The New Phil Silvers Show
| The New Phil Silvers Show | |
|---|---|
 Phil Silvers as Harry Grafton with his nephew, Andy (Ronnie Dapo), niece, Susan (Sandy Descher), and sister, Audrey (Elena Verdugo). | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Harvey Bullock R.S. Allen |
| Written by |
R.S. Allen Rod Amateau Harvey Bullock Seaman Jacobs Ed James Ed Jurist Laurence Marks Bud Nye William Raynor A.J. Russell Phil Sharp Danny Simon Lou Solomon Ben Starr Myles Wilder |
| Directed by |
Rod Amateau David Davis Al Lewis Thomas Montgomery Guy Scarpitta |
| Starring |
Phil Silvers Elena Verdugo Stafford Repp Sandy Descher Herbie Faye Ronnie Dapo Buddy Lester |
| Composer(s) | Harry Geller |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Rod Amateau |
| Cinematography | James Van Trees |
| Editor(s) | Robert Moore |
| Running time | 30 min (approx) |
| Production company(s) | Gladasya Productions, in association with United Artists Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 28, 1963 – April 25, 1964 |
The New Phil Silvers Show is an American situation comedy starring comedian Phil Silvers which aired thirty episodes on CBS from September 28, 1963, to April 25, 1964, under the sponsorship of General Foods.
Synopsis
Silvers tried to revive with considerable changes the theme of his earlier much more successful The Phil Silvers Show (CBS, 1955–1959). In the 1963–1964 version, Silvers played Harry Grafton, a plant foreman at the Osborne Corporation, who like the previous Bilko character is always eager to embrace a get-rich-quick scheme.[1]
The large supporting cast included Stafford Repp as Grafton's supervisor, Mr. Brink; Jim Shane as Lester; Herbie Faye as Waluska; Douglas Dumbrille as Mr. Osborne, the factory owner; Eric Morris as Stanley; Steve Mitchell as Fred Starkey; Bob Williams as Bob, Buddy Lester as Nick; Pat Renella as Roxy, and Norm Grabowski as Grabowski.
At mid-season, the "new" program was altered again, as the Spanish actress Elena Verdugo joined the cast as Grafton's widowed sister and housemate, Audrey. Sandy Descher played Audrey's teenaged daughter and Grafton's niece, Susan. Child actor Ronnie Dapo played Audrey's son and Grafton's 11-year-old nephew, Andy.[1]
The New Phil Silvers Show aired at 8:30 Eastern on Saturday, following The Jackie Gleason Show and preceding the acclaimed legal drama, The Defenders. Opposite Phil Silvers, NBC offered The Joey Bishop Show a sitcom with Joey Bishop and Abby Dalton, and ABC aired the first half of The Lawrence Welk Show.[2] In November The Defenders returned to its former (1961–63) 8:30 slot and Silvers' show moved to 9:30, according to Brooks and Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, 7th edition, 1998.
Notable guest stars
- Bert Convy
- Florida Friebus
- Allen Funt as himself
- Bernie Kopell
- Patrick McVey
- Burt Mustin
- Joan Staley
- Ludwig Stössel, who parodied his Gallo wine commercial
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Man It's Like Progress" | September 28, 1963 |
| 1-2 | "The Great Forklift Contest" | October 5, 1963 |
| 1-3 | "Birthday Boy" | October 12, 1963 |
| 1-4 | "The Tortoise and the Harry" | October 19, 1963 |
| 1-5 | "Harry Today, Gone Tomorrow" | October 26, 1963 |
| 1-6 | "The Little Old Gluemaker, Me!" | November 2, 1963 |
| 1-7 | "Triple Indemnity" | November 9, 1963 |
| 1-8 | "A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to the Coffee Break" | November 16, 1963 |
| 1-9 | "Harry Who" | November 30, 1963 |
| 1-10 | "Las Vegas Was My Mother's Maiden Name" | December 7, 1963 |
| 1-11 | "Son of Pygmalion" | December 14, 1963 |
| 1-12 | "Have I Got a Boy for You" | December 21, 1963 |
| 1-13 | "Who Do Voodoo? Harry Do!" | December 28, 1963 |
| 1-14 | "Stop the Factory, I Want to Get Off" | January 4, 1964 |
| 1-15 | "Beauty and the Least" | January 11, 1964 |
| 1-16 | "75 1⁄2 Trombones" | January 18, 1964 |
| 1-17 | "My Son, the Governor" | January 25, 1964 |
| 1-18 | "Leave It to Harry" | February 1, 1964 |
| 1-19 | "Smile, Harry, You're on 'Candid Camera'" | February 8, 1964 |
| 1-20 | "Pay the Two Dollars" | February 15, 1964 |
| 1-21 | "Harry, the Good Neighbor" | February 22, 1964 |
| 1-22 | "Cyrano DeGrafton" | February 29, 1964 |
| 1-23 | "Take Her, She's Tall" | March 7, 1964 |
| 1-24 | "Will the Real Harry Grafton Please Stand Up?" | March 14, 1964 |
| 1-25 | "Auntie Up" | March 21, 1964 |
| 1-26 | "Grafton's the Name, Football's My Game" | March 28, 1964 |
| 1-27 | "Keep Cool" | April 4, 1964 |
| 1-28 | "Vanity, Thy Name Is Harry" | April 11, 1964 |
| 1-29 | "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" | April 18, 1964 |
| 1-30 | "Moonlight and Dozes" | April 25, 1964 |
References
- 1 2 Alex McNeil, Total Television, (New York City: Penguin Books, 1996), 4th ed., p. 598.
- ↑ McNeil, "1963–1964 American network television schedule," appendix of Total Television