Pete And Gladys

[Penny Lane]

"Pete and Gladys" was a spin-off of "December Bride" Pete Porter, played by Harry Morgan was the neighbor on December Bride. He was married to Gladys, played by Cara Williams, who was never seen until "Pete and Gladys" debuted. Anybody remember? I remember watching both shows when I was little. So it is all rather vague!

[This message has been edited by NEWHART FAN (edited 10-20-2001).]

[Roy5]

That's correct. Pete And Gladys premiered right after December Bride was cancelled. I think P & G premiered in 1961. I was in the second grade and used to watch it constantly.It was syndicated in the daytime back in 1964, just before Cara Williams' eponymous single-season show co-starring Frank Aletter and Jack Sheldon;

Here is what I find so interesting. Harry Morgan as Pete made continuous references to his wife Gladys but we don't meet her until the spinoff. He would do the same thing a couple of decades later when he played Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H.* He always talked about Mildred, but we didn't meet her until that show's spinoff, AfterMASH!

-Roy5

[mister bluster]

I loved both of these shows. The funny thing was that on December Bride, Pete talked as if Gladys were some kind of slob or something. She wasn't any such thing in Pete and Gladys. I wish they would show reruns of these shows.

[cablejockey]

I agree mister bluster, I wish they would show re-runs of this and many more old shows that are never seen. Ican't even get Leave It To Beaver anymore. No one shows Dick Van Dyke or Bewitched--there just aren't any channels playing this stuff where i live. It would be nice to see them.

[Peter Tong]

i too remember watching pete and gladys in'64. during daytime reruns. iremember the opening with the lovebirds. when i was a kid i thought they were chickens. i was in i think kindergarten. tvland airs beaver and dvd. come june they'll have bewitched and idoj. so sit tight.

[paterd]

I remember Pete and Gladys, but not much of it. I remember that I liked it though! Don't remember December Bride at all, wish I could see some of those shows too.

[Bob's TV Treasures]

Anyone need episodes of these shows? I have one single episode of "December Bride" (the theme is sooo close to that of "I
Love Lucy" - understandable as both are Desilu shows).
I have two episodes of "Pete & Gladys" - one from each of its two seasons (each with a different opening credit). Looking to trade for others in both series.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

Wilbur Hatch was the composer/conductor on ""I LOVE LUCY", "DECEMBER BRIDE" AND "PETE AND GLADYS" (he was a Desilu "evergreen", despite his occasional assignments for CBS), but he DIDN'T compose the "I LOVE LUCY" theme- that was written by Elliot Daniel. Having started out in radio, Hatch knew HOW to write a memorable theme and "underscore"...this is why Lucy AND Desi continued to use his talents until the day he passed away {"THE LUCY SHOW", "THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW"}.

[treky]

...about "DECEMBER BRIDE". On "MASH" the picture of Mildred that Col.Potter had on his desk was a picture of Spring Byington, who starred in "DECEMBER BRIDE".

TV KNOWLEDGE FAN, did you know that? If not, HA-HA, I know something you don't!!!:) :)

[TV Knowledge Fan]

....what exactly WAS on Colonel Potter's desk, so a picture of his old-co-star was definitely an "in-joke" (and tribute) on Harry Morgan's part!

:thanks:

[comedyfreak]

I got my Pete & Gladys dvd's they're great and come with original commericials. I wish they would bring this wonderful gem to dvd. Gale Gordon plays Pete's Uncle Paul who isn't very fond of Gladys, who gives him the Lucy treament.:D

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...aired on CBS for two seasons (1960-'62) on Monday nights, after "TO TELL THE TRUTH", at 8pm(et). The series was to have been titled "For Pete's Sake" [the pilot episode was], but the network wanted "stronger identification" with the characters {and stars} of the show, hence "PETE & GLADYS".

:tv:

[Jude The Obscure]

Another gem from the classic era of TV just languishing away...

[70s show watcher]

i seen a few eps too i agree its i very funny show with some laugh out loud moments

[Bob's TV Treasures]

The main problem with the show was that Gladys had
been built up for 5 seasons (but never seen) as an unattractive,
out-of-control, brainless, untidy monster on DECEMBER BRIDE. When
they cast Cara Williams as Gladys, she was NONE of those things.
She was a pretty, smart, and mostly obedient wife.
I think it was a major letdown to the audience, and a missed
opportunity.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Pete and Gladys is kind of a middling affair, but it definitely has its fans and it ran for two full years . . . so . . . why are we not discussing this show under its own heading in the 1960s Shows section?

[lencoo12]

i seen a few eps too i agree its i very funny show with some laugh out loud moments
The main problem with the show was that Gladys had
been built up for 5 seasons (but never seen) as an unattractive,
out-of-control, brainless, untidy monster on DECEMBER BRIDE. When
they cast Cara Williams as Gladys, she was NONE of those things.
She was a pretty, smart, and mostly obedient wife.
I think it was a major letdown to the audience, and a missed
opportunity.

