''A Touch of Grace'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that was based on the British series ''

For the Love of Ada ''For the Love of Ada'' is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 and 1971. Although not seen on British TV for over 30 years, the complete series began airing again in late 2018 on Talking Pictures TV, albeit edited with certain offensive words ...

'' starring

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awa ...

and

J. Patrick O'Malley James Rudolph O'Malley (15 March 1904 – 27 February 1985) was an English character actor and singer who appeared in many American films and television programmes from the 1940s to 1982, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. He also appeared on ...

centering on a widow who moves in with her daughter and son-in-law and her romantic relationship with an elderly man. It aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from January 20 to April 21, 1973.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 861.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , pp. 1058-1059.

Cast

...Grace Simpson *

...Herbert Morrison *

Warren Berlinger Warren Berlinger (August 31, 1937 – December 2, 2020) was an American character actor, with Broadway runs, movie and television credits, and much work in commercials. Early life Warren Berlinger was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, o ...

...Walter Bradley *

Marian Mercer Marian Ethel Mercer (November 26, 1935 – April 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Akron, Ohio, Mercer was the daughter of Samuel and Nellie Mercer. She graduated from the University of Michigan, then spent several ...

...Myra Bradley

Synopsis

Recently widowed, in her 60s, living off her

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

checks, and struggling to make a new life for herself, Grace Simpson moves in with her daughter and son-in-law, Myra and Walter Bradley. Grace is perky and young at heart, in sharp contrast to the stodgy and conservative Myra and Walter, and her presence disrupts their lives. Although Grace dates a lot, her steady boyfriend is Herbert Morrison, who works as a gravedigger. Myra and Walter disapprove of Graces relationship with Herbert.

Production

''A Touch of Grace'' marked the return of Shirley Booth to television after the end of her long and successful run as the star of ''

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

'' from 1961 to 1966, and it was also her last television series.

Saul Turteltaub Saul Turteltaub (May 5, 1932 – April 9, 2020) was an American comedy writer and producer. He was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1964 and 1965 as part of the writing team for ''That Was the Week that Was'', and in 1968 for ''The Carol Burnett Show' ...

was the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the show, and

Bernie Orenstein Bernard Orenstein (born February 5, 1931) is a Canadian-American actor, producer and screenwriter. He was the collaborator of Saul Turteltaub. Born in Toronto, Ontario. Orenstein mostly produced and wrote for television programs with his writing ...

produced it. Episode directors included

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

and

Bill Hobin Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. Writers included Turteltaub, Orenstein, Jeff Harris,

Rick Mittleman Rick Mittleman (April 18, 1930 – July 30, 2014) was an American screenwriter known for '' Bewitched'', ''The Red Skelton Show'', and many other TV series. Career Mittleman started out on the TV series ''You Asked for It''. He was nominated fo ...

Bernie Kukoff Bernie Kukoff is an American television director, producer and writer. He has produced and written for the television series ''Operation Petticoat'', ''A Touch of Grace'', ''The Cosby Show'', '' Thea'', ''Detective School'' and ''Diff'rent Stroke ...

, David Pollock,

Elias Davis Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...

, and

George Tibbles George F. Tibbles (June 7, 1913February 21, 1987) was a composer and screenwriter. He and Ramez Idriss co-wrote "The Woody Woodpecker Song" for the 1948 short film, ''Wet Blanket Policy''; the song would receive an Academy Award nomination (Ac ...

. ''A Touch of Grace'' was based on the 1970-1971 British television series ''

''. It was an unusual show for its time, as it focused on an older couple falling in love at a time when American television networks were relentlessly pursuing a youthful viewership demographic. Critics viewed it as well written and well acted, and a good showcase for Shirley Booths talents.

Broadcast history

''A Touch of Grace'' premiered on ABC on Saturday, January 20, 1973 at 8:30 P.M. It faced tough competition in its time slot from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

s ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and ''

Bridget Loves Bernie ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' is an American sitcom created by Bernard Slade. Depicting an interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man, ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' was based loosely on the premise of the 1920s Broadway play and 1940s r ...

'' and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situatio ...

''. The sitcom preceded ABC's highly touted variety show

The Julie Andrews Hour ''The Julie Andrews Hour'' was a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States. Known as the Julie Andrews Show in the UK and aire ...

, which had just been moved from its Wednesday night 10:00 P.M. time slot to Saturday night at 9:00 P.M. in order to improve upon its marginal ratings. However, Andrews, in turn, had to compete with the highly rated CBS series

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

and

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...

. As a result, both ''A Touch of Grace'' and ''The Julie Andrews Hour'' garnered low ratings despite their critical acclaim. ABC cancelled both shows in April, 1973. ABC broadcast reruns of ''A Touch of Grace'' in prime time on Saturday evenings on April 28, 1973, and from May 12 to June 16, 1973.

Episodes

Source:A Touch of Grace Episodes
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Touch of Grace American Broadcasting Company original programming 1973 American television series debuts 1973 American television series endings 1970s American sitcoms American television series based on British television series English-language television shows Television shows set in London