''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American situation comedy

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1964.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 598.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 740.Classic TV Archive The New Phil Silvers Show (1963-64)
/ref>

Synopsis

Harry Grafton is a factory foreman at Osborne Industries, a company in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, which manufactures a constantly changing line of items.nostalgiacentral.com NEW PHIL SILVERS SHOW, THE
/ref>IMDb.com The New Phil Silvers Show
/ref>
/ref> Trying to earn as much as possible while doing as little as possible, Harry is manipulative and a

conman A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have d ...

, and is always trying to beat the system. He makes money off his fellow employees by running the Osborne Industries coffee cart service and through his ownership of the company′s vending machines. From his office at the factory, he also secretly operates his own company, Grafton Enterprises, through which he habitually pursues scams and get-rich-quick schemes which never seem to work out for him. Harry has to get around his boss, Mr. Brink, to pursue his schemes, and often enlists the much-suffering workers on the factory floor in his efforts to fulfill them. His plans usually end in disaster. In February 1964, Harry moves in with his widowed sister Audrey and her two children, Susan and Andy. Harry's family issues then also begin to play an increasing part in his misadventures.

Cast

....Harry Grafton *

Stafford Repp Stafford Alois Repp (April 26, 1918November 5, 1974) was an American actor best known for his role as Police Chief Miles Clancy O'Hara on ABC's ''Batman'' television series. Career Soon after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, he ser ...

....Brink * Herbie Faye....Waluska *

Bert Convy Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy (July 23, 1933 – July 15, 1991) was an American actor, singer, game show host and panelist known for hosting '' Tattletales'', ''Super Password'' and ''Win, Lose or Draw''. Early life Convy was born in St. Loui ...

...Roxy (pilot episode only) * Pat Renella.... Roxy (except pilot episode) * Jim Shane....Lester *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

....Mr. Osborne * Steve Mitchell...Fred Starkey *

Bob Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Entertainment Film * Robert Williams (actor, born 1894) (1894–1931), American stage and film actor * Robert B. Williams (actor) (1904–1978), American film actor * R. J. Williams (born ...

....Bob * Buddy Lester....Nick *

Norm Grabowski Norman Grabowski (February 5, 1933 – October 12, 2012) was an American hot rod builder and actor. The heavy-set crew cut-wearing Grabowski appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Albert Zugsmith and Walt Disney. He was Polish-Americ ...

....Grabowski * Elaine Gardner....Louise *

Elena Verdugo Elena Angela Verdugo (April 20, 1925 – May 30, 2017) was an American actress who began in films at the age of five in '' Cavalier of the West'' (1931). Her career in radio, television and film spanned six decades. Early life Elena Angela V ...

....Audrey (1964) *

Sandy Descher Sandra Kay Descher (born November 30, 1945) is an American former child actress of the 1950s. Life and career Born November 30, 1945, in Burbank, California, Descher is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Descher. She has a younger brother, Michae ...

....Susan (1964) * Ronnie Dapo....Andy (1964)

Production

had a successful four-season run from 1955 to 1959 portraying Sergeant Ernie Bilko in ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

''. Four years after that show ended, ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' represented his attempt after a four-season absence from series television to reincarnate the successful Bilko character in the guise of Harry Grafton, with Silvers playing essentially the same character, albeit as a civilian factory foreman rather than a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

sergeant.That's Entertainment: Bilko Bounces Back (Briefly): A Look at THE NEW PHIL SILVERS SHOW, March 11, 2020 Retrieved 7 September 2020
/ref> Where Bilko had been popular, however, the Harry Grafton character turned viewers off: While Bilko had a soft spot, Harry was dishonest and manipulative through and through, and while Bilko was an underpaid, underdog sergeant trying to swindle faceless and implacable things like the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

and the U.S. Army just to make a little extra money, Harry had a good-paying job but still refused to do an honest day's work for a day's pay, and his scams and schemes involved exploiting and cheating blue-collar workers who were trying to make an honest living on the factory floor. With ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' struggling in the ratings and after receiving many complaints about the show's premise and the Harry Grafton character′s lack of appeal, CBS moved ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' to a later time partway through November 1963. When that did not improve ratings, the show began a transition to a new premise as a domestic comedy in February 1964, adding Harry's family to the show in the eighteenth episode and beginning a process of gradually shifting the show′s focus to Harry's domestic life, with him as a father figure to his niece and nephew. The shift came too late to save the show.

Rod Amateau Rodney Amateau (December 20, 1923 – June 29, 2003) was an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. Career Among the programs that he directed were '' The Dennis Day Show'', ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ...

produced the show, and Harry Geller wrote its theme music. Silvers’ wife, Evelyn Patrick, appeared on the show in the role of Mr Osborne’s niece. Silvers's old friend Herbie Faye, who had mentored Silvers in comedy in 1932, played Waluska.

Broadcast history

''The New Phil Silvers Show'' premiered on September 28, 1963, and initially aired on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. Partway through November 1963, it moved to 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays, where it remained for the rest of its run. CBS cancelled it after only one season, and its last original episode aired on April 25, 1964. After the show ended, NBC rebroadcast seven episodes of ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' as prime-time reruns during its normal time slot, four in May 1964 and three in June 1964. The last prime-time rerun aired on June 27, 1964. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, ITV broadcast ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' during 1964.

Episodes

Sources:

References

External links

*
''The New Phil Silvers Show'' opening credits for Episode 6 "Little Old Gluemaker, Me!" on YouTube

''The New Phil Silvers Show'' Episode 25 "Auntie Up" at That's Entertainment
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Phil Silvers Show, The CBS original programming 1960s American sitcoms 1963 American television series debuts 1964 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Works set in factories