CTVA
The Classic TV Archive - US Comedy Series  -  Comedy Guestbook
Unsold  TV Drama  Pilots -  Unsold  TV Western  Pilots - Unsold  TV Comedy  Pilots
Vacation Playhouse (1963-67)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
Rina Fox [RF]
references:
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive
"Fifty Years of Television" by Vincent Terrace [VT]
------------------
VACATION PLAYHOUSE
------------------
Production Companies: - various - see episodes details
for
CBS (Mondays)
Producers: various - see episodes details
US Comedy Pilot series 1963-67   ? eps x 30 min
release date 22 July 1963
Premise:
Summer replacement show featuring Pilot episodes  for Comedy  programs.

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
############ season 1 Summer 1963 ############
##############################################
CBS Mondays

1.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HIDE AND SEEK (30 min)
(comedy pilot for 1963 show "Glynis"]
Glynis (Desilu)(1963) starring Glynis Johns & Keith Andes
05Aug1963 CBS Monday
Desilu Studios
executive producer Jess Oppenheimer
written by Jess Oppenheimer
directed by Sherman Marks
starring
Glynis Johns as Glynis Granville
Keith Andes as John Granville
Michael Constantine as Police Detective
Mary Gregory as Mrs. Gombert
Phyllis Love as Mrs. Green
The story of Glynis Granville, a scatterbrained wife, who with her
ineffable sense of logic, helps her attorney husband solve crimes.
"Glynis" - 13 episodes CBS Wednesdays (25Sep63-18Dec63)

1.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: ALL ABOUT BARBARA (Unsold Comedy pilot)
02Sep1963 CBS Monday
Producer Quinn Martin (really??)
starring: (source: Vincent Terrace)
Barbara Nichols as Barbara Adams
William Bishop as James Hadley
Willard Waterman as Ray Biddle (NOT Walter?)
Larry Keating as Albert Murdock
Shirley Mitchell as Sybil Murdock (NOT Bea Benaderet?)
starring: [RF]
Bea Benaderet as Sybil Murdock (??)
William Bishop as James Hadley
Larry Keating as Albert Murdock
Shirley Mitchell as Shirley Biddle (??)
Barbara Nichols as Barbara Adams
Willard Waterman as Coach Walter ? Biddle
The story of Barbara Adams, an entertainer who gives up the stage to
marry James Hadley, a small town college professor. [VT]

1.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HOORAY FOR LOVE (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
09Sep1963 CBS Monday
prod no.30935
executive producer, Selig J. Seligman
producer, Bob Fisher
created by Alan Lipscott, Bob Fisher
directed by Jerry Hopper
written by Alan Lipscott & Bob Fisher
director of photography, Phil Lathrop
music by Robert Hammack
starring
Darryl Hickman as Schuyler "Sky" Young
Yvonne Craig as Abby Young
Beverly Wills as Clara Boone
Alvy Moore as Otis Platt
Don Edmonds as Gillie Boone
Del Moore
Cherylene Lee as Samantha Soo
Max Baer Jr.
Dorothy Abbott
Carol Byron
Anita Loo
Helen Clark
A question threatens the marriage of a young couple, Schuyler "Sky" Young
and his wife Abby Young living on a houseboat - should the husband accept
a job with his wealthy father-in-law or stay in college? [RF]

1.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: COME A-RUNNIN (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
16Sep1963 CBS Monday
producer Harry Tatelman
written by James Poe
directed by Montgomery Pittman
director of photography Keith C. Smith
Theme Vocal "Come A Runnin'" sung by Bing Crosby
starring
Linden Chiles as Dr. David Latham
Stuart Erwin as Pharmacist
Alan Hale Jr. as David Watson
Ruth Hussey as Nurse Edith "Edie" Ramsey
Sherry Jackson as Alice Watson
Andrew Prine as Ernie Watson
Susan Seaforth as Susan
Reta Shaw as Aunt Josie
Mitchell Kowall
Rance Howard
Robert John Pittman
Kenn Madden
Ollie O'Toole
Young Dr. David Latham faces a challenge as a rural medic: A couple
expecting their first baby prefer the services of a midwife. [RF]

