''Tom, Dick and Mary'', also known as ''90 Bristol Court: Tom, Dick and Mary'', 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 NBC from October 5, 1964 until January 4, 1965. It was one of three separate comedies set in the same Los Angeles, California,

apartment complex An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...

and broadcast under the collective title '' 90 Bristol Court''. ''Tom, Dick and Mary'' was canceled after only 13 episodes aired.

Synopsis

Newlyweds Tom and Mary Gentry live together in a new apartment in a fashionable

at 90 Bristol Court in Los Angeles, California. They cannot afford the apartment on their combined salaries as a medical intern and a

medical secretary An audio typist is someone who specialises in typing text from an audio source which they listen to. The source, or original document is usually recorded onto microcassettes created by someone dictating into a Dictaphone. The audio typist will ...

, respectively, at Valley General Hospital, so Tom's best friend Dick Moran, a swinging bachelor who also is an intern at Valley General, moves in to share expenses with them. Dick often becomes an irritant to the newlyweds as he intrudes on their privacy and "plays the field" in the world of romance. Dr. Krevoy is the chief of staff at the hospital, and Cliff Murdock is the building superintendent and handyman at 90 Bristol Court.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 361.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 1047.Television Obscurities ''90 Bristol Court'' Accessed 6 November 2021
/ref>

Cast

* Don Galloway....Tom Gentry *

Steve Franken Stephen Robert Franken (May 27, 1932 – August 24, 2012) was an American actor who worked in film and television for over fifty years. Career Franken, the son of a Hollywood press agent, was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Corne ...

....Dick Moran *

Joyce Bulifant Joyce Collins Bulifant (born December 16, 1937) is an American actress and author. In addition to recurring roles on television, including ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' as Marie Slaughter, Bulifant is recognized for film roles in ''The Happiest ...

....Mary Gentry * John Hoyt....Dr. Krevoy *

J. Edward McKinley James Edward McKinley (October 11, 1917 – July 30, 2004) was an American character actor.Sherman, Gene (November 10, 1960). CITYSIDE: Stardom for a Freedom Fighter. ''Los Angeles Times'' He frequently played authority figures, including la ...

....Horace Moran *

Guy Raymond Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorp ...

....Cliff Murdock

''90 Bristol Court''

''Tom, Dick and Mary'' was the third of three 30-minute situation comedies — along with ''

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

'', aired first, and '' Harris Against the World'', which aired between the other two shows — broadcast Monday nights under the umbrella title ''90 Bristol Court''. Despite all three shows being set at the same Los Angeles apartment complex with the address 90 Bristol Court, the only connection the three series had was the character of handyman Cliff Murdock (portrayed by

), who greeted the residents and visitors to 90 Bristol Court. After the last episodes of ''Harris Against the World'' and ''Tom, Dick and Mary'' aired on January 4, 1965, ''90 Bristol Court'' ceased to be a programming entity. Although ''Karen'' continued to air after the demise of the other two series as a stand-alone show, handyman Murdock disappeared from ''Karen'' along with the ''90 Bristol Court'' concept.

Broadcast history

''Tom, Dick and Mary'' premiered on NBC on October 5, 1964, and aired at 8:30 p.m. on Monday throughout its run. It drew low ratings: For the November-to-December 1964 reporting period, the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

ranked it 86th among the 96 prime-time network television shows. ''Karen'' and ''Harris Against the World'' had even lower ratings. In mid-November 1964 '' The New York Times'' reported that NBC planned to cancel both ''Tom, Dick and Mary'' and ''Harris Against the World'', effective in early January 1965. ''Tom, Dick and Mary'' thus lasted only half a season, and the last of the 13 episodes aired on January 4, 1965. Peter Tewksbury wrote, produced, and directed all three episodes that aired as part of ''90 Bristol Court'' on November 23, 1964, and used the

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

regarding

simple living Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. Not only is ...

as a starting point for each of them: On ''Karen'', Thoreau influenced Karen and her complicated love life when she mistakenly made three dates for the same Saturday night; on ''Harris Against the World'', Thoreau inspired Harris to take his family fishing, only to find that he had to renew his driver's license that day; and on ''Tom, Dick and Mary'', Dick used Thoreau's philosophy as he attempted to fix several broken household appliances.

Episodes

NOTE: The below list reflects the general consensus of the dates, titles, and plots of the episodes of ''Tom, Dick and Mary''.Classic TV Archive ''Tom, Dick and Mary'' Accessed 7 November 2021
/ref> However, that consensus ascribes the same plot to the episodes of October 19 and November 9. Some sources claim that the episode listed below as airing on January 5 was broadcast on October 19. One source credits ''Tom Dick, and Mary'' with only a total of 12 episodes, with no episode at all airing on October 19.TV Guide Tom, Dick and Mary Season 1 Episodes Accessed 7 November 2021
/ref>

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0057792, title=Tom, Dick and Mary
''90 Bristol Court''
at Television Obscurities 1964 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series about marriage Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Los Angeles