Bob Sweeney (TV director and producer)
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child = Bridget
Bob Sweeney (October 19, 1918 – June 7, 1992) was an actor, director and producer of radio, television and film.
. He began his career on radio as an announcer and then comedian. From 1944 through 1948 he teamed with comedy partner Hal March
in the successful "Sweeney and March Show" for CBS Radio
. He went on to appear as a supporting character in various sitcoms in the early days of television including the role of Gilmore Cobb in the television version of "My Favorite Husband
" (1953–54) with co-stars Joan Caulfield
and Barry Nelson
. Sweeney made appearances on "The Rifleman
" also in "Our Miss Brooks
" during its last two seasons of production (1955–1956) working alongside Eve Arden
, Gale Gordon
and Richard Crenna
.
From 1956-1957 Sweeney starred in the TV sitcom The Brothers
with co-star Gale Gordon
(later of The Lucy Show
). In 1959, he landed the lead role on the short-lived NBC
television series Fibber McGee and Molly
opposite Cathy Lewis
. Unlike the wildly popular radio
version of the show that featured Jim Jordan and Marian Jordan in the title roles, Fibber McGee failed on television and was cancelled after less than one season. That same year, Sweeney directed the 18-week NBC sitcom Love and Marriage
set in Tin Pan Alley
of New York City
. His co-stars were William Demarest
, Stubby Kaye
, Jeanne Bal
, and Murray Hamilton
.
's, The Last Hurrah
(1958), as bad guy Harry Tupper in the Disney
children's movie,Toby Tyler
(1960) and as Mr. Harker in another Disney film Son of Flubber
(1963). Bob Sweeney also appeared as Cousin Bob in Alfred Hitchcock
's, Marnie
(1964).
and as producer and/or director of episodes of several other highly successful TV series including Hawaii Five-O
, That Girl
, The Love Boat
, Matlock
and Dynasty
. Although Bob Sweeney never won an Emmy Award he was nominated on three occasions, twice for Hawaii Five-O
(1971 and 1973) and once for The Love Boat
(1983). He also directed Gene Evans
's unsuccessful 1976 CBS
adventure series, Spencer's Pilots
.
Bob Sweeney (October 19, 1918 – June 7, 1992) was an actor, director and producer of radio, television and film.
Early career on radio and television
Bob Sweeney was a graduate of Balboa High School (San Francisco) and San Francisco State CollegeSan Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. He began his career on radio as an announcer and then comedian. From 1944 through 1948 he teamed with comedy partner Hal March
Hal March
Hal March was a Jewish-American comedian and actor.-Early career:March first came to note as part of a comedy team with Bob Sweeney. The duo had their own radio show for a time and performed, in the early 1950s, as "Sweeney & March." He also partnered with actor/comic Tom d'Andrea in the early...
in the successful "Sweeney and March Show" for CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. He went on to appear as a supporting character in various sitcoms in the early days of television including the role of Gilmore Cobb in the television version of "My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the novel Mr. and Mrs...
" (1953–54) with co-stars Joan Caulfield
Joan Caulfield
Joan Caulfield was an American actress and former fashion model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures....
and Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
. Sweeney made appearances on "The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
" also in "Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
" during its last two seasons of production (1955–1956) working alongside Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
, Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...
and Richard Crenna
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
.
From 1956-1957 Sweeney starred in the TV sitcom The Brothers
The Brothers (US TV sitcom)
The Brothers is an American television sitcom broadcast by CBS during its 1956-57 season. Reruns of The Brothers were also broadcast by CBS during the summer of 1958 on an alternate-week basis, alternating with repeats of Bachelor Father....
with co-star Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...
(later of The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
). In 1959, he landed the lead role on the short-lived NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly was an American radio comedy series which maintained its popularity over decades. It premiered on NBC in 1935 and continued until its demise in 1959, long after radio had ceased to be the dominant form of entertainment in American popular culture.-Husband and wife in real...
opposite Cathy Lewis
Cathy Lewis
Cathy Lewis was an American actress remembered best for numerous radio appearances but making a number of film and television appearances in the last decade of her life....
. Unlike the wildly popular radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
version of the show that featured Jim Jordan and Marian Jordan in the title roles, Fibber McGee failed on television and was cancelled after less than one season. That same year, Sweeney directed the 18-week NBC sitcom Love and Marriage
Love and Marriage (1959 TV series)
Love and Marriage is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from September 21, 1959, to January 25, 1960, starring William Demarest.-Synopsis:...
set in Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His co-stars were William Demarest
William Demarest
Carl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
, Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
, Jeanne Bal
Jeanne Bal
Jeanne Bal was an American actress who worked primarily in 1960s television.-Career:...
, and Murray Hamilton
Murray Hamilton
Murray Hamilton was an American stage, screen, and television actor who appeared in such memorable films as The Hustler, The Graduate and Jaws.-Early life:...
.
Movie roles
His most notable film credits as an actor include the role of the undertaker in John FordJohn Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's, The Last Hurrah
The Last Hurrah (1958 film)
The Last Hurrah is a 1958 film adaptation of the novel The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor. It was directed by John Ford and starred Spencer Tracy as a veteran mayor preparing for yet another election campaign...
(1958), as bad guy Harry Tupper in the Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
children's movie,Toby Tyler
Toby Tyler
Toby Tyler is a Disney film released on January 21, 1960 by Buena Vista Distribution Company, based on the 1880 children's book Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis Kaler....
(1960) and as Mr. Harker in another Disney film Son of Flubber
Son of Flubber
Son of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...
(1963). Bob Sweeney also appeared as Cousin Bob in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's, Marnie
Marnie (film)
Marnie is a 1964 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...
(1964).
Directing and producing
Sweeney is best known for his successes as a television director and producer, most notably as the director of the first three seasons of The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
and as producer and/or director of episodes of several other highly successful TV series including Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
and Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
. Although Bob Sweeney never won an Emmy Award he was nominated on three occasions, twice for Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
(1971 and 1973) and once for The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
(1983). He also directed Gene Evans
Gene Evans
Gene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...
's unsuccessful 1976 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
adventure series, Spencer's Pilots
Spencer's Pilots
Spencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen, the series stars Gene Evans.-Synopsis:Evans stars as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation...
.
External links
- Biography by Yahoo
- The Sweeney & March Show by The Radio Gold Index
- Biography by New York Times