Pete and Gladys was TV's first official spin-off sitcom, from the popular Desilu comedy, "December Bride". It aired on CBS from September 1960 to September 1962 and ran for 2 seasons starring Harry Morgan (from Dragnet 1967 and M*A*S*H) and the 'other-red-head comedienne' Cara Williams, co-starring Verna Felton (a carryover from "December Bride"), also known as the voice to "Mother Slaghoople" from "The Flintstones".
The show was produced between the end of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" and "The Lucy Show", with many of the same writers (Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf) and characterizations (like Verna Felton playing an "Ethel Mertz-like" character) and comedy situations.
CBS-TV was associated behind the production of this show - along with "El Camino Productions', which was creator Parke Levy's company - who filmed this show at Desilu-adjoining Paramount Pictures (using many 'famous' Desilu people like Kerwin Coughlin who cast the show, and James V. Kern who directed a few episodes).
As for this theme song, it is copyrighted as composed by Parke Levy and Lee Wainer. However, the closing credits are attributed to composer Wilbur Hatch. Anyone can notice IT IS THE SAME SONG. Hatch titled his pilot song "For Pete's Sake" (which may or may not be different).
CBS-TV archives reveal that in a money-saving measure, CBS Music Director Lud Gluskin (famous for the "Burns and Allen" Show music) went to France (and conduct?) to record assorted Music Cues and Themes (on a budget) for this and other CBS-TV associated productions of that time - and in correspondence, was asked to record the "Levy/Wainer" theme. So, there is much confusion as to the actual author of the theme of "Pete and Gladys".
Parke Levy created the television series "December Bride" starring Spring Byington and wrote and directed "My Friend Irma" on radio.
Mr. Levy began his career in the early days of radio, writing for "The Joe Penner Show" and working with entertainers like Ed Wynn, Ed Gardner, Jack Pearl and Ben Bernie.
"My Friend Irma," with Marie Wilson as the scatterbrained title character, made its radio debut in 1947 and was later adapted for television. The 1949 film version introduced Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to movie audiences.
Mr. Levy created the character Lily Ruskin, in "December Bride" (performed by Spring Byington) in the image of his mother-in-law apparently.
Unfortunately, I could not find a decent full version of the theme, and there were so many artifacts (volume dips) that this 'restoration' was a tough job to make it sound 'bright' - but it is what it is!
Enjoy!
#tvthemes #tvthemesongs #sounddesign
From Wikipedia:
Pete and Gladys is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was broadcast on September 10, 1962.
One of CBS television's most popular and highly rated sitcoms of the 1950s, December Bride, starred Spring Byington and co-starred Harry Morgan as next-door neighbor Pete Porter. Pete spent most of his time complaining about his scatterbrained wife Gladys, who was unseen to viewers. In this spin-off series, Gladys emerges as the gorgeous red-haired comedienne Cara Williams. Pete is an insurance salesman, and the happy couple resides in Westwood, California.
Besides leading man Peter, another carryover from December Bride during the first season was the character of Hilda Crocker (Verna Felton), a close equivalent of I Love Lucy's Ethel Mertz; she appeared in 23 episodes. Frances Rafferty, another December Bride veteran, appeared in seven episodes of Pete and Gladys as Nancy (a different character from her role in the original series). Barbara Stuart had a recurring first-season role as Gladys' friend Alice, and Ernest Truex appeared in six episodes as Gladys' widowed father, "Pop".
Pete and Gladys never made it into the Nielsen ratings Top 30 during the course of its prime time run. After it ceased production, it was repeated as part of the CBS weekday-morning lineup. It aired at 11:30 a.m. EST for two years from October 1, 1962, to October 2, 1964.