The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1962)

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis had settled into something of a rut, having exhausted the characters' teenage high school years, a detour into military life, and now firmly ensconced in an aimless eternity at a small junior college. Despite abandoning its brilliant beginnings for a safer, often sentimental tone akin to other current sit-coms, Dobie reached its highest ratings in its third season when it tied with The Flintstones at #21 for the 1961-62 season. Part of that success may have been the sudden popularity of co-star Sheila James as Dobie's indefatigable pursuer Zelda Gilroy. After a glowing review of her performance by usually dour TV Guide reviewer Gilbert Seldes in the March 17 edition of that magazine, the May 5 issue featured a cover story on James and the plan by Dobie masterminds Max Shulman and producer Rod Amateau to spin the Zelda character off into her own show. In the article Amateau is bombastically quoted as pronouncing that the already completed pilot for the new series is the best of its kind ever seen. So sure were Amateau and Shulman of Zelda's success that James was not included in the initial episodes of Season 4 of Dobie. But history shows us that the pilot never sold, and though James would return to Dobie at the end of Season 4, the series failed to make the top 30 in the ratings and was not renewed. The other jolt to the positive Season 3 ratings was the 1-episode return of Tuesday Weld as Thalia Menninger in "Birth of a Salesman" (March 6, 1962). In his autobiography Forever Dobie, star Dwayne Hickman admits that Weld's return was "a real ratings booster" and was played up extensively in the press. In fact, the trick worked so well that Weld was brought back again for her final appearance in the series early in Season 4 in the episode "What's a Little Murder Between Friends?" (October 3, 1962).

It's telling that the most popular episode from Season 3 was a return to the original formula from Season 1. Not that Shulman and Amateau didn't try to recapture that magic with numerous other pecuniary-minded female characters who might find Dobie attractive and lovable but are forced to reject him because he will never amount to anything financially. Hickman claims that Shulman "was fixated by beautiful, money-hungry women." Yvonne Craig appears in two 1962 such roles in "The Sweet Success of Smell" (April 24, 1962) and "Flow Gently, Sweet Money" (November 21, 1962). Diane Sayer plays similarly minded Giselle Hurlbut in two more episodes--"Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive" (March 20, 1962) and "Names My Mother Called Me" (March 27, 1962). And Cheryl Holdridge plays stock market savant Daphne Winsett in "The Big Blunder and Egg Man" (February 27, 1962) whom Dobie pursues with a market play of his own but ultimately fails to land. In a bit of real-life irony, Hickman also admits that he dated Holdridge several times but could not compete with Woolworth heir Lance Reventlow, whom Holdridge wound up marrying. Despite saying that Shulman was "fixated" by this theme, he has to admit a few pages later that "The audience loved Dobie, but they especially loved him when he was being manipulated by" Thalia. So while Hickman was constantly lobbying for more "heart" in the series plots, meaning the sentimentality we see in episodes like "Names My Mother Called Me" in which we learn that Dobie was given his name by his mother after a renowned, Albert Schweitzer-like Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian, Shulman had a more acerbic, satiric vision reflected in characters like Thalia and her spin-offs. Given how watered-down the series became after the first season and the number of "heart"-driven episodes, such as the Boys Town knock-off "Like, Oh Brother" (March 13, 1962), that were produced and aired, it seems as though Hickman, despite his protestations to the contrary, had more pull in the direction of the show than Shulman did in its later seasons. Hickman says that by Season 4, Shulman had largely checked out and was frequently flying home to Westport, Connecticut for longer and longer periods of time. In writing about this period of the series' history, Hickman sounds more like the network executive he would later become by saying that he pleaded with Shulman to remain with the series because he needed "the scripts that only Max could write." This must have been galling to Shulman after tussling with Hickman about the content of those scripts, and Shulman told Hickman not to worry despite his absence because the series was in good hands, though Hickman says they both knew that wasn't true.

