The Stu Erwin Show

*The Stu Erwin Show*
The Stu Erwin Show
Also known as	Trouble with Father
Genre	Sitcom
Written by	Arnold Belgard; Erna Lazarus; Lee Loeb; Al Martin; Lester Pine; Edward E. Seabrook
Directed by	Charles Barton; Howard Bretherton; Frank R. Strayer; James Tinling
Starring	Stuart Erwin; June Collyer; Ann Todd; Sheila James; Willie Best
Theme music composer	Alexander Laszlo
Opening theme	"A Family Story"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	130
Production
Executive producer	Roland D. Reed
Producers	Roland D. Reed; Hal Roach, Jr.
Cinematography	Lucien Andriot; Walter Strenge; Lothrop B. Worth
Camera setup	Single-camera setup
Running time	26 min
Production companies	Hal Roach Studios; Roland D. Reed Productions Inc.
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	October 21, 1950 –; April 13, 1955

The Stu Erwin Show (also known as Trouble with Father) is an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1950 to 1955. Only four of the series’ five seasons on the network included new episodes; the 1953–54 season consisted entirely of reruns.

Synopsis[]

The series stars Stuart Erwin and real-life wife June Collyer.^[1] Ann E. Todd and Sheila James portray the couple's fictional daughters (Merry Anders replaced Ann Todd in the final season).^[2]^[3] One notable aspect of the show was that it featured a black actor Willie Best in a regular supporting role.^[4]

Predating modern single-camera sitcoms, The Stu Erwin Show originally aired without a laugh track (one was added in its final season), and each episode was around 26 minutes long, without commercials. During its original network run on ABC, it was sponsored by General Mills (1950–54), Paper Mate (1953-'54) and Liggett & Myers (1954–55).

Production[]

The series was produced by Roland D. Reed and Hal Roach, Jr., and filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California.^[3] All 52 episodes of season one were first-run, followed by another 26 in season two for a total of 78 straight weeks of all-new shows before reruns began in the spring of 1952. Another 26 episodes were produced for the 1952–53 season, interspersed with reruns every third week between October 1952 and July 1953. Production then went on a lengthy hiatus while the network continued airing reruns from the summer of 1953 until the fall of 1954. The fourth and final season's 26 episodes aired between October 1954 and April 1955.

Episodes[]

