Many Happy Returns (TV series)

Many Happy Returns
Created by	Parke Levy
Starring	John McGiver Elinor Donahue Mark Goddard Elena Verdugo Mickey Manners
Theme music composer	David Rose Parke Levy
Composer	Pete Rugolo
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer	Parke Levy
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Lindabob Productions MGM Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 21, 1964 (1964-09-21) – April 12, 1965 (1965-04-12)

Many Happy Returns is an American sitcom that ran on CBS for twenty-six episodes, from September 21, 1964 to April 12, 1965, under the sponsorship of General Foods.

Cast

The show starred character actor John McGiver. Known for his emphatic, precise, dogmatic bearing and firm command of the English language, McGiver played the part of a widower, Walter Burnley, the manager of the complaints department at the fictitious Krockmeyer's Department Store in Los Angeles.

Elinor Donahue played McGiver's daughter, Joan Randall. Mark Goddard played Joan's husband, Bob Randall. The Randalls' daughter, Laurie, was played by Andrea Sacino. Elena Verdugo (Marcus Welby, M.D.) played complaint department employee Lynn Hall.

Others on the series were Richard Collier as Harry Price, Jesslyn Fax as Wilma Fritter, and Mickey Manners as Joe Foley, all cast as store employees. Character actress Doris Packer played the role of Cornelia. Russell Collins was cast as Burnley's demanding, often unreasonable boss, Owen Sharp.

Episodes

The program was directed by Gene Reynolds, who later went on to work on several episodes of M*A*S*H. Episode titles of Many Happy Returns include:

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Many Happy Returns"	Sherman Marks	Parke Levy & Norman Paul	September 21, 1964 (1964-09-21)
2	"Walter Meets the Machine"	Unknown	Unknown	September 28, 1964 (1964-09-28)
3	"It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog"	Unknown	Unknown	October 5, 1964 (1964-10-05)
4	"Bye, Bye Cupid"	Unknown	Unknown	October 12, 1964 (1964-10-12)
5	"Burnley at the Bridge"	Unknown	Unknown	October 19, 1964 (1964-10-19)
6	"Joe's Place"	Unknown	Unknown	October 26, 1964 (1964-10-26)
7	"The Best Seller"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 1964 (1964-11-09)
8	"Mother Burnley's Chickens"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1964 (1964-11-16)
9	"Krockmeyer on Avon"	Unknown	Unknown	November 23, 1964 (1964-11-23)
10	"East is West"	Unknown	Unknown	November 30, 1964 (1964-11-30)
11	"The House Divided"	Theodore J. Flicker	Story by : Sidney Green & Harvey Helm, Teleplay by : Sid Dorfman & Parke Levy	December 7, 1964 (1964-12-07)
12	"The Fashion Show"	Unknown	Unknown	December 14, 1964 (1964-12-14)
13	"The Shoplifter"	Unknown	Unknown	December 21, 1964 (1964-12-21)
14	"The Surprise Visit"	Unknown	Unknown	December 28, 1964 (1964-12-28)
15	"Taming of the Beast"	Unknown	Unknown	January 4, 1965 (1965-01-04)
16	"No Nose is Good Nose"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1965 (1965-01-11)
17	"Foster Father of the Bride"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1965 (1965-01-18)
18	"The Diamond"	Unknown	Unknown	January 25, 1965 (1965-01-25)
19	"Three on a Honeymoon"	Unknown	Unknown	February 1, 1965 (1965-02-01)
20	"Pop Goes the Easel"	Unknown	Unknown	February 8, 1965 (1965-02-08)
21	"The Krockmeyer Caper"	Unknown	Unknown	February 15, 1965 (1965-02-15)
22	"Big White Lie"	Unknown	Unknown	March 8, 1965 (1965-03-08)
23	"Idol Threats"	Unknown	Unknown	March 22, 1965 (1965-03-22)
24	"A Date for Walter"	Unknown	Unknown	March 29, 1965 (1965-03-29)
25	"The Woodsman"	Gene Reynolds	Earl Barret	April 5, 1965 (1965-04-05)
26	"It's a Gift"	Stanley Z. Cherry	Albert E. Lewin & Burt Styler	April 12, 1965 (1965-04-12)

History

Many Happy Returns was technically the successor to The Danny Thomas Show (for the same sponsor), which stopped production in 1964 after eleven years on the air, first on ABC, then on CBS. It aired at 9:30 Eastern on Mondays opposite the short-lived sitcom The Bing Crosby Show on ABC and The Andy Williams Show, alternating weekly with The Jonathan Winters Show, on the NBC schedule. Many Happy Returns theoretically benefited from having followed The Lucy Show on CBS. It preceded the drama Slattery's People.

See also

• 1964-65 United States network television schedule

External links

• Many Happy Returns at IMDb