ABC – Maria McClay

January 26, 2024January 26, 2024

S06 E33 – The International Set (1958)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

*Director*	Ozzie Nelson
*Producer*	Ozzie Nelson
*Production Company*	Stage Five Productions
*Aired*	May 28th, 1958 on ABC
*Cast*	Ozzie (Ozzie Nelson), Harriet (Harriet Nelson), Dave (David Nelson), Rick (Ricky Nelson), Parley Baer (Darby), Skip Young (Wally), Madge Blake (Party Shop Lady), Jack Wagner (Caterer), Stanley Farrar (Party Shop Man), Hal Smith (Chef), Sally Hughes (Sally Darby), Maria Tsien (Japanese Girl – Exchange Student Fumiko Yamaguchi)

Harriet Nelson and Maria McClay. — *Maria McClay as Mei Soong is being placed as a bet during a high stakes poker game.*

Ozzie and Darby throw separate parties on the same night each with a different theme. Things become complicated when they both decide to host their parties together and can’t agree on a theme.

During the course of the ensuing chaos Japanese exchange student Fumiko Yamaguchi (Maria Tsien) offers to prepare a “very good native dish” for the party. The dish, once served, turns out to be “Pizza Pie Tokyo Style”.

As with almost any material from this time period this episode is rife with racial and ethnic stereotyping but, at least, Maria didn’t have to play the usual submissive Asian female character and gets to show a bit of humor.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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February 14, 1964December 9, 2021

S01 E20 – Who Killed Carrie Cornell? (1964)

Burke’s Law

*Director*	Byron Paul
*Producer*	Aaron Spelling
*Production Company*	Four Star Television, Barbety
*Aired*	February 14th, 1964, ABC
*Cast*	Gene Barry (Cpt. Amos Burke), Gary Conway (Det. Tim Tilson), Regis Toomey (Sergeant Les Hart), Leon Lontoc (Chauffeur Henry), Michael Ansara (Big Bwana Smith), Jim Backus (Pork Pie Hannigan), Fernando Lamas (El Greco), Diana Lynn (Marion Van Martin), William Shatner (Arthur Reynolds), Joanie Sommers (Pee Wee Wilson), Fred Barry (Robert), Percy Helton (Hudkins), Amzie Strickland (Woman), Michael Fox (Coroner), Diana Birk (Annabelle), James Secrest (Jennings), Bill Catching (Keeler), Maria Tsien McClay (Madam Butterfly/Amiko, a Japanese girl), Lou Byrne (Woman)

Carrie Cornell, singer and model, is found murdered on a beach. A photograph of her in “Girlicue” magazine links her to sleazy millionaire Martin Van Martin and he has disappeared.

As always, almost-but-not-quite-James-Bond, captain of the LAPD homicide division and millionaire Amos Burke must leave a beautiful woman and hop into his waiting Rolls Royce to investigate a terrible crime. In this case the beautiful woman is Maria McClay in the role of a Japanese girl who left a message for Amos in lipstick on a mirror, signed “Madam Butterfly” and then another, signed “Amiko”.

Maria had played alongside Gene Barry 5 years earlier, in 1959, in the episode “To The Manner Born” of the Western television series “Bat Masterson”, in which Gene played the main character of the same name. Here her scene culminates in the exchange “You’re flitting away like butterfly?” – “I have to. Butterfly have short mating season.” “If it got any shorter butterflies will become extinct!”.

Other notable appearances in this episode include Diana Lynn as drunk millionaire’s wife Marion van Martin, trying to use one of those strange Walton Belt Vibrator machines that were supposed to shake loose and disappear body fat. And a strange beatnik folk performance in a dark club with everybody wearing sunglasses. And also William Shatner (yes, that William Shatner) as crazy artist and sculptor Arthur Reynolds.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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February 20, 1962December 9, 2021

S05 E22 – Summer Romance (1962)

Bachelor Father

*Director*	Earl Bellamy
*Producer*	Everett Freeman
*Production Company*	Bachelor Productions, Revue Studios (later Universal Television)
*Aired*	February 20th, 1962, ABC
*Cast*	John Forsythe (Bentley Gregg), Noreen Corcoran (Kelly Gregg), Sammee Tong (Peter Tong), Allison Hayes (Loretta), Maria Tsien McClay (Lin Sing), Gary Clarke (Bruce Dalton)

*Maria McClay as lepidopterist Lin Sing making the aquaintance of Sammee Tong, as house boy Peter Tong.*

Bentley (John Forsythe) and Peter (Sammee Tong) panic when they hear from Kelly (Noreen Corcoran), who is waitressing in Yellowstone, and who informs them she’s getting married. They immediately head to the park to put a stop to her wedding to budding forest ranger Bruce Dalton (Gary Clarke).

While in Yellowstone both Bentley and Peter find themselves in the company of attractive and interesting women, Loretta Prentice (Allison Hayes), who manages the waitresses, and lepidopterist Lin Sing (Maria McClay). All three couples independently decide to spend some time in a near by mountain lodge, leading to all manners of confusion and hijinks and an encounter with a large bear.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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January 25, 1961December 9, 2021

S01 E17 Night Cry (1961)

Hong Kong

*Director*	Walter Doniger
*Producer*	Art Wallace
*Production Company*	20th Century Fox Television
*Aired*	January 25th, 1961, ABC
*Cast*	Rod Taylor (Glenn Evans), Lloyd Bochner (Neil Campbell), Liam Redmond (Marriott), Michael David (Bartley), Antoinette Bower (Laura), Dean Harens (Hal Spencer), Maria McClay (Sou Mei), Peter Chong (Old Chinese Man), Barney Phillips (Crane), Victor Sen Yung (Tung Poy)

Where is Rod Taylor? The headlining star is almost completely absent during the one episode of the series that Maria played in. Instead this episode is about his friend, Inspector Neil Campbell (Lloyd Bochner in official Hong Kong police shorts) who must track down a bad cop who kills guy and then frames an old friend of the police chief.

Maria’s character, Sou Mei, helps out by pretending to blackmail the murderous cop in order to get him to confess or give himself away otherwise. While this is definitely one of her shorter appearances in a TV show, she actually not only has a lot of lines but is able to show off a considerable range all the way from sweet and submissive to hard-nosed and intense as she clearly enjoys squeezing her victim for all he’s worth.

This is also the first time, at least as far as what we’ve been able to determine, that she appears in the credits as Maria McClay rather than Maria Tsien or Maria Tsien McClay.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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