CLASSIC TV SHOWS OF THE 50’S & 60’S The Honeymooners ◦ The Honeymooners is a classic American television sitcom. It starred Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, Joyce Randolph, and Pert Kelton. The show followed the life of a New York City bus driver named Gleason, his wife Alice, and his best friend Ed as they encounter various scenarios in their day to day lives. ◦ Click the link for The Honeymooners intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFy4 kB1Yccw I Love Lucy ◦ I Love Lucy is an American television show that starred Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and Richard Keith. The show followed a New York housewife just trying to fit into her husband's lifestyle. I Love Lucy became the most watched show in the U.S. for four of its six seasons. ◦ Click the link for the I Love Lucy intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn6RGtJnT68 Leave It To Beaver ◦ Leave It To Beaver is an American television show that starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow, and Jerry Mathers. The show was about a young boy named Theodore “The Beaver” Cleaver and his adventures at home, school, and around his neighborhood. Leave It To Beaver is one of the first primetime sitcom series written from a child’s point of view. ◦ Click the link for the Leave It To Beaver intro from all 6 seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaWjl a_lYGk Lassie ◦ Lassie is an American television series about a female Rough Collie dog and her human and animal friends. 40 dogs played the role of Lassie. Lassie is the fifth longest running U.S. primetime television series. It ran for 17 seasons and at first it was in black and white. In 1965, the show transitioned into color. ◦ Click the link for the Lassie intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryuN 3tIvh9Q Father Knows Best ◦ Father Knows Best is an American sitcom series that stared Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin. The series first began on the radio in 1949. The show was about a wise father and his wife trying to raise their three children Betty, Bud and Kathy. ◦ Click the link for the Father Knows Best intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxy R_zOzW-s The Addams Family ◦ The Addams Family is an American horror comedy based on the characters from Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons. The show is famous for the opening theme song by Vic Mizzy. The Addams Family lives at 0001 Cemetery Lane. The family consists of Gomez Addas and his wife Morticia. They have two children Wednesday and Pugsley. They also live with their Uncle Fester and Grandmama. ◦ Click the link for The Addams Family intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfawtDT94 5o The Andy Griffith Show ◦ The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom that starred Andy Griffith and many others. Andy Griffith played the role of Andy Taylor who was a widowed sheriff of a fictional community in North Carolina. There were a total of 249 episodes. 159 of those shows were in black and white and 90 were in color. ◦ Click the link for The Andy Griffith Show intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvSXd O7SDCE Bewitched ◦ Bewitched is an American television sitcom fantasy series. The show was about a witch who marries a mortal man and she promises to live a life of a typical suburban housewife. The show was widely popular and finished as the number two rated show in America during its debut season. ◦ Click the link for the Bewitched intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p2Q7vs4b Qk Batman ◦ Batman is an American live action television series based on the DC comic book character Batman. The show stars Adam West who plays Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin. They are two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City from a variety of villains. In 2016, two television critics ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television show of all time. ◦ Click the link for the Batman intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 1jgE-lrfZ3k I Dream of Jeannie ◦ I Dream of Jeannie is an American fantasy sitcom series. It starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman who plays an astronaut who becomes the genie's master. They eventually fall in love and get married. The show originally aired for 5 years from 1965 to 1970. ◦ Click the link for the I Dream of Jeannie intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7K-lk6M nEE Star Trek ◦ Star Trek is an American science fiction television series. The series follows the starship USS Enterprise on a five-year mission. The mission was to explore strange new words, new life and civilizations, and to go where no man has ever gone before. Along with the television series there have been 6 films made. The series also has an official language called Klingon. ◦ Click the link for the Star Trek intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjL 8WXjlGI The Dick Van Dyke Show ◦ The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom. Dick Van Dyke plays Rob Petrie who is the head writer on a writing team for the Alan Brady Show. The show won 15 Emmy Awards. The Dick Van Dyke Show was ranked 20 on the 60 Best Series. ◦ Click the link for The Dick Van Dyke Show intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK_8Q W8LO-c My Three Sons ◦ My Three Sons is an American sitcom. My Three Sons showed the life of a widowed man who was an aircraft engineer trying to raise his three sons. The series ran for a long time from 1960 to 1972. It is third as the television’s longest-running live action sitcom with 380 episodes. ◦ Click the link for the My Three Sons intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htET nX9p__I Gilligan’s Island ◦ Gilligan’s Island is an American sitcom television show. The series followed seven castaways as they tried to survive on an island where they had been shipwrecked. The seven castaways are played by Bob Denver, Alan Hale JR., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Russell Johnson, Tina Louise, and Dawn Wells. The character of Gilligan is recognized as an American cultural icon. ◦ Click the link for Gilligan’s Island intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf R7qxtgCgY Resources ◦ https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/decade/1960s ◦ https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/decade/1950s ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honeymooners ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Lucy ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_It_to_Beaver ◦ https://americacomesalive.com/2015/08/17/the-dog-who-played-lassie/ ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassie_(1954_TV_series) ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Knows_Best#Television_series ◦ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046600/plotsummary ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_(1964_TV_series) Resources ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andy_Griffith_Show ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(TV_series) ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Jeannie ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Island ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Three_Sons ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dick_Van_Dyke_Show ◦ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek.