# The Practice (1976 TV series)

The Practice is an American sitcom starring Danny Thomas that centers on a father and son who are both doctors in New York City. The show aired from January 30, 1976, to January 26, 1977.

## Synopsis

Jules Bedford is a crusty, sometimes grumpy, and somewhat absent-minded old-school doctor with a genuine concern for people; he is idealistic about the practice of medicine, caring for people even when there is no money to be made. His office is in a middle-class area on Manhattan's West Side, where Molly Gibbons is the nurse who has been with him for years and has a crush on him. Helen is his young and slightly crazy receptionist and office manager.
Jules's son David is also a doctor, but is less idealistic: His practice is on exclusive Park Avenue and he is more interested in making money than his father. David is always trying to get Jules to move his practice in with David's and share office space. Jenny is David's wife, and they are the parents of two young boys, Paul and Tony.
Dr. Roland Caine is Jules' associate during the first season in the spring of 1976; a medical intern named Lenny is with him during the second season in the autumn of 1976.

## Cast

* Danny Thomas as Dr. Jules Bedford
* Dena Dietrich as Molly Gibbons
* Shelley Fabares as Jenny Bedford
* David Spielberg as Dr. David Bedford
* Didi Conn as Helen
* Allen Price as Paul Bedford
* Damon Raskin as Tony Bedford
* John Byner as Dr. Roland Caine (Season 1)
* Mike Evans as Lenny (Season 2)
* Sam Laws as Nate

## Production

Steve Gordon created The Practice and Danny Thomas was its executive producer. Gordon wrote some of the episodes, and other episode writers included Jack Ainob, John Boni, Sam Denoff, Bernie Kahn, Bruce Kane, Dale McRaven, Rick Mittleman, Jim Rogers, Bruce Selitz, Arnold Somkin, Norman Stiles, and Mark Tuttle.
Episode directors included Richard Kinon, Tony Mordente, Bill Persky, and Noam Pitlik.
During the first season, classical music played during The Practice's opening credits. While the visuals for the opening credits remained unchanged for the second season, the music changed to a new ragtime theme.

## Broadcast history

During its first season, The Practice aired on NBC on Fridays at 8:30 p.m., from January 30 to May 14, 1976. It returned for a second season, airing from October 13 through November 1976 on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. and shifting to Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. from December 1976 through the end of its run. Its last original episode aired on January 26, 1977. Four additional episodes were never broadcast.

## Episodes

Sources

### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 14 | 14 | January 30, 1976 (1976-01-30) | May 14, 1976 (1976-05-14) |
| 2 | 13 (4 unaired) | 13 (4 unaired) | October 13, 1976 (1976-10-13) | January 26, 1977 (1977-01-26) |

