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The Courtship of Eddie's Father is a 1963 comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli. It tells the story of a widower played by Glenn Ford, with a young son played by Ron Howard who believes his father should marry but disapproves of the women his father is interested in. It also stars Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill and Jerry Van Dyke.
TV series (1969-1972) The Courtship of Eddie's Father was based on the popular 1963 movie of the same name that had gained some respect in theaters, and it was also based on a book written by Mark Toby. It debuted on September 17, 1969 to June 14, 1972 on ABC, replacing the short-lived Here Come the Brides series. The ABC television network had acquired the rights to do a weekly television dramedy, where it dealt with a young, sole, thirtish year old father, who was trying to raise a young son, while connecting with other ladies for dates. It gained popularity for the first two seasons, as it had with other hit comedies that dealt with single parents (who are all widows/widowers) such as, The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons, Family Affair and Julia. This show also tackled the many real-life issues that Tom's son struggled with but overcame. This is also another show that set the tone for the last four 1970s comedies that dealt with widowhood and/or traditional family values like, The Brady Bunch, (which debuted just 9 days after Courtship), The Partridge Family, Sanford And Son, Alice and Eight is Enough. Veteran comedy producer and one-time My Favorite Martian writer, James Komack also served as both the creator and the executive producer of the show. The theme song of the television show, "Best Friend", was written and performed by Harry Nilsson, and was played over opening credits showing Bixby and Cruz in various happy moments. The song has often been used since as an iconic indication of father-son bonding. The show centered around Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby), a magazine publisher and widower from Los Angeles who was one of the many eligible bachelors who handled the responsibility of raising a freckled-faced, six-year-old son, Eddie (Brandon Cruz), who connived and used his own father, very often. Eddie's popularity grew, when he persuaded his own father to start dating women, being lovingly connected with prosperous brides, and even started having a charisma with other women. In certain terms of having a woman around the house, both Tom & Eddie would usually have a wonderful and questionable housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki), who was very political and sometimes shattered, but could deliver her own words of wisdom (compared to handyman, Dwayne Schneider on the long-running dramedy show, One Day At A Time, but unlike this show, it dealt with a divorced mother who raised two teenaged daughters). At work, Tom would usually work for Tina Rickles (Kristina Holland), who was his secretary at a magazine company. And very often, Norman Tinker (James Komack), who would be the head of another family, worked as a radical photographer at the same company that both Tom & Tina worked in. Starting in 1970, Bill Bixby made his debut as a director, directing several episodes of the show. Many familiar and unfamiliar actors who guest-starred on the show went on to become successful stars: Sally Struthers, Pat Harrington Jr., Diana Muldaur, Willie Aames, Pat Morita, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren, Pat Delaney, Alan Oppenheimer, Lou Jacobi, Jodie Foster, Bill Dana, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Ron Ely, Carol Lawrence, George Takei, among many others. Famous comedian and dancer Sammy Davis Jr. made a cameo appearance where he played an insurance man who turned out to be an outsider. It was eventually cancelled when Bixby had a falling out with producer James Komack on the direction of the show. Many of the later episodes focused on Komack's character, Norman Tinker, rather than on the relationship between Tom Corbett and his son, Eddie. Rejected series In 2003, filming began on a new television pilot which starred Ken Marino and Josh Hutcherson, but it didn't get ordered to series. The child star of the previous series, Brandon Cruz, played a supporting role. Main cast | ||||||||
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