1.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: MAGGIE BROWN (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
23Sep1963 CBS Monday
executive producer Cy Howard
producer Arthur Julian [RF] / producer Jerry Thorpe? [VT]
written by Wilton Manhoff
directed by David Alexander
director of photography, Henry Cronjager
starring
Ethel Merman as Maggie Brown
Susan Watson as Jeannie Brown
Walter Burke as McChesney
Roy Roberts as John Farragut
Mark Goddard as Joe Beckett
Marvin Kaplan as Marv
Wally Vernon as ?
Ethel Merman is Maggie Brown, a South Seas bistro owner, who has to
keep 3000 sailors away from her gorgeous 18-year-old daughter.

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
############ season 2 Summer 1964 ############
##############################################
CBS Mondays

2.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HEY, TEACHER (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
15Jun1964 CBS Mon (rebroadcast 28Aug67)
starring
Dwayne Hickman ........ Joe Hannon
Wallace Ford .......... Lester Tinney
Reta Shaw ............. Mrs. Foley
Elvia Allman .......... Miss Whipple
Cheerio Meredith ...... Mrs. Ferguson
Natalie Masters ....... Mrs. Huxley
Peter Robbins ......... Richard
Clint Howard .......... Little Boy
Jimmy Gaines .......... Scotty
Synopsis 1:
The story of Joe Hannon, the only male teacher in an elementary school
dominated by females.
Synopsis 2:
Joe Hannan, fresh out of college, wades into his first day of teaching
the third grade. The rest of the staff is making bets on how many
hours he'll last. [RF]

2.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
22Jun1964 CBS Monday
Executive Producer Warren Lewis
produced and directed by Barry Shear
written by Sheldon Keller
director of photography, Glen MacWilliams
music by Jerry Fielding
starring
Herschel Bernardi as Jerome P. Baggley
Marvin Kaplan as Marvin
Joyce Jameson as Vanda Renee
Joan Blondell as Miss Zilke
John Litel as Albert P. Leviathan
Bobby Troup as Gardner
Ruby Keeler as Ruby
George Sidney as Executive
Addison Richards
Lyle Talbot
Percy Helton
Jack Searl
William Allyn
Marjorie Bennett
Fritz Feld
George Barrows
In this satire on 1920s Hollywood, two rival studios fight over
temperamental actress Vanda Renee, the top box-office attraction of Jerome P.
Baggley's World Goliath Studios, after she threatens to quit.

2.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: I AND CLAUDIE (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
06Jul1964 CBS Mon
Executive Producer Warren Lewis
Produced by Frank O'Connor
starring
Jerry Lanning as Clint Hightower
Ross Martin as Claudie Hughes
Barbara Stuart as Nancy Gifford
Jennifer Billingsley as Jo Anne Smith
The adventures of Clint and Claudie, buddies who devise unique schemes
to make a living.

2.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HE'S ALL YOUR (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
20Jul1964 CBS Mon
starring
Eve Arden as Claudia Cooper
Cindy Carol as Marsha Cooper
Derek Bond as George Andrews
Jeremy Lloyd as Bertie Barrington
Nicholas Parsons as Squifft
Ambrosine Phillpotts as Tillie J. Smith
Roger Avon as Constable
Howard Smith as T.J. Gittings

2.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: Unknown title
07Sep1964 CBS Mon
Produced by Jim McGinn
Hosted by Orson Bean
starring
Avery Schreiber
Arlene Golonka
Mina Kolb
Dick Shael
Summary:
Orson Bean is host and performer for 30 taped minutes of zany
comedy sketches, improvisations and musical selections.
The Serendipity Singers provide the latter. Joining Orson for
the comedy are Avery Schreiber, Mina Kolb, Dick Shael, and
Arlene Golonka. The brief opening sketch is likely to raise
the blood pressure of the American Medical Association. [RF]

