How a Female Cat Named Elmer Became a Television Star

Across America young actors dream about being discovered by Hollywood, looking forward to the day they would travel sometimes thousands of miles to Tinseltown to launch their careers.

For Elmer, that thought probably never crossed his, or rather her, mind.

So how exactly did a cross-eyed calico cat from Mendon, Ohio become the star of a national, prime time television episode?

It all began in the middle of 1958 when the writer, producer and story supervisor for the television series The Millionaire found himself in a bit of a pickle. An article in May 31 issue of The Lima News made the following announcement:

Merlin Searchin’ For Feline

Got A Cross-Eyed Cat?

    Somewhere in these United States is a particular cat who is about to become a television star and inherit “$1,000,000.”
    He (or she) will also assume the stage name of Ralph. He (or she) must come of somewhat indiscriminate forebears, must be of “calico” variety, and must have what is uncommonly known as convergent strabisma (cross-eyes).
    He (or she) will have a featured role on the CBS Television Network’s “The Millionaire” this summer, which episode, presently in production, has the working title, “My Aunt’s Cat, Ralph.” In it he (or she) will fall heir to the mythical million.
    An original by Jack Roche, the story centers around a puss who adopts an old lady and cares for her in her declining years. The old woman fears that on her demise Ralph will be turned over, unwanted, to an animal shelter.
    So when “billionaire” John Beresford Tipton — known only by the back of his head to millions of “Millionaire” viewers — bestows the biggest television giveaway of all-time on the oldster, hours before she dies, she leaves the windfall to the richest cat in the world.
    Entranced with its dramatic possibilities, producer Don Fedderson bought the yarn. In so doing he bequeathed a headache to the CBS casting department.
    It seems that for all its assortments of what-have-you, Hollywood boasts of no cross-eyed cats — aside from the Siamese variety which frequently do have orb imperfections. Anyhow, the story doesn’t call for a Siamese.
    Story-editor Milton Merlin, who first became interested in the yarn, found himself designated as a committee of one to locate the feline to play Ralph.
    Last reports had Merlin about to go crazy!
    “Roche may be a fine writer,” he moaned, “but he certainly don’t know about cats. There isn’t a cross-eyed cat in all the Hollywood hills.” And so the search goes on.
    Photos of cross-eyed cats that fit the story description are welcomed by the distraught Merlin. Whether the feline hails from Oshkosh, Portland, Glendale or No-place is of little interest to him.
    Whether it’s a he or a she makes no difference either.
    Explains Merlin: “If he turns out to be a she we can always rewrite the story to fit. No matter what the sex, please know that television fame and fortune awaits Ralph, wherever he (or she) may be!
    “If we have to, we can even change the title to “My Aunt’s Cat, Genevieve,” adds Merlin, who admits also that in this cat-casting instance he’s no Merlin, the Magician.

The search may have started before this date but we can find only one article previous to this one, dated May 19th, in which Radio and TV Editor Allen Rich mentioned that Merlin was searching for a cross-eyed calico cat for the role. In The Valley Times he stated:

    I’ve had quite a few calls from people who know cross-eyed cats, in reply to the item that “The Millionaire” is still looking for one to make a TV star out of on a forthcoming episode.
    Funny yarn about the Millionaire’s story editor Milton Merlin is going the rounds. He’s the guy that selected the story, then found no cross-eyed cats could be located. Producer Don Fedderson said, “From now on, Milton, you are cat casting director. Find that cat.”
    Milton looked at several kitties, none of which filled the bill, then discovered to his horror, that he is allergic to cats!
    If you know of any cross-eyed cats (they mustn’t be Siamese) send their pictures and the information to Cat Casting Director, “The Millionaire,” Republic Studios, Studio City.
    Ok, yes. And say you saw it here. I aim to be the cat’s agent!

