The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was unlike any TV sitcom…ever.
This video is a never-broadcast introduction to the pilot episode — which was shown to advertisers before the series premiered.
In fact, by the time they went on the air they changed the opening to the animated version that fans of the show probably still remember.
Yes, Tuesday Weld is there. So it’s definitely worth watching. (Also “Catwoman,” but I never was a fan of the Batman TV show. But apparently it’s a big deal to that program’s fans.)
Max Shulman (author of the book upon which this TV series was based) was one of the funniest American writers ever.
Ever.
Read any of his books or stories, and you’ll see for yourself. Laugh-out-loud funny.
(There’s also a funny connection between Shulman and one of my favorite radio personalities from San Francisco. No, you can’t guess who the radio person is. Let’s save that story for another day.)
Although novice writers sometimes make the naive mistake of giving a novel’s protagonist the author’s first name, it truly is the mark of an amateur. In an author’s note at the beginning of THE ZEBRA DERBY, Shulman declared:
“Let there be an end to this silly business of authors never giving their own names to characters in their novels. False modesty, faugh!”
Which is why 24 different characters in that novel are named “Max.”
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I love this show! The chemistry between Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver is right up there with the chemistry shared between Alan Hale, Jr. and Bob Denver. The timing was terrific. The writing was usually wonderful.
You’re dead on here, Dan. A strange, but very funny sitcom.
This was one of my favorite sitcoms as a kid. I bought the DVDs recently so I could watch them again. As I kid, I related to Dobie and especially Maynard. As an adult, I find myself having empathy for the dad!
One of my faves, too. This was one of Nick at Night’s flagship shows in the mid-80’s. And speaking of Max Shulman, I’ve got “Sleep ‘Til Noon” on my nightstand right now; interesting timing.
I love this show so much that I named my first pet Dobie….Maynard G Krebs is an Icon..Warren Beatty and Tuesday Weld were among actors careers that started on that show…Howard ho about the chemistry between Zelda and Dobie…You knew they would end up together..The dad was brilliant in his portryal in a time where TV was in a warped sense of what a family was…Dan Right On man….
Martin, yeah Zelda and Dobie were so cute together. I often wondered if Liz Montgomery’s Bewitched nose twitch wasn’t inspired by Zelda and Dobie.
I agree with the impeccable timing and chemistry of this cast. Dobie was my first crush when I was little (although I was a bit nonplussed when his hair color kept changing). I loved Zelda’s pluckiness, Warren Beatty’s snarkiness, and his flummoxed Dad. I wanted to own that store.