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
############ season 3 Summer 1965 ############
##############################################
CBS Mondays ? then Fridays

3.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse ?: HELLO DERE (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
09Aug1965 CBS Monday
Produced by Al Broadax, Ed Jurist
starring
Marty Allen as Himself
Steve Rossi as Himself
Roland Winters as Vincent J. Vincent
Nina Shipman as Miss Malone
Lisa Pera as Tanya
The antics of Marty and Steve a pair of bumbling TV reporters.

3.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: COOGAN'S REWARD (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
20Aug1965 CBS Friday
Produced by Winston O'Keefe
starring
Tony Randall as Willie Coogan
Robert Gist as Ben Moore
Alan Carney as Corporal Konstanti
Roxanne Berail as Girl
The story of Willie Coogan, a World War II combat correspondent who
dislikes covering the war in the field.

3.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: CAP'N AHAB (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
03Sept1965 CBS Friday
Produced by Hal Kanter
Directed by Richard Crenna
starring
Jaye P. Morgan as Maggie Feeney
Judy Canova as Tillie Meeks
Don Porter as Battersea, The Housekeeper
Larry J. Blake as Hard Hat
Sid Gould as Angelo
Francine York as Miss Langdon
Eddie Quillan as Emcee
Maury Hill as Chauffeur
At the reading of a will, Tillie Meeks and her distant cousin, Maggie
Feeney, inherit money, a New York townhouse, and a 97 year-old parrot
named Cap'n Ahab. The unsold proposed series was to relate Tillie and
Maggie's efforts to keep their inheritance by living together and caring
for Cap'n Ahab.

3.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: DOWN HOME (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
10Sep1965 CBS Friday
Produced and Directed by Hal Kanter
starring
Pat Buttram as Hardy Madison
Sara Haden as Emma Madison
Jack Orrison as Warren Bullard
El Brendel as Late
The story of Hardy Madison, a struggling newspaper editor in a small
town called Freedom.

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
############ season 4 Summer 1966 ############
##############################################
CBS Mondays

4.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: FRANK MERRIWELL (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
25Jul1966 CBS Monday
Produced by Leslie Stevens
starring
Jeff Cooper as Frank Merriwell
Tisha Sterling as Elsie Stanhope
Murvyn Vye as Bart Farge
Harry Dean Stanton as Dayton Skagg
Bruce Hyde as Binkie Stubbs
Beau Bridges as Brandon Drood
James Flavin as Fire Chief
Joe Corey as Fireman #1
Jay Della as Fireman #2
Lee Miller as Fireman #3
The adventures of Frank Merriwell, the Pride of Yale University at
the turn of the century.

4.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: WHERE THERE'S SMOKEY (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
01Aug1966 CBS Monday
Produced by Sid Dorman
starring
Soupy Sales as Fireman Smokey
Gale Gordon as Chief Warren Packard
Hollis Irving as Blossom Packard
Ricky Allen as Richie Packard
Louis Glenn as Maggie Dennison
Jack Weston as Fireman Hogan
The story of an ineffectual, but eager firman Smokey, who lives
with his sister Blossom, and her husband Warren, the fire chief.
Sub plot of the unsold series was Warren's efforts to find Smokey a
wife, and get him out of his home. [VT]


4.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: THE DONALD O'CONNOR SHOW (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
15Aug1966
(no details)

4.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: THE TWO OF US (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
a.k.a BARNABY'S CASTLE
29Aug66 CBS Monday
Produced by Elliott Lewis, Arthur Julian
starring:
Patricia Crowley as Elizabeth Williams
Billy Mumy as Chris Williams
Mary Jane Croft as Helen
Barry Livingston as Roger
Russ Brown as Captain Gibson
The story of a 7 year-old boy, Chris, who prefers the world
of fantasy he created from his mother's illustrations
to that of making real friends. [VT]

