Blondie Has Servant Trouble - 1940

Here’s an ad for “Blondie Has Servant Trouble” (1940), the sixth of a whopping 28 movies in the “Blondie” series. They don’t crank them out like that anymore.

Penny Singleton made her name and fame playing the newspaper cartoon character come to life, (she later went on to voice the animated cartoon character Jane Jetson). Arthur Lake was her bumbling husband Dagwood of the mighty sandwich and unmanageable cowlick. We are reminded in these B-movies that their son was called Baby Dumpling long before he was re-christened Alexander in the comic strip.

Penny Singleton was one of those workhorse actresses who began in vaudeville and plied her trade in whatever medium she could for every decade. She was also a noted performers’ union leader back in the day, and also holds the dubious distinction of being one of those Non-Entities whose names were left off the memorial tribute during the Oscar telecast, in this case it was in 2004 for the deaths of the previous year. You could probably make a parlor game of compiling the names of all the Nobodies Oscar has sent to oblivion.

Banished from official recognition perhaps, but not forgotten by us.