A couple of weeks later, columnist Paul Jones explained the ongoing situation to his readers, the subscribers of The Atlanta Constitution, on June 13, 1958:

Television Seeks a Cross-Eyed Cat

    Do you have a cross-eyed cat that would like to break into television?
    I know that must sound strange, but I’m only trying to help a TV producer who is really up a tree for a star for an upcoming production.
    Ordinarily I take these [requests to help find talent] with a grain of catnip. Generally, the talent agencies have a long list of candidates for each part and we members of the Fourth Estate aren’t even asked to help “discover” stars.
    But, like I said, this particular producer — Milton Merlin, of Don Fedderson Productions, which produces The Millionaire — is looking for a special type — a cross-eyed, long-haired cat of the calico type and he has asked me to put out a feeler for such an odd kitty.
    “We produce The Millionaire and recently I read a rough draft of an original story entitled ‘My Aunt’s Cat, Ralph’ — a wonderful yarn I felt had tremendous possibilities, and I sold Don Fedderson on buying it.    
    “Naively, we put in a phone call to the usual Hollywood places to get our cat — but astonishingly, found narry a cross-eyed, long-haired feline to be had through ‘regular’ sources.
    “We need a cross-eyed cat — and we need it bad. We shoot the film late in July and so far we’re without our ‘star’.”

This release was not just exclusive to Paul Jones. Indeed countless columnists received the request and were more than happy to jump on the bandwagon to try to help find this new cat celebrity. Henry Mitchell wrote on June 13, 1958 (republished in part here from The Commercial Appeal):

    . . . the question now is to find the cat. Mr. Merlin said they tried the usual animal dealers without avail. At first the cat had to be calico, but not (this is about the fourth communication I have received) the cat needs to be long-haired and cross eyed as well.
    Although I do not usually specialize in casting details, I will be glad to accept photographs of cross-eyed, long-haired calico cats and send them in. Naturally, the producers will pay for the use of the cat and I promise not to take one cent in commission. This is public service. The producers are very keen NOT to have the cats sent, but just pictures, until needed for personal interview.

Elizabeth L. Sullivan updated a previous article about the search in her June 15th Boston Globe column:

    We couldn’t believe our eyes when we opened the mail the other day.
    “The Millionaire” television series is still looking for a cross-eyed cat!
    We carried an item a few weeks ago asking for such a cat and scores of Globe readers responded. Apparently their letters to the C.B.S. network are buried in routine mail, so try again folks.

As the search continued, some columnists routinely followed the story. Paul Jones updated his Atlanta Constitution readers on June 17:

Few Cats Are Both Cross-Eyed, Calico

    Cross-eyed cats are not as scarce as I had thought — but calico cross-eyed cats are a rarity.
    I have found three cross-eyed cats who are candidates for the starring role in a big TV drama to be produced in Hollywood. But, while nature fouled up their optical system, she failed to give them a pelt of calico.    
    Several Atlantans have written in saying they have cross-eyed cats, but the pets fail to stack up otherwise.
    One cat-owner, Mrs. Weona Cleveland, of College Park, says the producers of The Millionaire might have a hard time finding a male cat which has calico hair and crossed-eyes. She says only female cats can be calico colored.
    “Among the seven cats (the number has grown to nine now) we have in our household one is a green-eyed cross-eyed cat. It is not the long-haired variety, nor is it a calico, but it is a white with gray markings. Its mother is a calico cat.
    “Our cross-eyed cat is a female and at the moment is an expectant mother (the cat had her kittens Saturday morning — two kittens, in fact). From what you said in the paper, the cat in the play is a male named Ralph. There has never been known to be a calico male cat — so if they finally decide on a calico they will have to change its name. I have been told this bit of wisdom by a veterinarian.
    “I do not have a picture of our cross-eyed cat, but I am sure it has the personality to fill the part you described. It is ugly to look at and has a mean personality to go with with its looks. My daughter Bonnie will refute this statement as she loves the cat very much. Our cat will be one year old in August and its name is Sparkle.”

On the same date, Bill Ladd wrote in part in his TV Almanac column:

    A little man with tears streaming from under his horn-rimmed spectacles is tramping the streets of Hollywood inspecting cats’ eyes in the dimming hope of proving he is a good judge of television stories.
    The man is Milton Merlin. He is allergic to cat fur.
    Merlin is the distraught gentleman who last spring talked producer Don Fedderson into buying a story dealing with a cross-eyed, long-haired calico for “The Millionaire.”
    “The cat must be so unpretty,” complains Merlin, “as to justify the basic element of the story.”
    Merlin put in calls to the usual places for the cat. However, to this date, they have found no cat that answers the specifications. The shooting date is in July. So far, no star.
    Merlin, who styles himself “chairman of the cat committee,” asks for help. Merlin asks that you forward no cats. He’s allergic, remember?
    Don’t send me any cats, either.

