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Accidental Family

  • TV Series
  • 1967–1968
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
45
YOUR RATING
Accidental Family (1967)
Comedy

Nightclub comedian Jerry Webster was a widower with a small son, Sandy. He purchased a farm in the San Fernando Valley to be his home base and a home for Sandy. Divorcee Sue Kramer managed t... Read allNightclub comedian Jerry Webster was a widower with a small son, Sandy. He purchased a farm in the San Fernando Valley to be his home base and a home for Sandy. Divorcee Sue Kramer managed the farm and served as Sandy's governess and a romantic foil for Jerry.Nightclub comedian Jerry Webster was a widower with a small son, Sandy. He purchased a farm in the San Fernando Valley to be his home base and a home for Sandy. Divorcee Sue Kramer managed the farm and served as Sandy's governess and a romantic foil for Jerry.

  • Creator
    • Melville Shavelson
  • Stars
    • Jerry Van Dyke
    • Lois Nettleton
    • Teddy Quinn
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    45
    YOUR RATING
    • Creator
      • Melville Shavelson
    • Stars
      • Jerry Van Dyke
      • Lois Nettleton
      • Teddy Quinn
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Episodes16

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    1 Season

    Photos

    Accidental Family (1967)
    Accidental Family (1967)
    Lois Nettleton, Teddy Quinn, Jerry Van Dyke, and Susan Benjamin in Accidental Family (1967)
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    Top cast

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    Jerry Van Dyke
    Jerry Van Dyke
    • Jerry Webster
    Lois Nettleton
    Lois Nettleton
    • Sue Kramer
    Teddy Quinn
    Teddy Quinn
    • Sandy Webster
    Susan Benjamin
    • Tracy Kramer
    Larry D. Mann
    Larry D. Mann
    • Marty Warren
    Ben Blue
    Ben Blue
    • Ben McGrath…
    Herbie Faye
    Herbie Faye
    • Irv
    Sammy Shore
    Sammy Shore
    • Sammy…
    Richard Steele
    • Harold…
    John Byner
    John Byner
    • Dewey
    Laura Barry
    • Eleanor
    David Ketchum
    David Ketchum
    • Mr. Jennings…
    Kelly Van Dyke
    • Kelly Van Dyke…
    Edward Andrews
    Edward Andrews
    • Mr. Sheppard
    Joyce Van Patten
    Joyce Van Patten
    • Martha
    Jeremy Slate
    Jeremy Slate
    • Hank
    Danny Bonaduce
    Danny Bonaduce
    • Danny
    Hamilton Camp
    Hamilton Camp
    • The Leprechaun
    • Creator
      • Melville Shavelson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Soundtracks
      Accidental Family Theme
      (Old MacDonald Had a Farm)

      Traditional

      Adapted and Arranged by Earle Hagen

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Nice try, Jerry...
    I feel sorry for Jerry Van Dyke. In the early 1960s, he turned down the lead role in a sitcom that he felt lacked the potential for a long run, and then he signed to star in another sitcom which he believed had better prospects. The role he turned down was Gilligan in "Gilligan's Island", a show which (much as I loathe it) will probably run forever in repeats. The show that Van Dyke chose to do instead was 'My Mother, the Car', which ran very briefly and was no more mindless than 'Gilligan', yet which has been unfairly derided ever since as one of the all-time most brainless TV shows. (Many others were far worse.) And now, Jerry Van Dyke is best known for playing Luther on 'Coach' ... a character about as dumb as Gilligan, in a comparatively realistic TV series.

    In between these two low spots, Jerry Van Dyke starred in another TV series with a too-brief run: 'Accidental Family'. This was officially a sitcom, but it featured plausible characters in a premise that was painfully real: the main characters had financial problems and were stuck in an unpleasant situation. The emphasis was on the two halves of the 'family' learning to get along together, rather than cheap laughs. This show, with its early example of a blended family, may have inspired the premise of 'The Brady Bunch' (another series which I loathe as much as 'Gilligan').

    The opening credits of 'Accidental Family' were very enjoyable, featuring an animated sequence of eggs hatching baby chicks inside the tumblers of a fruit machine, to the sound of a jazzy instrumental version of 'Old MacDonald'. Much of what followed was quite painful.

    Van Dyke's character Jerry Webster was officially a nightclub comic, working sporadically in minor bookings, but we never saw him performing onstage. (This might have changed if the show had run longer.) He's a widower with a young son. Jerry's career requires him to live out of a suitcase; to find some stability for his son Sandy, Jerry buys a farm from a man named Kramer (hmm, first name Cosmo?) without actually inspecting the property first. When Jerry gets there, he finds out the farm is in worse condition than he realised. Also, the ownership of the farm is in legal limbo, because Kramer and his wife Sue had divorced (Kramer vs Kramer?) before the sale; due to the mutual property laws, it's not clear whether the sale of the farm to Jerry was valid. Maybe Sue Kramer owns the farm, maybe not. (This too might have been resolved if the show had run longer.) Anyway, Sue and her young daughter Tracy are still living on the homestead. This being a TV show, it's obvious that the four of them will all become an accidental family. Ben Blue (whom I've always disliked) played the farm's handyman, who was ostensibly a source of comic relief.

    The dialogue on this series was surprisingly realistic for a 1960s sitcom, such as this exchange when Jerry meets Sue for the first time:

    Jerry: I'm looking for your husband. / Sue: If you can find him, I'll give you half the alimony he owes me.

    The best episode of this show was "Minnesota Tracy", featuring guest star John Byner (a very underrated performer) as a Vegas hustler who kept conning Jerry out of his assets until Jerry had nothing left but the farm ... which he proceeded to lose to Byner in a poker game. The day was saved by Sue's little daughter Tracy, who challenged Byner to a game of marbles ... winner take all.

    'Accidental Family' was hardly the stuff of greatness, but it deserved a longer run than it received ... while 'Gilligan's Island' and 'The Brady Bunch' should have been smothered at birth. There is no justice in TV Land.
    helpful•37
    7
    • F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
    • Jul 19, 2003

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 15, 1967 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Una famiglia si fa per dire
    • Filming locations
      • Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(1967)
    • Production companies
      • Sheldon Leonard Productions
      • National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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