DOBIE GILLIS (Rare unseen pilot footage)

[@Keaton-Casablanca]

We awill miss you Dobie, RIP.

[@TomBarrister]

For those wondering where to watch this series, you can view all four seasons on Tubi for free. They show 30 or 60 seconds of ads per half-hour episode.

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thank you.

[@triplanelover]

thanks for posting this great footage '

[@josephdragan7734]

You can see so much of Bob Cummings' influence in the way that young Hickman handles comedic scenes.

[@bartbro]

I thought Dwayne Hickman was acting like a Jack Benny type.

[@randyjohnson7734]

this is great

[@StevePhil-qw4ep]

Yvonne Craig and Tuesday Weld..cant get hotter than those two

[@TheBeNimble]

I have the impression Tuesday Weld had already become somewhat well known by this time.

[@marcd30319]

The older brother was the great Ron Ely a.k.a. Tarzan from 1966-1968.

[@harlow743]

He got the boot.....The older brother was played by Daryl Hickman...

[@horarwgt]

@RJRanke Shelia James appeared as Zelda in only 34 of the 147 "Dobie Gillis" episodes. Her character, introduced in only the third episode, proved a problem for the producers because the show was supposed to be about a teenage boy who dates a diffferent girl each week. Shelia James' portrayal of Zelda sparkled with so much obvious electric chemistry -- in other words, she made Zelda so RIGHT for Dobie -- that the producers feared deatroying the series' premise by making her a regular.

[@Tim-57]

I oftened wondered why she was not in more episodes... I thought she belonged in there at least as a more recurring guest. Oh well cannot change the past. I just finished watching the whole show on the app tubi. Thank you for your info🙂

[@osocool1too]

As i write, this little clip from 1959, is in its 62nd year. It definitely was a slickly produced and acted show, made very enjoyable by Dwayne Hickman acting as Dobie who is always looking for the "perfect" girl yet never actually finding her. I wish it could be aired again.

[@frankambrose878]

Loved that show . Am 69 now, saw it when I was a kid. For the cast that is no longer with us, I hope you rest in peice.

[@GreatBigSea1968]

Dobie Gillis has got to be the most underrated classic t.v. sitcom ever. I'm grateful that MeTV is showing it, although they have an annoying tendency to skip episodes. Its DVD debut is LONG overdue, don't you think??

[@gerrydooley951]

great show, somewhat ahead of its time. I thought it was Bob Denver's best work, not the asinine Gilligan

[@NunyaBizznaz]

This is amazing footage! I'm a fan of Dobie Gillis and I've never seen this before

[@nickmad887]

Thanks for showing great TV.

[@schallrd1]

A classic...ahead of its time.

[@barbarabarber3167]

I called a radio talk show once to speak to guest, Bob Denver. I asked him if he ever was really a 'Beatnik' and he said "Well, I have written some Beat poetry". I was so stunned I didn't speak and it was the last seconds of the show. I wish I had asked him to print them or recite one. Missed opportunity.

[@mistercool3859]

The critics weren't lying when they said this show was ahead of its time. How often did you see actors from the 1950s step out of character like that?

[@ferociousgumby]

Ferris Bueller owes a lot to Dobie and his addressing the audience.

[@wholeNwon]

Good thing old Will started it.

[@dianefiske-foy4717]

I used to watch this show as a kid. Loved it 👍🏻🥰‼️

[@horarwgt]

Hickman had to dye his hair blond at first in order to match the description of Dobie in the original books. The repeated colorization damanged his hair so much it began falling out (!), which is why Dobie's hair gradually darkened as the series progressed. This is certainly a rare clip -- thanks for posting! Dobie Gillis was one of TV's all-time greatest comedy series.

[@horarwgt]

@montanakid07 "Whatever Happened To Dobie Gillis?" was a half-hour revival ilot which aired once on CBS in 1977. On it, Dobie had married Zelda, they'd taken over the Gillis Grocery and had a son. In 1988, the TV movie "Bring Me The Head of Dobie Gillis" ran on CBS to high ratings, but the network failed to pick up either revival as a series. Shelia James, again as Zelda, acted for the very last time in that TV movie. Frank Faylen died in 1985, Florida Friebus in 1988, Bob Denver in 2005.

