The popularity of the single or triple strand of pearls necklace was advanced when TV viewers saw actresses wearing pearls on popular TV shows of the 1950s and ’60s. The pearl necklace was the one piece of jewelry every TV mom wore and every American housewife wanted to own. Think back to these 1950s family sitcoms:

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet: Harriet Nelson played herself as the wife of Ozzie and mom of Ricky and David.
The Donna Reed Show: Donna Reed played wife and mother Donna Stone.
Father Knows Best: Jane Wyatt played wife and mother Margaret Anderson.
I Love Lucy: Lucille Ball played the part of Lucy Ricardo, wife of Ricky Ricardo.
Leave it to Beaver: Barbara Billingsley played wife and mother June Cleaver, the housewife who cleaned her house in a dress while wearing pearls!
Make Room for Daddy: Jean Hagen played wife and mom Margaret Williams.

The one female TV character who got to wear pearls even though she wasn’t a wife or mother was Della Street, the always-efficient secretary of lawyer Perry Mason. Barbara Hale played one of the few unmarried career women on TV.

During the 1960s, pearl necklaces were still visible on TV, but the characters wearing them were older. This reflected the changing fashions for younger women who were making different fashion statements than their mothers and grandmothers. Characters still wearing pearls included:

The Andy Griffith Show: Frances Bavier played the indispensable Aunt Bee Taylor who kept house for Sheriff Andy and son Opie.
Gilligan’s Island: Natalie Schafer played Lovey Wentworth Howell, wife of millionaire Thurston Howell the Third.
Green Acres: Eva Gabor played Lisa Douglas, urban socialite transplanted to rural America by her husband who wanted to run a farm.

Which of your favorite TV characters wore pearls? Let me know if you can add to my list.

Lynne