The Real McCoys
Encyclopedia
The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy
co-produced by Danny Thomas
' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan
and Irving Pincus
's "Westgate" company. The program aired on the ABC
network from 1957
through 1962
and afterward on CBS
through 1963
.
The series was filmed in Hollywood at Desilu studios.
. The McCoys moved to California
, where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grandpa Amos McCoy, the head of the family (Walter Brennan
); his grandson Luke (Richard Crenna
), Luke's new bride Kate (Kathleen Nolan
), teenage sister Hassie (Lydia Reed
), and 11-year-old brother Little Luke (Michael Winkelman
). The double-naming of the brothers was explained in the first episode by the elder Luke: Because their parents were so excited over the birth of the younger boy, "they forgot all about me!"
When they arrived at the new ranch, which had been in the family (it was originally owned by an uncle, Ben McCoy, who had died), they also gained a Mexican ranch hand named Pepino Garcia, played by the Puerto Rican
-born Tony Martinez, who worked with them and eventually became a part of the family. The McMichaels, a brother-and-sister family played by Andy Clyde
and Madge Blake
, lived on the hill not far from the McCoys. Amos and George would sometimes quarrel, particularly over playing horseshoes. Kate was friendly with Flora McMichael, George's sister, and became involved with life in the community. She served as a mother figure for Luke's younger siblings, Hassie and Little Luke. Many of the episodes had a moral theme consisent with the views of Walter Brennan, such as one of the 1957 segments entitled "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" with Joseph Kearns
, later of Dennis the Menace.
Just before the show ended its run on ABC, Nolan left the series in a contract dispute. She, Winkelman, and Reed were written out of the script: the character of Kate was killed off, Hassie left home to attend college, and Little Luke joined the Army. Luke became a widower, and many of the stories revolved around Grandpa trying to match him up with a new wife. This nearly worked when Luke met Louise Howard (played by Janet De Gore
), a widow with a young son, Greg (played by Butch Patrick
).
, which aired from 1957-1960. The Pat Boone
series was succeeded in 1960 by Fred MacMurray
in My Three Sons
. For several seaons, The Real McCoys followed The Donna Reed Show
.
Although the series had ranked in the Top 10 the entire time it was on ABC, it fell into disfavor after being sold to CBS. It was cancelled in the summer of 1963. Factors in the cancellation were the changes in the series (the death of the character Kate), its new Sunday evening time slot opposite NBC
's Bonanza
, and CBS's concentration on another rural show, Buddy Ebsen
's The Beverly Hillbillies
, which had become the #1 entry on television.
re-ran the series again on weekday afternoons on The Nashville Network
in the latter portion of the 1990s.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
co-produced by Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
and Irving Pincus
Irving Pincus
Irving Pincus was a film and television writer and producer who created the ABC and CBS situation comedy, The Real McCoys, which aired in prime time from 1957 to 1963 and subsequently in rebroadcasts over many years....
's "Westgate" company. The program aired on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network from 1957
1957 in television
The year 1957 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1957.-Events:*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show....
through 1962
1962 in television
The year 1962 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1962.For the American TV schedule, see: 1962-63 American network television schedule.-Events:...
and afterward on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
through 1963
1963 in television
The year 1963 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1963.-Events:*January 13 – BBC Television broadcasts the play The Madhouse on Castle Street in the Sunday-Night Theatre strand...
.
The series was filmed in Hollywood at Desilu studios.
Synopsis
The series revolves around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from the fictional community of Smoky Corners, West VirginiaWest Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The McCoys moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grandpa Amos McCoy, the head of the family (Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
); his grandson Luke (Richard Crenna
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
), Luke's new bride Kate (Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan is an American actress. She is sometimes confused with actress Jeanette Nolan. From 1957 to 1962, she played the role of Kate McCoy, a housewife in her late twenties, in the Walter Brennan series The Real McCoys....
), teenage sister Hassie (Lydia Reed
Lydia Reed
Lydia Reed is an American former child actress best known for her role as Tallahassee "Hassie" McCoy from 1957 to 1963 in 145 episodes of the ABC situation comedy The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan in the title role of Grandpa Amos McCoy...
