''The New Bob Cummings Show'' 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 ...

which was broadcast by

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 1961–62 television season. The series was originally titled ''The Bob Cummings Show'' when it first appeared on the CBS schedule on October 5, 1961; however, this led to confusion between this program and series stars

Bob Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

' earlier 1955 series, also called ''

The Bob Cummings Show ''The Bob Cummings Show'' (also known in reruns as ''Love That Bob'') is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959. The program began with a half-season run on NBC, then ran for two ...

''; thus, the title ''The New Bob Cummings Show'' was officially adopted beginning with the December 28 episode.

Synopsis

''The New Bob Cummings Show'' began two years after production had ended on Cummings' previous, successful sitcom ''

'', which, when the newer program began its run, was still being

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

on ABC's daytime schedule under the title ''Love That Bob'', which it was to retain through many years in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

. The new program, like its predecessor, took advantage of Cummings' real-life interests; once again, the character he played, Bob Carson, was a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. Carson owned two planes, a conventional, twin-engine plane which he used for long trips, and the

Aerocar Aerocar International's Aerocar (often called the Taylor Aerocar) was an American roadable aircraft designed and built by Moulton Taylor in Longview, Washington in 1949. Although six examples were made, it never entered large-scale production. I ...

, which, as its name implied, was a vehicle which could be alternately flown or, with its wing detached, driven on highways as an automobile, which he used for short hops near his

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 ...

base. In addition to his activities as a charter pilot, Carson was an amateur detective, a fact which provided the basis for the plots of most of the episodes. In contrast to Cummings earlier program, which had several co-stars, the only recurring roles in ''The New Bob Cummings Show'' other than Cummings' own were that of "Lionel", Carson's bodyguard, played by

Murvyn Vye Marvin Wesley Vye Jr. (July 15, 1913 – August 17, 1976) was an American character actor. He is best known for portraying Prince Ken Arok in the comedy film ''Road to Bali''. Early years Vye was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educat ...

, and "Hank", the tomboyish-yet-precocious teenage daughter of the owner of the airstrip where Carson's planes were based, played by

Roberta Shore Roberta Jymme Schourop (born April 7, 1943, Monterey Park, California), better known as Roberta Shore, is a retired American actress and performer. She is notable for her roles in the original '' Shaggy Dog'' film and as Betsy Garth on the Wester ...

Production

When ''The Bob Cummings Show'' ended, Cummings said he was not keen to do comedy for his next series. However ''The New Bob Cummings Show'' was very much in the same vein as the first one. The show was announced in April 1961. The network said Cummings' character would do anything that was not "illegal, immoral or underpaid". It was filmed by Revue Productions and sponsored by the Kellogg Company and Brown & William Tobacco. The show replaced ''

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star F ...

'' on the network line up.

Episodes

Reception

The show aired on Thursday nights opposite two popular shows, ''

The Real McCoys ''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, it ...

'' on ABC and ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' on NBC. The ''New York Times'' said "the style but not the setting is about the same as his past series... Fast talk, pretty girls and breezy comedy are still the main ingredients. It's bright, quick, inconsequential and inoffensive."

Cancellation

Two months after the show debuted in October the title was changed to ''The New Bob Cummings Show''. Ratings did not improve and the show was cancelled in January. The last episode aired on March 1, 1962. It was replaced by ''

Oh! Those Bells ''Oh! Those Bells'' is a 1962 United States Comedy, comedic television series starring The Wiere Brothers about the misadventures of three brothers who work in a Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood theatrical supply shop. It aired from March 8 to M ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:New Bob Cummings Show 1961 American television series debuts 1962 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming English-language television shows Aviation television series Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in California