''Guestward, Ho!'' is an American

sitcom 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 aired on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

from September 29, 1960, through September 21, 1961. It was based on the book of the same title by New Mexico

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agrotourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

operator Barbara Hooton and

Patrick Dennis Edward Everett Tanner III (18 May 1921 – 6 November 1976), known by the pseudonym Patrick Dennis, was an American author. His novel ''Auntie Mame, Auntie Mame: An irreverent escapade'' (1955) was one of the bestselling American boo ...

Overview

The premise revolves around a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

family, the Hootens, who tire of the

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

lifestyle and relocate to operate a

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Having bought the place unseen, they find it needs considerably more work than they were led to believe. The Hootens befriend the Native American "Hawkeye" whose "trading post" was the only source of supplies in the vicinity. Hawkeye, played by

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He became a dialect specialist, and was called upon to play character roles of many na ...

, was a rather cynical native who sold indigenous-looking

trinket A trinket may refer to: * A small showy piece of jewellery, such as a jewel or a ring. * Trinket Island, an island of the Nicobar Islands ** Trinket Bay, a village on the island * Trinket snake, common name for '' Elaphe helena'', a species of co ...

s mass-produced in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and who frequently read ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', seemingly in search of a way to purchase the country and return it to its "rightful owners".

Jeanette Nolan Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998) was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series '' The Virginian'' (1962–1971) and '' Dirty Sally'' (1974) and in films such as ''Macbeth'' ...

guest starred as Mrs. Winslow in the 1961 episode "Hawkeye's First Love".

Earle Hodgins Earle Hodgins (October 6, 1893 – April 14, 1964) was an American actor. Career Early in his career, Hodgins was active in stock theater, including working in the Ralph Cloninger troupe of Salt Lake City, Utah, the Siegel Stock company of ...

appeared in at least three episodes as the 67-year-old ranch wrangler named "Lonesome". In the episode "Lonesome's Gal",

ZaSu Pitts ZaSu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, starred in many silent film drama film, dramas, such as Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic ''Greed (1924 film), Greed'', along wi ...

, formerly of ''

The Gale Storm Show ''The Gale Storm Show'' is an American sitcom starring Gale Storm. The series premiered on September 29, 1956, and ran until 1960 for 125 half-hour black-and-white episodes, initially on CBS and in its last year on ABC. Its title is also seen a ...

'', played his romantic interest.

Jody McCrea Joel Dee "Jody" McCrea (September 6, 1934 – April 4, 2009) was an American actor. He was the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. Career McCrea had small roles in his father's film, '' Wichita'' (1955). He was also in '' Lucy Gallant' ...

, whose ''

Wichita Town ''Wichita Town'' is a half-hour Western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until September 23, 1960. Joel McCrea played Marshal Mike Dunbar, in ...

'', an NBC

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series in which he starred with his father,

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, ended in 1960, was cast as an Indian, "Danny Brave Eagle", in the 1961 episode entitled "The Wrestler". The second episode was entitled "You Can't Go Home Again", borrowing from

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

, ''

You Can't Go Home Again ''You Can't Go Home Again'' is a novel by Thomas Wolfe published posthumously in 1940, extracted by his editor, Edward Aswell, from the contents of his vast unpublished manuscript ''The October Fair''. It is a sequel to ''The Web and the Rock'' ...

''. The series finale was "No Place Like Home".

Cast

Background

The trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' reported in December 1957 that CBS was negotiating with

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

to be the lead in an adaptation of ''Guestward, Ho!'' A February 1958 ''Billboard'' article still had Crain set for the lead in the program being developed for the 1958-1959 season. ''Guestward, Ho!'' initially began at CBS in 1958, with

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

and Leif Erickson as the Hootens, an older childless couple.

Desilu Desilu Productions, Inc. () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', '' The Lucy Show'', '' Mannix'', '' The ...

had developed the pilot specifically for Vance, who had portrayed Ethel Mertz on the hit CBS/Desilu sitcom ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' from 1951 to 1957, and its later followup specials. Vance had rejected doing an ''I Love Lucy'' spin-off focusing on Ethel and

Fred Mertz Frederick Hobart Mertz, played by William Frawley, is a fictional character in the 1950s American sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Character Fred was born and raised on a farm in the Midwest; in one episode, Ethel says that Fred's mother comes to visit ...

, in favor of doing the ''Guestward, Ho!'' pilot. Upon viewing the pilot, CBS executives felt that Vance had become so typecast in her Ethel Mertz role that she was unconvincing playing a leading character in her own situation comedy. One executive allegedly said "I kept waiting for Lucy to come in" after viewing the pilot. Hence, CBS rejected the series. Desilu eventually retooled the pilot, with

Joanne Dru Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', '' She Wore a Yellow Ribb ...

and Mark Miller as the Hootens, now a younger couple (with Babs being a former model). Flip Mark was cast as their son, Brook Hooten, a character created in the retooling. ABC bought this pilot, and slated it for its Thursday evening schedule with ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

''. Ralston-Purina served as the primary sponsor, with

7 Up 7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...

as an alternate sponsor.

Guest stars

William Bakewell William Robertson Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor. He achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Early years Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, w ...

Madge Blake Madge Blake (née Cummings; May 31, 1899 – February 19, 1969) was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ ABC sitcom ''Leave It to Beaver'', as Flora MacMichael o ...

Frank Cady Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s – '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and ...

* Richard Deacon *

Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost i ...

Ned Glass Nusyn "Ned" Glass (April 1, 1906 – June 15, 1984) was a Polish-born American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly, or deceitful characters. ...

* Charles Lane *

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmoth ...

Louis Nye Louis Nye (May 1, 1913 – October 9, 2005) was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on multiple television, film and radio programs. Radio and television Nye met Car ...

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

Natalie Schafer Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom '' Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967). Early life and career Natalie Schafer was born on November 5, ...

Willard Waterman Willard Lewis Waterman (August 29, 1914 – February 2, 1995)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . was an American ...

* Adam Williams *

William Windom William Windom may refer to: * William Windom (politician) (1827–1891), U.S. representative from Minnesota * William Windom (actor) (1923–2012), his great-grandson, American actor See also * William Windham (disambiguation) {{hndis, Wi ...

Adam West William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in ...

Episodes

Production

''Guestward, Ho!'' was broadcast on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's ...

and

were the sponsors. David Heilweil was the producer. It ran opposite ''

Outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

'' on NBC, and later in the season, against fellow Desilu program ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, wh ...

'' on CBS. ABC ultimately canceled the series following one season, replaced with ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was b ...

'' in its timeslot.

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "an example of Hollywood formula film TV at its best and brightest." The review said that Dru, Miller, and Mark portrayed their characters "airily", and it concluded with "By dint of its high polish it achieved an entertainment level well above that reached by most of its rivals."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0053505 1960s American sitcoms 1960s American workplace comedy television series 1960 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings Television shows based on American novels Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New Mexico Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows American Broadcasting Company sitcoms