But the show had lost its focus long before Season 4. One wonders if Hickman has his timing correct about when Shulman checked out because the latter half of Season 3 looks like a series throwing everything on the wall to see what will stick in its pursuit of ratings, rather than sticking to its initial vision. The first episode of 1962, "Blue-Tail Fly" (January 2, 1962), tries to jump on the folk music bandwagon as Chatsworth runs for student council backed by a catchy folk trio, while Zelda tries to save Dobie's campaign by remaking him in the image of Elvis Presley. Though the story begins as a lampoon of political showmanship, it finishes with a sentimental twist as Dobie is able to capture the hearts of student voters by getting arrested and sent to jail defending Chatsworth's First Amendment rights to sing his campaign songs after curfew on campus. "Like Low Noon" (June 12, 1962) parodies the western classic High Noon with Dobie having stand up alone against a bully who threatened to beat him up when he returns to town years later. The aforementioned "What's a Little Murder Between Friends?" exploits the well-worn tropes of horror movies, and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Gillis" (December 12, 1962) has Maynard drinking a potion to transform into a monster. And then there's the obligatory Some Like It Hot cross-dressing episode in "I Was a Boy Sorority Girl" (May 8, 1962), not to mention the bachelors who can't keep house in "Bachelor Father... And Son" (June 5, 1962). It's always a sign of trouble when a sit-com resorts to parodying familiar plots or other TV series because the writers can't come up with anything original on their own (Dobie plays Ben Casey in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Funny Thing" [September 26, 1962], and "What's a Little Murder Between Friends?" features a sight gag with actors playing a pair of policemen obviously meant to look like the stars of Car 54, Where Are You?). Jack Benny may have been able to pull off this kind of humor, but Dobie Gillis cannot.

When they aren't trying to copy pop culture classics to lure disinterested viewers, the Dobie scriptwriters wind up copying themselves. "For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls" (January 30, 1962) teases viewers with a near wedding between Dobie and Zelda only to have her pull out at the last minute because she doesn't want to get Dobie through trickery, saying she will wait until he feels romantically about her the way she does about him. A few weeks later we are teased with another impending Dobie-Zelda marriage in "The Marriage Counselor" (February 20, 1962), with the same result. "Girls Will Be Boys" (February 13, 1962) plays like Bride of Frankenstein when Maynard meets his female double, and the two hit it off until his new soul mate Edwina Kegel discovers that she really wants to be a traditional female after all. Edwina's character is brought back for a reprise in "Back to Nature Boy" (May 22, 1962) in which she is now Chatsworth's cousin who has grown tired of high society and returns to her earlier tomboy days hanging out with Maynard, that is, until she envisions what they will be like in old age given that Maynard is a Peter Pan-like figure who will never grow up. And how many episodes revolve around passing a test to stay in school or keep a girl? In "Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive" he has to pass a test on the works of Tennyson so that he can get into Harvard to keep from getting dumped by Giselle Hurlbut, while in "Strictly for the Birds" (November 28, 1962) Dobie has to pass a test on American History to enroll in Dr. Burkhart's class on the subject or he will be dumped by patriotic Betsy Dolly Martha Trueblood. And in the previously mentioned "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Gillis" Maynard has to pass an aptitude test or be expelled from S. Peter Pryor Junior College. While being unprepared for a school test is the stuff of anxiety nightmares, so is the dull repetition of the same plot gag over and over again on a sit-com.

