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Brad's Musings and Meanderings

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"Okay, we'll play football." - Chris Tangeman

SEASON 1 – NBC

hazel

This series was created by Ted Key, based on his one-panel comic strip of the same name that originally appeared in “The Saturday Evening Post”

Theme music: “Hazel” by James Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics, not used)

  • 001. Hazel and the Playground – 9/28/1961
    • Hazel Burke (Shirley Booth) is the take-charge industrious maid for the Baxter family in Hydsburg, New York, led by the father George (Don DeFore), a lawyer, his wife Dorothy – aka Missy – (Whitney Blake), an interior decorator, and their son Harold (Bobby Buntrock). George is working at home on a Sunday getting paperwork together to woo potential client Mr. Pruett (Maurice Manson), a prominent citizen whose grandfather donated the local botanical gardens to the city. Hazel mentions that she had to flick a parishioner in the ear at church because he kept falling asleep, who unbeknownst to her was Mr. Pruett. Hazel then teaches Harold to place kick a football and sends it sailing into the chimney of neighbors Herbert (Donald Foster) and Harriet Johnson (Norma Varden), causing the house to fill with smoke. Hazel laments that the city doesn’t have a playground and goes to see the park commissioner Osborn Bailey (Francis De Sales) to plead that he turn the botanical gardens into one, but he says that she has to have a survey with 5000 signatures to get the proposal on the ballot. She goes onto a televised bowling competition and announces her intention to get the signatures. Pruett sees her on TV and recognizes her as the lady who flicked him, but Mrs. Pruett (Lurene Tuttle) supports Hazel and makes her husband sign the petition. In the end, Pruett Playground is dedicated and Hazel has Mr. Pruett kick a football filled with helium that winds up back in the Johnsons’ chimney. Hal Smith is the TV show announcer. 1/29/14
  • 002. Hazel Makes a Will – 10/5/1961
    • When Hazel finds out that Mr. Baxter got a new account at work, she begins hinting that she wants a raise, mentioning that her friend Rosie Hammaker (Maudie Prickett) makes $10 a week more than her and has just bought a mink coat, but he refuses. While playing football with Harold, she trips over a loose brick that she had told her boss to fix and has to be carried in by George and the mailman Barney Hatfield (Robert Williams). While laid up, she sends for her nephew Leroy (Wright King), who is a lawyer, which gives George the impression that Hazel is going to sue him. It turns out that she is actually writing her will and leaving everything to the Baxters. When George finds this out, he gives her a $15 raise, which help her to afford her own mink coat for her date with Barney. Queenie Leonard appears as Mert. 1/30/14
  • 003. Hazel Plays Nurse – 10/12/1961
    • Mr. B is out of sorts all morning and snaps at Hazel, Dorothy, and Harold, who is all set to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the school assembly. The source of his irritation is twofold: first, that a his client Harvey Griffin (Howard Smith), who is working on a multi-million-dollar merger, insists that George report to his office early, and secondly, he is coming down with a cold. Hazel and Dorothy both force George into bed for treatment, and Hazel’s diagnosis is seconded by Dr. Summerfield (Henry Hunter). Griffin is irritated that Baxter called in sick and rifles through his office over the objections of Baxter’s secretary Miss Scott (Molly Dodd), and heads over to the Baxter home. Hazel sacrifices missing Harold’s big day at school in order to care for Mr. B, and is adamant that Griffin will not disturb him. When Griffin arrives, Hazel determines that he too has a cold and despite his objections, forces him into the adjacent bed in George’s room. Griffin ultimately sees this as a relief and becomes easier to work with, confessing that Hazel reminds him of his own mother. 2/8/14
  • 004. A Matter of Principle – 10/19/1961
    • At breakfast Mr. B warns Hazel not to make conversation with their dinner guest that evening, Mr. Ralph Sutherland (Vinton Hayworth), a client of Baxter’s. Hazel drives off to shop for dinner and takes the station wagon that has some of the papers that Mr. B will need for their meeting on the golf course before dinner. Hazel drops them off and gives Sutherland some golf pointers. She then goes shopping at the meat market with Harold and when they come out she finds a parking ticket on the car, despite the fact that Harold plugged the meter. She decides to fight the ticket and when Mr. B agrees to take care of it, she assumes that he’ll defend her in court and won’t allow him to simply pay the $2 ticket. Happy that he has her back, Hazel makes a great chocolate souffle for dinner, which impresses Sutherland. Even though Sutherland agrees to show up in court to be a witness for Hazel, he isn’t needed as Baxter determines that a jack hammer caused the erroneous reading on the meter. Judge Rosencrantz (Lewis  Martin) find Hazel not guilty and Sutherland is impressed by Baxter’s deductive reasoning. Larry Haddon is the prosecutor, John Lasell is Officer Dietrich, and Victor French is the bailiff. 2/8/14
  • 005. Dorothy’s New Client – 10/26/1961
    • A tacky and crooked interior decorator named Francesca Kettering (Joan Banks) offers Dorothy a job with her successful firm, but Dorothy prefers to work alone and doesn’t like Francesca’s mark-up tactics. But Dorothy needs money to pay for a chair that she bought for George. Hazel tries to drum up business in the neighborhood, and when she finds that a new lady in the neighborhood named Flora Duncan (Mary Jackson), Hazel cozies up to her maid Della (Alice Backes) and offers her membership in the ‘Ladies Society of Domestic Engineers’ if she’ll plug Dorothy’s services. When Dorothy finds out, she forbids Hazel from mentioning the business to Mrs. Duncan or her maid…so she brings over her Sunshine Girls, a group of maids to help get the house organized, and she lets them drop further hints. But it is a visit from the tacky Francesca that finally drives Mrs. Duncan to seek out Dorthy’s services. Hazel cons Mr. Baxter out of his new chair so that she can give it a try. 3/16/14
  • 006.  What’ll We Watch Tonight? – 11/2/1961
    • Mr. B invites Hazel into the living room to watch the boxing match – for which she wins five dollars from him – knowing that after the fight, they’ll never be able to agree on what to watch next. She complains about how bad the TV in her room is acting, and Mr. B ends up promising to get her a new set. As they deal with Mr. Thornton (Walter Kinsella) at the TV store, Hazel finds out how much Mr. B was going to spend, and then she adds her own money as down payment for a color TV. When she gets it home, she invites every one she knows over to watch The Perry Como Show in color. Even Mrs. B and little Harold spend the evening in Hazel’s room. Mr. B eventually breaks down and gets his own color TV in order to get his family back into the living room. As Hazel is going up to watch TV in her room alone, Mr. B invites her back to watch with them. NOTE: This is the only episode of the first season to be filmed  in color. 3/16/14
  • 007. A Dog for Harold – 11/9/1961
    • Harold finds an abandoned dog that he names Smiley and falls in love with it. Both Hazel and Dorothy are hopeful that Mr. B will allow Harold to keep the dog, but he will not have any of it, after having several bad experiences with dogs that didn’t like him in the past. Hazel sends the dog to stay at the police station with Chuck (Raymond Guth) and then drops hints to Mr. B that a dog would make great protection from burglars, then poses as one in the middle of the night. Mr. B then vows to put in a burglar alarm, even after Hazel admits that it was her making the noise in the middle of the night. Hazel is then forced to take the dog back and hides it in her room. Smiley roams out in the middle of the night and while Hazel is retrieving him, she sets of the alarm, and is forced to store him in the basement until morning. The next day, they find Harold curled up with Smiley in the basement. His father’s heart is warmed and as a bonus, Smiley doesn’t bite him, so they let him keep the dog. Lou Krugman is Mr. Roberts, the alarm installer. 6/16/14
  • 008. George’s Niece – 11/16/1961
    • George’s sister Deirdre Thompson (Cathy Lewis) and her daughter Nancy (Davey Davison) come to visit from Boston and stay with the Baxters while scouting homes in the area. Deirdre cannot stand Hazel and matters are made even worse when Nancy, who doesn’t much connect with her mother, gets along well with Hazel. Tom Forbes (Larry Blake), a friend of Hazel’s who is trying to get her on his bowling team, comes over to meet Hazel’s nephew Eddy (John Washbrook). Nancy also meets Eddy and is smitten enough to accept an invitation to go bowling with him. Deirdre can’t stand the though of Nancy dating Hazel’s nephew and forbids it – but Nancy defies her and goes out with him anyway, eventually falling hard for him. When Deirdre confronts Hazel, she ends up giving Deirdre advice on how to win back her daughter…by simply acting interested in her life and supporting her, which she ultimately does. 6/17/14
  • 009. Everybody’s Thankful But Us Turkeys – 11/23/1961