### Season 1 (1976)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "The Practice" | Lee Philips | Steve Gordon | January 30, 1976 (1976-01-30) |
| The pilot for the series. David diagnoses Jules' longtime friend Arthur Jarvis (J. Pat O'Malley) with a brain tumor and tells him he is terminally ill. While Jules and David feud over the diagnosis, Arthur resigns himself to his fate; but Jules does not want him to give up. Guest appearances: Robert Lussier and Dean Santoro ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Love and Death" | Noam Pitlik | Steve Gordon | February 6, 1976 (1976-02-06) |
| Jules treats a patient named Barbara Simms (Marge Redmond) for a thyroid condition and finds that she is suicidal because her husband has left her for another woman. He is sympathetic, but Barbara interprets his sympathy as a romantic interest in her. Pondering how to tell her that he is not interested in romance without making her become suicidal again, he decides upon an unorthodox treatment. Guest appearance: Ruth Manning ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Vote" | Richard Kinon | T : Steve Gordon S/T : James Ritz | February 13, 1976 (1976-02-13) |
| When it comes time to vote for a new chief of internal medicine for the hospital, Jules is forced to choose between David and Dr. Herb Chisholm (Severn Darden) – a brilliant and visionary physician who is also unkempt and absent-minded. Jules chooses Chisholm, much to David's dismay. Guest appearance: Ken Olfson ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Molly and Jim" | Bill Persky | S : Tom Dunsmuir & Dan Wilcox T : Steve Gordon | February 20, 1976 (1976-02-20) |
| Molly falls in love with one of Jules' patients. Guest appearance: James T. Callahan ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Choice" | Richard Kinon | Steve Gordon, John Boni & Norman Stiles | February 27, 1976 (1976-02-27) |
| When Frankie Nyles (Vic Tayback), a known drug dealer, sees Jules for treatment of recurring bad headaches, Jules determines that he needs an operation. Jules does not want to treat a drug dealer, but his conscience won't let him turn Nyles away. Guest appearances: Joseph R. Sicari and Robert Miller Driscoll ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Unsinkable Molly Gibbons" | Bill Persky | Ann Gibbs & Joel Kimmel | March 12, 1976 (1976-03-12) |
| Molly fakes a series of dental work to cover for the fact that she's seeing David as a patient. ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Down Payment" | Bill Persky | S : Bruce Kane T : Steve Gordon & Arnold Somkin | March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19) |
| Burglars break into Jules' office, ransack it, and steal his medical supplies. David offers to loan him the money he needs to put his office back in order. At first Jules does not want the loan, but he later gives in and says he will accept it – when David no longer wants to loan the money. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Jules' Vacation" | Noam Pitlik | Simon Muntner | April 2, 1976 (1976-04-02) |
| An overworked Jules grudgingly agrees to take a vacation in Florida, but he can't resist practicing medicine while he is there. Guest appearances: Dave Shelley, Penny Santon and Naomi Stevens ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Nose" | Bill Persky | Bud Wiser | April 9, 1976 (1976-04-09) |
| Jules promises an old friend to talk one of David's patients out of getting cosmetic surgery. Guest appearance: Titos Vandis ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Molly's Mistake" | Noam Pitlik | Michael Turner | April 16, 1976 (1976-04-16) |
| Molly makes a grave mistake and loses confidence in herself. ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Jenny's Despair" | Bill Persky | Warren Murphy | April 23, 1976 (1976-04-23) |
| Jenny accuses Jules of meddling in how she and David are raising Paul and Tony. ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Jules & Eddie" | Noam Pitlik | Jack Ainob & Bruce Selitz | April 30, 1976 (1976-04-30) |
| Eddie (Bryan Scott), a recently orphaned boy who is one of Jules' patients, gets along very well with Jules and wants Jules to adopt him. Jules, however, thinks that his long working hours would be bad for Eddie's upbringing and instead looks for a set of great parents who will adopt Eddie – much to Eddie's disappointment. Guest appearances: Richard Venture and Mary Betten ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Jules and the Bum" | Bill Persky | Steve Gordon & Arnold Somkin | May 7, 1976 (1976-05-07) |
| Although Jules thinks it is a bad idea, David takes in a once-acclaimed novelist who is one of his boyhood idols and has fallen on hard times – and discovers that even though the man has impeccable manners and courtly charm, he also drinks too much and engages in fraud. Guest appearances: Victor Bruno and Mary Wilcox ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Jules' Investment" | Bill Persky | Steve Gordon, Arnold Somkin & Bruce Kane | May 14, 1976 (1976-05-14) |
| Jules invests his life savings into one of David's real-estate schemes. Guest appearances: William Cort and Raymond Serra ||||||

