The Smith Family (TV series)

This article is about the American TV series. For other uses, see Smith Family.

The Smith Family
Cast photo
Created by	Bob Sorrentino
Directed by	Herschel Daugherty
Starring	Henry Fonda Janet Blair Darleen Carr John Carter Ron Howard Michael-James Wixted
Theme music composer	George "Red" Callender Wayne Shanklin
Opening theme	"Primrose Lane" performed by Mike Minor
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	39
Production
Executive producer	Don Fedderson
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Don Fedderson Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	January 20, 1971 (1971-01-20) – June 7, 1972 (1972-06-07)

The Smith Family is an American comedy-drama television series starring Henry Fonda and Ron Howard and produced by Don Fedderson Productions. The series aired on ABC from January 20, 1971, to June 7, 1972, for 39 episodes.

Synopsis

Chad Smith is a police detective in Los Angeles. The show covered the exploits of Sergeant Smith and his relationships with his wife Betty and their three children: 18-year-old Cindy, 15-year-old Bob and 7-year-old Brian.

The opening season theme song was an adapted version of "Primrose Lane", composed by Red Callender (as George Callender) and Wayne Shanklin.

Cast

• Henry Fonda as Detective Sergeant Chad Smith, the father of the Smith family
• Janet Blair as Betty Smith, Chad's wife
• Darleen Carr as Cindy Smith, the daughter
• John Carter as Sergeant Ray Martin
• Ron Howard as Bob Smith, the elder son
• Michael-James Wixted as Brian Smith, the younger son

Episodes

Season 1: 1971

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Edmund L. Hartmann	January 20, 1971 (1971-01-20)	N/A
2	2	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Paul West	January 27, 1971 (1971-01-27)	N/A
3	3	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Blanche Hanalis	February 3, 1971 (1971-02-03)	N/A
4	4	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Sydney Boehm	February 10, 1971 (1971-02-10)	N/A
5	5	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Paul West	February 17, 1971 (1971-02-17)	N/A
6	6	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	February 24, 1971 (1971-02-24)	N/A
7	7	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	March 3, 1971 (1971-03-03)	N/A
8	8	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Edmund Beloin & Henry Garson	March 10, 1971 (1971-03-10)	N/A
9	9	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Preston Wood	March 17, 1971 (1971-03-17)	N/A
10	10	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Blanche Hanalis	March 24, 1971 (1971-03-24)	N/A
11	11	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Austin & Irma Kalish	March 31, 1971 (1971-03-31)	N/A
12	12	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 7, 1971 (1971-04-07)	N/A
13	13	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 14, 1971 (1971-04-14)	N/A
14	14	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 21, 1971 (1971-04-21)	N/A
15	15	TBA	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 28, 1971 (1971-04-28)	N/A

Season 2: 1971–72

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
16	1	"Anniversary"	Herschel Daugherty	Sydney Boehm	September 15, 1971 (1971-09-15)
17	2	"Day in Court"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	September 22, 1971 (1971-09-22)
18	3	"Stakeout"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	September 29, 1971 (1971-09-29)
19	4	"Lost Lady"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	October 6, 1971 (1971-10-06)
20	5	"Father's Day"	Herschel Daugherty	John McGreevey	October 13, 1971 (1971-10-13)
21	6	"Blind Chance"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	October 20, 1971 (1971-10-20)
22	7	"Mac"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	October 27, 1971 (1971-10-27)
23	8	"Rumpus Room"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	November 3, 1971 (1971-11-03)
24	9	"Ambush"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	November 10, 1971 (1971-11-10)
25	10	"The Weekend"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	November 17, 1971 (1971-11-17)
26	11	"Man in the Middle"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	November 24, 1971 (1971-11-24)
27	12	"Class of '46"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	December 8, 1971 (1971-12-08)
28	13	"Family Man"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	December 15, 1971 (1971-12-15)
29	14	"Christmas Rush"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	December 22, 1971 (1971-12-22)
30	15	"Taste of Fear"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	December 29, 1971 (1971-12-29)
31	16	"Where There's Smoke"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	January 5, 1972 (1972-01-05)
32	17	"Off Duty Cop"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 12, 1972 (1972-04-12)
33	18	"Winner Takes All"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 19, 1972 (1972-04-19)
34	19	"San Francisco Cop"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	April 26, 1972 (1972-04-26)
35	20	"My Mother, the Star"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	May 10, 1972 (1972-05-10)
36	21	"Rogue Cop"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	May 17, 1972 (1972-05-17)
37	22	"Ten O'Clock and All is Well"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	May 24, 1972 (1972-05-24)
38	23	"Homecoming"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	May 31, 1972 (1972-05-31)
39	24	"Father-in-Law"	Herschel Daugherty	Unknown	June 7, 1972 (1972-06-07)

Further reading

• Kleiner, Dick (NEA). "Henry Fonda Turns to TV". The Fort Scott Tribune. August 11, 1970.
• Browning, Norma Lee. "Fonda Has No Worries About Series". The Chicago Tribune. January 17, 1971.
• Buck, Jerry. "Penguins More Like Real People Than Smith Family". The Free Lance-Star. January 21, 1971.
• Laurent, Lawrence. "'Smith Family' Gives Fonda Money, Time". The Washington Post. June 25, 1971.
• Peterson, Clarence. "On the Air: Henry Fonda's Working Hard, Clubbing His 'Family' into Line". The Chicago Tribune. July 12, 1971.
• "C.B.S. and A.B.C. Overhaul Schedules". The New York Times. November 17, 1971.
• Browning, Norma Lee. "Hollywood: Back to the Movies". The Bangor Daily News. November 26, 1971.

External links

• The Smith Family at IMDb
• The Smith Family at TV.com
• Contrasting opening credits for first and second seasons at YouTube