The series also uses the tried-and-failed strategy of introducing new characters who are relatives of the principals, a la Maverick after James Garner's departure. First there is southern-fried cousin Virgil T. Gillis played by Ray Hemphill in "Northern Comfort" (October 10, 1962), a kind of duplicitous Elvis Presley who manipulates everyone to advance his show business ambitions. Two episodes later we are introduced to another cousin, Duncan Gillis played by Bobby Diamond, whose father leaves him with the Gillises while he goes off on a far-flung oil exploration assignment. Duncan would appear in 7 episodes in Season 4, the first 5 airing in 1962. Hickman explains in Forever Dobie that it was getting harder to sell him as a girl-crazy youngster now that he was 26, so Duncan was added to allow the same kind of lovestruck shenanigans only with a younger actor, with Dobie acting as his guide, according to Hickman. While Duncan does seek Dobie's advice on how to win and keep girls in his debut episode, "A Splinter Off the Old Block" (October 24, 1962), the episode is more centered on Dobie pursuing a pretty social worker who is a neighbor of Duncan's girlfriend. Dobie continues to chase girls in his usual manner, while Duncan proves to be a spanner in the works of Dobie's plan to marry Thalia clone Linda Sue Faversham in "Flow Gently, Sweet Money." Linda Sue finally agrees to marry Dobie because her younger sister Amanda Jean is supposed to take her older sister's place as the one who marries into money to rescue the family's finances, that is, until useless Duncan and Amanda Jeans fall in love. Other episodes have Duncan hanging around with Maynard and causing predictable mayhem driving a delivery truck not realizing it contains explosives in "Like Hi, Explosives" (November 7, 1962) and locking Herbert in his grocery store freezer in "The Ice Man Goeth" (December 5, 1962). Duncan had pretty much proven a dud by the end of 1962, appearing in only 2 of the 1963 episodes, and Virgil was brought back for a second try, appearing also in 2 of the 1963 episodes. Neither of the cousins helped the show in the ratings.

But Hickman also reveals that the search for other characters to share the load was necessitated by real-life trouble when he contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized during filming of Season 3. This is why "The Truth Session" (April 10, 1962) features Hickman as Dobie sick in bed during only the opening and closing monologues while the rest of the episode centers on Maynard. Maynard began to be featured as the primary character in a number of other episodes, including the previously mentioned "Girls Will Be Boys," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Gillis," "I Remember Muu Muu" (April 17, 1962), "It Takes a Heap o' Livin' to Make a Cave a Home" (May 15, 1962), and "Will the Real Santa Claus Please Come Down the Chimney" (December 19, 1962) to name but a few. However, like most of the characters on Dobie, Maynard is one-dimensional, a misfit who is a mere accumulation of outlandish eccentricities, so most of these episodes fail to amuse, the one exception being "I Remember Muu Muu" but only because of Herbert's lusting after Dr. Burkhart after seeing a photo of her in a swimsuit. While the on-screen Dobie never learns not to lie about who he is to impress a girl, the real-life Dobie, that is, Hickman, found a girl to call his own in Carol Christensen, who appears as Dobie's date in "Back to Nature Boy." In Forever Dobie Hickman relates how he first met Christensen when they shared adjacent makeup chairs while working on separate projects, but it wasn't until she was cast in her bit part on Dobie that he summoned the courage to ask her out. By the end of Season 3 they were seeing each other regularly, and they got married after Season 4 had wrapped. If his life were a Hollywood movie, this is where it would end--marriage always leads to living happily ever after. But after acting roles for Hickman dried up in the late 1960s, he went to work for Howard Hughes' Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas, which forced him to work extremely long hours leaving little time for his wife and young son. When he saw his marriage faltering, he left the Landmark and worked for an advertising agency before deciding to start his own. But building a business from the ground up also forced him to work long hours, and this time Christensen had had enough and filed for divorce. Though on screen Dobie was a teenage and young adult Sisyphus, never getting and keeping the girl he wanted, finally achieving his goal in real life didn't bring lasting happiness for Hickman either. But that was Max Shulman's point all along--the ridiculousness of the romantic ideal.

