Hazel (1961–1966)

George Baxter was a highly successful corporation lawyer who was always in control of everything at the office, but almost nothing at home. When he returned from the office at day's end, to... See full summary »

Creator:

Ted Key

Stars:

Shirley Booth, Bobby Buntrock, Don DeFore

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Shirley Booth	...	Hazel Burke (154 episodes, 1961-1966)
Bobby Buntrock	...	Harold Baxter (154 episodes, 1961-1966)
Don DeFore	...	George Baxter (125 episodes, 1961-1965)
Whitney Blake	...	Dorothy Baxter (122 episodes, 1961-1965)

Storyline

George Baxter was a highly successful corporation lawyer who was always in control of everything at the office, but almost nothing at home. When he returned from the office at day's end, to his wife Dorothy, and his young son Harold, he entered the world of Hazel. Hazel was the maid and housekeeper who ran the Baxter household more efficiently than George ran his office. She was always right, knew exactly what needed doing, and pre-empted his authority with alarming, though, justified regularity.

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Plot Keywords:

maid | husband wife relationship | household servant | one word title | sitcom | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adèle

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (154 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During its first four seasons the series was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, who apparently used their clout to put their cars on the show. The Baxters' family cars were always Fords. In the Spring of 1964, the show became one of the first to show its characters riding in a Ford Mustang, which had just been introduced to the market.

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Connections

Referenced in Friends and Family (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Hazel"
by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen (as James Van Heusen)
Sung by The Modernaires

User Reviews

About that theme song

I remember this series very well as a child since the last time it aired in repeats was back in the early 1980's on cable's CBN(The Christian Broadcasting Network)and now it can be seen again on cable's TV Land(check local listings). Hazel was not only the Baxter's housekeeper,but she can solve all situations and problems that the family had in only a half-hour. Also on that note she was a very dear friend to the community in which she lived. This was one of those heartwarming shows where the family was the center of attention and back then these kind of shows were very ideal for a lot of reasons since it was mainly focused around the actress Shirley Booth's character. She was a gem. The character was based on creator Ted Key's column during an article in the Saturday Evening Post back in the 1950's. The theme song was done by writers Sammy Cahn and James Van Haussen(who wrote several TV theme songs for a variety of shows that span three decades).

The series ran on two networks....NBC-TV(from 1961-65),and CBS-TV(from 1965-66). Its first two seasons during its run on NBC were shown in black and white,but it wasn't until its third season in 1963 when the show made the transition from black and white to what the peacock network called "brought to you in living color" until its run in the spring of 1965. When the show went to CBS-TV in 1965(which the show was still in color),the show wasn't the same and afterwards it went downhill in the ratings and one of the reasons was during the transition from NBC to CBS,actors Don DeFore and Whitney Blake left the series for different reasons leaving actress Shirley Booth and actor Bobby Buntrock to consided to live with the character's brother in law in the show's final season. One of the most heartwarming shows of the early and mid-1960's,the show won the Emmy for Shirley Booth for Best Actress in a television role.

NOTE: The theme song was sung by The Modernaires who sang the theme song for the show's eight episodes during its first season. Episodes Nine and from then on the theme at the show's ending credits were played instrumentally. The show's sponsor was the Ford Motor Company.