    • It’s Thanksgiving and despite missing her own family, Hazel is busy preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the Baxters. George’s sister Phyllis Burkett (Beverly Tyler) and her husband Bob (Charles Cooper) are coming and bringing along his friend Tom (William Bakewell). The two have been at odds since Phyllis doesn’t like Tom and is sick of Bob’s card tricks. Bob accuses Phyllis of not being able to cook. George and Phyllis’ mother (Harriet MacGibbon) shows up and hints at her loneliness since her husband has passed and her kids have grown. Hazel threatens to quit as a ruse to get the elder Mrs. Baxter into the kitchen where she is happy. Hazel also uses psychology to get Phyllis to see that her husband’s card tricks should be endearing, and that she probably does need some cooking lessons. Her mother offers to teach her, which makes her quite happy as well. Between all of the cooking and counseling, Hazel assists the neighbors Herbert and Harriet Johnson, whose maid Phoebe (Maida Severn) has left them to fend for themselves, in cooking up their turkey. When it comes time for the Baxters to eat, everyone is much happier, and George allows Hazel to say Grace and insists that she join them for their family dinner. 8/29/14
  • 010. Winter Wonderland – 12/7/1961
    • The family is planning to head up to Snowman’s lodge, and Hazel can’t wait to participate in the dogsled races with her friend Johnny Manson (Bill Zuckert), although she fears a waitress named Minna (Florence Sundstrom) will take her place if she doesn’t get up there soon. Hazel suggests that they go up early, but then finds out that George needs to stay behind and do some work and plans to keep Hazel with him. Missy and Harold Jr. head up, and encourage Hazel to try and convince Mr. B to head up as soon as possible. Hazel brings over Rosie as a ‘chaperon’ who incessantly annoys George with her yodeling. Hazel also convinces him that Missy might be spending too much time with a ski instructor named Pat Bergstrom. After George is panicked, he finds out the Pat (Sally Mansfield) is actually a woman and is so relieved that he and Hazel head up right away. Hazel beats out Minna in the weigh-in for the races, and they win the trophy. 8/30/14
  • 011. Hazel’s Winning Personality – 12/14/1961
    • Hazel recommends a course called You and Your Winning Personality to her friend Laura (Dee J. Thompson), and agrees to take it with her to keep her company. She learns from the instructor Mr. Goodheart (Chet Stratton) how dishing out compliments daily can reverse a bad personality. She tries this out at home and passes it on to Missy, who then wins the confidence of a rich socialite Mrs. Meriwether Osborne (Louise Lorimer) who hires her to decorate her place. But the compliments begin to backfire when Hazel gives the impression to George’s freeloading cousin Charles Perkins (Frederic Downs) that he is very wealthy, and then when Hazel compliments Mrs. Osborne’s decor, Missy ends up losing the job. Laura tries to compliment her crush, a gardener named Zeke Lowell (George Mitchell), but lays it on too thick and causes him to start courting Hazel, who is at least able to fix this problem. She advises Laura to act apathetic, while she lays on the compliments. Zeke then begins to fall for Laura. 9/29/14
  • 012. Hazel’s Christmas Shopping – 12/21/1961
    • Hazel has her eye on getting Missy an expensive dresser set from Masterson’s department store, while George is planning to get her a purse. Missy mentions to George that he always buys purses as gifts, so he tries to return the one that bought, but it is stolen by a shoplifter. Missy goes to the store with Hazel, so that Hazel and gauge how much she likes the dresser set, but Missy thinks that Hazel actually wants it. Hazel ends up getting to it first, but it is twice as much as she had set aside for it, so she takes a job as a holiday clerk at the store. She irritates both the floorwalker (Dan Tobin) and the customers (Eleanor Audley, Helen Spring), and is nearly fired until she unwittingly assists in capturing the shoplifter who has been walking out with merchandise. Missy also finds out that Hazel has been admiring a musical powder box, so she knows what to get her for Christmas. Hazel gets a nice bonus, and the merchandise is recovered, including the purse that George had attempted to return. Robert Whaley aka Bert Whaley is the store detective, Jonathan Hole is the personnel manager. Byron Foulger is Mr. B’s friend Larry. 11/2/14
  • 013. Dorothy’s Obsession – 12/28/1961
    • Dorothy assists her friend Peggy Baldwin (Frances Helm) with decorating her home and agrees to attend the Peabody estate sale to purchase a desk at the auction. Mr. B is terrified that Dorothy will get caught up in the sale and buy a bunch of frivolous things, so he sends Hazel to watch her. When Hazel isn’t looking Dorothy buys an expensive piano that will be delivered C.O.D. and immediately starts to have buyer’s remorse. When they get home, Hazel goes to work on Mr. B to convince him that Harold needs piano lessons, but he won’t have any of it, all the while stalling the deliverymen by serving them corn and cake. Finally, Peggy agrees to buy the piano, but her husband Phil (Lauren Gilbert) forbids it. He goes over to talk to George, and George rants about how he allows his wife to do the decorates and buys whatever she wants without question. When he finds out that it was Dorothy who purchased the piano, he has no choice but to buy it in order to save face in front of Phil. 11/2/14
  • 014. Hazel’s Dog Days – 1/4/1962
    • The Baxters run into Missy’s friend Louise James (Kay Stewart), who asks if they might be able to take her dog Pierre since they are moving to Europe. They decline, but are impressed by Pierre’s tricks so much that Hazel uses some reverse psychology to get George to agree to send Smiley to obedience school. The secretary Miss Miller (Jean Jory) recognizes Smiley as a dog who belonged to former client Mr. Wagner (Wendell Holmes), so the owner of the school Mr. Harris (Dan Sheridan) calls Wagner to let him know. The Baxters have no choice but to let Wagner and his daughter Sandra (Jennifer Gillespie)  take Smiley – actually named Mickey – when they realize he is telling the truth. Smiley ends up running away and returning to the Baxters, and when the Wagners come to retrieve them, Hazel brings in Pierre and convinces the Wagners to take him instead. Sandra admits that she loves her dog more, but realizes that Harold is too upset about losing his dog, and lets the Baxters keep him instead. Don Kennedy is the dog trainer. 9/29/14
  • 015. A Replacement for Phoebe – 1/11/1962
    • Neighbors Herbert and Harriet Johnson report to Hazel that their maid Phoebe has quit because Herbert put suspenders in the garbage disposal. Hazel helps them out preparing their dinner and then coaxes Mr. B to let her select a new maid for them. She tries out three: Agnes (Tamar Cooper), who is well-meaning but incredibly clumsy, Gertrude (Elvia Allman), who is extremely competent yet very militant, and Elizabeth (Claire Carleton), who is a slob. As Hazel lets them work in the Baxter house, she continues to coach the Johnsons through basic house routines. She eventually gives them Gertrude, but not before Gertrude prepares a terrific meal for George’s business partner Mr. Sprague (Frank Milan). Because the Johnsons are so flighty, Gertrude ends up quitting. Hazel then directs Gertrude to Sprague, and brings Agnes to the Johnsons, who love her because she makes them feel needed for the first time. 11/30/14
  • 016. Hazel’s Famous Recipes – 1/18/1962
    • Hazel is depressed because she has been turned down eight times by publishers when she has submitted a cookbook full of her recipes because they are old-fashioned and unhealthy. Hazel threatens to burn her cookbook, and uses another one to prepare a bean salad which is sub-standard. However, George and Missy are trying to build her up, so they compliment the beans, which upsets her more. George takes the book to one of his associates Mr. Fenton (Harry Ellerbe) and when he sees that George is wiling to finance it himself, he gets her a book deal. Once she finds out that she is going to have to go on a book tour for six months, the deal loses its luster and she doesn’t want to go…nor do the Baxters want her to leave. Ellerbe calls with the news that Hazel’s recipes were already copyrighted. She had gotten them from her mother, who had taken them out of another cookbook. Everyone is relieved. Jack Daly is Mr. Hathaway the photographer. 11/30/14
  • 017. Hazel’s Tough Customer – 1/25/1962
    • George is nearly fed up with overbearing client Mr. Griffin, and when he buys a house in the neighborhood, George warns Missy not to accept his job offer to decorate his house. Meanwhile, Hazel fears she is ‘slipping’ when Barney the mailman takes out another maid named Maybelle. In retaliation, she goes out with Charley (Norman Leavitt), but she gets her ultimate temptation when Mr. Griffin asks Hazel to marry him. Missy is against it, but George thinks it should be Hazel’s decision, even though he has nightmares that the new Mrs. Hazel Griffin will have him fired. Hazel has a dream of her old boyfriend Gus (Charles Tannen) returning after she already gets married. Hazel ends up turning down Griffin, recognizing that he only sees her as a mother figure. Since he bought the house to impress Hazel, he decides to sell it and fire Missy – but she reads him the riot act and insists that he give the house a try. Missy reminds him of his bossy sister, so he agrees. 1/15/15
