Bachelor Father

1957

Bachelor Father

7.3 | TV-G | en | Comedy

Bachelor Father is an American sitcom starring John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. The series first premiered on CBS in September 1957 before moving to NBC for the third season in 1959. The series' fifth and final season aired on ABC from 1961 to 1962. A total of 157 episodes were aired. The series was based on "A New Girl in His Life", which aired on General Electric Theater on May 26, 1957. Bachelor Father is the only primetime series ever to run in consecutive years on the three major televisions networks.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP40 Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight

Jun. 26,1962

Bentley's strict curfew prompts Kelly to move out. Bentley: John Forsythe. Ginger: Bernadette Withers.

EP39 Peter, the Medicine Man

Jun. 19,1962

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EP38 Divided House

Jun. 12,1962

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EP37 Boys Will Be

Jun. 05,1962

A social worker tries to talk Bentley into supervising a group of boys.

EP36 Bentley Takes it Easy

May. 29,1962

Bentley takes a week off from work.

EP35 Marry Thy Neighbor

May. 22,1962

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EP34 What Men Don't Know

May. 15,1962

Joanna Barnes guest stars in this episode. Peter: Sammee Tong. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Warren: Aron Kincaid. Bentley: John Forsythe. Glenn: Martin Braddock.

EP33 Blossom Time at the Greggs

May. 08,1962

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EP32 Kelly, the Home Executive

May. 01,1962

Kelly and Warren get engaged. Bentley: John Forsythe. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Warren: Aron Kincaid. Horace: David Lewis.

EP31 Kelly's Engagement

Apr. 24,1962

Kelly wants Warren to handle her business affairs. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Warren: Aron Kincaid. Peter: Sammee Tong.

EP30 Bentley Goes to Bat

Apr. 17,1962

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EP29 The Twain Shall Meet

Apr. 10,1962

When a Chinese tradition keeps Mei Lan from seeing her boyfriend Leo Toy, Kelly and Peter try to arrange a secret meeting for the young couple - right under disapproving Bentley's nose.

EP28 The Richest Cat

Apr. 03,1962

Chaos begins when a family of cats invades the basement. Bentley: John Forsythe. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Peter: Sammee Tong. Cal: Del Moore.

EP27 A Visit to the Bergens

Mar. 27,1962

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EP26 On the Old Camp Ground

Mar. 20,1962

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EP25 Strictly Business

Mar. 13,1962

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EP24 Will Success Spoil Jasper?

Mar. 06,1962

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EP23 The Hong Kong Suit

Feb. 27,1962

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EP22 Summer Romance

Feb. 20,1962

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EP21 Bentley and the Homebody

Feb. 13,1962

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EP20 Blossom Comes to Visit

Feb. 06,1962

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EP19 Pinch That Penny

Jan. 30,1962

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson guest stars. Bentley: John Forsythe. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Peter: Sammee Tong.

EP18 How Howard Won His C

Jan. 23,1962

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EP17 Gold in Them Hills

Jan. 16,1962

Peter learns that land he bought is in a ghost town. Peter: Sammee Tong. Bentley: John Forsythe. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Howard: Jimmy Boyd.

EP16 Kelly and the Yes Man

Jan. 09,1962

Kelly campaigns for class vice president. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Kim: Leslie Parrish. Bentley: John Forsythe.

EP15 How to Throw Your Voice

Jan. 02,1962

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EP14 The Law and Kelly Gregg

Dec. 26,1961

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EP13 Deck the Halls

Dec. 19,1961

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EP12 Birth of a Song

Dec. 12,1961

Recording artist Penny Patterson needs Bentley's help to break her contract legally then doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

EP11 Bentley and the Time Clock

Dec. 05,1961

Peter joins a union.

EP10 Star Light, Star Not So Bright

Nov. 28,1961

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EP9 Peter's Punctured Wedding

Nov. 21,1961

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EP8 House at Smuggler's Cove

Nov. 14,1961

Bentley spends a spooky night in a client's haunted house. Bentley: John Forsythe. Marilyn: Elizabeth Allen. Purvis: William E. Green.

EP7 Bentley's Catered Affair

Nov. 07,1961

Kelly schemes to get her own car. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Bentley: John Forsythe. Peter: Sammee Tong. Howard: Jimmy Boyd. Ginger: Bernadette Withers.

