''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' is an American sitcom 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, primarily in character roles. He is widely known for his role as patriarch Gomez Addams in ''The Addams Famil ...

and Marty Ingels that ran on ABC from September 28, 1962, to May 10th, 1963.

Synopsis

The series starred

and Marty Ingels as Harry Dickens and Arch Fenster, "inept Los Angeles carpenters" who were friends, and who worked for the Bannister Construction Company. Physical gags about activities of construction workers formed the basis of each episode. Fenster was a single playboy who had a bachelor pad and a multi-volume "little black book". Marriage had eluded him despite his having been engaged nine times. Emmaline Henry appeared as Harry's wife, Kate. That character was the first wife on a TV comedy who worked on a job. They had no children, and Harry Dickens (age 33) looked on Fenster as if he were his son. His personality traits included insecurity and jealousy, and he tended to be pushy and overbearing. Kate Dickens was "extremely patient" and put up with their home's being "always a work in progress" where painting and repairs were concerned. Appearing regularly, at Dickens and Fenster's workplace, were Frank DeVol (as their mild-mannered boss Myron Bannister), David Ketchum (as Mel Warshaw), Henry Beckman (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 ...

(as Bentley). Mulligan and Warshaw were carpenters who provided little help when problems arose on a job site. Actresses who portrayed Fenster's girlfriends included

Yvonne Craig Yvonne Joyce Craig (May 16, 1937 – August 17, 2015) was an American actress who is best known for her role as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in the 1960s television series ''Batman (TV series), Batman''. Other notable roles in her career include Dorot ...

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

(as Ellen McRae), and Lee Meriwether.

Episodes

Production

A product of Heyday Productions, the series was created and produced by Leonard Stern and filmed at

Desilu Desilu Productions, Inc. () 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 ...

. It was sponsored 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. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

. ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' was filmed in black-and-white 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, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

Danny Thomas Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...

. 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 as ...

comedy, was well received by the audience, whose laughter sometimes drowned some of the dialogue. Writers included Stern, Don Hinkley, Mel Tolkin, Sheldon Keller, Howard Merrill, Jerry Davis, Frank Fox, Marty Roth, Mel Diamond,

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''. Liste ...

, Walter Kempley, Ray Singer, Dick Chevillat, Fred Freeman,

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...

, Wilton Schiller, Arthur Alsberg, and Bob Fisher. Among the directors were Stern, Norman Abbott, Claudio Guzman, and

Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late ...

. Irving Szathmary composed the theme, "The Dickens and Fenster March". The program followed the cartoon series ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'' and preceded ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television 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 epis ...

'' on Fridays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. It was programmed opposite '' Sing Along with Mitch'' and '' Route 66'' (both of which had debuted earlier), and "it just didn't have good ratings". By the time ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' had attracted a following and had beaten its competition, ABC had canceled it. The series ran for only 32 episodes and was canceled in 1963.

Critical response

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

's'' review of the series's premiere episode suggested that the program "could be a surprise success of the television season." It noted that the series "has no established stars in its cast", with Ingels "the chief clown of the new series." Elements of the show reminded the reviewer of a vaudeville act that had "clumsy routines with hammers, boards, and other simple props". Some reviews compared activities of Dickens and Fenster to those of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

. Stern said that he received a fan letter from

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

and that Laurel said that the program "was the only TV show he watched."

Syndication

In May 1963 ABC Films released 32 episodes of ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' for local broadcast.

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.

Comic books

Dell published two ''I'm Dickens, He's Fenster'' comic books while the show was on the air.

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 multi-camera sitcoms 1960s American workplace comedy television series Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Television duos Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles American Broadcasting Company sitcoms Slapstick comedy