The Actors

For the biographies of Dwayne Hickman, Frank Faylen, Florida Friebus, Bob Denver, Sheila James, Steve Franken, Doris Packer, William Schallert, and Tuesday Weld, see the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. For the biographies of Richard Clair, Jean Byron, Raymond Bailey, and David Bond, see the 1961 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Bobby Diamond

Robert LeRoy Diamond was born on August 23, 1943 in Los Angeles, the son of a real estate broker and housewife. Reportedly, Diamond's mother "pushed" him and his younger brother  into developing a tap-dancing act to compete at supermarket talent contests. From there, it was on to feature films, beginning with an uncredited part in The Greatest Show on Earth and his first credited role in Young Man With Ideas both in 1952, when he was 9 years old. He landed several more uncredited roles over the next few years and made his television debut on a 1955 episode of Father Knows Best. His first big break was being cast as orphan Joey Clark who is taken in by rancher Jim Newton (played by Peter Graves) on the TV series Fury, which ran five seasons from 1955-60. But when the series ended, he made what he later considered a misstep by turning down the role of Robbie Douglas on My Three Sons in favor of the role of Buddy McGovern on The Nanette Fabray Show (also known as Westinghouse Playhouse), which ran for only a single season, as opposed to My Three Sons 12-year run. Diamond later said he could have been a multimillionaire had he chosen the latter series. He found occasional guest spots on other series during this period, including The Rebel, Pete and Gladys, and Angel as well as an occasional movie role, such as the lead in Airborne in 1962. He also attended high school at Ulysses S. Grant High School, followed by college at San Fernando Valley College, where he studied law and was a standout on the rings apparatus for the gymnastics team.

Though he landed the recurring role of Dobie Gillis' cousin Duncan in the final season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, it would only produce 7 appearances before his character was dropped and the series was canceled. He still found occasional work on series such as The Twilight Zone, The Lieutenant, Wagon Train, and The Andy Griffith Show, and after appearing alongside Patty Duke in the 1965 feature film Billie, he appeared twice on her show the following year. He did appear on My Three Sons four times in a variety of roles, as well as Lassie three times and Mister Ed twice. Rumor has it that he sought the role of Robin the Boy Wonder on Batman but was turned down because at 21 he was considered too old for the part. Other roles began drying up as well such that by 1971 he had mostly retired from acting and switched over to a career as an attorney. Among his more famous clients were Kelsey Grammer and former child actor Paul Petersen. He would very rarely accept the odd acting gig, such as voicework on children's shows like The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and Emergency + 4 and TV series such as Banyon, Divorce Court, and Midnight Caller. He died from cancer at age 75 on May 15, 2019.

Notable Guest Stars

Season 3, Episode 13, "Blue-Tail Fly": Gigi Verone (shown on the left, appeared in Paradise, Hawaiian Style and played Hope on The Gertrude Berg Show) plays Dobie's classmate Ursula Forbes. Tom Reese (starred in Taggart, The Money Trap, and Murderers' Row and played Sgt. Thomas Velie on Ellery Queen) plays a policeman.

Season 3, Episode 14, "I Do Not Choose to Run": John Fiedler (shown on the right, appeared in 12 Angry Men, That Touch of Mink, The World of Henry Orient, Kiss Me, Stupid, Girl Happy, The Odd Couple, True Grit and played Emil Peterson on The Bob Newhart Show and Woody on Buffalo Bill) plays City Planning Commission candidate George G. Cheever. Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith on Dragnet (1952-53), Frank LaValle on The D.A.'s Man, Wilbur on Peter Gunn, and Dr. Dan Wagner on Hennesey) plays grocery customer Charlie Mulcahey.

Season 3, Episode 15, "Happiness Can't Buy Money": Danielle Aubry (shown on the left, appeared in Bikini Beach, Operation C.I.A., and Angel, Angel, Down We Go and played Suzette Marchand on 77 Sunset Strip) plays Osborne maid Fifi.

Season 3, Episode 16, "Magnificent Failure": James Dobson (shown on the right, appeared in Flying Leathernecks, The Tanks Are Coming, I Dream of Jeanie, Cult of the Cobra, and Mutiny in Outer Space and played Pvt. Hatfield on Boots and Saddles and Andy the steward on The Love Boat) plays grocery industry executive Fred C. Dobbs, Jr. Christine Nelson (Katie on Where's Raymond?) plays grocery customer Mrs. Tarantino. Herbert Ellis (see "I Do Not Choose to Run" above) plays grocery customer Mr. Hogan. Tom Reese (see "Blue-Tail Fly" above) plays grocery chain executive Mr. Gummage.

