The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

I think that The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, not unlike its counterparts (i.e. Leave it to Beaver), were what they were because that's what people wanted at the time. Many accounts of the 1950's are not the most interesting, but that's the way things were-culturally. With out these programs, however mundane you may find them, there would have been no examples for the family sit-com following the cultural revolution of the 1960's. I think that in today's society it is nice to look back, and see a family living together, enjoying life, and running into the occasional plot conflict. To hate Ozzie and Harriet is to hate Americana- after all that's what they were at the time of their program.You'll notice that the show ended in the late 1960's, when due to the cultural unrest in the United States, their brand of entertainment became, sadly enough, obsolete. Conclusion: take it for what it is (or was), it's a glimpse into a bygone era: a time of homemakers, fresh-baked cookies, pipe smoking dads, the milkman, and no use for the modern vulgarities of the medium.

Silent Film Producer Henry "Pathe" Lehrman, when hearing some less than friendly words said about his L-KO Company's Comedy Shorts Series, he reportedly angrily shouted, "MY COMEDIES ARE NOT TO BE LAUGHED AT!"(Just one o' them stranger than fiction stories!) And so too, the status of this longevity-rich TV series is always not so flattering. The origin of this series as a Radio Program with the object of being a Family Show about a Show Biz Family's private/home life, seems to have been blunted and dulled just by the shear length of time that it lasted. Remember, real life Band Leader(and Law Degree Bearer,who never practiced Law)Ozzie Nelson married his Band's Female Singer Harriet Hilliard. This was somewhere around 1935 and the hereto-for Musical quickly became a "real" family with the birth of David(1936) and Rick(1940).

Well, all that traveling' an' one night stands are kinda hard on family life, but since they were now also in the moving' pitcher business, sticking' with the Movies,Radio Show and whatever musical 'Gigs' they got locally, was much better for them as a family.

Like other Show Biz folks, their show morphed from the musical to the family sitcom. Eventually Ozzie would be portrayed as 'going to the office' everyday. But, what was his business? It was insurance, I think! At first some juvenile actors portrayed the boys, but eventually the got to be themselves, so to speak.

So much of the series was preoccupied with family stuff, growing pains, "discovering" girls, music, the malt shop, high school, college, sports, the old "gang", the Fraternity(was it "I-Felta-Thie"?),the Holidays, Golf, Neighbors, etc., etc.,....

Well, that made the years pass and the 'Boys' were getting' on in years themselves. The Chronology sometimes got a little fouled up and sometimes an unusual occurrence would happen. For example: Dave's school buddy, Wally Plumpsted(Skip Young)evolved into Rick's school buddy, Wally Plumpsted. It happened gradually and incrementally so it was barely noticed.

Always in a state of flux, as is any series with such longevity(just check the cast changes that have occurred in LAW & ORDER or E.R.)the Nelsons were always willing to put the Family to work at "the Office". So, when the 'Boys' each took unto themselves a Woman to be his Wife, old Oz put them on. Both David's Wife,June Blair(Woo,woo,woo,woo!) and Rick's Mrs.Krisyin Harmon(again, Woo,woo,woo,woo!)came on as semi-regulars.

And some of the regulars in the Cast over the years were:Mary Jane Croft & Lyle Talbot(Clara & Joe Randolph), Don DeFore('Thorny'), Parley Baer(Darby)Frank Caddy(Doc)and others.

And as for Mr.Oswald George Nelson, what can we say? He had show business in his family background, including Circus Performers! And all he did was Create the Series, Write and contribute to Scripts,Produce,Play the Lead and play a little Saxophone on occasions. He is a most interesting fellow!

Much like Disneyland, we tend to view OZZIE & HARRIET as being unrealistic, too 'Apple Pie',too 'Middle American' and just a tad corny.

But, when viewed again after a hiatus of some years, you were to take a viewing of some of the episodes, your attitude would surely change for the better. How well these episodes stand-up as individual comedies!

Oh, excuse me I have to go to the Office, after a stop at the Malt Shoppe!

"Ozzie and Harriet" is often used as a buzzword for white-bread America: Husband runs the family spouting words of manly wisdom, while the wife stays home with the well-behaved kids. Funny thing is, the show really isn't like that. Ozzie is a guy who apparently never goes to work - it's a running gag throughout the show. His "great ideas" usually lead to disaster, and usually it's Harriet who quietly gets everything to turn out all right in the end. The kids, especially Ricky, often shoot off at the mouth. It was even Seinfeld-esque (and I say that as a rabid Seinfeld fan) - most episodes could fairly be described as being "about nothing".

