The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)

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The Farmer's Daughter
File:The Farmer's Daughter (TV series).jpg
Opening title card of The Farmer's Daughter's 3rd season
GenreSitcom
StarringInger Stevens
William Windom
Theme music composerBarry Mann
Cynthia Weil
ComposersVan Alexander
George Duning
Jerry Fielding
Charles Aubertine
Dave Grusin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes101
Production
Executive producerHarry Ackerman
ProducersBob Claver
Peter Kortner
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesAssociated Arts, N.V.
Screen Gems
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatBlack-and-white (1963-65)
Pathécolor (1965-66)
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 20, 1963 (1963-09-20) –
April 22, 1966 (1966-04-22)
Chronology
Preceded byThe Farmer's Daughter

The Farmer's Daughter is a filmed American situation comedy series, loosely based on the identically titled 1947 film, that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963 to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark Cigarettes and Clairol, for whom the two leading stars often appeared at show's end promoting the products. (The commercials were also filmed.) It also enjoyed a brief run in syndication when it aired on CBN Cable in the 1980s.

Overview[edit]

The series starred Inger Stevens as Katy Holstrum, a young Swedish woman who becomes housekeeper for a widowed U.S. Congressman, Glen Morley (played by William Windom). In the series Glen has two sons, aged 14 and 8 at the time of the premiere. Steve, the older of the two boys, was played by Mickey Sholdar, while Danny was played by Rory O'Brien. The Congressman's mother, Agatha Morley, was played by Cathleen Nesbitt.

In its first season, The Farmer's Daughter competed against Twilight Zone on CBS and the short-lived Larry Blyden series, Harry's Girls, on NBC. The series never broke into the top 30, but during its first two years it earned respectable ratings and proved to be moderately successful. The last episode of the second season featured the two leads becoming engaged.

The third season brought some changes to the format as the series began filming episodes in color. On Monday, November 1, 1965, Katy Holstrum and Glen Morley were married in a wedding ceremony attended by 300 invited guests. When the couple went on its honeymoon, the network censors objected to the original script that had Glen bringing his new bride to a hotel room with twin beds, then saying, "But I asked for a double bed!" Forbidding use of the word "bed," the censors allowed it to be replaced with "accommodations," along with a glance at the bed.[1]

After the wedding episode the show's ratings fell, and ABC canceled The Farmer's Daughter. In the final episode, Katy adopted Glen's sons, thereby providing the series closure as well as a "happy ending."

Unlike the 1947 film, Katy never ran for (nor was elected to) Congress in the series.

Cast[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Result Category Recipient
1964 Golden Globe Award Winner Best TV Star - Female Inger Stevens
TV Guide Award Winner Favorite Female Performer Inger Stevens[2]
Emmy Award Nominated Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy or Variety Jerry Davis, Steve Gethers, Lee Loeb, and John McGreevey
Nominated Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy
-
Nominated Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Paul Nickell, William D. Russell, and Don Taylor
Nominated Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead) Inger Stevens

References[edit]

Notes
  1. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sL00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=jIcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3515,163122&dq=the-farmer's-daughter&hl=en
  2. "TV Guide Award to Stevens". European Stars and Stripes (United Press International). May 5, 1964. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)

External links[edit]