Guestward, Ho!
| Guestward, Ho! | |
|---|---|
Flip Mark as Brook Hooten with Tonka (1961)
|
|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Developed by | Cy Howard |
| Written by |
Bob Schiller Bob Weiskopf Ronald Alexander Arthur Julian, based on Guestward Ho! (1956) by Patrick Dennis and Barbara Hooton |
| Directed by | Claudio Guzmán, Desi Arnaz |
| Starring |
Joanne Dru Mark Miller J. Carrol Naish Flip Mark |
| Theme music composer | Arthur Hamilton |
| Ending theme | "Guestward Ho!" |
| Composer(s) | Earle Hagen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 38 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Cy Howard |
| Producer(s) | David Heilweil Elliott Lewis |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Desilu Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 29, 1960 – September 21, 1961 |
Guestward, Ho! is an American sitcom which aired on the ABC network in the 1960-1961 television season. It was based on the 1956 comic memoir of the same title by New Mexico dude ranch operator Barbara "Babs" Hooton, written in cooperation with Auntie Mame author Patrick Dennis. The series altered the characters' family name from "Hooton" to "Hooten."
Guestward, Ho! began as a CBS/Desilu Studios pilot episode for Vivian Vance, who had played Lucille Ball's neighbor, Ethel Mertz, on the hit comedy series I Love Lucy and The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show from 1951 to 1960.
Vance played Babs Hooten and veteran film actor Leif Erickson, later of NBC's The High Chaparral, was cast as her husband, Bill Hooten. On viewing the pilot, network executives felt that Vance had become so typecast in her Ethel Mertz role that she was unconvincing playing a leading character in a situation comedy. One executive was heard to say after screening the episode, "I kept waiting for Lucy to come in." As a result, CBS rejected the pilot, and Vance continued to play her supporting role on The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show until the series ended in 1960.
That same year, Guestward, Ho! was taken off the shelf and given two new leads, with movie actress Joanne Dru as Babs Hooten, a former model in the story line, and television actor Mark Miller as Bill Hooten. Child actor Flip Mark was cast as their son, Brook Hooten. This time, the show sold and premiered on the ABC Thursday evening schedule preceding The Donna Reed Show. It was primarily sponsored by Ralston-Purina, with 7 Up as an alternate sponsor.
...
Wikipedia