Ranked #13 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, The Dick Van Dyke Show ran from 1961 to 1966, racking up 15 Emmy awards along the way.
Jim Nabors’ popular character on The Andy Griffith Show, joined the Marines and got his own spin-off TV series in 1964 – Gomer Pyle: USMC.
The Andy Griffith Show ran between 1960 and 1968 – more than enough time to establish itself as an American icon, generate a spin-off and a sequel series.
‘The Jeffersons’ was an offshoot of ‘All in the Family’ that took on a life of its own, and made a star out of Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson.
Mork & Mindy was a sitcom that starred a hilarious young Robin Williams as alien visitor Mork, and Pam Dawber co-starred as his earthling girlfriend (later his wife) Mindy McConnell.
‘The Odd Couple’ TV show recounted the experiences of Felix Unger (Tony Randall) and Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman), two of Neil Simon’s most endearing and enduring characters.
The ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ bottle was magical – from the pretty painted outside to the plush, jeweled interior. Find out about the wizardry that made it work!
Remember Lucy and the chocolate factory? Many people consider this classic scene from ‘Job Switching’ one of the series’ funniest.
Set in New York, the popular TV sitcom Taxi brought viewers into the lives of the folks at the Sunshine Cab Company – cabbies until they can get the careers they want.
From 1963 to 1966, TV’s My Favorite Martian starred Ray Walston, alongside future Incredible Hulk star Bill Bixby. Here’s a look back!
The popular ‘Benson’ TV show, a sitcom offshoot of Soap, starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, director of household affairs for a widowed state governor.
At age 25, John Stamos believed his teen idol days were behind him, as the ‘Full House’ star was trying to make an acting career with longevity.
In ‘Full House,’ a widowed talk-show host whose brother-in-law and best friend, a comic, helped him raise his three young girls.
Take a look at young ‘Leave it to Beaver’ actors Jerry Mathers & Tony Dow — and then see what the two men looks like as adults!
After moving to a new house, a man named Wilbur finds the previous owner left behind a horse. It’s Mister Ed, a talking horse! But Ed will talk only to Wilbur, meaning confusion and hijinks soon ensue.
Gilligan’s Island was the hit sitcom that ran for a total of 98 episodes over three seasons – from 1964 to 1967. Find out more about the show and sing along to the theme song here!
The Mary Tyler Moore Show stars Mary in the role of Mary Richards, a small-town single girl who moves to the big city and lands a job as associate producer of a news program on a local TV station.
In the ’70s & ’80s, many parents didn’t mind Saturday mornings at home with the kids. One reason was “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” one of the best examples of how television had improved for children.
On this 1982 sitcom, the square pegs were Patty Greene (a young Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker). Patty’s the smart, skinny, nearsighted one; Lauren’s the one with baby fat and braces. The round hole is Weemawee High, which they’ve just entered.
Let’s look back at the popular sitcom The Facts of Life – meet the actresses, hear that catchy theme song one more time, and get the lyrics for the hit show’s opening credits!
In the popular ’80s sitcom Silver Spoons, a child-like millionaire meets the son he never knew – and that kid (Ricky Schroder) teaches his newfound dad how to be a grown-up.
The new comedy series is a story of a mountain family who suddenly finds itself with $25 million after oil is found on its property, and then moves to Beverly Hills, California. See the opening credits, hear the theme song, and get the lyrics here!
‘The Cosby Show’ enters millions of American living rooms precisely because it so well mirrors those living rooms. Sure, the Huxtable family is funnier, wealthier and more idealized than most.
Find out about the classic TV sitcom Rhoda, and meet the star, Valerie Harper, in two different vintage interviews!
Do you remember these groovy TV catchphrases of the ’70s? Are there any that you still find yourself saying every now and then?
Get a blast from the past with this 1978 article about the popular TV sitcom, “What’s Happening!!”, which soared past expectations and entertained millions.
Ask Bea Arthur how she resembles ‘Maude,’ the female chauvinist she plays on TV, and the stately, gray-haired actress lays it on the line – just like Maude.
Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to Petticoat Junction – and the Shady Rest Hotel – in this classic TV sitcom from the sixties!
Spooky sitcom stars Fred Gwynne & Yvonne De Carlo talked about their lives & what it was like to film The Munsters TV show in these classic cast interviews!
Good Times aired from February 1974 through August 1979. Developed by Norman Lear, it was a spin-off of Maude, which was an All in the Family offshoot.
