# Vacation Playhouse

Vacation Playhouse is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS during the summer months from 1963 through 1967.

## Background

The practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired. Packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer provided television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them. Vacation Playhouse was one such series, aired by CBS each summer from 1963 through 1967.

## Production

Vacation Playhouse premiered on July 22, 1963, airing as a summer replacement for the situation comedy The Lucy Show; a voiceover introduced each episode with "While Lucy's on vacation . . . it's Vacation Playhouse." In 1963, it consisted of unsold pilots for situation comedies. When it returned in 1964, again replacing The Lucy Show, it mostly aired previously unseen situation comedy pilots, but also included the pilot for a musical-comedy variety show and repeats of comedic episodes of General Electric Theater. In 1965, it replaced Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and that summer it aired dramatic adventure and mystery episodes in addition to situation comedies. It again replaced The Lucy Show in 1966 and 1967 and returned to its earlier format of presenting situation comedy pilots, during each of those summers consisting of previously unaired pilots and repeats of episodes that it had aired in previous years.
Among episode directors were Richard Crenna, Jack Donohue, Don Taylor,, and Bud Yorkin. Producers included Donohue, Hal Kanter, Arthur Julian, and Norman Lear. Other directors included Bud Yorkin. Studios involved in the production of pilots aired on Vacation Playhouse included Bing Crosby Productions, Desilu Productions, Desilu Studios, Filmways, Four Star Television, Television City, and Universal Television. Stars appearing in episodes of the series included Eve Arden, Orson Bean, Richard Benjamin, Charles Bronson, Edgar Buchanan, Wally Cox, James Franciscus, Ethel Merman, Barry Nelson, Suzanne Pleshette, Ginger Rogers, Soupy Sales, Brenda Vaccaro, Jerry Van Dyke, and Ed Wynn.
Two episodes of Vacation Playhouse aired twice on the series, two others aired three times, and the series also included a few repeats of episodes of other anthology series. Nonetheless, by the time Vacation Playhouse aired for the last time in August 1967, it had broadcast 47 unsold pilots since its 1963 premiere. Its five-season run made it the longest-lived series of unsold television pilots.

## Broadcast history

During 1963, Vacation Playhouse aired on Mondays from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, premiering on July 22 and concluding on September 23. It returned in the summer of 1964 in the same time slot, running from June 15 to September 14. During its third season in 1965, the series moved to Friday nights from 9:30 to 10:00 pm. Eastern Time from June 25 to September 10. It returned to its previous time slot on Monday nights in 1966, airing from July 4 and September 5, as well as for a final run in the summer of 1967 which began on July 3. Its final episode was broadcast on August 28, 1967.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale |
| 1 | 10 | July 22, 1963 (1963-07-22) | September 23, 1963 (1963-09-23) |
| 2 | 11 | June 15, 1964 (1964-06-15) | September 14, 1964 (1964-09-14) |
| 3 | 12 | June 25, 1965 (1965-06-25) | September 10, 1965 (1965-09-10) |
| 4 | 9 | July 4, 1966 (1966-07-04) | September 5, 1966 (1966-09-05) |
| 5 | 9 | July 3, 1967 (1967-07-03) | August 28, 1967 (1967-08-28) |
Season 4's nine episodes included two repeats of previously aired episodes. Season 5's nine episodes included four repeats of previously aired episodes.

