Television's Vintage Black & White era: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

Happy Labor Day 2019 everyone !

We've reached the end of the road here for our summer program. Our final tribute selection is for the series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran on ABC for an incredible length of time: fourteen years, from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966. A record fourteen years for a television sitcom at the time the show ended in 1966, and that record has held up remarkably well in the fifty plus years that have followed.

To give us an idea of how long the show lasted, and the change in times that took place from that start in 1952 until 1966, the show on ABC that The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet replaced when it came on the air that fall of 1952 was a show called 'Mystery Theater', and that show was up against 'Mama' on CBS and 'Quiz Kids' on NBC in that Friday, 8 o'clock spot.

Fourteen years later, Ozzie and Harriet was replaced on ABC by a show called 'Batman' in the 7:30 Wednesday time slot, up against Lost in Space on CBS and The Virginian on NBC. Times had indeed changed... a lot of pop culture had taken place in that fourteen years.

Ozzie and Harriet Show eventually moved over to the 7:30 timeslot on Saturday night to complete the 1965-66 television season, followed by another ABC stalwart, The Donna Reed Show, which had also been moved by ABC that 1956-66 season to end its eight year run. ABC's two top performers in the situation comedy space both ended their primetime runs on that Saturday night on September 3, 1966.

The page had been turned, and ABC began its march up the ratings ladder with more youth oriented programming that would lead to shows like The Brady Bunch, Love American Style, The Odd Couple and The Partridge Family, that would then be replaced mid-decade in the 1970s with shows like Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and The Love Boat which would complete ABC's rise to the top of the television ratings race by the late 1970s.

This video clip is a charming commercial promo spot featuring Harriet Nelson and her family. How times stay the same... the camera that Mrs. Nelson is using and the way it is packaged and the various colors... hello iPhone !

This video clip is presented here on YouTube for the entertainment and informational value of the viewer, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Enjoy !

One final clip coming right up !!

Harriet