Earliest TV Character Spin-Offs

[Klaw59]

I enjoyed earlier posts on television spin-offs of Sanford and Son, Happy Days, et al. But, I was wondering who were the first characters to appear on one TV series and later spun-off into their own series.

The first, I'm guessing, would be Andy Griffith, who appeared as Sheriff Andy Taylor, on Make Room For Daddy in the late 50's alongside Danny Thomas in a scene where Andy is giving Danny a traffic ticket. Of course, Sheriff Taylor later became the main character for The Andy Griffith Show.

Were there any other spin-offs that occured before this time?

 

[oldschooler]

> I enjoyed earlier posts on television spin-offs of Sanford
> and Son, Happy Days, et al. But, I was wondering who were
> the first characters to appear on one TV series and later
> spun-off into their own series.
>
> The first, I'm guessing, would be Andy Griffith, who
> appeared as Sheriff Andy Taylor, on Make Room For Daddy in
> the late 50's alongside Danny Thomas in a scene where Andy
> is giving Danny a traffic ticket. Of course, Sheriff Taylor
> later became the main character for The Andy Griffith Show.
>
>
> Were there any other spin-offs that occured before this
> time?
>
According to Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh:
"The Adventures of Champion" spun off the Gene Autry show, and ran from 9/55 to 2/56 Friday nights on CBS...

"The $64,000 Challenge" spun off "The $64,000 Question" in April of 1956...

"Pete & Gladys", a spinoff of "December Bride", beat that other longer-running spinoff "The Andy Griffith Show" to the air by about two weeks in the fall of 1960. Both on CBS. (Pete & Gladys premiered September 19; Andy premiered October 3.)

"Surfside Six" premiered on ABC the same night as did Andy. It was a spinoff of Bourbon Street Beat.

And do you want to stick to just fictional characters? Many stars got their start as summer replacements for regular shows. Glen Campbell comes to mind, having filled in on the Smothers Brothers Summer Show.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

The earliest character spin-off actually dates back to the "golden age" of radio.

The character of Throckmorton P. ("The Great") Gildersleeve (played by Harold Peary), who first appeared in 1939 on the radio sitcom "Fibber McGee and Molly", was spun-off two years later into his own successful radio comedy show, "The Great Gildersleeve".

"Gildersleeve" came to TV as a first-run syndicated program for one year in 1955; Willard Waterman (who had taken over the role on radio from Peary a few years earlier) played the title character in the TV version.

One other note of irony: Harold Peary returned to "Fibber McGee" when it moved to TV in 1959, but as Mayor LaTrivia instead of Gildersleeve. The TV version lasted only a half-season, due in large part to the fact that Jim and Marian Jordan (who had played the title characters on radio) didn't play the McGee's on the TV version since the health of both Jordans had begun to deteriorate by the end of the 1950's. BTW, Bob Sweeney and Cathy Lewis played the McGee's on TV.

 

[KMRichards]

> The earliest character spin-off actually dates back to the
> "golden age" of radio.

Read the thread subject and which board this is, Joseph.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[ViewStu]

> > The earliest character spin-off actually dates back to the
>
> > "golden age" of radio.
>
> Read the thread subject and which board this is, Joseph.
>
Once again, 'it is Joseph's misunderstanding'.