Season 3, Episode 17, "For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls": Alberto Morin (shown on the left, appeared in Two Mules for Sister Sara, Chisum, The Mephisto Waltz, and Doc Savage: Man of Bronze and played Armando Sidoni on Dallas) plays cargo boat Captain Lopez. David Frankham (British radio host, appeared in Return of the Fly, Master of the World, Tales of Terror, and King Rat and played Reverend Daniels on The Bold and the Beautiful) plays British passenger Derek.

Season 3, Episode 18, "Girls Will Be Boys": Lynn Loring (shown on the right, became President of MGM/United Artists Television Productions, married actor Roy Thinnes, and played the daughter on The Jean Carroll Show, Patti Barron Tate Whiting McCleary on Search for Tomorrow, Patty Walker on Fair Exchange, and Barbara Erskine on The F.B.I.) plays Maynard's girlfriend Edwina "Eddie" Kegel. Mary Mitchel (appeared in Twist Around the Clock, Panic in Year Zero, A Swingin' Summer, and Dementia 13) plays Dobie's date Stephanie Trowbridge.

Season 3, Episode 20, "The Big Blunder and Egg Man": Cheryl Holdridge (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays Dobie's economically minded classmate Daphne Winsett. Danny Lewis (shown on the left, father of comedian and actor Jerry Lewis) plays stockbroker Metgang.

Season 3, Episode 22, "Like, Oh Brother": Richard Reeves (shown on the right, played Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays River Street Settlement House Committee President Hawley. Garry Walberg (Police Sgt. Sullivan on Johnny Staccato, Sgt. Edward Goddard on Peyton Place, Speed on The Odd Couple, and Lt. Frank Monahan on Quincy M.E.) plays his associate Klug. Richard Correll (see the biography section for the 1961 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays settlement house beneficiary Pete.

Season 3, Episode 23, "Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive": Joyce Van Patten (shown on the left, appeared in I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!, Mame, The Bad News Bears, St. Elmo's Fire, and The Falcon and the Snowman and played Janice Turner Hughes on As the World Turns, Clara Kershaw on Young Dr. Malone, Claudia Gramus on The Good Guys, Iris Chapman on The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, Helen Marsh on All My Children, and Maureen Slattery on Unhappily Ever After) plays Mr. Pomfritt's wife Maude. Diane Sayer (appeared in The Strangler, Kitten With a Whip, and Madigan and played Jeri Spencer on It's a Man's World) plays Dobie's girlfriend Giselle Hurlbut. Hal England (Lt. Douglas Merrill on The Clear Horizon and Dr. Bill Kebner on Medical Center) plays Dobie's imaginary Harvard roommate Henry Cabot Loot, Jr. Stafford Repp (Lt. Ralph Raines on The Thin Man, Brink on The New Phil Silvers Show, and Chief O'Hara on Batman) plays his father Henry Cabot Loot, Sr.

Season 3, Episode 24, "Names My Mother Called Me": Russell Collins (shown on the right, appeared in Niagara, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Fail-Safe and played Owen Sharp on Many Happy Returns) plays Nobel Prize-winning physicist and humanitarian Dr. D.W. Kline. Max Showalter (appeared in Niagra, The Music Man, Dangerous Crossing, Indestructible Man, The Monster That Challenged the World, and How to Murder Your Wife and played Gus Clyde on The Stockard Channing Show) plays his assistant Dr. Charles Graham. Diane Sayer (see "Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive" above) returns as Dobie's girlfriend Giselle Hurlbut.

