The Bing Crosby Show
| The Bing Crosby Show | |
|---|---|
 Beverly Garland | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Directed by | James Sheldon |
| Starring |
Bing Crosby Beverly Garland Carol Faylen Diane Sherry Frank McHugh |
| Theme music composer |
Sammy Cahn Jimmy Van Heusen |
| Opening theme | "There's More to Life Than Just Living" |
| Ending theme | "It All Adds Up" |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Steve Gethers |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Bing Crosby Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black and white |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release |
September 14, 1964 – April 19, 1965 |
The Bing Crosby Show[1] is a 28-episode sitcom television program starring crooner, film star, iconic phenomenon, and businessman Bing Crosby and actress Beverly Garland as a married couple, Bing and Ellie Collins, rearing two teenaged daughters during the early 1960s. In the format, Crosby portrayed a former entertainer turned architectural designer with a penchant for singing, and each episode usually contained at least one song. Produced by Crosby's own company, affiliated with Desilu Studios and subsequently CBS Paramount Television, the series aired on ABC from September 14, 1964, to April 19, 1965. Rebroadcasts continued until June 14.[2]
The roles of the daughters Janice and Joyce Collins were played by Carol Faylen and Diane Sherry, respectively. Top Warner Bros. character actor Frank McHugh appeared as Willie Walters, the Collins's live-in handyman. Pamela Austin appeared twice on the program, as Clarissa Roberts.[3]
This was one of the few times Crosby portrayed a happily married man, having often portrayed bachelors, widowers, divorcees, or priests. (Note: The Star Maker was one film in which he was happily married. He also portrayed a married man in the films Dixie and Blue Skies but there were problems in the relationships.)
Guest stars included Herbert Anderson, Frankie Avalon, Jack Benny, Jimmy Boyd, Macdonald Carey, Vikki Carr, Dennis Day, Roger Ewing, Glenda Farrell, Joan Fontaine, Kathy Garver, George Gobel, Kathryn Grant (Crosby's second wife, also known as Kathryn Crosby), Pat Harrington, Jr., Phil Harris, Charles Lane, Nobu McCarthy, Gary Morton, Ken Murray, Lloyd Nolan, Ruth Roman, and James Shigeta.[4]
The Bing Crosby Show, main sponsor was Ford Motor Company's Lincoln-Mercury division, other sponsors included Lever Brothers, Mennen, Pepto-Bismol and Gillette. It was aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Mondays. The series faced competition on CBS from the sitcom Many Happy Returns, and on NBC, Crosby faced the second half of the popular The Andy Williams Show, which alternated with a Jonathan Winters variety show, The Jonathan Winters Show.[5]
Cast
- Bing Crosby....Bing Collins
- Beverly Garland....Ellie Collins
- Carol Faylen....Janice Collins
- Diane Sherry....Joyce Collins
- Frank McHugh....Willie Walters
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "A Fine Romance" (pilot) | September 14, 1964 |
| 1-2 | "Exactly Like Who?" | September 21, 1964 |
| 1-3 | "A Bit Of Fresh Danish" | September 28, 1964 |
| 1-4 | "The Green Couch" | October 5, 1964 |
| 1-5 | "Hoop Shots" | October 12, 1964 |
| 1-6 | "Flashback" | October 19, 1964 |
| 1-7 | "The Education Of Bing Collins" | October 26, 1964 |
| 1-8 | "The Dominant Male" | November 9, 1964 |
| 1-9 | "The Importance Of Bea 'n' Willie" | November 16, 1964 |
| 1-10 | "The Liberated Woman" | November 23, 1964 |
| 1-11 | "Genius At Work" | November 30, 1964 |
| 1-12 | "The Yadwin Report" | December 7, 1964 |
| 1-13 | "Janice and Me On A Saturday Spent With Random Inputs No. 1" | December 14, 1964 |
| 1-14 | "The Christmas Show" | December 21, 1964 |
| 1-15 | "The Soft Life" | January 11, 1965 |
| 1-16 | "Bugged By the Love Bugs" | January 18, 1965 |
| 1-17 | "Are Parents People?" | January 25, 1965 |
| 1-18 | "That's the Way the Suki Yakies" | February 1, 1965 |
| 1-19 | "The Gifted Child" | February 8, 1965 |
| 1-20 | "The Image" | February 15, 1965 |
| 1-21 | "The Keefers Come Calling" | February 22, 1965 |
| 1-22 | "Operation Man Save" | March 1, 1965 |
| 1-23 | "One For the Birds" | March 8, 1965 |
| 1-24 | "The Test" | March 22, 1965 |
| 1-25 | "Moonlight Becomes You" | March 29, 1965 |
| 1-26 | "What's A Buddy For?" | April 5, 1965 |
| 1-27 | "Conform, Conform, Whoever You Are" | April 12, 1965 |
| 1-28 | "Real Estate Venture" | April 19, 1965 |
References
- ↑ Pairpoint, Lionel. "The Chronological Bing Crosby on Television". BING magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 99
- ↑ "The Bing Crosby Show (1964)". imdb.com. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ↑ "Episode List for the Bing Crosby Show, 1964". imdb.com. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ↑ 1964-1965 American network television schedule, in appendix of Total Television