Sitcom · NBC
The Great Gildersleeve
May 16, 1941 – April 18, 1957 · 630 broadcasts
The Great Gildersleeve brought the pompous-but-good-natured Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve to NBC as the water commissioner of Summerfield, a blustering bachelor raising his orphaned niece Marjorie and nephew Leroy alongside his cook Birdie. The signature textures are unmistakable: the throaty "dirty laugh" and the long-suffering cry of "Leee-roy!" What makes the show a landmark is how it began. Gildersleeve was first a recurring foil on Fibber McGee and Molly, introduced in 1939, and when he was spun off into his own series on May 16, 1941, he became broadcasting's first true spin-off -- a format-defining innovation. Harold Peary originated the title role and carried it for nearly a decade. When Peary wanted to move networks in 1950, NBC -- which owned the character outright -- simply hired Willard Waterman to replace him, an early and instructive case of character ownership; Peary's own CBS series lasted a single season. Sponsored by Kraft, the program ran a remarkable sixteen years, to 1957, and over its 521 broadcasts it established the spin-off as a permanent form of American broadcasting -- the quiet ancestor of an industry built on the device.
Collection status:
514 of 630 held (82% complete)
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Episode Spine
Grouped by year. Jump to the full list below, or open a season on its own page.
- 1941 (19 episodes)
- 1942 (44 episodes)
- 1943 (44 episodes)
- 1944 (45 episodes)
- 1945 (41 episodes)
- 1946 (38 episodes)
- 1947 (40 episodes)
- 1948 (39 episodes)
- 1949 (37 episodes)
- 1950 (41 episodes)
- 1951 (38 episodes)
- 1952 (53 episodes)
- 1953 (52 episodes)
- 1954 (22 episodes)
- 1955 (11 episodes)
- 1956 (26 episodes)
- 1957 (27 episodes)
- 1958 (13 episodes)
1941
The audition run-through of the premiere script: Gildersleeve leaves Wistful Vista for a visit to Summerfield and ends up staying for good.
Series opener -- Gildersleeve travels from Wistful Vista to Summerfield to check on his wards and decides to make the town his home.
Left without a cook, Gildy and Leroy botch a homemade cake and fall back on a store-bought stand-in, underscoring how badly the household needs Birdie.
Leroy's new paper route turns into a financial headache that lands his exasperated guardian in police court.
Marjorie's visiting Southern friend Dorabelle turns out to be an incorrigible flirt who upends the household.
A stubborn case of the hiccups makes Gildersleeve the target of the family's increasingly desperate cures.
Convinced the town is riddled with graft, Gildy schemes to get himself arrested so he can inspect the city jail from the inside.
October 12, 1941
A rash of schoolhouse pranks has everyone wondering whether the culprit is really Leroy -- or his uncle.
A treed cat and a locked-out Gildersleeve complicate the household's efforts to entertain Marjorie's overnight guest, Oliver.
Visiting an old friend, Gildersleeve finds himself drafted into unexpected duty as a benefactor and babysitter.
Judge Hooker lures Birdie away to his own kitchen, leaving the Gildersleeve household cook-less on the eve of a birthday dinner.
For Thanksgiving, Gildersleeve takes to the airwaves to invite lonely servicemen to share the family turkey.
Leroy and a friend help themselves to a sample of Gildersleeve's cheap cigars, with predictable results.
Gildersleeve wins a canary named Napoleon, but the bird stubbornly refuses to sing.
Cousin Octavia comes to stay -- mercifully leaving her little monster of a daughter, Barbara Ann, behind (broadcast amid the Pearl Harbor bulletins).
With Christmas expenses looming and his bookkeeping in chaos, Gildy tries to turn the family's iron lawn deer into scrap money.
Gildersleeve sets out to find the perfect Christmas present for his old neighbor Fibber McGee.
The family schemes to rid itself of the enormous dog Leroy has acquired over the holidays.
1942
Flush with New Year's resolve, Gildersleeve wagers Judge Hooker $100 that he can shed ten pounds in seven days, and suffers through the diet that follows.
A mixed-up car swap and Leroy's box of rabbits snowball into Gildersleeve's arrest as a suspected car thief hauling dynamite.
Gildy and Leroy shop for a surprise new bed for Marjorie while she's away at Red Cross school (with Sam Hearn as Schlepperman).
Gildersleeve plays matchmaker to find a wife for the lonely Judge Hooker, and the complications pile up.
When Leroy runs away from home, Gildersleeve winds up delivering a rousing patriotic speech from a jail cell.
Fresh from fixing Birdie's sewing machine, Gildersleeve is roped into lecturing the Red Cross ladies on auto mechanics.
February 15, 1942
It's Washington's Birthday, and Gildersleeve's vow to tell nothing but the truth makes running the drugstore nearly impossible.
Gildersleeve tries his hand at fortune-telling, only to find plenty of trouble in his own future.
March 8, 1942
Named one of Summerfield's ten best-dressed men, a preening Gildersleeve springs for a fashionable new Orkney Twist suit.
The Gildersleeve household is saddled with a set of thoroughly obnoxious new neighbors.
Gildersleeve helps Marjorie write to servicemen, and things get complicated when one exchange starts sounding like a proposal.
April 6, 1942
April 13, 1942
A stray goat with a laugh uncannily like Gildersleeve's own wanders into the garden and adopts the family (Horace voiced by Mel Blanc).
Bound for the San Francisco christening of the Liberty ship named for him, Gildersleeve gets the family onto the wrong train.
Gildersleeve secretly moonlights as Ricardo, the masked baritone 'Mystery Voice' serenading Summerfield's radio listeners.
An old college chum turns his visit into a sales pitch, hawking shares in a dubious magnesium mine.
May 24, 1942
Gildersleeve's determination to throw a testimonial dinner for Judge Hooker runs into one complication after another.
A baffling fit of allergic sneezing drives Gildersleeve out of the house and into Leroy's tree house.
Gildersleeve lends his living room -- and then himself -- to the Summerfield Little Theatre's summer-stock season.
For Father's Day the children surprise their guardian with the big easy chair he's always wanted (Sam Hearn as Schlepperman the dealer).
Season finale: Gildersleeve sets out to romance Amelia Hooker, the Judge's sister.
Ordered by his doctor to relax, Gildersleeve takes the family on a fishing trip that proves anything but restful.
Difficult visiting musician Bill Farris comes to town, and the friction spills onto the golf course.
September 13, 1942
September 20, 1942
September 27, 1942
Gildersleeve wakes up resolved to plant a giant Ponderosa cherry tree, with all the fuss that entails.
An October snowfall leaves Gildersleeve fuming at Summerfield's water commissioner.
Gildersleeve is appointed Summerfield's water commissioner -- the post he'll hold for the rest of the series.
Gildersleeve reports for his first day as water commissioner, brimming with self-importance at his inauguration.
Determined to spend a whole weekend bonding with Leroy, Gildersleeve kicks it off with a duck-hunting trip.