  • 018. Hazel’s Secret Wish – 2/1/1962
    • Missy’s friend Edith Stone (Peg La Centra), editor of Mode magazine, offers Hazel her two-week stay at exclusive spa and resort Rancho Verde. Mr. Baxter is afraid that the women there will look down on Hazel, but she agrees to go. Hazel arrives around the same time as multi-billionaire Mrs. Forbes-Craigie (Kathryn Givney), and they are both introduced to the other two women in their group Louise Carter (Maxine Stuart) and Elaine Willoughby (Betty Lou Gerson). They immediately recognize that Hazel is roughshod, and the spa’s proprietor Mrs. Camden (Jean Engstrom) sensitively asks Hazel not reveal that she is a maid for fear of losing customers. Hazel agrees, and also takes an instant liking to her maid Anna (Danielle Aubrey). Louise and Elaine continue to look down on Hazel, while Mrs. Forbes-Craigie takes a liking to her. When Anna needs time off to say goodbye to her boyfriend who is going to be stationed in Michigan, Hazel agrees to help serve the tea, thus giving away her maid status. Louise and Elaine are outraged and threaten to leave, and Mrs. Forbes-Craigie asks that the rest of her meals are served in her room…and she invites Hazel to join her. George is astounded to find out who Hazel is rubbing elbows with. 1/15/15
  • 019. Hazel, the Tryst Buster – 2/8/1962
    • George gets a call from his ex-girlfriend Trudy Garson (Kathie Browne), who has left her husband Fred (Walter Reed) because he wanted to watch drama on TV and she wanted to watch wrestling. Hazel is beside herself with worry, thinking that Trudy is trying to steal George. He goes to see her at her hotel restaurant but is adamant that he would only assist in getting them back together, not to help her with a divorce. When she hugs him, she gets lipstick on his collar, which causes Hazel even further alarm and an attempt to sneak into the Baxter bedroom to clean the shirt before Missy sees it. Trudy calls the next day and tells George that Fred is on his way over to punch him out because George had recommended divorce. George is livid and stages a fake fight, so that Trudy will see how much Fred cares. Fred is in on the prank, which does in fact cause Trudy to come over and ultimately go home with her husband. George demands an apology from Hazel, who offers to cook his favorite breakfast… but can’t resist warning him about his weight. Sheila Bromley is Trudy’s mother Mrs. Arnold. 3/8/15
  • 020. The Investment Club – 2/15/1962
    • Hazel butters up Mr. B so that he’ll speak to her Sunshine Girls Investment Club but he refuses. However his cousin Charles shows up, now employed by a company selling Brazilian stocks, and is more than willing to come to the meeting. Unbeknownst to him, the company owners Hal Gordon (John Astin) and Howard Porter (J. Edward McKinley) have placed a subliminal message to “Buy Brazilian” in a promotional film that is shown at the meeting. The next day the message has caused everyone to buy Brazilian coffee. Hazel even buys Brazil nuts and Mr. B buys a Brazilian hat. George finds out that the stock is bogus, but Hazel has already found out about the brainwashing, as Charles himself has discovered it and has brought along a representative from the Better Business Bureau. George ends up apologizing to Charles, giving him a loan, and giving the club a speech about investing. Gertrude Flynn plays Hilda. Skip Torgerson is Ralph. 3/8/15
  • 021. Hazel’s Mona Lisa Grin – 3/1/1962
    • George’s sister Deirdre is buying a new house and Missy buys her an expensive crystal vase as a housewarming gift. When Harold breaks it, Hazel takes the rap and raises $38 to pay for it by selling off some of her old heirlooms to her junk dealer friend Charlie (Mario Siletti), including a painting that an artist painted of her when she was a child. When George realizes that the painting was made by famous artist James Whitehead, he finds out that it is worth up to $9000 and tries to get it back from Charlie, who has already sold it. It turns out that Deirdre’s decorator Mr. Williams (Ralph Clanton) has purchased it for her new house. Everyone – including art critic Mr. Bowles (Howard Wendell) – is impressed, although Deirdre shudders to think that her brother’s maid’s picture is hanging in her house. Hazel gets it back after revealing that she had touched up the painting to make her smile and rendered it worthless. 4/29/15
  • 022. Hazel and the Gardener – 3/8/1962
    • Mr. B is getting ready to fire their gardener Ernie (O.Z. Whitehead), who is crestfallen that his girlfriend has left him. Hazel talks Mr. B into giving Ernie another chance, but she ends up doing the yard work for him while he sulks. Hazel tries to boost his confidence by asking him on a date, but then defeats him soundly at pool. However at the carnival, Ernie is able to show off his military training at the shooting gallery and impresses the girl running the booth, Florence Gurney (Joan Tompkins). They end up getting engaged and Ernie quits as the Baxter’s gardener, wanting to concentrate more on large estates now that he gets back into his groove. Henry Beckman is a pitchman. 4/30/15
  • 023. Dorothy’s Birthday – 3/15/1962
    • It’s Dorothy’s birthday, and after a big breakfast that Hazel has to abandon to chase some firetrucks, Hazel is supposed to have the day off. She’s decided to forego it in order to make Dorothy a special dinner and cake. However Hazel gets a bit irritated when Gloria Carpenter asks Hazel to host the luncheon that was going to be at her house. Hazel tells Dorothy that she won’t have time to make the cake, but that she will spend her day off making food for the ladies – even the stuck-up Jane Edwards (Joan Banks), whom Hazel makes a fool of during a game of Bridge with Agnes Collins (Deirdre Owens) as her partner. Hazel confides in Harold that she’s really going to make the birthday cake anyway and surprise his mother. Dorothy and George decide to reward Hazel by giving her the evening off and going out for a fancy family dinner. Hazel is upset since she was looking forward to the evening, but she doesn’t let on. At dinner Harold finally tells his parents how much Hazel had been looking forward to the evening, so George ends the dinner and they head home to have dinner and cake with Hazel. Sam Edwards is Fred Archibald. Ollie O’Toole is Charlie. 7/12/15
  • 024. Number, Please? – 3/22/1962
    • Mr. B is tired of getting calls from solicitor’s so he takes the advice of the snooty Madeleine Van Dyke (Fay Baker) and gets an unlisted number, much to the chagrin of Hazel. When the number arrives, he memorizes it, but Harold and Hazel accidentally throw it in the fire. Mr. B remembers it wrong and they give it to friends and family, but it turns out the number belongs to the Checkered Cab Company. This is particularly worrisome for Mr. B since  hisefficiency-driven client Mr. Sutherland is planning on making an important call to him from London that weekend. Hazel saves the day by bribing Mitch Brady (Dub Taylor), the cab dispatcher, into taking the Baxter messages. Mr. B spends the night at the cab company waiting for Sutherland’s call, but it turns out that Sutherland returns early and just wants to wait until Monday. Hazel calls Mr. B at the cab company and pretends she is Sutherland’s British secretary, so he doesn’t feel grumpy about spending the night there. George Lambert is Tom. 7/13/15
  • 025. Them New Neighbors Is Nice – 3/29/1962
    • New neighbors are moving in and Hazel is obsessed with finding out about them, going so far as to pester the movers Whit (Charles Tannen) and Bob (Fred Graham). The homeowner Stan Blake (John Newton) turns out to be a widower with three daughters and a son named Don (Paul Engle), who has just begun taking an interest in girls. His latest fascination quickly becomes Dorothy, and Hazel unknowingly encourages the romance by supporting his idea of giving her flowers. When Don writes her some romantic poetry, Hazel realizes what she has done, she takes action by bringing over some teenage girls for dancing lessons, while simultaneously convincing Don that Dorothy wants to elope. Hazel gets Don interested in the girls, and also invites Stan over to meet one of the teen girl’s mothers. 9/11/15
  • 026. Hazel’s Pajama Party – 4/5/1962
    • As Hazel gets to know new neighbors the Blakes, George starts to get irritated with the amount of time she spends at their house taking care of them, and the fact that the neighbor kids are constantly roaming through his house. When Hazel becomes attached to the 14-year old Linda Blake (Brenda Scott), she asks if she can host a pajama party for Linda and her friends at the Baxter house. Dorothy talks George into allowing it, but Linda and her friend Mary Selby (Ann Marshall) only reluctantly agree to let Hazel come over to Linda’s house for the party so they can have full access to calling boys on the phone. Linda then comes over and talks to George and Dorothy to tell them that her friends have decided they don’t want Hazel at the party. Dorothy is livid, but George agrees that a teen pajama party is no place for Hazel, and breaks the news to Hazel gently. However when Hazel has her own pajama party with the Baxters, the girls flock over to join them so that they can sing along with Hazel and her ukulele. 9/11/15
