''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, 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 troup ...

starring

John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles. He is best known for starring in '' The Addams Family'' (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising ...

and Marty Ingels that ran on ABC from September 28, 1962 to May 10, 1963. The series was created and produced by Leonard Stern and filmed at

Desilu Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

Synopsis

The series starred

and Marty Ingels as trouble-prone

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...

s Harry Dickens and Arch Fenster. Emmaline Henry appeared as Harry's wife, Kate. Appearing regularly, at Dickens and Fenster's workplace, were Frank DeVol (as their mild-mannered boss, Myron Bannister),

David Ketchum David Ketchum (born February 4, 1928, in Quincy, Illinois) is an American character actor, writer, and director perhaps most noted for playing Agent 13 on the 1960s sitcom '' Get Smart''. Ketchum studied physics at UCLA and joined other UCLA stu ...

(as Mel Warshaw),

Henry Beckman Henry Beckman (26 November 1921 – 17 June 2008) was a Canadian stage, film and television actor. Career Beckman appeared in well over 100 productions in the United States and Canada, including recurring roles as Commander Paul Richards in th ...

(as Bob Mulligan), and

Noam Pitlik Noam Pitlik (November 4, 1932February 18, 1999) was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC sitcom ''Barney Miller''. Early life The son of D ...

(as Bentley). Fenster always had attractive girlfriends; some of these actresses later went on to bigger things:

Yvonne Craig Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American actress and ballerina, who was renowned for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series ''Batman''. Other notable roles in her career include Dorothy Johnson in the 1963 ...

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

(as Ellen McRae), and

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...

. The series was sponsored alternately by El Producto cigars and

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

. ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' was filmed in front of a live audience which, in that era, was unusual for a show not built around an established star such as

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running si ...

. The scripts were filled with comic situations and sight gags, supplied by such veteran comedy writers as creator-producer Leonard Stern,

Mel Tolkin Mel Tolkin ( Shmuel Tolchinsky; August 3, 1913 – November 26, 2007) was a television comedy writer best known as head writer of the live sketch comedy series ''Your Show of Shows'' (NBC, 1950–1954) during the Golden Age of Television. There ...

, Don Hinkley, Danny Simon, and Barry Blitzer. The theatrical approach, combining witty remarks with moments of broad

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

comedy, was well received by the audience, whose laughter sometimes drowned out some of the dialogue. The program followed the

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

series ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their nex ...

'' and preceded ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was on ...

'' on Fridays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. It won critical raves, but was programmed opposite two major hits, ''

Sing Along with Mitch Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor a ...

'' starring

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor a ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

and '' Route 66'' on CBS. By the time ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' had attracted a following and had beaten its competition, ABC had already canceled it. The series ran for only 32 episodes and was canceled in 1963. Three years later (1966), John Astin and Marty Ingels were reunited in an episode of

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

, also an ABC-TV show on which Astin co-starred. In episode 60 (episode 26 in Season 2) called "Cat Addams", Ingels played the role of veterinarian Marvin P. Gunderson, called by the Addams to treat Kitty Cat.

Episodes

Home media

On April 10, 2012, Lightyear Entertainment & TV Time Machine Productions released ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster- 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition: Volume 1'' on DVD in Region 1. The 3-disc set contains the first 16 episodes of the series as well as several bonus features.

References

External links

* * {{epguides, id=ImDickensHesFenster
''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster''
website authorized by creator/producer Leonard Stern 1962 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms 1960s American workplace comedy television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television duos Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles