The New Phil Silvers Show

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = The New Phil Silvers Show title card.PNG

| alt =

| caption =

| genre = Sitcom

| creator =

| writer =

| director =

| starring = Phil Silvers

| theme_music_composer = Harry Geller

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 30

| executive_producer =

| producer = Rod Amateau

| runtime = 30 minutes

| company = Gladasya Productions

| channel = CBS

| first_aired = {{Start date|1963|9|28}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1964|4|25}}

| related =

}}

The New Phil Silvers Show is an American sitcom television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until April 25, 1964.McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, {{ISBN|0 14 02 4916 8}}, p. 598.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, {{ISBN|0-345-39736-3}}, p. 740.[http://ctva.biz/US/Comedy/PhilSilversShow_New.htm Classic TV Archive The New Phil Silvers Show (1963-64)]

Synopsis

File:Phil silvers show 1964.JPG with (right to left) Ronnie Dapo, Sandy Descher, and Elena Verdugo in a promotional photograph for The New Phil Silvers Show. Dapo, Descher, and Verdugo joined the cast in February 1964.]]

Harry Grafton is a factory foreman at Osborne Industries, a company in Los Angeles, California, which manufactures a constantly changing line of items.[https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/new-phil-silvers-show/ nostalgiacentral.com NEW PHIL SILVERS SHOW, THE][https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056776/ IMDb.com The New Phil Silvers Show][https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-new-phil-silvers-show/episodes/203414/ tv.com ][https://www.bpsas.co.uk/the_new_phil_silvers_show.html The British Phil Silvers Appreciation Society: The New Phil Silvers Show Retrieved 7 September 2020] Trying to earn as much as possible while doing as little as possible, Harry is manipulative and a conman, and is always trying to beat the system. He makes money off his fellow employees by running the Osborne Industries coffee cart service and through his ownership of the company′s vending machines. From his office at the factory, he also secretly operates his own company, Grafton Enterprises, through which he habitually pursues scams and get-rich-quick schemes which never seem to work out for him. Harry has to get around his boss, Mr. Brink, to pursue his schemes, and often enlists the much-suffering workers on the factory floor in his efforts to fulfill them. His plans usually end in disaster.

In February 1964, Harry moves in with his widowed sister Audrey and her two children, Susan and Andy. Harry's family issues then also begin to play an increasing part in his misadventures.

Cast

Production

Phil Silvers had a successful four-season run from 1955 to 1959 portraying Sergeant Ernie Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show. Four years after that show ended, The New Phil Silvers Show represented his attempt after a four-season absence from series television to reincarnate the successful Bilko character in the guise of Harry Grafton, with Silvers playing essentially the same character, albeit as a civilian factory foreman rather than a United States Army sergeant.[https://jacksonupperco.com/2020/03/11/bilko-bounces-back-briefly-a-look-at-the-new-phil-silvers-show/ That's Entertainment: Bilko Bounces Back (Briefly): A Look at THE NEW PHIL SILVERS SHOW, March 11, 2020 Retrieved 7 September 2020] Where Bilko had been popular, however, the Harry Grafton character turned viewers off: While Bilko had a soft spot, Harry was dishonest and manipulative through and through, and while Bilko was an underpaid, underdog sergeant trying to swindle faceless and implacable things like the United States Government and the U.S. Army just to make a little extra money, Harry had a good-paying job but still refused to do an honest day's work for a day's pay, and his scams and schemes involved exploiting and cheating blue-collar workers who were trying to make an honest living on the factory floor.

With The New Phil Silvers Show struggling in the ratings and after receiving many complaints about the show's premise and the Harry Grafton character′s lack of appeal, CBS moved The New Phil Silvers Show to a later time partway through November 1963. When that did not improve ratings, the show began a transition to a new premise as a domestic comedy in February 1964, adding Harry's family to the show in the eighteenth episode and beginning a process of gradually shifting the show′s focus to Harry's domestic life, with him as a father figure to his niece and nephew. The shift came too late to save the show.

Rod Amateau produced the show, and Harry Geller wrote its theme music. Silvers’ wife, Evelyn Patrick, appeared on the show in the role of Mr Osborne’s niece. Silvers's old friend Herbie Faye, who had mentored Silvers in comedy in 1932, played Waluska.

Broadcast history

The New Phil Silvers Show premiered on September 28, 1963, and initially aired on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. Partway through November 1963, it moved to 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays, where it remained for the rest of its run. CBS cancelled it after only one season, and its last original episode aired on April 25, 1964.

After the show ended, NBC rebroadcast seven episodes of The New Phil Silvers Show as prime-time reruns during its normal time slot, four in May 1964 and three in June 1964. The last prime-time rerun aired on June 27, 1964.

In the United Kingdom, ITV broadcast The New Phil Silvers Show during 1964.

Episodes

Sources:[http://www.tv.com/shows/the-new-phil-silvers-show/episodes/ tv.com The New Phil Silvers Show Episode Guide][https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-new-phil-silvers-show/episodes/203414/ tvguide.com The New Phil Silvers Show Episode Guide]{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056776/episodes?season=1&ref_=tt_eps_sn_1|title=The New Phil Silvers Show - Season 1|website=IMDb|accessdate=6 September 2020}}

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style="background:#;"| No.

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! style="background:#;"| Directed by

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|Title=Man, It's Like Progress

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|9|28}}

|ShortSummary=Against Harry′s wishes, Osborne Industries introduces a computer system that disrupts his department. He can't con the computer, and he has to figure out a way to outsmart it. Joan Shawley guest-stars.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|Title=The Great Forklift Contest

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|10|5}}

|ShortSummary=Harry can't get anyone to bet against Lester in a forklift contest, so to encourage them to bet against Lester he decides to fix the contest to stack the odds against Lester — and ends up blowing up the Osborne Industries research laboratory.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|Title=Birthday Boy

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|10|12}}

|ShortSummary=Harry wants everyone at the factory to know that his birthday is coming up and even plans a surprise birthday party for himself — with results he did not expect. Ron Sumner, Marlyn Mason, Henry Scott, and Bobs Watson guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|Title=The Tortoise and the Harry

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|10|19}}

|ShortSummary=While organizing a turtle race at the factory for the employees to bet on, Harry meets a beautiful woman named Della — who he thinks might be the right woman for him. Evelyn Patrick guest-stars.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=5

|Title=Harry Today, Gone Tomorrow

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|10|26}}

|ShortSummary=The pilot episode for the series. Tired of Harry's moneymaking schemes, Brink tries to transfer him to another factory so that he will be someone else′s problem. Max Showalter, Hal Taggart, and Henry Scott guest-star. This was the only episode in which Bert Convy, rather than Pat Renella, portrayed Roxy.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=6

|Title=The Little Old Gluemaker, Me!

|DirectedBy=David Davis

|WrittenBy=Bud Nye and Ed Jurist

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|11|2}}

|ShortSummary=After Otto Shafmeister, the janitor at the factory, invents a special type of glue, Harry thinks he can make a fortune by marketing its secret formula. Ludwig Stossel, Celia Lovsky, and Eric Morris guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=7

|Title=Triple Indemnity

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|11|9}}

|ShortSummary=Harry schemes to sell his coworkers at the factory a new insurance plan he has set up that protects them if they lose their paychecks.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=8

|Title=A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to the Coffee Break

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|11|16}}

|ShortSummary=When Mr. Osborne asks for suggestions on how the factory can streamline its operation and cut costs, Brink suggests they start by closing Harry's department.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=9

|Title=Harry Who?

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|11|30}}

|ShortSummary=Harry feels threatened when Nick does too good a job filling in for him while he is on vacation — leaving him crushed that the men did not notice he had been away and wondering if he will be able to keep his job.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=10

|Title=Las Vegas Was My Mother's Maiden Name

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|12|7}}

|ShortSummary=A Las Vegas hotel mistakes Harry for comedian Phil Silvers and treats him as a celebrity. Milton Frome, Vickie Lockwood, Jimmy Murphy, and Florence Halop guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=11

|Title=The Son of Pygmalion

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|12|14}}

|ShortSummary=A beautiful but brainless woman, Mildred Flitterman, asks Harry to transform her into "a lady" — like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Hope Holiday, Eleanor Audley, and Richard Lupino guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=12

|Title=Have I Got a Boy For You

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|12|21}}

|ShortSummary=Waluska is attracted to one of the women at the factory, but she is not attracted back — so Harry decides to help Waluska win her affections by giving him a new image. Helene Winston and Lennie Bremen guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=13

|Title=Who Do Voodoo? Harry Do!

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1963|12|28}}

|ShortSummary=After a society girl snubs Harry while he is visiting Trinidad, Harry hears that black magic can make him irresistible to women — and then tries to out-witch a witch doctor who has placed a hex on him. Bette Treadville, Barbara Shelley, and Burt Mustin guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=14

|Title=Stop the Factory, I Wanna Get Off

|DirectedBy=Guy Scarpitta

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|1|4}}

|ShortSummary=Harry finds out that a worker at the factory is planning to destroy his ex-fiancée's wedding, and he ends up having to use every trick he knows to keep the wedding from being called off. Leo de Lyon, Carole Cook, Joseph Hamilton, Steven Condit, Gene O'Donnell, and John Indrisano guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=15

|Title=Beauty and the Least

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|1|11}}

|ShortSummary=Harry decides to turn a plain woman into a beauty-contest winner. Dodo Denney and Joan Staley guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=16

|Title=75{{frac|1|2}} Trombones

|DirectedBy=

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|1|18}}

|ShortSummary=Harry runs a raffle, and Fred is excited when he wins it. But Fred's excitement turns to anger and he decides to expose Harry's fraudulent schemes when he discovers that his prize is a U.S. Army tank — and it is on Okinawa. Frank London guest-stars.

