The Hathaways | |
---|---|
Starring | Peggy Cass Jack Weston Mary Grace Canfield Harvey Lembeck Barbara Perry |
Theme music composer | Herbert W. Spencer |
Composer | Herbert W. Spencer |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Robert Sparks |
Producer | Ezra Stone |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Screen Gems, in association with Gloucester Productions, Inc. |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | October 6, 1961 – March 30, 1962 |
The Hathaways is a 26-episode situation comedy, which aired on ABC from October 6, 1961, to March 30, 1962, starring Peggy Cass and Jack Weston as suburban Los Angeles "parents" to a trio of performing chimpanzees. Weston portrayed Walter Hathaway, a flabby real estate agent. Cass is his zany bride Elinore, "mother" and booking agent to the Marquis Chimps, named Candy, Charlie, and Enoch. The chimps had earlier appeared on CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show , a Jack Benny special in 1959 and several commercials in 1960. [1]
Ratings for the Screen Gems series were so low that ABC had largely to self-sponsor the program (although the series was sponsored on alternate weeks, throughout most of the season, by Ralston-Purina). The writers included Tom Adair and James B. Allardice; story consultants were Hugh Wedlock and Howard Snyder, who co-wrote the premiere episode with Dick Wesson. [2]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Love Thy Neighbor" | Don Taylor | Story by : Dick Wesson Teleplay by : Dick Wesson & Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder | October 6, 1961 | |
Walter sells the house next door to a client who can't stand pets. | |||||
2 | "Elinor Buys a Hat" | Unknown | Unknown | October 13, 1961 | |
Elinor buys a hat and ends up in jail when Charlie pockets her parking ticket. | |||||
3 | "Walter Takes a Partner" | Unknown | Unknown | October 20, 1961 | |
Walter and Freddie start a synthetic soda pop business. | |||||
4 | "Elinore's Guilt" | Unknown | Unknown | October 27, 1961 | |
Elinor is stricken with remorse for having left the chimps home with a sitter while she and Walter sojourn at Palm Springs. | |||||
5 | "Income Tax Rebate" | Unknown | Unknown | November 3, 1961 | |
Walter is requested at the local office of the Internal Revenue Service to discuss deductions claimed on his "dependents". | |||||
6 | "Candy's Tonsils" | Unknown | Unknown | November 10, 1961 | |
Candy, the baby chimp, faces surgery unless she can be coaxed into taking her medicine. | |||||
7 | "Trash Day" | Unknown | Unknown | November 17, 1961 | |
Ex-newspaper thief Charlie becomes much too neighborly to Brockwoods, whose papers he's been stealing. | |||||
8 | "TV or Not TV" | Richard Kinon | Herbert Finn & John Elliotte | November 24, 1961 | |
Elinor and the chimps pinch-hit on Walter's television commercial when he becomes desert-bound. | |||||
9 | "The Kids Go to School" | Richard Kinon | Ben Gershman & Leo Solomon | December 1, 1961 | |
The chimp classmates prove popular with everyone at the day nursery—with the exception of one shocked mother. | |||||
10 | "The Practical Joker" | Unknown | Unknown | December 8, 1961 | |
Charlie borrows Elinor's purse, containing club funds, as bait in a sidewalk prank. | |||||
11 | "Double Birthday Party" | Unknown | Unknown | December 15, 1961 | |
Walter sees himself as a forgotten man on his birthday and sulks. | |||||
12 | "The Hathaways Sleep Out" | Unknown | Unknown | December 22, 1961 | |
Walter thinks Elinor has run away when she moves the paint-allergic chimps to a motel. | |||||
13 | "The Jingle Contest" | Unknown | Unknown | December 29, 1961 | |
Walter and Bert base their entry in a jungle contest on a tune that Charlie plays on the piano. | |||||
14 | "Waltzing with Walter" | Unknown | Unknown | January 5, 1962 | |
Elinor wins dancing lessons for two. | |||||
15 | "Foxy Chimp" | Unknown | Unknown | January 12, 1962 | |
Elinor takes an ailing chimp from the zoo to recuperate at her house. | |||||
16 | "It's in the Cards" | Unknown | Unknown | January 19, 1962 | |
A neighbor sees something in Charlie's cards and steers Elinor into a visit to Walter's office. | |||||
17 | "The Headliners" | Unknown | Unknown | January 26, 1962 | |
Walter is supposed to stay home for a business conference while Elinor and the Chimps board a Honolulu-bound plane for a nightclub engagement. | |||||
18 | "The Paint Job" | David Butler | Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder | February 2, 1962 | |
Elinor campaigns for a new color job on the family "bus". | |||||
19 | "Grandma's Lamp" | Unknown | Unknown | February 9, 1962 | |
Walter plots to get rid of Elinor's antique horror, a gift from her family. | |||||
20 | "Help Wanted" | Unknown | Unknown | February 16, 1962 | |
Elinor secretly works as a cigarette girl to buy Walter a special surprise. | |||||
21 | "Swami Chimp" | Unknown | Unknown | February 23, 1962 | |