  • 027. Three Little Cubs – 4/12/1962
    • Hazel has convinced Missy to let Harold join the Cub Scouts and to be a Den Mother. When Missy tries to pitch the idea to her snobby friends Dr. Bruce (Henry Hunter) and Anne Kingsley (Alix Talton) for their son William (Edmund Lane) to join in on the fun, but they think he is too far above it. When Mrs. Kingsley brings William over to be babysat by Missy during a Cub Scout meeting, it becomes even more apparent that he is having trouble socializing with the other kids. Hazel makes an emergency dentist appointment to see Dr. Kingsley to try and convince him to let William join, which after an initial refusal ends up working. Hazel insists that Harold be accepting of William, even though he is prone to show off. During their meeting William climbs to the top of the backyard tree and tries to get attention… which he does only when he can’t get down. Harold climbs up to assist him, but ends up getting his shirt caught on a branch. William helps Harold out of that situation, and comes to understand the cooperative fraternity of the Cub Scouts. Rickie Sorensen is the Den Chief Sid. Mary Treen is Dr. Kingsley’s nurse. 12/8/15
  • 028. Bringing Out the Johnsons – 4/19/1962
    • George goes on The News Roundup on TV and tries to advance the cause of local Proposition A, which pushes a tax hike for education. His client Mr. Griffin is aghast about George’s involvement, while their neighbors the Johnsons are excited and being to long for involvement with their community. They agree to help promote the proposition and use their home as a polling location. They turn it into the type of society party they used to throw in their old West Bradbury neighborhood. Griffin is further enraged and bets $100 that they do not get 50% turnout in the district. When it begins to look like Griffin might win, Hazel makes a side bet that the proposition will pass. Griffin then joins George out campaigning, bringing in folks to cast a ‘No’ vote to counter every ‘Yes’ vote that George brings in. They end up with 100% of the citizens voting, and the proposition passing by two votes. However they soon realize that the Baxters and the Johnsons all forgot to vote in all the excitement. 12/11/15
  • 029. Hazel Quits – 4/26/1962
    • George takes on business developer Mr. Wheeler (John Litel) as a client, and together they hope to persuade City Council to approve the draining of Rainbow Lake in favor of developing an electronics factory. That very day Hazel is interviewed for the TV program The People’s Say and expresses her opinion that Rainbow Lake should be saved, concerned both about her own memories with her old beau Gus and also the job of Chet Cooper (Charles Seel) who rents boats there. When Mr. Wheeler gets wind of the interview, he insists that George fire Hazel. He refuses and withdraws from the job. Hazel can’t stand to see her boss lose all of that money, so she quits and goes to work for the Johnsons, but actually divides her time taking care of both households. She and Missy keep it a secret from George, but he eventually finds out and is okay with stretching the truth. Due to Harold ruining a signal, Hazel also is caught at the house by Mr. Wheeler, but claims she is only coming over to argue with her old boss. City Council eventually approves the development of the factory, creating hundred of new jobs. Chet stops over to thank Mr. Baxter because he is promised a job as night watchman at the factory, and also reveals that Hazel’s beloved Gus was at the lake with a different girl every night of the week. Larry Thor is the TV interviewer. Paul Berselou is Mr. Blick, who holds Hazel’s bag. 2/8/16
  • 030. Hazel the Matchmaker – 5/3/1962
    • Hazel and Missy both feel that their neighbor Stan Blake needs a wife, and they have the idea to match him up with Harold’s math teacher Miss Lewis (Renee Godfrey). Mr. B however wants them to stay out of it, but when he finds out that Stan does in fact desire to be married again decides to hook him up with his partner’s sister Mimi Andrews (Doris Singleton). Hazel tries to interrupt a meeting between Stan and Mimi at the Baxter house by bringing Miss Lewis over to assist Harold with his math, but her efforts fail and soon Stan has bought a ring and is ready to pop the question with Mimi. When Hazel’s friend Rosie overhears Mimi at the beauty parlor talking about landing Stan and his money, and planning to send the kids away to boarding school, Hazel manages to manipulate Stand and Mimi into having dinner at their house with the four kids with Hazel doing the cooking. Sure enough the kids get on Mimi’s nerves so bad that she calls them brats and storms out… while Hazel is making a call to Miss Lewis to head over for some tutoring for Stan’s son Stevie (Kim Tyler). Judy Whitney aka Judy Erwin is daughter Mavis. Vici Raaf is the manicurist. NOTE: Stan Blake originally had three daughters and a son when introduced to the series, but in this episode he has two of each. 2/8/16
  • 031. Rock-A-Bye Baby – 5/10/1962
    • Mrs. Johnson’s niece Angela Watson (Pat McNulty) and her husband David (Don Dorrell) are the proud parents of newborn baby Herbert, but are leaving him at the Johnsons’ house to be tended to by a nurse while they go out of town for vacation. Hazel becomes enamored by the baby and starts spending more time at the Johnsons tending to the baby and tutoring the Johnsons on how to take care of a baby. When the nurse Miss Simmons (Mary Grace Canfield) arrives, she is stiff, demanding, and refuses to let anyone in the nursery. The Johnsons fire her and try to take care of Herbert themselves, but Hazel realizes they aren’t ready so she brings the baby and the Johnsons back to spend the night at the Baxter house, despite the fact that Mr. B is trying to host a poker game. When the baby is up at 2am, George has to suspend the poker game and sing the baby the Princeton Fight Song… just like the baby’s father normally did. George’s poker buddies join in, and George is reminded him of Harold as a baby. Dan Tobin is a poker player. 5/6/16
  • 032. The Burglar in Mr. B’s PJ’s – 5/17/1962
    • The Baxters go out for a fancy night of dancing and while they are gone, a burglar named Peter Warren (Alan Hale Jr.) breaks into the house and is stopped by Hazel with a baseball bat. She is ready to call the police, but then takes pity on Peter when he tells her how he came to town from Centerville for a job, but was robbed by a hitchhiker and got his car stolen. She feeds him and allows him to spend the night. When the Baxters return home, George finds him in the guest room and is furious, but Hazel and Missy talk him into letting Peter stay the night. The next morning Missy remembers that she left some diamond earrings in the guest room the night before, and when they check on them, they are gone. George calls the police to report Peter, who has actually given the earrings to Hazel and is working in their garden to pay for his meals. Peter is arrested, despite everyone’s pleas, and George ends up acting as his lawyer and gets him out, even offering to let him stay at the house until he gets back on his feet. Soon Hazel is giving Peter orders about his diet and lifestyle, causing George to laugh and welcome him to the family. 5/7/16
  • 033. Heat Wave – 5/24/1962
    • Hazel gets ideas of wanting an air conditioner in the house when the mailman Barney declines her offer for lemonade because Rosie has already fed him iced tea and cooled him off in their house now equipped with central air. Mr. B declines the suggestion  because of the high cost of installing air, and gets her to stop asking by telling her that he might be quitting his job if he isn’t made a full partner in the law firm soon. Hazel stops in to see Rose, where she finds Barney there again… and that the family has sold their own wall unit air conditioner for only $40 to Charlie the junk dealer, who is wants it to help upscale his ‘antique store’. He refuses to sell it, but Hazel finds out that he is obsessed with a collection of antique fruit plates that he is trying to complete. Hazel finds the plates he needs at the antique store of his rival Mrs. Merrywether (Virginia Gregg). In order to pay for them, she trades in a cup and saucer for a candle holder, which she then trades up to Charlie for a candy holder, and so on until she makes the final trade of the plates. Charlie is so indebted that she offers him the plates, that he gives her the air conditioning unit. The nice cool living room at the Baxters helps impress Mr. B’s boss Mr. Butterworth (Howard Wright) and his wife (Jean Owens aka Jean Hayworth), and Mr. B gets made a full partner in the law firm Butterworth, Hatch, Knoll, and Baxter. Hazel reminds him that with his promotion and raise he can now afford central air. 8/9/16
  • 034. George’s Assistant – 5/31/1962
    • Mr. B is nearly out of his mind in his new role, working long hours and trying to please his irascible client Mr. Griffin. Meanwhile Hazel is attending the graduation ceremony of Alan Merric (Don Spruance) the son of the man (Nesdon Booth) who own the bowling alley where Hazel bowls. Hazel has the idea to pitch Alan to fill the role of his assistant. Mr. Griffin has other ideas however and is pushing for George to hire Gail Sanders (Maggie Pierce), the daughter of one his friends. Hazel insists that Alan come over quickly to try and claim his job, but when he sees Gail there, he and she both refuse to take the job from each other. It turns out that they were engaged but called off the marriage because Alan wanted to start small with a tiny practice in Susanville so that they’d still have time for each other, while she wanted to start big locally. While waiting for Mr. Baxter and Mr. Griffin to make their decision, Gail decides to be persuaded to see Alan’s way and the two reconcile. William Beckley is Alan’s friend Jack Chambers. 8/9/16