[@johnjarou2357]

featuring tuesday weld as thalia menninger. what a looker!

[@austinpearce5442]

She's too sexy.

[@auletjohnast03638]

John Jarou, Yes she was very gorgeous. And that's what the girls used to say about me when I was young "He's a looker".

[@ftsjr]

I've always been crazy about Yvonne Craig and Tuesday Weld. I've always loved Myrna Fahey too. She is the girl at 2:24, and the second girl behind the fence. She was a beautiful character actress, who appeared in many TV shows of the 1960s. Unfortunately, she died of cancer in 1973. I wish they'd issue the entire Dobie Gillis series on DVD.

[@JunkyardKid]

ftsjr they have. I’m watching it now.

[@Tim-57]

@@JunkyardKid I just finished watching the whole series on the tubi app. I hope that you enjoy it🙂

[@patrickryan1515]

I probably watched only a handful of episodes of this show when they first aired but must say all the characters were quite memorable, more so than those on many other TV shows. Great writing, great cast; lots of funny moments. Thank God KZbin has given these four seasons back to us to enjoy over and over again. 7/2018

[@chadkincham]

This is footage shot to sell the show and show concept to the network. It worked, the network picked up the show and it became a series.

[@StrongArmGuy]

I remember watching it when I was a kid too. In 1959 when it came out !! It was a different world on the earth then. Things were like on TV all over the world.

[@revueguy]

And Herbert Anderson got an offer from Screen Gems he couldn't refuse. He got the part of Henry Mitchell in Dennis The Menace starring Jay North, along with Gloria Henry, Joseph Kearns, Sylvia Field, and others. Dennis and Dobie both ran for the same four seasons (1959-63) on the same network, CBS!

[@GingerGilligan]

Dobie was always such a horndog.

[@maple1255]

A great classic, still as funny today as then, started in 1959. Thanks for posting that rare & fabulous look back ☺

[@horarwgt]

Yes, Shelia James was 10 when she began playing Stu's daughter (1950-5)on "The Stu Erwin Show" (a/ka "The Trouble With Father"). That series' best performer, Shelia stole every scene she was in. James popped up as Zelda in only the second "Dobie" episode ever filmed (her first line: "I love you"). Signed as a one-time guest, James did so well that Zelda eventually became the ONLY love of Dobie Gillis. Shelia gave up acting after being wasted in a small recurring role on "Broadside" ('64-5).

[@petercrowl9467]

The correct answer to Ginger or MaryAnne is always...Zelda

[@fromthesidelines]

Several [obvious] things changed from this unaired version of the pilot episode- the opening title became an animated one; Herbert Anderson went on to "DENNIS THE MENACE" that fall of '59, replaced by William Schallert [as "Mr. Pomfritt"] in the series; and yes, the part of Dobie's brother was eventually dropped from the cast...the closing sequence was meant for potential sponsors and network executives only {as in, "Please consider this show for the fall!"}.

[@John80220]

The main part of the pilot -- involving Dobie's attempts to impress Thalia by winning a drawing at the Bijou (only to be foiled, of course, by Maynard) did make it to air on CBS, and is in the syndication package, only with the regular first season opening and closing titles.

[@horarwgt]

@MrKite053 Tuesday actually debuted in "Rock Rock Rock" in 1956 and then played opposite Dwayne Hickman in "Rally Round The Flag Boys" in '58 (a year before "Dobie'). In his autobiography, Dwayne reveals he first wanted to date Tuesday but was put off by the fact that in real; life she was just as shallow as the Thalia character she played on TV. Frank Faylen broke into movies in 1936; he drove the cab in "It's A Wonderful Life." The son of vaudevillians, he did a lot of TV and died in 1985.

[@auletjohnast03638]

THELMA IS SO CUTE!