Meaning to save money with a quiet night in, Gildersleeve instead goes out and buys a piano (Peary sings 'Why Do I Love You?').
The visiting son of an old college pal turns out to be every bit the chip off the old block Gildersleeve feared.
A Thanksgiving broadcast finds Gildersleeve chasing down a coveted wartime 'B' ration book.
At the Summerfield Opera House for 'The Student Prince,' Gildersleeve brags of his old friendship with its star, Vera La Val.
Nursing a bad toothache, a stubborn Gildersleeve does everything he can to avoid the dentist.
December 13, 1942
As Leila heads South for the winter, Gildersleeve shops for a Christmas gift for Judge Hooker.
Gildersleeve hunts for a private spot to read a sealed letter from Leila Ransom, all while dodging Leroy's bottle of nitroglycerine.
1943
Judge Hooker slips off with a bouquet to propose to a lady arriving by train, swearing Wally to secrecy.
Gildersleeve throws himself into a frenzy of preparation for a visit from his old friends Fibber McGee and Molly.
Gildersleeve nervously readies a big address for the Summerfield Women's Club.
Cries of sabotage put jittery wartime Summerfield -- and Gildersleeve -- on edge.
A seat on the committee purchasing Summerfield's new fire engine puts Gildersleeve at odds with Mrs. Pettibone; Gildy performs 'Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes.'
Leila Ransom's sister and small son come to stay, and everyone keeps asking when Leila and Gildersleeve will finally marry.
February 14, 1943
February 21, 1943
February 28, 1943
March 7, 1943
Gildy Dates Again
With the Ides of March upon him, Gildersleeve wrestles his income-tax return -- and his conscience.
March 21, 1943
When Is Gildy Getting Married?
Spring settles over Summerfield and romance is unmistakably in the air (Gildy sings 'Moonlight Becomes You').
Gildersleeve's balky car gives Marjorie's mechanically minded boyfriend a chance to shine.
A minor traffic collision between Gildersleeve and Judge Hooker escalates into a full-blown feud.
Gildersleeve leads Leroy, Piggy, and Leila's nephew on a woodland hike, styling himself the costumed hero 'Captain Gildersleeve.'
Leroy schemes to get rich raising rabbits over the Easter weekend (with a Second War Loan appeal from Kay Francis).
May 2, 1943
Leila is furious that Gildersleeve would rather play poker with the boys -- can a box of candy smooth it over?
Seized by the nesting instinct, Leila decides the reputedly haunted Burton house would be the perfect Gildersleeve home.
Leroy lands a job at Peavey's drugstore, leaving Gildersleeve to mow the lawn himself.
After the Memorial Day parade, a mortality-minded Gildersleeve sits down to write his will -- and ponders a statue of himself.
A surprise bridal shower for Leila coincides with Leroy getting fired from the drugstore for punching a customer.
With the wedding weeks away, Gildersleeve frets over choosing a best man and holding Leila to a budget.
June 20, 1943
Season finale -- Gildersleeve's wedding day to Leila arrives, along with a bad case of pre-nuptial cold feet.
Season opener: a heartbroken Gildersleeve nurses his wounds on vacation at Grass Lake, dodging amorous women and wondering if the widowed Leila will return.
September 5, 1943
Summerfield goes all-out for the war-bond drive, and Gildersleeve delivers an eloquent appeal to buy.
Word spreads that Leila Ransom is coming back, just as new school principal Miss Goodwin is drawing Gildersleeve toward finer things (Gildy sings 'Speak to Me of Love').
Leila returns to town as Gildersleeve, freshly elected to fill a school-board vacancy, tends to his growing public career.
October 3, 1943
October 10, 1943
October 17, 1943
When a broken snifter valve dries up the town's water and the reservoir man quits, Leroy 'helps' at the water department.
While Leroy gets up to Halloween pranks, Gildersleeve joins Judge Hooker, Leila, and Eve Goodwin for an apple-bobbing contest.
Gildersleeve grabs the last pot roast in town -- only for Leila to make off with it.
Gildersleeve throws Leila over for Eve Goodwin, who promptly turns him down flat.
November 28, 1943
December 5, 1943
December 12, 1943
December 19, 1943
December 26, 1943
1944
January 2, 1944
Gildersleeve's plan to linger a little longer in bed somehow lands him in the hospital.
Gildersleeve must choose between building a doghouse for 'Stinky' and tackling Leila's income tax -- hardly a choice at all.
Leroy's dreadful report card brings Eve Goodwin to the house, stirring marriage thoughts in Gildersleeve -- who proposes and is rejected.
Marjorie 'goes theatrical,' and a visiting war hero only complicates the household further.
With Leroy suddenly indisposed, Gildersleeve and friends set off on a sleigh ride.
February 13, 1944
February 20, 1944
February 27, 1944
March 5, 1944
March 12, 1944
Judge Hooker sizes up Gildersleeve as a candidate and urges him to run for mayor.
April 2, 1944
Gildersleeve's mayoral campaign brings him face to face with Mr. McGruder and the question of confronting town corruption (an Easter show).
April 16, 1944
Escorting Two Women on Easter Morning
April 23, 1944
Between his mayoral campaign and his passion for Eve Goodwin, a frazzled Gildersleeve gets engaged again.
Gildersleeve's run for mayor hits the airwaves and quickly sinks into mud-slinging.
Gildersleeve sheepishly confesses to fiancee Eve Goodwin that he kissed Leila.
At the city employees' picnic, Eve stays icy toward Gildersleeve over that one kiss (Peary sings 'Shine On Harvest Moon').
The mayoral campaign grinds on, buoyed by the Jolly Boys' rendition of 'Mother.'
Eve's mother comes to visit, and Gildersleeve gets his first look at his prospective mother-in-law.
Eve's mother's stay proves a trying ordeal even as the mayoral campaign roars along (Peary sings 'Deep in My Heart').
With the primary days away, Gildersleeve juggles his mayoral run and his campaign to be rid of his future mother-in-law.
Season finale, Election Day: the mayoral result -- and Gildersleeve's engagement to Eve Goodwin -- both hang in the balance.
A brutal dry spell drives a desperate Gildersleeve to hire a rainmaker, quit as water commissioner, and go into business with Fibber McGee.
A brutal dry spell drives a desperate Gildersleeve to hire a rainmaker, quit as water commissioner, and go into business with Fibber McGee.
Gildersleeve throws in with the absent Fibber McGee to market McGee's new invention.
Gildersleeve nudges Marjorie toward the banker's son, Everett, hoping to borrow $10,000 to launch a mousetrap factory.
Tricked into selling his house, Gildersleeve suddenly finds himself scrambling for somewhere to live.
To keep Leroy and his pals out of trouble, Gildersleeve founds a singing club -- 'The Jolly Boys' -- that becomes a lasting fixture.
Losing faith in Fibber's mousetrap scheme, Gildersleeve resolves to go find himself a real job.
Gildersleeve battles a balky telephone while anxiously awaiting an important call about a job.
Pitching his hydraulics know-how to International Bolt and Screw, Gildersleeve maneuvers his way back toward the water commissioner's post.
Election Day in Summerfield has the whole town -- and a few wagers -- riding on the outcome.
Judge Hooker falls for Spanish dancer Dolores del Rey, and a smitten Gildersleeve isn't far behind (Peary sings 'Besame Mucho').
Gildersleeve and Judge Hooker host a reception for Dolores del Rey's new dancing school -- and Mrs. Peavey is finally heard from.
Leroy's improved report card is a bright spot as the fallout from the disastrous del Rey party lingers.
December 3, 1944
Locking horns with Judge Hooker over the lovely Miss del Rey, Gildersleeve graciously steps aside.
A jittery Gildersleeve dodges a process server, dreading a breach-of-promise suit from Dolores del Rey.
An old-fashioned Christmas Eve at the water commissioner's home, warts and all.
Gildersleeve closes out 1944 with a low-key New Year's Eve spent at home with Leila Ransom, capped by Harold Peary's rendition of 'Speak to Me of Love.'
1945
Fresh off paying his taxes and still facing a breach-of-promise suit, Gildersleeve can't even say for certain whom he's engaged to.
Gildersleeve scrambles to wriggle out of Miss del Rey's breach-of-promise suit.
Gildersleeve forbids Marjorie a first date with high-school hockey star Keith Kelsey.
Aunt Hattie Forrester descends on the household and starts running everything her own way.
Gildersleeve sets out to play matchmaker, hoping to spark something between Aunt Hattie and Judge Hooker.
A war bulletin delays the show, so Peary and Walter Tetley clown with the studio audience instead.
March 4, 1945
Gildersleeve is drafted as temporary chairman of the Red Cross fundraising committee -- a thankless job.
Gildersleeve mopes over Leila's disappearance to the Laughing Coyote dude ranch while Leroy angles for a trip along.
A letter and a visit from an old flame named Violet stir up Gildersleeve's springtime spirits.
To beat the bacon shortage, Gildersleeve buys a baby pig -- and immediately regrets it.
Gildersleeve is forced to find a new home for Leroy's beloved pet pig, Tiger.
In his tuxedo at Leila's party, a crooning Gildersleeve is outshone by the diplomatic guest of honor.
Newcomer Rumson Bullard moves to Summerfield and nearly breaks up the Jolly Boys.
Gildersleeve decides Marjorie should marry and has picked the boy -- Marshall Bullard, his new neighbor's son.
Set to debate Judge Hooker on juvenile delinquency, Gildersleeve softens his stance after a day minding young Craig.
Rediscovering a forgotten $209.24, Gildersleeve resolves to plunge it into the stock market.
Gildersleeve finally fires Bessie -- and instantly wishes he hadn't.
Gildersleeve hires Leila as his secretary, which proves a spectacularly bad idea.
Gildersleeve comes closer than usual to actually finishing a book tonight; the Jolly Boys perform 'Silver Threads Among the Gold.'
Season finale: the Bullards throw a party (Gildy sings 'Goodnight Sweetheart').
Over Labor Day the children coax Uncle Mort to Grass Lake, where he lands in the honeymoon cottage.
Pleased with Leroy's report card, Gildersleeve rewards him with a set of encyclopedias, a gift that quickly backfires.
Suspended from school and shunned by his friends, Leroy is thoroughly in the doghouse.
Leila Ransom is back in town and being serenaded by the Jolly Boys.
Marjorie takes up ballet lessons.
After a bout of leaf-raking, Leroy finds himself uninvited from Craig Bullard's party.
Having broken a vase, Leroy must work every Saturday to pay off the damage.
A special-delivery letter for Leila Ransom sets fate in motion for Gildersleeve.
Word gets around Summerfield that Peavey's wife has taken sick; the Jolly Boys perform 'Dear Old Pal of Mine.'
Shamed by Leroy's studies, Gildersleeve resolves to improve his own mind.
Gildersleeve tries to interest Marjorie in housekeeping, but Birdie takes it the wrong way.
Gildersleeve boycotts the Jolly Boys after failing to get Rumson Bullard admitted.
For Thanksgiving weekend, Summerfield makes its annual pilgrimage to the State-versus-Aggies football classic.
The opera is coming to Summerfield, and Gildersleeve -- a sponsor at $5 a ticket -- is stuck with them (Jolly Boys sing 'Funiculi Funicula').
Gildersleeve becomes head of the opera committee and hunts for a chief patroness.
After Summerfield's first opera since 1922, Gildersleeve runs through the aria 'Evening Star.'
An old-fashioned Christmas at home, with Gildersleeve as eager as any child.
It's New Year's Eve and Gildersleeve, having dawdled too long, finds himself without a date.
1946
Ben returns from the Navy, but Marjorie shows no interest in rekindling things.
Gildersleeve tries to set Ben up in a new career selling life insurance.
Gildersleeve and his friends set out to run a phony palm-reader, Satorius, out of Summerfield.
Horace prods Gildersleeve and Leila to stop acting too old for romance.
Gildersleeve and Bullard attempt to settle their feud like diplomats -- until a rock in a snowball intervenes.
With his car balking yet again, Gildersleeve is tempted to buy a flashy 'new' Cord.
Leroy comes down with the flu, a trying stretch for Gildersleeve too.
Told he's becoming hard to live with, Gildersleeve takes up building a ship in a bottle (Gildy sings 'Make Believe').
The state water inspector is coming to Summerfield, and a nervous Gildersleeve is running scared.
When Marjorie can't land a date, Gildersleeve escorts her to the dance himself.
Leroy winds up at the police station over some lumber he and a friend took without asking; the musical number this week, performed by the Jolly Boys, is 'They Called It Ireland.'
A Summerfield costume ball sets Gildersleeve musing about the early Gildersleeve family line.
Weighed down by gloom, Gildersleeve and his friends escape on an idyllic picnic.
Gildersleeve angles to cut short his obligatory annual dinner with Judge Hooker.
A bank robber and killer is loose in Summerfield.
A streetcar dumped on a vacant lot spurs Gildersleeve and Bullard to organize a protest petition (a housing-shortage message show).
Leroy desperately wants a pony, and Judge Hooker's boyhood story doesn't help.
Gildersleeve's smugness toward Leila is jolted by a zany newspaperman rival (Gildy sings 'When Day Is Done').
Gildersleeve maneuvers to see off a rival for Leila's affections.
Leroy wants no part of it, but Gildersleeve throws a birthday celebration for Ethel Hammerschlag anyway.
Swinging in his hammock, Gildersleeve recalls the day he first met Leila.
Gildersleeve looks back on his near-miss at the lead in a local staging of 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' with a musical interlude of 'I Kiss Your Hand, Madame' from Gildy.
Season finale: Gildersleeve recalls a Jolly Boys Fourth of July picnic (they sing 'In the Good Old Summertime').
