Bill Bixby Movies
Prior to his first TV appearance on a 1961 episode of Dobie Gillis, Bill Bixby had been a college student (he dropped out of UC Berkeley in his senior year), a lifeguard, a male model, and a regional stock-company actor. Bixby went on to play small roles in films like Lonely Are the Brave and Irma La Douce, and was featured in the Broadway comedy Under the Yum Yum Tree. In 1963, he graduated to TV stardom with the role of Tim O'Hara on the popular sci-fi sitcom My Favorite Martian. Anxious to change his "wholesome" image after Martian ended its three-year run in 1966, Bixby accepted a small but flashy role as a cowardly villain in the big-screen Western Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966). Like it or not, however, Bixby's future lay in sympathetic parts on episodic television. In each of his subsequent starring series -- The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1972), The Magician (1973), The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982), True Confessions (1984), and Goodnight Beantown (1983) -- Bixby frequently did double-duty as actor and director. He also directed such made-for-TV movies as Barbary Coast (1974), Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind (1991), and the Roseanne/Tom Arnold vehicle The Woman Who Loved Elvis (1993). Long one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, Bixby finally took the marital plunge with actress Brenda Benet; the union ended tragically when Benet, distraught over the death of her son, Christopher, committed suicide. Bixby's second wife was Judith Kliban, daughter of magazine cartoonist B. Kliban. At the time of his death from prostate cancer, Bill Bixby was principal director of the TV series Blossom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- Add Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind to QueueAdd Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind to top of Queue
The original made-for-TV Pair of Aces starred Kris Kristofferson as a Texas Ranger who, while searching for a serial killer, is aided and abetted by introspective safecracker Willie Nelson. The Kristofferson-Nelson combo proved so unbeatable in the ratings that a sequel was immediately commissioned. In Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind, Kris and Willie team up to rout out a dangerous vigilante organization, headed by Rip Torn. The "third" of the kind is Joan Severance, playing Kristofferson's unlikely love interest. Written by Rob Gilmer and directed by actor Bill Bixby (Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Incredible Hulk et. al.), Another Pair of Aces was first telecast April 9, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
This made-for-TV domestic drama is a follow-up to 1990's Children of the Bride. Rue McClanahan plays a 53-year-old newlywed, the wife of much-younger Ted Shackelford (replacing the earlier film's Patrick Duffy) It's bad enough when McClanahan unexpectedly becomes pregnant. It gets worse when the same thing happens to her unwed teenaged daughter Kristy McNichol. Directed by actor Bill Bixby, Baby of the Bride first aired December 22, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Elizabeth Christman's novel A Nice Italian Girl was the source for the TV-movie Black Market Baby. Desi Arnaz Jr. plays a slick lothario who is paid by an illicit adoption agency to impregnate impressionable college student Linda Purl. The racketeers stand to make $50,000 by selling the baby to an anxious middle-aged couple. When Arnaz falls in love with Purl and tries to help her keep her baby, the crooks take swift and violent action. Originally titled A Dangerous Love, Black Market Baby was released theatrically overseas as Don't Steal My Baby--a title more appropriate to the overall tawdriness of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Purl, Desi Arnaz, Jr., (more)
- 1977
The mother of young film producer Marvin Goldman (Warren Berlinger) wants to know who set fire to her darling boy's office. Investigating, the Angels discover something that Mrs. Goldman (Eda Reiss Merin) is blissfully unaware of: It seems that the "respectable" Marvin has been moonlighting as a pornographer and a two-bit blackmailer. Guess who poses as an aspiring movie actress in this episode? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
Elvis Presley plays Scott Heyward, the son of a Texas oil millionaire in this thin storyline. Scott changes places with the poor but honest water-skiing instructor Tom Wilson (Will Hutchins) to find out if women love him for himself or his money. Tom goes to the posh penthouse previously occupied by Scott, and Scott takes over as the instructor. Scott's father Duster (James Gregory) blows a gasket when he finds out what his son is doing. Boat builder Sam Burton (Gary Merrill) talks Scott into driving his new boat in the big race. Elvis delivers 8 songs in one of the more lackluster vehicles of his 1960s film catalogue. A bevy of beauties, some exciting race scene, and glossy production all help this one across the finish line. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, (more)