Paul Jones really milked the readers’ letters he received for use in his column. On June 19 he presented a few more possible candidates:

    The quest for a cross-eyed, calico cat to play the leading role in a forthcoming drama on The Millionaire, has brought a new flood of mail.
    A College Park reader says her cat isn’t cross-eyed, but “she is a wicked-looking thing.”
    “She keeps her head turned to one side,” says Mrs. James J. Mabrey, “and when she looks at you she looks backward over her body.”
    Mrs. Alice G. Kelly, of Ft. Benning, offers her cat’s services for the play. Mrs. Kelly’s cat is a large calico cat.
    “She has a big, bushy tail. Her face is black on one side,” says Mrs. Kelly. “Her eyes could be crossed with surgery, I am sure. She likes to be fed with a fork or spoon. She will sit at the table and be fed . . . “
    Mrs. Worth McClure, of College Park, says: “In regards to your requests for a cross-eyed cat, I have The Cat. Female, calico and strictly cross-eyed. She goes by the name of ‘Rusty.'”
    If Milton Merlin, of The Millionaire, is unable to get a cross-eyed, calico cat out of this bunch of Georgia kitties, then I guess he’s just too particular.
    He should be able to select his “star” and a half dozen stand-ins from the array of feline talent we have presented to him.

One of Bill Ladd’s readers also wanted to set Milton Merlin straight about the supposed futility of his quest in a letter published on June 20th:

    Mrs. C.E. Davis of Anchorage has disquieting news for Merlin Milton, who is seeking a calico, cross-eyed cat. “There is,” Mrs. Davis writes “no such thing as a male calico cat.”
    As to how, then, there come to be baby calico cats Mrs. Davis does not state and I’m afraid to ask.

In his June 24th column, Ladd followed this up with a couple more letters:

    Mrs. Jay V. writes that the reason there is no such thing as a male calico cat is that calico cats are three-colored cats and no male has more than two colors.
    James F. Jones says he doesn’t think the “Millionaire” series will let a story go to pot for lack of a cross-eyed calico cat, and he is willing to bet they wind up with a dog. The animal star will be a dog. I don’t think he means the show will be a dog, although maybe that is what he does mean, and maybe it will at that.
    Mrs. F.M. Hobbs has calico cats, but they ain’t crosseyed . . . Kitty, kitty, kitty . . . .

Supposed cat experts appear to have been just as quick with their pens and paper as those hoping to have their kitty discovered. on June 27, Cecil Smith weighed in with this in his TV Scene column for The Los Angeles Times:

    A week ago in a rash moment I wrote a column about the search in progress for an ugly, male, cross-eyed, long-haired calico cat. I have since been deluged with mail telling me (1) calico cats are always female; (2) they are never cross-eyed; (3) they are not long-haired.

The rash of wanna-be-celebrity cat owners continued to plague the columnists who voluntarily jumped into the cat casting call. Mary Wood offered this possibility in her June 30th column for The Cincinnati Post:

    “You can do us a favor and we, in turn, can do one for Milton Merlin, the man who is looking for a cross-eyed calico cat,” writes Mrs. John R. Toelke Jr., Covington.
    “For 20 years — yes, 20 — my mother-in-law has cared for a perfectly horrible looking calico cat. I understand she was lovely as a young girl but after better than 100 kittens — actually! Her figure ain’t so good and she’s worse than cross-eyed; she’s almost stone blind.
    “She’s a lady, of course, but I believe genuine calico cats always are. Despite this, it would be perfect casting. A more repulsive cat I’ve never seen and I’m an animal lover.
    “The gentlemen cats still fight over her and seem to think she’s pretty cute. Her age might be against her but the family thinks she has years and years ahead of her. I forgot to tell you, her name is Madame. My husband is her manager.”
    Editor’s Note: With that buildup you’ve given Madame, I don’t see how any producer in his right mind could turn her down. She’s a cinch to become the “Tugboat Annie” of catdom.

