''The Swiss Family Robinson'' is an American action and adventure series that was broadcast during the 1975–76 TV season. The two-hour pilot for the series was first shown on April 15, 1975. Based upon the 1812 novel ''

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...

'', the pilot and its 20 subsequent episodes of the series were produced by

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film gen ...

, who had earlier produced a futuristic adaptation of the same novel in the 1965 TV series ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

''.

Synopsis

The series starred

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: ''Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which ai ...

as Karl Robinson, the survivor of a shipwreck who found himself, his wife and two sons stranded on a volcanic island. In one of her first acting performances,

Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hunt rose to fame portraying Jam ...

co-starred as a young girl who was stranded on the island from the same shipwreck and who was taken in by the Robinson family. Befriending the Robinsons was Jeremiah Worth (played by Cameron Mitchell), a sailor who had survived on the island alone for seven years following an earlier shipwreck. The series was initially scheduled opposite

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 ...

's ''

Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' and

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 ...

' ''

Three for the Road ''Three for the Road'' is a 1987 road comedy film directed by Bill L. Norton and starring Charlie Sheen, Alan Ruck, Kerri Green, Sally Kellerman and Blair Tefkin. Plot The film centers around Paul Tracy (Charlie Sheen), a college student and ...

''. In December 1975, CBS replaced ''Three for the Road'' with ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' which soon became a popular Sunday night staple. In addition to the tough competition, ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' was preempted several times and showed repeat episodes four times during its short run. The final original episode was telecast on April 4, 1976. Because the Canadian series of the same name had come first, this was shown in Britain and other international territories as ''Island of Adventure''.

Cast

as Karl Robinson * Pat Delaney as Lotte Robinson *

Willie Aames Willie Aames, also credited as Willie Ames, (born Albert William Upton, July 15, 1960) is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Tommy Bradford, one of the children of ...

as Fred Robinson * Eric Olson as Ernie Robinson *

as Helga Wagner * Cameron Mitchell as Jeremiah Worth

Episodes

Production notes

This series was directed by

Leslie H. Martinson Leslie Herbert Martinson (January 16, 1915 – September 3, 2016) was an American television and film director. Career Martinson was born to Gertrude and Lewis Martinson in Boston, Massachusetts on January 16, 1915. He had a brother named Bert ...

and

Christian I. Nyby II Christian I. Nyby II (born Christian Ib Nyby June 1, 1941) is an American television director, son of film editor and director Christian Nyby. Education Nyby graduated from Van Nuys High School in Van Nuys, California in 1959. He attended the ...

. The second unit director was

Stan Jolley Stanford Jolley, Jr. (May 17, 1926 – June 4, 2012), known as Stan Jolley, was an American art director and production designer, originally employed by Walt Disney Studios before he struck out on his own. In an unusual reprise of a crew ...

. The story editing was done by William Welch, the cinematography was by

Fred Jackman, Jr. Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodr ...

, and the original music was by

Richard LaSalle Richard LaSalle (January 18, 1918 – April 5, 2015) was an American film score composer. LaSalle was born in Louisville, Colorado. He began as a performer for local hotels as a pianist and orchestra leader between the 1940s and 1950s. In 1958 he ...

References

External links

* *
The Irwin Allen News Network's ''Swiss Family Robinson ''page''The Swiss Family Robinson''
at Television Obscurities {{DEFAULTSORT:Swiss Family Robinson, The 1975 American television series debuts 1976 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming 1970s American drama television series Period family drama television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows based on Swiss novels American television shows based on children's books English-language television shows The Swiss Family Robinson Television series set on fictional islands Television series by Irwin Allen Television Productions Television series about families Television shows set in Kentucky