### Season 1 (1963)

| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "A Love Affair Just for Three" | Norman Z. McLeod | Valentine Davies & Norman Z. McLeod | July 22, 1963 (1963-07-22) |
| A suitor falls for identical twin sisters – one an artist, the other a fashion designer – who help each other in times of need during their many misadventures. Starring Ginger Rogers (playing both sisters), Charles Ruggles, Cesare Danova, Warren Parker, Eugene Chan, Maureen Leeds, and Gardner McKay. Unsold pilot for The Ginger Rogers Show. |||||
| 2 | "Three Wishes" | Unknown | Unknown | July 29, 1963 (1963-07-29) |
| A pretty young woman finds herself in possession of a magic lamp that has transported a 1,000-year-old genie to the present. Starring Diane Jergens, Gustavo Rojo, Wallace Ford, and George Grizzard. |||||
| 3 | "Hide and Seek" | Unknown | Unknown | August 5, 1963 (1963-08-05) |
| A mystery writer can be scatterbrained, but she has an ineffable sense of logic, and she works together with her husband, a successful criminal defense attorney, to solve crimes. Starring Glynis Johns, Keith Andes, Michael Constantine, Mary Gregory, and Phyllis Love. This episode was the pilot for the proposed television series The Glynis Johns Show, which, after some cast changes, aired as the series Glynis during the 1962–1963 television season. |||||
| 4 | "Mickey and the Contessa" | Unknown | Unknown | August 12, 1963 (1963-08-12) |
| An American football coach acquires a Hungarian countess as his housekeeper. Starring Mickey Shaughnessy and Eva Gabor. |||||
| 5 | "The Big Brain" | Unknown | Unknown | August 19, 1963 (1963-08-19) |
| A bumbling inventor accidentally invents a machine that forces people to tell the truth. Starring Frank Aletter. |||||
| 6 | "Swingin' Together" | Gene Reynolds | Howard Leeds | August 26, 1963 (1963-08-26) |
| A rock band seeking its big break that travels around the United States on an old bus driven by its manager secures a booking at a country club benefit, but the benefit's organizer objects to their style of music and orders them off the stage. After their manager threatens a lawsuit, the organizer's father apologizes and the band resumes playing and eventually wins over the organizer to their music. Starring Bobby Rydell, James Dunn, Ben Bryant, Larry Merrill, Peter Brooks, Art Metrano, Stefanie Powers, Lloyd Corrigan, and Frank Cady, with singing appearances by Dennis Crosby, Lindsay Crosby, and Phillip Crosby. |||||
| 7 | "All About Barbara" | Unknown | Unknown | September 2, 1963 (1963-09-02) |
| A famous singer and musical comedy star gives up her career to marry a small-town college professor. Starring Barbara Nichols. |||||
| 8 | "Hooray for Love" | Unknown | Unknown | September 9, 1963 (1963-09-09) |
| A young couple that live on a houseboat and drive a motorcycle face a threat to their marriage when the husband must choose between working for his wealthy father-in-law or staying in college. Starring Beverly Wills. |||||
| 9 | "Come a-Runnin'" | Unknown | Unknown | September 16, 1963 (1963-09-16) |
| A small-town physician who has many heartwarming adventures and rarely is paid with money for his services faces a challenge when a couple prefers to use a midwife to deliver their first baby. |||||
| 10 | "Maggie Brown" | Unknown | Unknown | September 23, 1963 (1963-09-23) |
| A woman who owns a nightclub in the South Pacific patronized by sailors must keep 3,000 of them away from her daughter – and then is forced to make her own beer when her club is declared off limits. Starring Ethel Merman. |||||

