Sheldon Leonard Movies

Norm (George Wendt) is beside himself when he learns that his favorite eatery, The Hungry Heifer, is about to close. Galvanized into action, Norm starts circulating petitions to keep the Heifer on all fours. Meanwhile, Sam (Ted Danson) gets his digs in at Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) when her imprisoned millionaire sweetheart Robin Colcord shows up as part of a convict road gang just outside Cheers. Though "Grease" was technically the series' 200th telecast, the producers regarded "Bad Neighbor Sam" (telecast three weeks later) as the official 200th episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dennis Weaver plays a retired mainland lawyer who becomes a hotel owner in Honolulu. Despite his most strenuous efforts, Weaver can't resist playing detective from time to time. You're absolutely right: The Islander was the pilot for an unsold TV series. Weaver's first and last case involves a runaway grand-jury witness, a mobster, and a senator suspected of murder. The mobster is played by Sheldon Leonard, as ideally suited for his role as Robert Vaughn is perfect in the part of the senator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this espionage adventure, a American agent is assigned to head for Rome and retrieve a stolen cache of plutonium. The film is known on video as Secret Agent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a gang of jewel thieves have planted their stolen gems on Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), who is in Hawaii to attend a junkman's convention with his son Lamont (Demond Wilson). Pursued all over Honolulu with the bad guys one step behind him, innocent Fred (who has since "misplaced" the loot) has no idea what is going on -- even with that Hawaii Five-O music playing incessantly in the background. Singer Don Ho makes a guest appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The presence of guest star Vera Miles is indication enough that "Affair in T'sen Cha" was the pilot episode of the classic espionage series I Spy. The opening scenes of Morton Fine and David Friedkin's teleplay work overtime to establish the characters of Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) and Alexander Scott (Bill Cosby), ostensibly a professional tennis player and his trainer, but actually two secret agents for the U.S. government. Kelly and Scott are then dispatched to Hong Kong to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a Chinese train. The trail of clues takes them to an ancient walled city, a tight-lipped missionary schoolteacher (Miles), and a deadly cargo. The solution to the mystery is logical, poignant, and ever so slightly melancholy. Inasmuch as the easygoing rapport between stars Culp and Cosby had not yet solidified in "Affair in T'sen Cha," this episode was held back from TV release until December 29, 1965, by which time the series had "clicked" with the viewing public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of My Favorite Martian literally begins with a bang as young reporter Tim O'Hara (Bill Bixby) witnesses the crash-landing of a UFO. Surveying the wreckage, Tim is startled to find a somewhat surly and imperious Martian (Ray Walton), who claims to be 450 years old (but doesn't look a day over 39!) Providing shelter for both the Martian and his crippled spaceship at his home, Tim has to do some quick thinking to hide the fact from his snoopy landlady Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton). Thus it is that the Martian is rechristened "Uncle Martin"--and the series takes off (as it were!) from here. This is one of the few episode to feature Mrs. Brown's pesky daughter Angela (Ann Marshall) and her inquistive niece Annabelle (Ina Victor) (who, in the original unedited pilot, was supposed to have been Angela's sister!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pre-Family Feud Richard Dawson appears as "Racy Tracy" Rattigan, the English music hall comic engaged to replace Alan Brady during his summer vacation. No sooner has "Racy Tracy" arrived at the offices of Alan's writers Rob (Dick Van Dyke), Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), and Sally (Rose Marie) than he begins living up to his nickname, merrily flirting with every female in sight -- including Rob's wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore). Not wishing to lose his job, Rob grins and bears it until Rattigan makes outrageous advances at Laura during a party at the Petrie home. The memorable closing line of this episode was provided during filming at the very last moment by co-star Morey Amsterdam, when no one else could come up with an appropriate capper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As usual, the Petries' neighbor Jerry Helper (Jerry Paris) is ribbing Laura (Mary Tyler Moore). This time, jokester Jerry is planting suggestions that it isn't all "strictly business" between Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and actress Valerie Blake (Joan O'Brien), who is guesting on "The Alan Brady Show." Of course, Laura would never suspect her husband of any hanky-panky -- until Rob begins spending every evening in rehearsal with the alluring Valerie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is now part of TV folklore that the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for the series' creator, Carl Reiner. In the pilot episode "Head of the Family," filmed in New York in 1959, Reiner played TV comedy writer Rob Petrie (then pronounced "pea-tree"), who divided his time between his job as a head writer on "The Alan Sturdy Show" with co-workers Buddy Sorrell (Morty Gunty) and Sally Rogers (Sylvia Miles) and his home life in New Rochelle with his wife, Laura (Barbara Britton) and son, Ritchie (Gary Morgan). Potential sponsors and networks liked the premise but not the cast...or to be more blunt, no one wanted to buy a series with Carl Reiner as star. Swallowing his pride, Reiner limited himself to the jobs of producer, director, and writer. He retooled "Head of the Family," and recast the property with Dick Van Dyke as Rob, Mary Tyler Moore as Laura, Larry Mathews as Ritchie, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy, and Rose Marie as Sally; the rest, as they say, is history.

