''Ensign O'Toole'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that stars Dean Jones in the title role as an officer aboard the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

USS ''Appleby'' in the early 1960s. It aired from 1962 to 1963.

Synopsis

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

O'Toole is a junior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

aboard the fictional

USS ''Appleby'' in the peacetime

of the early 1960s. Also aboard the ''Appleby'' are the ship's

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

, Lieutenant Commander Virgil Stoner; its supply officer, the rich and usually befuddled

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

Rex St. John; and an assortment of zany crewmen, including

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

Homer Nelson — who always seems to be in search of a

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

game and often butts heads with O'Toole — and Seamen Gabby Di Julio, Howard Spicer, and Claude White. The nonchalant O'Toole is clever, speaks several languages, can answer any trivia question, and expresses expertise in almost any subject that comes up, but avoids doing work, preferring to spend his time pulling pranks and showing up the ambitious and overbearing St. John, usually with the enthusiastic help of the crew. The ''Appleby''′s

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

never appears on camera; usually Lieutenant Commander Stoner relays his orders to the crew, although sometimes the commanding officer's voice is heard over the ship's "

squawk box ''Squawk Box'' is an American business news television program that airs from 6 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, Eastern time on CNBC. The program is co-hosted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Since debuting in 19 ...

."McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 258.Nostlagia Central ''Ensign O'Toole'' Accessed 10 November 2021
/ref>

Cast

* Dean Jones .... Ensign O'Toole *

Jay C. Flippen John Constantine Flippen Jr. (J.C. or Jay C.) (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American character actor who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many 1940s and 1950s pictures, particularly in film noir ...

.... Chief Petty Officer Homer Nelson *

Jack Mullaney Jack Mullaney (September 18, 1929 – June 27, 1982) was an American actor. He appeared on Broadway in ''The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' from 1953 to 1954. Mullaney acted in several television series and films throughout his career. Early ...

.... Lieutenant (junior grade) Rex St. John *

Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...

.... Lieutenant Commander Virgil Stoner *

Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on '' The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and ...

.... Seaman Gabby Di Julio *

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...

.... Seaman Howard Spicer * Bob Sorrells .... Seaman Claude White *

Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter of film and television. He was known for playing con artist Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series '' The Rockford Files'', ...

.... Lieutenant Miller (recurring) * Skip Ward .... Lieutenant Ferguson (recurring) *

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series '' F Troop'' (1965–1967), '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971) and ''Mama's Family'' ( ...

.... Lieutenant Melton (recurring) * Gerald Trump .... Crump (recurring) * Andrew Colmar .... Naismith (recurring) * Eddie Peterson ....Selby (recurring)

Production

''Ensign O'Toole'' was based on two books — ''All the Ships at Sea'' (1950) and ''Ensign O'Toole and Me'' (1957) — by William Lederer, who served as consultant for the series. The destroyer portrayed the fictional USS ''Appleby''.

Broadcast history

''Ensign O'Toole'' premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on September 23, 1962. It lasted a single season, and the last of its 32 original episodes aired on May 5, 1963.Classic TV Archive ''Ensign O'Toole'' (1962–63) Accessed 8 November 2021
/ref> Prime-time reruns of ''Ensign O'Toole'' followed in its regular time slot on NBC until September 15, 1963. The show aired at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday throughout its run. From March to September 1964,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

ran prime-time reruns of ''Ensign O'Toole'' at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday. The last of these aired on September 10, 1964, before ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'' took its time slot the following week. From April 2023, the series was shown in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky. Later it also became available on Freeview, Freesat and Virgin Media. It is on air 24 hours a day and fe ...

Episodes

SOURCES

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0055671, title=Ensign O'Toole
''Ensign O'Toole'' opening credits on YouTube''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Benefit" on YouTube''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Jinx" on YouTube''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Casanova" on YouTube''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Arctic" on YouTubeOpening from ''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Daddy" on YouTubeExcerpt from ''Ensign O'Toole'' episode "Operation: Mess" on YouTubeImages from ''Ensign O'Toole'' on YouTube
1962 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Military comedy television series American military television series Nautical television series Television series about the United States Navy Television series set in the 1960s NBC sitcoms