  • 035. Hazel’s Day – 6/7/1962
    • With Father’s Day around the corner, Harold suggest that Hazel deserves a day too. Dorothy and George both agree so they insist that Hazel receive special treatment on the upcoming Sunday, including a night out for dinner with her and Mitch. The rubs George’s sister Deirdre the wrong way because she wants to have the over for dinner that night so that he can meet important judge Clem Farley (Walter Woolf King). After Hazel gets breakfast in bed, the Baxters present her with a hat that she has been admiring. After a sermon on forgiveness in church by Rev. Dr. Carroll (Theodore Newton), Deirdre forgives George… until she sees Hazel’s new hat which is the same one she has on. Hazel gets wind that George and Deirdre are fighting, so feigns illness as to not cause any issues. George won’t hear of it and insists on taking her and Mitch out for dinner and dancing. Dieidre and her husband Harry (Robert P. Lieb) show up at the same restaurant with Judge Farley, who instantly recognizes Hazel as a former classmate. Deidre is aghast when they hit the dance floor together, and when a photographer (George Mather) takes a picture of the group, Deirdre appears in the paper with them mostly cut out of the frame. 10/21/16

SEASON 2

hazel

  • 036. Hazel’s Cousin – 9/20/1962
    • Hazel and the Baxters see Hazel’s successful cosmetician cousin Sybil (Rosemary DeCamp) on television being interviewed by news host Mr. Prior (Harold Gould), where she announces her engagement to the powerful diplomat John Lucius (John Archer). Sybil’s social secretary June Lowell (Jean Engstrom) finds out that Hazel is on the guest list and wants to keep her away from the wedding due to her social status. Sybil wants Hazel to be able to attend, but when June suggests offering Hazel a job in Palm Springs. Sybil goes along with it and she and June pay Hazel a visit, where Hazel hosts a tea party for them and her maid friends. Soon it becomes clear what June’s intentions are and Sybil fires her and sends her back home. June calls Hazel from the airport to tell her that June doesn’t want her at the wedding, so Hazel makes up an excuse of having a bad back and tells Sybil that she cannot attend. Sybil suspects June so she has her fiancee and make sure she knows she is welcome, which works like a charm and prompts an immediate recovery in Hazel. 10/21/16
  • 037. Rosie’s Contract – 9/27/1962
    • Mr. B helps Dr. Craig (Richard St. John) draw up a five-year contract between him and his maid Rosie, who brags to Hazel about it. Mr. B has no interest in giving Hazel a contract and Hazel has no interest in getting one. However, that night Hazel has a dream that she is replaced by a robot, while Mr. B dreams that Hazel now works for Mr. Griffin and takes Harold for a ride on a steamroller. The next morning Mr. B finds a note that Hazel plans to talk to their neighbor Mr. Griffin, so he immediately offers to match anything he offers, and immediately puts her under a five-year contract, with which Dorothy strongly disagrees. Mr. B has another dream that night that every time he wants Hazel to do something special for him, Dorothy stifles it by telling him that it’s not in the contract. Hazel likewise has a dream that she can’t do all of the extras she’s used to because it drives her into overtime. This prompts both Hazel and Mr. B to tear up the contract. Hazel still holds Mr. B to matching Mr. Griffin’s offer… a $25 contribution to the Sunshine Girls Health & Welfare Fund. Frank Kreig is the carpenter. JoAnee Gaylord is a clerk. 1/23/17
  • 038. We’ve Been So Happy Till Now – 10/4/1962
    • While Hazel is fending off the advances of the milkman Fulton (Jonathan Hole) who wants to go steady, Harold brings the fact that his parents aren’t talking to Hazel’s attention. Hazel tries to cheer them up, but the mood is more somber than she’s ever seen. Hazel agrees to a date with Fulton in the park, but they are interrupted by Hazel’s friends Zoltan (Steven Geray) and Arlene (Barbara Bell Wright), and all Hazel can talk about is the Baxters’ fight. Hazel stops over at the Andersons’ house where the Baxters had just attended a party, where Mert their maid tells Hazel that the fight was actually about her, each thinking that Hazel spoils the other one. Hazel tries to help patch things up by telling each one that the other wants to apologize. When that doesn’t work, she prepares a nice meal and hires Zoltan to play violin for them. Fulton shows up and is jealous that Zoltan in there. Although the Baxters make up on their own, chaos nearly erupts with Zoltan’s violin playing, Fulton’s crying, and Harold watching the spectacle. Frank Kreig is Monty. 1/24/17
  • 039. How to Lure and Epicure – 10/11/1962
    • The Baxter family goes out to eat at the restaurant run by George’s friend Mr. Tonetti (Peter Mamakos), and they find that Tonetti’s is falling on hard times and that a persnickety local food critic named Alexander Templeton (Alan Hewitt) is also at the restaurant and appears largely unimpressed. Hazel tries to visit with Templeton to persuade him to change his review, but he is unreceptive. Hazel concocts a plot to get Templeton’s publisher and George’s client Mr. Williams (Harry Ellerbe), to bring Templeton to the Baxter house for dinner, and then fake burning the food so that they have to go out to eat at Tonetti’s, where Hazel and her maid friends Mert and Flo (Florence Sundstrom) will prepare a home cooked meal for him. The ruse nearly works until Templeton goes back to the kitchen to apologize and compliment Tonetti, only to find the maids back there laughing about pulling off the scheme. Even though Templeton makes no mention of Tonietti’s in his updated food guide, a reporter for the paper was also in the restaurant that night and gave it a rave review, resulting in customers overflowing into the restaurant. Patricia Michon is the waitress Maria. 5/6/17
  • 040. Barney Hatfield, Where Are You? – 10/18/1962
    • A substitute mailman (Judd Foster) shows up one morning in the place of Barney, causing Hazel to call Barney’s boss Oliver Cranston (Irwin Charone) to inquire where Barney is and finds out that he called in sick. When Hazel goes to visit Barney, she finds that he isn’t at his apartment. Worried, she returns later with the Baxters to his house and finds some of Barney’s poetry inside as well as a note and photo from a Boo-Boo Bedoux (Corrine Cole). The search for Boo-Boo at a strip club but get no information from an elderly man (Cyril Delevanti) or a stripper named Kitty (Darlene Fields). When they stop at a diner, the man at the counter (Jamie Farr) recognizes their photo of Boo-Boo as his old friend Maryann Appleby and tells them where they can find her. When they track her down, they find out that Boo-Boo had only sent him a letter of thanks because he tracked her down to give her an alimony payment that her ex had addressed incorrectly. Hazel then gets Cranston and all of the other mailmen looking for Barney, but then he shows up with a batch of fish after having played hook to go fishing. The Baxters talk Cranston into not reprimanding Barney, and Hazel forgives him and gets ready to prepare the fish. 5/6/17
  • 041. A Four-Bit Word to Chew On – 10/25/1962
    • Hazel makes it a point to learn a new word every day, which begins to irritate Mr. B she constantly tries to one-up him with her vocabulary. Meanwhile George expects a visit from his client Harvey Griffin who plans to set up an educational foundation. Hazel is more interested in criticizing Mr. Griffin’s weight gain, but he thinks he fools her when she tries to weigh him and he leans on the desk… but she catches on. The war of words continues on with Hazel mostly coming out on top. George is named the administrator of the foundation, which will award scholarships and subsidize families… but when George keeps defining and spelling the words Hazel gives him, Mr. Griffin thinks that George is talking down to him because he never finished his grade-school education, and when it happens again, Mr. Griffin fires him as his lawyer. Hazel goes to visit Mr. Griffin and read him the riot act and convinces him to come back to see George and apologize and offer him his job back, but he will be under the supervision of the Board of Directors… of which Hazel will be one. Bert Whaley is Bob the bakery delivery man. 12/28/17
  • 042. Hazel’s Tax Deduction – 11/1/1962