), and 11-year-old brother Little Luke (Michael Winkelman
Michael Winkelman
Michael L. Winkelman was an American child actor best known for his role as Little Luke McCoy from 1957 to 1963 in 157 episodes of the situation comedy television series, The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan in the title role of Grandpa Amos McCoy, with Richard Crenna as Luke McCoy, older...
). The double-naming of the brothers was explained in the first episode by the elder Luke: Because their parents were so excited over the birth of the younger boy, "they forgot all about me!"
When they arrived at the new ranch, which had been in the family (it was originally owned by an uncle, Ben McCoy, who had died), they also gained a Mexican ranch hand named Pepino Garcia, played by the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
-born Tony Martinez, who worked with them and eventually became a part of the family. The McMichaels, a brother-and-sister family played by Andy Clyde
Andy Clyde
Andy Clyde was a Scottish movie and TV actor whose career spanned more than four decades. He broke into silent films in 1925 as a Mack Sennett comic...
and Madge Blake
Madge Blake
Madge Blake was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Aunt Harriet Cooper on ABC's Batman TV series of the 1960s.-Early life:...
, lived on the hill not far from the McCoys. Amos and George would sometimes quarrel, particularly over playing horseshoes. Kate was friendly with Flora McMichael, George's sister, and became involved with life in the community. She served as a mother figure for Luke's younger siblings, Hassie and Little Luke. Many of the episodes had a moral theme consisent with the views of Walter Brennan, such as one of the 1957 segments entitled "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" with Joseph Kearns
Joseph Kearns
Joseph Sherrard Kearns was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson in the CBS television series Dennis the Menace from 1959 until his death in 1962.-Biography:...
, later of Dennis the Menace.
Just before the show ended its run on ABC, Nolan left the series in a contract dispute. She, Winkelman, and Reed were written out of the script: the character of Kate was killed off, Hassie left home to attend college, and Little Luke joined the Army. Luke became a widower, and many of the stories revolved around Grandpa trying to match him up with a new wife. This nearly worked when Luke met Louise Howard (played by Janet De Gore
Janet De Gore
Janet De Gore is a former actress best known for her supporting roles on two television series, The Law and Mr. Jones on ABC and The Real McCoys, renamed The McCoys in its last season on CBS . In The Law and Mr...
), a widow with a young son, Greg (played by Butch Patrick
Butch Patrick
Butch Patrick is a former American child actor. He is widely known for his role on the TV show The Munsters where he played Eddie Munster, the son of Herman and Lily Munster...
).
Cancellation
For its first three seasons, The Real McCoys was the lead-in program on the ABC Thursday lineup for The Pat Boone Chevy ShowroomThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...
, which aired from 1957-1960. The Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
series was succeeded in 1960 by Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
in My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
. For several seaons, The Real McCoys followed The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
.
Although the series had ranked in the Top 10 the entire time it was on ABC, it fell into disfavor after being sold to CBS. It was cancelled in the summer of 1963. Factors in the cancellation were the changes in the series (the death of the character Kate), its new Sunday evening time slot opposite NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, and CBS's concentration on another rural show, Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
's The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, which had become the #1 entry on television.
Syndication
The series aired during weekdays on CBS under the title The McCoys, and was then syndicated throughout the remainder of the 1960s. Its current distributor SFM EntertainmentSFM Entertainment
SFM Entertainment is an American television syndicator, established in 1968. The name comes from the initials of the company's founders: Walter Staab, Robert Frank, and Stanley Moger.The company was known for the closing logo with no voiceover...
re-ran the series again on weekday afternoons on The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
in the latter portion of the 1990s.
DVD releases
Infinity Entertainment has released the first 3 seasons of The Real McCoys on DVD in Region 1. Season 4 will be released on June 29, 2010, more than two years after the release of season 3.| DVD Name | Ep# | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Season 1 | 39 | July 24, 2007 |
| Complete Season 2 | 39 | October 30, 2007 |
| Complete Season 3 | 39 | June 17, 2008 |
| Complete Season 4 | 39 | June 29, 2010 |