Child actor
Actress Barbara Stuart landed her first television role on "The Great Gildersleeve" in the role of Gildersleeve's secretary, Bessie. Child actor Michael Winkelman, later of "The Real McCoys", also made his first television appearance on the show in the role of 9-year-old Bruce Fuller. Actor Clegg Hoyt also made his television debut on the series as a carnival barker in "Practice What You Preach" (1955).