From the driveway, the house next door to the right is recognizable as that of Darrin and Samantha Stephens from Bewitched. This movie ranch facade used as the Baxters' house had previously been seen in several Three Stooges films, and was used as the home for the Lawrences on the sitcom Gidget. Exteriors were shot at the Columbia Ranch in Burbank. The series was filmed at Columbia Sunset Gower Studios, Hollywood, California. Jillian later went on to star in her own series, It's a Living, in the 1980s, as well as several television films.ĭon DeFore, Bobby Buntrock, Whitney Blake from the first-season episode "Hazel's Secret Wish" Ann Jillian, who was then a teenager, was also added to the cast as Millie Ballard, Steve Baxter's receptionist. As for the drop in two of the main characters, CBS had said that Blake was not available after the move to the network, although DeFore stated that he was never informed of the change and found out about it while reading a newspaper. Hazel provided the same housekeeping services for her revamped family. Hazel and Harold (who did not depart with his parents so he wouldn't miss any school) moved in with George's never-before-mentioned younger brother, Steve ( Ray Fulmer), a real estate agent, Steve's wife Barbara ( Lynn Borden), and their daughter Susie ( Julia Benjamin). George and Dorothy’s departure was explained as a relocation to Baghdad, Iraq, for George's work. In an effort to appeal to a younger audience, DeFore and Blake were dropped after the move to CBS. Dotty neighbors Herbert and Harriet Johnson ( Donald Foster and Norma Varden) often call upon Hazel's expertise in household matters, of which they seem ignorant.Īfter a four season run on NBC, the network canceled the series, but it was picked up by CBS for what would be a fifth and final season. Hazel's life is sometimes complicated by George's snobby Bostonian sister Deirdre Thompson ( Cathy Lewis) and his gruff client Harvey Griffin ( Howard Smith). In the first episode, for example, she spearheads a drive for the construction of a neighborhood playground. Some episodes take Hazel outside the Baxter house and follow her life in the community. B" usually concedes defeat and grants Hazel's wishes when she tortures him by serving meager portions of her mouth-watering meals and desserts as an incentive for him to “lose a few pounds.” Many episodes focus on the perennial contest of wills between Hazel and George over issues around the house "Mr. The series humorously dramatizes Hazel's life with the Baxters and her friendships with others in the neighborhood such as postman Barney Hatfield ( Robert Williams), taxi-driver Mitch Brady ( Dub Taylor) and Rosie Hammaker ( Maudie Prickett), another maid in the neighborhood. Hazel's mother died when she was 14 (she said in one episode) so she had to take care of her own family. Hazel had worked previously with Dorothy's family, and has a close relationship with her. Their son Harold ( Bobby Buntrock) is dubbed "Sport" by Hazel. George's wife, Dorothy ( Whitney Blake), is an interior decorator, whom Hazel nicknames "Missy". George Baxter ( Don DeFore) is a partner in the law firm of Butterworth, Hatch, Noll and Baxter Hazel calls him "Mr. Hazel is a competent, take-charge, live-in maid in the home of the Baxter family. The show was based on the single-panel comic strip of the same name by cartoonist Ted Key, which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. Season 1 was broadcast in black-and-white except for one episode which was in color, and seasons 2–5 were all broadcast in color. The first four seasons of Hazel aired on NBC, and the fifth and final season aired on CBS. The five-season, 155-episode series aired in prime time from September 28, 1961, to April 11, 1966, and was produced by Screen Gems. Hazel is an American sitcom about a spunky live-in maid named Hazel Burke (played by Shirley Booth) and her employers, the Baxters. Black-and-white (season 1 with the exception of episode 6)
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