Debuting October 3, 1961, on CBS, The Dick Van Dyke Show, as mentioned, top-billed the titular star as Rob Petrie, who was now head writer for "The Alan Brady Show" During the series' first few seasons, Alan Brady (a brash, dictatorial character reportedly inspired by Reiner's former boss and colleague Sid Caesar) was seldom seen -- and when he was, it was only from the back. It was an open secret that Carl Reiner himself played Brady, though he did not take screen billing. Only in the series' fourth season was Brady's face actually seen, and only then was Reiner credited on-screen as the actor playing the part. Other recurring characters included Richard Deacon as Alan Brady's producer (and beleaguered brother-in-law) Mel Cooley, Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert as the Petries' next-door neighbors Jerry and Millie Helper (he was a dentist, she was Laura's best friend), future director Bill Idelson as Sally Rogers' erstwhile boyfriend, Herman Glimpshire, and Joan Shawlee as Buddy's ex-showgirl wife, Pickles.

Although the series was distinguished by the high level of wit in its writing and its wonderful physical-comedy set pieces, the strong suit of The Dick Van Dyke Show was the warm rapport among its principal players. Indeed, only a handful of TV sitcoms have been so perfectly cast, making one wonder how the series would have fared with its original cast members. Incredible though it may seem today, The Dick Van Dyke Show was not an instantaneous hit. Indeed, the series fared so poorly opposite its first season competition, Bachelor Father and Laramie, that CBS canceled the show outright, sending out notices to the cast members on the last day of shooting. The series might have been just another one season wonder had not one of its sponsors picked it up for a second season, insisting that CBS find a better time slot than Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. Thus, the show was moved to Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. -- fortuitously right after CBS's biggest success of the 1962-1963 season, The Beverly Hillbillies.

Although The Dick Van Dyke Show's somewhat higher ratings still did not set the world on fire, the series received a great deal of word-of-mouth buzz during its second season, and its audience grew steadily throughout the remainder of its run. The fact that the series picked up several Emmy Awards along the way was the icing on the cake. After five seasons, star Dick Van Dyke and producer Carl Reiner opted to quit while they were ahead -- a rare move in the mid-'60s (and even rarer four decades later). Thus, The Dick Van Dyke Show concluded its nighttime run on September 7, 1966, though reruns continued to air on CBS's daytime schedule until 1969. Thereafter, the series entered off-network syndication, where its has continued to flourish mightily well into the 21st century. And in 2003, the surviving cast members were reunited for a two-hour special, The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast October 3, 1960, the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show was titled "The New Housekeeper." The title character is of course Aunt Bee, played by Frances Bavier. Though Sheriff Andy Taylor welcomes Aunt Bee's arrival, his son Opie is not so enthusiastic: after all, previous housekeeper Rose knew how to train frogs, while Bee simply despises amphibians. By episode's end, however, both Opie and Aunt Bee have formed a strong mutual admiration society. "The New Housekeeper" was written by Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The pilot for the long-running CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show was seen on February 15, 1960, as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." As originally conceived, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) was not only the sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town of Mayberry, but he was also the mayor, justice of the peace, and newspaper editor. Child actor Ronny Howard (who, as Ron Howard, would in adulthood enjoy a spectacularly successful career as a film director) was seen in the pilot as the widowed Andy's son Opie, but Frances Bavier played an entirely different role than she would in the actual series, while Frank Cady rather than Hal Smith was cast as town drunk Otis Campbell. While there would be changes in concept and casting, the laid-back character of Andy Taylor "clicked" with TV audiences, ensuring that The Andy Griffith Show would join the Monday night CBS lineup come October 3, 1960. Introduced as regulars during season one were of course Andy Griffith, Ronny Howard, and Frances Bavier (now as Aunt Bee, housekeeper for Andy and Opie Taylor), with the significant and salutary addition of Don Knotts as Andy's tightly wound deputy Barney Fife. The rapport between Andy and Barney contributed mightily to the series' success during its shakedown season, with nominal leading character Andy often voluntarily taking a back seat to Barney's overzealous antics. Subsequent additions to the cast included Jim Nabors as bucolic gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (later spun off into his own series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.); George Lindsey as Gomer's cousin, Goober Pyle; Howard McNear as dithery barber Floyd Lawson; and Hal Smith as the aforementioned Otis Campbell. Taking advantage of Andy Taylor's widower status, the series' writers tried to pair the character off with a number of eligible young ladies, beginning in the first season with Elinor Donahue as drugstore sales clerk Ellie Walker. But only when Aneta Corsaut joined the cast as Opie's schoolteacher Helen Crump did Andy find the "right" girl. Indeed, Andy and Helen would become engaged during the series' final season. Conversely, Barney Fife had but one steady girlfriend, Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
Don Knotts left the series at the outset of its sixth season (the show switched from black-and-white to color at the same time); it was explained that Barney had accepted a deputy position in Raleigh, permitting Knotts to make a handful of memorable return guest appearances. Barney was briefly replaced by Deputy Warren Ferguson, played by Jack Burns; later on, Goober Pyle became Andy's unofficial deputy. The post-Don Knotts episodes brought forth several other new recurring characters: Jack Dodson as town clerk Howard Sprague, Paul Hartman as handyman Emmet Clark, and Hope Summers as Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara. During the Emmy-winning series' eighth season, Andy Griffith decided to leave the show. At this point, Ken Berry was added to the cast as widowed farmer and later town councilman Sam Jones, with Buddy Foster as Sam's son Mike and Arlene Golonka as Sam's girlfriend, Millie Hutchins. After the final telecast of The Andy Griffith Show on September 16, 1968, the series continued for three additional seasons under the title Mayberry RFD, with Ken Berry taking over as star and with most of the familiar Andy Griffith Show supporting characters still in attendance. One of the most consistently popular sitcoms of all time, The Andy Griffith Show lasted 249 half-hour episodes, and also spawned the high-rated 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide