December Bride (1954–1959)

Charming and wise Lily Ruskin lives with her daughter and son-in- law who, along with her close friend Hilda Crocker, are always trying to find suitable older marriageable companionship for... See full summary »

Creator:

Parke Levy

Stars:

Spring Byington, Frances Rafferty, Dean Miller

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Spring Byington	...	Lily Ruskin (156 episodes, 1954-1959)
Frances Rafferty	...	Ruth Henshaw (155 episodes, 1954-1959)
Dean Miller	...	Matt Henshaw (155 episodes, 1954-1959)
Harry Morgan	...	Pete Porter (155 episodes, 1954-1959)
Verna Felton	...	Hilda Crocker (155 episodes, 1954-1959)

Storyline

Charming and wise Lily Ruskin lives with her daughter and son-in- law who, along with her close friend Hilda Crocker, are always trying to find suitable older marriageable companionship for her. Running comedy bits included neighbor Porter's complaints about his (heard but unseen) wife Gladys.

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1954 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Desilu Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This long-running half-hour CBS sitcom debuted on 4 October 1954 and was last broadcast on 20 April 61. Mostly remembered today for featuring neighbor 'Harry Morgan' as Pete Porter, who complained constantly about his unseen wife, Gladys. They'd eventually get their own show as a spin-off in the fall of 1960.

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Connections

Spin-off Pete and Gladys (1960)

User Reviews

A long-forgotten gem

I was 9 years old when this show premiered and, if my memory serves me, it followed "I Love Lucy," providing an hour of solid comedy. But even if my gray cells are faulty, I remember "December Bride" as being one of the best sitcoms of the 1950s.

Spring Byington played Lily Ruskin, who lived him her daughter and son-in-law. The comedy was based largely on Lily's adventures with her close friend Hilda Crocker (Verna Felton), which often left son-in-law Matt Henshaw (Dean Miller) exasperated.

The icing on the cake was provided by Harry Morgan ("M*A*S*H") as next-door neighbor Peter Porter, whose sardonic remarks about wife Gladys (who is never seen on camera) rarely failed to trigger guffaws.

This was a show that the whole family could watch, and I'm saddened that it is not available for home viewing. It's a treasure that is likely to languish in studio vaults for a long, long time.