''Grindl'' is an American
situation comedy
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
that began in fall 1963 on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, originally sponsored by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
. The show, starring
Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and pursu ...
in the title role, lasted for one season.
Synopsis
Grindl (Coca) worked for Foster's Temporary Employment service and was employed doing domestic work. The show revolved around the different humorous situations she would get into with each new job she was assigned to each week.
The first show featured guest star
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...
, who would later star as
Kojak
''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...
. Other guest stars included
George Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supp ...
,
Paul Lynde
Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and game-show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well know ...
,
Robert Q. Lewis
Robert Q. Lewis (born Robert Goldberg; April 25, 1921 – December 11, 1991) was an American radio and television entertainer, comedian, game show host and actor. Although born with the Goldberg name, he grew up as Lewis, his father's profe ...
,
Jack Albertson
Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...
,
Robert Karnes
Robert Anthony Karnes (June 19, 1917 – December 4, 1979) was an American film, stage and television actor.
Life and career
Karnes was born in Kentucky. He served in World War II, during which he toured the Pacific with the Maurice Evans Tr ...
,
Darryl Richard, and
Leif Erickson.
''Grindl'' was scheduled on Sunday nights at 8:30 p.m. in September 1963, sandwiched between ''
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology series, anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onwa ...
'' and ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', both major hits. The series was pitted against the second half of ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'' on CBS which greatly contributed to its low ratings. It was canceled in spring 1964, after completing a full season of 32 episodes.
Cast
* Imogene Coca – Grindl
*
James Millhollin
Arthur James Millhollin (August 23, 1915 – May 23, 1993) was an American character actor.
Early years
Millhollin was born in Peoria, Illinois.
He grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, performing in many school plays, graduated from Thomas Jeffers ...
– Anson Foster, Grindl's boss
Episodes
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0056763, title=Grindl
1963 American television series debuts
1964 American television series endings
1960s American multi-camera sitcoms
1960s American workplace comedy television series
Black-and-white American television shows
American English-language television shows
Television series by Screen Gems
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Fiction about domestic workers
NBC sitcoms