''The Tom Ewell Show'', also known as ''The Trouble With Tom'',
[The Tom Ewell Show, Nostalgia Central Accessed February 26, 2022]
/ref> 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 ...
that aired 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 ...
during the 1960-61 television season. It depicts the challenges a husband and father faces as he resides in a household otherwise consisting entirely of women and girls.
Synopsis
Tom Potter is a bumbling real estate agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...
who resides at 611 Elm Street in Las Palmas
Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean.
It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.[Brooks, Tim and March, Earl (2007) "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946–Present", Random House, , pp. 1047-48][McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 848.] As the only male member of his household, his entire life away from the office is dominated by females. Residing with him are his wife Fran; three daughters (15-year-old Carol, 11-year-old Debbie, and 7-year-old Sissie); Fran's mother, Grandma Irene Brady, a skeptic who Tom calls "Mother Brady;" the family dog, Mitzi; and a parakeet
A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple Genus, genera, that generally has long tail feathers.
Etymology and naming
The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflec ...
.[''Scrantonian Tribune'' (Scranton, Pennsylvania), December 11, 1960, p. 61.]
/ref> Other people in Tom's life include his co-worker Howie Fletcher, his heavy-set friend Jim Rafferty, and Stanley, a neighborhood boy.[ Tom faces constant challenges as he tries to navigate life in a woman's world.] A big sports fan, he longs for male companionship, but his attempts at male bonding often lead to problems at home with his wife, daughters, and mother-in-law.[
]
Cast
* Tom Potter...Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'' ...
* Fran Potter...Marilyn Erskine
Marilyn Erskine (born April 24, 1926) is an American actress who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Personal life
Erskine was bor ...
* Grandma Irene Brady...Mabel Albertson
Mabel Ida Albertson (July 24, 1901 – September 28, 1982) was an American actress of television, stage, radio and film who portrayed Phyllis Stephens in the TV sitcom ''Bewitched''.
Early years
Mabel Ida Albertson was born on July 24, 1901, in ...
* Carol Potter...Cynthia Chenault
Cynthia Chenault (born January 5, 1937) is an American television actress and producer/writer active from the mid-1950s to the present. She used the screen name Cindy Robbins in her acting credits.
Early years
Robbins was born in Hammond, Loui ...
(credited as Cindy Robbins)
* Debbie Potter...Sherry Alberoni
Sharyn Eileen "Sherry" Alberoni (born December 4, 1946) is a former child American actress. Alberoni got her start as a Mouseketeer on the weekday ABC television program ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. As an adult, she became a voice artist for Hanna ...
* Sissie Potter...Eileen Chesis
Eileen Chesis is an American actress who appeared as a child in several American network television series of the 1960s.
Television career
Chesis portrayed Cissy Porter, one of the daughters in the sitcom '' The Tom Ewell Show'' in 1960-1961. ...
* Howie Fletcher...Norman Fell
Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...
(recurring)
* Jim Rafferty...Barry Kelley
Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in ''Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His lar ...
(recurring)
* Stanley...Vance Meadows Vance may refer to:
Locations United States
*Vance, Alabama, a town
*Vance Township, Vermilion County, Illinois
*Vance, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Vance, Nebraska, an unincorporated community
*Vance County, North Carolina
* Vance, ...
(recurring)
* Mitzi, the family dog...Mitzi (recurring)
Production notes
Comic actor Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'' ...
, who had starred in the romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film ''The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
'' with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
in 1955 and the musical comedy ''The Girl Can't Help It
''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the titular role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay ...
'' with Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
and Edmond O'Brien
Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
O'Brien w ...
in 1956, made his television debut in ''The Tom Ewell Show''.[ The Tom Ewell Show](_blank)
webpage on the Classic TV Archive website Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll, Jr.
Robert Gordon Carroll Jr. (August 12, 1918 – January 27, 2007) was an American television writer notable for his creative role in the series ''I Love Lucy'', the first four seasons of which he wrote with his professional partner Madelyn Pugh, an ...
(of ''The Lucy Show
''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...
'' fame) created the show, and Ewell's own production company produced it in partnership with Martin and Carroll and with Four Star Productions
Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was insp ...
. It was sponsored alternately by The Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001.
History Precursor miller companies
In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. ...
and Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
.[
]Sherry Alberoni
Sharyn Eileen "Sherry" Alberoni (born December 4, 1946) is a former child American actress. Alberoni got her start as a Mouseketeer on the weekday ABC television program ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. As an adult, she became a voice artist for Hanna ...
, who played Debbie Potter, was a former Mouseketeer.
Critical reception
In a review published in its October 10, 1960, edition, ''TIME'' magazine said:[ Online archive of TIME Magazine](_blank)
"Show Business: The New Shows" TIME (October 10, 1960)
: "The Tom Ewell Show (CBS) leads a relentless parade of situation comedies, all designed to show that American family life is as cute as a freckle on a five-year-old. The show, which might also be titled Father Knows Nothing, presents the comic with the excavated face as a bumbler named Potter who is trapped in the customary format: Harassed Man Beaten Down by Wife, Three Daughters, Mother-in-Law. In the opening episode, Ewell could find no better way to outsmart his spendthrift women than closing his bank account and ruining his own credit. For those who may have tuned out early, the women were all set to start spending again."
After its debut in September 1960, ''The Tom Ewell Show'' struggled in the ratings. In an interview with Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
television critic Cynthia Lowry published on December 4, 1960, Ewell explained that he had examined early reviews of the show after its debut episode and found some positive ones, but also discovered that the negative reviews reflected two main concerns he also had about the show's writing and performances, i.e., that it depicted the Tom Potter character as "too much of a boob," with too great a focus on his ineptness rather than on "real comedy," and that it attempted "to play farce in a realistic situation" even though farce is not realistic, leading to an inappropriate tempo and defeating the effort at farce.[Lowry, Cynthia, "New Thinking Will Mark ''Tom Ewell Show'' of Future," Associated Press, in ''The High Point Enterprise'' (High Point, North Carolina), December 4, 1960, Page 1.]
/ref> Ewell promised that changes in the show's writing and acting to address these problems would be apparent beginning with the episode ("Site Unseen") broadcast on December 6, 1960.[ The Potter family pets, Mitzi the dog and a parakeet, also were dropped from the series, Ewell explaining that acting with the animals had proven not to be worth the effort.][
The new approach Ewell described in December 1960 did not save ''The Tom Ewell Show''. A television article carried in the April 4, 1961, edition of ''The Herald and Review'' of Decatur, ]Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, stated that "''The Tom Ewell Show'' probably will be dropped in July 961
Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...
"
Broadcast schedule
''The Tom Ewell Show'' lasted a single season. Its 32 episodes were broadcast in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
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 ...
at 9:00 PM Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
on Tuesday nights from September 27, 1960, through May 23, 1961. Eight of the episodes were shown as summer repeats in the same timeslot from May 30, 1961, through July 18, 1961.
Episodes
SOURCES
Television listing, ''The Kokomo Tribune'' (Kokomo, Indiana), May 23, 1961, Page 13.
/ref>
References
External links
*
''The Tom Ewell Show'' opening credits on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom Ewell Show
1960 American television series debuts
1961 American television series endings
1960s American sitcoms
Black-and-white American television shows
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
Television series about families
Television series by Four Star Television
Television shows set in California