It was the #4 hit show of 1965!
Nannette & the Chimp debuted on Sept. 8th, 1965
on ABC after a long and troubled production. Star,
Rita Leftkowitz, complained numerous times about the
grabby nature of her co-star, Boogles the chimp. This led
to many scenes having to be re-shot in order to pass the censor board.
In addition, several members of the crew were fired after
pointing out that Boogles was, in fact a monkey, not a chimp.
The show, a half hour sitcom set in France, concerned the wacky
mis-adventures of Nannette, a practitioner of the worlds oldest
profession, who finds herself the guardian of a wayward chimp
named Henri. The unlikely twosome got each other in and out
of trouble on a weekly basis while always finding ways to
remain friends.
Rita's va-va-voom figure and Boogles' hilarious hi-jinks shot
the show to #4 where it stayed for two seasons.
The show was canceled after Boogles became embroiled in a
scandal involving the pet poodle of guest actress, Betty Spork.
The producers tried to find a new chimp to play Henri, but none
of the contenders possessed Boogles' special magic.
Rita Leftkowitz went on to star in Shawna, the Jungle Queen
until her tragic death in 1969, when she was
swallowed by an errant boa constrictor during a break in filming.
The first season of Nannette & the Chimp will be
available soon on DVD and Blu-ray.
4 comments:
A busty tramp and a monkey named Henri-What's not to l;ike about this?
Y'know, there's a book in this somewhere, Anthony. Just full of your little pictures with a funny story about the character in them.
I was interupted when I first commented and want to commend you for this hilarious pseudo history. Very, very funny! ( Also, sorry about the typo. )
Jack: It has it all!
Amy: That is a really good idea. I shall ponder it.
Jack: That's more like it. Your check is in the mail. Thanks!
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