The commissioner decides to shut off the water of residents who haven't paid their bills.
Dodging a PTA singing engagement for a date with Leila, Gildersleeve learns she's to marry Dr. Culpepper.
Leila's wedding invitations arrive -- announcing a marriage to someone other than the water commissioner.
Leila leaves Summerfield to be married, a painful parting for Gildersleeve.
Nursing his heartbreak, Gildersleeve starts contemplating a retirement annuity.
Money is so tight that Gildersleeve steels himself to ask for a raise while Leroy sells newspapers.
Gildersleeve dabbles in real estate, trying to get Judge Hooker to board with him.
Marjorie's pajama party sets the stage for a possible engagement.
Pursuing a beautiful stranger leads Gildersleeve straight to his old rival Otto Harbach, in a dream sequence built around Gildy's rendition of 'People Will Say We're in Love.'
Gildersleeve tackles Plato's 'Republic' in a bid to improve Leroy's education.
Birdie takes a vacation, and Gildersleeve-family meals are never quite the same.
The Jolly Boys take on the sponsorship of an eight-month-old orphan baby girl.
Leroy is being terrorized by the town bully, Craig Bullard.
Leroy sets his heart on a motor scooter as Gildersleeve preaches modest Christmas expectations.
Fearing little Craig Bullard faces a sad Christmas after his parents' quarrel, Gildersleeve rallies the carolers.
1947
Vowing to be a 'bad boy' this year, Gildersleeve dons a pirate costume and heads to the New Year's ball without a date.
Leila is back in Summerfield, and Gildersleeve's heart starts pounding all over again.
News that Judge Hooker may be on his deathbed forces the Jolly Boys to call off their planned sleigh ride; the group sings 'Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party.'
Dancing school for Leroy, a returned fraternity pin for Marjorie, and Gildersleeve's own love life all hang in the balance.
Marjorie's dashing new hot-rod boyfriend Jerry Walsh makes Ben look dull -- and that's exactly the problem.
Leroy and Craig both take to selling 'Post-War Barn and Home' magazine, along with half the town.
An old high-school chum, now quite accomplished, stops by to see Gildersleeve while passing through Summerfield.
With Bessie out sick, her striking cousin Prudence Kilpatrick fills in as Gildersleeve's secretary.
Having seen how good Prudence is, Gildersleeve resolves to fire the inefficient Bessie.
Marjorie is head-over-heels for romantic crooner Larry Lake.
Leroy and Craig are picked up for taking lumber (a rebroadcast honoring the Boys' Clubs of America).
Reaching the bank too late, Gildersleeve must take $2,200 in water-department cash home overnight.
About to end Leroy's piano lessons, Gildersleeve meets the new music teacher, Joanne Piper.
Gildersleeve falls hard for Joanne Piper, Leroy's piano teacher.
Gildersleeve has tea with Miss Piper and invites her on a picnic (Gildy sings 'Yours Is My Heart Alone').
Judge Hooker warns Gildersleeve the whole town is gossiping about his infatuation with Joanne Piper.
Gildersleeve's double social engagement with Joanne Piper and Leila Ransom somehow ends with Leroy taking a punch to the nose; Harold Peary's musical turn this week is 'Just a Little Love, a Little Kiss.'
Gildersleeve and Miss Piper resolve on a purely platonic bond, like Tchaikovsky and Madame von Meck.
Left off Craig Bullard's party list, a crestfallen Leroy gets a cheering-up from Gildersleeve.
Peavey vanishes after a Jolly Boys meeting, and Mrs. Peavey takes center stage in the search.
Convinced Leroy is learning nothing at school, Gildersleeve airs his own theories of education.
After a physical, Gildersleeve reluctantly gives up his beloved cigars.
Season finale: a family trip to the movies (staged for radio) turns into an IRS summons for Gildersleeve.
Gildersleeve's romantic interest in Eve Goodwin flares up once again (Gildy sings 'Why Do I Love You?').
A Saturday of catching up on paperwork ends with Gildersleeve stuck up a ladder cleaning the roof.
Gildersleeve is dragged, against his will, into a rivalry over his own secretary Bessie's boyfriend.
Gildersleeve discovers that borrowing $100 from his friends is far harder than he assumed.
The lovely Ann Tuttle is staying at the Bullards', and a smitten Gildersleeve finds things won't go his way.
Marjorie takes a Friday-night babysitting job -- the question is whether she'll spend it with or without Ben.
Casting about to better himself, Gildersleeve sets his sights on becoming Congressman Gildersleeve.
A Halloween party at Mrs. Dalrymple's draws far more guests than Gildersleeve would like (Jolly Boys sing 'It's Always Fair Weather').
Gildersleeve goes from having no date for the big hayride to juggling two.
Gildersleeve is fleeced buying a suspiciously cheap 'wholesale' fur coat from a hotel-room sharper.
Cast as Paul Revere in the school play, Leroy manages to lose the role almost as soon as he lands it.
A Thanksgiving gift of 'Tom Sawyer' inspires Leroy and Craig to vanish toward the raging creek on a raft.
With the water department's annual report and Leroy's geography homework both due by daybreak, an exhausted Gildersleeve drifts off dreaming of Alaska and the South Seas.
Gildersleeve goes Christmas shopping (Peary sings 'You Do').
Gildersleeve lands in hot water with the mayor over accusations of loafing (Harold Peary was out sick, so Gildy's voice is absent).
Out to buy Leroy a model airplane, Gildersleeve comes home with a puppy instead (Lillian Randolph sings a carol; the cast sings 'Joy to the World').
Gildersleeve wonders whether he'll ring in the New Year quietly at home with Judge Hooker.
1948
Ann Tuttle is back in Summerfield, and Gildersleeve's interest hasn't cooled a bit.
Unsettled that Marjorie has taken up steady with Oscar, Gildersleeve schemes to break things off using an unlikely tool: a horse.
Gildersleeve and Judge Hooker square off for the head of the School Board (marking Peary's 25th year in radio).
Getting his 1948 license plates proves anything but simple for Gildersleeve.
With Mayor Terwilliger called out of town, Gildersleeve becomes acting mayor.
Gildersleeve gets himself a pair of glasses he doesn't remotely need.
Leila's cousin Adeline Fairchild moves in next door (Peary sings 'Speak to Me of Love').
Gildersleeve suspects his beautiful new neighbor Adeline is scheming to steal Birdie away.
Gildersleeve tries to coax the girl-shy Leroy into going to a party.
Gildersleeve starts weighing the idea of marriage, though every married man he knows seems to be in trouble at home; the Jolly Boys sing 'Dear Old Girl.'
Gildersleeve's courtship of Adeline Fairchild threatens to escalate into a duel.
Gildersleeve's plan to bring Adeline to a Jolly Boys meeting proves a poor idea.
Marjorie appears to have fallen for her French teacher.
Gildersleeve sets out to organize a Boys' Club baseball team and raise money for a field.
Gildersleeve is invited to talk about the city water system over Summerfield's WSUM.
A chance late-night sighting leads the mayor, and seemingly everyone else in Summerfield, to assume Adeline Fairchild has replaced Bessie as Gildersleeve's secretary.
Gildersleeve plans an anniversary dinner for two months with Adeline, but Birdie is out of town.
Gildersleeve takes Leroy fishing, then faces the question of who'll clean the bass.
Gildersleeve's plan to phone in sick and relax at home turns out to be harder than it sounds.
Gildersleeve endures a meeting of Summerfield's Green Thumb Flower and Garden Club -- and regrets it.
Borrowing a brand-new Mercedes, Gildersleeve has all his friends convinced he's suddenly rich.
In Louise Erickson's final episode as Marjorie, the season closes with the mayor sacking Gildersleeve from his water-commissioner post.
The new season opens with Gildersleeve discovering an infant left in his car, kicking off an extended storyline.
Gildersleeve is left home alone in charge of the baby (Peary sings 'My Little Buckaroo').
Displaced from his own bedroom to make room for the mystery baby, a wounded Leroy declares he'll sleep in a packing crate instead.
With no name yet settled on for the foundling baby, the household kicks off a contest to name the Gildersleeve mystery baby.
Gildersleeve tries to reform and make a good impression on welfare investigator Miss Crabtree so he can keep the baby.
A dreaded telegram warns that interfering Aunt Hattie is on her way for a visit.
Marjorie decides she'll marry so the baby will have a proper home.
Believing a wedding ring is the only path to keeping the foundling baby, Gildersleeve pops the question.
November 3, 1948
Despite his engagement to Adeline, Gildersleeve winds up engaged to Leila as well (Gildy sings 'Speak to Me of Love').
One fiancee down and one to go, as Gildersleeve untangles his double engagement.
A problem at the reservoir puts Commissioner Gildersleeve in line for a helicopter ride.
Looking to teach Leroy the value of a dollar, Gildersleeve sets him up with a wintertime job hawking newspapers in the snow.
Someone in the household keeps swiping the wrapped Christmas gifts from under Gildersleeve's roof -- an inside job if there ever was one.
Gildersleeve goes Christmas shopping, failing utterly in his attempt to economize.
On Christmas Eve, Gildersleeve discovers the true identity of the mystery baby's father (Lillian Randolph sings).
To marry or not to marry -- Gildersleeve and Adeline Fairchild edge toward the altar.
1949
Gildersleeve sets his sights on a writing career, going so far as to throw a literary tea in his own honor.
Gildersleeve tries out the 'good neighbor policy' on the impossible Mr. Bullock.
Getting Leroy to the dentist is hard enough -- getting the water commissioner there is another matter entirely.
Gildersleeve frets that an eager young hydrologist at the water department is angling for his job.
Gildersleeve schemes to stop Adeline Fairchild from opening a hat shop in her house.
The hat shop's grand opening touches off a second Summerfield civil war.
Leila returns to town, determined to shut the hat shop down.
A few singing lessons go straight to Gildersleeve's head, and he starts fancying himself a future star of the Met.
Leroy pines for Bullard's niece Brenda while Gildersleeve sets his sights on her mother, Ellen Knickerbocker.
While waiting on a leaky kitchen faucet, Gildersleeve nods off and dreams himself back to turn-of-the-century Summerfield.
Leroy must compete with the talented Gerald for Brenda's attention.
Gildersleeve finally resolves to replace the inefficient Bessie at the water department.
Named temporary Police Commissioner, Gildersleeve is mortified when the Whistling Bandit strikes Summerfield.
The baby's first birthday party collides with a date on Gildersleeve's calendar -- which will he choose?
The circus comes to Summerfield, and the biggest kid of all races home with six tickets.
Studying to be a detective, Gildersleeve takes a haunted house as his first case.
Detective Gildersleeve investigates the theft of Ellen Knickerbocker's furs and jewels.
Basking in his jewel-thief triumph, 'The Great Gildersleuth' hunts for a new case.
Gildersleeve's visiting millionaire friend takes a keen interest in Ellen Knickerbocker.
Marjorie longs for shy Rodney to ask her to the dance -- until Gildersleeve scares him off.
Gildersleeve sues his neighbor Mr. Bullard (Peary sings 'Cruising Down the River'; Kay Starr guests).
Season finale: Gildersleeve tries his hand at a folk-dancing class (Peary sings 'Some Enchanted Evening').
Season opener: Gildersleeve's old song finally gets its due (Peary performs it).
A wrong number leads Gildersleeve to pretty nurse Kathryn Milford, his new heartthrob.
Gildersleeve and Kathryn double-date with Marjorie and her new beau (Richard Crenna debuts as Bronco).
Gildersleeve sweats it out beside expectant father Ralph Johnson in the hospital waiting room.
Leroy's new tomcat, Leo, has the whole house sneezing, and everyone is plotting how to find the animal a new home.
Gildersleeve discovers a rival for nurse Kathryn Milford in handsome young Dr. Olsen.
The Gildersleeve-Olsen rivalry over Kathryn Milford follows them to the carnival.
Marjorie needs a mother's sympathy, so Gildersleeve arranges a birthday tea party for her.
Gildersleeve promises Bronco a job at the water department -- then the mayor cuts the limb out from under him.
The Jolly Boys pull together a band, with Gildersleeve taking up the trombone; the episode's song is 'Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People,' performed by Harold Peary.
New neighbor Oliver 'Two Pants' Pearson takes shameless advantage of Gildersleeve's hospitality.
Unhappy that Marjorie is going steady with Bronco Thompson, Gildersleeve brings in Marshall Bullard as a rival suitor.
Gildersleeve hunts for a Christmas gift for Kathryn that must outdo Dr. Olsen's.
Gildersleeve intends to pass his late mother's ring on to Marjorie as a Christmas gift, unaware that she and Bronco are planning a surprise of their own.
Gildersleeve wants a moonlight hayride, but nearly everyone is headed to the Bullards' party instead.
1950
Gildersleeve strains to impress Bronco's art-savvy parents at the engagement announcement.
The Jolly Boys prepare to look after a young French displaced person, Summerfield's first postwar DP.
Gildersleeve plans a romantic dinner for two at home with Kathy Milford (Gildy sings 'Younger Than Springtime').
Pressed into hosting Bronco's parents for dinner, Gildersleeve first consults Emily Post.
Gildersleeve is determined to master the samba (Peary croons 'Goodnight, Sweetheart').
Marjorie and Bronco have their first quarrel, and Gildersleeve's peacemaking only makes it worse.
A dispute over the wedding details leaves everyone wondering whether Marjorie has eloped.
The Jolly Boys election turns on who gets the trip to Chicago -- three guesses.
Gildersleeve misses Marjorie's bridal shower to entertain her prospective father-in-law on the town.
