Bonino

NBC

Comedy
English     0     1953     US

Overview

Bonino is an ethnic situation comedy television series starring Ezio Pinza as an Italian-American opera singer trying to rear his six children after the death of their mother. The program aired on live NBC from September 12 to December 26, 1953. Pinza's character is named Babbo Bonino. Character actress Mary Wickes portrayed Martha the housekeeper, a role which she filled over the years in numerous other series. The actors portraying the children were Conrad Janis as eldest son Edward, Lenka Peterson as older daughter Doris, Chet Allen as Jerry; Oliver Andes as Carlo, Gaye Huston as Fancesca, and Van Dyke Parks as Andrew, the youngest. Allen had earlier appeared as Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors on NBC's Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1951-1952. Parks, who grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, became a rock-music producer and composer who cowrote with Brian Wilson the Beach Boys' hits "Heroes and Villains" and "Surf's Up".Mike Kellin, who was cast the following year in Celeste Holm's short-lived CBS sitcom Honestly, Celeste!, appeared in the role of Rusty. David Opatoshu, portrayed Walter Rogers, Babbo's agent, who tries to convince him to return to singing. As each episode unfolds, Bonino realizes that his children are more independent than he thought. Pinza sang in each episode.Anthony Eisley, later of ABC's detective series Hawaiian Eye, guest starred in Bonino as John Clinton.

Similar

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

More info
The Andy Griffith Show
1960