This slice of piffle was created by Martha Rountree, the same woman responsible for Meet the Press and other deadly serious public affairs shows. Indeed, when it was first heard on radio in 1945, Leave It to the Girls was conceived as a serious discussion of male-female problems by career women.
However, it soon degenerated into a one-sided battle of the sexes. By the time it reached TV with Maggi McNellis as Moderator, the subject matter was mostly what was wrong with men, how to marry them, and clever jokes about their foibles.
A lone male was generally present to “defend the honour of his sex,” and he was given a toy horn with which to signal his intention to speak (which was often the only way to break in on the chatterbox panel).
The female panellists changed frequently, but all were glamorous, well-dressed, showbiz types. Eloise McElhone was the most constant panel member over the years, with Vanessa Brown and Florence Pritchett also closely associated with the show.
Male guests were generally panel-show types, such as Henry Morgan, Morey Amsterdam, and George Jessel. A “permanent” male defender, John Henry Faulk, was added during the last months (when the show switched from NBC to ABC).
Leave It to the Girls was first seen on local television in New York in 1947, and moved to the network in 1949.
Miss McNellis returned in 1962 – 1963 to moderate a syndicated weekday daytime version of Leave It to the Girls with regular panellists Sue Oakland and Rita Hayes.
Moderator
Maggi McNellis Panelists
Eloise (“ The Mouth”) McElhone
Vanessa Brown
Florence Pritchett
Lisa Ferraday
Ann Rutherford
Harriet Van Horne
Janet Blair
John Henry Faulk