4.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: OFF WE GO! (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
05Sep1966 CBS Monday
Produced by Robert Blees
starring:
Michael Burns as Col. Rod Ryan
Dick Foran as Lt. Casey Slade
Dick Curtis as Capt. Julian Imbro
Nancy Kovack as Lt. Sue Chamberlain
Ann Jillian as Debbie Towbridge
Alan Sues as Lt. Jefferson Dale
Monroe Arnold as Major Stivers
Elisabeth Fraser as Josie Ryan
Dave Willock as Carl Ryan
Berkeley Harris as Lt. Stanley
Anxious to participate in the war effort during WWII, a brilliant
16 year-old boy, Rod Ryan who looks older than he is, enlists
with the U.S. Army Air Corps. Quickly he rises to the rank of
Colonel and is placed in charge of a small air base in England.
The unsold series was to relate Ryan's experiences as he and his
squad attempt to carry out their assignments. [VT]

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
############ season 5 Summer 1967 ############
############### (final season) ##############
CBS Mondays

5.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG TWICE (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
03Jul1967 CBS Monday
Produced by Stan Shpetner
starring:
Ed Wynn as Prof. Hubert Abernathy
Ethel Waters as Carrie
Kathryn Hays as Betsy Fleming
Andrew Duggan as George Fleming
Andy Devine as Andy
Steve Dunn as Charlie
Jerry Van Dyke as George
Patricia Crowley as Joan
Dwayne Hickman as Lennie
The story of Professor Hubert Abernathy, a scientist who invents
a rejuvenation pill that makes people ten years younger - but
ony for a short time. [VT]

Note: Not to be confused with two previous unconnected unsold
comedy pilots which aired on CBS having similar titles:
"You're Only Young Once" 01Aug60 CBS starring George Murphy
"You're Only Young Twice" 11Sep62 CBS starring Jim Hutton


5.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: ALFRED OF THE AMAZON (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
31Jul1967 CBS Monday
Produced by Arne Rosen, Gene Reynolds
starring
Wally Cox as Alfred
Paul Hartman as Dr. Schwimmer
Mako as Simba
Allan Melvin as Willie
Susan Odin as Jennifer
Leon Askin as Herr Futterman
The exploits of Alfred of the Amazons, a bumbling jungle adventurer
and plantation owner who fights injustice in his spare time.

5.xx [--] Vacation Playhouse: HEAVEN HELP US (Unsold Comedy Pilot)
14Aug1967 CBS Monday
Produced by Stan Shpetner
starring
Barry Nelson as Dick Cameron
Joanna Moore as Marge Cameron
Mary Grace Canfield as Mildred
Bert Freed as Mr. Walker
Sue Randall as Ruth
Skip Ward as Mr. Collins
Sandra Warner as Linda
The story of Dick Cameron, a magazine editor whose late wife, Marge
returns to earth to find him a new mate.

[--] 28Aug67 rerun of "Hey Teacher" (first aired 15Jun64)

############ Vacation Playhouse #############
################# the end ##################
##############################################

Have you any comments, corrections, episode titles, air dates, production numbers, directors, writers, story/synopsis, guest stars, cast lists, etc?
Have you any old videos, or tv guides? Dust them off and let us know if you have any information on this series or any other tv series from the
Golden Age of TV, which is missing from any episode guides on the web. Perhaps a certain episode of a particular series coincided with a key
moment in your life, or in world events - and or has left a vivid memory of when it was shown. Let us know. Would you like to see any other
tv series guides on this site? If so please e-mail The Classic TV Archive - see Feedback below.
This guide may be distributed and copied freely, in its entirety, for personal use. All original author and copyright information must
remain intact. Any sales or other uses of this document are expressly forbidden, without the specific consent of the author(s).
Copyright © The Classic TV Archive. All rights reserved.  

Return to The Classic TV Archive Home Page
Feedback  -  Comedy Guestbook