Season 1 (1950–51)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Mr. Lamont Stays All Night"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	October 21, 1950 (1950-10-21)
2	2	"The Contest"	TBA	Charles Shows	October 28, 1950 (1950-10-28)
3	3	"Stu's Holiday"	Howard Bretherton	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Arnold Belgard	November 4, 1950 (1950-11-04)
4	4	"Dr. I.Q. Erwin"	TBA	Charles Shows	November 11, 1950 (1950-11-11)
5	5	"Father Finds a Genius" "Father Finds a Junior"	TBA	Charles Shows	November 18, 1950 (1950-11-18)
6	6	"Father's Little Gift"	TBA	Charles Shows	November 25, 1950 (1950-11-25)
7	7	"June's Romance" "The Poison Story"	TBA	Charles Shows	December 2, 1950 (1950-12-02)
8	8	"Thank You, Mr. Jarvis"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows & Warren Wilson	December 9, 1950 (1950-12-09)
9	9	"Father Gets Into the Act"	Frank R. Strayer	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Fred Shevin	December 16, 1950 (1950-12-16)
10	10	"Problem Party" "Spooks"	Howard Bretherton	Arthur Hoerl	December 23, 1950 (1950-12-23)
11	11	"Lesson in Tolerance"	TBA	Charles Shows	December 30, 1950 (1950-12-30)
12	12	"Father Knows Best"	TBA	Charles Shows	January 6, 1951 (1951-01-06)
13	13	"Competition"	TBA	Charles Shows	January 13, 1951 (1951-01-13)
14	14	"The Ugly Duckling"	TBA	Charles Shows	January 20, 1951 (1951-01-20)
15	15	"Telephonitis"	Howard Bretherton	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Arnold Belgard	January 27, 1951 (1951-01-27)
16	16	"Bugle Sounds"	TBA	Charles Shows	February 3, 1951 (1951-02-03)
17	17	"What Paper Do You Read?"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	February 10, 1951 (1951-02-10)
18	18	"Hot Rod"	TBA	Charles Shows	February 17, 1951 (1951-02-17)
19	19	"Cousin Steve Pays a Visit"	TBA	Charles Shows	February 24, 1951 (1951-02-24)
20	20	"High Finance"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	March 3, 1951 (1951-03-03)
21	21	"The Helping Hand"	TBA	Charles Shows	March 10, 1951 (1951-03-10)
22	22	"Wedding Bells"	Howard Bretherton	Arnold Belgard & Charles Shows	March 17, 1951 (1951-03-17)
23	23	"Black Saturday"	Frank R. Strayer	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	March 24, 1951 (1951-03-24)
24	24	"Father and Shakespeare"	TBA	Charles Shows	March 31, 1951 (1951-03-31)
25	25	"Stu's Private Eye"	TBA	Charles Shows	April 7, 1951 (1951-04-07)
26	26	"Class Reunion"	TBA	Charles Shows	April 14, 1951 (1951-04-14)
27	27	"Erwin Goes to the Dogs" "Stu Goes to the Dogs"	TBA	Charles Shows	April 21, 1951 (1951-04-21)
28	28	"Interior Decorating"	TBA	Charles Shows	April 28, 1951 (1951-04-28)
29	29	"Milk of Human Kindness"	TBA	Charles Shows	May 5, 1951 (1951-05-05)
30	30	"Baby Knows Best"	TBA	Charles Shows	May 12, 1951 (1951-05-12)
31	31	"Weighty Problem"	TBA	Charles Shows	May 19, 1951 (1951-05-19)
32	32	"Father Picks a Queen"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	May 26, 1951 (1951-05-26)
33	33	"The Great Debate"	Howard Bretherton	Oliver Crawford & Charles Shows	June 2, 1951 (1951-06-02)
34	34	"The Burglar Alarm"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	June 9, 1951 (1951-06-09)
35	35	"Many Happy Returns"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	June 16, 1951 (1951-06-16)
36	36	"The Present"	TBA	Charles Shows	June 23, 1951 (1951-06-23)
37	37	"Private Enterprise"	James Tinling	Charles Shows	June 30, 1951 (1951-06-30)
38	38	"TV Comes to the Erwins" "To Buy or Not to Buy a TV"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	July 7, 1951 (1951-07-07)
39	39	"Springtime for Father"	Howard Bretherton	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Charles S. Belden	July 14, 1951 (1951-07-14)
40	40	"Doctor's Examination"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	July 21, 1951 (1951-07-21)
41	41	"Barbecue"	Howard Bretherton	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Arthur Hoerl	July 28, 1951 (1951-07-28)
42	42	"Quarantine"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb & Charles Shows	August 4, 1951 (1951-08-04)
43	43	"Dear Dora"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Shows	August 11, 1951 (1951-08-11)
44	44	"June Serves on a Jury"	TBA	Charles Shows	August 18, 1951 (1951-08-18)
45	45	"Nothing But the Truth"	James Tinling	Story by: Charles Shows, Teleplay by: Al Martin	August 25, 1951 (1951-08-25)
46	46	"Roughing It"	TBA	Charles Shows	September 1, 1951 (1951-09-01)
47	47	"Cafe Society"	TBA	Charles Shows	September 8, 1951 (1951-09-08)
48	48	"I Spy"	TBA	Charles Shows	September 15, 1951 (1951-09-15)
49	49	"Track Meet"	TBA	Charles Shows	September 22, 1951 (1951-09-22)
50	50	"That's My Mother"	TBA	Charles Shows	September 29, 1951 (1951-09-29)
51	51	"The Pen Is Mightier"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin & Charles Shows	October 6, 1951 (1951-10-06)
52	52	"It's Just Money"	TBA	Charles Shows	October 13, 1951 (1951-10-13)