Eventually this large amount of publicity apparently proved to be too much and another writer who closely followed the story, Hazel K. Johnson, ran this piece in her syndicated column on July 5:

Calls Off Search For Cat

HOLLYWOOD (UPI) — About those cats.
    Milton Merlin wants it be known that he couldn’t be more appreciative and thank-you-very-much for your interest.
    But TV series or no TV series, CBS story editor Merlin is calling off his nation-wide hunt for a cross eyed calico cat 10 days from now and that’s all there is to it!
    “It’s beginning to get a little out of hand,” Merlin said in a low, confidential tone. “Do you know I’ve had telephone calls from newspaper editors who have cats? Calls all the way from Roanoke, West Virginia?”
    It all started when the usual Hollywood trained animal sources failed to turn up a cross-eyed feline of the variety needed.
    Everything went well to this point. It was only after the CBS publicity department launched a full-scale cat hunt (via news releases, letter-to-the-editor, etc.) that Merlin began to get nervous.
    “They told them to contact me,” he said. “Fortunately, the stories noted that I’m allergic to cats and said to send a photo and description of the cat, not the animal itself.”
    “I’m up to here in cat photographs,” he explained. “This business has pre-empted most of my time and I’ve got to get back to work.”
    Merlin fears the worst is yet to come. “They tell me I’m the guy who has to choose Ralph. That’ll be some job.”

    The story editor says he has half a dozen “likely candidates” in mind, including entries from Lima, Ohio; San Antonio, Tex.; Topeka, Kans.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and “an awfully good one” from Roanoke.
    The editor’s, per chance?
    “We’ll still accept pictures for another 10 days, but after that we’ve got to call it quits. We start filming in August and what if our cat doesn’t pass his screen test? We’d have to get hold of another one fast,” Merlin said.

Now this is all beginning to sound like the typical cat casting call publicity stunt, right? But lo and behold, for once the production did not settle for (or could not find) a showbiz cat to play the part. This time the promise was followed through and a complete amateur of a cat was found for the role!

The first hint we could find of the potential winner of this nationwide cat cattle call was published in Pat Riley’s 1st Chance column for The Lima News (Ohio) on June 21, 1958 (although the article indicates this is not the first mention of their local celebrity calico bring in the running):

    This Elmer the cat thing is still going strong, and it looks like the cross-eyed calico from Mendon may be on her way to stardom. We drove down to shoot some more pictures of the friendly feline the other day, and it was obvious that Elmer must become more polished if she is to receive a million bucks — even on a TV program.
    However, we must give her credit. Her owners, who joked that “We probably won’t have to work anymore,” tried a salted peanut bag and even the milk pan to get her attention, during the picture-taking, but Elmer wouldn’t even smile.
    One of the three owners of Elmer asked if we could print up a few extra pictures of the cat for him. “You know, we didn’t pay enough attention to Elmer before.”
    Milton Merlin, the Hollywood story editor who handles script work for “The Millionaire,” on which Elmer may get a chance at the big time, wrote us another letter the other day. After Milton gave a brief but sad account of the pitfalls and difficulties of putting on 39 productions of a show for the coming season, he admitted that the job has its rewards.
    “The response (for a cross-eyed calico cat) throughout the country is remarkable. I have received several enlightening, some incredible, and a few touching letters from cats as well as cat lovers.” Then he conned us with this: “However, your prompt and eloquent championship of your local contender is most impressive so far, especially since Elmer shared . . . celebration with DeGaulle” (in the News).
    A couple of days later, a studio official sent word that Elmer is one of the three cats in contention for the “Millionaire” part, so we think she really has a good chance to move in.