- 1966
Ordered to destroy a German bridge, Saunders (Vic Morrow) and Littlejohn (Dick Peabody) make their way to a command post in hopes of getting reinforcements. But the post has endured heavy enemy fire and the extra troops have scattered--leaving behind only four disreputable GI prisoners who were being held for court-martial. This slimmed-down precursor to The Dirty Dozen features impressive dramatic performances by two sitcom veterans: Bill Bixby (My Favorite Martian and Bill Gray (Father Knows Best). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
We know that Bill Bixby plays a swinging bachelor because he wears bell-bottoms. Opening the door of his bachelor pad one evening, Bixby is surprised to meet a personable young man claiming to be his son. He is further surprised that the young man is fully grown, the result of an indiscretion some twenty years earlier. Karen Jensen plays Bixby's girl friend, none too thrilled that she has a potential younger brother. Mixing in some reasonably touching moments with its standard comedy setpieces, Congratulations, It's a Boy is a satisfying effort from ABC's Movie of the Week series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In a 1991 episode of Jake and the Fatman, Dick Van Dyke guest-starred as Dr. Mark Sloan, who couldn't seem to keep his nose out of a murder investigation. Diagnosis of Murder is the two-hour TV-movie spin-off of that episode. This time, Dr. Sloan tags along with his police-sergeant son (Barry Van Dyke, the real life son of you-know-who) on another homicide case. The victim is a powerful business magnate whose questionable ethics have given plenty of people plenty of motive for the killing. Somehow or other, Dick Van Dyke finds time between his hospital rounds and his clue-hunting to perform a brief soft shoe. Diagnosis of Murder was the pilot for a potential series, which was sold under the slightly truncated title Diagnosis Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Mariette Hartley, (more)
- 1967
In this comedy, an aspiring singer finds herself single and pregnant. The story begins when she is rushed to the hospital to give birth. She is joined by three men; all of them want to marry her. The story of her pregnancy and her rise to stardom are told in flashback. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Dee, George Hamilton, (more)
- 1977
The long-running Aaron Spelling TV series Fantasy Island was launched with a two-hour pilot film, which originally aired January 14, 1977. Ricardo Montalban stars as the enigmatic, sartorially splendiferous Mr. Roarke, who welcomes those willing to pony up the $50,000 to spend a weekend on "Fantasy Island." Roarke's assistant, the diminutive Tattoo ("De plane, boss! De plane!") is played by Herve Villechaize. The special guest stars indulging in their fantasies this time around include Bill Bixby, Sandra Dee, Carol Lynley, Peter Lawford, Hugh O'Brian, Eleanor Parker, Victoria Principal, Dick Sargent and Tina Sinatra. Parker plays a wealthy woman who wants to attend her own funeral, just to see what her relatives really think of her. Businessman Bixby is sent back in time to a bittersweet wartime romance. And bored hunter O'Brian wants to see what it's like to be "the hunted." Mr. Roarke indulges all these fantasies with his usual finesse, just as he would in the series proper, which ran from January 28, 1978 through August 18, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The fact that this made-for-TV movie is derivation of the megahit Airport is obvious by the presence of novelist Arthur Hailey in the credits. Gil Gerard heads the cast as David Montgomery, manager of a huge and extremely busy airport. As David wrestles with personal problems at home and a crisis with a burned-out air traffic controller (Bill Bixby) at the workplace, his burden is increased by the news that a Hawaii-bound jet has taken off with a bomb on board. George Kennedy, who'd appeared in all of the Airport theatrical films, here contributes an extended cameo role. International Airport first aired May 25, 1985, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This romantic comedy opens with a resounding warning: its chief concerns are passion, bloodshed, desire, and death. "Everything," exclaims the narrator, "that makes life worth living." Irma La Douce (Shirley MacClaine) is Paris' most prosperous prostitute. Wise, endearing, and compulsively clad in green, Irma rules the rue Casanova. She triumphantly works the most coveted corner on a street where the cops gladly look the other way and the naughty johns leave tips. Her street is a content community of live and let live and good-natured desire, an Augean