### Season 2 (1964)

| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Hey, Teacher" | Unknown | Unknown | June 15, 1964 (1964-06-15) |
| On his hectic first day on the job as the only male member of the teaching staff of an elementary school, a third-grade teacher enlists the aid of the school's jokester janitor to deal with a snake that has gotten loose while the rest of the school's staff makes bets on how many hours he will last in the job. Starring Dwayne Hickman. |||||
| 2 | "Hooray for Hollywood" | Unknown | Unknown | June 22, 1964 (1964-06-22) |
| In 1920s Hollywood, a temperamental actress who is the top box-office attraction threatens to quit after arguing with a movie mogul, prompting two movie studios to fight over her. Starring Herschel Bernardi. |||||
| 3 | "Papa G.I." | Unknown | Unknown | June 29, 1964 (1964-06-29) |
| A dancing United States Army sergeant stationed in South Korea has his hands full with two orphans who want him to adopt them. Starring Dan Dailey and Cherylene Lee. |||||
| 4 | "I and Claudie" | Unknown | Unknown | July 6, 1964 (1964-07-06) |
| A pair of traveling buddies whose only possession is a ramshackle makeshift trailer devise creative schemes to make a living. Starring Ross Martin and Jerry Lanning. |||||
| 5 | "He's All Yours" | Unknown | Unknown | July 20, 1964 (1964-07-20) |
| An American woman who moves to London with her daughter to manage a travel agency for a wealthy tycoon is forced to work with the owner's inept nephew – a crazy Englishman who turns the office into a madhouse with wild promotions he dreams up. Starring Eve Arden, Cindy Carol, Derek Bond, Jeremy Lloyd, Roger Avon, Katy Greenwood, Nicholas Parsons, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Howard Smith, and Pauline Chamberlain. |||||
| 6 | "Love is a Lion's Roar" | Unknown | Unknown | July 27, 1964 (1964-07-27) |
| A French dancer is determined to marry a handsome New York City millionaire bachelor who is equally determined not to get married. Starring James Franciscus and Suzanne Pleshette. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on March 19, 1961, it was a pilot for the proposed situation comedy Band of Gold. |||||
| 7 | "At Your Service" | Unknown | Cynthia Lindsay | August 3, 1964 (1964-08-03) |
| An American tries to open a tourist service in Paris. Starring Van Johnson, Jan Sterling, Marcel Dalio, and Judi Meredith. |||||
| 8 | "The Graduation Dress" | Richard Young | William R. Cox & William Faulkner | August 10, 1964 (1964-08-10) |
| When a slick and lecherous city boy who works as a traveling photographer takes his camera into a rural area in the Tennessee hills to photograph a high school graduation, a beautiful country girl in need of a graduation dress captivates him, and he stirs up excitement when he tries to trade a dress for some favors. Starring Hugh O'Brian, Stella Stevens, Ellen Corby, Buddy Ebsen, Tommy Nolan, and Suzanne Sydney. A repeat of an episode which aired originially on General Electric Theater on October 30, 1960. |||||
| 9 | "The First Hundred Years" | Unknown | Unknown | August 17, 1964 (1964-08-17) |
| A young couple raises a baby while trying to finish college. Starring Nick Adams, Joyce Bulifant, and Roger Perry. |||||
| 10 | "My Darling Judge" | Unknown | Unknown | August 31, 1964 (1964-08-31) |
| A judge tries to get away from his duties temporarily and overcome family obstacles so he can enjoy a fishing trip. Starring Fred Clark and Audrey Totter. |||||
| 11 | "The Bean Show" | Unknown | Unknown | September 7, 1964 (1964-09-07) |
| A variety show starring Orson Bean, featuring improvisational comedy sketches by the comedy troupe The Beanbaggers (made up of Avery Schreiber, Mina Kolb, Dick Shael, and Arlene Golonka), and musical performances by the Serendipity Singers. |||||
| 12 | "The Ivy League" | Unknown | Unknown | September 14, 1964 (1964-09-14) |
| After his discharge from the military, a former United States Marine Corps sergeant enrolls as a college freshman. Starring William Bendix and Tim Hovey. |||||

