This was Television on May 27
1954: Father enters through the back door
An episode of the anthology series Ford Television Theater, then airing on NBC, served as the backdoor pilot for the sitcom Father Knows Best. “Keep It in the Family” starred Robert Young as the patriarch of an ordinary Midwestern family, and was a trial adaptation of the radio show Young and writer Ed James had successfully aired on radio for five years. The following October, with a new cast playing Young’s family, Father Knows Best debuted as a regular series on CBS, where it ran for six seasons and more than 200 episodes. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Todd Bridges, older brother (48); Adam Carolla, emcee (49); Joseph Fiennes, forward-flasher (43); Peri Gilpin, radio producer (52); Louis Gossett, Jr., mentor (77); Jack McBrayer, page (40); Eddie McClintock, federal agent (46); Lee Meriwether, supervillain (78); Vincent Price, horror maven (d. 1993); Richard Schiff, White House communications director (58); Bruce Weitz, cop (70);
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