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.

I used to work for a Los Angeles-based savings and loan company. Their pitch to retirees was to host "Golden Days of Television" personal appearances by 50's TV actors, including their spokesman, Harry Von Zell of Burns and Allen fame. I walked into the Alhambra, CA branch and spotted Marvin Miller holding court! I rushed over and asked the then-ultimate trivia question- "Who played John Beresford Tipton?" "Paul Frees" was the answer. He then whipped out an already-printed "check" from "The First National Bank of Silverstone", in the amount of "$1,000,000.00 in Good Wishes", signed it "Michael Anthony" and handed it to me. I've kept it for 30 years, hoping to cash it some day. As an additional bit of trivia, the establishing shot of "Silverstone" is the mansion at the corner of Orange Grove and Green Streets in Pasadena, now the headquarters of Ambassador College and built, as a winter residence, by a late president of U.S. Steel.

I recently purchased a copy of one of 'The Millionaire' series.

This 1955 episode features Carolyn Jones later to star as Morticia in the Addams Family TV series. Carolyn plays the part of Emily Short who receives a cheque for one million and decides to take a trip to Paris, until this she has never been outside of the US.

It is good clean family entertainment.

It would be great if one of the channels could run them. Maybe someone can drop a hint to TCM or Hallmark.

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.

Nobody seems to remember that it wasn't actually random people to whom the million dollars was given. At the beginning of each show Tipton would send for his secretary, Michael Anthony. Tipton would say something pertaining to the person he'd decided to give the gift to, and say "Here's another Millionaire." He always knew some reason why the person needed the money or the lesson the money might teach. Anthony would fold the check into his portfolio and head out to deliver it. One episode I still remember had the money going to the young daughter of a contentious couple who needed the money. They found the million dollars notation in her bankbook and told her she shouldn't pretend and write things in the book. At the end of the show they hadn't yet discovered the money was real. It was a good show, fondly remembered.