    • While George laments the fact that his tax refund hasn’t arrived while Mr. Griffin’s has, Griffin thinks that all of the 7’s in his return make him full of luck and plans on asking Mrs. Fowler (Viola Harris) to marry him. Hazel convinces George to call the IRS to demand his money, but he is called to visit the IRS agent Mr. Floyd (Maurice Manson), where he is asked to prove that the deduction that he took for his study is legitimate. He tries to get Griffin to corroborate, but he is in the midst of asking Mrs. Fowler to marry him and getting cold feet. George has Hazel bring down his paperwork, which satisfies the IRS, but when Hazel tells Floyd that the 10% deduction that he claimed for her services was too small, Floyd assigns agent Perkins (Robert Cornthwaite) to challenges all the new accountants to audit his return and see how much maid services should be deducted. Hazel is scared to death that Mr. B will be furious that she’s held up his check even further. As the Baxters are trying to head out to a cocktail party for Mr. Griffin to help assist him with the engagement, a swarm of IRS agents show up at the house to work on the audit. When Hazel calls to tell Mr. Griffin that the Baxters can’t make it, she also tells Mrs. Fowler that Griffin loves Hazel’s cooking so much that he had once asked her to marry him. Fowler calls off the engagement, and fires Baxter because he is so angry at Hazel. But Hazel goes and talks to Griffin and convinces him that he is better off without the snobby Mrs. Fowler. She wins him over and gets him to call the IRS, which results in an even larger refund for Mr. B. 12/28/17
  • 043. Mr. B on the Bench – 11/8/1962
    • Judge Arnold Winters (Willis Bouchey) calls one night while Hazel is playing cards with Barney, and since Winters’ granddaughter is playing loud music and he mentions the bar association, Hazel thinks it is a drunk calling from a bar. She feels terrible when she finds out that it is a Judge… and one who wants to come visit Mr. B. He has no idea what he could want, but it turns out that he wants to nominate him to the Governor to replace a retiring Municipal Judge. Mr. B labors over making the decision as Hazel waits on pins and needles, and ultimately decides that he’ll accept if the Governor asks to appoint him. Winters warns him to keep it quiet for now, but Hazel runs out and brags to everyone in town who will listen. When everyone, including a reporter, starts asking George about it, he is furious at Hazel and considers withdrawing his acceptance and firing Hazel. But when he starts to yell at her, her heartfelt admission that she loves him and is so proud to be bragging about him that she bought him a gavel, he softens. Although he withdraws, he says it is for financial reasons only and accepts the gavel as a good-luck token. 8/31/18
  • 044. License to Wed – 11/15/1962
    • George’s sister Deirdre continues to express her irritation with Hazel and the fact that her daughter Nancy is dating Hazel’s niece Eddie. With Deirdre’s husband Harry out of town, Dorothy invites Deirdre and Nancy to come to George’s cookout, and when Eddie announces that he has been awarded a scholarship to the University to study astrophysics, they invite him to attend as well. Questions from Harold reveal that Nancy and Eddie eventually plan to be married, causing Deirdre to have a meltdown. She and Nancy continue to bicker at home, prompting her to run away from home and convince Eddie that they should get married right away. Hazel doesn’t want to see Eddie jeopardize his education, so she uses reverse psychology to convince them otherwise. She talks to them about how Eddie can get a job and go to night school, how Nancy can get a job, and then shows them the hovel that they could possibly afford. Eventually they come to their senses and decide to continue dating through school. This pleases Nancy’s parents, and all concerned. Harold announces that he is now engaged to their neighbor Mavis, getting a laugh from everyone. 9/1/18
  • 045. Genie with the Light Brown Lamp – 11/22/1962
    • After his dog Lucky is lost somewhere in Virginia on a road trip, Harold is depressed, and his grades are suffering. Hazel is even visited by his arithmetic teacher Miss Tilcy (Virginia Gregg), who suggest using the psychological law of substitution to get Smiley out of his brain. Hazel attempts to explain this to the Baxters, but in illustrating, only manages to explode an ink pen on the carpet. After Hazel reads Harold the tale of Aladdin and his lamp, Harold searches Charlie’s antique store for his own magical lamp. Charlie gives Harold an old gravy boat, which Harold believes will bring Smiley back. The Baxters receive Smiley’s collar in the mail from a service station in Virigina, which indicates that without a collar, Smiley has even less of a chance of being found. As much as his parents try to convince him that the magic won’t work, things keep happening to indicate otherwise. The ink stain disappears after Hazel wishes for it, in actuality cleaned by Mr. B, and George’s mooching cousin Charlie Parkins arrives from California after Mr. B sarcastically wishes for it. Meanwhile in Virginia, Smiley jumps on a truck that pulls back into the service station where Smiley had been found. The attendant asks a truck driver named Harrison (Paul Smith) to drop of Smiley when he passes near the Baxters’ town. All ends well when Smiley does in fact show up with Harrison. The Baxters are so pleased that they have Harrison and mooching cousin Charlie over for Thanksgiving dinner. 5/26/19
  • 046. The Natural Athlete – 11/29/1962
    • Hazel has promised Harold that she’ll give him bowling lessons if he finishes his vegetables for a month, but Mr. B gets a little jealous of Harold’s admiration for Hazel when she wins her fourth tournament in a row, while he claims to have been a star bowler in his younger days. Mr. B heads to the bowling alley to start up again, buying all new gear, and sign up for lessons to get him refreshed. The alley employee Alex (Bing Russell) advises that Hazel would be the best coach, but he opts for the second best, Jack Ballard (Bill Zuckert). Mr. B uses the pseudonym Willard Armbruster and tells Jack that he wants to enter the tournament after one week of practice, a notion that he and Hazel have a laugh over at the alley. Hazel accepts a date with Jack for the night before the tournament, all the while getting more and more nervous as ‘Armbruster’s’ scores begin to rise. When Jack comes to pick up Hazel for their date, Mr. B hides, but Jack sees his picture, and all becomes clear. During the tournament, Mr. B and Hazel are neck and neck, but Hazel begins to falter, and Mr. B wins the tournament. Announcing his retirement from bowling, Mr. B is most anxious to earn the admiration of Harold and sends him to read about the victory in the paper. Harold leaves the house in disappointment stating that his father didn’t win after all. When the family checks out the headline, the victory is awarded to ‘Willard Armbruster.’ 5/26/19
  • 047. New Man in Town – 12/13/1962
    • Hazel and Rosie are keeping tabs on a new handsome and debonair who has arrived in a town, a chauffeur to a Chilean ambassador who will be arriving later. Rosie warns Hazel not to be to forward with this man Pablo Rivera (Robert Lowery), but the reason becomes clear when soon Rosie is showing him hospitality herself. Meanwhile Hazel is selling tickets to the Sunshine Girls picnic where Harold and her sometimes-date Mitch Brady will be performing an accordion and harmonica duet that will be introduced by Hazel. Rosie makes her way over to the Craig’s and sneaks her way into the kitchen to invite Pablo over for dinner. Hazel has to let Mitch down by refusing his invitation to the picnic, on the chance that Pablo will ask her. Indeed, after Hazel feeds him, darns his socks, and shines his shoes, Pablo does ask Hazel to be his date. The shunned Mitch then asks Rosie to be his date, and once Rosie confirms that Pablo has already asked Hazel, she accepts. A bitter Mitch also tells Harold that they will have to practice their act at Rosie’s now, and that Rosie will be introducing them. This upsets Harold because he was looking forward to Hazel’s introduction most of all. Hazel then asks Rosie to swap dates, and then talks Pablo to accepting this, claiming she won’t have time to feed him anymore whereas Rosie will. Everyone has a good time at the picnic, where Harold and Mitch perform Camptown Races, as Rosie frolics with Pablo, and Hazel settles for good old Mitch. 2/11/20
  • 048. Herbert for Hire – 12/20/1962
    • George has the unpleasant task of telling the Johnsons that their stocks are no longer paying dividends and that his money has all dried up. Hazel and the Johnsons discuss how they can cut down on their spending, and their first action is to fire their maid Roberta Crawford (Maida Severn), but offers her severance and vacation pay. Hazel tells Mr. B that they need to help them get on their feet, but he feels it is not their responsibility. Herbert scans through the help wanted ads, but everything seems geared to younger people.  Meanwhile George does a favor for his client Mr. Griffin (Howard Smith) by helping get rid of annoying stockholder Mrs. Totter (Eleanor Audley), and jokingly asks Griffin if he has any room for a translator of dead languages, referring to Herbert Johnson. Griffin happens to idolize Johnson’s father, and is eager to bring him into the fold, thinking that Johnson’s cornering of the whalebone market is genius since they are used in corsets. Before Griffin interviews Johnson, Hazel visits Griffin with a letter of recommendation that she wrote, and also threatens to withhold her brownies if he doesn’t hire Johnson. During the interview, Mrs. Totter returns, and because she knows Mr. Johnson, Griffin is able to pawn her off on him. He hires Johnson to be his assistant to handle stockholders, with no authority whatsoever… which is perfectly fine for Johnson. Joan Tompkins is Griffin’s secretary Miss Adams. 2/11/20