EP6 Never Steal An Owl

Oct. 31,1961

Bentley finds himself the target of a practical joke. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Peter: Sammee Tong.

EP5 A Party for Peter

Oct. 24,1961

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EP4 Kelly and the Free Thinker

Oct. 17,1961

Kelly's interest in philosophy goes to her head. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Steve: Charles Robinson. Bentley: John Forsythe. Olga: Jennifer West. Peter: Sammee Tong.

EP3 Rush Week

Oct. 10,1961

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EP2 The King's English

Oct. 03,1961

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EP1 Kelly's Graduation

Sep. 21,1961

Bentley and Kelly clash over graduation plans. Bentley: John Forsythe. Kelly: Noreen Corcoran. Peter: Sammee Tong. Ginger: Bernadette Withers.

7.3 | TV-G | en | Comedy , Family | More Info

Released: 1957-09-15 | Released Producted By: Revue Studios , Bachelor Productions Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

John Forsythe , Sammee Tong , Noreen Corcoran

Director

Harry Ackerman

Producted By

Revue Studios , Bachelor Productions

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Cast

John Forsythe

as Bentley Gregg

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Scrooged Mysterious Two Dynasty ...And Justice for All Tail Gunner Joe Goodbye & Amen Charlie's Angels Amelia Earhart

Sammee Tong

as Peter Tong

Bachelor Father

Noreen Corcoran

as Noreen Corcoran

The Girls on the Beach Band of Angels Bachelor Father Tanganyika I Love Melvin

Reviews

bkoganbing John Forsythe was in our title role as Bentley Gregg well known entertainment lawyer in Hollywood. He's quite the ladies' man and has no intentions of getting married. You get family responsibility with that.But family responsibility comes his way when his orphaned niece Noreen Corcoran comes to live with him. This is a new world for Forsythe, but the show is essentially Forsythe coping with new situations that he never thought he would.Completing the household is Sammee Tong as Forsythe's valet, cook, and general factotum. His is a truly tragic Hollywood story as he committed suicide two years after Bachelor Father completed its run.Can't prove it, but I think John Forsythe's character was based on entertainment attorney and man about town Greg Bautzer. Bautzer made a lot of the gossip columns of the day escorting some of Hollywood's best known female stars. Forsythe's character is a kinder gentler version of Bautzer.This was a nice show and again a situation where Forsythe most definitely on the B list of big screen star opted for television as many of his contemporaries did. Bachelor Father was a good career move.

earlytalkie "Bachelor Father" just began running on Antenna TV and I haven't seen it in many years. The show holds up as an enjoyable riff on the traditional family sitcoms of the period. Along with "My Little Margie", it is the pioneer of the single-parent comedies that proliferated in the 1960s. John Forsythe, always an engaging actor plays smooth-talking Bentley Gregg, a handsome single Beverly Hills attorney whose life is turned upside down by his 13-year old niece, nicely played by Noreen Corcoran, who has lost her parents in an automobile accident. Sammee Tong, as Peter, the Gregg's houseboy, steals the show with his hilarious lines and perfect delivery. A parade of beautiful starlets passed through the series as Bentley's many girl friends. These included Barbara Eden, Mary Tyler Moore, Connie Hines, and most memorably in one episode, Forsythe's future "Dynasty" wife Linda Evans (billed by her real last name, Evanstad) as one of "Niece Kelly's" girlfriends who develops "A Crush On Bentley." It is good to see this series again and it is a reminder to younger viewers that there were some quality programs made "back in the day" besides "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners", great as those are. Treat yourself to a relaxing half-hour of fun by watching "Bachelor Father."

rcj5365 This was one of the best of the family-oriented sitcoms that premiered in the late 1950's and continued that streak until the early 1960's. And also the first ever sitcom that John Forsythe did for television and that would continued onward toward his astounding career. The series "Bachelor Father" was just that: a wholesome sitcom series that featured the easy natural charm of a young John Forysthe and the essential sweetness of his "getting into one situation after another,and managing to get herself into problems",teenage niece,caused this series to be a major hit and making John Forysthe a beloved fixture in America.Produced by Everett Freeman and Harry Ackerman,"Bachelor Father" was one of those sitcoms that appeared on all three major television networks between 1957 and 1962. The series produced 157 episodes,all in classic black and white and was produced by Revue Studios/MCA-TV Universal Television. Actually the series premiered on CBS-TV from September 15,1957 until June of 1958,which lasted one season on the network. Then in June of 1958,the series moved from CBS over to NBC where it concluded its run on the network for three seasons ending in September of 1961. In September of 1961,the series moved from NBC over to ABC for its final season ending in 1962. The final episode of "Bachelor Father" ended on ABC on September 25,1962. Originally,the series itself ran for five seasons on all three major television networks.This classic series,which is nowadays rarely seen or broadcast in repeats,had a premise that was similar(My Three Sons,The Courtship of Eddie's Father,Family Affair,and Nanny and the Professor)...a single individual and his niece whom he was raising were people you'd like to know-the very definition of gentility,charm,restraint-even Kelly whose problems and situations were never due to her own outrageousness,but simply her age. "Bachelor Father",however,followed the misadventures and situations of Bentley Gregg(John Forysthe),a wealthy bachelor attorney living in a exclusive penthouse complex in Beverly Hills. Gregg assumes the responsibility of raising his niece Kelly(Noreen Corcoran),after her parents were killed in an automobile accident. Other members of the Gregg household include the Chinese housekeeper and Bentley's personal assistant Peter Tong(Sammee Tong),the next door neighbor and Kelly's boyfriend,Howard Meechum(Jimmy Boyd)and the family dog,Jasper. Plots were centered on Bentley's adjustments to his new role as an adoptive parent,Bentley's search for the right woman to share his life,while Kelly deals with the usual problems of adolescence and young adulthood(and throughout the course of the series)and she goes from high school to college,and less often Peter's misadventures with some financial scheme or to make a play for attractive woman to be attached to Bentley.Forsythe's well-dressed handsomeness,his distinguished voice,his movement and the affluence of his character gave this series an upper middle class reassurance that was unlike any other family oriented series of his day. However,the series ran five seasons in which the program never finished any of the seasons in the top 25 ratings. Had this series went into its sixth season for the 1962-63 season(which it never happened)plots would have undoubtedly extended to Kelly's impending marriage to Bentley's junior partner and seeing Kelly's graduation episode from college and her entrance into womanhood. The series ended prior to either the wedding or the college episode. After "Bachelor Father" ended in 1962, John Forysthe would return to another sitcom three years later with his own sitcom series "The John Forysthe Show"(NBC-TV:from September 13,1965 until March 1,1966),which was short-lived and another family oriented sitcom "To Rome With Love", produced by Don Fedderson(of My Three Sons and Family Affair)for CBS which lasted two seasons from 1969 until 1971.

trpdean The easy natural charm of young John Forsythe and the essential sweetness of his "getting into problems" teenage niece Kelly Corcoran, caused this series to be a hit, and made Forsythe a beloved fixture in America. I remember it very fondly though I haven't seen it since it was originally broadcast.Unlike one later series with a similar premise (The Courtship of Eddie's Father), both Forsythe and niece whom he was raising were people you'd like to know - the very definition of gentility, charm, restraint - even Kelly whose problems were never due to her own outrageousness, but simply her age.Unlike another later series (Family Affair), Forsythe had a gentleness rare for paternal figures in television dealing with teenagers. (Brian Keith was curmudgeonly and would rail at fate!). It made the program tremendously reassuring.Forsythe's well-dressed handsomeness, his restraint, his distinguished voice, his very movement, and the affluence of his character and home, gave this series an urban and upper middle class reassurance that was unlike most other series of the day (or any day for that matter).E.g., Donna Reed (father a doctor) or My Three Sons (MacMurray an aircraft engineer) were suburban, patio barbecue and swimming pool sorts of series. "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver" seemed to take place in a sort of mythical small American town. "The Life of Riley and "the Honeymooners" had dads going to the bus depot, the sewer or the "plant". Although "Make Room for Daddy" took place in New York, but the life of a nightclub comic (and the Danny Thomas character) was frenetic - voices constantly shrieking.In contrast, Bachelor Father was set in a penthouse - and seemed to be in a large Eastern or Midwestern city - probably New York, definitely not southern California. It was lovely and I thank all those involved for presenting it so very well to create such fond memories.