Kathryn's ruined kitchen knife inspires the Parkay 'Gildersleeve' knife-spatula, blade autograph and all.
Double-dating with the engaged couple stirs Gildersleeve's own thoughts of marriage (Peary sings 'There's No Tomorrow').
A lakeside picnic with Bronco's parents (Peary sings 'Cruisin' Down the River').
Gildersleeve puts up Judge Hooker for a few days while the Judge's house is fumigated.
Gildersleeve wants the newlyweds-to-be under his roof, but Marjorie and Bronco have other plans.
Leroy's first business venture involves a goat, purchased at a bargain -- one Gildersleeve regrets by the time he walks home; the musical spot is 'Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes,' with Harold Peary at the mic.
With the wedding three weeks off, the hunt for Marjorie's gown -- several of them -- kicks into high gear.
The Jolly Boys settle on renting a travel trailer as the ideal wedding gift for Marjorie and Bronco.
Days before the wedding, Bronco goes missing -- perhaps with an old girlfriend.
The long-awaited day finally comes: Marjorie gets married. Birdie sings 'I Love You Truly.'
Gildersleeve goes fishing while Kathryn boats with his rival, catching nothing but fish (Peary sings 'Pagan Love Song').
Bronco turns real-estate salesman, and the first house he sells is Gildersleeve's own.
The hospital nurses are throwing a Sadie Hawkins dance, and Kathryn Milford has yet to invite Gildersleeve as her date.
Gildersleeve buys a houseboat from Bronco -- the 'S.S. Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve.'
Season finale (Peary's last): Gildersleeve builds his vacation around the new Jolly Boys houseboat.
Willard Waterman takes over the role as the new season begins, and word that Marjorie is expecting is already all over Summerfield.
Gildersleeve meets his in-laws' exotic relative, Aunt Victoria.
Gildersleeve's search for a new secretary lands him in trouble and gets him tossed from the Jolly Boys.
Bound for the fair with Kathryn Milford, Gildersleeve first has to survive some piano practice.
Newly named chairman of the Community Chest drive, Gildersleeve copes with Leroy backing out of the charity football game.
The Junior Thinkers back Mr. Bullard for mayor, a threat to the water commissioner's job.
Stung by the family's fat jokes, Gildersleeve resolves to slim down.
Gildersleeve is keen to become a member of the exclusive Sons of Summerfield, though the initiation rites give him serious second thoughts.
On Election Day, Gildersleeve backs the right man in the Bullard-Terwilliger mayoral race -- who loses anyway.
Determined to outdo his rival Bullard, Gildersleeve takes on a grueling hike up and climb of 'Old Stone Face.'
The search for a lead singer for the Summerfield Centennial brings Birdie an offer to sing in Kansas City (Randolph sings 'Goin' Home').
Gildersleeve promises two different ladies a spot on the Water Department calendar -- someone will be disappointed.
Leroy and Brenda Bullard are set for the Cotillion -- or are they, on Leroy's first date?
Leroy launches a laundry business but forgets to label whose shirts are whose.
To save Chief Gates's job, Gildersleeve hatches a plan to find him a criminal to arrest.
Determined to wow Kathryn with a grand Christmas gift, Gildersleeve ends up reading 'Why the Chimes Rang' to needy youngsters.
With New Year's Eve near, Mr. Bullard vies with Gildersleeve for the ladies' attention.
1951
A pregnant Marjorie gets a middle-of-the-night craving for sauerkraut.
Keeping up with Bullard on their shared double dates is wearing Gildersleeve out, but he refuses to fall behind; Willard Waterman sings 'Asleep in the Deep.'
Marjorie's sudden urge to rearrange furniture signals the baby is on its way.
For Peavey's 30th anniversary at the drugstore, Gildersleeve volunteers to mind the store.
Leroy's suspiciously good behavior finally cracks over the matter of some snowballs.
Marjorie's baby arrives -- and it's twins.
The family wrestles with what to name the newborn twins.
The twins come home from the hospital, and Grandpa Gildersleeve finds he isn't needed.
Gildersleeve must choose between an evening with the Jolly Boys and a date with Katie Lee.
Put in charge of the household, Bronco does surprisingly well.
Gildersleeve and Leroy take a turn as babysitters for the twins.
With the twins six weeks old, Mr. Bullard turns oddly friendly -- perhaps because the commissioner grants the lake sailboat permits.
Gildersleeve suspects Marjorie and Bronco are living with him only to keep him from being lonely.
Leroy, now twelve, is maturing quickly -- proof being that he's already lined up a date to the Junior High dance.
Leroy gets a new pony.
Gildersleeve winds up cleaning Judge Hooker's house in the spring-cleaning rush.
The family celebrates Marjorie and Bronco's first wedding anniversary.
Gildersleeve takes to a boat to court Katharine, with rival Mr. Bullard in pursuit.
Bronco's family visits, and the twins are finally named.
Season finale: vacation time, and Gildersleeve has big plans for Half Moon Lake.
Season opener: it's time to teach Leroy to drive as he buys a car.
The county fair returns, and so does Gildersleeve's running feud with Mr. Bullard.
As school starts, Gildersleeve finds himself falling for Mr. Bullard's sister.
Worn out from looking after the twins, Marjorie decides to take a job working in the water commissioner's office instead.
Gildersleeve's re-election as Jolly Boys president is held up by a bout of group self-criticism.
With Leroy away visiting Judge Hooker for a few days, the Gildersleeve household falls into an unnerving quiet.
Bronco nearly forgets the anniversary of his first date with Marjorie.
A picnic outing pairs Gildersleeve off with Mr. Bullard's sister, Mrs. Winthrop, and her daughter Babs.
Torn between the Jolly Boys and a date on Halloween, Gildersleeve has the choice made for him by a little lost 'ghost.'
Marjorie and Bronco buy a lot for their future home, straining relations with the visiting in-laws.
Whether an old oak stands or falls on Marjorie and Bronco's chosen lot is a secret only Gildersleeve and Bullard share.
Gildersleeve, full of the Thanksgiving spirit, keeps adding guests to the dinner list.
Gildersleeve faces the universal parental challenge of getting the growing-up Leroy to study.
December 5, 1951
Leroy tries his hand at selling Christmas trees, though business proves sluggish; the Jolly Boys sing 'Down by the Old Mill Stream.'
The traditional Christmas show, with Gildersleeve reading 'Why the Chimes Rang.'
Babs gave Leroy an expensive watch and he gave her pearls -- so Gildersleeve and Bullard agree the gifts must go back.
1952
After Bronco lands a new job, Gildersleeve tries to advance his own career with a new company in town.
Gildersleeve has vanished -- he was, in fact, in the hospital during the broadcast (Waterman appears only briefly, by recording).
Back from the hospital, Gildersleeve can't stop telling everyone about his operation, and a relapse comes in handy.
Gildersleeve and Paula can never get a moment alone, with Babs forever underfoot.
Gildersleeve and the Jolly Boys plot to rescue Judge Hooker from a scheming woman.
