| The Pride of the Family | |
|---|---|
Albie and Catherine Morrison, 1953. |
|
| Genre | Situation comedy |
| Written by | James B. Allardice |
| Directed by | Bob Finkel et al |
| Starring | Paul Hartman Fay Wray Natalie Wood Robert Hyatt Larry J. Blake |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | Black and white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | October 2, 1953 – July 2, 1954 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse |
| Followed by | The Comeback Story |
The Pride of the Family was a half-hour situation comedy starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood, and Robert Hyatt, which aired for forty episodes on ABC in the 1953–1954 season.[1]
Hartman portrays Albie Morrison, the father and error-prone head of the household,[2] about whom most of the episodes are centered. Albie works in the advertising section of his local newspaper, and he often has new ideas that go awry in the workplace as well as failed handyman activities at home.[3][4] Wray, remembered in particularly from her role in the horror film King Kong, plays Albie's wife, Catherine.[5] Natalie Wood is the 15-year-old daughter, Ann,[6] and "Bobby" Hyatt (1939–2007) is the 14-year-old son, Junior Morrison. Larry J. Blake appeared fourteen times in the role of "Frank".[1]
Hartman's Albie Morrison lacks the good judgment and wisdom exercised by the fictitious insurance agent James Anderson, Sr., the role of Robert Young on the long-running Father Knows Best, which premiered the following season on CBS. Billboard described Hartman's lead role as "average"; indeed the series attempted to present the "average family."[7]
Guest stars included Tol Avery, Barbara Billingsley, Douglas Fowley, Frank Ferguson (five times as Murdock), Lyle Talbot, Steven Terrell (five times as Tom), and Joey D. Vieira (six episodes as Hollis).[1]
The Pride of the Family aired at 9 p.m. EST on Fridays. It followed ABC's The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse anthology series and preceded the short-lived, The Comeback Story, a reality show hosted by George Jessel and Arlene Francis. It was slated opposite The Big Story on NBC and Schlitz Playhouse of Stars on CBS.[8]The series also aired in limited rebroadcasts in June and July 1955 on CBS.[3]
The Revue production, now NBCUniversal Television Group, was filmed at Republic Studios in North Hollywood, California.[1]