The Real McCoys

I had seen episodes of The Real McCoys as a very small child during the original airings in the early 1960's. Many years had passed before I had the chance to see it again. Except for the ill-advised sixth and final season, without the lovely and talented Kathy Nolan as Kate, it is a heart-warming and wonderful family show that all too sadly is of the kind that is no longer made anymore. It is just great that the entire series is being released on DVD. I will certainly add the first five seasons to my collection. As for the sixth season, the show had lost it's heart with the departure of Kathy Nolan. Not until Don Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show did such a loss cripple a show again. Yes, The Real McCoys was basically a comedy show, but it often had touches of realism and drama you never saw on the later classic The Beverly Hillbillies. It had solid acting throughout, even down to the supporting cast. It also had a heart.

This was indeed the grandfather of all shows and it set the standard for its precessdors,"The Andy Griffith Show"(CBS,1960-68),"The Beverly Hillbillies"(CBS,1962-71),"Petticoat Junction"(CBS,1963-69),"Green Acres"(CBS,1965-71),"Mayberry RFD"(CBS,1968-71),"The Waltons"(CBS,1972-81),and not to mention on the same category "Hee Haw"(CBS,1969-71),and "The Dukes of Hazzard"(CBS,1979-85)as the foundation for the successful "rural" comedy show. The Real McCoys was just that,a mountain family who moved from the hills of West Virginia to the countryside of California. It format was the first to feature a "real star" as the understanding Grandfather Amos McCoy(played by Oscar winning actor Walter Brennan),his faithful son Luke(played by Richard Crenna),and his lovely wife Kate(played by Kathleen Nolan)and their two wonderful children. And their was the next door neighbor(played by Andy Clyde),and the hired handyman Papito who manages to work around the farm and to keep things in order. However his son Luke and the rest always had their hands full and they share some of the sorrows and joys during the family's up and downs.

The show ran on two different networks---first it was on ABC-TV for four seasons,and then it went to CBS-TV for its last two and during its six year run the show went on to win Emmys for actors Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna. The last time this show was ever seen was recently on TNN(formerly The Nashville Network before it changes the logo to The National Network)and for those who like some down home spun country humor with a message in between,well "The Real McCoys" was the show to watch and set the standard for other country sitcoms to follow.

The 224 half-hour episodes (all in B&W) of the situation comedy "The Real McCoys" ran from 1957-1963 on ABC and CBS. The show's creators/producers were Irving and Norman Pincus, a pair of brothers with little other claims to fame.

But they left quite a legacy with "The Real McCoys" as the series literally changed the direction of network situation comedy. Early sitcoms like "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", "Make Room for Daddy", and "The Goldbergs" were urban in tone and set in downtown apartments in big east coast cities; urban families were the first buyers of televisions. By the mid-fifties suburbia was getting a lot play ("Life of Riley", "Leave It to Beaver") as Americans began moving out to the suburbs. But network executives were resistant to the idea of rural characters in rural setting. Rural families were unlikely to own televisions (or have television stations within broadcast range) and urban sophisticates could not be expected to tune into a show featuring rural rubes.

When "The Real McCoys" proved the suits wrong it set the stage for Andy of Mayberry, Jed in Beverly Hills, Kate and the Shady Rest, and Oliver and Lisa in Hooterville. Danny Thomas and Paul Henning who would launch those shows were both involved in "The Real McCoys".

The premise of the show is the move of the legendary West Virginia McCoys to a farm in the San Fernando Valley they inherit from their uncle. Given the current value of valley real estate it is amusing that one of the central conflicts of the series is the family's precarious financial position (insert lack of money here).

The McCoy family is a bit usual as it skips an entire generation. Grandpa Amos (Walter Brennan) lives with his grandson Luke (Richard Crenna), Luke's new wife Kate (Kathy Nolan), and Luke's little brother and sister (Michael Winkleman and Lydia Reed). Apparently Luke's parents mysteriously died.

Like "The Beverly Hillbillies", the comedy comes from watching the family adapt to their new environment and seeing things we take for granted from a fresh perspective. And like Granny on that series, Amos is stubborn and irascible. The beauty of the series is that it finds satirical humor in the unsophisticated way of country folk while demonstrating that their backwoods wisdom often puts them ahead of the curve.

Luke and Kate join Oliver and Lisa Douglas of "Green Acres" as television's all-time most "in- love" couples and this dynamic is the shows underlying strength. Crenna and Nolan deliver fine performances throughout the series. Brennan is likewise excellent, managing to make a basically annoying character lovable. Amos is nicely overplayed as a cantankerous old coot full of rural aphorisms and blustering exasperations yet fully repentant when he goes too far.

Also notable is Tony Martinez as Pepino Garcia, a Mexican farmhand who just came with the farm. Pepino is a frequent foil for Grandpa, as his more laid-back approach to life often riles up the old guy. They do a nice job of avoiding what could have been a negative stereotype as Pepino is the best adjusted character on the series and second only to Kate in the wisdom department. Kate left the cast after the 5th season, she was missed.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I always loved this show, except for the final season. It was bad enough that Kathy Nolan left, but the kids (Hassie and Little Luke) were also phased out within a handful of episodes. Then, even Grandpa Amos McCoy was gone by the spring of 1963, leaving only Luke and Pepino for the final 13 episodes or so. The show was such a heart-warming sitcom until then, but the final season we had to witness the family disintegrate. Very depressing.

Any show with Walter Brennan is a winner! I was very little when this show aired. Walter Brennan was the epitome of a grandfather to me. I loved the way he walked, arms slightly bent, elbows back and kind of cocking them in the rhythm of his step.

Favorite episodes include Grandpa's games of checkers with George (Andy Clyde).

Brennan's Grandfatherly persona was showcased in this series. He disappeared for several years after the show's cancellation from television and resurfaced as a tough old hombre in The Guns of Will Sonnet, which was another great series.

The show declined over the years with cast members falling off like over-ripe cherries from a cherry tree. It finally died and made way for its successor, The Beverly Hillbillies.

When it aired on TNN a few years ago, it made for some wonderful memories of retro-t.v.