Bachelor Father (U.S. TV series)
| Bachelor Father | |
|---|---|
Noreen Corcoran and John Forsythe, 1961
|
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Starring |
John Forsythe Noreen Corcoran Sammee Tong Jimmy Boyd |
| Theme music composer | Dave Kahn (1957–1958) Melvyn Lenard Gordon (1957–1958) Jeff Alexander (1958–1959) Larry Ornstein (1958–1959) Johnny Williams (1959–1960) Conrad Salinger (1960–62) |
| Opening theme | "Bachelor Father Serenade" (1957–1958) "Bachelor Father Theme" (1958–1959) "Bachelor Father Theme" (1959–1960) "Bentley's Theme" (1960–62) |
| Composer(s) | Stanley Wilson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 157 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Harry Ackerman (1957–1958) Everett Freeman (1958–1962) Robert Sparks |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Bachelor Productions Revue Studios |
| Distributor |
Universal Television NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network |
CBS (1957–1959) NBC (1959–1961) ABC (1961–1962) |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 15, 1957 – September 25, 1962 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | General Electric Theater |
Bachelor Father is an American sitcom starring John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong. The series first premiered on CBS in September 1957 before moving to NBC for the third season in 1959. The series' fifth and final season aired on ABC for the rest of the show's run. A total of 157 episodes were aired. The series was based on "A New Girl in His Life," which aired on General Electric Theater on May 26, 1957.
Bachelor Father is the only primetime series ever to run in consecutive years on the three major television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC).
Bachelor Father follows the adventures of Bentley Gregg, a wealthy bachelor attorney living in Beverly Hills who assumes the responsibility of raising his niece, Kelly (Noreen Corcoran), after her parents died in an automobile accident. Other members of the cast included houseboy Peter Tong (Sammee Tong), teenage neighbor and Kelly's on and off boyfriend, Howard Meechum (Jimmy Boyd), Kelly's best friend, Ginger Farrell (Bernadette Withers) and Jasper, the dog. Withers appeared in 51 episodes from 1957-1962; Boyd in 37 from 1958-1962. Plots center on Bentley's adjustments to his new role as an adoptive parent, his search for the right woman to share his life, Kelly facing the usual problems of adolescence and young adulthood and her ritual of passage from high school to college and Peter's misadventures with his family, love life and financial schemes.
The program's final season storylines led to Kelly's impending marriage to Bentley's junior partner Warren Dawson (Aron Kincaid). The two met, became engaged, interacted with other couples and even met Dawson's parents (who flew in from New York on short notice), all in a span of three episodes. Without mention or explanation, Kincaid's character was dropped after four episodes and by the series finale, Kelly is seeing a different man with no marriage plans. Meechum (Boyd) appears in several Season 5 episodes, but he is never developed as a serious romantic interest for Kelly. As the series was canceled after 157 episodes, Bachelor Father did not have a formal series finale.
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