''Many Happy Returns'' 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 ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

for twenty-six episodes, from September 21, 1964 to April 12, 1965. General Foods sponsored it from 9:30 to 10 Eastern Time on Monday nights.

Personnel

The show starred

John McGiver John Irwin McGiver (November 5, 1913 – September 9, 1975) was an American character actor who made more than a hundred appearances in television and motion pictures over a two-decade span from 1955 to 1975. The owl-faced, portly character ac ...

as widower Walter Burnley, the manager of the Adjustments and Refunds Department at the fictitious Krockmeyer's

Department Store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue; April 19, 1937) is an American retired actress known for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early li ...

played Burnley's daughter, Joan Randall.

Mark Goddard Mark Goddard (born Charles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936 – October 10, 2023) was an American actor who starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series ''Lost in Space'' (1 ...

played Joan's husband, Bob Randall. The Randalls' daughter, Laurie, was played by Andrea Sacino.

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 ...

played complaint department employee Lynn Hall, with Richard Collier as Harry Price,

Jesslyn Fax Jesslyn Fax (January 4, 1893 – February 16, 1975) was a Canadian-American actress. She is known for playing 'Miss Hearing Aid' in ''Rear Window'' (1954), Avis Grubb in '' The Music Man'' (1962), Miss Hemphill in '' The Man Who Died Twice'' (19 ...

as Wilma Fritter, and Mickey Manners as Joe Foley, all store employees. Doris Packer played Cornelia.

Russell Collins Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins; October 11, 1897 – November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television. Early life Born in 1897 in Indianap ...

was cast as Burnley's demanding, often unreasonable boss, Owen Sharp. Parke Levy was the program's creator and executive producer. Directors included Theodore J. Flicker, Stanley Z. Cherry, and Sherman Marks. Writers included Earl Barret, Hannibal Coons, Sid Dorfman, Phil Green, Harvey Helm, Albert E. Lewin, Norman Paul, and Harry Winkler. David Rose and Levy composed the show's theme.

Production

''Many Happy Returns'' was produced by MGM Studios and Lindabob Productions. Episodes were filmed in black-and-white with a laugh track.

Episodes

History

''Many Happy Returns'' ran opposite '' The Bing Crosby Show'' on ABC and ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' is an American television variety show hosted by singer Andy Williams that ran on NBC (and was videotaped in color) from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'') ...

'' 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 ...

. It was replaced by reruns of ''The Danny Thomas Show''.

References

External links