When a star comedian dies, his comedy team, decides to train a nobody to fill the shoes of the Star in a big TV show (a Patsy). But the man they choose, bellboy Stanley Belt, cant do anything right. The big TV show is getting closer, and Stanley gets worse all the time.

A famous singer dies in a plane accident, and his management team--producer Caryl Fergusson, writer Chic Wymore, press agent Harry Silver, director Morgan Heywood, valet Bruce Alden, and secretary Ellen Betz--decides to make an unknown into a star. They pick Stanley Belt, a shy bellboy, whose nervous bumbling is mistaken for comic ability. Despite singing and acting lessons, Stanley is extremely nervous, and a recording session and nightclub tryout are disastrous. However, a publicity campaign gains him an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, but his management team--with the exception of Ellen, who loves him--abandons him before he goes on. Contrary to the team's expectations, Stanley is a hit on the show. He later forgives the others because they made him a star; he gives each back his old job and proposes to Ellen.