  • 049. Hazel and the Lovebirds – 12/27/1962
    • George’s niece Nancy calls Hazel to beg her to ask George to work with her mother Deirdre and allow her to leave college at Thornhill because she doesn’t get along with her roommate and misses her boyfriend Eddie, who is Hazel’s niece and is studying to be an astrophysicist. The Baxters have Deirdre and Hazel over and try to talk some sense into her, but it isn’t until Hazel warns her that she could lose her daughter if she doesn’t listen to her needs that she finally allows Nancy to leave Thornhill and attend the local university. However, she does stipulate that Nancy must date some other boys besides Eddie. Neither want to date anyone else, but both Nancy and Eddie agree to the deal. Deirdre had George arrange to have the Richard Donovan, the son of George’s former roommate at Yale attend a dinner party with Nancy and her family. Nancy however meets a nice boy at a gas station named Bud (Robert Hogan) on her own who call and invites Nancy to attend a college hayride with him. Deirdre forbids Nancy from dating a ‘grease monkey’ so she has to turn him down. Unbeknownst to anyone, Richard and Bud are the same person. Meanwhile the Johnsons hire a new Italian maid named Gabriella (Susan Silo). Hazel spends time with her to train her correctly, and Bud meets her and asks her out. Hazel has Bud, Gabriella, and Eddie over after the hayride. The Thompsons all stop over after the dinner party, and Deirdre then realizes that she had forbid Nancy from going out with Bud. Feeling as if all of her plans are falling apart, she encourages Nancy to go into the kitchen with Eddie and the others. Hazel gloats and tells her that she will make fine mother-in-law to Eddie. 5/21/20
  • 050. Top Secret – 1/3/1963
    • George goes along on a business trip to California with his neighbor Stan Blake, and while they are gone for three days, his daughter Mavis stays with the Baxters, sad that she wasn’t taken along. The purpose of the trip is to get the signature of a Mr. Murdoch for a license agreement to allow Stan’s business to move forward with an invention. Unfortunately, this all falls through as they are unable to locate him. Meanwhile Hazel takes Mavis to pay a visit to Senator Sterling (Larry Gates), thinking that as a constituent who helped get him elected and whom he once shook hands with, he would be happy to see her and autograph some newspapers for her and her friends while he is in town. After Sterling sends his assistant Mrs. Talbert (Helen Wallace) out to fetch him some food, an exhausted Sterling gets the visit from Hazel, who not only offers him some of Mavis’s tuna fish sandwich but massages his stiff neck. He takes pleasure in the visit, but when they leave, Mavis accidentally picks up some top-secret papers that Mr. Andrews (Stuart Nisbet) with the Investigating Committee has brought him. Once they realize it, they try tracking down Hazel based on the information that Sterling has gleaned from their conversation, stopping first at the Bus Drivers where Eddie (Sam Edwards) and Mr. Fox (Jack Bernardi) refuse to give him any info as they fear they are trying to deliver her a summons. They also stop by the Finnish baths where Pavelki (John Dennis) gives them the names of both George Baxter and Hazel Burke. Meanwhile George decides to try and visit with Senator Sterling to see if he can help locate Mr. Murdoch. Naturally he is out hunting for Hazel, so George misses him. Sterling and Andrews finally find Hazel at the Baxter home and bring her a stack of nicer photos to sign and manage to sneak the top-secret document out from the newspapers. George and Stan come home sullen but committed to finding Sterling. Little does he know that he is in his own kitchen eating with Hazel and the family. Sterling tells them that Murdoch was not in California, but on a secret assignment in Washington D.C. and he agrees to arrange a meeting. Hazel tells Stan how sad Mavis was that she couldn’t go to California, so Stan says he’ll make it up to her by taking her to D.C. Harold is also excited to go to D.C. as Sterling’s guest, and Hazel shows how patriotic it will be for her to see the Lincoln Memorial by quoting some of the The Gettysburg Address. 5/22/20
  • 051. The Sunshine Girls Quartet – 1/10/1963
    • The Sunshine Girls maids have formed a quartet which includes Rosie and Myra (Linda Leighton), and along with their conductor Mitch, they plan to enter a Song Festival amateur at the State Fair singing a jazzed-up rendition of Down by the Riverside. Meanwhile Mr. B wants to have Mr. Griffin over for dinner on Thursday that week, and Hazel runs with it and arranged a full-blown party, borrowing Mitch and her friends from the Sunshine Girls to work the party. Although Mr. B is reluctant, he agrees to it. Then Hazel finds out that Mitch is arranging a tryout with talent scout Pauline Dunbar (Jean Willes) who is staying at the Westmore Hotel for one night only. Unfortunately, it happens to be the same night as Mr. Griffin’s party. Hazel tries to postpone the party, but Mr. B refuses since Mr. Griffin is already looking forward to it. Hazel tells the other girls that they can replace her, but no one wants to move forward without her. Mitch goes to visit Miss Dunbar at her hotel to see if she can stay longer, or if he can bring the girls to the next town after she leaves. When none of those ideas will work, he invites her to attend Mr. Griffin’s party. She declines, but when she gets to thinking about all of the good food, she heads over there and meets Mr. Griffin on his way in. He takes a liking to her, and when she mentions coming to see the quartet sing, he arranges for George, Harry Noll (Lauren Gilbert), Bill (John Graham) and Charlie to sing their old fraternity song. Miss Dunbar naturally thinks it is terrible and decides to leave. While she is phoning for a cab, the Sunshine Girls who are not aware that Miss Dunbar has shown up, sing their song… and along with everyone else, she is quite impressed. The girls then sing a rendition of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow for Mr. Griffin 9/3/20
  • 052. A Good Example for Harold – 1/17/1963
    • Hazel teaches Harold about the honesty of young George Washington in admitting that he chopped down the cherry tree and encourages the family to follow in his example by skipping even little white lies. They agree that the penalty for every lie is deposit 25 cents into Harold’s bank. Harold loves this because it will help him save for a model airplane. The new rule quickly results in some hurt feelings when George admits he doesn’t like Hazel’s soup or Dorothy’s perfume, but the effect is even more disastrous to the friendship of Hazel and Rosie, when Hazel has to tell her that her new hat is funny looking. In addition, Mr. B’s new client Mr. Boyle (Philip Ober) is coming for dinner, and he is the manufacturer of the dish detergent Scour No More, which Hazel has tried and hated. Everyone is on eggshells while Boyle is there because he was late and is rude throughout the dinner. Finally, when he corners Hazel and ask how she liked the detergent, she has to admit that she hated it. Boyle is furious and tells George that he will have to fire Hazel if he wants him as a client, but George naturally declines to do that. Boyle storms out… but soon returns and thanks Hazel for her honesty, knowing that it gives him an opportunity to improve the produce before it hits the market. Boyle even suggests that Hazel should be working George’s law office. In the opening scene, Hazel is fascinated by Mr. B’s new Japanese client Nakuro Isaka (Teru Shimada) and the attire of his daughter Shigeko Isaka (Shigeko Tsunehiro). 9/5/20
  • 053. Hazel’s Highland Fling – 1/24/1963
    • Mr Griffin has been spending evenings at the Baxter house eating dinner much to the irritation of the entire family. When Hazel drops a hint by sending him home with a giant doggy bag, Griffin admits that he’s hired a Scottish cook named Angie Campbell (Katherine Henryk), and he doesn’t like her Scottish dishes and wants to get rid of her. George offers his legal services, indicating that he can send her back to Scotland if he settles up with her and voids her contract. Meanwhile Angie comes to Hazel looking for help in how to cook more to his liking. She also tells her that she came to American to seek her beau Gordon MacHeath (James Doohan), who left Scotland to groom Clydesdales. Hazel butters up Mr. Baxter enough that he tries to delay the process to get her sent back until she can find Gordon, even allowing Hazel to go cook for Griffin, while Angie stays with the Baxters. George also hires private detective Murphy (Larry Blake) to track Gordon down, and eventually he is successful and brings him to the Baxters. Initially MacHeath is annoyed at being summoned, but then finds out that Angie is in America looking for him. Hazel takes her to get her face made over by a beautician (Claire Carleton), even as Gordon is telling George how much he likes Angie in her natural state. Nevertheless he is thrilled to see her, and the story has a happy ending. Griffin however is ready to start eating at the Baxters again… until Hazel tells him about all the Scottish dishes she learned to make from Angie. 12/22/20
  • 054. Ain’t Walter Nice? – 1/31/1963