Pat Riley finally shared the official news a month later in a stand-alone piece in The Lima News on July 20:

    Elmer did it.
    The cross-eyed Mendon mother of one kitten has been selected by a Hollywood studio to star in a forthcoming production of “The Millionaire,” a weekly CBS-TV show.
    Elmer will be taken to Hollywood by one of her three owners late in August to appear before the TV cameras.
    Les Kaufman of Don Fedderson Productions in Hollywood sent a telegram to the Lima News Saturday announcing selection of the Mendon cat for the “Millionaire” part.
    The telegram stated: “Committee has just selected Elmer for title role in ‘Millionaire’ telefilm story tentatively titled ‘My Aunt’s Cat Ralph,’ with possibility Ralph may be changed to name Elmer.”
    Elmer accepted her new-found fame with surprising calm, but also was the talk of the town minutes after a telephone call informed her owners of the selection.
    All three owners, Larry Hamilton, Lloyd Pritchard and Ronald Hamilton, expressed happiness that their prize calico had been chosen for the bigtime.
    Larry, 25, who will accompany Elmer to Hollywood, said, “I just never thought she’d get there. We entered the contest just for fun, and look what we’ve done.”
    Larry’s dad, Ronald, 51, exclaimed, “Oh boy!”
    And Pritchard, who is in his 70s and perhaps Elmer’s greatest supporter, stated, “I wanted her to go. It’s a great place to be.”
    Larry, somewhat of an actor himself as he stars in most of Mendon’s hometown talent shows, was the immediate choice of the two other owners to make the Hollywood trip with cross-eyed Elmer.
    Lloyd said, “I’m too old, I can’t go.” Ronald said he’s too busy to go on a trip, so Larry, known as an “eligable” bachelor at Mendon, was the unanimous choice.
    Workers at the Fedderson studio in Hollywood are glad the search for the cross-eyed calico is ended. They heard from hundreds of cat owners, and many persons across the country sent their cats directly to the studio.
    It all started locally when the Lima News carried a story in a Saturday entertainment section reporting the search for a certain type of cat to star in “The Millionaire.”
    Elmer’s owners notified Mrs. Bob Clay, News correspondent to the newspaper. Pictures and a story of Elmer were submitted to the Hollywood studio for consideration, and when the studio offices were cleared of cats, Elmer was the new champion.
    Elmer boasts no notable family tree. Her mother was bought for a quarter by the trio at an auction at Hamilton’s Mendon Livestock barn. Eventually, Elmer came upon the scene and was cared for by the three men despite her not-so-pretty appearance. She has done little except mooch salted peanuts and have a kitten of her own. Her mother still has to bring mice to Elmer because the younger cat’s cross-eyes don’t provide enough vision to allow her to hunt successfully.
    Elmer’s owners will receive $100 for her screen work — considerably less than the million dollars Elmer will inherit on the fiction show, and Larry will get an expense-paid, three day trip to Hollywood.
    Larry isn’t complaining, and Elmer has made no comment at all.

UPI Hollywood Correspondent Hazel K. Johnson, who as we mentioned had been closely following the hunt for a calico star, broke the news in a syndicated article published in various papers around August 1st:

Cross-Eyed Cat Finally Found!

    HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (UPI) — Who’d ever think a barnyard cat handicapped by “convergent strabisma” and mis-named Elmer would mean a free trip to Hollywood for a Mendon, Ohio, farmer?
    But late next month Larry Hamilton and his cross-eyed Calico cat will be flown here so Elmer can take the title role in “My Aunt’s Cat, Ralph,” a CBS-TV telefilm story to be filmed for the “Millionaire” series.
    Elmer, in truth a she and the mother of a new litter, won out over 568 other felines whose owners had submitted photographs to the TV show’s story editor, Milton Merlin.
    Elmer, a cool cat whose crossed eyes have never proven much of an affliction save for a barnyard mouse he failed to catch now and again, came to Merlin’s attention thanks to Joe O. Riley, state editor of the Lima News in Lima, Ohio.
    The mistake in Elmer’s gender was discovered only eight weeks ago.
    According to the CBS publicity boys, Elmer was missing from his usual haunts for more than a week until Hamilton, aged 24, found “him” harboring a lusty, new-born litter of kittens in a corner of the barn loft.
    But if there’s any name changing to be done at all it’ll be that of the story. Producer Don Fedderson, creator of the series, has indicated he may change the title to “My Aunt’s Cat, Elmer” in deferrence to the new-found feline.
    “Elmer’s two and a half years old now, a ripe old age for a cat,” Hamilton told the publicity men, “and if we changed his name now, he wouldn’t know we were calling him.”
    Hamilton, in partnership with his father and a friend, LLoyd Pritchard, bought Elmer’s mother three years ago for the staggering sum of 25 cents.
    Six months later Elmer was born along with five brothers and sisters, all straight-eyed and straight-limbed, except for Elmer, the runt of the litter.
    Elmer was the only one of the six they didn’t give away. No one wanted him so he stayed with the Hamiltons. His mother soon learned his eyes were so crossed he was virtually unable to hunt his own mice. Even today Elmer gets most of his mice from his mother who patiently finds and catches them and drops them in front of her offspring.
    No beauty and certainly lacking in pedigree, Elmer has a light face with a splotch of black behind her left eye. The rest of her color motif, in true calico style, is splashed with black, white and rust-tan.

