It's a Great Life (TV series)

It's a Great Life (also known in syndicated reruns as The Bachelors)^[1] is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC September 7, 1954 - June 3, 1956.^[2][3]

It's a Great Life
Also known as	The Bachelors
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Dick Chevillat Ray Singer
Written by	Dick Chevillat Leonard Gershe
Directed by	Christian Nyby
Starring	Frances Bavier James Dunn William Bishop Michael O'Shea Barbara Bates
Theme music composer	David Rose
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	78
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Raydic Corporation
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 7, 1954 (1954-09-07) – June 3, 1956 (1956-06-03)

Overview

Two men who had recently been discharged from military service (Denny and Steve) lodged at the home of Amy Morgan, whose daughter (Kathy) and uncle (Earl) lived with her. Episodes typically dealt with the two men's adapting to new jobs and civilian life and with Earl's attempts to get them involved in schemes to make money.^[2] Mr. Russell was a neighbor.^[4]

Cast

Frances Bavier, six years before being cast as Aunt Bee^{[note 1]} in CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, played a somewhat similar role as Mrs. Amy Morgan, the owner of a boarding house.^[5][6] Other characters and the actors who portrayed them were

• Denny Davis - Michael O'Shea^[2]
• Steve Connors - William Bishop^[2]
• Uncle Earl - James Dunn^[2]
• Kathy Morgan - Barbara Bates^[2]
• Mr. Russell - Harry Harvey^[4]

Production

Dick Chevillat and Ray Singer produced and wrote the program.^[4] It was initially broadcast on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. In September 1955 it was moved to Sundays from 7 to 7:30 p.m. E. T.^[2]

Notes

1. Some sources cite Frances Bavier's The Andy Griffith Show screen name from 1960-1970 as "Beatrice (Bea) Taylor."

References

1. "It's a Great Life Episodes". tvguide.com. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
2. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
3. Tucker, David C. (2010). Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen. McFarland & Company. pp. 80–86. ISBN 978-0-7864-4466-3. Excerpt available at Google Books.
4. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 415. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
5. Tucker, p. 82. Excerpt available at Google Books.
6. "Comedy Time". TVParty.com. Retrieved March 17, 2011.

External links

• It's a Great Life at IMDb