Before starring in TV’s “The Incredible Hulk”, Bill Bixby played a widower raising his young son in the series “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Now, the show is making its debut on DVD.
Warner Brothers Studios is selling the show’s first season via its Manufacture on Demand system. The discs are pressed on DVD-R’s, but Warners says the programs are made from the best-quality video master available. 26 episodes are featured on four discs.
The series ran from 1969 to 1972, and was based on a novel and later a film starring Glenn Ford and Ron Howard. Bixby played magazine publisher Tom Corbett, who lived with his seven year old child Eddie (Brandon Cruz) in a New York City apartment.
Eddie was constantly trying to be a match-maker for his dad. Also on hand was the duo’s housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston, played by Oscar winning actress Miyoshi Umeki. Another Oscar winner, Jodie Foster, made some of her earliest TV appearances on this show as Eddie’s friend Joey.
The program was nominated for an Emmy as 1970’s Outstanding Comedy Series, with Bixby nominated the next year as Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Harry Nilsson wrote and sang the show’s very catchy theme song, “Best Friend”.
An interesting question is how the shows will hold up 42 years following their original broadcasts. Since the program takes place in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, they may be a bit dated. On the other hand, they might be a tiny capsule into the end of the “swinging sixties” and a new decade. One character in particular to watch would be Norman Tinker (the show’s producer James Komack), a mod photographer and co-worker of Tom Corbett’s.
“The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” season one can be ordered via the Warner Brothers online shop.
Sources:
“The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” Emmy nominations, IMDB.com