Bill Ladd also reported on the end of the exhaustive search on August 9:

    Before the start of dog days it is pleasant to report that the saga of the cross-eyed calico cat has ended.
    “The Millionaire’s” vice-president in charge of cat procurement has taken in a calico named Elmer that is so cross-eyed he can’t catch his own mice.
    Now before I hear again from the woman who wrote me that there was no such thing as a cross-eyed, male calico cat because there was no such thing as a male calico cat, I must report one other occurrence.
    Elmer has had kittens.
    Elmer, at 2 1/2, can’t catch mice, and Pat O’Riley states that the mother still catches mice in its behalf.
    What is to become of Elmer after the move to Hollywood, deponent sayeth not. Elmer’s mother, it is reported, does not belong to the Hollywood Mousers Local, and thus may not catch mice inside the city limits.

Some newspapers across the country opted to share a truncated version of the story, obviously believing in the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words (very true in this case!) Here is how the Battle Creek Enquirer reported Elmer’s casting on August 23:

For most of the country the story was pretty much done. But for The Lima News, Elmer continued to warrant coverage. This photo ran on August 20th:

The residents of Mendon, Ohio, probably hoped that Hollywood would not corrupt their now-famous furry daughter. Alas, it would appear that Elmer didn’t even wait for the trappings of Hollywood to bring about a scandal, as Pat Riley reported on August 23rd:

    Larry Hamilton, in Hollywood with Elmer the cross-eyed Mendon cat, called home to report that Elmer is pregnant again. [CC: That was fast! Didn’t she just give birth to a litter of kittens??]
    The cat and Larry have been getting the carpet treatment in the movie city, having met Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Lassie the dog and Eva Gabor (who, perhaps, should have been mentioned first).
    Larry also reported: Elmer became the first cat to enter the Brown Derby restaurant; the cat may get her paw prints immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese Theater; Larry may be on Truth or Consequences Tuesday; Elmer won’t have a stand-in during filming of “The Millionaire” because she is unique in color and is said to surpass other Hollywood cats in manners; and each of Elmer’s three owners will receive an invalid $1,000,000 check for framing.
    Producers of the show are hoping Elmer will give birth to the litter during the filming. If she comes through, the story will be changed to fit the real plot.

It’s clear the CBS publicity machine was in full force during this visit!

Gene Sherman, the Cityside columnist for The Los Angeles Times, noted the feline ingenue’s visit on August 25th:

    Elmer, the cross-eyed calico cat co-starring in the TV Millionaire story called “My Aunt’s Cat, Ralph,” checked into the Royal Feline Suite of the Knickerbocker Hotel with his owner, Larry Hamilton of Mendon, O.

The filming of Elmer’s scenes reportedly took about three days and if her performance is any evidence she appeared calm and purr-fectly at ease around the actors and cameras. Remarkably in many of the scenes she performed with the actors, which can be somewhat unusual when working with cats. This was no quick walk-on part! There were also notable moments when Elmer was filmed alone with the actor responding to her off screen, and in some of these cases footage was re-used and reversed to get more mileage out of close-ups and solo shots, all of which is fairly common to reduce set time for the animals. It also makes sense to know that Orangey’s trainer, Frank Inn, was on hand to help Elmer with her time on set.

As for the story about Elmer being pregnant, the producers of the show may have wanted people to believe that Elmer gave birth and her kittens were written into the show, but nothing about that gels with the timeline; the age of the kittens (who were walking with eyes open in the scene) or even the possibility of having a cat suddenly found to be pregnant giving birth and even wanting to perform in front of cameras at such a time (especially when she reportedly hid herself away the last time she had kittens). The twist ending may have been added but it would have been to fit the publicity machine, not the other way around. The story about Elmer’s birthing habits changed so many times, first saying she had just had kittens when discovered, then having more kittens while filming, that it makes the whole scenario a little hard to swallow.

The folks on the show also didn’t follow through with changing the name from Ralph to Elmer, but this was probably because the name Ralph in the context of the show was just funnier (if you watch the episode and see the way actor Del Lord shouts the name “Ralph!” you will understand what we mean!) Most episodes of the series were strictly dramatic but this episode was definitely played for laughs, even going so far as to adding music that would commonly find it’s way into the background of Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

In any case, after a whirlwind ten day visit, Elmer and Larry returned home to more fanfare. Pat Riley was still on the job, reporting on August 30 for The Lima News:

    Larry Hamilton and cross-eyed Elmer the cat are scheduled to return to Mendon tonight after a brief stay in Hollywood, where Elmer was filmed for a TV show.
    The Mendon band had planned to turn out, but the late hour (even if the plane is on time) discouraged the frolic.
    Some of the Mendon folks were irked because the emcee of Truth or Consequences failed to reveal Elmer’s home town when the cat was on the show Tuesday.
    Some of the same folks were irked because a Celina columnist, Joe Lersky (who writes a daily sports piece appropriately called Athlete’s Foot), tossed a few written blasts at Mendon and its prize cat.
    Now all would-be newspaper people like to be read, and old Joe obviously is no exception. He jumped on a good thing for reader response. He said he was “sick and tired” of hearing about Elmer.
    Well, Joe, good luck. Those women can cut you to ribbons. One of them pointed out that Rockford has Earl Wilson, Mendon has Elmer the cat, and Celina has — an Athlete’s Foot columnist.
    And we received a poem about Elmer, written by Mrs. Lena Hundley of Mendon (naturally). Sorry, m’am, we didn’t have the space — nor nerve.

A more detailed article in The Lima News on September 3rd clarified a few things about Elmer’s time in Hollywood:

Elmer’s A Mother

    MENDON — Elmer, the cross-eyed cat which will appear on the TV show, “The Millionaire,” on Oct. 29, became the mother of five more kittens Tuesday.
    Elmer and her master, Larry Hamilton, returned from Hollywood Saturday night after the cat completed three days’ appearance before the TV cameras.
    The two took a plane from Lima Aug. 19, arriving at Los Angeles early the next morning. After visiting the Desilu lot and meeting Frank Inn, a famous animal trainer, Wednesday, the pair settled down to serious “shooting” on Thursday.
    Larry stood on the sidelines while his cat grabbed the TV glory.
    Elmer became the first cat to be admitted to the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, and while there she and Larry met Edgar Bergen. The three, along with Bergen’s dummy, Charlie McCarthy, had their picture taken together.
    Elmer’s pawprint was taken in cement at the Burbank Animal Shelter, where such animals as Lassie are immortalized. Larry explained that only three or four animals each year are so honored. [CC: This makes a lot more sense than the Grauman’s story! Usually PATSY winners were given the honor, but it appears Elmer did not win a PATSY award that year.]
    The cross-eyed calico, found at Mendon during a nationwide search by CBS-TV, also appeared on the “Truth of Consequences” show. [CC: Bob Barker was host of the game show at this time and also was closely involved with the Burbank Animal Shelter, which may be the connection between these two events. We would dearly love to find this episode!]
    During her stay in Hollywood, the misnamed Elmer received top room service at the Knickerbocker Hotel with Larry.
    Her favorite meals consisted of hot hamburgers and milk — served on a metal tray, of course.
    Elmer was given a single tranquilizer for the trip west, and the plane ride agreed with her so much that no sedative was required for the return trip.
    About working before the cameras, Larry said, “She acted like she’d been there before.” Because of the color — and cross eyes — no stand-in could be found, but none was needed. Elmer apparently did all the right things.
    Elmer’s new litter, her third, includes five kittens — three calico and two orange ones. She gave birth to the five in her TWA cardboard container, obtained for the trip.
    Larry said, “We had a fine time” in Hollywood, and he had $100 (Elmer’s salary) to prove it. Elmer, unaffected by the new-found fame, has a rhinestone collar and new brood. [CC: Apparently they let her keep the rhinestone collar featured in the episode!]
    Because kittens’ eyes do not open for a couple of weeks, it isn’t yet known whether any will be crossed.

