TV Comedies - Classic TV Comedies of the 50s (Featuring "The Great Gildersleeve") - Volume 1

The Great Gildersleeve was a vastly popular radio show starring Harold Peary that followed the comical exploits of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. A spin-off character from the Fibber McGee and Molly Show, Gildersleeve was broadcast from 1941 to 1957 and was so well-received that Peary reprised the role in four motion pictures and three phonograph albums of children's stories in the 1940s. With Willard Waterman in the title role, 39 episodes were produced for NBC TV in 1955.

Practice What You Preach: Throckmorton advises his nephew on how to handle his love life.

Gildy Goes Diving: Gildersleeve attempts a dangerous underwater dive in a foolhardy attempt to attract publicity.

Gildy Stews About A Cook: Gildy is wiling to go to great lengths to terminate the services of his housekeeper - even marriage.

One Too Many Secretaries: Mayhem ensues when Gildy's girlfriend replaces his secretary.

One of television's most beloved characters, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a pompous, larger-than-life windbag, who originated as one of Fibber McGee's (comically) quarrelsome neighbors. When Throckmorton got his own series on NBC, it found him moving to the town of Summerfield, where he began to oversee his deceased brother-in-law's estate and care for his orphaned niece and nephew. That made Gildersleeve one of the first single-parent characters to headline a prime-time program on U.S. television. This box set contains four episodes of the series: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH, where Gildersleeve teaches his nephew about the ins and outs of dating; GILDY GOES DIVING, where Gildersleeve makes a foolish bid for publicity via a dangerous deep-water dive; GILDY STEWS ABOUT A COOK, where Gildersleeve will do anything to get rid of his housekeeper, even if it means marrying her; and ONE TOO MANY SECRETARIES, where pandemonium erupts when Gildersleeve's girlfriend replaces his secretary.