The Tycoon (TV series)

Last updated

The Tycoon
Walter Brennan Van Williams The Tycoon 1964.JPG
Brennan and Van Williams from the 1964 premiere episode
Created byCharles Isaacs
Starring Walter Brennan
Jerome Cowan
Van Williams
Composer Les Baxter
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes32
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production company Danny Thomas Productions (filmed at Desilu)
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1964 (1964-09-15) –
April 27, 1965 (1965-04-27)

The Tycoon is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast by ABC. It starred Walter Brennan as a cantankerous tycoon and Van Williams as his young assistant. The series was broadcast Tuesday nights at 9:00 to 9:30 p.m., and lasted from September 15, 1964 until September 7, 1965. [1]

Contents

Van Williams was signed to the series to provide the romantic interest, and he took the part to learn comedy. [2] Walter Brennan claimed the character he played in The Tycoon had more in common with himself then any other character he had played. [3]

Synopsis

Walter Andrews was a self-made millionaire who stayed too busy to retire. [3] The eccentric tycoon had his own way of conducting business as the chairman of the board of Thunder Corporation. His unusual business practices often caused problems for those who worked with him, especially his assistant, and private pilot, Pat Burns. Andrews shared his home with his granddaughter Martha and his housekeeper Una. [1]

Cast

Recurring cast, and their characters, were: [1]

Production

The Tycoo was produced by Charles Isaacs, and the executive producer was Danny Thomas. Sheldon Leonard was one of the directors. Walter Brennan had recently starred in a popular sitcom ( The Real McCoys ), and his new series was scheduled between two successful Tuesday night shows, McHale's Navy and Peyton Place , but The Tycoon failed to receive the ratings necessary to be renewed for a second season. [4]