### Season 2 (1976–77)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 15 | 1 | "The Dream" | Noam Pitlik | Steve Gordon, Sam Denoff & Dale McRaven | October 13, 1976 (1976-10-13) |
| An eccentric psychic named Matilda Morrison (Lucille Ball) sees Jules because she is having headaches and visions that foretell her death in three weeks. Jules at first thinks that he should refer her to a psychiatrist, but then discovers that her visions turn out to be correct 80 percent of the time. ||||||
| 16 | 2 | "Helen's Beau" | Tony Mordente | Sam Denoff & Dale McRaven | October 22, 1976 (1976-10-22) |
| Jules arranges a date for Helen with a young medical intern, Dr. Byron Fisk (Barry Gordon). She thinks Byron is her new boyfriend – but is the last to realize that Byron is homosexual. Guest appearance: Lila Teigh ||||||
| 17 | 3 | "Judy Sinclair" | Noam Pitlik | Steve Gordon | October 27, 1976 (1976-10-27) |
| A tough and stubborn patient named Judy Sinclair (Marlo Thomas) needs an operation. The single mother of a little mentally disabled boy, she is determined not to undergo the procedure because of her fear of leaving her son alone. In the end, the Bedfords take care of the boy and Judy has her operation. Guest appearance: Matthew Laborteaux ||||||
| 18 | 4 | "It's All in the Head" | Tony Mordente | Bernie Kahn | November 3, 1976 (1976-11-03) |
| David hires a sexy woman named Rhonda Curtis (Caren Kaye) as his new secretary. He is attracted to her and has trouble resisting temptation when she makes advances toward him. They take a business trip together, infuriating Jules, but in the end, Jules' meddling saves David from committing adultery. Guest appearance: Carol Worthington ||||||
| 19 | 5 | "The Snow Job" | George Tyne | Jerome Chodorov | December 1, 1976 (1976-12-01) |
| A blizzard hits New York City, and David's apartment loses power – and then a pregnant woman in labor and her husband arrive at his door in need of medical help. Guest appearances: Yvonne Wilder, William Cort, Art Metrano, Jayne Meadows and Ivor Francis ||||||
| 20 | 6 | "A Doctor's Doctor" | Tony Mordente | Mark Tuttle | December 8, 1976 (1976-12-08) |
| Jules ends up in the hospital with painful cramps and is told he needs a gall bladder operation, but he does not want David to perform it. Guest appearances: Bill Dana, Sarina C. Grant, Harry Gold and Robert Miller Driscoll ||||||
| 21 | 7 | "Carlotta" | Noam Pitlik | George Yanok | December 22, 1976 (1976-12-22) |
| An old flame tries to tempt Jules into marriage by promising a large donation to the hospital. Guest appearance: Edie Adams ||||||
| 22 | 8 | "Jules Takes a Partner" | Bill Persky | S : Emma Fligg T : Frank Tarloff | December 29, 1976 (1976-12-29) |
| Jules takes his friend Dr. Michael Harrigan (David Huddleston) into his practice to keep him from retiring – and then regrets it. Guest appearance: Ralph Manza ||||||
| 23 | 9 | "Oh, Brother" | Noam Pitlik | Rick Mittleman | January 26, 1977 (1977-01-26) |
| Jules' deadbeat, money-grubbing, ne'er-do-well brother Harry (Jan Murray), from whom he has been estranged for many years, comes to visit, and David and Jenny arrange a surprise meeting between them. The two stubborn brothers fight at first, but after Jules learns that Harry may be dying, they become cordial – until the check that Harry writes to Jules to pay back the money he owes him bounces. Guest appearance: Robert Lussier ||||||
| 24 | 10 | "Jules & Lenny" | Noam Pitlik | Bernie Kahn & Rick Mittleman | Unaired |
| Jules wants Lenny (Mike Evans) to pass his medical exams and lets Lenny stay with him so he can study without the distractions of home – but Jules' meddling in Lenny's studying turns out to be a big distraction. Guest appearances: Ysabel MacCloskey, Paula Sills and Michael Danahy ||||||
| 25 | 11 | "Mulligan" | Noam Pitlik | Jim Rogers | Unaired |
| Jules' best friend, a police officer named Mulligan, dies while pursuing a purse-snatcher. Left alone in the room where Mulligan's sheet-covered body lies, Jules holds a lengthy one-sided conversation with the deceased man in which he reminisces at length about their friendship. ||||||
| 26 | 12 | "Jules in Jail" | Noam Pitlik | Richard Baer | Unaired |
| Jules is arrested while making a very unusual house call. ||||||
| 27 | 13 | "Molly & Jules" | Bill Perksy | Bernie Kahn | Unaired |
| Molly is fed up with being taken for granted both professionally and personally; it's up to Jules to change things or let her go. ||||||