The Courtship of Eddie 's Father - wikipedia The Courtship of Eddie 's Father This article is about the television series. For the 1963 film, see The Courtship of Eddie 's Father ( film ). The Courtship of Eddie 's Father From left : Bill Bixby, Brandon Cruz and Miyoshi Umeki, 1969. Genre Family sitcom Created by James Komack Starring Bill Bixby Brandon Cruz Miyoshi Umeki James Komack Kristina Holland Opening theme `` Best Friend '' performed by Harry Nilsson Composer ( s ) George Tipton Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of seasons No. of episodes 73 ( list of episodes ) Production Running time 26 minutes Production company ( s ) MGM Television Distributor Warner Bros. Television Release Original network ABC Original release September 17, 1969 ( 1969 - 09 - 17 ) -- March 1, 1972 ( 1972 - 03 - 01 ) The Courtship of Eddie 's Father is an American sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on a novel by Mark Toby ( edited by Dorothy Wilson ). The series is about a widower, Tom Corbett ( played by Bill Bixby ), who is a magazine publisher, and his young son, Eddie ( played by Brandon Cruz ). Eddie believes his father should marry, and manipulates situations surrounding the women his father is interested in. ( Eddie 's matchmaking efforts were the theme of the movie, but gradually became less central to the storylines in the series. ) The series debuted on September 17, 1969, and was last broadcast on March 1, 1972. Bixby received an Emmy nomination for the show. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Main cast 2.2 Guest cast 3 Production 3.1 Crew 3.2 Theme Song 3.3 Cancellation 4 Home media 5 Failed spin - offs 6 References 7 External links Plot Bixby and Cruz as Tom and Eddie The show centered on Tom Corbett ( Bill Bixby ), a handsome, thirty - something magazine publisher and widower from Los Angeles. Following the death of his wife Helen, Tom is left to raise his mischievous, freckle - faced son, six - year - old Eddie ( Brandon Cruz ). Eddie wants a new mother, so to that end, he cleverly manipulates his father 's relationships with women, sometimes even trying to set his father up to fall for women Eddie knows and likes first. The father - son duo 's domestic arrangements are managed, with great discretion, by their Japanese housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston ( Miyoshi Umeki ). Her sage advice add to the comedic mix in situations where she looks after Eddie, and sometimes helps him further his schemes to marry off his father and find a new mother. Mrs. Livingston addresses her employer, Tom, as `` Mr. Eddie 's Father '', which hints at who she considers to be the more important member of the pair under her care. Characters from Tom Corbett 's office included Tina Rickles ( Kristina Holland ), as his secretary, and Norman Tinker ( James Komack ), as the magazine 's photographer and token radical. Norman, who was also a family man, occasionally served as Eddie 's honorary uncle. Cast Main cast Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz are the only two actors to appear in every episode of the series. Bill Bixby as Tom Corbett -- A widower and a magazine editor Brandon Cruz as Eddie Corbett -- Tom 's son Miyoshi Umeki as Mrs. Livingston -- Tom 's and Eddie 's housekeeper Kristina Holland as Tina Rickles -- Tom 's secretary James Komack as Norman Tinker -- Tom 's partner at a magazine company Guest cast During its three - season run, many familiar or up - and - coming actors who guest - starred on the show went on to become successful stars, including : Jodie Foster, Sally Struthers, Bruce Kirby, Pat Harrington Jr., Diana Muldaur, Willie Aames, Warren Berlinger, Suzanne Pleshette, Yvonne Craig, Cicely Tyson, Richard X. Slattery, Tippi Hedren, Trisha Noble, John Fiedler, Alan Oppenheimer, Lou Jacobi, Will Geer, Bill Dana, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Ronny Graham, Lori Saunders, Ann Prentiss, Ron Ely, Carol Lawrence, and George Takei. Future Happy Days stars Pat Morita and Erin Moran also made guest appearances. Established stars also made cameo appearances, such as Eve McVeagh as a grumpy neighbor named Lorraine Karn, Sammy Davis Jr. as an insurance man, and Bixby 's then - wife Brenda Benet as Tom 's girlfriend. Production Crew Comedy producer James Komack served as both the creator and the executive producer of the show. In 1970, Bill Bixby made his debut as a director, going on to direct eight episodes of the show. Theme song The television show 's theme song, `` Best Friend '', was written and performed by Harry Nilsson, and was played over opening credits showing Bixby and Cruz in various happy moments. The song has often been used since that time as an iconic indication of father - son bonding. An edited version of Nilsson 's `` Best Friend '' was used as the theme song for the 2006 MTV series Rob & Big. Cancellation The show was cancelled in 1972, when Bixby had a falling out with James Komack over the show 's direction. Many of the later episodes focused on Norman, Tom, and Eddie rather than on the relationship between Tom and Eddie. Years after the show was cancelled, it became quietly popular as reruns in syndication. Home media Warner Bros. has released all three seasons of The Courtship of Eddie 's Father on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. These are Manufacture - on - Demand ( MOD ) releases, available via WBShop.com & Amazon.com. DVD Name Ep # Release Date The Complete First Season 26 September 27, 2011 The Complete Second Season 24 October 9, 2012 The Complete Third Season 23 January 14, 2014 Failed spin - offs As early as 1999, Entertainment Weekly reported plans for Nicolas Cage to star in and produce a feature film remake of the series. In a 2011 interview, Brandon Cruz believed Cage was likely no longer interested in the project because Cage 's son Weston, who would have played Eddie, had grown too old for the part. In 2003, filming began on a new television pilot which starred Ken Marino and Josh Hutcherson, but it was not picked up by a network. The child star of the previous series, Brandon Cruz, played a supporting role. References Jump up ^ `` In 1971 Bill Bixby received an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for The Courtship of Eddie 's Father. '' The Courtship of Eddie 's Father Online Jump up ^ `` The Courtship of Eddie 's Father - ' The Complete 1st Season ' is Now Selling from the Warner Archive ''. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Courtship of Eddie 's Father - ' The Complete 2nd Season ' of Bill Bixby 's Show is on DVD Today ''. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Jump up ^ The Warner Archive Schedules the 3rd and Final Season for MOD Archived December 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Lee, Will ( September 17, 1999 ). `` Tube Tied ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 03. Jump up ^ `` The Courtship of Eddie 's Father : Brandon Cruz Recalls the Show and His Friend Bill Bixby ''. TVSeriesFinale.com. December 26, 2011. Retrieved 2013 - 11 - 03. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Courtship of Eddie 's Father. The Courtship of Eddie 's Father at TV.com The Courtship of Eddie 's Father on IMDb The Courtship of Eddie 's Father theme song, by Harry Nilsson Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Courtship_of_Eddie%27s_Father&oldid=854367428 '' Categories : 1969 American television series debuts 1972 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms 1970s American sitcoms American Broadcasting Company network shows Television series by MGM Television Television series by Warner Bros. Television Television programs based on films Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from June 2013 TV.com template with ID same as Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Português Edit links This page was last edited on 10 August 2018, at 20 : 31 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: sitcom with the theme song you're my best friend
Answer: The Courtship of Eddie's Father