Season 3, Episode 25, "An American Strategy": Maggie Pierce (shown on the left, played Barbara Crabtree on My Mother the Car) plays lumber company president's daughter Pamela Lumpkin. Charles Watts (Judge Harvey Blandon on Bachelor Father) plays her father Woodrow. Eleanor Audley (Mother Eunice Douglas on Green Acres and Mrs. Vincent on My Three Sons) plays her mother Irma. Nancy McCarthy (played Bunny in the original unaired pilot of Gilligan's Island) plays coffee shop waitress Gloria Mundy. Paul Bryar (Sheriff Harve Anders on The Long, Hot Summer) plays personnel manager C.J. Edlatz.

Season 3, Episode 26, "The Truth Session": B.G. Norman (shown on the right, played Ambitious on The Adventures of Spin and Marty) plays basketball player Nate Gahagan. Mary Jackson (Emily Baldwin on The Waltons, Sarah Wicks on Hardcastle and McCormick, and Great Grandma Greenwell on Parenthood) plays a grocery store customer.

Season 3, Episode 27, "I Remember Muu Muu": Nancy McCarthy (see "An American Strategy" above) plays Dobie's latest infatuation Sue Ellen Silnitzer. Mary Jackson (shown on the left, see "The Truth Session" above) plays concerned parent Mrs. Grindle.

Season 3, Episode 28, "The Sweet Success of Smell": Yvonne Craig (shown on the right, starred in Gidget, High Time, Kissin' Cousins, Ski Party, and One Spy Too Many and played Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, on Batman and Grandma on Olivia) plays avaricious classmate Elspeth Hummaker. Charles Lane (Mr. Fosdick on Dear Phoebe, Lawrence Finch on Dennis the Menace, Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction, Foster Phinney on The Beverly Hillbillies, Dale Busch on Karen, and Judge Anthony Petrillo on Soap) plays science Professor McGuffy. Christine Nelson (see "Magnificent Failure" above) plays housewife Mrs. Blossom Tarantino. Suzie Kaye (appeared in West Side Story, Wild Wild Winter, It's a Bikini World, C'mon, Let's Live a Little, and Clambake and played Angel Chernak on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing) plays college student Salome.

Season 3, Episode 29, "When Other Friendships Have Been Forgot": Pat McNulty (shown on the left, wife of actor Don Dorrell, played Martha on The Tycoon) plays Dobie's girlfriend Caprice Pringle. Mary Jackson (see "The Truth Session" above) plays grocery customer Mrs. Kenny.

Season 3, Episode 30, "I Was a Boy Sorority Girl": Warrene Ott (shown on the right, appeared in If a Man Answers, Black Zoo, Rat Fink, and Where It's At) plays sorority sister Sally Sorree. Jean Blake Fleming (Phyllis Collier on The Case of the Dangerous Robin) plays sorority sister Martha Van Trees. B.G. Norman (see "The Truth Session" above) plays a delivery boy.

Season 3, Episode 31, "It Takes a Heap o' Livin' to Make a Cave a Home": Mike Mazurki (shown on the left, starred in Murder My Sweet, Dick Tracy (1945), and It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and played Clon on It's About Time) plays caveman Ugh-ugh.

Season 3, Episode 32, "Back to Nature Boy": Lynn Loring (see "Girls Will Be Boys" above) returns as Maynard's former girlfriend Edwina Kegel. Carol Christensen (shown on the near right, Dwayne Hickman's first wife, appeared in Freckles, Swingin' Along, The Big Show, and The Three Stooges in Orbit) plays Dobie's date Eloise McGivney.

Season 3, Episode 33, "How to Cheat an Honest Man": Diane Jergens (appeared in Teenage Rebel, Desk Set, High School Confidential!, and Island of Lost Women and played Francine Williams on The Bob Cummings Show and Susie Jackson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) plays Dobie's squeaky clean girlfriend Eloise McInerney. Susan Hart (shown on the left, appeared in The Slime People, Ride the Wild Surf, Pajama Party, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini) plays Dobie's former girlfriend Mona Monaghan. Herbert Ellis (see "I Do Not Choose to Run" above) returns as Herbert's customer and friend Charlie Mulcahey. Wallace Rooney (Andrew Winters on The Doctors and Tim Butterfield on Lou Grant) plays the police chief.

