Eric on The Road

Journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and forgotten - by Eric Model

Friday, April 02, 2010

Passing: John Forsythe

Actor John Forsythe passed away on April 2 at age 92.

To most, he is known for his leading role in "Dynasty" and his voice on "Charlie's Angels".

To me, John Forsyth is remembered for his role as leading man in the 195--1961 program "Bachelor Father".

The program would be inappropriate today on many levels. But for its time, it was a sweet view.

Bachelor Father followed the adventures of Bentley Gregg, a wealthy bachelor attorney living in Beverly Hills who assumes the responsibility of raising his niece, Kelly (Noreen Corcoran), after her parents die in an automobile accident. Other members of the Gregg household include houseboy Peter Tong (Sammee Tong), teenage neighbor and Kelly's boyfriend, Howard Meechum (Jimmy Boyd) and Jasper, the dog.

Plots centered on Bentley's adjustments to his new role as an adoptive parent, Bentley's search for the right woman to share his life, Kelly facing the usual problems of adolescence and young adulthood as she goes from high school to college, and, less often, Peter's misadventures with some financial scheme. In its final season, they storylines led to Kelly's impending marriage to Bentley's junior partner, Warren Dawson, portrayed by Aron Kinkaid. The series ended prior to the wedding.

The series' pilot episode was originally presented on General Electric Theater (as "A New Girl in His Life") on May 26, 1957. The program was first telecast on CBS on September 15, 1957. It originally aired on Sunday evenings on alternating weeks with The Jack Benny Program opposite NBC's Sally and ABC's Maverick. The show moved to NBC on Thursday nights in June 1959 and concluded its run on the network in September 1961. The series moved on to ABC on Tuesday nights in 1961 for its final season. The last episode ran September 25, 1962.[1] It was primarily sponsored by American Tobacco (Hit Parade, Tareyton cigarettes) throughout its original run.

In its time, the program was a big deal. But today, it has been all but eclipsed by John Forsythe's more memorable roles in Charlie's Angels and Dynasty.

Except for here.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home