The Pride of the Family (1953 - 1954)

The Pride of the Family was a half-hour situation comedy starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood, and Robert Hyatt, which aired for forty episodes on ABC in the 1953–1954 season. Hartman portrays Albie Morrison, the father and error-prone head of the household, about whom most of the episodes are centered. Albie works in the advertising section of his local newspaper, and he often has new ideas that go awry in the workplace as well as failed handyman activities at home. Wray, remembered in particularly from her role in the horror film King Kong, plays Albie's wife, Catherine. Natalie Wood is the 15-year-old daughter, Ann, and "Bobby" Hyatt is the 14-year-old son, Junior Morrison. Larry J. Blake appeared fourteen times in the role of "Frank". Hartman's Albie Morrison lacks the good judgment and wisdom exercised by the fictitious insurance agent James Anderson, Sr., the role of Robert Young on the long-running Father Knows Best, which premiered the following season on CBS. Billboard described Hartman's lead role as "average"; indeed the series attempted to present the "average family." Guest stars included Tol Avery, Barbara Billingsley, Douglas Fowley, Frank Ferguson, Lyle Talbot, Steven Terrell, and Joey D. Vieira.