The Stu Erwin Show

The Stu Erwin Show (also known as Trouble with Father) is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1950 to 1955. Only four of the series’ five seasons on the network included new episodes; the 1953–54 season consisted entirely of reruns.

The Stu Erwin Show
Also known as	Trouble with Father
Genre	Sitcom
Written by	Arnold Belgard Erna Lazarus Lee Loeb Al Martin Lester Pine Edward E. Seabrook
Directed by	Charles Barton Howard Bretherton Frank R. Strayer James Tinling
Starring	Stuart Erwin June Collyer Ann Todd Sheila James Willie Best
Theme music composer	Alexander Laszlo
Opening theme	"A Family Story"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	130
Production
Executive producer	Roland D. Reed
Producers	Roland D. Reed Hal Roach, Jr.
Cinematography	Lucien Andriot Walter Strenge Lothrop B. Worth
Camera setup	Single-camera setup
Running time	26 min
Production companies	Hal Roach Studios Roland D. Reed Productions Inc.
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 21, 1950 (1950-10-21) – April 13, 1955 (1955-04-13)

Synopsis

The series' star, Stuart Erwin, played a bumbling high school principal named Stu Erwin. His wife, film ingenue from the late silent and early sound period, June Collyer, played the principal's wife, June Erwin.^[1] Although Erwin and Collyer, who were married in 1931, had a son and a daughter, the series presented them as parents of two adolescent daughters played by Sheila James and Ann Todd who was replaced by Merry Anders in the series' final season.^[2][3] One notable aspect of the show was that it featured black actor Willie Best in a regular supporting role.^[4]

Predating modern single-camera sitcoms, The Stu Erwin Show originally aired without a laugh track (one was added in its final season), and each episode was around 26 minutes long, without commercials. During its original network run on ABC, it was sponsored by General Mills (1950–54), Paper Mate (1953-'54) and Liggett & Myers (1954–55).

Production

The series was produced by Roland D. Reed and Hal Roach, Jr., and filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California.^[3] All 52 episodes of season one were first-run, followed by another 26 in season two for a total of 78 straight weeks of all-new shows before reruns began in the spring of 1952. Another 26 episodes were produced for the 1952–53 season, interspersed with reruns every third week between October 1952 and July 1953. Production then went on a lengthy hiatus while the network continued airing reruns from the summer of 1953 until the fall of 1954. The fourth and final season's 26 episodes aired between October 1954 and April 1955.

Episodes

Season 1 (1950–51)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Mr. Lamont Stays All Night"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	October 21, 1950 (1950-10-21)
2	2	"The Contest"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Arnold Belgard	October 28, 1950 (1950-10-28)
3	3	"Stu's Holiday"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Arnold Belgard	November 4, 1950 (1950-11-04)
4	4	"Dr. I.Q. Erwin"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Les Pine & Oliver Crawford	November 11, 1950 (1950-11-11)
5	5	"Father Finds a Genius" "Father Finds a Junior"	Unknown	Charles Shows	November 18, 1950 (1950-11-18)
6	6	"Father's Little Gift"	Unknown	Charles Shows	November 25, 1950 (1950-11-25)
7	7	"June's Romance" "The Poison Story"	Unknown	Charles Shows	December 2, 1950 (1950-12-02)
8	8	"Thank You, Mr. Jarvis"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows & Warren Wilson	December 9, 1950 (1950-12-09)
9	9	"Father Gets Into the Act"	Frank R. Strayer	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Fred Shevin	December 16, 1950 (1950-12-16)
10	10	"Problem Party" "Spooks"	Howard Bretherton	Arthur Hoerl	December 23, 1950 (1950-12-23)
11	11	"Lesson in Tolerance"	Unknown	Charles Shows	December 30, 1950 (1950-12-30)
12	12	"Father Knows Best"	Unknown	Charles Shows	January 6, 1951 (1951-01-06)
13	13	"Competition"	Unknown	Charles Shows	January 13, 1951 (1951-01-13)
14	14	"The Ugly Duckling"	Unknown	Charles Shows	January 20, 1951 (1951-01-20)
15	15	"Telephonitis"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Arnold Belgard	January 27, 1951 (1951-01-27)
16	16	"Bugle Sounds"	Unknown	Charles Shows	February 3, 1951 (1951-02-03)
17	17	"What Paper Do You Read?"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Nathaniel Curtis	February 10, 1951 (1951-02-10)
18	18	"Hot Rod"	Unknown	Charles Shows	February 17, 1951 (1951-02-17)
19	19	"Cousin Steve Pays a Visit"	Unknown	Charles Shows	February 24, 1951 (1951-02-24)
20	20	"High Finance"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	March 3, 1951 (1951-03-03)
21	21	"The Helping Hand"	Unknown	Charles Shows	March 10, 1951 (1951-03-10)
22	22	"Wedding Bells"	Howard Bretherton	Arnold Belgard & Charles Shows	March 17, 1951 (1951-03-17)
23	23	"Black Saturday"	Frank R. Strayer	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	March 24, 1951 (1951-03-24)
24	24	"Father and Shakespeare"	Unknown	Story by : Charles Shows Teleplay by : Nathaniel Curtis	March 31, 1951 (1951-03-31)
25	25	"Stu's Private Eye"	Unknown	Charles Shows	April 7, 1951 (1951-04-07)
26	26	"Class Reunion"	Unknown	Charles Shows	April 14, 1951 (1951-04-14)
27	27	"Erwin Goes to the Dogs" "Stu Goes to the Dogs"	Unknown	Charles Shows	April 21, 1951 (1951-04-21)
28	28	"Interior Decorating"	Unknown	Charles Shows	April 28, 1951 (1951-04-28)
29	29	"Milk of Human Kindness"	Unknown	Charles Shows	May 5, 1951 (1951-05-05)
30	30	"Baby Knows Best"	Unknown	Charles Shows	May 12, 1951 (1951-05-12)
31	31	"Weighty Problem"	Unknown	Charles Shows	May 19, 1951 (1951-05-19)
32	32	"Father Picks a Queen"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	May 26, 1951 (1951-05-26)
33	33	"The Great Debate"	Howard Bretherton	Oliver Crawford & Charles Shows	June 2, 1951 (1951-06-02)
34	34	"The Burglar Alarm"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	June 9, 1951 (1951-06-09)
35	35	"Many Happy Returns"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	June 16, 1951 (1951-06-16)
36	36	"The Present"	Unknown	Charles Shows	June 23, 1951 (1951-06-23)
37	37	"Private Enterprise"	James Tinling	Charles Shows	June 30, 1951 (1951-06-30)
38	38	"TV Comes to the Erwins" "To Buy or Not to Buy a TV"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	July 7, 1951 (1951-07-07)
39	39	"Springtime for Father"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Charles S. Belden	July 14, 1951 (1951-07-14)
40	40	"Doctor's Examination"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	July 21, 1951 (1951-07-21)
41	41	"Barbecue"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Arthur Hoerl	July 28, 1951 (1951-07-28)
42	42	"Quarantine"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	August 4, 1951 (1951-08-04)
43	43	"Dear Dora"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	August 11, 1951 (1951-08-11)
44	44	"June Serves on a Jury"	Unknown	Charles Shows	August 18, 1951 (1951-08-18)
45	45	"Nothing But the Truth"	James Tinling	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Al Martin	August 25, 1951 (1951-08-25)
46	46	"Roughing It"	Howard Bretherton	Story by : Charles Shows, Teleplay by : Warren Wilson	September 1, 1951 (1951-09-01)
47	47	"Cafe Society"	Unknown	Charles Shows	September 8, 1951 (1951-09-08)
48	48	"I Spy"	Unknown	Charles Shows	September 15, 1951 (1951-09-15)
49	49	"Track Meet"	Unknown	Charles Shows	September 22, 1951 (1951-09-22)
50	50	"That's My Mother"	Unknown	Charles Shows	September 29, 1951 (1951-09-29)
51	51	"The Pen Is Mightier"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin & Charles Shows	October 6, 1951 (1951-10-06)
52	52	"It's Just Money"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	October 13, 1951 (1951-10-13)

