Bachelor Father is an American sitcom that originally aired from 1957 to 1962. It began its life on CBS and ran a couple of seasons on NBC before completing its run on ABC.
The show stars John Forsythe as Bentley Gregg, a single Beverly Hills lawyer who suddenly finds himself guardian to his teenage niece Kelly (Noreen Corcoran) upon the death of her parents. Rounding out the household are Bentley's houseboy Peter (Sammee Tong) and Jasper the dog. Kelly also had a best friend in Ginger Farrell (Bernadette Withers) and a main squeeze in Howard Meechum (Jimmy Boyd).
Not to be confused with the 1970s BBC sitcom of the same name.
Bachelor Father provides examples of:
- Diet Episode: In "Drop That Calorie," Kelly, Peter, and Bentley all adopt a health food diet and exercise routine.
- Nephewism: The show's raison d'être—after Kelly's parents are killed in a car accident, Bentley (her uncle) has to assume guardianship of her.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: Averted—Kelly aged one year each season. She was thirteen in the first episode and graduated from high school at the beginning of the fifth season.
- Refusal of the Call: In the Thanksgiving 1959 episode "Bentley's Double Play," Bentley is at first miffed that Kelly doesn't give him the option of refusing to direct this year's play, since he directed last year's, because he has too much work on a bank merger. Peter later volunteers him to direct the same play for the adult learning class...and provide the sets...and provide the costuming. Somehow, Bentley can't refuse the Peter's teacher and directs Peter's version and coaches Kelly on hers.
- Running Gag: Kelly's room is apparently perpetually messy.
- Servile Snarker: Apparently one of the reasons that Sammee Tong liked working on Bachelor Father was because his character actually got funny lines.
