Nanny and the Professor
American television show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American television show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nanny and the Professor is an early 1970s American sitcom created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century-Fox Television that aired on ABC from January 21, 1970 until December 27, 1971. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do.[1]
| Nanny and the Professor | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | AJ Carothers Thomas L. Miller |
| Starring | Juliet Mills Richard Long David Doremus Trent Lehman Kim Richards |
| Theme music composer | George Greeley |
| Opening theme | "Nanny", written and sung by The Addrisi Brothers |
| Composers | Charles Fox Arthur Morton Sidney Fine |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 54 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Charles B. Fitzsimons |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Production company | 20th Century-Fox Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 21, 1970 – December 27, 1971 |
Playing upon the popularity of Mary Poppins and other magical nannies of literature, this TV series posited another ostensibly magical British nanny taking care of a family in need of guidance. Unlike the candid "magicality" of its forebears, this Nanny's paranormal nature was less overt and only implied. The Nanny's young wards, and the audience, were left intentionally uncertain of the nature of Nanny's "powers", if any.
The series starred Juliet Mills as Nanny Phoebe Figalilly, Richard Long as Professor Harold Everett, and in season 3 Elsa Lanchester in the recurring role of Aunt Henrietta. Figalilly is the housekeeper for Professor Everett and nanny to his three children: Hal, the intellectual tinkerer, played by David Doremus; Butch, the middle child, played by Trent Lehman; and Prudence, the youngest, played by Kim Richards.[2]
Nanny is apparently psychic, and has regular flashes of what is often more than intuition (accented by a musical tinkling sound effect); she frequently knows who is at the door before the doorbell even rings. There is the vague suggestion that she may be at least several hundred years old and more than human, which the children think they have discovered in an episode after they see a photo of Nanny's aunt, taken a century earlier, who looks exactly like her. On outings, Nanny wears a navy blue Inverness cape and cap that resembled a deerstalker; the program's opening titles showed animations of both. Midway through the first season, Nanny and the kids restore a broken down 1930 Model A Ford, which Nanny names "Arabella". For some reason, the car's radio can only pick up radio broadcasts from 1930.
The location of the series is never named. In two episodes it is mentioned that Everett is a professor at fictional Collier University.
Following the show's cancellation, two animated adaptations of the series (Nanny and the Professor and Nanny and the Professor and the Phantom of the Circus) aired as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. All of the principal cast members provided voices for their respective characters.
 | This section needs a plot summary. (August 2020) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Nanny Will Do" | Peter Tewksbury | A.J. Carothers | January 21, 1970 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Wiblet Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out" | Russ Mayberry | A.J. Carothers | January 28, 1970 |
| 3 | 3 | "The New Butch" | David Alexander | George Tibbles | February 4, 1970 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Scientific Approach" | Norman Abbott | John McGreevey | February 11, 1970 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Astronomers" | Norman Abbott | Joseph Bonaduce | February 18, 1970 |
| 6 | 6 | "Spring, Sweet Spring" | Russ Mayberry | A.J. Carothers | February 25, 1970 |
| 7 | 7 | "Nanny on Wheels" | Gary Nelson | Austin Kalish & Irma Kalish | March 4, 1970 |
| 8 | 8 | "Strictly for the Birds" | Gary Nelson | John McGreevey | March 11, 1970 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Tyrannosaurus Tibia" | Richard Kinon | Earl Hamner | March 18, 1970 |
| 10 | 10 | "I Think That I Shall Never See a Tree" | Jay Sandrich | Joanna Lee | March 25, 1970 |
| 11 | 11 | "The Games Families Play" | Richard Kinon | Rick Mittleman | April 1, 1970 |
| 12 | 12 | "An Element of Risk" | Gary Nelson | John McGreevey | April 8, 1970 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Philosopher's Stone" | Jerry Bernstein | Joanna Lee | April 15, 1970 |
| 14 | 14 | "A Fowl Episode" | Richard Kinon | Earl Hamner | April 22, 1970 |