Season 3, Episode 34, "Bachelor Father... And Son": Maggie Pierce (see "An American Strategy" above) plays Dobie's girlfriend Betty Sue Fosdick. Reta Shaw (shown on the right, appeared in The Pajama Game, Pollyanna, Bachelor in Paradise, Mary Poppins, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and played Flora McCauley on The Ann Sothern Show, Thelma on The Tab Hunter Show, Mrs. Stanfield on Oh, Those Bells, and Martha Grant on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) plays the Gillis' neighbor Mrs. Finchley.

Season 3, Episode 35, "Like Low Noon": Douglass Dumbrille (shown on the left, appeared in Baby Face, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, A Day at the Races, Julius Caesar, and The Ten Commandments and played Insp. Hobson on China Smith, Cunningham on The Life of Riley, Grant on Grand Jury, and Mr. Osborne on The New Phil Silvers Show) plays bully's father Judge Baumgartner. Jessica James (appeared in Diner, Easy Money, and Alien Nation and played Lindy Bundy on The Edge of Night) plays Dobie's old friend Lorelei Lafferty. Roger Torrey (Nils Torvald on Iron Horse and Mark Templeton on The Beverly Hillbillies) plays her husband Charlie. Jerry Summers (appeared in The Young Swingers, Surf Party, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and played Ira on The High Chaparral) plays gangster Ratsy Ruffner. Tom Reese (see "Blue-Tail Fly" above) plays a policeman.

Season 3, Episode 36, "The Frat's in the Fire": Bennye Gatteys (shown on the right, played Judith Potter on The Brighter Day and Susan Peters on Days of Our Lives) plays Dobie rejector Maribelle. Herbert Ellis (see "I Do Not Choose to Run" above) plays fraternity cook Malcolm. Hal England (see "Dobie Gillis: Wanted Dead or Alive" above) plays fraternity vice president Tyler Cruickshank. Marianna Hill (appeared in Roustabout, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, The Godfather: Part II, and High Plains Drifter and played Rita on The Tall Man) plays Chatsworth's date Brenda LaBelle.

Season 4, Episode 1, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Funny Thing": James Millhollin (shown on the left, played Anson Foster on Grindl) plays college psychiatrist Dr. Litweiler. Steve Mitchell (Fred Starkey on The New Phil Silvers Show) plays his assistant Simpson.

Season 4, Episode 2, "What's a Little Murder Between Friends": Dennis Patrick (shown on the right, played Paul Stoddard on Dark Shadows, Capt. Jack Breen on Bert D'Angelo/Superstar, Fred Foley on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Patrick Chapin on Rituals, and Vaughn Leland on Dallas) plays police Desk Sgt. Lafferty. Kelton Garwood (Beauregard O'Hanlon on Bourbon Street Beat and Percy Crump on Gunsmoke) plays tall police Officer Fogerty. Paul "Mousie" Garner (member of the New Three Stooges, played Mousie on Surfside 6) plays a short police officer.

Season 4, Episode 3, "Northern Comfort": Charles Lane (shown on the left, see "The Sweet Success of Smell' above) plays talent scout Charles Wayzakoff.

Season 4, Episode 4, "The Ugliest American": Larraine Stephens (shown on the right, played Susan Wentworth on O.K. Crackerby!, Diane Waring on Brackens World, Claire Kronski on Matt Helm, Claire Estep on Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book II, and Irene on Eischeid) plays anthropology student Clydene Quigley. Sig Ruman (starred in Ninotchka,  A Night at the Opera, To Be or Not to Be, House of Frankenstein, and Stalag 17) plays savvy jungle trader Himelmayer. Marie Gomez (Pearlita Flores on The High Chaparral) plays his cohort Dandaleo.