stable of human understanding. However, to upright Nester Patou (Jack Lemmon), the area's new policeman, genial wrongdoing is still wrongdoing. Freshly promoted from day patrol at a children's playground, the scrupulous Nestor arrests Irma and her colleagues in a bumbling, unauthorized raid. He takes pity on Irma, but harasses the guilty johns -- including the police captain. Promptly unemployed, Nester returns to the scene of his crime, the rue, and to Irma. After physically besting her pimp, Nester unwittingly takes his position. The two fall madly in love, but Nestor quickly grows jealous of Irma's patrons. Thus, he masquerades as a wealthy English aristocrat and becomes Irma's sole customer -- only to eventually grow violently jealous of himself. Soon enough, this formally righteous cop is comically jailed for his own brutal murder! As the film's prologue promises, Irma La Douce is a celebration of life from beginning to end -- unabashedly adoring lust, emotion, fervor and, above all, foolish love. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1974
The eighth and final season of Ironside begins with the first episode of a two-part story. Believing herself possessed by the malevolent spirit of her dead brother, college coed Susan Todd (Sian Barbara Allen) confesses to the murder of her mother. Suspecting that Susan is not telling the truth, Ironside (Raymond Burr) consults a psychic to determine the murderer's actual identity. Meanwhile, Susan's somewhat sinister psychoanalyst Theodore Gallin Bill Bixby lurks ominously in the background. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In the conclusion of Ironside's Season Eight opener, Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) now knows that college coed Susan Todd (Sian Barbara Allen) was not truly responsible for the murder of her mother. The real villain of the piece is Susan's deranged psychiatrist Theodore Gallin (Bill Bixby), who specializes in brainwashing his patients to do his bidding. The situation takes a truly sinister turn when Gallin "programs" policewoman Fran Belding (Elizabeth Baur) to kill Ironside! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
The title character in the episode is a well-trained but ill-tempered Alsatian, who is the only witness to the murder of a sweet old lady. It turns out that the victim was anything but a paragon of virtue--in fact, she may well have been an accomplished con artist. What Ironside (Raymond Burr) finds curious is the fact that the old lady was killed in a manner similar to several other recent murders...in which all the victims were elderly males. Former football pro and future movie action star Fred Williamson appears as a detective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Bill Bixby sheds his "lovable sitcom hero" persona in the role of smooth-talking psychopath Tom Dayton. Seven years after killing the fiancee of Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway), Dayton is delcared to be "safe" by the authorities and is given his freedom. But Ed is convinced that Dayton's pathological hatred for female authority figures will soon resurface and tragedy will result unless the man is put out of commission permanently. This final episode of Ironside's third season features a flashback sequence in which Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) is able to move around without his wheelchair--presumably to squash the then-prevalent rumor that star Burr was genuinely paralyzed from the waist down! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Although it never quite escapes the pitfalls of pretension, this film was Kirk Douglas's bid for the affections of the art house crowd, and it remains one of his best efforts. The star plays unreconstructed "rugged individual" Jack Burns, who rides throughout the modern west knocking down man-made fences. Visiting his equally rebellious friend Paul Bondi (Michael Kane), Burns deliberately gets himself thrown in jail to be nearer his pal. Frustrated that Bondi doesn't want to join Burns on the road, Burns breaks out of jail, thereby becoming a fugitive. His trail is dogged by Sheriff Johnson (Walter Matthau), a frustrated frontiersman who secretly admires the freewheeling Burns. Meanwhile, a truck driver (Carroll O'Connor) is ominously driving down the highway with a truckload of toilets. If you think there's supposed to be some symbolism in this seemingly peripheral character, you're absolutely right. Bill Raisch, a genuine amputee who played the one-armed man on TV's The Fugitive, is Douglas' surly opponent in the café brawl sequence. Filmed on location in New Mexico, Lonely are the Brave was adapted by Dalton Trumbo from Edward Abbey's novel Brave Cowboy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, (more)
- 1981
