Too Many Stars 

As director of the annual area variety show, Rob finds himself trapped between casting Laura as this year's leading woman (again) or a dazzlingly talented newcomer to the neighborhood.

Director:

Jerry Paris

Writers:

Sheldon Keller, Howard Merrill

Stars:

Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dick Van Dyke	...	Rob Petrie
Rose Marie	...	Sally Rogers
Morey Amsterdam	...	Buddy Sorrell
Larry Mathews	...	Ritchie Petrie (credit only)
Mary Tyler Moore	...	Laura Petrie
Jerry Paris	...	Jerry Helper
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Millie Helper
Sylvia Lewis	...	Anita Lebost
Eleanor Audley	...	Mrs. Billings
Eddie Ryder	...	Howard Lebost
Jerry Hausner	...	Delivery Man
Richard Deacon	...	Mel Cooley

Storyline

In avoiding head councilwoman Mrs. Billings, Rob thinks he's finally gotten away from directing this year's New Rochelle Parents Council's annual variety show that he's done for the past several years. He doesn't mind directing or performing in the show but hates the audition process as Laura is the only really talented woman in the community and Rob doesn't like telling the other women that his wife, once again, has the lead in the show, but Mrs. Billings does eventually catch up with him, thanks to Laura, who likes that inside edge of having a husband who makes the casting decisions. It ends up being even more important this year as Buddy and Sally are providing material for the show - a musical comedy originally written for Alan Brady (who'll never do it since the lead role is for a female). Presuming she'll get the lead role as usual, Laura doesn't count on the fact that people with talent can sometimes move into new neighborhoods. Such is the case, leaving Rob, as director, to ...

---

Plot Keywords:

audition | off key singing | guitar | ventriloquist dummy | glass of water | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 October 1963 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Calvada Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the special features section of this episode on the DVD series collection, there is a rare colour photograph of the set and characters during Mel's (Richard Deacon) ventriloquist audition. Mel and his dummy are wearing bright red jackets, Rob is wearing a dark blue jacket and light blue pants, Jerry is wearing green, Anita's dress is blue and Sally's dress is gold.

---

Goofs

Anita starts her audition singing while playing guitar but suddenly bursts out into dance backed by a studio jazz band, which is nowhere to be found in Rob and Laura's living room.

---

Quotes

Laura Petrie: Rob, why don't you just come out and admit it? She was very very good.
Rob Petrie: All right, she was fantastic. All right, you know, for what she does there.
Laura Petrie: Well, what does THAT mean?
Rob Petrie: Well, Honey, it just means that the whole thing is... is just a trick, that's all.
Laura Petrie: A trick?
Rob Petrie: Well, yeah. She fooled everybody, Honey. You come out and sing great and dance great, people are GONNA think you're talented. She didn't fool me, though. Not for one minute. I saw through her. You take away all that fabulous dancing,...

---

Soundtracks

A Sentimental Love Song
aka "My Heart Got a Smash in the Face" (uncredited)
Performed by Ann Morgan Guilbert

User Reviews