### Season 3 (1965)

| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Sybil" | Unknown | Unknown | June 25, 1965 (1965-06-25) |
| As punishment for her vanity, a young wood nymph is banished from her native habitat and sent to reside on Earth until she does 100 good deeds. Starring Suzy Parker. |||||
| 2 | "Alec Tate" | Unknown | Unknown | July 2, 1965 (1965-07-02) |
| The teenage sister of a bachelor who owns an apartment house arranges for him to meet an eligible young woman. |||||
| 3 | "The Barbara Rush Show" | Unknown | Unknown | July 9, 1965 (1965-07-09) |
| A housewife takes a job as a public stenographer to support her medical-student husband and three children. Starring Barbara Rush. |||||
| 4 | "Patrick Stone" | Unknown | Unknown | July 16, 1965 (1965-07-16) |
| An unusual request leads a private investigator into a series of complicated situations. Starring Keenan Wynn and Joanna Barnes. |||||
| 5 | "Starr, First Baseman" | Unknown | Unknown | July 23, 1965 (1965-07-23) |
| Alternative titles "Starr" and "Starr of the Yankees." A rookie baseball player has an accident that almost ends his career before it can begin. Starring Martin Milner. |||||
| 6 | "The Brave Duke" | Unknown | Unknown | July 30, 1965 (1965-07-30) |
| An expatriate American who operates a casino in Mexico becomes involved in a gun-smuggling plot by Mexican revolutionaries in 1870. Starring Gerald Mohr. |||||
| 7 | "Luke and the Tenderfoot, Part I" | Unknown | Unknown | August 6, 1965 (1965-08-06) |
| In the Old West, a traveling salesman and his inexperienced partner ride into a town being terrorized by a fearsome gunfighter. Starring Edgar Buchanan, Carleton Carpenter, and Charles Bronson. |||||
| 8 | "Luke and the Tenderfoot, Part II" | Unknown | Unknown | August 13, 1965 (1965-08-13) |
| The conclusion of the story of a traveling salesman and his inexperienced partner who work together to stop a fearsome gunfighter in the Old West. Starring Edgar Buchanan, Carleton Carpenter, and Charles Bronson. |||||
| 9 | "Coogan's Reward" | Don Taylor | Story: Richard Donovan* Teleplay:Peggy Chantler Dick, William Cowley, & David Swift | August 20, 1965 (1965-08-20) |
| An arrogant, conniving, and philandering war correspondent covering World War II in France prefers a hedonistic lifestyle to actually doing his job, so he never visits the front for his stories, preferring to enjoy life behind the lines and piece together phony stories from bits of information he gathers from other reporters. Starring Tony Randall, Jerry Barclay, Roxane Berard, Alan Carney, Alan Dexter, Robert Gist, Chet Stratton, and Jason Wingreen. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on January 5, 1959. |||||
| 10 | "Three on an Island" | Unknown | Unknown | August 27, 1965 (1965-08-27) |
| Three young single woman help a boxer who cannot fight. Starring Pamela Tiffin, Julie Newmar, Monica Moran, and Jody McCrea. |||||
| 11 | "Cap'n Ahab" | Unknown | Unknown | September 3, 1965 (1965-09-03) |
| At the reading of a will, two women who are distant cousins learn that they will inherit money, a townhouse in New York City, and a conniving 97-year-old parrot named named Cap'n Ahab, but to qualify for the inheritance, they must live together and care for Cap'n Ahab. Starring Judy Canova and Jaye P. Morgan. |||||
| 12 | "Down Home" | Hal Kanter | Milt Josefsberg | September 10, 1965 (1965-09-10) |
| After a soldier is discharged from the United States Army and returns to his home town to become the editor of a newspaper his aunt has inherited, the folksy humor in his writing so angers the town's banker that he tries to put the newspaper out of business. Starring Pat Buttram, El Brendel, Sara Haden, Jack Orrison, John Hale, and Mary Jane Saunders. |||||

### Season 4 (1966)

| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Hey, Teacher" | Unknown | Unknown | July 4, 1966 (1966-07-04) |
| On his hectic first day on the job as the only male member of the teaching staff of an elementary school, a third-grade teacher enlists the aid of the school's jokester janitor to deal with a snake that has gotten loose while the rest of the school's staff makes bets on how many hours he will last in the job. Starring Dwayne Hickman. A repeat of the episode previously aired on June 15, 1964. |||||
| 2 | "The Good Old Days" | Unknown | Unknown | July 11, 1966 (1966-07-11) |
| In prehistoric times, a young caveman leaves home to live on his own and find adventure. Starring Darryl Hickman. |||||
| 3 | "Maggie Brown" | Unknown | Unknown | July 18, 1966 (1966-07-18) |
| A woman who owns a nightclub in the South Pacific patronized by sailors must keep 3,000 of them away from her daughter – and then is forced to make her own beer when her club is declared off limits. Starring Ethel Merman. A repeat of the episode previously aired on September 23, 1963. |||||
| 4 | "Frank Merriwell" | Unknown | Unknown | July 25, 1966 (1966-07-25) |
| The adventures of all-American hero Frank Merriwell, a Yale University student at the turn of the 20th century who excels at sports, solves mysteries, and rights wrongs. Starring Jeff Cooper and Tisha Sterling. Based on the character created by Gilbert Patten. |||||
| 5 | "Where There's Smokey" | Unknown | Unknown | August 1, 1966 (1966-08-01) |
| A small-town fire chief's brother-in-law is an eager but ineffectual fireman who shares a home with the chief and the chief's wife, although the chief always is trying to get him move out of the house. The chief has a perfect record of fire safety and control until his brother-in-law unconsciously – but steadily – undermines the fire department′s operations. Starring Soupy Sales, Gale Gordon, and Jack Weston. |||||
| 6 | "My Lucky Penny" | Unknown | Unknown | August 8, 1966 (1966-08-08) |
| Two couples spend a hectic two days guarding $15,000 in cash. Starring Richard Benjamin and Brenda Vaccaro. |||||
| 7 | "The Hoofer" | Unknown | Unknown | August 15, 1966 (1966-08-15) |
| A pair of no-talent vaudeville performers searching for a great gig try a series of tricks to get a top agent and impresario in a Chicago hospital to see their act. Starring Donald O'Connor, Soupy Sales, and Jerome Cowan. Unsold pilot for The Donald O'Connor Show. |||||
| 8 | "My Son, the Doctor" | Unknown | Unknown | August 22, 1966 (1966-08-22) |
| A struggling young pediatrician faces challenges. |||||
| 9 | "The Two of Us" | Unknown | Unknown | August 29, 1966 (1966-08-29) |
| A young widow works as an illustrator, and her impressionable 7-year-old son imagines her drawings coming to life, preferring the world of fantasy he creates to making real friends. Starring Patricia Crowley and Bill Mumy. |||||
| 9 | "Off We Go!" | Unknown | Unknown | September 5, 1966 (1966-09-05) |
| Eager to join the war effort during World War II, a 16-year-old boy who looks older than he is joins the United States Army Air Forces and quickly rises to the rank of colonel. Placed in command of a small air base in England, he deals with his commanding general while he and his squadron carry out their missions. Starring Michael Burns and Dick Foran. |||||

