It's a Great Life (TV series)

Last updated
It's a Great Life
Also known asThe Bachelors
Genre Sitcom
Created byDick Chevillat
Ray Singer
Written by Dick Chevillat
Leonard Gershe
Directed by Christian Nyby
Starring Frances Bavier
James Dunn
William Bishop
Michael O'Shea
Barbara Bates
Theme music composer David Rose
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes78
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRaydic Corporation
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 7, 1954 (1954-09-07) 
June 3, 1956 (1956-06-03)

It's a Great Life (also known in syndicated reruns as The Bachelors) [1] is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1956. [2] Frances Bavier, six years before being cast as Aunt Bee [note 1] in CBS's The Andy Griffith Show , played a somewhat similar role as Mrs. Amy Morgan, the owner of a boarding house. [3] [4] The series also starred three comedic actors, James Dunn, William Bishop, and Michael O'Shea.

Contents

Notes

  1. Some sources cite Frances Bavier's The Andy Griffith Show screen name from 1960-1970 as "Beatrice (Bea) Taylor."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavin MacLeod</span> American actor (1931–2021)

Gavin MacLeod was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's The Love Boat. After growing up Catholic, MacLeod became an evangelical Christian in 1984. His career, which spanned six decades, included work as a Christian television host, author, and guest on several talk, variety, and religious programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Howard</span> American filmmaker and actor (b. 1954)

Ronald William Howard is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six decade career, Howard has received two Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Griffith</span> American actor and singer (1926–2012)

Andy Samuel Griffith was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).

<i>The Andy Griffith Show</i> American sitcom TV series (1960–1968)

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glynis Johns</span> British actress (1923–2024)

Glynis Margaret Payne Johns was a British actress. In a career spanning seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her career, including a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and classical years of British cinema.

Mayberry is a fictional community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971); Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television film titled Return to Mayberry. Mayberry is said to be based on Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Mount Airy is also known as Mayberry and called by both names by its residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Knotts</span> American actor and comedian (1924–2006)

Jesse Donald Knotts was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also played Ralph Furley on the highly rated sitcom Three's Company from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Thomas</span> American actor and comedian (1912–1991)

Danny Thomas was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in the Danny Thomas Show. In addition to guest roles on many of the comedy, talk, and musical variety programs of his time, his legacy includes a lifelong dedication to fundraising for charity. Most notably, he was the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, a leading center in pediatric medicine with a focus on pediatric cancer. St. Jude now has affiliate hospitals in eight other American cities as of early 2020.

<i>Return to Mayberry</i> 1986 American television romantic comedy film

Return to Mayberry is a 1986 American made-for-television romantic comedy film based on the 1960s sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.. The film premiered on April 13, 1986, on NBC, and was the highest-rated television film of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited and reprised their roles for the film and its success could have led to additional Mayberry programs, but Griffith was committed to Matlock for the 1986–87 season.

<i>Mayberry R.F.D.</i> American TV sitcom series (1968–1971)

Mayberry R.F.D. is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of The Andy Griffith Show. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting characters returned for the retitled program, which ran for three seasons on the CBS Television Network from 1968 to 1971.

<i>Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.</i> American television sitcom

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot episode was aired as the season finale of the fourth season of its parent series on May 18, 1964. The show ran for a total of 150 half-hour episodes spanning over five seasons, in black-and-white for the first season, and then in color for the remaining four seasons. In 2006, CBS Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD. The final season was released in November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Smith (actor)</span> American actor (1916–1994)

Harold John Smith was an American actor. He is credited in over 300 film and television productions, and was best known for his role as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show and for voicing Owl and Winnie the Pooh in the first four original Winnie the Pooh shorts and later Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore and in the television series, Welcome to Pooh Corner and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He also did a cameo in The Apartment as a drunken Santa Claus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Bavier</span> American actress (1902–1989)

Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960 to 1970. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967. Bavier was known for playing Amy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954–1956).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aunt Bee</span> Fictional TV character

Aunt Bee is a fictional character from the 1960 American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show played by Frances Bavier. The character migrated to the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971) when The Andy Griffith Show ended its run in 1968, and remained for two years. Though she was the aunt of Sheriff Andy Taylor, virtually every character in Mayberry, even those in her age bracket such as Floyd and Emmett, called her "Aunt Bee".

<i>The New Andy Griffith Show</i> American sitcom TV series (1971)

The New Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in 1971 on Fridays at 8:30 ET. It debuted on January 8, 1971, and ended on May 21, 1971.

"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical Present Arms (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell. The characters were formerly married, but still have romantic feelings for each other. On opening night, Berkeley forgot the lyrics and had to scat and hum the entire second verse. Berkeley also claimed that his nonsense lyrics for the improvised second verse left Hart "almost apoplectic", but the audience was amused and Hart later forgave him. The song was subsequently included in the 1930 film Leathernecking, an adaptation of Present Arms.

The Eve Arden Show is a 26-episode American sitcom which aired during the 1957–1958 season on CBS, alternately sponsored by Lever Brothers and Shulton, Inc.

<i>The Lady Says No</i> 1952 film by Frank Ross

The Lady Says No is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Frank Ross, starring Joan Caulfield, David Niven and James Robertson Justice, photographed by James Wong Howe, and featuring sequences filmed at Fort Ord, Pebble Beach and Carmel, California. The supporting cast features Frances Bavier, who later played "Aunt Bee" on television's The Andy Griffith Show. Director Ross was married to Caulfield, the film's leading lady.

Budd J. Grossman was an American television producer and screenwriter. He produced and wrote for television programs including Dennis the Menace, The Doris Day Show, Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, Diff'rent Strokes, Three's Company, Maude, Small Wonder, The Paul Lynde Show, That Girl and The Real McCoys.

References

  1. "It's a Great Life Episodes". tvguide.com. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  2. Tucker, David C. (2010). Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen. McFarland & Company. pp. 80–86. ISBN   978-0-7864-4466-3. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  3. Tucker, p. 82. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  4. "Comedy Time". TVParty.com. Retrieved March 17, 2011.