ditzy as the program evolved. She also developed a tendency to whine or cry whenever something went wrong, which was usually at least once every episode. Jane had a romantic inclination for her boss, millionaire Richard Rhinelander III (Leif Erickson). Another actor in the show was Bea Benaderet. Sponsors The show was sponsored by Swan Soap, and Irma would usually make a silly remark about it so the name could be advertised. Frank Bingman was the announcer for Swan Soap. The program also was sponsored by ENNDS which got rid of breath and body odors and each tiny capsule was said to contain 100 mg of chlorophyll. Pepsodent was also a sponsor. Because of the popularity of the show (early in the series, shows 41–43), a contest was run for the services of Irma/Marie Wilson to act as a secretary for the highest bidder for one day, with her willing to travel anywhere in the U.S. The money was to go to the March of Dimes charity to fight polio. Three businessmen bid $1,000, but the winner was the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Fort Worth, Texas which bid $5,000. Lawsuit In 1946, writer Arthur Kurlan had worked with CBS Radio in an attempt to bring the premise and characters of the popular play and film My Sister Eileen to radio. Soon after this effort failed, the very similar My Friend Irma was created. Kurlan took legal action, and ultimately received a settlement from CBS. Films and television The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood in October 1952. The film My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn, but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). Comic strip and comic book The My Friend Irma comic strip, illustrated by Jack Seidel, began syndication with the Mirror Enterprises Syndicate on September 11, 1950, receiving a promotional boost in the November 7, 1950 issue of Look. In 1951, Dan DeCarlo took over the strip with Stan Lee scripting. Atlas Comics (Marvel) published the My Friend Irma comic book which ran from #3 to #48 (1950 to 1955), and was most often written by Stan Lee with art by