Ichabod and Me
Encyclopedia
Ichabod and Me is a 36-episode situation comedy
series set in a small New England
town and starring Robert Sterling
and George Chandler
. It aired on CBS from September 26, 1961, to June 5, 1962, and was produced by Joe Connelly
and Bob Mosher
, in association with Jack Benny
's "JaMco Productions".
who moves to the fictitious town of Phippsboro to purchase and edit the local paper, The Bulletin. Chandler plays the 63-year-old meddlesome former editor, Ichabod Adams, who has become the municipal traffic commissioner but keeps an eye on Sterling to make sure that the newspaper meets specifications. At the time of his "Ichabod" role, Chandler was also the president of the Screen Actors Guild
.
In addition to the two main leads, the cast included Reta Shaw
as Aunt Lavinia, Bob's housekeeper; Christine White as Abigail Adams, Ichabod's daughter and Bob's girlfriend; Jimmy Mathers as Benjie, Bob's six-year-old son; Jimmy Hawkins
, also a semi-regular on The Donna Reed Show
and later Petticoat Junction
, as Jonathan Baylor; Burt Mustin
, Gus the Fireman on Leave It to Beaver
, as Olaf; and Forrest Lewis
as Colby.
with Ronald Reagan
. The episodes of the series were titled "Ichabod's Niece", "The Phippsboro Story", "The Old Stowe Road", "Ichabod's Romance", "Bob's Housekeeper", "A Letter from Juliet", "Teenage Journalist", "Parking Problems", "Bob's Redhead" with Merry Anders
, "Election Fever", "Jonathan's Romance", "The Purple Cow", and "Big Business". Notably, Rod Serling
appeared as Eugene Hollinfield in the episode "The Celebrity" on March 20, 1962.
Summer rebroadcasts continued until September 16. The series ran at 9:30 Eastern on Tuesday in a favorable time slot sandwiched between The Red Skelton Show
and The Garry Moore Show
, both in the Top 15. At the end of each Skelton broadcast, George Chandler urged viewers to stay tuned to Ichabod and Me. Yet viewers left CBS for that half-hour in droves, as Ichabod and Me failed to develop its own loyal audience. The competition to Ichabod and Me was not a significant threat, either, it included the second half of both Leslie Nielsen
's The New Breed
police drama on ABC (until November 14, when The New Breed moved to 8:30 PM and Bert Parks
' game show
Yours for a Song
began airing at 9:30 Eastern), and The Dick Powell Show
anthology series on NBC
.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series set in a small New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
town and starring Robert Sterling
Robert Sterling
Robert Sterling, born William Sterling Hart was an American film and television actor.-Early life:...
and George Chandler
George Chandler
George Chandler was an American actor best known for playing the character of "Uncle Petrie" on the television series Lassie...
. It aired on CBS from September 26, 1961, to June 5, 1962, and was produced by Joe Connelly
Joe Connelly (producer)
Joe Connelly was a television and radio scriptwriter born in New York City. He was best known for his work on Amos and Andy, Meet Mr...
and Bob Mosher
Bob Mosher
Robert "Bob" Mosher was a television and radio scriptwriter born in Auburn, New York. He was best known for his work on Amos and Andy, Meet Mr. McNutley, Leave It To Beaver, Ichabod and Me, Bringing Up Buddy, and The Munsters, along with his co-writer Joe Connelly who is buried in Culver City's...
, in association with Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
's "JaMco Productions".
Cast & characters
The storyline featured Sterling in the role of 44-year-old Robert "Bob" Major, a widower and newspaper reporter from New York CityNew 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...
who moves to the fictitious town of Phippsboro to purchase and edit the local paper, The Bulletin. Chandler plays the 63-year-old meddlesome former editor, Ichabod Adams, who has become the municipal traffic commissioner but keeps an eye on Sterling to make sure that the newspaper meets specifications. At the time of his "Ichabod" role, Chandler was also the president of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
.
In addition to the two main leads, the cast included Reta Shaw
Reta Shaw
Reta Shaw was an American character actress known for playing authoritative women, housekeepers, and domineering wives, especially on television...
as Aunt Lavinia, Bob's housekeeper; Christine White as Abigail Adams, Ichabod's daughter and Bob's girlfriend; Jimmy Mathers as Benjie, Bob's six-year-old son; Jimmy Hawkins
Jimmy Hawkins
James F. Hawkins , known as Jimmy Hawkins, and later, Jim Hawkins, is an American actor and film producer whose career began as a child actor to such Hollywood stars as Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, and Donna Reed...
, also a semi-regular on The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
and later Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
, as Jonathan Baylor; Burt Mustin
Burt Mustin
Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin was an American character actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to W. I. and Sadie Mustin, Mustin was a 1903 graduate of the Pennsylvania Military College , earning his degree in civil engineering...
, Gus the Fireman on Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
, as Olaf; and Forrest Lewis
Forrest Lewis
-Career:In the mid-1950s, Lewis appeared briefly as a deputy in the syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. He also guest starred with Maudie Prickett in the episode "Brief Glory" of the syndicated western series 26 Men...
as Colby.
Overview
The pilot, titled "Adam's Apples", was broadcasted on April 24, 1960 on CBS's General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
with Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. The episodes of the series were titled "Ichabod's Niece", "The Phippsboro Story", "The Old Stowe Road", "Ichabod's Romance", "Bob's Housekeeper", "A Letter from Juliet", "Teenage Journalist", "Parking Problems", "Bob's Redhead" with Merry Anders
Merry Anders
Merry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
, "Election Fever", "Jonathan's Romance", "The Purple Cow", and "Big Business". Notably, Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
appeared as Eugene Hollinfield in the episode "The Celebrity" on March 20, 1962.
Summer rebroadcasts continued until September 16. The series ran at 9:30 Eastern on Tuesday in a favorable time slot sandwiched between The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as...
and The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
, both in the Top 15. At the end of each Skelton broadcast, George Chandler urged viewers to stay tuned to Ichabod and Me. Yet viewers left CBS for that half-hour in droves, as Ichabod and Me failed to develop its own loyal audience. The competition to Ichabod and Me was not a significant threat, either, it included the second half of both Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
's The New Breed
The New Breed (TV series)
The New Breed is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from October 3, 1961 to June 5, 1962, with thirty-six episodes.-Synopsis:...
police drama on ABC (until November 14, when The New Breed moved to 8:30 PM and Bert Parks
Bert Parks
Bert Parks, born Bertram Jacobson , was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979....
' game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song
Yours for a Song is an American game show, created by Bob Russell, that aired on ABC from 1961-1963 with Bert Parks as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer...
began airing at 9:30 Eastern), and The Dick Powell Show
The Dick Powell Show
The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series ended...
anthology series on 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...
.