Pete and Gladys

Infobox Television
show_name = Pete and Gladys


caption = Harry Morgan and Cara Williams from "Pete and Gladys"
aka =
genre = Sitcom
creator =
writer = Alan Lipscott
Larry Rhine
Bob Schiller
Bob Weiskopf
director = Leslie Goodwins
James V. Kern
creat_director =
developer =
presenter =
starring = Harry Morgan
Cara Williams
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes = 72
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Parke Levy
co_exec =
producer = Devery Freeman
runtime = 30 mins.
channel = CBS
first_aired = September 19, 1960
last_aired = September 10, 1962
related = "December Bride"

"Pete and Gladys" is an American situation comedy broadcast by CBS on Monday night at 8:00pm Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode aired on September 10, 1962.

ynopsis

In the popular 1950s Spring Byington sitcom "December Bride", Pete Porter (Harry Morgan) was the next-door neighbor who spent most of the time complaining about his scatterbrained wife Gladys, who never was seen. In this spin-off series, she was seen, and heard, in the form of redheaded comedian Cara Williams. Not only was the show occupying the time slot that once belonged to another wacky redhead, Lucille Ball, but its premise was a variation on that of "I Love Lucy", focusing on a level-headed, wise-cracking, and often sarcastic husband (combining elements of both Ricky Ricardo and Fred Mertz) and his sincere, ingenuous, and frequently in-hot-water wife. (By coincidence or not, this show was produced in the 2-year period after the end of production of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" and before the premiere of "The Lucy Show".)

Aside from leading man Pete, the character of Hilda Crocker, played by character actress Verna Felton, was the sole carryover from the "Bride" series. The older woman was a close equivalent of Ethel Mertz. Gladys' Uncle Paul, seen on occasion in the first season and as a regular in the second, was portrayed by Gale Gordon, a Ball crony and sometime guest star (who went on to become a regular in her subsequent series). Even series director James V. Kern was a "Lucy" vet. If the producers thought all the similarities and/or connections to the highly successful Ball sitcom would draw viewers to its old Monday night berth, they were mistaken. "Pete and Gladys" never made it into the Nielsen ratings Top 25 during the course of its run.

Williams was nominated for a 1962 Emmy Award for Outstanding Continued Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but lost to veteran Shirley Booth in "Hazel".

"Pete and Gladys" was followed on the CBS schedule its first year by the Frank Aletter sitcom "Bringing Up Buddy". While "Pete and Gladys" survived for a second season, "Bringing Up Buddy" was not renewed beyond its original thirty-nine episodes.

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