The Tom Ewell Show

A character actor (often in comedic vein) Tom Ewell had a brief fling as a somewhat unlikely major star in the mid 1950s. He was Marilyn Monroe's costar in "The seven year itch," and was the male lead in "The girl can't help it," a colorful major studio treatment of the burgeoning rock and roll phenomenon. By 1960 51 year old Ewell's career as a movie star had waned, and in a short period he'd gone from the slimline Tom of "The seven year itch" into as rather pudgy man. It was in that year he was given his own single season prime time sitcom, produced by Four Star television.

"The Tom Ewell Show" has the actor playing a real estate man in a fictional town situated near Los Angeles, the only male in a middle class household of females - wife, mother in law, and 3 daughters (even the pet dog and bird are female). This is pretty much the usual "father can be a bit of an idiot" stuff from the 1960s. But Ewell is a very good actor, one whose performances can gild a routine script. Familiar supporting player Norman Fell is a semi regular male in the cast, as the man who runs the local coffee shop Tom frequents. There are some interesting guest stars. One such is western regular John Dehner, who plays against type as a prissy author in "Mr Shrewd. Even Four Star Television boss Dick Powell turns up as himself in "Site unseen." Tom Ewell smokes cigarettes constantly in the show, which might cause some to wonder how he survived until he was 85.

"The Tom Ewell show" is a sitcom which provides a few chuckles, with a likeable cast, and the usual superior production values seen in shows from the Four Star company.