John Forsythe Show, The

1 9 6 5 – 1 9 6 6 (USA)
30 x 30 minute episodes

John Forsythe starred in this eponymous sitcom as US Air Force Major John Kendall Foster.

The major’s friend in the Air Force, Ed Robbins (Guy Marks), alerted him to some important news which came in a telegram (which Ed opened without permission). The major’s Aunt Victoria Foster had passed on. John was her sole heir and thus inherited her struggling Foster School for Girls in San Francisco.

The major’s initial inclination was to sell the school, but after a visit, the girls won his heart and he decided to stay on to get the school back in the black. The comedy revolved around him being the only male in this all-female environment.

This initial format failed to catch on, even with a lot of very familiar names and faces in the cast.

Elsa Lanchester was the principal, Miss Margaret Culver; and Ann B. Davis played Miss Wilson, the gym teacher.

The schoolgirls included Peggy Lipton as Joanna; Darleen Carr as Kathy; Pamelyn Ferdin as Pamela; and two of John Forsythe’s real-life daughters, Brooke and Page (who played Norma Jean and Marcia, respectively).

In episode 21 (‘Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Spy’) the format was altered. John and Ed were still based out of the school, but the girls were rarely seen, and the roles of Elsa Lanchester and Ann B. Davis were greatly diminished.

John and Ed were now US government undercover agents, and their weekly mission took them around the globe.

Major John Kendall Foster
John Forsythe
Ed Robbins
Guy Marks
Principal Margaret Culver
Elsa Lanchester
Miss Wilson
Ann B. Davis
Joanna
Peggy Lipton
Kathy
Darleen Carr
Pamela
Pamelyn Ferdin
Norma Jean
Brooke Forsythe
Marcia
Page Forsythe

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