Season 2 (1951–52)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
53	1	"Hate the Love Seat"	Howard Bretherton	Erna Lazarus	October 19, 1951 (1951-10-19)
54	2	"The Bonus"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	October 26, 1951 (1951-10-26)
55	3	"Nice Little Doggie"	TBA	TBA	November 2, 1951 (1951-11-02)
56	4	"The French Teacher"	TBA	TBA	November 9, 1951 (1951-11-09)
57	5	"Erwin for President"	TBA	TBA	November 16, 1951 (1951-11-16)
58	6	"Father Does His Homework"	Howard Bretherton	M. Randall & R. Stewart	November 23, 1951 (1951-11-23)
59	7	"In a Pickle"	James Tinling	Al Martin	November 30, 1951 (1951-11-30)
60	8	"Jackie Knows All"	Howard Bretherton	Lee Loeb	December 7, 1951 (1951-12-07)
61	9	"The Big Game"	Howard Bretherton	Arnold Belgard	December 14, 1951 (1951-12-14)
62	10	"Tempest in a Teapot"	TBA	TBA	December 21, 1951 (1951-12-21)
63	11	"Egg Noggin'"	TBA	TBA	December 28, 1951 (1951-12-28)
64	12	"Stu Has a Baby"	Howard Bretherton	TBA	January 4, 1952 (1952-01-04)
65	13	"Joyce's Romance"	TBA	TBA	January 11, 1952 (1952-01-11)
66	14	"Brown Eyes"	TBA	TBA	January 18, 1952 (1952-01-18)
67	15	"Love Bug"	TBA	TBA	January 25, 1952 (1952-01-25)
68	16	"The Business"	Howard Bretherton	Al Martin	February 1, 1952 (1952-02-01)
69	17	"Premature Engagement"	TBA	TBA	February 8, 1952 (1952-02-08)
70	18	"Jackie Writes a Book"	TBA	TBA	February 15, 1952 (1952-02-15)
71	19	"A Very Rainy Day"	TBA	TBA	February 22, 1952 (1952-02-22)
72	20	"Quiet Place" "Quiet Please"	Howard Bretherton	Charles Belden	February 29, 1952 (1952-02-29)
73	21	"Trouble Below"	TBA	TBA	March 7, 1952 (1952-03-07)
74	22	"A Party Comes to Life"	TBA	TBA	March 14, 1952 (1952-03-14)
75	23	"Runaway"	TBA	TBA	March 21, 1952 (1952-03-21)
76	24	"Boys Aren't Everything"	TBA	TBA	March 28, 1952 (1952-03-28)
77	25	"Stu Paints the Roof"	TBA	TBA	April 4, 1952 (1952-04-04)
78	26	"On the Trail"	TBA	TBA	April 11, 1952 (1952-04-11)

Season 3 (1952–53)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
79	1	"Jackie Finds a Cause"	TBA	TBA	October 17, 1952 (1952-10-17)
80	2	"Object Lesson"	TBA	TBA	October 24, 1952 (1952-10-24)
81	3	"Goin' Steady"	TBA	TBA	November 7, 1952 (1952-11-07)
82	4	"Fur Coat"	TBA	TBA	November 14, 1952 (1952-11-14)
83	5	"Father Takes a Pet"	TBA	TBA	November 28, 1952 (1952-11-28)
84	6	"The Game" "The Contest"	TBA	TBA	December 5, 1952 (1952-12-05)
85	7	"The Golden Key"	TBA	TBA	December 19, 1952 (1952-12-19)
86	8	"Stu's Jalopy"	TBA	TBA	December 26, 1952 (1952-12-26)
87	9	"The Blow-Up" "The Big Blow-Up"	TBA	TBA	January 9, 1953 (1953-01-09)
88	10	"Leave It to Stu"	TBA	TBA	January 16, 1953 (1953-01-16)
89	11	"Stu's Secret"	TBA	TBA	January 30, 1953 (1953-01-30)
90	12	"Fair Exchange"	TBA	TBA	February 6, 1953 (1953-02-06)
91	13	"Stu Sells the House"	TBA	TBA	February 20, 1953 (1953-02-20)
92	14	"In the Shade of the Old Family Tree"	TBA	TBA	February 27, 1953 (1953-02-27)
93	15	"Art Appreciation"	TBA	TBA	March 13, 1953 (1953-03-13)
94	16	"Operation Hamster"	TBA	TBA	March 20, 1953 (1953-03-20)
95	17	"Youth, It's Wonderful"	TBA	TBA	April 3, 1953 (1953-04-03)
96	18	"Jackie's Newspaper"	TBA	TBA	April 10, 1953 (1953-04-10)
97	19	"The Landlord"	TBA	TBA	April 24, 1953 (1953-04-24)
98	20	"Yvette"	TBA	TBA	May 1, 1953 (1953-05-01)
99	21	"Nothing Like a Friend"	TBA	TBA	May 15, 1953 (1953-05-15)
100	22	"Farewell to Hamilton High"	TBA	TBA	May 22, 1953 (1953-05-22)
101	23	"Love Thy Neighbor"	TBA	TBA	June 5, 1953 (1953-06-05)
102	24	"The Day the Circus Came to Town"	TBA	TBA	June 12, 1953 (1953-06-12)
103	25	"All for Father"	TBA	TBA	June 26, 1953 (1953-06-26)
104	26	"The Three Budgeteers"	TBA	TBA	July 3, 1953 (1953-07-03)