In truth it's one of the funniest shows ever on television. It was even cutting edge, for its time: Ozzie and Harriet slept in the same bed, which was unheard of. Ever see anyone on a TV show "break the fourth wall" (start talking to the camera)? This started on O&H - first with Ricky's end-of-show shrugs, and later with full-blown conversations directed to the camera. My personal favorite example of this is when Ozzie pretended to be a mind-reader (who of course no one recognized because of a cheesy goatee). When he gets exposed at the end, just about every character quips something or other straight into the camera.

Do yourself a favor though. Don't start off with the late episodes where the boys are grown up and married. Those can be quite funny, but the show at times was just coasting on its reputation by then. Watch the earlier stuff from when the boys were little, when Thorny still lived next door. Give yourself time to get to know the characters, and you certainly won't regret it!

On screen, Ozzie may have been something of a good-natured fuddle, but off he had to be one sharp cookie. Lawyer, band-leader, producer, director, writer, actor, plus 13-year old Eagle Scout, that perpetual grin hid one talented guy. Then too, those Eagle Scout ideals fit in perfectly with the post-war period. From 1952-66, the show came into a ton of homes, mine included. It was a time when families were getting back together after a bad economy, a big war in Europe, plus a little one in Korea. Family life was treasured, and with any luck it gathered around a new-fangled TV in an expanding suburb. A very different time from now, one of expanding prosperity and opportunity.

One thing you knew when you tuned in, it would be a "wholesome" half-hour. Nothing controversial or serious. For better or worse, never anything about politics, sexual innuendo, or the outside world. Typically, it might be Oz trying to get his lawn-mower back from neighbor Thorny (DeFore) who doesn't want to move his car. True, it was a series basically about nothing. But the entries were nearly always amusing. Maybe not hilarious, but always worth a few head- nodding chuckles. Yes, life's trivial little problems could be entertaining if you were a gifted Ozzie Nelson.

Of course, Harriet was a big part of the humorous situations, always a voice of calm and good sense. Maybe vaguely amused by Oz's latest half-digested scheme. Wisely, I think, the show reserved any ditsy elements for neighbors or friends, a proved formula over the decades. That way the characters could drop in or out as needed. Importantly, however, characters like Clara Randolph (Croft) may be on the ditsy side but they were never exaggerated or mocked. Then too, except for sinister types, it looks like about every supporting player in Hollywood was on the show at one time or another.

At first, the boys-- a reliable David and a wise-cracking Ricky, oops! I mean Rick (as he preferred)-- blended in and out as junior members. But as they grew, the boys became more central, proving adept at the series low-key style. Then, of course, Rick became a teen R&R idol, a real risk for the show, given R&R's controversial influence on teens. Still, Oz proved as adept at handling that touchy phase as any other. In fact, many of us sort of grew up with Dave and Rick. But, I agree with others. Once the boys married, the show had outlived its appeal. Then too, times were changing. By 1966, Vietnam was heating up and so was the youth counter-culture, while a groundbreaking "All In The Family" (1971-79) and a very different kind of TV dad were only a few years off. An era had indeed ended.

Sure, in our own lid-is-off times, the show would likely never fly. For better or worse, it was very much an idealized reflection of its time. I recall even reading about folks who were unhappy because their family was not at all like the Nelsons. In a sense, as entertaining as they were, the TV Nelsons did exist in a societal vacuum, an ideal embodiment of that era. Still, I'm not at all sure that we're better off without it. I do regret, however, that Ozzie never appeared to get the industry recognition his low-key talent deserved. But then that sort of thing never does have a time limit.

I really liked the series- a true American Classic. I agree with another poster about Wally Plumstead- he provided many humorous moments and actually carried the series for many of the episodes. I think I recall that there were some episodes where only Wally appeared and Rick was featured at the end in a separate filmed performance of his band. Also, the episodes with Thorny and the situations with Ozzie were definitely the most humorous in the series. Just one thing on your stats as far as appearances for each of the main characters. It says Harriet, David and Ricky each appeared in 172 episodes, where Ozzie was in 171. How could this be, since there were at 435 episodes total?