Bachelor Father (U.S. TV series)
| Bachelor Father | |
|---|---|
 Noreen Corcoran and John Forsythe, 1961 |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Starring | John Forsythe Noreen Corcoran Sammee Tong Jimmy Boyd |
| Opening theme | "Bachelor Father Serenade" by Dave Kahn and Melvyn Lenard Gordon (1957–58) "Bachelor Father Theme" by Jeff Alexander and Larry Ornstein (1958–59) "Bachelor Father Theme" by Johnny Williams (1959–60) "Bentley's Theme" by Conrad Salinger (1960–62) |
| Composer(s) | Stanley Wilson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5[1] |
| No. of episodes | 157[1] |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Bachelor Productions, in association with MCA/Revue Studios |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS (1957–1959) NBC (1959–1961) ABC (1961–1962) |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 15, 1957[1] – September 25, 1962[1] |
Bachelor Father is an American sitcom starring John Forsythe that appeared on all three national television networks between 1957 and 1962.[1] Bachelor Father debuted in the fall of 1957 on CBS.[1] The series was produced by Forsythe's "Bachelor Productions" in association with MCA's Revue Studios.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Bachelor Father followed the adventures of Bentley Gregg, a wealthy bachelor attorney living in Beverly Hills who assumes the responsibility of raising his niece, Kelly (Noreen Corcoran), after her parents die in an automobile accident.[1] Other members of the Gregg household include houseboy Peter Tong (Sammee Tong), teenage neighbor and Kelly's boyfriend, Howard Meechum (Jimmy Boyd), Kelly's best friend, Ginger Farrell (Bernadette Withers) and Jasper, the dog.[1] (Sue Ane Langdon) portrayed Bentley Gregg's secretary Kitty Marsh.
Plots centered on Bentley's adjustments to his new role as an adoptive parent, Bentley's search for the right woman to share his life,[1] Kelly facing the usual problems of adolescence and young adulthood as she goes from high school to college, and, less often, Peter's misadventures with some financial scheme. In its final season, the storylines led to Kelly's impending marriage to Bentley's junior partner, Warren Dawson, portrayed by Aron Kincaid. The series ended prior to the wedding. One hundred fifty-seven episodes were aired. The program never finished any of its five seasons in the top 25 in the ratings.
Among the series guest stars was Billy Gray, best known for portraying James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., on Father Knows Best. In addition, Ryan O'Neal played a hot-headed high school basketball player in the episode "Bentley and the Great Debate."
[edit] Broadcast history
The series' pilot episode was originally presented on General Electric Theater (as "A New Girl in His Life") on May 26, 1957. The program was first telecast on CBS on September 15, 1957.[1] It originally aired on Sunday evenings on alternating weeks with The Jack Benny Program opposite NBC's Sally and ABC's Maverick. The show moved to NBC as a weekly series on Thursday nights in June 1959 (the Summer 1959 run on NBC were reruns of previous CBS episodes) and concluded its run on that network in September 1961.[1] The series moved on to ABC on Tuesday nights in 1961 for its final season.[1] The last episode ran September 25, 1962, a rerun. The last "first run" episode (the 157th unique episode) aired on ABC on June 26, 1962, the remainder of the Summer 1962 on ABC being reruns.[1] It was primarily sponsored by American Tobacco (Hit Parade, Tareyton cigarettes) throughout its original run.
[edit] Syndication
After running for a few years on classic TV channel RTV, on October 3, 2011, the show moved to rival Antenna TV.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- 1957 television series debuts
- 1962 television series endings
- 1950s American television series
- 1960s American television series
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- American television sitcoms
- Black-and-white television programs
- CBS network shows
- English-language television series
- NBC network shows
- Television series by NBC Universal Television
