Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV series)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is an American sitcom that aired on ABC starring Fess Parker. The series, which aired from October 1962 to March 1963, was based on the 1939 Frank Capra film of the same name, starring James Stewart in the title role. Synopsis. Fess Parker was Eugene Smith, an honest but unsophisticated U.S. senator from an unidentified small-populated state. According to the story line, Eugene Smith is elected to a Senate vacancy after the death of an incumbent. The series also features Sandra Warner as Parker's wife, Pat  Smith; country music singer Red Foley as the senator's Uncle Cooter, Rita Lynn as Smith's secretary, Miss Kelly, and Stan Irwin as Smith's chauffeur, Arnie. Production notes. The series, a Screen Gems Production (Screen Gems was owned by Columbia Pictures, which produced the film), aired at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. It followed ABC's short-lived "The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show", a Western comedy and variety show, and preceded the long-running "The Lawrence Welk Show". Its competition on CBS was the legal drama "The Defenders" and NBC's "The Joey Bishop Show