Gildersleeve hires Floyd Munson's wife at the water department -- and inherits Floyd too, a bad bargain.
Bullard misreads Marjorie's engagement ring as proof Gildersleeve means to elope with his sister Paula.
Gildersleeve angles to be the town's civic coordinator, only to lose the post to a pretty college professor.
Leroy and Babs Bullard suddenly decide they don't need adults telling them what to do.
Gildersleeve fawns over Mr. Bullard to secure a $2,000 loan for Marjorie and Bronco -- and Bullard moves right in.
Gildersleeve plans a water-commissioners' trip to Omaha and tries to keep it from Leroy.
Gildersleeve strains to grow a garden as fine as Mr. Bullard's.
Television arrives in Summerfield with a vengeance -- everyone seems to own a set except the water commissioner.
A visiting woman insists Gildersleeve is really her husband, William Cosgrove.
Whether to attend the Easter sunrise service is the family's dilemma (Birdie sings a hymn).
Leroy invests in a hive of bees that take an immediate dislike to Gildersleeve.
Wounded that a newspaper survey finds hardly anyone recognizes him in his official capacity, Gildersleeve dons a diving suit and heads for the reservoir floor to make his mark.
Leroy's failing report card threatens his summer camp -- or does it?
'Lonesome Leroy' trades his beehive for a guitar and plans to run away and become a singing cowboy.
Bronco's homecoming leaves him struggling to find five minutes alone with Marjorie.
After some not-so-subtle hints, Marjorie and Bronco finally move into their own home.
Needing $20 for a bike motor, Leroy rents out his own room to raise it.
Gildersleeve falls head over heels for wandering folk singer Katie Lee.
Gildersleeve schemes -- perhaps with chickens -- to get Bronco to build a wall between their yards.
A guess-the-beans contest at Peavey's drugstore offers a lamp as the prize.
Returning Leroy's broken baseball glove pits Gildersleeve against a no-nonsense complaint-counter clerk.
Gildersleeve badly wants to give the Fourth of July speech, but Judge Hooker is just as determined to make it himself.
Gildersleeve goes fishing while his girl boats with his rival, again catching nothing but fish.
Gildersleeve and Leroy pitch camp in the backyard and run into every kind of trouble.
Gildersleeve decides to install a family suggestion box.
It looks as though Bronco has sold Gildersleeve's house out from under him.
Leroy turns alarmingly, suspiciously good -- and danger surely lies ahead.
Mocked by the family for his weight, Gildersleeve resolves once more to diet.
Leroy launches a laundry business but forgets to mark whose shirts are whose.
Cousin Emily the actress comes to visit and charms absolutely everyone.
Gildersleeve tries -- and fails miserably -- to outshine Cousin Emily, even resorting to a horse.
An ink bottle tips over onto Mr. Bullard's rug, and Gildersleeve scrambles to get the stain out before Bullard walks through the door.
Leroy takes his driving test, and Gildersleeve learns it's harder than it looks.
Gildersleeve tries to broker peace between the feuding Peavey and Judge Hooker.
To economize, Gildersleeve attempts a whole date on just one dollar.
Juggling both Gloria and Paula, Gildersleeve trips himself up over a stray pair of gloves.
To prove Leroy doesn't need a new watch, Gildersleeve wears his own old one all day.
Disappointed that Leroy was cut from the football team, Gildersleeve ends up committed to a tennis match against his rival, Dr. Olsen.
Invited to golf with the mayor, Gildersleeve leaves him waiting at the first tee thanks to a stiff neck.
An argument with Leroy's beautiful teacher, Grace Tuttle, lands Gildersleeve in a supply closet.
Gildersleeve scolds Leroy for being careless with his things, though he's hardly careful himself.
Gildersleeve takes up bird-watching to impress his latest flame, Miss Grace Tuttle.
A birthday duck dinner for Mrs. Potter keeps expanding as more guests are added.
Leroy takes a commission-only Christmas job at Peavey's drugstore.
Grace Tuttle's mooching brother Sydney takes Gildersleeve for quite a ride.
With Marjorie, Bronco, and the twins away, Christmas feels hollow for Gildersleeve and Leroy alone (the Kraft Choristers sing).
Stood up by Grace Tuttle on New Year's Eve, Gildersleeve and Peavey reminisce about his old girlfriends.
1953
With Leila Ransom back in town, Gildersleeve seizes the chance to drop Grace Tuttle and her mooching brother Sidney.
Gildersleeve suspects Sidney is now competing with him for Leila's affections -- cue the furniture-moving.
Uncle Bert in Canada sends Leroy a 140-pound Great Dane.
Torn between Leila and Grace, Gildersleeve is invited to the library to help him decide.
When Leila and Grace discover they pledged the same sorority, Gildersleeve has to keep the two from swapping stories at an upcoming fashion show.
Gildersleeve has invited both Leila and Grace to the mayor's formal party -- and needs a way out.
Gildersleeve's double-booked day with Miss Tuttle and Miss Ransom earns him a chilly reception from both women.
Gildersleeve's Great Dane and Peavey's cat don't get along, and neither do their owners.
Gildersleeve takes on feminine help at the water department and invites customer criticism.
Fed up with Gildersleeve's rules, Leroy moves next door to Marjorie's -- and Gildersleeve fills the empty room fast.
Gildersleeve tries to wean Leroy off Babs and bebop with Clara and a classical cello.
House-cleaning time at the Gildersleeves' turns into a rummage sale -- or does all the old stuff really go?
The traditional Easter show: the family attends sunrise services to hear Birdie sing.
Gildersleeve orders Leroy to befriend the mayor's son, a tall order.
The Jolly Boys hand their clubhouse over to Leroy and his friends for the evening; the group sings 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon.'
Marjorie grows jealous of a beautiful dancer among Bronco's clients.
Bronco's new bottled-water venture -- the Babbling Brook Water Company -- sets itself up as a rival to Uncle Mort's water department.
For Marjorie and Bronco's anniversary, Gildersleeve settles on the perfect gift -- Judge Hooker's old clock.
Gildersleeve finds himself bound for Europe entirely against his will.
Leroy writes a school theme chronicling twenty-four hours in the life of his favorite uncle.
Gildersleeve inflates a Marine's simple wedding into an elaborate celebration.
Deciding Birdie would be happier working for Marjorie, Gildersleeve finds life isn't the same without her.
Leroy parlays a case of the mumps into a weekend train trip.
Leroy gives his teacher Miss Tuttle a travel case, and it's Gildersleeve who reaps the rewards.
Gildersleeve's day-at-a-time vacation trip to Grass Lake balloons when all the neighborhood kids tag along.
Keen to keep up with the younger set, Gildersleeve makes a play for Mae Kelly.
July 8, 1953
Katie Lee Returns
A paint sprayer bought jointly with Bronco quickly becomes a source of trouble for Gildersleeve.
Mae Kelly returns from vacation -- newly engaged.
