Hazel

Oscar winner Shirley Booth surprised friends when she signed on to do the television series of "Hazel." Many thought that the role was beneath the star of "Come Back, Little Sheba." Remember, her blowzy wife had brought her the Oscar in 1952 as best actress.

At times, Hazel could be confused but the love that she shared for the people that she worked for was memorable. Remember how she was always watching the weight of her employer, played by Don De Fore. Whitney Blake had just what it took to be the wife of DeFore. Bobby Buntrock was adorable as their son. Too bad that he was killed tragically at such a young age.

Remember DeFore's boss? He could be a crusty old codger, but eventually he would come around due to Hazel Burke. She often reminded him of his mother.

Remember that snotty sister of DeFore? She was always planning the social event of the season.

A great show highlighting wonderful interpersonal relationships.

I love this show!! One of the best casts ever in television and of course, I LOVE the Baxter's house.I have a book that has the floorplan to this house in it. Wish I had a house like that!! LOL. It is nice to watch this show and not have to worry about back-talking kids or cussing or anything that is prevalent in today's so-called comedies. Just wish that someone would show reruns of this wonderful show again. Heaven knows there are enough channels out there to afford it the airtime.

I do remember "Hazel" so well. Oh how I wish I had VCD tapings of all those shows! It is my outlet of escape from the harsh reality of today's society and today's television. I am not sure if anyone ever knew in what part of the country the Baxter's were situated, but where ever it was it had the perfect setting of how I felt America should be. There were no racial issues (African-American Robert Johnson played a waiter, and there were a few others), or sex scenes, or violence. George Baxter had the ideal house; and I do remember the family sitting down in the family room watching, on TV, a Perry Como special. This prompted me to recently purchase a Perry Como CD of his best songs. Hazel was the best cook, and I often dreamed of tasting some of her fabulous dishes. The warmth of "Somewheresville", USA gave me a "quaint ole feeling" that I hope to get when I re-settle in the States. If only I could view those programs here in China; how at home I would be! Shirley Booth's character and her portrayal seemed so realistic. Many of the actors/actresses in those days seemed thus. What has happened to acting these days? I was shocked to recently discover that Bobby Buntrock had been killed over 20 years ago. He and Booth were the show during its entire run. When "Hazel" moved from NBC to ABC and "Mr. Steve" replaced "Mr. 'B'", Booth's talents could still, in my opinion, pull the show through successfully. Hats off to Ms. Booth and her great supporting cast.

I have loved "Hazel" since I was a little kid and saw it on the network. When the DVD came out last year I did not hesitate to buy it. Re-viewing the series confirms why Shirley Booth won two Emmy awards playing this role. She makes the character Hazel Burke into a lovely, believable woman. The writing and direction of the show was pretty good and holds up well over the years. One reviewer commented on the change in the set decoration in the episode "Dorothy's Birthday." I too noticed this and I think this could be the pilot film, which would possibly explain this difference. Also, another reviewer noticed that while the film quality on this DVD was generally excellent, some of the end credit sequences were "a bit ragged" as though taken from 16mm sources. This could possibly be because the original end credits were superimposed over a series of Ford cars driving down a highway. Ford sponsored the series, and I remember seeing the end credits in this way. In any case, I loved and continue to love this series and will continue to enjoy it on my DVD set. Flash forward to August 2013: I now have the first three seasons of Hazel on DVD and love having them. It's had a lot of national exposure on Antenna TV and people are once again appreciating this fine series.

The wonderful thing about this unusually good-natured domestic sitcom is that an older woman is the star. I remember enjoying it immensely. Acting, plots, camera are all respectful of the viewer: no slapstick, no mockery or denigration. This is very rare in comedy, where cruelty is usually a major component. When will they show this gem again?