This weekly ABC black & white comedy series was derived from a hit Broadway show and Hollywood movie version, both of which shot Andy Griffith to fame.
Sammy Jackson starred in the TV version as Will Stockdale – a kindly simpleton from Georgia who is enlisted into the US Airforce and soon finds himself at odds with his superior officers.
Will’s colleagues at the Andrews USAF base usually find, though, that his hillbilly philosophies are nearer the target than their military ones.
Will’s girlfriend Millie Anderson (Laurie Sibbald) works as a waitress. Her grandfather, Jim Anderson (Andy Clyde), appears in several episodes, usually expressing his great disdain for the Air Force’s proximity to his farm, as their planes shake up his cattle.
Sergeant Orville King (Harry Hickox) gets under the skin of his men and others in command, including Captain Martin (Paul Smith), Colonel Farnsworth (Hayden Rorke) and Captain Krupnick (George Murdock).
No Time for Sergeants only ran for one season (from 1964 to 1965) before being cancelled, with Jackson moving on to a successful broadcasting career on US radio.
Sammy Jackson also had a one-line part in the original movie version of No Time for Sergeants. He died of heart failure on 24 April 1995 – he was 58.
Pvt. Will Stockdale
Sammy Jackson
Millie Anderson
Laurie Sibbald
Sgt Orville King
Harry Hickox
Capt Martin
Paul Smith
Col Farnsworth
Hayden Rorke
Pvt Ben Whitledge
Kevin O’Neal Pvt Irving Blanchard
Greg Benedict
