Valentine’s Day

1 9 6 4 – 1 9 6 5 (USA)
34 x 30 minute episodes

The life of debonair young New York publishing executive Valentine Farrow (Tony Franciosa in his only sitcom role) was depicted in this black-and-white ABC comedy.

Valentine was continually being chased by beautiful girls, both in and out of his office at 50 Park Avenue where he was senior nonfiction editor at the publishing firm of Brackett and Dunstall.

Libby (Janet Waldo) was his pretty secretary, Molly (Mimi Dillard) his receptionist, and O.D. Dunstall (Jerry Hausner) his nervous boss.

At home – in his brownstone bachelor pad on 23rd Street – Valentine’s valet was the scrounging, poker-playing, conman “Rocky” Sin (Jack Soo) who had been Valentine’s buddy in the army and had saved his life in Korea. Now he was his chief confidante and bottle-washer.

Living in the basement of Valentine’s elegant East Side townhouse was Mr Fipple (Eddie Quillan), the handyman.

After a series of amorous adventures, Valentine finally fell in love in the last episode, with a pretty research assistant at Brackett and Dunstall. The series didn’t return for a second season, however.

Guest stars included Marlo Thomas (pre-That Girl) in ‘Follow the Broken Pretzel’ – a spy caper involving top-secret papers which turned out to be merely recipes; Mamie Van Doren playing herself in ‘Yen Ku Horowitz’ – in which a female stand-up comic tried to get a part in Ms Van Doren’s next picture; George Gobel as Delmore Link – who had written a book about the game of poker in an episode called ‘The Hottest Game in Town’; and the Cleveland Browns’ great Jim Brown in a cameo appearance where he attempted to get an old friend’s book published in ‘For Me and My Sal’.

Opera singer Helen Traubel also guested, as Valentine’s mother, Muriel Farrow.

Valentine’s Day aired on Friday nights at 9:00 pm. Sponsors included Excedrin, Goodyear, General Foods and Breck Shampoo.

Valentine Farrow
Tony Franciosa
Rockwell “Rocky” Sin
Jack Soo
Libby Freeman
Janet Waldo
Molly
Mimi Dillard
O.D. Dunstall
Jerry Hausner
Grover Cleveland Fipple
Eddie Quillan

Video