1 9 6 5 – 1 9 6 6 (USA)
17 x 30 minute episodes
Self-made multi-millionaire and widower O.K. Crackerby (Burl Ives) relocated his brood from Oklahoma to Florida where he bought a hotel in Palm Beach and moved himself and his three children into the whole top floor.
There were a few things Crackerby wouldn’t tolerate – not getting his own way, being told he couldn’t accomplish something, and (especially) lacking the grace to climb socially.
He personally had so many rough edges, he just didn’t fit in – You could take the boy out of Oklahoma, but you couldn’t take Oklahoma out of the boy.
In a search to find a suitable tutor to help his children become more refined, he settled on penniless unemployed Harvard graduate St. John Quincy (Hal Buckley).
The children were 16-year-old Cynthia (Brooke Adams), who made it very plain that she had a crush on St. John; 13-year-old O.K. Jr. (Brian Corcoran) and nine-year-old Hobart (Joel Davidson), who didn’t like anything (but he did like St. John).
Other regular characters included O.K.’s business partner, Slim (Dick Foran); St. John’s girlfriend Susan Wentworth (Laraine Stephens) and Crackerby’s chauffeur (John Indrisano).
Crackerby’s basset hound, Gertrude, also appeared.
The stale sitcom was notable only because it was created by playwright Abe Burrows and TV Guide critic Cleveland Amory. Sponsors included Bristol-Myers and Quaker Oats.
O.K. Crackerby
Burl Ives
St. John Quincy
Hal Buckley
Cynthia Crackerby
Brooke Adams
O.K. Crackerby Jr.
Brian Corcoran
Hobart Crackerby
Joel Davison
Slim
Dick Foran
Susan Wentworth
Laraine Stephens
