The Governor & J.J.

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The Governor & J.J. was a television series that ran from 1969 to 1970 on CBS in the United States and in Canada, where it ran on CBC. Selected episodes were rerun by CBS during the summer of 1972. It was produced by Talent Associates (the company behind Get Smart) and CBS Productions. Today CBS Paramount Television owns the rights to the program.

[edit] Plot

William Drinkwater (played by Dan Dailey) was the governor of a quiet Midwestern state. Since he was a widower, his "first lady" was his hip, bright, opinionated daughter Jennifer Jo (aka J.J., played by Julie Sommars), who worked as a zookeeper. Despite their differences in age and politics (he was conservative, she leaned towards the left), the two got along extremely well and loved each other very much. Maggie was the governor's secretary, Sara the maid, and George his press secretary. Many episodes featured a walk-on part involving a contemporary real-life governor of another state who had come to visit his "colleague".

[edit] Trivia

The series won three Golden Globe Awards in 1970 for Best Comedy Series, Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical TV series for Sommars and Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical TV Series for Dailey.

In real life Sommars was involved in politics, mostly behind the scenes with the Republican Party, even though her son worked with then-Vice President Albert Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign.