The 60th Anniversary of That Girl

Thursday, September 8, 1966 is a very important date in television. Many know it as the date that the classic Star Trek debuted, but other important shows also debuted on that date. One of them was Tarzan, starring Ron Ely, the first television adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's hero. Another was That Girl, starring Marlo Thomas. While it would not leave as big a footprint on pop culture as Star Trek, in many ways That Girl was equally important. Quite simply, it was the first television show to centre on a single, independent woman who lived on her own, this four years before The Mary Tyler Moore Show debuted.That Girl centred on Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas), who had moved from the small town of Brewster, New York to New York City to pursue a career as an actress. Like many young actresses, Ann Marie had to take odd jobs when she wasn't acting in order to make ends meet. Her boyfriend was Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell), a writer for NewView. Her father, Lew Marie (Lew Parker),, ran a…