Season 4 (1954–55)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
105	1	"Jackie's First Date"	October 20, 1954 (1954-10-20)
106	2	"Father's Financier"	October 27, 1954 (1954-10-27)
107	3	"Puppy Love"	November 3, 1954 (1954-11-03)
108	4	"Father's Big Chance"	November 10, 1954 (1954-11-10)
109	5	"Right About Face"	November 17, 1954 (1954-11-17)
110	6	"Father's Boy"	November 24, 1954 (1954-11-24)
111	7	"Fleetwing"	December 1, 1954 (1954-12-01)
112	8	"Soft Touch"	December 8, 1954 (1954-12-08)
113	9	"The Wedding Bouquet"	December 15, 1954 (1954-12-15)
114	10	"Lohengrin Blues"	December 22, 1954 (1954-12-22)
115	11	"The Honeymooners"	December 29, 1954 (1954-12-29)
116	12	"The Uninvited Guests"	January 5, 1955 (1955-01-05)
117	13	"One of the Boys"	January 12, 1955 (1955-01-12)
118	14	"Down on the Farm"	January 19, 1955 (1955-01-19)
119	15	"Father Becomes Efficient"	January 26, 1955 (1955-01-26)
120	16	"Interfering In-Laws"	February 2, 1955 (1955-02-02)
121	17	"The First Fight"	February 9, 1955 (1955-02-09)
122	18	"Two-Car Family"	February 16, 1955 (1955-02-16)
123	19	"The Helping Heart"	February 23, 1955 (1955-02-23)
124	20	"The French Influence"	March 2, 1955 (1955-03-02)
125	21	"Women Drivers"	March 9, 1955 (1955-03-09)
126	22	"A Job for Jimmy"	March 16, 1955 (1955-03-16)
127	23	"Separate Vacations"	March 23, 1955 (1955-03-23)
128	24	"Pecans vs. Pistachio"	March 30, 1955 (1955-03-30)
129	25	"The Pearl Necklace"	April 6, 1955 (1955-04-06)
130	26	"The Matchmakers"	April 13, 1955 (1955-04-13)

Syndication and Home release[]

The series was widely syndicated by Official Films through the late 1960s. The show is currently seen on the Retro TV Network as of July 2018.

Many episodes of the program have fallen into the public domain. As such, various budget DVD releases of public domain episodes have been released.

References[]

^ Barnes, Mike (December 17, 2014). "Stu Erwin, Former Development Exec at MTM Enterprises, Dies at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
^ Pedersen, Erik (February 17, 2020). "Ann Basart Dies: Child Film Actress & 1950s Sitcom Regular Was 88". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Magers, Boyd (1999). Westerns women : interviews with 50 leading ladies of movie and television westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. Michael G. Fitzgerald. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 15. ISBN 0-7864-0672-0. OCLC 41017554.
^ Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black comedians on Black comedy : how African-Americans taught us to laugh. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-55783-680-9. OCLC 69734562.

External links[]

The Stu Erwin Show at IMDb
The Stu Erwin Show at The Classic TV Archive
The Stu Erwin Show is available for free download at the Internet Archive

This comedy television series-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[Erwin-1] Barnes, Mike (December 17, 2014). "Stu Erwin, Former Development Exec at MTM Enterprises, Dies at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2021.

[Basart-2] Pedersen, Erik (February 17, 2020). "Ann Basart Dies: Child Film Actress & 1950s Sitcom Regular Was 88". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2021.

[Magers_&_Fitzgerald-3] Magers, Boyd (1999). Westerns women : interviews with 50 leading ladies of movie and television westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. Michael G. Fitzgerald. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 15. ISBN 0-7864-0672-0. OCLC 41017554.

[Littleton-4] Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black comedians on Black comedy : how African-Americans taught us to laugh. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 46. ISBN 1-55783-680-9. OCLC 69734562.

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