[@gli7utubeo]

Last Friday (Aug 31, 2012): Actor Steve Franken, famous for his role as the playboy dilettante Chatsworth Osborne Jr., on the hit 1960s sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," has died at the age of 80, reports say. According to the New York Times, Franken had been battling cancer. (NYT)

[@bigred997]

later on in life, dwayne became estranged from his sister and brother, as he wrote in his autobio. he also said tuesday weld had a chip on her shoulder and acted like she was the star.

[@ohhhwolfy]

For those of you who watched "It's A Wonderful Life" at Christmas, that was Frank Faylen who played Ernie Bishop (a taxi driver, I believe). Here, he was Dobie's father in "Dobie Gillis".

[@agentfungus9742]

+ohhhwolfy : Who can forget the lady (actress Florida Friebus; what a cool name) who always had her knitting basket with her on The Bob Newhart Show during his group therapy sessions? That was Dobie's mom.

[@ohhhwolfy2536]

+Agent Fungus Florida Friebus was a great addition to group therapy in The Bob Newhart Show. I actually liked that character better than her as Dobie's mom.

[@agentfungus9742]

ohhhwolfy : She actually was one of the more sane characters in those therapy sessions. Must Google her. She always seemed like such a nice person.

[@josephdragan7734]

and don't forget his buddy in that movie classic was named "Bert" (Ward Bond) "Bert and Ernie"...I wonder :)

[@annarodriguez9868]

@@josephdragan7734 Don't wonder anymore. Jim Henson named them for the buddies in that movie and of course their characters were like Felix and Oscar in the Odd Couple.

[@magovenor]

As a little kid I watched any show with a laugh track, even though I didn’t know that’s what it was.

[@singinjohnny]

By the way, thank you, Bart, for posting this great opening sequence. My brother and I watched this show regularly right from the series' start. But I never saw the pilot. Oh...the women in this show! Even as a kid, I enjoyed this!

[@thebes118]

This was a great show!

[@jiminycriket]

Was that TARZAN and DOC SAVAGE actor Ron Ely, playing Dobie's brother? 🤔

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

Excellent post, thanks. Too bad the series didn't end with Dobie marrying the smart and cute Zelda.

[@ohhhwolfy]

You're absolutely right, that's a very young Yvonne Craig at 2:00 and a very young Tuesday Weld at 3:10! There aren't any actresses that look like that anymore! Dobie Gillis was one lucky SOB!

[@horarwgt]

Singinjohnny, you are right that that is not Darryl Hickman in this test film. What I was referring to was the fact that Dwayne's real life brother DID appear as his TV brother in a few episodes of the series: #4 ("The Right Triangle"), #12 ("Deck The Halls") and #31 ("Where There's A Will"). Although the chemistry between the real-life and onscreen brothers was obvious (especially in #4), the existance of Dobie's older brother in the series vanished after that and was not referred to again!

[@GarudaMan9]

It's the conclusion of the original edit of the pilot, which runs 29 minutes total. The end tag gag that aired with the rest of the pilot was shot later when the show was picked up.

[@ThomasDickensheets]

He pass away

[@NunyaBizznaz]

Tuesday Weld was the ultimate seductress in my opinion.

[@fromthesidelines]

"Dobie Gillis" was based on a series of short stories- and several novels- written by Max Shulman (as mentioned by Dwayne at :57) during, at least, a 15 year period before this pilot episode was filmed, 'Steve' {he was originally a college student}. One of those books was adapted into a 1953 MGM feature featuring Bobby Van and Debbie Reynolds [as you've mentioned]. For the full account of the making of this pilot, read Dwayne Hickman's autobiography, "Forever Dobie'...

[@mistercool3859]

I guess Herbert Anderson decided to do "Dennis The Menace" instead of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." I guess it wasn't a big loss for him, since both shows lasted four seasons. Herbert Anderson was replaced William Schallert.

[@tnx79]

Unless my vision's not that great, I think that the first woman after Dobie complains about the script is Yvonne Craig aka Batgirl. Yvonne Craig & Tuesday Weld...now that's a real dynamic duo

[@moviemayhem59]

Very cool upload!.. I really like the alternate intro, and the way the script breaks the fourth wall here.

[@jensenbell]

RIP Yvonne Craig. Aug. 17. You were so lovely and so funny in this. Thank you for entertaining us for so many years... and with so much vitality.

[@DanLoFat]

TV's Batgirl!

[@44032]

She's age 22 here and died last year at age 78. Sigh...

[@michaelbowie3269]

Thank you!

[@WSenator1]

I know this sounds like heresy, but whenever I think of Bob Denver, I think of Maynard Krebs - NOT Gilligan!

[@horarwgt]

That's Dwyane's real-life older brother, Darryl, playing Davey Gillis (brieflly) in the opening 1959-60 season, Shelia "Zelda Gilroy" James joined the series a few episodes in and, of course, became the long denied but obvious key love of Dabie's life. James and Hickman were friends offscreen, too, but nothing ever developed of it -- because she's a lesbian! Dobie, though, was MY teenage role model. I even found my own real-life version of Zelda -- fell in love with her -- and still am.

[@bartbro]

I GOTTA KILL THAT BOY! I JUST GOTTA! .....Herbert T Gillis

[@Nash1a]

That guy on Comedy Central - Tosh 2.0 - has been simply channeling Dobie Gillis all this time!

[@ilovemartinmilner]

This was a great show. Well written, funny, and Dwane Hickman was all kinds of cute.

[@cosmosolis]

Ron Ely played the big brother. Later on in the late sixties he became known as TARZAN!

[@GH-oi2jf]

Chaleco Salvavides - Ely lives on as a crossword puzzle answer.

[@dogmaticfool13]

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was originally a movie starring the fabulous Bobby Van!

[@ginkaas]

Thank you. I see it now.

[@1234cheerful]

Two more bits of trivia: Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus had bit parts as a couple in Hello Dolly. Frank Faylen also appeared in the 1951 movie "Detective Story"--that also was the first movie appearance of Lee Grant (who was 17 at the time and gave a marvelous performance as a teenage shoplifter).

[@singinjohnny]

@horarwgt Thanks for the clarification. I would love to get the whole series in DVD format. It sounds as though you may have this. I'll check for it on the 'net. This show really stood out then. It was brilliantly written and casted. And, once again, ohhh.....those women! Great show!

[@Tim-57]

In case you are still looking😉 I just finished watching the whole show on the app tubi.

[@DanLoFat]

Hey, first girl, the "Oh heck" girl, Batgirl!

[@GeminieCricket]

♥️

[@Muirmaiden]

Dwayne Hickman and Tuesday Weld had worked together in the film version of "Rally 'Round The Flag, Boys!" (1958) which was what led to them being cast in "The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis". After constant bleaching, Hickman's hair began to fall out and he demanded that his hair be allowed to return to it's natural color unless the creators wanted a bald Dobie Gillis. Weld was dropped from the series mid-way through the first season, as the sponsors decided she was "too sexy". She returned for two guest appearances in Season 3 and 4. Darryl Hickman (Dwayne's older brother) is now an acting teacher.

[@johnjarou2357]

tuesday weld: WOW!

[@robphilll22]

Yvonne Craig BatGirl guest starred in a few Dobie episodes.

[@curtisjones400]

i watched this show when it came on during the 1960"s

[@louistaylor9796]

Ron Ely ( television ""Tarzan"")@ 3:22 !!

[@jamesfox2579]

I just ❤️ this show!

[@holden190]

Kinda surreal! I love it!

[@sd31263]

This is included as bonus material on the Dobie Gillis box set released by Shout Factory on July 2.

[@clifforddriver4603]

Vintage television, funnier than shit!

[@TheMidknightryder13]

This is one of those shows that was WAY ahead of it's time. I always liked it because Dobie would talk directly to the audience -- usually while in front of that reproduction of Rodin's "The Thinker". (I've always been a sucker for shows that break the fourth wall.) What I always wondered was, "What genius made Dwayne Hickman bleach his hair THAT blond?" ESPECIALLY since NONE of his family has hair even close to that color. (It was the CBS and Schlman, thus proving that networks and creators/producers are not infalliable.) However, I wonder why Me-TV doesn't rerun this in the 8:30/7:30 Central half-hour instead of an hour of "Gilligan's Island"? Bob Denver is in both of them, and I for one would love to see more of the series. But, I'm not getting up at 3am Sunday morning to watch it. Finally, THIS open is much cooler than the animated one. Especially, since the animated Dobie looks NOTHING like Dwayne Hickman. To say nothing of the girls. (To use the vernacular, "WHAT were they smoking?")

