Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Hal Stanley, based on the 1939 theatrical movie |
Starring | Fess Parker Sandra Warner Red Foley |
Theme music composer | Irving Taylor Hal Stanley |
Opening theme | "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" |
Composer | Jimmie Haskell |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 25 |
Production | |
Producer | Hal Stanley |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 24 mins. |
Production company | Starstan-Fespar Productions (in association with Screen Gems) |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | September 29, 1962 – March 23, 1963 |
Related | |
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington |
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is an American sitcom that aired on ABC starring Fess Parker. The series, which aired from September 29, 1962 to March 30, 1963, was based on the 1939 film of the same name, starring James Stewart in the title role. [1]
The title character is a "small-town idealist who becomes a United States senator" [2] who was elected to fill the unexpired term of the incumbent who died. [3] Although Smith seemed naive, he disappointed his backers. [4] Smith's small-town background led him to use a "low-keyed, homespun approach" to problems within his family and at the national level. [5]
Regular characters in the series, in addition to Smith, were his wife Pat, his Uncle Cooter, Miss Kelly (a secretary), and Arnie (a chauffeur). [1]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Washington Hostess" | Unknown | Unknown | September 29, 1962 |
2 | "Bad Day at Cuttin' Corners" | Unknown | Unknown | October 6, 1962 |
3 | "...But What Are You Doing for Your Country?" | Oscar Rudolph | Earl Hamner Jr. | October 13, 1962 |
4 | "The Musicale" | Unknown | Unknown | October 20, 1962 |
5 | "The Country Sculptor" | Unknown | Unknown | October 27, 1962 |
6 | "The Senator and the Paperboy" | Unknown | Unknown | November 3, 1962 |
7 | "The Fork in the Road" | Unknown | Unknown | November 10, 1962 |
8 | "First Class Citizen" | Unknown | Unknown | November 17, 1962 |
9 | "The Senator Baits a Hook" | Unknown | Unknown | November 24, 1962 |
10 | "For Richer or Poorer" | Unknown | Unknown | December 1, 1962 |
11 | "Man's Best Friend" | Unknown | Unknown | December 8, 1962 |
12 | "The Sleeping Sentry" | Unknown | Unknown | December 22, 1962 |
13 | "Without a Song" | Unknown | Unknown | December 29, 1962 |
14 | "That's Show Business" | Unknown | Unknown | January 5, 1963 |
15 | "Miss Ida's Star" | Unknown | Unknown | January 12, 1963 |
16 | "Think Mink" | Claudio Guzmán | Howard Snyder & Jack Harvey | January 19, 1963 |
17 | "The Resurrection of Winesap Corners" | Unknown | Unknown | January 26, 1963 |
18 | "Oh, Pioneers!" | Unknown | Unknown | February 2, 1963 |
19 | "Grand Ol' Opry" | Unknown | Unknown | February 9, 1963 |
20 | "And Still the Champ" | Unknown | Unknown | February 16, 1963 |
21 | "Citizen Bellows" | Unknown | Unknown | February 23, 1963 |
22 | "Kid from Brooklyn" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 1963 |
23 | "To Be or Not to Be" | Unknown | Unknown | March 9, 1963 |
24 | "High Society" | Unknown | Unknown | March 16, 1963 |
25 | "The Lobbyist" | Unknown | Unknown | March 23, 1963 |
Hal Stanley was the producer [4] and creator of the series, which was filmed in black-and-white with a laugh track. Claudio Guzman and Oscar Rudolph were two of the directors. Earl Hamner, Jack Harvey, and Howard Snyder were three of the writers. Stanley and Irving Taylor wrote the theme song. [3] The show was broadcast from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays. [5] Sponsors included Camel cigarettes, Metrecal, and U. S. Royal tires. [3]
John P. Shanley, writing in The New York Times , commented that much of the initial episode was "obvious and unnecessary." [2]
Milton Berle was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theatre (1948–1953), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during the first Golden Age of Television. He was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in both radio and TV.
John Randolph Webb was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet franchise, which he created. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.
The Dukes is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series based on the live-action television series The Dukes of Hazzard which aired on CBS from February 5 to October 29, 1983. Hanna-Barbera Productions produced the series in association with Warner Bros. Television, producer of the original series. 20 episodes were produced.
Hal Linden is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician.
Robert Francis Vaughn was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theatre spanned nearly six decades. He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, a four-time Golden Globe Award, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA Award nominee.
Gale Gordon was an American character actor who was Lucille Ball's longtime television foil, particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television sitcom The Lucy Show. Gordon also appeared in I Love Lucy and had starring roles in Ball's successful third series Here's Lucy and her short-lived fourth and final series Life with Lucy.
Richard Lewis Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor, best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It to Beaver, and The Jack Benny Program, along with minor roles in films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).
Carl William Demarest was an American actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and as Uncle Charley in the sitcom My Three Sons from 1965-72. Demarest, who frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles, was a prolific film and television actor, appearing in over 140 films, beginning in 1926 and ending in the late 1970s. Before his career in movies, he performed in vaudeville for two decades.
Murray Hamilton was an American stage, screen and television character actor who appeared in such films as Anatomy of a Murder, The Hustler, The Graduate, Jaws and The Amityville Horror.
Harold Vernon Goldstein, better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom Rhoda (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–92). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Gould acted in film and television for nearly 50 years, appearing in more than 300 television shows, 20 major motion pictures, and over 100 stage plays. He was known for playing elegant, well-dressed men, and he regularly played Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and in film.
Mr. T and Tina is an American sitcom and a spin-off of Welcome Back, Kotter starring Pat Morita and Susan Blanchard that aired for five episodes on ABC from September 25 to October 30, 1976. It is one of the first television shows to feature a predominantly Asian-American cast. The series was a ratings flop and was cancelled after only five aired episodes.
Hyman JackAverback was an American radio, television, and film actor who eventually became a producer and director.
Lloyd Corrigan was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually mysteries such as Daughter of the Dragon starring Anna May Wong, before dedicating himself more to acting in 1938. His short La Cucaracha won an Academy Award in 1935.
All's Fair is an American television sitcom from Norman Lear that aired one season on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The series co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, and their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions. The program also featured Michael Keaton in an early role as Lanny Wolf. Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role.
The Betty Hutton Show is an American sitcom that aired from October 1, 1959, until June 30, 1960, on CBS's Thursday schedule. The show was sponsored by General Foods' Post Cereals, and was produced by Desilu and Hutton Productions.
The Play of the Week is an American anthology series of televised stage plays which aired in NTA Film Network syndication from October 12, 1959 to May 1, 1961.
Harold "Hal" Cooper was an American television director and executive producer who worked primarily on sitcoms. After establishing himself as a pioneer of the Golden Age of Television, Cooper became a regular director on many of the popular and enduring shows of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
"Face of a Hero" is an American television play broadcast on January 1, 1959 as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. John Frankenheimer was the director and John Houseman the producer. The cast included Jack Lemmon and Rip Torn.