### Season 5 (1967)

| No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "You're Only Young Twice" | Unknown | Unknown | July 3, 1967 (1967-07-03) |
| A sweet old college professor invents a rejuvenation pill that makes anyone who takes it look 10 years younger, but only for a short time. He lets a pretty housewife try it, leading to an encounter with her errant husband in a nightclub and a teenage beach party at Malibu, California. Starring Ed Wynn in a posthumous role and Ethel Waters. |||||
| 2 | "Maggie Brown" | Unknown | Unknown | July 10, 1967 (1967-07-10) |
| A woman who owns a nightclub in the South Pacific patronized by sailors must keep 3,000 of them away from her daughter – and then is forced to make her own beer when her club is declared off limits. Starring Ethel Merman. A repeat of the episode aired twice previously, on September 23, 1963, and July 18, 1966. |||||
| 3 | "My Lucky Penny" | Unknown | Unknown | July 17, 1967 (1967-07-17) |
| Two couples spend a hectic two days guarding $15,000 in cash. Starring Richard Benjamin and Brenda Vaccaro. A repeat of the episode previously aired on August 8, 1966. |||||
| 4 | "My Boy Goggle" | Ralph Levy | Bill Manhoff | July 24, 1967 (1967-07-24) |
| A father must deal with his son's behavior at school after the boy is accused of biting his music teacher. Starring Jerry Van Dyke, Teddy Eccles, Jeanne Rainier, Pamela Dapo, Alice Pearce, Lee Goodman, and Frances Robinson. Filmed in 1964. Based on the novel This is Goggle, or the Education of a Father by Bentz Plagemann. |||||
| 5 | "Alfred of the Amazon" | Unknown | Unknown | July 31, 1967 (1967-07-31) |
| A bumbling young man who owns a rubber plantation in South America and fights injustice as a jungle adventurer in his spare time sets off into the Amazon rainforest to rescue a dentist and a nurse – who also is the dentist's beautiful daughter – from headhunters who are holding them captive. Starring Wally Cox. |||||
| 6 | "The Two of Us" | Unknown | Unknown | August 7, 1967 (1967-08-07) |
| A young widow works as an illustrator, and her impressionable 7-year-old son imagines her drawings coming to life, preferring the world of fantasy he creates to making real friends. Starring Patricia Crowley and Bill Mumy. A repeat of an episode previously aired on August 29, 1966. |||||
| 7 | "Heaven Help Us" | Unknown | Unknown | August 14, 1967 (1967-08-14) |
| After the spirit of his late wife returns to help him find a new mate, a magazine editor ends up with two dates on the same night. Starring Barry Nelson and Joanna Moore. |||||
| 8 | "The Jones Boys" | Unknown | Unknown | August 21, 1967 (1967-08-21) |
| A man leads a boisterous team of maintenance men. Starring Mickey Shaughnessy. |||||
| 9 | "Hey, Teacher" | Unknown | Unknown | August 28, 1967 (1967-08-28) |
| On his hectic first day on the job as the only male member of the teaching staff of an elementary school, a third-grade teacher enlists the aid of the school's jokester janitor to deal with a snake that has gotten loose while the rest of the school's staff makes bets on how many hours he will last in the job. Starring Dwayne Hickman. A repeat of an episode aired twice previously, on June 15, 1964 and July 4, 1966. |||||