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TV SERIES · 1966– · USA

That Girl

23 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

23 Interesting Facts About That Girl

Interesting Facts (18)

  1. #001

    The running gag in the opening credits, which ends with a character referring to Ann as "that girl," was originally meant to be used only in the pilot, since the producers believed they would never keep finding ways to work it into the dialogue. It ended up being used in nearly every episode.

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  2. #002

    The series was supposed to return for a sixth season, as ratings were still high and contracts were in place. As often happened with shows of that era, disputes during production led to its unexpected cancellation at the end of the fifth season.

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  3. #003

    An animated version of That Girl aired in 1973 as part of ABC's Superstar Saturday Movie series. It was titled "That Girl in Wonderland," and Anne Marie (voiced by Marlo Thomas) imagined herself as Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and characters from other stories.

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  4. #004

    According to Marlo Thomas, the relationship between Ann and her father Lew was based on her real-life relationship with her father, Danny.

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  5. #005

    The series actually used three separate opening themes during its run. Season 1 was a more subdued instrumental opening with a different video sequence. Seasons 2-4 used the now-familiar, more upbeat, charming, swinging instrumental style; finally, lyrics were added to the version used in the fifth (final) season to give the opening deeper context, similar to the first season of the new, highly successful Mary Tyler Moore Show the previous year. The esteemed Earle Hagen wrote all the music for the opening themes. In addition to writing the themes for many other shows, Hagen is also noted for writing the melody for The Andy Griffith Show and whistling the theme.

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  6. #006

    Ann's building is at 344 W. 78th Street ("The Defiant One," Season 3). The little boy David, whom she meets in that episode, lives on 89th Street.

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  7. #007

    The magazine Donald worked for was called Newsview Magazine.

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  8. #008

    In the final episode, Ann and Donald were originally going to get married, but Marlo Thomas (the series' head producer as well as its star) rejected the idea, arguing that it would send young girls the message that a woman's main purpose in life is to get married.

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  9. #009

    The restaurant owned by Ann's father, Lew, was called La Parisianne.

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  10. #010

    In the fifth season, the producers began using more location shots, including the exterior of Ann's apartment.

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  11. #011

    In one episode Ann's address is given as West 78th Street, while the location footage shows a building on the corner of East 78th and the FDR Drive.

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  12. #012

    In the first season's opening title sequence, Ann walks through Times Square and passes several Broadway marquees. "Philadelphia, Here I Come!" closed on October 1, 1966, while "Cabaret" opened on December 20, 1966, and Neil Simon's "The Star-Spangled Girl" opened on December 21, 1966. The three shows never ran at the same time.

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  13. #013

    That Girl (1966) and The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) shared a great deal. Marlo Thomas's father, Danny Thomas, was the producer of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and That Girl creators Bill Persky and Sam Denoff served as the Van Dyke Show's head writers. Both shows were filmed at Desilu Studios, and props from The Dick Van Dyke Show sometimes appeared on That Girl. The That Girl writers even adapted Van Dyke Show stories for some episodes.

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  14. #014

    The series' production company was Daisy Productions. You can spot daisies somewhere in every episode of the series.

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  15. #015

    Ann's apartment number was 4D.

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  16. #016

    Marlo Thomas wore two sets of false eyelashes in the role of That Girl.

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  17. #017

    Ann's hometown was Brewster, New York.

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  18. #018

    Arlene Golonka, who played Jerry Bauman's (Bernie Kopell) wife Margie in the first season, was replaced in Season 2, Episode 8, 'Nothing to Be Afraid of Except Freud,' by Carol Ann Daniels, whose character's name was changed to Ruth. Golonka reappeared in the 30th episode of Season 2, 'Old Man's Darling,' as Bonita LaSalle, the girlfriend of Ann's publisher Eddy Edwards.

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Production Story (2)

  1. #019

    In the original unaired pilot, Ted Bessell's character was named Donald Blue Sky rather than Hollinger. He played Ann's manager instead of a magazine reporter. During the episode he explains that his surname comes partly from his Cherokee Indian heritage. Harold Gould played Ann's father and Penny Santon played Ann's mother.

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  2. #020

    In the original unaired pilot, Ann and Don work at the Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue.

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Characters & Cast (2)

  1. #021

    One of the titles considered for the series was "Miss Independent," the nickname Danny Thomas gave Marlo Thomas because of her independent spirit.

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  2. #022

    The series title closely resembles 'Batgirl,' an ordinary character played by the late Yvonne Craig in the 1967-68 season of Batman (1966). Craig herself sometimes told the story that, while sitting in an auditorium among actors waiting for their series to be called, she misheard 'that girl' as 'bat girl,' and then, seeing Marlo Thomas walk forward to answer the call, realized she had misheard.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #023

    The train in the series' opening sequence was filmed at the Secaucus Junction in Secaucus, NJ. It was shot from behind a train heading northwest, and the film was then reversed so it appeared to be traveling toward Newark. As a result, the traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike (now the Turnpike's Eastern Spur), running parallel to the right with Laurel Hill in the background, moves backward.

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Related pages

  • Baby Boom — That Girl comes up in the facts on that page

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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