''The Baileys of Balboa'' 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 ...

that appeared 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 Entertainm ...

in the 1964–1965 season on Thursdays at 9:30pm ET. The series lasted only one 26-episode season. The show was directed by Gary Nelson and Bob Sweeney.Television obscurities
The Baileys of Balboa. Retrieved on 2007-11-22 The show was primarily developed for the network because its president,

James T. Aubrey James Thomas Aubrey Jr. (December 14, 1918 – September 3, 1994) was an American television and film executive. As president of the CBS television network from 1959 to 1965, with his "smell for the blue-collar," he produced some of televi ...

, insisted that ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

'', which premiered the same season (and which he personally loathed), would have been a better show if it had centered on the exploits of a charter boat captain operating in a marina, and had his old friend

Keefe Brasselle Keefe Brasselle (born Henry Keefe Brasselle February 7, 1923 – July 7, 1981) was an American film actor, television actor/producer and author. He is best remembered for the starring role in ''The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953). Early years an ...

produce his version of the idea in order to prove his point. After Aubrey was fired from the network in February 1965 (amid charges of "conflict of interest" in scheduling the show and two other Brasselle productions without formal pilot episodes), ''The Baileys of Balboa'' fulfilled its 26-episode commitment, and was abruptly canceleddue, in part, to its poor ratings opposite

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 ...

's highly successful twice-weekly

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, '' Peyton Place''. ''Gilligan's Island'' continued for two more seasons.

Overview

The plot follows the Bailey family, who live at a beach resort, where Sam Bailey operates a charter boat at the local marina. The Baileys regularly get into conflicts with their wealthier neighbors. The show starred

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 ...

(Sam Bailey),

Sterling Holloway Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...

(Buck Singleton),

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

(Commodore Cecil Wyntoon),

Judy Carne Joyce Audrey Botterill (27 April 1939 – 3 September 2015), known professionally as Judy Carne, was an English actress best remembered for the phrase "Sock it to me!" on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Career Carne was born in Northampton, Eng ...

(Barbara Wyntoon), Les Brown, Jr. (Jim Bailey),

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

(Stanley),

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

(Langley) and Dorothy Green.

John Banner John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encou ...

also occasionally appeared as "Hans". Among the guest stars on ''The Baileys of Balboa'' was

Roger Ewing Roger Lawrence Ewing (born January 12, 1942) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood in the American western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Ewing was born in Los A ...

, in the December 1964 episode "Look Who's A Sailor", and later played Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood in CBS's

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series, ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', from 1965 to 1967.

Child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

Kelly Corcoran, then 6 years old, made his third ever screen appearance in the February 1965 episode "The Education Of Sam Bailey".

Episode list

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baileys of Balboa, The CBS original programming English-language television shows 1960s American sitcoms 1964 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings Television series by CBS Studios