | October 20, 1954 (1954-10-20) |
| 77 | 5 | "Bombay Duck" | October 27, 1954 (1954-10-27) |
| 78 | 6 | "Clothes Budget" | November 3, 1954 (1954-11-03) |
| 79 | 7 | "Dancing Lessons" | November 10, 1954 (1954-11-10) |
| 80 | 8 | "Two Saint Bernards" | November 17, 1954 (1954-11-17) |
| 81 | 9 | "Manhole Cover" | November 24, 1954 (1954-11-24) |
| 82 | 10 | "The Farm" | December 1, 1954 (1954-12-01) |
| 83 | 11 | "Home Movies" | December 8, 1954 (1954-12-08) |
| 84 | 12 | "Big Louie's Parole" | December 15, 1954 (1954-12-15) |
| 85 | 13 | "Crazy Toes Smith" | December 22, 1954 (1954-12-22) |
| 86 | 14 | "Joan the Matchmaker" | December 29, 1954 (1954-12-29) |
| 87 | 15 | "The Wedding" | January 5, 1955 (1955-01-05) |
| 88 | 16 | "The Maid" | January 12, 1955 (1955-01-12) |
| 89 | 17 | "Money in the Shotgun" | January 19, 1955 (1955-01-19) |
| 90 | 18 | "Eye Glasses" | January 26, 1955 (1955-01-26) |
| 91 | 19 | "The Allergy" | February 2, 1955 (1955-02-02) |
| 92 | 20 | "Lieutenant General" | February 9, 1955 (1955-02-09) |
| 93 | 21 | "The Letter" | February 16, 1955 (1955-02-16) |
| 94 | 22 | "Ladies Prison" | February 23, 1955 (1955-02-23) |
| 95 | 23 | "The Lady and the Prizefighter" | March 2, 1955 (1955-03-02) |
| 96 | 24 | "How to Win Friends" | March 9, 1955 (1955-03-09) |
| 97 | 25 | "The Cowboy" | March 16, 1955 (1955-03-16) |
| 98 | 26 | "The Jail Bird" | March 23, 1955 (1955-03-23) |

## Release
### Syndication

In the early 1980s, the series was rerun by the CBN cable network in a late-night block that included another TV sitcom, Gale Storm's series My Little Margie. The series was also aired on ION Television, and on the HOT (History of Television) network in New York (WKOB 42.4) and Dallas (KODF 26 and K31GL 31.3). The series currently (as of 2018) runs on AMGTV, also in a block with My Little Margie. Beginning in March 2018, the series began a weekday morning run on the Decades network.

### Home media

Since 2004, VCI Entertainment has released 5 volumes of various episodes from different seasons on budget DVD compilations.

## Other media

BearManor Media published a biography about Joan Davis, which includes a chapter dedicated to I Married Joan. Episodes of the series have been screened at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention held annually in Aberdeen, Maryland.