Dobie Gillis
| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | |
|---|---|
First season title card
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| Also known as |
Dobie Gillis (seasons 2–3) Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis (season 4) |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Max Shulman |
| Based on |
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and I Was a Teen-Age Dwarf by Max Shulman |
| Directed by |
Rod Amateau Stanley Z. Cherry David Davis Robert Gordon Tom Montgomery Ralph Murphy |
| Starring |
Dwayne Hickman Frank Faylen Florida Friebus Bob Denver |
| Theme music composer |
Lionel Newman Max Shulman |
| Opening theme | "Dobie", performed by Judd Conlon's Rhythmaires (season 1-2) "Dobie" (Instrumental) (seasons 3-4) |
| Ending theme | "Dobie", performed by Judd Conlon's Rhythmaires (seasons 1-2) "Dobie" (Instrumental) (seasons 3-4) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 147 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Martin Manulis |
| Producer(s) | Rod Amateau |
| Location(s) | 20th Century Fox Studios - Hollywood, California |
| Cinematography | James Van Trees |
| Editor(s) | Johnny Ehrin Willard Nico Robert Moore |
| Camera setup | Single-camera setup |
| Running time | 26 min |
| Production company(s) |
20th Century Fox Television Martin Manulis Productions (seasons 1-2) Marman Productions (seasons 3-4) |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white, film |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 29, 1959 – June 5, 1963 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) |
| Followed by |
Zelda (1962, pilot) Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis (1978, pilot) Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988, telefilm) |
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (also known as simply Dobie Gillis or Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1963. The series and several episode scripts were adapted from the "Dobie Gillis" short stories written by Max Shulman since 1945, and first collected in 1951 under the same title as the subsequent TV series. Shulman also wrote a feature film adaptation of his "Dobie Gillis" stories for MGM in 1953, entitled The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.
Dobie Gillis is significant as the first American television program produced for a major network to feature teenagers as leading characters. In other series, such as Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver, teenagers were portrayed as supporting characters in a family story. An even earlier 1954 series, Meet Corliss Archer, featured teenagers in leading roles and aired in syndication.Dobie Gillis broke ground by depicting elements of the counterculture, particularly the Beat Generation, primarily embodied in a stereotypical version of the "beatnik". Series star Dwayne Hickman would later say that Dobie represented “the end of innocence of the 1950s before the oncoming 1960s revolution”.
The series revolved around teenager Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman), who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls, whose entrance into Dobie's life was often accompanied by the song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" softly playing in the background. He did not have any of these qualities in abundance, and the tiny crises surrounding Dobie's lack of success made the story in each weekly episode. Also constantly in question, by Dobie and others, was Dobie's future, as the boy proved to be a poor student and an aimless drifter. Often falling in love with a new girl within minutes, often referring to them as soft and round and pink and creamy, the would-be poet Dobie would address his loves with flowery phrases such as "my great, tawny animal" and go out of his way each week to attract, keep, or win back the girl-of-the-moment.
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