Murder Is Easy is one of a multitude of 1980s TV movies based on the novels of Agatha Christie. Bill Bixby stars as an American investor, vacationing in England. While on a train, Bixby strikes up a conversation with the seemingly dotty Helen Hayes, who insists she's en route to Scotland Yard with evidence pertaining to three murders. When Ms. Hayes is herself killed, Bixby finds himself heading to the village of Wychwood Under Ashe to investigate the killings on his own. In a twinkling, both Bixby and lovely villager Lesley-Ann Down find themselves the principal suspects. Olivia De Havilland is also among the highly suspicious guest stars in Murder is Easy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
- Add My Favorite Martian [TV Series] to QueueAdd My Favorite Martian [TV Series] to top of Queue
Making its CBS network debut on September 29, 1963, in the same Sunday night time slot previously held down by Dennis the Menace, My Favorite Martian starred Ray Walston as the title character, an affable, hyper-intelligent and extremely resourceful space alien whose one-man flying saucer crash-landed on a lonely stretch of California highway. Rescued by Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby), a reporter for "The Los Angeles Sun," the martian is taken to Tim's house to recover from his injuries. At first intending to capitalize on his house guest by turning in the news scoop to end all news scoops, Tim was persuaded not to give away the martian's true identity. Thus, the space visitor would ever after be passed off as Tim's "Uncle Martin," consigned to remain on earth until he was able to repair his damaged vessel. Although human in virtually every respect -- he spoke even better English than Tim -- Uncle Martin had all sorts of remarkable powers, including the ability to teleport himself from one place (or time) to another; to telekinetically move objects through the air; and to make himself invisible. The viewer was always tipped off that Uncle Martin was about to make Martian magic when his tiny retractable antennae emerged from his head. Inasmuch as this was a sitcom, it should not be surprising that Uncle Martin usually exercised his powers to get the hapless Tim out of a jam. Also in the cast was Pamela Britton as Tim's widowed landlady, Mrs. Lorelei Brown, who had a bit of a crush on the likeable Uncle Martin; Alan Hewitt as Detective Bill Brennan, Lorelei's erstwhile boyfriend, who had a sneaking suspicion (which he could never verify) that there was something very odd about Uncle Martin; and during the first season only, Anne O. Marshall as Lorelei's teenaged daughter, Angela, and J. Pat O'Malley as Tim's editor, Mr. Burns. Filmed in black-and-white during its first two seasons and in color for its third and final year on the air, My Favorite Martian ended its network run on September 4, 1966. A Saturday morning cartoon spin-off, My Favorite Martians, was seen on CBS from 1973 to 1975. In 1999 there appeared a theatrical feature adaptation of the original series, with Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Martin, Jeff Daniels as Tim O'Hara, and Ray Walston in a key supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Walston, Bill Bixby, (more)
Filmed in black-and-white, season one of My Favorite Martian begins literally at the beginning, when Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby), young reporter for the "Los Angeles Sun," slows down his snazzy sports car long enough to investigate a strange object that has crashed on the side of the highway. Out pops what looks like an ordinary middle-aged man (Ray Walston), dressed in a silver lamé spacesuit. When the stranger looks up and barks petulantly, "What do you expect me to say, take me to your leader?" Tim realizes that he has stumbled upon a visitor from Mars, and that the wreckage next to him is that of a one-person spaceship. Taking the martian to his home to recuperate, Tim envisions a Pulitzer Prize for filing a story about meeting an extraterrestrial being, but the martian persuades Tim to keep his true identity a secret, at least until he can repair his spaceship and return to his own planet. Tim's landlady, Mrs. Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton), is told that Tim's house guest is his "Uncle Martin" -- and Uncle Martin he will remain for the duration of the series. The rest of the first season is devoted to various demonstrations of Uncle Martin's awesome powers, and of Tim's strenuous efforts to prevent the authorities from finding out he has a martian in his bedroom. Two characters appear throughout season one, never to be seen in any subsequent season: Mrs. Brown's teenaged daughter, Angela (Anne O. Marshall), and Tim's dyspeptic editor Harry Burns (J. Pat O'Malley). Despite its somewhat awkward early Sunday evening time slot (smack dab opposite the popular Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color), My Favorite Martian closed out its inaugural season as America's tenth most popular program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Bixby, Ray Walston, (more)
