10 Fun Facts About A Classic TV Series

[Peebs]

5. Originally set at Fort Baxter in fictional Roseville, Kansas the men were reassigned to Camp Freemont in California by the fourth season.  This was to plausibly bring in guest stars from Hollywood.

[Princess of Tap]

6) Movie actress Elisabeth Fraser played Sergeant Bilko' s long- time military girlfriend.

[Swithin]

7) One of the most endearing characters on the show was Pvt. Duane Doberman, played by Maurice Gosfield, who was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in 1959.

 

 

[Princess of Tap]

Eight) Character actor Paul Ford became beloved by American TV audiences as the beleaguered Colonel Hall, who tried valiantly to maintain control of the Army post, in spite of Bilko's shenanigans.

[TopBilled]

9. Neil Simon wrote 20 episodes of The Phil Silvers Show.

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10) The first three seasons were filmed in NYC til creator/producer Pat Hinken left the show, then filming moved to LA

 

Next:

THE BOB NEWHART SHOW

[TopBilled]

1. The characters of Dr. Bob Hartley and his wife Emily appeared in the final episode of Newhart.

[Princess of Tap]

2) I got the biggest kick from watching the opening of "The Bob Newhart Show" because it shows The Wrigley Building in Chicago and I worked in the office building next to it on Michigan Avenue.

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3.  Newhart insisted on two changes when developing the show:  First, that his character was a psychologist rather than a psychiatrist to avoid making fun of serious mental illness. Second, that he and Emily do not have kids to avoid typical family sitcom tropes. 

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4) The Bob Newhart Show ran for 6 seasons from 1972-1978

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5 hours ago, TopBilled said:

1. The characters of Dr. Bob Hartley and his wife Emily appeared in the final episode of Newhart.

And it went something like this......

 

[Peebs]

5.  The opening sequence of Newhart leaving his office and taking the L to his home is inaccurate.  He works on Michigan Avenue and lives in the Edgewater neighborhood but appears to get off in the town of Evanston.  

"I get on what in Chicago was the Ravenswood 'L,' and I'm taking that, I'm going home from the office. And I get off, the little station I get off at, that's on the ground -- the 'L' at some point goes on the ground -- which is about 55 blocks from our apartment. I do this every day. I miss my stop and walk back 55 blocks to our apartment," said the 87-year-old Newhart. "Now, would you want a therapist who missed his stop every day?"  

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6. Tom Poston had a recurring role as a guy named Cliff Murdock, appearing in five episodes. In 1982 Poston would be cast as handyman George Utley on Newhart. Poston and Newhart were lifelong friends. And later Poston would marry Suzanne Pleshette.

[LonesomePolecat]

7. In the audio commentary, Bob Newhart said he felt their biggest laughs were in their famous drunk Thanksgiving episode "Over the River and Through the Woods", which fans often call the "Moo Goo Gai Pan" episode

 

 

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8. Bob Newhart's sitcoms were usually self-titled in some way. There was this program, The Bob Newhart Show, which was followed four years later by Newhart. After that, he did a sitcom called Bob. However Bob didn't succeed with audiences and was cancelled midway through the second season. So when he returned to sitcoms he switched gears and stopped using his name in the title-- especially since the next sitcom costarred Judd Hirsch and he was no longer the only lead actor. That one was named after their characters, George & Leo. 

[LonesomePolecat]

9. Peter Bonerz started out playing orthodontist Jerry Robinson, then ended up directing 29 episodes of BNS, while still playing Jerry. He went on to direct several other episodes of hit TV shows such as Murphy Brown, Friends & Home Improvement.

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10. Marcia Wallace, who played Carol, went on to do voice over work. Notably in The Simpsons from 1990 until her death in 2013, usually as the character Edna Krabappel. She also played Secretary #66 in a 1994 episode of Murphy Brown in which Bob Newhart also makes an appearance as Dr. Bob Hartley. 

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Next: 

[Det Jim McLeod]

1. This was Buddy Ebsen's second successful TV show . The Beverly Hillbillies was the first.