# Hank (1965 TV series)

Hank is a 1965 American television sitcom that starred Dick Kallman in the title role. The show is a notable early example of a program with a true series finale, in which the underlying premise of the series reaches a natural conclusion with its final episode.

## Synopsis

The show, which aired on NBC in 1965, revolves around a pair of orphans. In both the unaired pilot and first episode, Hank Dearborn is explained to be a teenager left to raise his young sister, Tina, after their parents die in a car crash.
Seeing that the best route to success is through higher education, Hank attempts to illegally audit classes at the fictional Western State University, while at the same time taking a variety of odd jobs, including running his own lunch truck on campus, to financially support what remains of his family. Hank's attempt to accomplish these two goals provides much of the show's humor, as he must engage in identity theft, impersonating various students when they are absent from class, and helped by sympathetic Professor McKillup, who has access to the student roll. Much of the drama arises from Hank's fear of his sister being forced into foster care.
Hank's life is further complicated because he is dating Doris Royal, the daughter of the university's registrar, Dr. Lewis Royal, who is on the lookout for unregistered students like Hank. Typical episodes show Hank narrowly avoiding detection as an impersonator. In the final episode, his true identity is compromised. Because of his excellent performance on a recent exam, though, the university rewards him with a full academic scholarship and formal admittance to the university.
The series ends with his sister remarking, "There goes my brother – the registered student."

## Cast

* Dick Kallman as Hank Dearborn
* Linda Foster as Doris Royal
* Howard St. John as Dr. Lewis Royal
* Dabbs Greer as Coach Ossie Weiss
* Lloyd Corrigan as Professor McKillup
* Katie Sweet as Tina Dearborn

## Episode list

| Episode # | Episode title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Episode Summary |
| 1-1 | "Who's Waldo Smith?" (pilot) | John Rich | Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum | September 17, 1965 | College drop-in Hank, an unregistered student who is hungry for learning, gets the help of Professor McKillup in his plots to attend classes in place of absent students. |
| 1-2 | "Will the Real Harvey Wheatley Please Stand Up?" | Sidney Miller | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby and Jerry Belson & Garry Marshall | September 24, 1965 | Hank transforms a personality-challenged egghead (Bob Balaban) into the most sought-after man on campus. |
| 1-3 | "Dunsetter for President" | Gene Reynolds | Martin A. Ragaway | October 1, 1965 | Hank tries to sabotage his own campaign when he is nominated for campus president, since winning would expose his "drop-in" status. |
| 1-4 | "Cherokee Hank" | Richard Kinon | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | October 8, 1965 | In his latest subterfuge, Hank disguises himself as Sam Lightfoot, a speedy Native American runner. |
| 1-5 | "Candidate" | Coby Ruskin | Douglas Morrow | October 15, 1965 | Hank is temporarily disillusioned by the seemingly unethical conduct of his faculty friend. |
| 1-6 | "Catering Competition" | Coby Ruskin | Martin A. Ragaway | October 22, 1965 | Hank faces bankruptcy when a professional food service arrives on campus. |
| 1-7 | "Farewell, Coach Weiss" | Coby Ruskin | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | October 29, 1965 | Hank arranges a surprise testimonial dinner for Western State's frustrated athletic director. |
| 1-8 | "My Boyfriend, the Doctor" | Howard Morris | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | November 5, 1965 | Hank encounters girl problems when he assumes the identity of a pre-med student. |
| 1-9 | "Somebody Loves This Albatross" | Coby Ruskin | Walter Black | November 12, 1965 | Hank helps keep an honor student from dropping out of school by getting him a scholarship after the student's hidden athletic talents are uncovered. |
| 1-10 | "The Campus Caper" | Richard Kinon | William Raynor & Myles Wilder | November 19, 1965 | Hank makes a mockery of a private detective who was hired by Dean Royal to ferret out unregistered students. |
| 1-11 | "Dean Royal, Matchmaker" | Coby Ruskin | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | November 26, 1965 | Dean Royal misinterprets Hank's invitation to his daughter as being a proposal to elope. |
| 1-12 | "They're Playing Our Song" | David Alexander | Douglas Morrow | December 3, 1965 | Disguised as an absent music student, Hank composes a winning song for Professor Wagner. |
| 1-13 | "My Fair Co-Ed" | David Alexander | Teleplay by: William Raynor & Myles Widler and Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby Story by: William Raynor & Myles Wilder | December 10, 1965 | Hank solves the "three's a crowd" problem by transforming an unsophisticated babysitter into a campus beauty contest winner. |
| 1-14 | "Four's a Crowd" | Gene Reynolds | William Raynor & Myles Wilder | December 24, 1965 | Hank and his disguises cause Dean Royal to think that he is having hallucinations. |
| 1-15 | "Operation: Crackdown" | Coby Ruskin | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | December 31, 1965 | Hank once again outwits Dean Royal and thwarts the registrar's campaign to catch "drop-in" students. |
| 1-16 | "The Millionth Dollar Baby" | David Alexander | James Allardice & Tom Adair | January 7, 1966 | Hank contributes to the stadium fund, but his generosity nearly exposes his "drop-in" status at Western State. |
| 1-17 | "Money, Money, Who's Got the Money?" | Charles R. Rondeau | Arnie Rosen & Coleman Jacoby | January 14, 1966 | Hank gets unexpected help when a loan shark plans to take his truck as interest. |
| 1-18 | "The Trouble with Tina" | Allen Baron | Ed James & Seaman Jacobs | January 28, 1966 | Guardianship of Tina is in jeopardy until Hank's friends come to his aid. |
| 1-19 | "His Highness, Count Gazzari" | Allen Baron | Ed James & Seaman Jacobs | February 4, 1966 | Hank is able to convince a coach that he is a descendant of Italian nobility. |
| 1-20 | "The Ten Lettermen" | William Wiard | Bernie Kahn & Lila Garrett | February 11, 1966 | In an attempt to help Coach Weiss keep his job, Hank helps recruit a star athlete to attend Western State. |
| 1-21 | "Rah, Rah, Commissar" | Mel Ferber | Barry Blitzer & Ray Brenner | February 25, 1966 | A Russian exchange student is convinced by Hank to join the school's track team. |
| 1-22 | "Maury Wills to the Rescue" | William Wiard | Teleplay by: Sydney Zelinka & Don Richman Story by: Sydney Zelinka | March 4, 1966 | Hank extends an invitation to Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills to visit the campus in order to appease disgruntled alumni. |
| 1-23 | "Wedding, Anyone?" | Sidney Miller | Roy Kammerman & Sid Mandel | March 18, 1966 | A canceled wedding party that could mean a big financial loss forces Hank to try to marry off Coach Gazzari. |
| 1-24 | "Ethel Weiss, Won't You Please Come Home?" | Sidney Miller | Joanna Lee | March 25, 1966 | Coach Weiss patches up a lovers' quarrel between Hank and Doris, but alienates his wife in the process. |
| 1-25 | "McKillup's Best Seller" | William Wiard | Martin A. Ragaway | April 8, 1966 | A 25-year-old obsolete textbook becomes the most sought-after book on campus thanks to Hank. |
| 1-26 | "Operation: Matriculation" | Sidney Miller | Ed James & Seaman Jacobs | April 15, 1966 | Hank is finally unmasked as an elusive "drop-in" at Western State. |

## Home media

On November 3, 2015, Warner Bros. released Hank: The Complete Series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.