One of the most popular television in the early Fifties was Trouble With Father, which ran from 1950 to 1955. You may know it better by the name the show had during its syndication -- The Stu Erwin Show. Erwin (1903-1967) broke into films with Mother Knows Best (1928) and went on to play Joe Palooka in Palooka (1934). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Amos Dodd in 1936's Pigskin Parade. Although it's not listed on IMDB, Erwin voiced a squirrel in Disney's Bambi.
In Trouble with Father, Erwin played a high school principal named (coincidently) Stu Erwin. His real-life wife June Collyer played his wife June. Sheila James (the future on Zelda Gilroy on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and a future California State Senator) played their tomboy daughter, Jackie. Ann Todd played their other daughter, Joyce, to be replaced by Merry Anders during the show's final season after Todd decided acting just wasn't for her. The show ran for four or five seasons, depending on how you look at it -- the 1953-54 season consisted entirely of repeats.
The episode below, from November 1952, is titled either "Teacher's Pet" or "Father Takes a Pet" -- you pays your money and you takes your chances. Directed by Howard Bretherton, from a script by Roy Steawart and Margaret Randall, the show revolves around Stu taking a bunch of fish which begin propagating mightily.
Enjoy.
http://archive.org/details/Jeice_Loves_Classic-TV
I think she made the right decision in deciding acting was not for her. I don't remember this one at all. But I do remember him and Sheila James.
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