Gildersleeve packs Leroy off to Aunt Hattie's for a week and misses him terribly.
The mayor catches Gildersleeve idling at his desk a second time and fires him as water commissioner.
Gildersleeve and Leroy plan a week at a lakeside cabin -- but which cabin, on which lake?
A tall 'fish story' after a day with Leroy nearly lands Gildersleeve in trouble with the game warden.
Gildersleeve preaches the virtues of self-sufficiency and being happy in one's own company.
Leroy develops a crush on 'Jo' McCoy, a thoroughgoing tomboy.
Gildersleeve's firm hand with Marjorie's little wild-Indian Ronnie doesn't sit well with the boy's parents.
Birdie sets out to bake a prize cake for the county fair, and it's harder than it sounds.
Birdie sings on the radio while Gildersleeve proves a decidedly poor babysitter.
Gildersleeve lays on the insincere flattery to win a seat on the school board.
Gildersleeve buys clippers to save on Leroy's haircuts -- and ends up badly shorn himself.
Dating a schoolteacher proves tricky when the principal is young and attractive too.
Trouble with Summerfield's school bells makes Leroy the prime suspect.
Gildersleeve winds up a witness for both sides after Peavey and the mayor collide.
Determined to shake up his routine, Gildersleeve makes an impulsive midnight visit to a Justice of the Peace -- and very nearly gets married on the spot.
When Leroy insists on going to a dance alone, Gildersleeve feels his household authority slipping.
Bested by Dr. Olsen on the football field, Gildersleeve angles for revenge on the badminton court.
On a snowy day nobody will keep Gildersleeve company -- until he finds himself with far too much of it.
Gildersleeve tries to raise extra Christmas cash by selling insurance, which proves harder than expected.
Bessie recruits Gildersleeve as a jealousy ploy for a dance, but the plan backfires when he runs into Irene Henshaw there -- on Dr. Olsen's arm.
Expecting a lonely Judge Hooker, Gildersleeve is astonished to find him with caviar, a butler, and important guests -- and a feud is born.
Gildersleeve volunteers to sell Christmas trees for a needy-children's party, and the question is who'll play Santa.
As Leroy heads to his first New Year's party, Gildersleeve stays home with Irene Henshaw and reminisces.
1954
Gildersleeve grows convinced that Irene Henshaw's father has marriage-by-ultimatum on his mind, while Cathy Lewis performs the vocal number 'I'm in the Mood for Love.'
Trying to keep a date with Irene, Gildersleeve gets trapped in Peavey's basement.
A lovestruck and fiercely protective Leroy is going steady with Wendy.
Bronco's strained relations with Gildersleeve worsen when he comes home to find Gildy and Peavey in his house.
Leroy is struggling at school, and Gildersleeve isn't faring much better with the teacher.
Gildersleeve stews over why Judge Hooker hasn't invited the family to his annual dinner.
A PTA speech on 'water' convinces Gildersleeve his political future is assured.
Gildersleeve quits the Jolly Boys after a newspaper photo of the club leaves him out.
Paula Winthrop returns to town and proves a very expensive date.
Babs, Paula's spiteful daughter, sets about persuading Leroy that his uncle is hopelessly behind the times.
Gildersleeve dates the new girl in town, Marie, mainly to spite his rival Dr. Olsen.
Gildersleeve is stumped for an entry in the hobby show, having no hobby at all.
Gildersleeve finds himself splitting his attention again, this time between the alluring newcomer Marie and his reliable old flame Grace Tuttle.
Bronco's French lessons with Marie make Marjorie increasingly jealous.
Bronco brings his young, attractive boss home to dinner, and Gildy's girlfriend takes a keen interest.
Gildersleeve lavishes attention on the exotic Marie Olsen -- more than Leroy would like.
Gildersleeve swears off women to save money, and Peavey bets a new hat he can't hold out -- then Thelma appears.
May 5, 1954
With his rival Dr. Olsen leaving town, Gildersleeve magnanimously throws him a testimonial dinner.
Gildersleeve runs for sheriff against the formidable Mama Hubbard.
Leroy's lack of discipline brings a crackdown from Gildersleeve -- and a visit from Aunt Hattie.
Season and Kraft-era finale: the household schemes to bring Aunt Hattie's stay to an end.
1955
October 27, 1955
November 3, 1955
November 10, 1955
November 17, 1955
November 24, 1955
December 1, 1955
December 8, 1955
December 15, 1955
December 22, 1955
December 29, 1955
1956
January 5, 1956
Fibbing to Make Friends
January 12, 1956
January 19, 1956
January 26, 1956
Leap Year Party
February 2, 1956
February 9, 1956
February 16, 1956
February 23, 1956
March 1, 1956
March 8, 1956
March 15, 1956
March 22, 1956
March 29, 1956
April 5, 1956
October 11, 1956
October 18, 1956
October 25, 1956
November 1, 1956
Jolly Boys Haunted House Adventure
November 8, 1956
November 15, 1956
November 22, 1956
November 29, 1956
December 6, 1956
December 13, 1956
December 20, 1956
December 27, 1956
1957
January 3, 1957
January 10, 1957
January 17, 1957
January 24, 1957
January 31, 1957
February 7, 1957
February 14, 1957
February 21, 1957
February 28, 1957
March 14, 1957
March 21, 1957
March 28, 1957
April 4, 1957
April 11, 1957
April 18, 1957
The Meaning of Easter
October 17, 1957
October 24, 1957
October 31, 1957
November 7, 1957
November 14, 1957
November 21, 1957
November 28, 1957
December 5, 1957
December 12, 1957
December 19, 1957
December 26, 1957
1958
January 2, 1958
January 9, 1958
January 16, 1958
January 23, 1958
January 30, 1958
February 6, 1958
February 13, 1958
February 20, 1958
February 27, 1958
March 6, 1958
March 13, 1958
March 20, 1958
March 27, 1958
The Story
The Great Gildersleeve brought the pompous-but-good-natured Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve to NBC as the water commissioner of Summerfield, a blustering bachelor raising his orphaned niece Marjorie and nephew Leroy alongside his cook Birdie. The signature textures are unmistakable: the throaty "dirty laugh" and the long-suffering cry of "Leee-roy!" What makes the show a landmark is how it began. Gildersleeve was first a recurring foil on Fibber McGee and Molly, introduced in 1939, and when he was spun off into his own series on May 16, 1941, he became broadcasting's first true spin-off -- a format-defining innovation. Harold Peary originated the title role and carried it for nearly a decade. When Peary wanted to move networks in 1950, NBC -- which owned the character outright -- simply hired Willard Waterman to replace him, an early and instructive case of character ownership; Peary's own CBS series lasted a single season. Sponsored by Kraft, the program ran a remarkable sixteen years, to 1957, and over its 521 broadcasts it established the spin-off as a permanent form of American broadcasting -- the quiet ancestor of an industry built on the device.
Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
Gallery
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