The Donna Reed Show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Donna Reed Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Starring | Donna Reed Carl Betz Shelley Fabares Paul Petersen Patty Petersen Bob Crane Jimmy Hawkins |
| Opening theme | "Happy Days" |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 275 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tony Owen Bill Robert |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 24, 1958 – March 19, 1966 |
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1958 to 1966. It starred Donna Reed as Donna Stone, a housewife to pediatrician Alex Stone, played by Carl Betz. The couple had two children together, Mary and Jeff. Another series regular (from 1963-1965) was future Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. For many years its main sponsor was the Campbell Soup Company with Johnson & Johnson as the principal alternate sponsor.
[edit] Overview
The show was a situation comedy, focusing on parenting problems and the love lives and activities of the children, distinctive in that Donna was deeply involved in the lives of the kids, helping them solve their problems while Dr. Alex had to see patients (a stark and refreshing contrast to Father Knows Best and I Love Lucy). The show was also unique in that Donna frequently worked as a nurse, at a time when most TV mothers were housewives.
Former "Mouseketeer" Paul Petersen portrayed the son Jeff. The character of Mary, played by Shelley Fabares, became very popular on Top 40 radio thanks to a single she recorded in 1962 called "Johnny Angel." It sold over a million copies, and Fabares left the show in 1963 to pursue other acting and singing opportunities. In the series, Mary Stone left to attend college away from home, while Petersen's real-life sister Patty Petersen joined the cast as Trisha. (Petersen had his own recording career, his biggest hit being the 1963 single "My Dad", for Colpix Records.)
Other actors had secondary roles on the series over the years, including Jimmy Hawkins as Mary Stone's persistent boyfriend Scotty and Bob Crane, who played a neighbor.
Reruns aired on Nick at Nite from 1985 through 1994 and on TV Land in 2002. For a time, the only DVD release of the show had been two episodes included as adult cereal prizes in 2004. However, Arts Alliance America recently announced [1] a DVD of the show's first season which is planned to be released on October 28, 2008.
