''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' 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 ...

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 th ...

and

Marty Ingels Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

that ran 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 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

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, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

s Harry Dickens and Arch Fenster.

Emmaline Henry Emmaline Henry (November 1, 1928 – October 8, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing Amanda Bellows, the wife of Dr. Alfred Bellows, on the hit 1960s situation comedy ''I Dream of Jeannie''. Career Henry first appeared duri ...

appeared as Harry's wife, Kate. Appearing regularly, at Dickens and Fenster's workplace, were

Frank DeVol Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

(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 Dr. ...

(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 19 ...

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 daughte ...

. The series was sponsored alternately by El Producto cigars and

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational Final good, consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter (industrialist), William Procter and James Gamble (industr ...

. ''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 Golden ...

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. Ther ...

, Don Hinkley,

Danny Simon Daniel Simon (December 18, 1918, The Bronx, New York – July 26, 2005, Portland, Oregon) was an American television writer and comedy teacher. Biography The older brother of playwright Neil Simon, the two siblings wrote comedy together until ...

, and

Barry Blitzer Barry E. Blitzer (April 21, 1929 – January 27, 2010) was an American television writer. Life and career Blitzer was well known as a writer for the Hanna-Barbera cartoons including ''The Flintstones'', ''Top Cat'', and ''The Jetsons''. Listed ...

. 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 a ...

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 images ...

series ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by 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 next-door neighb ...

'' and preceded ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'' 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 ...

'' 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 ...

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 ...

and ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

'' on

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 ...

. 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 Lightyear Entertainment, headquartered in Studio City, California, is a distributor of independent motion pictures in theaters, on DVD, Blu-ray, Video On Demand, as well as a distributor of music and music videos on CD, DVD, and digital distribut ...

& 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