The Flintstones TV cartoon sitcom ran for 6 seasons in the ’60s. Find out how the story began, plus see the opening credits & the catchy theme song lyrics!
Take a look back at actress Elizabeth Montgomery — from the early days of her career in 1955 up until her 1972 heyday!
“All in the Family” was a huge hit TV show that aired on CBS from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979, and was number 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Find out more here!
The Betty White Show was a snappy, well-executed 1970s comedy TV show that was meant to appeal to anyone who likes to laugh at real humor – witty, cerebral humor.
NBC TV’s midseason situation comedy series, ‘Sanford and Son,’ about an aging black Los Angeles junk dealer, appears to be an instant, impressive hit.
Laverne & Shirley ran on ABC from January 27, 1976 to May 10, 1983. The comedy starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio, Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, as well as Michael McKean and David L Lander as Lenny & Squiggy.
Revisit the picture-perfect view of the ’50s with the Cleaver family, and their oh-so-retro daily ups and downs on the classic TV show, ‘Leave it to Beaver.’ You’ll also find out how Alfred Hitchcock was involved with this success story!
“I Love Lucy,” a domestic comedy TV series, reduces the role of husband to roughly that of the male spider, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, at the end of the season, Miss Ball ate him.
‘Family Ties’ has the most enviable time slot in network TV, following ‘The Cosby Show.’ But the four-year-old sitcom has managed to create its own following, and now clocks in at #2.
For two years, Tom Hanks pounded the streets of the city searching for a job. Then he was flown to LA, screen tested, and finally selected for the role of Kip Wilson in ‘Bosom Buddies.’ And so a star was born.
In this sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati was a struggling radio station. Then someone new turns the station into a top-40 rock music outlet, and things get interesting.
Gary Coleman stars as Arnold, a street-wise youth from Harlem, who is adopted by a white millionaire and becomes confused and suspicious about his sudden change of fortune on the comedy series, Diff’rent Strokes.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 1985 TV season is the success of ABC’s “Growing Pains,” a family sitcom starring former talk-show host Alan Thicke as psychiatrist Jason Seaver.
Bob Crane, a breezy, articulate ex-drummer and recent disc jockey-turned-actor, stars in Hogan’s Heroes, a CBS comedy series which has Col. Hogan (Crane) as the leader of Allied prisoners in a German POW camp in World War II.
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was a TV sitcom about a widower and his son, Eddie that debuted in 1969. The memorable theme song was by Harry Nilsson.
The television sitcom Cheers ran on NBC from September 30, 1982 until May 20, 1993 — that’s 11 seasons, and a total of 275 half-hour episodes. Here, see the Cheers theme song from the opening credits, plus the song lyrics, along with a little look back to 1993, at the end of the show’s run.
“Green Acres” debuts on CBS (1965) Eddie Albert, eager actor who says he never turns down any role, will star in his first television comedy
Bewitched ‘is for viewers who want to have the fun of losing themselves in fantasy. Our witches, Samantha and Endora, are believable. The audience can identify with them. They are treated as much as possible as humans with special gifts.’
Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow grew up in somewhat of a fairytale world on television’s ‘Leave It to Beaver.’ 20 years later, in 1977, both actors talked about what it was like to be childhood stars who had to grow up and cope with the adult world.
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, with their progeny David and Rick, are synonymous with the American family image both on and off television. The Nelson boys are perhaps the only people who have literally grown up before the eyes of millions of weekly viewers.
Do you remember these classic TV catchphrases of the ’60s — and are there any that you still find yourself saying sometimes?
Do you remember these totally awesome TV catchphrases of the ’80s? Which of these lines from the eighties do you still find yourself saying every now and then?
The real death of a cheerleader story (1985) 
130 vintage ’50s house plans used to build millions of mid-century homes we still live in today 
47 dangerous old playgrounds that our great-grandparents somehow survived 
Hershey’s rich cocoa fudge recipe from the ’70s & ’80s 
Check out 100 vintage 1970s supermarkets & retro grocery stores Want to remember to remember? Our weekly newsletter shows you the latest vintage, old-fashioned & historic stuff that we have published or refreshed during the past seven days. Sign up here.
ClickAmericana.com is made with ★ and ♥ by Synchronista LLC | © 2011-2020
Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic. Material on this site is provided for education, criticism, commentary, cultural reporting, entertainment, historical reference, and news reporting/analysis.
Don’t miss out on the latest and greatest vintage stuff!
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.