|LineColor=

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=17

|Title=My Son, the Governor

|DirectedBy=Thomas Montgomery

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|1|25}}

|ShortSummary=To make extra money, Harry is manufacturing television snack tables as a side business, and he gets in big trouble when some of them are mixed up at the plant with a shipment of parts destined for the U.S. Army.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=18

|Title=Leave It to Harry

|DirectedBy=Al Lewis

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|2|1}}

|ShortSummary=Harry gains a home life when he moves in with his widowed sister Audrey, her daughter Susan, and her son Andy. When Audrey goes on vacation, she leaves Harry in charge of the children — and his skills at parenting and housecleaning chores quickly come into question. Elena Verdugo, Sandy Descher, and Ronnie Dapo join the cast as regulars, and Elvia Allman, Frank Nelson, and Florida Friebus guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=19

|Title=Smile, Harry, You're on Candid Camera

|DirectedBy=Al Lewis

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|2|8}}

|ShortSummary=Harry spots Candid Camera host Allen Funt in a supermarket and looks around for a hidden camera — but he is determined not to do anything that will make him look foolish on television. Allen Funt, Rosemary Day, Richard Clair, Joseph Hamilton, Joseph Boland, and Yvonne Peattie guest-star.

|LineColor=

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=20

|Title=Pay the Two Dollars

|DirectedBy=Al Lewis

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|2|15}}

|ShortSummary=Harry gets a $2.00 parking ticket and is determined not to pay it. He tries to get it fixed — and ends up paying $50.00. Alan Hale Jr. and Maggie Magennis guest-star.

|LineColor=

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=21

|Title=Harry, the Good Neighbor

|DirectedBy=David Davis

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|2|22}}

|ShortSummary=When Harry overhears an argument between his newlywed neighbors, he interferes by trying to patch things up between them — but things do not go as he hoped. Charles Dodds and Anne Whitfield guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=22

|Title=Cyrano DeGrafton

|DirectedBy=

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|2|29}}

|ShortSummary=Harry's shy friend Lester asks Harry to help him win the love of nurse Betty Wagner. Unbeknownst to Lester, Harry becomes infatuated with her himself. Lyn Edgington guest-stars.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=23

|Title=Take Her, She's Tall

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|3|7}}

|ShortSummary=Harry sets up a blind date for the girl-shy Andy — but Andy refuses to accept it.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=24

|Title=Will the Real Harry Grafton Please Stand Up?

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=Ben Starr

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|3|14}}

|ShortSummary=Competing with Fred for the title of "Foreman of the Year" from a national magazine — and desperate to win and get his picture on the magazine′s cover — Harry stages a series of incidents at the factory in an effort to impress Elaine Hampton, a journalist from the magazine. Joyce Jameson and Grazia Narciso guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=25

|Title=Auntie Up

|DirectedBy=David Davis

|WrittenBy=Bill Raynor and Myles Wilder

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|3|21}}

|ShortSummary=After Harry hires a sweet little old lady as a housekeeper, she turns the Grafton home into a gambling den. Harry responds by donning women's clothing and joining the game in an attempt to bilk her.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=26

|Title=Grafton′s the Name, Football′s My Game

|DirectedBy=Thomas Montgomery

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|3|28}}

|ShortSummary=Harry considers himself a football expert, so he decides to mentor the local football team′s coach by passing him a few secrets and teaching him a thing or two — and ends up getting himself arrested. Thomas McVey guest-stars.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=27

|Title=Keep Cool

|DirectedBy=

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|4|4}}

|ShortSummary=Harry and his men try to stay calm after they accidentally lock themselves in a walk-in freezer. Richard Jaeckel, Roland LaStarza, Sam Flint, and Henry Corden guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=28

|Title=Vanity, Thy Name Is Harry

|DirectedBy=David Davis

|WrittenBy=David Davis

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|4|11}}

|ShortSummary=Harry decides to reverse the aging process by "thinking young" and wearing a toupée. Elaine Gardner and Mary Patton guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=29

|Title=How to Succeed in Business Without Crying

|DirectedBy=Rod Amateau

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|4|18}}

|ShortSummary=The plant's janitor, Charley Gilhooley, has led his mother to believe that he is the plant manager, and chaos ensues when she makes an unplanned — and unwelcome — visit. Paul Hampton and Blossom Rock guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=30

|Title=Moonlight and Dozes

|DirectedBy=Thomas Montgomery

|WrittenBy=

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1964|4|25}}

|ShortSummary=The plant′s night watchman, Magruder, is usually asleep on the job, and Harry relies on that so that he can rent the factory′s warehouse out at night without the company′s permission. When Magruder is threatened with losing his job, Harry has to figure out a way to keep him employed as the night watchman, so he concocts a scheme to stage a fake robbery on a night when he has rented the warehouse to a method acting class so that Magruder can be a hero. Burt Mustin, Bernie Kopell, and Eric Morris guest-star.

|LineColor=

}}

References

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