Season 2 (1951–52)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
53	1	"Hate the Love Seat"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	October 19, 1951 (1951-10-19)
54	2	"The Bonus"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	October 26, 1951 (1951-10-26)
55	3	"Nice Little Doggie"	James Tinling	Lee Loeb	November 2, 1951 (1951-11-02)
56	4	"The French Teacher"	Unknown	Unknown	November 9, 1951 (1951-11-09)
57	5	"Erwin for President"	Unknown	Unknown	November 16, 1951 (1951-11-16)
58	6	"Father Does His Homework"	Howard Bretherton	M. Randall & R. Stewart	November 23, 1951 (1951-11-23)
59	7	"In a Pickle"	James Tinling	Al Martin	November 30, 1951 (1951-11-30)
60	8	"Jackie Knows All"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	December 7, 1951 (1951-12-07)
61	9	"The Big Game"	Howard Bretherton	Arnold Belgard	December 14, 1951 (1951-12-14)
62	10	"Tempest in a Teapot"	Unknown	Unknown	December 21, 1951 (1951-12-21)
63	11	"Egg Noggin'"	James Tinling	Charles S. Belden	December 28, 1951 (1951-12-28)
64	12	"Stu Has a Baby"	Howard Bretherton	Unknown	January 4, 1952 (1952-01-04)
65	13	"Joyce's Romance"	Unknown	Unknown	January 11, 1952 (1952-01-11)
66	14	"Brown Eyes"	Unknown	Unknown	January 18, 1952 (1952-01-18)
67	15	"Love Bug"	Howard Bretherton	Arnold Belgard	January 25, 1952 (1952-01-25)
68	16	"The Business"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	February 1, 1952 (1952-02-01)
69	17	"Premature Engagement"	Unknown	Unknown	February 8, 1952 (1952-02-08)
70	18	"Jackie Writes a Book"	Unknown	Unknown	February 15, 1952 (1952-02-15)
71	19	"A Very Rainy Day"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	February 22, 1952 (1952-02-22)
72	20	"Quiet Place" "Quiet Please"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Belden	February 29, 1952 (1952-02-29)
73	21	"Trouble Below"	Unknown	Unknown	March 7, 1952 (1952-03-07)
74	22	"A Party Comes to Life"	Howard Bretherton	Arthur Hoerl	March 14, 1952 (1952-03-14)
75	23	"Runaway"	Unknown	Unknown	March 21, 1952 (1952-03-21)
76	24	"Boys Aren't Everything"	Unknown	Unknown	March 28, 1952 (1952-03-28)
77	25	"Stu Paints the Roof"	Unknown	Unknown	April 4, 1952 (1952-04-04)
78	26	"On the Trail"	Unknown	Unknown	April 11, 1952 (1952-04-11)

Season 3 (1952–53)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
79	1	"Jackie Finds a Cause"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	October 17, 1952 (1952-10-17)
80	2	"Object Lesson"	Unknown	Unknown	October 24, 1952 (1952-10-24)
81	3	"Goin' Steady"	Unknown	Unknown	November 7, 1952 (1952-11-07)
82	4	"Fur Coat"	Unknown	Unknown	November 14, 1952 (1952-11-14)
83	5	"Father Takes a Pet"	Howard Bretherton	Roy Stewart & Margaret Randall	November 28, 1952 (1952-11-28)
84	6	"The Game" "The Contest"	Unknown	Unknown	December 5, 1952 (1952-12-05)
85	7	"The Golden Key"	Howard Bretherton	Eve Greene	December 19, 1952 (1952-12-19)
86	8	"Stu's Jalopy"	Unknown	Unknown	December 26, 1952 (1952-12-26)
87	9	"The Blow-Up" "The Big Blow-Up"	Unknown	Unknown	January 9, 1953 (1953-01-09)
88	10	"Leave It to Stu"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	January 16, 1953 (1953-01-16)
89	11	"Stu's Secret"	Unknown	Unknown	January 30, 1953 (1953-01-30)
90	12	"Fair Exchange"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	February 6, 1953 (1953-02-06)
91	13	"Stu Sells the House"	Unknown	Unknown	February 20, 1953 (1953-02-20)
92	14	"In the Shade of the Old Family Tree"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	February 27, 1953 (1953-02-27)
93	15	"Art Appreciation"	Unknown	Unknown	March 13, 1953 (1953-03-13)
94	16	"Operation Hamster"	Unknown	Unknown	March 20, 1953 (1953-03-20)
95	17	"Youth, It's Wonderful"	Howard Bretherton	Roy Stewart & Margaret Randall	April 3, 1953 (1953-04-03)
96	18	"Jackie's Newspaper"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	April 10, 1953 (1953-04-10)
97	19	"The Landlord"	Howard Bretherton	Warren Wilson	April 24, 1953 (1953-04-24)
98	20	"Yvette"	Unknown	Unknown	May 1, 1953 (1953-05-01)
99	21	"Nothing Like a Friend"	Unknown	Unknown	May 15, 1953 (1953-05-15)
100	22	"Farewell to Hamilton High"	Unknown	Unknown	May 22, 1953 (1953-05-22)
101	23	"Love Thy Neighbor"	Unknown	Unknown	June 5, 1953 (1953-06-05)
102	24	"The Day the Circus Came to Town"	Unknown	Unknown	June 12, 1953 (1953-06-12)
103	25	"All for Father"	Unknown	Unknown	June 26, 1953 (1953-06-26)
104	26	"The Three Budgeteers"	Unknown	Unknown	July 3, 1953 (1953-07-03)

