For the Eva Marie Saint Centennial: On the Bonnie Maid Versatile Varieties

Happy 100th birthday to the still-kicking Eva Marie Saint!

I confess the occasion presented me with something of a dilemma. Like everyone else I’m a big fan of her two biggest movies On the Waterfront (1954) and North By Northwest (1959), but honestly, what’s left to be said? And though I occasionally write about the sort of dramas that were her usual stock in trade, frankly it’s not what gets me out of bed in the morning. I contemplated doing something on her comedies, the Bob Hope pictures That Certain Feeling (1956) and Cancel My Reservation (1972) and the all-star laugh-riot The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming (1966) but honestly, no shade on the woman, she’s not a comedian. It would be like writing an article about a Thanksgiving feast but focusing on the dinner rolls.

Luckily, at the 11th hour, I hit on a hook that suits my purposes. It may not be what you’re looking for, but it’s what I’m into, and it is relevant to a book I am currently working on about the history of television variety.

One of Saint’s earliest professional engagements was as one of the titular “Bonnie Maids” on the variety showBonnie Maid Versatile Varieties (1949-51). The sponsor for the show was Bonnie Maid floor tiles, surely one of the unsexiest sponsors ever to underwrite a TV show. “Versatile” was sometimes rendered “Versa-tile” in case the pun escaped you, and I imagine the pun escaped most people.

When I think of floor tiles, I think of janitors, not pretty Scottish lasses in kilts and knee-socks. But I guess their intention was to go the other way, so that when you thought of pretty Scottish lasses in kilts and knee-socks, you would think of floor tiles. Most of the Bonnie Maid girls later became famous. In addition to Eva Marie Saint, the others included Anne Francis, Edie Adams, and Janis Paige. Francis seems to have been the lead girl: that’s her in this picture:

The girls were intended to be a chorus in the vein of the Zeigfeld Girls or the Goldwyn Girls, and sometimes they would participate in skits, banter, and plugs for the product. The show went through as many hosts as Bonnie Maids, and they’re far less famous than the Maids, one likely reason for the show’s present obscurity. None of the hosts lasted more than a few weeks. They included the faux Greek comedian George Givot, beauty pageant emcee and singer Bob Russell, and several others. For a spell, the show switched gears and was presented as a children’s entertainment, hosted by actress and model Lady Iris Mountbatten. And over the course of its short life, the show was presented on all three networks in succession: first NBC, then CBS, then ABC. Some of the better known guests included Glenda Farrell,Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr,John Carradine, and The Oscar Petersen Trio.

At any rate, as we all know Eva Marie Saint is more than just a pretty face and a set of gams. She’s studied acting at Bowling Green and wanted roles! When she arrived in New York her first job was as an NBC page (just like Kenneth on 30 Rock!) and from there she got on-camera work on a show called Campus Hoopla (1946-47) where a bunch of kids dressed as teenaged students and cheerleaders sat around a soda shop and reported the scores of all the college games. For real! That was really a show! This led to the Bonnie Maid program. But in short order she started getting roles in live TV dramas. An award-winning performance in Horton Foote’sThe Trip to Bountiful (1953) is what put her on the map.

Buon Compleanno, Bonnie Maid!

For more on show biz history,consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.