The Hathaways

The Hathaways is a 26-episode situation comedy, which aired on ABC from October 6, 1961, to March 30, 1962, starring Peggy Cass and Jack Weston as suburban Los Angeles "parents" to a trio of performing chimpanzees. Weston portrayed Walter Hathaway, a flabby real estate agent. Cass is his zany bride Elinore, "mother" and booking agent to the Marquis Chimps, named Candy, Charlie, and Enoch. The chimps had earlier appeared on CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show, a Jack Benny special in 1959 and several commercials in 1960.[1]

The Hathaways
From left, Charlie, Enoch, Peggy Cass as Elinore Hathaway, and Candy, 1962
Starring	Peggy Cass Jack Weston Mary Grace Canfield Harvey Lembeck Barbara Perry
Theme music composer	Herbert W. Spencer
Composer(s)	Herbert W. Spencer
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	Robert Sparks
Producer(s)	Ezra Stone
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Screen Gems, in association with Gloucester Productions, Inc.
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Original release	October 6, 1961 – March 30, 1962

Supporting roles were filled by character actress Mary Grace Canfield as Mrs. Amanda Allison, a housekeeper; Barbara Perry as Elinore's friend and neighbor, Thelma Brockwood, and Harvey Lembeck as Jerry Roper, the theatrical agent of the chimps, Another neighbor, Mrs. Harrison was played by Belle Montrose, the mother of comedian Steve Allen.

The premiere episode is entitled "Love Thy Neighbor": the Brockwoods decide to purchase the house next door despite reservations about the chimps being their neighbors too. Joe Flynn, guest-starred as Freddie Winkler in the third episode "Walter Takes a Partner", which aired on October 20. Vaughn Taylor played a veterinarian Dr. Dorsey in "Candy's Tonsils" (November 10). Robert Q. Lewis portrayed Barney Holt in "TV or Not TV" on (November 24). Other episodes were entitled "The Hathaways Sleep Out", "Grandma's Lamp", "TV or Not TV", "The Practical Joker", "Help Wanted", "The Shrewd Trader", "A Man for Amanda", and the series finale, "Elinore's Best Friend".

Charlie makes friends with Walter's dancing teacher.

Ratings for the Screen Gems series were so low that ABC had largely to self-sponsor the program (although the series was sponsored on alternate weeks, throughout most of the season, by Ralston-Purina). The writers included Tom Adair and James B. Allardice; story consultants were Hugh Wedlock and Howard Snyder, who co-wrote the premiere episode with Dick Wesson. Some of the directing was handled by Richard Kinon.[2] The series followed another short-lived ABC series, Straightaway starring John Ashley and Brian Kelly as race-car enthusiasts. It preceded the popular cartoon series The Flintstones. Its principal competition was the Clint Eastwood western series Rawhide on CBS.

Despite the lack of television success, The Hathaways produced a comic book of the chimpanzees in 1962.