Season 4 (1954–55)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
105	1	"Jackie's First Date"	Howard Bretherton	William E. Raynor & Herbert F. Margolis	October 20, 1954 (1954-10-20)
106	2	"Father's Financier"	Unknown	Unknown	October 27, 1954 (1954-10-27)
107	3	"Puppy Love"	Unknown	Edward E. Seabrook & Homer McCoy	November 3, 1954 (1954-11-03)
108	4	"Father's Big Chance"	Unknown	Unknown	November 10, 1954 (1954-11-10)
109	5	"Right About Face"	Unknown	Eve Greene	November 17, 1954 (1954-11-17)
110	6	"Father's Boy"	Unknown	Edward E. Seabrook & Homer McCoy	November 24, 1954 (1954-11-24)
111	7	"Fleetwing"	Unknown	John Tucker Battle	December 1, 1954 (1954-12-01)
112	8	"Soft Touch"	Unknown	Unknown	December 8, 1954 (1954-12-08)
113	9	"The Wedding Bouquet"	Unknown	Wanda Tuchock	December 15, 1954 (1954-12-15)
114	10	"Lohengrin Blues"	Unknown	Frank Gill Jr. & G. Carleton Brown	December 22, 1954 (1954-12-22)
115	11	"The Honeymooners"	Unknown	William E. Raynor & Herbert F. Margolis	December 29, 1954 (1954-12-29)
116	12	"The Uninvited Guests"	Unknown	Unknown	January 5, 1955 (1955-01-05)
117	13	"One of the Boys"	Howard Bretherton	William E. Raynor & Herbert F. Margolis	January 12, 1955 (1955-01-12)
118	14	"Down on the Farm"	Unknown	Unknown	January 19, 1955 (1955-01-19)
119	15	"Father Becomes Efficient"	Unknown	William E. Raynor & Herbert F. Margolis	January 26, 1955 (1955-01-26)
120	16	"Interfering In-Laws"	Unknown	William E. Raynor & Herbert F. Margolis	February 2, 1955 (1955-02-02)
121	17	"The First Fight"	Unknown	Nathaniel Curtis	February 9, 1955 (1955-02-09)
122	18	"Two-Car Family"	Unknown	Unknown	February 16, 1955 (1955-02-16)
123	19	"The Helping Heart"	Unknown	Unknown	February 23, 1955 (1955-02-23)
124	20	"The French Influence"	Charles Barton	Warren Wilson	March 2, 1955 (1955-03-02)
125	21	"Women Drivers"	Unknown	Unknown	March 9, 1955 (1955-03-09)
126	22	"A Job for Jimmy"	Charles Barton	Unknown	March 16, 1955 (1955-03-16)
127	23	"Separate Vacations"	Unknown	Unknown	March 23, 1955 (1955-03-23)
128	24	"Pecans vs. Pistachio"	Unknown	Wanda Tuchock	March 30, 1955 (1955-03-30)
129	25	"The Pearl Necklace"	Howard Bretherton	Roy Stewart & Margaret Randall	April 6, 1955 (1955-04-06)
130	26	"The Matchmakers"	Unknown	Unknown	April 13, 1955 (1955-04-13)

Syndication and Home release

The series was widely syndicated by Official Films^[5] through the late 1960s. The show is currently seen on the Retro TV Network as of July 2018.

Many episodes of the program have fallen into the public domain. As such, various budget DVD releases of public domain episodes have been released.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Barnes, Mike (December 17, 2014). "Stu Erwin, Former Development Exec at MTM Enterprises, Dies at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
2. Pedersen, Erik (February 17, 2020). "Ann Basart Dies: Child Film Actress & 1950s Sitcom Regular Was 88". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
3. Magers, Boyd (1999). Westerns women : interviews with 50 leading ladies of movie and television westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. Michael G. Fitzgerald. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 15. ISBN 0-7864-0672-0. OCLC 41017554.
4. Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black comedians on Black comedy : how African-Americans taught us to laugh. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-55783-680-9. OCLC 69734562.
5. "WCBS to Strip Erwin Reruns". Billboard. August 18, 1956. p. 2. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

External links

• The Stu Erwin Show at IMDb
• The Stu Erwin Show at The Classic TV Archive
• The Stu Erwin Show is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive