''Norby'' is an American

situation comedy 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 ...

series that aired on

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 ...

from January 5 to April 6, 1955. The first television series filmed in color, it was created by David Swift and lasted one season and 13 episodes.

Premise

Pearson Norby is the vice president in charge of small loans at a small-town bank in

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. At the bank, he works with Mr. Rudge, another vice president and efficiency expert, and Wahleen Johnson, the telephone operator. Some sources claim the bank is run by an unnamed Bank President, while others identify Mrs. Maude Endles as its president.Brooks, Tim, and Earl Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Ninth Edition''
New York: Ballantine Books, 2007, , p. 996. Norby lives in Pearl River with his wife Helen, daughter Diane, and son Hank. Bobo and Maureen live next door to the Norbys.

Cast

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

as Pearson Norby *

Joan Lorring Joan Lorring (born Madeline Ellis; April 17, 1926 – May 30, 2014) was an American actress and singer known for her work in film and theatre. For her role as Bessy Watty in ''The Corn Is Green'' (1945), Lorring was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

as Helen Norby *Susan Hallaran as Diane Norby *Evan Elliott as Hank Norby *Janice Mars as Wahleen Johnson *

Ralph Dunn Ralph Dunn (May 23, 1900 – February 19, 1968) was an American film, television, and stage actor. Early years Dunn was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania. His father was a veterinarian for the U.S. Army during World War I, and his mother ...

as Mr. Rudge *

Carol Veazie Carol may refer to: People with the name *Carol (given name) *Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor A ...

as Mrs. Maude Endles *

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait ...

as Bobo *

Maxine Stuart Maxine Stuart (June 28, 1918 – June 6, 2013) was an American actress. Biography Stuart was born in Deal, New Jersey as Maxine Shlivek, and raised in Manhattan and Lawrence, Nassau County, New York. Stuart was a life member of The Actors Stud ...

as Maureen *

Paul Ford Paul Ford Weaver (November 2, 1901 – April 12, 1976) was an American character actor who came to specialize in authority figures whose ineptitude and pompous demeanor were played for comic effect, notably as Mayor Shinn in ''The Music Man (196 ...

as Bank President

Production

''Norby'' was created by writer David Swift. The series was filmed in color, with exterior shots filmed on location in

. Other filming was done at 20th Century Movietone Studios in New York City, with no laugh track.

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

was the sponsor (that company's first venture into TV sponsorship). Kodak also made the film used for the series. The lack of availability of affiliates for the program's time slot "was probably the chief factor behind its early cancellation". Swift was the producer, and he directed some episodes, with

Richard Whorf Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director. Life and acting career Whorf was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was linguist Benjamin Le ...

and Rogers Brackett directing others. Writers included

George Kirgo George Kirgo (born George Blumenthal; March 26, 1926 – August 22, 2004) was an American screenwriter, author and humorist. Early life Kirgo was born George Blumenthal in Hartford, Connecticut, the middle child of three born to Russian immigra ...

, James Lee, Harvey Orkin,

David Rayfiel David Rayfiel (September 9, 1923 – June 22, 2011) was an American screenwriter and frequent collaborator of director Sydney Pollack. Life Rayfiel was born in Brooklyn, New York and educated at Brooklyn College. His father was congressman Leo ...

, and Paul West. John Graham and Max Allentuck were associate producers.

Broadcast history

''Norby'' aired at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays throughout its 13-episode run. It was replaced by ''Kodak Request Performance'', a film series that included plays from ''

Ford Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950 ...

'' and from ''Top Plays of 1955''.

Critical reception

Critic

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

, in a review of the first episode of ''Norby'' in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', described the program as being "off to an extremely wobbly start". He wrote that the show made the title character too much like fathers in other TV situation comedies and that situations in the episode strained plausibility. His most positive comments regarded the quality of the episode's color, which he said also resulted in an improved picture on black-and-white TV sets. A review of the same episode in the trade publication ''

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

'' said that the program avoided "much of the nonsense that clutters too many of the series' family contemporaries on TV". If other episodes followed that trend, the review sais, "viewers are in for solid, warm entertainment".

Episodes

Source ''Norby'' (television listing), ''Statesman Journal'' (Salem, Oregon), March 9, 1955, Page 16 Accessed 4 January 2022
/ref>

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0047761, Norby
TV Guide

''Norby'' opening credits on YouTube

''Norby'' closing credits on YouTube
1955 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings 1950s American sitcoms American workplace comedy television series English-language television shows NBC original programming Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York (state)