Episode list

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Love Thy Neighbor"	Don Taylor	Teleplay by: Dick Wesson & Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder Story by: Dick Wesson	October 6, 1961 (1961-10-06)
Walter sells the house next door to a client who can't stand pets.
2	"Elinor Buys a Hat"	TBA	TBA	October 13, 1961 (1961-10-13)
Elinor buys a hat and ends up in jail when Charlie pockets her parking ticket.
3	"Walter Takes a Partner"	TBA	TBA	October 20, 1961 (1961-10-20)
Walter and Freddie start a synthetic soda pop business.
4	"Elinore's Guilt"	TBA	TBA	October 27, 1961 (1961-10-27)
Elinor is stricken with remorse for having left the chimps home with a sitter while she and Walter sojourn at Palm Springs.
5	"Income Tax Rebate"	TBA	TBA	November 3, 1961 (1961-11-03)
Walter is requested at the local office of the Internal Revenue Service to discuss deductions claimed on his "dependents".
6	"Candy's Tonsils"	TBA	TBA	November 10, 1961 (1961-11-10)
Candy, the baby chimp, faces surgery unless she can be coaxed into taking her medicine.
7	"Trash Day"	TBA	TBA	November 17, 1961 (1961-11-17)
Ex-newspaper thief Charlie becomes much too neighborly to Brockwoods, whose papers he's been stealing.
8	"TV or Not TV"	Richard Kinon	Herbert Finn & John Elliotte	November 24, 1961 (1961-11-24)
Elinor and the chimps pinch-hit on Walter's television commercial when he becomes desert-bound.
9	"The Kids Go to School"	Richard Kinon	Ben Gershman & Leo Solomon	December 1, 1961 (1961-12-01)
The chimp classmates prove popular with everyone at the day nursery—with the exception of one shocked mother.
10	"The Practical Joker"	TBA	TBA	December 8, 1961 (1961-12-08)
Charlie borrows Elinor's purse, containing club funds, as bait in a sidewalk prank.
11	"Double Birthday Party"	TBA	TBA	December 15, 1961 (1961-12-15)
Walter sees himself as a forgotten man on his birthday and sulks.
12	"The Hathaways Sleep Out"	TBA	TBA	December 22, 1961 (1961-12-22)
Walter thinks Elinor has run away when she moves the paint-allergic chimps to a motel.
13	"The Jingle Contest"	TBA	TBA	December 29, 1961 (1961-12-29)
Walter and Bert base their entry in a jungle contest on a tune that Charlie plays on the piano.
14	"Waltzing with Walter"	TBA	TBA	January 5, 1962 (1962-01-05)
Elinor wins dancing lessons for two.
15	"Foxy Chimp"	TBA	TBA	January 12, 1962 (1962-01-12)
Elinor takes an ailing chimp from the zoo to recuperate at her house.
16	"It's in the Cards"	TBA	TBA	January 19, 1962 (1962-01-19)
A neighbor sees something in Charlie's cards and steers Elinor into a visit to Walter's office.
17	"The Headliners"	TBA	TBA	January 26, 1962 (1962-01-26)
Walter is supposed to stay home for a business conference while Elinor and the Chimps board a Honolulu-bound plane for a nightclub engagement.
18	"The Paint Job"	David Butler	Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder	February 2, 1962 (1962-02-02)
Elinor campaigns for a new color job on the family "bus".
19	"Grandma's Lamp"	TBA	TBA	February 9, 1962 (1962-02-09)
Walter plots to get rid of Elinor's antique horror, a gift from her family.
20	"Help Wanted"	TBA	TBA	February 16, 1962 (1962-02-16)
Elinor secretly works as a cigarette girl to buy Walter a special surprise.
21	"Swami Chimp"	TBA	TBA	February 23, 1962 (1962-02-23)
The Hathaways' chimp act is threatened by a mind-reading rival chimp.
22	"A Man for Amanda"	TBA	TBA	March 2, 1962 (1962-03-02)
About to lose their lovelorn housekeeper Amanda, Walter and Elinor round up some eligible mates.
23	"Pop Goes the Budget"	TBA	TBA	March 9, 1962 (1962-03-09)
Walter encounters family opposition when he tries to enforce an economy wave.
24	"Charles Goes to the Races"	TBA	TBA	March 16, 1962 (1962-03-16)
Beanstalk, a race horse, takes a shine to Charlie, and mopes for him on race day.
25	"Shrewd Trader"	TBA	TBA	March 23, 1962 (1962-03-23)
The chimps pick up Elinor's knack of swapping and practice it until perfect.
26	"Elinor's Best Friend"	TBA	TBA	March 30, 1962 (1962-03-30)
Elinor is elated when a college chum, now a wealthy world traveler, comes to visit.

Reception

Latter-day television critics Castleman and Podrazik (1982) have called The Hathaways "possibly the worst series ever to air on network TV", criticizing the production, scripts, acting, the "utterly degrading" premise, and the overall "total worthlessness" of the program.[3]

References

1. TVparty, The Hathaways: http://www.tvparty.com/fall61.html
2. Geocities, The Hathaways:https://web.archive.org/web/20080318164613/http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/US/Comedy/Hathaways.htm
3. Castleman, Harry; Walter J. Podrazik (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 147–153. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.

External links

• The Hathaways on IMDb
• The Hathaways at TV.com