| 15 | 15 | "Nanny and the Smoke-Filled Room" | William Wiard | Lila Garrett and Bernie Kahn | April 29, 1970 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | "The Human Element" | Jack Arnold | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | September 25, 1970 |
| 17 | 2 | "The Haunted House" | Gary Nelson | Earl Hamner | October 2, 1970 |
| 18 | 3 | "Star Bright" | David Alexander | Joseph Hoffman | October 9, 1970 |
| 19 | 4 | "E.S. Putt" | Ralph Senensky | Robert Fisher & Arthur Marx | October 16, 1970 |
| 20 | 5 | "Back to Nature" | Ralph Senensky | John McGreevey | October 23, 1970 |
| 21 | 6 | "A Letter for Nanny" | Jay Sandrich | Gene Thompson | October 30, 1970 |
| 22 | 7 | "The Great Broadcast of 1936" | Jay Sandrich | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | November 6, 1970 |
| 23 | 8 | "The Masculine-Feminine Mystique" | Gary Nelson | Joanna Lee | November 13, 1970 |
| 24 | 9 | "The India Queen" | Ralph Senensky | Paul West | November 20, 1970 |
| 25 | 10 | "The Visitor" | Gary Nelson | Earl Hamner | December 4, 1970 |
| 26 | 11 | "My Son, the Sitter" | Bruce Bilson | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | December 11, 1970 |
| 27 | 12 | "From Butch, with Love" | Ralph Senensky | Robert Mosher | December 18, 1970 |
| 28 | 13 | "The Humanization of Herbert T. Peabody" | Ralph Senensky | Joanna Lee | December 25, 1970 |
| 29 | 14 | "A Diller, a Dollar" | Gary Nelson | Jean Holloway | January 8, 1971 |
| 30 | 15 | "Separate Rooms" | Gary Nelson | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | January 15, 1971 |
| 31 | 16 | "The Human Fly" | Richard Kinon | A.J. Carothers | January 22, 1971 |
| 32 | 17 | "The Man Who Came to Pasta" | Jack Arnold | Joanna Lee | January 29, 1971 |
| 33 | 18 | "The Art of Relationships" | Bruce Bilson | A.J. Carothers | February 5, 1971 |
| 34 | 19 | "The Balloon Ladies" | Richard Kinon | A.J. Carothers | February 12, 1971 |
| 35 | 20 | "The Prodigy" | Bruce Bilson | Gene Thompson | February 19, 1971 |
| 36 | 21 | "How Many Candles?" | David Alexander | Juliet Mills | February 26, 1971 |
| 37 | 22 | "The Unknown Factor" | Gary Nelson | John McGreevey | March 5, 1971 |
| 38 | 23 | "Kid Stuff" | Gary Nelson | John McGreevey | March 12, 1971 |
| 39 | 24 | "The Communication Gap" | Russ Mayberry | Michael Morris | March 26, 1971 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Oh, What a Tangled Web" | Bruce Bilson | Joanna Lee | September 13, 1971 |
| 41 | 2 | "The Flower Children" | Richard L. Bare | Robert Mosher | September 20, 1971 |
| 42 | 3 | "Sunday's Hero" | Bruce Bilson | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | September 27, 1971 |
| 43 | 4 | "South Sea Island Sweetheart" | Richard Kinon | A.J. Carothers | October 4, 1971 |
| 44 | 5 | "Aunt Henrietta's Premonition" | Richard L. Bare | A.J. Carothers | October 11, 1971 |
| 45 | 6 | "Cholmondeley Featherstonehaugh" | Richard Kinon | Jean Holloway | October 18, 1971 |
| 46 | 7 | "Aunt Henrietta and the Jinx" | Norman Abbott | Gene Thompson | October 25, 1971 |
| 47 | 8 | "Nanny and Her Witch's Brew" | Richard Kinon | Albert E. Lewin | November 1, 1971 |
| 48 | 9 | "The Conversion of Brother Ben" | Hollingsworth Morse | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | November 8, 1971 |
| 49 | 10 | "Aunt Henrietta and the Poltergeist" | Richard Kinon | A.J. Carothers | November 15, 1971 |
| 50 | 11 | "Professor Pygmalion Plays Golf" | Ralph Senensky | John McGreevey | November 22, 1971 |
| 51 | 12 | "The Great Debate" | Hollingsworth Morse | Michael Morris | November 29, 1971 |
| 52 | 13 | "One for the Road" | Bruce Bilson | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | December 6, 1971 |
| 53 | 14 | "Good-bye, Arabella, Hello" | Bruce Bilson | Arthur Alsberg & Don Nelson | December 13, 1971 |
| 54 | 15 | "Whatever Happened to Felicity?" | Bruce Bilson | Austin & Irma Kalish | December 27, 1971 |
From time to time, some of Nanny's eccentric relatives (and some Nanny claimed as relatives because they were everybody's uncle) dropped by the Everett home for a visit. They include:
The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC, with the final episode broadcast on December 27, 1971. The series enjoyed initial success due to its Friday night timeslot when it was scheduled between The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family, which were shows aimed at similar demographics (largely young children and pre-teens). Ratings suffered in the third season when ABC moved the series to Monday night opposite Gunsmoke and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. After the series was canceled, it was seen for a few years in syndication. It was also one of the first shows rerun on FX Network in 1994. The show was added to getTV's lineup in May 2016 for a short time. The show also appeared briefly on Nick@Nite.
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