Season 4, Episode 5, "A Splinter Off the Old Block": Ahna Capri (Mary Rose on Room for One More) plays Duncan's girlfriend Clarissa Spangler. Ellen Burstyn (shown on the left, starred in For Those Who Think Young, The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Same Time, Next Year and played Dr. Kate Bartok on The Doctors, Julie Parsons on Iron Horse, Ellen Brewer on The Ellen Burstyn Show, Dolly DeLucca on That's Life, Bishop Beatrice Congreve on The Book of Daniel, Nancy Davis Dutton on Big Love, and Evanka on Louie) plays social worker Donna Whittaker. Ollie O'Toole (Mr. Meeker on Circus Boy) plays Herbert's brother Timothy Gillis.

Season 4, Episode 6, "What Makes the Varsity Drag?": Bert Freed (appeared in The Atomic City, The Cobweb, and Paths of Glory and played Rufe Ryker on Shane) plays college football Coach Prendergast. Mikki Jamison (shown on the right, first wife of musician Jimmy Griffin of the group Bread, played Jean Reed on Adam-12) plays drum majorette Lottie Lee McQuiddy. Ed Deemer (Lt. Bailey on Days of Our Lives) plays rival football player Stansilau "Roadblock" Jahurski.

Season 4, Episode 7, "Like Hi, Explosives": Peter Virgo (appeared in A Song Is Born, Shakedown, The Narrow Margin, and The Explosive Generation and played Pete on Quincy, M.E.) plays truck driver McGinty. Pamela Austin (shown on the left, starred in Hootenanny Hoot, Kissin' Cousins, and The Perils of Pauline) plays a pretty girl Duncan flirts with. John Willis (Dr. Frank Furgason on The Doctors and hosted Very Special!) plays the KSPP radio announcer.

Season 4, Episode 8, "Where Is Thy Sting?": Eilene Janssen (starred in Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas, The Dakota Kid, Arizona Manhunt, Wild Horse Ambush, and The Space Children) plays pre-med student Emily Busby. Burt Mustin (shown on the right, see the biography section for the 1961 post on Leave It to Beaver) plays octogenarian Shorty Eggleston. Howard McNear (see the biography section for the 1961 post on The Andy Griffith Show) plays mortician Posthumous J. Simpson. Justin Smith (appeared in The Jazz Singer, Wild on the Beach, and The Candidate) plays his brother Moribund T. Simpson.

Season 4, Episode 9, "Flow Gently, Sweet Money": Yvonne Craig (see "The Sweet Success of Smell" above) plays Dobie's girlfriend Linda Sue Faversham. Annette Gorman  (shown on the left, played Addie Slaughter on The Magical World of Disney Texas John Slaughter series) plays her younger sister Amanda Jean. Don Orlando (appeared in Romance of the Rockies, Park Row, and Kansas City Confidential and played Pinto on The Adventures of Tugboat Annie) plays grocer Fortunato.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Strictly for the Birds": Julie Parrish (shown on the right, appeared in Winter A-Go-Go, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, and Fireball 500 and played Linda Lewis on Good Morning World, Betty Anderson Harrington Cord Harrington on Return to Peyton Place, and Joan Diamond on Beverly Hills 90210) plays patriotic Betsy Dolly Martha Trueblood. Mel Blanc (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Flintstones) voices mynah bird Arthur.

Season 4, Episode 11, "The Iceman Goeth": Ahna Capri (shown on the left, see "A Splinter Off the Old Block" above) returns as Duncan's girlfriend Clarissa. Richard Reeves (see "Like, Oh Brother" above) plays policeman Officer Mulcahey.

Season 4, Episode 12, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Gillis": Paul Tripp (host of children's shows Mr. I. Magination and On the Carousel and co-creator of Tubby the Tuba) plays college Dean Hollister. Howard McNear (shown on the right, see "Where Is Thy Sting?" above) plays college Professor Nastington.

Season 4, Episode 13, "Will the Real Santa Claus Please Come Down the Chimney?": Anthony Spinelli (shown on the left, played Ensign Tubbs on Captain Video and His Video Rangers) plays construction foreman Duffy.