[@dangeradio1600]

According to Hickman, from his book, "Forever Dobie", the sponsor (a tobacco company) didn't want Dobie to look so much like the character Hickman played the season prior in "The Bob Cummings Show" (sponsored by a competing tobacco company).

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Thomas Knight lol! Great comments!

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Little, young YVONNE Craig! And Tuesday Weld! Ron Eli? Did he ever play the brother?

[@m.oriley8260]

Thomas, by addressing the audience, Dwayne / Dobie was "breaking the fourth wall," a theatrical term. George Burns on "Burns and Allen" did it frequently as well.

[@terr777]

@@SenorZorrozzz THANK YOU, I knew that I recognized that face and that it wasn't Darryl Hickman! And apparently Darryl did play his brother for three appearances and was then written out.

[@gli7utubeo]

I read Max Shulman's book when I was a kid and loved it. If you liked the show, try the book. (OK, I read it 40 years ago, but I still recommend it.)

[@jmen4ever257]

I picked up a copy about 30 years ago at a goodwill store. It is great! The dobie of 1945-1950 or so. Sometimes he lived in St. Paul, sometimes in Minneapolis. . On the show, they often mention Minnesota.

[@gli7utubeo]

@@jmen4ever257 Neat. They don't write books like that anymore (or have TV shows as simply funny with no agenda but to make you smile). Thanks.

[@russellcampbell9198]

Loved the American girls that Dobie chased. Yvonne Craig, Tuesday and all the rest.

[@LJG907]

Classic !! I loved Maynard !!

[@kingkuts]

its Zack from Saved by the bell same thing over ,,they are great

[@JudgeJulieLit]

And the actor who in the Dobie Gillis pilot plays Dobie's teacher went on to play Hank Mitchell, the father on tv's Dennis the Menace.

[@BubbafromSapperton]

Tuesday Weld was hot 🥰

[@Arthur_McGowan]

I notice the "teacher" isn't William Schallert, but the guy who played Dennis the Menace's father.

[@jonjofarrell4495]

They both played the part Anderson first then Schallert

[@zapkvr]

And Pop would always be singin' that song "Oh my papa" This show was a classic.

[@34Packardphaeton]

Yeah, "the many loves of dobie gillis" was and is definitely under-appreciated. It ended all too soon: why I don't know. I remember the girls loving this show. Me? I was still a year or two from puberty, and thus did not totally appreciate the show. But most of those girls were gorgeous!

[@dogmaticfool13]

Warren Beatty played a recurring part, too.

[@jonjofarrell4495]

The original Chatsworth Osborne.

[@cosmosolis]

In Happy Days, Richie Cunningham also had a big brother who seemed to have disappeared.

[@DanLoFat]

So why is this here? It doesnt correlate nor add to the discussion. In real life? Nope. Ron's real life brother, Clint, is younger by 4 years or so. Still alive, and working his craftiness.

[@cosmosolis]

Also, Happy Days started as an episode on Love American Style with Richie and Potsie.

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

once happy days changed their opening theme from rock around the clock to that crappy mish mash song it went to hell! I liked it best when Fonzie was kind of a hood. yea, I saw that Love American Style segment when it first aired. no one would ever believe me when I said it wasn't based on American Graffiti!

[@AvengerII]

YOu have to give people this... It's EASY to see how Happy Days could have been a Graffiti spin-off. The timing IS off since the movie had to have been developed earlier. Movies take longer generally to do than TV projects. MOvies are in development usually anywhere from 2-5 years. Some directors have had projects that took them 20 years to get off the ground! Graffiti and Happy Days are both based in the 1950s and Ron Howard is a main character in both projects! It's easy to say in retrospect that one didn't spin off the other but unless you're a trivia or were alive at the time people aren't going to know. Hollywood DOESn"T generally go out of its way to correct the facts as long as it serves its purpose in selling product! It's only when the creators are conscientious and want to make clear that they "didn't steal the other guy's idea!" that it seems to matter.

[@terr777]

@@DanLoFat He's talking about the series brother, Chuck Cunningham. Happy Days. Appeared a couple of times in the first season then was never seen again. It seems Dobie's series brother (who was his actual brother) disappeared also, and was written out after a few appearances. The guy in this pilot isn't Darryl Hickman.

[@horarwgt]

@SPmQQse No. Shelia James did not come out as a lesbian for many years and in old interviews she'd put herself down as both an actress and as an attractive (to men) woman. Both beliefs, were, of course, completely wrong. The "Dobie" scripts were full of character put-downs, knocking not just Zelda but Dobie ("we're a couple of dogs"), Maynard, etc. None of them held any water, of course, because all 3 were played by attractive actors. Cute Shelia, though, sadly came to believe the put-downs.

[@redbaron474]

It sucks that this wasn't included on the DVD release!

[@kingbee1500]

Very nice promotional piece! Are you sure this didn't air anywhere?

[@mike-kn5jf]

Dobie "Maynard, what does the G stand for"?Maynard "William".

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

this was really unique. I really enjoyed it. always loved that cool, crazy cat Maynard G. Krebs. I always preferred Bob Denver in that role over Gilligan.

[@jrbaskind]

Ron Ely was Dobie's big brother? Whoa!

[@ferociousgumby]

I never saw this opening!

[@montanakid07]

i wonder if this will ever come back to tv?

[@cdgates1]

It currently airs on the decades channel monday-friday at 3am

[@cbranalli]

i saw a few episodes of Dobie Gillis when it first aired in the early 60's. i never forgot how much i liked it and Maynard G Krebs not to mention Thalia Menninger.. when it appeared on Nick at Night in the 80's i was ready with my brand new VCR. for the youngsters here a VCR was like a DVD except with magnetic tape what's "magnetic tape" you ask ? - never mind anyway i recorded every single episode off the air (ditto the Muppet Show) and it was worth every minute charles ranalli albuquerque

[@John80220]

The opening titles look like they were shot at Fox's Malibu Creek Ranch -- the fence in the background is pretty much still in place now, even though Fox sold t he ranch a long time ago to the state of California for a park.

[@ohhhwolfy]

I sometimes wonder if the absolutely gorgeous Tuesday Weld (gee, ya think I like her?) had a really bad agent. She would've been a superstar in the '60s if not for the fact that she turned down major roles in movies that became blockbusters and instead took roles in movies that only turned out to be so-so.

[@GH-oi2jf]

ohhhwolfy - No, she just didn’t want to. She was selective out of personal preference and wasn’t trying for superstardom. You can get a better feeling for this by listening to her interview bu Dick Cavett.

[@SteveCarras]

"Scooby-Doo" may have been based on "Dobie Gillis" but Dobie was well WRITTEN!!!!!! (And had the likes of Warren beatty and in I THINK the earliest MEL BLANC!!). It was based on aq Debbie Reynolds movie and on a book.

[@Beautifulstar24]

This was interesting. I prefer the opening credit. Yvonne Craig was so pretty. I also prefer him with the darker color hair.

[@MrKite053]

@horarwgt Wow,you really know your old TV shows, Am I right in assuming this is where Tuesday Weld got her start,and I always loved Frankie Faylen,he was a character actor that did alot of work in older movies in the 50's & 60's.

[@horarwgt]

My story is far from "bullshit." My mentioning Shelia's real-life status as a lesbian was in contrast to the heterosexual role she filled so perfectly on "Dobie Gillis." She transformed Zelda into the series' most three-dimensional character. Despite her obvious appeal and abilities as a first rate actress, Shelia's show biz career faded after "Dobie Gillis." She then turned to politics and became exceptionally successful. But that was well AFTER the "Dobie" period I was writing about. .