The Hathaways' chimp act is threatened by a mind-reading rival chimp. | |||||
22 | "A Man for Amanda" | Unknown | Unknown | March 2, 1962 | |
About to lose their lovelorn housekeeper Amanda, Walter and Elinor round up some eligible mates. | |||||
23 | "Pop Goes the Budget" | Unknown | Unknown | March 9, 1962 | |
Walter encounters family opposition when he tries to enforce an economy wave. | |||||
24 | "Charles Goes to the Races" | Unknown | Unknown | March 16, 1962 | |
Beanstalk, a race horse, takes a shine to Charlie, and mopes for him on race day. | |||||
25 | "Shrewd Trader" | Unknown | Unknown | March 23, 1962 | |
The chimps pick up Elinor's knack of swapping and practice it until perfect. | |||||
26 | "Elinor's Best Friend" | Unknown | Unknown | March 30, 1962 | |
Elinor is elated when a college chum, now a wealthy world traveler, comes to visit. |
Latter-day television critics Castleman and Podrazik (1982) have called The Hathaways "possibly the worst series ever to air on network TV", criticizing the production, scripts, acting, the "utterly degrading" premise, and the overall "total worthlessness" of the program. [3]
The following is the 1959–60 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1959 through March 1960. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1958–59 season.
The following is the 1960–61 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1960 through March 1961. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1959–60 season.
The following is the 1961–62 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1961 through April 1962. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1960–61 season.
The following is the 1962–63 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1962 through August 1963. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1961–62 season.
The following is the 1963–64 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1963 through August 1964. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1962–63 season.
The following is the 1964–65 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1964 through August 1965. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1963–64 season.
Jack Weston was an American actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1976 and a Tony Award in 1981.
The following is the 1958–59 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1958 through March 1959. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1957–58 season.
The following is the 1957–58 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1957 through March 1958. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1956–57 season.
The following is the 1956–57 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1956 through March 1957. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1955–56 season.
The following is the 1951–52 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1951 through March 1952. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1950–51 season. This was the first television season of national network interconnection by coaxial cable and microwave, meaning programming could be transmitted live coast-to-coast if needed.
The following is the 1952–53 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1952 through March 1953. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1951–52 season.
Wire Service is an American television drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956–57 season lineup.
The Stranger was an American television crime drama broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from June 25, 1954, to February 11, 1955.
The 1957–58 daytime network television schedule for the three major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the weekday daytime hours from September 1957 to August 1958.
The 1956–57 daytime network television schedule for the three major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the weekday daytime hours from September 1956 to August 1957.
The 1955–56 daytime network television schedule for the three major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the weekday daytime hours from September 1955 to August 1956.
Melody Street is an early American television series, hosted by Elliot Lawrence, which aired on the DuMont Television Network. The program aired Fridays at 8:30pm ET from September 25, 1953, to February 5, 1954. Each episode was 30 minutes long. One guest star was guitarist Tony Mottola.
The Las Vegas Show was an American late night television program broadcast in May 1967 on the short-lived United Network. The two-hour-long talk show, hosted by comedian Bill Dana, was supposed to be the flagship program of a planned fourth television network.
The Marquis Chimps were a group of trained chimpanzees that were used in variety shows and television programmes and commercials, initially in Britain and then in the United States, from the late 1940s to the 1980s. They were owned and trained by Gene Detroy.