''The Texas Wheelers'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired in 1974 and 1975. The series, produced by

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the producti ...

, is about the cantankerous but lovable Zack Wheeler, a long-lost father who returned to raise his children Truckie, Doobie, Boo, and T.J. in rural

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

after their mother died. The show was not successful, due to being broadcast against the second half of NBC's Top 20 hit ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'', and was canceled after four episodes in the fall of 1974. An additional four episodes were aired in June and July 1975. The show is notable as one of MTM's few flops, and for the well-known actors in its cast, including

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...

as Zack,

Gary Busey Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...

as Truckie, Mark Hamill as Doobie, Tony Becker as T.J., and

Lisa Eilbacher Lisa Marie Eilbacher (born May 5, 1956) is a retired American actress. Early life Lisa Marie Eilbacher was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of an American oil company executive. She was raised in France. Her two siblings are also act ...

as the Wheelers' friend Sally. The theme song for the show was "Illegal Smile" by

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

Cast

as Zack Wheeler *

as Truckie Wheeler * Karen Obediear as Boo Wheeler * Mark Hamill as Doobie Wheeler * Tony Becker as T.J. Wheeler

Episodes

References

*Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (7th ed. 1999), p. 1013.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Wheelers, The American Broadcasting Company original programming 1970s American sitcoms 1974 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings Television shows set in Texas Television series by MTM Enterprises