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Horatio Alger Again"UnknownUnknownSeptember 15, 1964 (1964-09-15)
Walter sets up a challenge to prove his success is not a fluke by moving to another town, starting a new business and becoming rich again.
2"Shotgun Meyer"UnknownUnknownSeptember 22, 1964 (1964-09-22)
Walter has his eyes on a nice piece of property that would be used as a new industrial site. The problem is the owner, a grape grower, doesn't want to sell.
3"Walter Gets Fired"UnknownUnknownSeptember 29, 1964 (1964-09-29)
Walter finds himself on both sides of the bargaining table in a management-union affair.
4"The Great Race"UnknownUnknownOctober 6, 1964 (1964-10-06)
Walter and his best friend are old rivals, and since each believes that their classic car is best, the two decide to race them.
5"The Patient"UnknownUnknownOctober 13, 1964 (1964-10-13)
Walter, trying to bypass hospital rules when he goes in for a checkup, is outsmarted.
6"Top Ten"UnknownUnknownOctober 20, 1964 (1964-10-20)
Walter and Pat go to Midwest Tech to recruit a student from the top 10—and come back with number 11.
7"Inside Job"UnknownUnknownOctober 27, 1964 (1964-10-27)
Walter does a quick shift when an electric eye invented by Pat adversely affects old friends.
8"Mr. Fix-It"UnknownUnknownNovember 10, 1964 (1964-11-10)
Walter is told he can't work in the company machine shop, but he still manages to indulge his love for tinkering.
9"East Meets West"UnknownUnknownNovember 17, 1964 (1964-11-17)
It's a Mexican standoff when Walter and Wilson pit their talents against a Japanese manufacturer.
10"Boy Genius"UnknownUnknownNovember 24, 1964 (1964-11-24)
Investigating a customer complaint, Walter finds it comes from a young man with a very high IQ.
11"Toys in the Pentagon"UnknownUnknownDecember 1, 1964 (1964-12-01)
A new toy rocket launcher interests the U.S. Navy for important reasons.
12"Talent Scout"UnknownUnknownDecember 8, 1964 (1964-12-08)
Walter sees an opportunity for an old friend to make a show business comeback. Andy Clyde, who played George McMichael on The Real McCoys, is cast in this episode as Skippy Draper.
13"Harvey Brinkerhoff, Who Needs You"UnknownUnknownDecember 15, 1964 (1964-12-15)
Walter gives a job to the son of an old friend and finds that it was a big mistake.
14"Baby Tycoon"UnknownUnknownDecember 22, 1964 (1964-12-22)
Walter finds himself in the middle of a proxy fight—with 3,000 valuable shares controlled by his infant grandson.
15"No Place Like Home"UnknownUnknownDecember 29, 1964 (1964-12-29)
Walter is talked into a vacation and finds himself working harder than ever.
16"The Honorable Dr. Adams"UnknownUnknownJanuary 5, 1965 (1965-01-05)
Walter's associates arrange for him to get an honorary college degree—at first against his wishes.
17"Thunder Bowl"UnknownUnknownJanuary 12, 1965 (1965-01-12)
Walter and Wilson try to outsmart each other with the company's bowling championship at stake.
18"Muscles Don't Retire"UnknownUnknownJanuary 19, 1965 (1965-01-19)
Walter investigates a senior citizen community and makes some startling discoveries.
19"Romance, Incorporated"UnknownUnknownJanuary 26, 1965 (1965-01-26)
Walter stages a whirlwind campaign to sweep a widow off her feet.
20"South of the Border"UnknownUnknownFebruary 2, 1965 (1965-02-02)
Walter and Pat visit Latin America and learn some interesting facts about retirement.
21"Tom's Trouble in Transistorland"UnknownUnknownFebruary 9, 1965 (1965-02-09)
Walter enlists her granddaughter's husband in a Thunder Corp. experiment.
22"Pat's Retirement"UnknownUnknownFebruary 16, 1965 (1965-02-16)
Walter teaches Pat a less in the disadvantages of idleness.
23"A Dog's Life"UnknownUnknownFebruary 23, 1965 (1965-02-23)
Walter asks Thunder engineers to design a walking harness for a dog.
24"Johnny on the Spot"UnknownUnknownMarch 2, 1965 (1965-03-02)
Walter and Pat are inadvertently involved with a robbery during a routine demonstration of a new television camera.
25"Cloak and Dagger"UnknownUnknownMarch 9, 1965 (1965-03-09)
Walter and his staff find themselves in trouble when they discover somebody in the company is giving away top secret company plans.
26"Walter on a Pedestal"UnknownUnknownMarch 16, 1965 (1965-03-16)
The town asks permission to erect a statue of Walter Andrews—and then Walter finds out why.
27"Dangster Andrews"UnknownUnknownMarch 23, 1965 (1965-03-23)
Walter becomes involved in the affairs of a drag racer, and when he's obliged to drive a racer, sets a new world record.
28"It's All Relative"UnknownUnknownMarch 30, 1965 (1965-03-30)
A nest of nepotism is uncovered when Walter gets his granddaughter a job with Thunder Corp.
29"Kitchen Caper"UnknownUnknownApril 6, 1965 (1965-04-06)
Walter has to decide which of his associates gets a new free kitchen—with each one's wife interested in the prize.
30"Mr. Wilson in Retirement Land"UnknownUnknownApril 13, 1965 (1965-04-13)
Walter reassigns a job from Wilson to younger engineers.
31"A Slight Case of Merger"UnknownUnknownApril 20, 1965 (1965-04-20)
Walter saves his housekeeper as well as his company from some bad deals.
32"Honest Man"UnknownUnknownApril 27, 1965 (1965-04-27)
A pang of conscience sends Walter in search of a man he fears he wronged 50 years ago.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present (first edition), page 650, Ballantine, 1979
  2. ↑ TV Actor Van Williams, Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, PA), January 28, 1965, page 27
  3. 1 2 Thompson, Ruth E., Walter Brennan Real Nice, Real Tycoon, The Sentinel (Carlisle, PA), January 2, 1965, page 11
  4. ↑ Leszczak, Bob, Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979, page 191, McFarland, Inc., 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.