As the publicity died down, Elmer was likely able to settle back into her role as a mama barn cat. But Elmer was still on people’s minds, as evidenced in an October 20 article in The Lima News by Max B. Martin in his column Our City:

    Yale Bloom got some nationwide publicity recently in Earl Wilson’s column . . . (that’s another columnist for this paper).
    Earl was commenting that his home town of Rockford had a nice plaque at the city limits mentioning the Earl Wilson name . . .
    “but according to Yale Bloom of Lima,” he writes, the village of Mendon has a bigger sign for “Elmer” — who is, of course, “the cross-eyed calico cat” recently on TV.” And all of us remember Elmer.

At last, on October 29, Elmer made her nationwide television debut when the episode finally aired. This was noted in several newspapers, including The Tacoma News Tribune in Helen Rogers Videosyncracies column on October 26th:

    Special memo to Cat Lovers: Elmer, the cross-eyed calico cat from east o’ the Rockies, who beat out 567 other kitties for a coveted, starring role in CBS-TV’s The Millionaire, will make her long-anticipated professional TV debut Wednesday night.
    One of Elmer’s nine lives evidently was meant to be spent as an actress since the production office reported that she breezed through her film chores with the ease of a “pro.”
    Incidentally, Elmer has drawn the attention of the country’s columnists — a fact which must have provoked envy among publicity-hungry stars. In Earl Wilson’s syndicated column which appeared in The News Tribune this past Wednesday, he mentioned that the people of Mendon have put up a big sign for Elmer.
    And such is the success story of Elmer, the Cinderella of Catdom.

A month later, Pat Riley gave Lima another update on Mendon’s famous cat in his column on November 22:

    ELMER STRIKES again. The cross-eyed cat from Mendon and her master, Larry Hamilton, made their first public speaking appearance (Elmer didn’t have much to say) this week at the Sertoma Club in St. Marys.
    Elmer stole the show, then had to greet fans who waited outside to get a glimpse of the feline which starred on a recent TV presentation of “The Millionaire.”
    Larry told listeners about the Hollywood trip which he and Elmer took after Elmer bested all other cross-eyed cats for the TV role.
    Oddly enough, Elmer’s mother didn’t get to see her offspring’s debut. The mother cat, which had always surrounded her favorite daughter with the finest mice (Elmer doesn’t see too well and has a hard time catching ’em), apparently couldn’t stand the tension of waiting for the critics’ report. She died on the street in front of the Hamilton sale barn before the show came on.
    Perhaps she couldn’t bear the shame of being financially inferior to Elmer. The cross-eyed daughter has become a “millionaire.” Elmer’s mother had been bought for a mere quarter.
    Elmer has had her share of fans and visitors since her rise to fame. Visitors have included persons from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and California. And fan mail has arrived from many other states.
    The Hamiltons this year will send out Christmas cards bearing pictures of Elmer. And they plan to sell 6500 “Elmer in living color” picture post cards throughout the state. Buy one; it’ll help pay for Elmer’s favorite delicacy: salted peanuts. (We’re not plugging it because we weren’t cut in on the profits, if any.)

Not much is known about Elmer after this except for a few quick mentions in various columns when the episode repeated the next summer. But Elmer spent a quality fifteen minutes of fame and her performance lives on in the episode she helped bring to life.

Thanks also must be given to Milton Merlin, who set the ball rolling for Elmer to be discovered in the first place. Why would he have gone to so much trouble to find just the right cat for the role? Well, it turns out that Milton, who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy era while serving as president of the Radio Writers’ Guild then re-instated before working on The Millionaire, was an avid cat lover and owner! So much for being allergic!