As My Favorite Martian enters its second season, young newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby) has become quite accustomed to having a martian as his house guest. He has also come to take for granted the fact that his "Uncle Martin" (Ray Walston) has a super-genius I.Q., is able to travel through time and space by means of teleportation, can move objects through the air by simply pointing his finger, and can turn invisible at the drop of a hat (or in his case, the raising of an antenna). As for Uncle Martin, he regards Tim as a good friend and excellent company, but he is still rather impatient with his forced stay on the primitive planet Earth, and continues to try to repair his damaged spaceship, which is kept hidden in Tim's garage. Meanwhile, Tim's landlady Mrs. Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton) has developed something of a crush on Uncle Martin, never suspecting that her tenant is from another planet. Indeed, no one suspects that there is something amiss about Uncle Martin except for a new character introduced in season two, Mrs. Brown's erstwhile boyfriend Detective Bill Brennan (Alan Hewitt). Like Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched, Brennan suspects that Uncle Martin isn't quite who he claims to be, and goes to great lengths to uncover his secret -- and, like Gladys Kravitz, Brennan is invariably foiled and humiliated by the resourceful extraterrestrial. After climbing to tenth place in the ratings during its first season, My Favorite Martian didn't even crack the Top 30 during season two, which may explain why the producers altered the format a bit for its third season, and also hyped its audience appeal by switching from black-and-white to color. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Bixby, Ray Walston, (more)
- 1965
The third and final season of My Favorite Martian found the series switching from black-and-white to color, and also making a few adjustments in its format. The basic premise remains the same: a misplaced martian (Ray Walston) has crash-landed on Earth and has moved in with young newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby). While the martian endeavors to repair his damaged spaceship, Tim protects the visitor from the authorities by passing him off as his "Uncle Martin." This charade is swallowed hook, line, and sinker by Tim's landlady Mrs. Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton), who has a bit of a crush on Uncle Martin. Lorelei's detective ex-boyfriend Bill Brennan (Alan Hewitt) can't help but notice that strange and magical things happen whenever Martin is around, thus arousing Brennan's suspicions big time. During season three, Brennan would continually try to alert his police chief boss Roy Engle to Martin's curious behavior, only to be repeatedly made a fool of by the clever and resourceful extraterrestial. What is radically different about the third season is that Uncle Martin has begun transporting himself and Tim through various historical periods, by means of a time machine of his own invention. In the two-part season opener, Martin and Tim are hurtled back to the Old West, where they meet Bill Brennan's grandfather (also played by Alan Hewitt) and embark upon a search for gold, an ore needed for Martin's crippled space vehicle. In later episodes, the two time travelers land in Hollywood during the silent movie era, attempt to solve one of history's most baffling jewel robberies, have a dangerously close encounter with Frank and Jesse James, bring a nonplussed Leonardo Da Vinci back to the 20th century, and, in the series' final episode, inadvertently talk the Indians out of selling Manhattan Island to Peter Minuit, thereby doing considerable damage to the time-space continuum! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Bixby, Ray Walston, (more)
- 1974
This unsold pilot has borne a plethora of titles: Short Story, Short Stories of Love and Three Faces of Love. The "Rex Harrison" tag was added when Harrison agreed for a hefty fee to introduce the three playlets contained within the pilot's 90 minutes, each based on the works of a famous author. "Epicac" is a Kurt Vonnegut Jr. piece about an electronic brain which falls in love with its programmer (Julie Sommars). "Kiss Me Again" is the much-imitated Daphne DuMaurier story about a World War II veteran (Leonard Nimoy) who is attracted to an otherworldly murderess (Juliet Mills). And Somerset Maugham's "The Fortunate Painter" stars Lorne Greene as a foxy papa who tries to smooth the course of romance between his daughter (Jess Walton) and an impoverished artist. It is obvious that NBC had no intention whatsoever to expand this pilot into a series: for its network showing on May 1, 1974, it was unceremoniously dumped opposite CBS' ratings leader Cannon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
