The Millionaire

When my grandparents broke down and got a television in the middle Fifties one of the first shows they liked was The Millionaire. I can still hear my grandmother, saying philosophically what a great thing it would be if Michael Anthony rang their doorbell and dropped a million tax free dollars in their laps. My grandparents were immigrants from the Ukraine and no one ever gave them anything. Still it was an entertaining fantasy.

As it was for any number of homes back in the day when the fabulously wealthy John Beresford Tipton whom we never saw, but whose voice was supplied by Paul Frees would summon his secretary Michael Anthony in played by Marvin Miller. With the spacious Tipton estate of Silverstone in the background, Tipton explains to Anthony who will be this week's beneficiary.

The next thing we see is Marvin Miller knocking on someone's door and giving them a check for a million dollars. What that individual did with it was the basis of the episode of that week. That in turn depended on the character of the individual. The variations on human character was the heart of each episode.

Tipton found 205 characters to be generous with for six seasons. Presumably he died or ran out of money. He might have had to sell Silverstone, from what little we saw of it, it looked as grand as San Simeon.

They were good episodes, The Millionaire crammed a lot of plot and character development into a thirty minute show. The players had to be good to convey it. I wish I could see some of those episodes on the TV Land Channel now.

"The Millionaire" is a show unfairly forgotten, today; as popular in it's time as "Queen for a Day", "Private Secretary", and "Our Miss Brooks", it offered a premise that would serve as an inspiration for series as varied as "Magnum P.I,", "Fantasy Island", "Stairway to Heaven", and the current 'Reality TV' craze; top-notch casts in half-hour morality tales; and 'common sense' resolutions that would keep it an audience favorite for five seasons.

Produced for CBS by Don Fedderson Productions (who would also give America "My Three Sons" and "Family Affair"), an unseen millionaire (with obviously WAY too much free time), John Beresford Tipton (voiced by one of TV and film's best-known voice actors, Paul Frees), would dispatch his associate, the ever put-upon Michael Anthony (Marvin Miller, in his best-known role), carrying a tax-free cashier's check for a million dollars, made out to 'random' individuals, on condition that they never attempt to discover who sent it, or reveal where the money came from, except to their husband or wife.

With the frequently bemused Anthony as an observer, the new millionaires would run the gamut of possible scenarios, discovering, ultimately, that money can't buy happiness, but CAN provide a half-hour of frequently engrossing drama. Each episode would generally end with Anthony summarizing the recipient's 'lesson learned' to a satisfied Tipton.

With casts often featuring future 'stars', the series was wise without ever being overly 'preachy', with good direction and strong production values. Frequently lampooned by comedy shows of the period, "The Millionaire" ultimately would have the last laugh, outlasting most of them.

While an attempt to 'reinvent' the show would fail, in 1978, the original certainly qualifies as a TV 'classic'...

Unfortunately, the original creator of THE MILLIONAIRE, who also authored the pilot, has not been given any credit here. His name was Walter Goetz, son of Harry Goetz (Paramount Pictures) and this wonderful series was his baby from the get-go. Due to some kind of disagreement over rights or royalties (I forget the details now) he left it all behind in the very beginning and has now, apparently, been completely forgotten. Just thought I'd mention it, having personally known him. Subsequent to his short-lived career in California, he made a living playing the music of Cole Porter, George Gershwin etc. etc. in piano bars and restaurants in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lucky us. He was a wonderful man and it was truly an honor to know him.

Here's a program that really caught my fancy when I was growing up. Everyone dreams of wealth. Whether one million dollars is a lot of money now or not, I wouldn't mind having such an amount.

It is a fabulous amount, still. And the concept of instant wealth is still intriguing to us. Witness: the proliferation of money shows currently.

The best part of the program was the human lessons we all learned about Instant Wealth: it's problems, responsibilities and the greed and envy of others.

The program should be brought back. Maybe Hallmark can do us all the kind favor?

John Beresford Tipton: his name evokes patrician wealth and breed. Using his executive secretary, Michael Anthony, Tipton chooses, apparently but not certainly, one person each week at random to receive, tax-free, the sum of one million dollars, in the form of a cashiers check. One million dollars was an enormous sum in the 1950s. And, if one remembers that the top tax bracket (which includes this amount) was 91% at that time, the gift becomes even more phenomenal.

Each recipient was required to sign an agreement never to reveal either the circumstances under which the money was received and the amount, other than to the spouse. (In one episode, a child received the money and a somewhat non-plussed Anthony told the child that he can reveal these details to his parents). The idea of each half-hour show was to see just how receiving the money would affect each recipient. At the end of the show, Tipton would briefly reviews what happened.

An excellent show, far and above the lunacy that pervades television today.