''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 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 October 5, 1964 until January 4, 1965. It was one of three separate comedies set in the same

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 ...

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 ''90 Bristol Court'' is the umbrella title of an NBC series consisting of three situation comedies set in a Southern California apartment complex located at the title address. The 90-minute block aired Monday nights from October 5, 1964, throug ...

''. ''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

. They cannot afford the apartment on their combined salaries as a

medical intern A medical intern is a physician in training who has completed medical school and has a medical degree but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised. Medical education generally ends with a period of practical training similar t ...

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 A building superintendent or building supervisor (often shortened to super) is a term used in the United States and Canada to refer to a manager responsible for repair and maintenance in a residential building. They are the first point of contac ...

and

handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, are both interior and exterior, and are so ...

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 Donald Poe Galloway (July 27, 1937 – January 8, 2009) was an American stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the long-running crime drama series '' Ironside'' (1967–1975). He reprised the ...

....Tom Gentry * Steve Franken....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 John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his film and TV ...

....Dr. Krevoy * J. Edward McKinley....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

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 ''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 ...

'' 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 Henry Peter Tewksbury (March 21, 1923 – February 20, 2003) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in Cleveland, he attended Dartmouth College but left to serve as a US Army captain in the Pacific during WWII. Follow ...

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 Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, only to find that he had to renew his

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

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