Father Knows Best

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Father Knows Best, a popular American radio and television sitcom of the 1950s and 1960s, portrays an idealized vision of middle class American life of the era. It was created by writer Ed James, who made an audition disc on December 20, 1948. On the audition disc, the father is known as Jim Henderson rather than Jim Anderson.

Eight months later, the series began August 25, 1949, on NBC Radio. Set in the Midwest, it starred Robert Young as General Insurance agent Jim Anderson. His wife Margaret was first portrayed by June Whitley and later by Jean Vander Pyl. The Anderson children were Betty (Rhoda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson) and Kathy (Norma Jean Nillson). Others in the cast were Eleanor Audley, Herb Vigran and Sam Edwards. Sponsored through most of its run by General Foods, the series was heard Thursday evenings on NBC until March 25, 1954.

While the show is often regarded as an example of the conservative and paternalistic nature of American family life in the 1950s, it is also cited as an overly rosy portrayal of American family life.

A feature-length live-action movie remake starring Tim Allen was announced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies for theatrical release in 2008.

Contents

[edit] Radio show

The radio show showed a marked difference from the TV series. Jim was far more sarcastic and showed he really "ruled" over his family. Jim also took to calling his children names, something common on radio but lost in the TV series; for example, Jim would say, "What a bunch of stupid children I have." Margaret was portrayed as a paragon of solid reason and patience, unless the plot called for her to act a bit off. For example, in a Halloween episode, Margaret cannot understand how the table floated in the air, but that was a rare exception.

Betty, on radio, was portrayed as a status seeking, boy-crazy teenage girl. To her, every little thing was "The worst thing that could ever happen." Bud, on radio, was portrayed as an "all-American" boy who always seemed to need "just a bit more" money, though he got $1.25 per week in allowance. The actor had an "effected 'r'" (similar to Elmer Fudd) but not quite as pronounced. Bud was in charge of always having to answer the front door, which he hated. He was portrayed as a somewhat dim boy who took everything literally; for example, Jim would say "Go jump in the lake," to which Bud would reply "OK, Dad — which lake should I go jump into?" On radio Kathy often was portrayed as a source of irritation. She would whine and cry and complain about her status in the family as overlooked. She often was the source of money to her brother and sister, although she was in hock several years on her own allowance.

[edit] TV series

Only Robert Young remained of the radio cast when the series moved to CBS television, beginning October 3, 1954. A total of 203 episodes were produced, running until September 17, 1960, and appearing on all three of the television networks of the time.

Robert Young left the series in 1960 at the height of the show's popularity to work on other projects, but reruns continued to air in prime time for another three years, on CBS from 1960–1962, and on ABC from 1962–1963. Following this, reruns were shown on ABC-TV in the early afternoon for several years.

The TV cast reunited for a pair of made-for-TV movies on NBC; Father Knows Best Reunion on May 15, 1977 and Father Knows Best: Home For Christmas on December 18, 1977.

[edit] Subsequent Releases

Although Screen Gems originally oversaw the production and distribution of the show, they never owned the ancillary rights. A partnership led by Robert Young and the producers was largely responsible for the show. What became Sony Pictures Television no longer owns any rights to the series as it has now been withdrawn from television distribution (the estates of Robert Young and producer Eugene Rodney own all rights). On April 1, 2008, Shout! Factory (under license from the Young estate) released "The Complete First Season" on Region 1 DVD. Future releases of the entire series are in the works.

Title Region 1

Release Date
The Complete First Season April 1, 2008
The Complete Second Season
The Complete Third Season
The Complete Fourth Season
The Complete Fifth Season
The Complete Sixth Season

[edit] External links