[Bob's TV Treasures]

Gladys should never have been seen. Much like Maris on FRASIER,
Gladys was funniest on DECEMBER BRIDE when we didn't see but only
HEARD about her.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...it was where the show was scheduled [Mondays, 8pm(et), right after "TO TELL THE TRUTH"]. "PETE AND GLADYS" managed to hold its own against ABC's "THE CHEYENNE SHOW" {"CHEYENNE", alternating every other week with "BRONCO"} in its first season. In season two, it was paired with Robert Young's new series, 'WINDOW ON MAIN STREET". Unfortunately, viewers didn't want to see Young as anyone other than "Jim Anderson"- and "FATHER KNOWS BEST" repeats were on Wednesday nights, after "THE ALVIN SHOW", that season. The "new" Young virtually pulled the ratings for "PETE & GLADYS" down with him- enough for CBS to swap "FKB" with 'WINDOW"'s time slots in mid-season...but the damage had already been done.

And there was another possible reason- Lucille Ball agreed to return to the network the following fall in "THE LUCY SHOW". And I'm sure James T. Aubrey, president and chief programmer of CBS, who had been touting Cara as "the next Lucille Ball", correctly figured, 'Why should I be promoting a Lucy imitation when I've got the real one on next fall's schedule?'. He did bring Cara back as the star of her own sitcom for the 1964-'65 season...which collapsed from mediocre ratings and Aubrey's downfall from CBS (his old friend, Keefe Brasselle, produced "THE CARA WILLIAMS SHOW" and two others personally approved by Aubrey, without formal pilot films...and they tanked as well, leading towards an investigation as to how close Aubrey and Brasselle's personal arrangements to produce those shows were- that's another story).

:tv:

[comedyfreak]

I really liked Pete and Gladys. I know Lucy wanted Bob Carroll Jr and Madelyn Pugh to write for her new show and said the gave the best stories to that other Red head referring to Cara Williams.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Lucy said that to Bob Weiskopf and Bob Schiller. (The other) Bob and Madelyn weren't associated with Pete and Galadys.

[Leslie Eckhardt]

I really liked Pete and Gladys. I know Lucy wanted Bob Carroll Jr and Madelyn Pugh to write for her new show and said the gave the best stories to that other Red head referring to Cara Williams.
I have fond memories of "Pete and Gladys". I saw it in it's original network primetime run and it's daytime repeats. I always thought it was a Desilu production like "December Bride", but when I got my DVDs of P&G a few years ago, I was suprised to find that it was filmed at Paramount (Well before the Desilu merger) and that Desilu had nothing whatsoever to do with this series. It was a CBS owned and produced show all the way, like "The Twilight Zone" and "Perry Mason".

[Leslie Eckhardt]

I have fond memories of "Pete and Gladys". I saw it in it's original network primetime run and it's daytime repeats. I always thought it was a Desilu production like "December Bride", but when I got my DVDs of P&G a few years ago, I was suprised to find that it was filmed at Paramount (Well before the Desilu merger) and that Desilu had nothing whatsoever to do with this series. It was a CBS owned and produced show all the way, like "The Twilight Zone" and "Perry Mason".
A little-known fact about "Pete and Gladys" is that it was last shown on CBS in April 1967, a substitute for "Search For Tomorrow" pre-empted by the infamous AFTRA strike of that year. "P&G" never appeared on Chicago television after that time.

[Leslie Eckhardt]

"Pete and Gladys" was a spin-off of "December Bride" Pete Porter, played by Harry Morgan was the neighbor on December Bride. He was married to Gladys, played by Cara Williams, who was never seen until "Pete and Gladys" debuted. Anybody remember? I remember watching both shows when I was little. So it is all rather vague!

[This message has been edited by NEWHART FAN (edited 10-20-2001).]
R.I.P. Harry Morgan. Harry Morgan, the popular star of Dragnet and MASH died yesterday at the age of 96. Featured in many films, beginning in 1942, he bacame popular on television as Pete Porter, a wisecracking supporting part in the 1954-59 CBS sitcom December Bride. From 1959-62 he starred as Pete in one of TV's first spin-offs, Pete and Gladys. A co-starring role on Dragnet was the prelude to his most famous role, that of Col. Potter on the hit series MASH. Farewell Mr. Morgan, your dry humor will be missed.

[cablejockey]

I loved watching him for years on tv. He brought a lot of entertainment to the world. RIP Harry Morgan.

[Leslie Eckhardt]

The main problem with the show was that Gladys had
been built up for 5 seasons (but never seen) as an unattractive,
out-of-control, brainless, untidy monster on DECEMBER BRIDE. When
they cast Cara Williams as Gladys, she was NONE of those things.
She was a pretty, smart, and mostly obedient wife.
I think it was a major letdown to the audience, and a missed
opportunity.
Pete and Gladys was a show I liked very much when I was a kid. Cara Williams was very funny in a Lucy kind of way (which was the main complaint about the series.) She and Harry Morgan played well together and there were many laugh-out-loud moments here. The show ran for 72 episodes over 2 seasons and was part of CBS's morning lineup in reruns for two seasons, (1962-64) before disappearing from Chicago TV screens. In 2008 I managed to get a 5 disc set of DVD-Rs with 18 episodes of Pete and Gladys as well as 2 eps of December Bride.