    • Hazel’s brother Steve’s son Walter (Frank Aletter) comes to town, and Dorothy talks a reluctant George into allowing him to stay at the Baxter residence. He gets off on a bad note right away when he needs to borrow money from George for his cab fare. George also thinks he is thoughtless and demanding with Hazel when he asks her to make him certain items to eat. When cornered, Walter tells George that he is a promoter, and that he is seeing George’s client Mr. Griffin to get him to invest in a heat-resistant plastic. George thinks he is a con artist and that he is using people he knows from Hazel’s letters to swindle. Hazel doesn’t want to believe this about her nephew, but also doesn’t want him to swindle any of their friends or associates. She goes to see Mr. Griffin to stall him from seeing Walter, but as they discuss the plastic, Mr. Griffin reveals that he was also skeptical, but that Walter had sent him a sample pan which he had analyzed and passed a thorough background check with flying colors. What’s more, Walter was putting $10,000 of his own money into the investment. George has to eat his words when he hears all of this and then gets paid back everything he is owed by Walter. After he learns that Griffin put in $100,000 in the product, George offers to invest $5000 himself… but alas, all of the share have been sold by this time, with Hazel buying the last couple of them. William Giorgio is Stew Albertson, the cab driver. Kay Stewart is Mr. Griffin’s secretary. 12/22/20
  • 055. Mr. Griffin Throws a Wedding – 2/7/1963
    • Mr. Griffin’s nephew Pete (Dick Sargent) is getting married to a secretary in Mr. Baxter’s office named Maggie (Carolyn Kearney). Griffin has hopes that Pete will give up his so-called writing career and come and work with him, and that they will have a big wedding. In fact, Griffin plans to pay for all of it, and enlists Hazel to act as the wedding planner. Pete however makes it clear to his uncle that they’ve decided on a small wedding, and he plans to work full time finishing and selling his book. Maggie insists to Pete that he needs to put a stop to his uncle steamrolling his life and career. Griffin comes to the Baxter house to make plans for the wedding and is most excited to wear his top hat. Pete and Maggie show up as well in order to tell his uncle that they don’t want a big wedding. When Hazel hears this, she sits them down to go through the Baxters’ wedding album, and it finally convinces the young couple to go forward with a big wedding. Later, Maggie shows up at the house telling Hazel that the wedding is off because Pete is once again letting his uncle run his life. She is so upset that Hazel has her lay down in her room. She then orchestrates having Pete and his uncle chat outside her room and provokes Pete to stand up to his uncle and tell him that they are going to run their own lives. Maggie overhears it and is thrilled that he stood up for himself. Griffin is still just thrilled that he’ll be able to wear his top hat. John Graham is now referred to as Harry 4/17/21
  • 056. Hazel and the Stockholder’s Meeting – 2/14/1963
    • Hazel tries to convince Mr. Baxter to buy a new model Davidson vacuum cleaner, and although he is outraged by the $137 price tag, he eventually gives in. The new cleaner has an issue and stalls right off the bat, but Hazel is able to call the Davidson representative Mr. Zimmerman (Byron Foulger) rushes back and fixes it. After he leaves, the handle immediately falls off and she has to call him back, trying to avoid Mr. Baxter finding out after he spent so much money. The vacuum keeps having problems, and Hazel keeps calling Zimmerman back, until she becomes so frustrated that she decides to attend the Davidson stockholder meeting. Mr. Baxter is a Davidson stockholder, and is also casting a proxy vote for Mr. Griffin, who has 2000 shares himself. On the ballot for the night are two spots for the board of directors, who, if elected, may tip the votes enough to drive out the current President Mr. Ralph Davidson (James Bell), and replace him with the General Manager Gerald Starkey (Max Showalter). Hazel shows up to vote for her eleven shares, dragging her vacuum cleaner with her. As they are getting ready to cast their votes, Hazel stand up to complain to the meeting chairman (Walter Coy) about the lemon that she has. Davidson himself is outraged at the quality control that went into the manufacturing of the new model. Hazel endorses the incumbent board members Mr. Summers and Mr. Avril, who would vote to keep Davidson as president. After the votes are counted Summer and Avril maintain their positions and defeat Mr. Drum and Mr. Charlie Merryweather (William Lally). To show his appreciation, Mr. Davidson brings an all-new vacuum cleaner with his compliments. It seems it won’t work either when they plug it in… but it turns out that Harold blew a fuse with his electric train. Arlene Harris is shareholder Mrs. Mott. 4/18/21
  • 057. Hazel’s Day Off – 2/21/1963
    • Hazel prepares for a day off, while George is spending Sunday pulling his hair out trying to pin down a wealthy benefactor named Joe Arden (James Westerfield) to sign the final contract for him to donate land to the city for a playground. He insists on signing the contract that day before he leaves for a six-month trip to Europe, and also insists that his lawyer Mr. Kemper (William Schallert) be present, even though he has no idea where to find them. Making matters worse, there is no hot water in the house, and Hazel can’t find a plumber. Hazel feels bad about taking the day off while Mr. Baxter is so stressed, so she makes him lunch and brings it to his office. There she literally runs into Arden and falls to the ground with a broken shoe heel. He starts to blame her, but then becomes somewhat charmed and amused by Hazel, and offers to take her to get the shoe repaired. They wind up having a banana split together and going for a walk, where they run into Hazel’s friend Cyrano (Percy Helton), who is selling puppets in the park. Meanwhile, George has tracked down Kemper at his country club, and the two wait in George’s office. Hazel and Arden spend the afternoon playing with the puppets and chatting, so he never shows up. However, as they chat, Arden realizes that Hazel works for George, and he agrees to come back to the house for dinner, and since he was a former plumber, agrees to fix the water heater. When George gets home, he recognizes Arden and make sure that Hazel serves a fancy dinner. Arden realizes what a day off and a more leisurely pace can do for a man, and tells George to just mail him the contract, and he plans to take some time off so he can see the project through. After leaving the Baxter house, he quickly returns and admits he needs to be taught further how to slow down, since he rushed to his car and sprained his ankle on the water sprinkler. Elisabeth Talbot-Martin is the waitress who Arden is rude to. 8/12/21
  • 058. I’ve Been Singing All My Life – 2/28/1963
    • George’s sister Dierdre comes to see Dorothy and tell her about her idea to raise money for the children’s hospital by hosting a fundraiser called A Night with Dierdre and Her Friends, where she can showcase her singing talents at $10 a ticket. The cost is pricey, but she feels she can attract the upper crust by getting fellow well-to-do friends to join her in a showcase of their talents. When Hazel expresses interest in participating, Dorothy enlists the aid of her music teacher Mr. Blackpool (Max Showalter), who keeps his business going by catering to the rich and telling them what they want to hear, to act as the judge at show tryouts and ensure that only the rich are permitted. Hazel talks her friends Rosie and Bruno into trying out as well. With the pricey cost of the tickets, Dierdre is disappointed when Dorothy can only sell six tickets, and George only sells two. They then challenge Dierdre to try and sell them to her friend, but she has no luck selling any. Hazel, however goes door to door and has one success after another. The auditions are held, and while Blackpool is quick add in the wealthy ladies like Miss Loretta Greene (Eleanor Audley), he quickly dismisses Rosie’s soft shoe, Bruno’s musical saw, and Hazel’s lullaby Sing Me to Sleep before she even sings it. As annoyed as she is for being cast aside with her friends, she turns in her ticket money of $190, including one she bought herself. Deirdre starts to feel guilty, especially she she learns that Hazel isn’t even attending the show, in favor of reading stories to the kids in the hospital. She and the Baxters stop by the hospital just in time to hear Hazel singing Bye Bye Blackbird to the kids. Deirdre apologizes to Hazel and invites her to sing at the show. Henry Hunter is Dr. Klempner. Roxane Brooks is the nurse. 8/12/21
  • 059. The Fire’s Never Dead, While the Ashes Are Red – 3/7/1963
    • George has convinced his old law professor Jeremy Webster (Vaughn Taylor) to write a book based on his life, and it has become a successful novel called The Years of Youth. When Webster comes into town, George plans to have him over for dinner and wants to have a copy of his book on the coffee table. Since Dorothy has leant it out, George sends her and Hazel to by another copy at Celeste Book Store. When Hazel meets the owner Celeste Morgan (Lurene Tuttle) and starts talking about the Professor’s book, Celeste becomes wistful. Her assistant Marie (Sue England) tells Hazel that she suspects that Webster was an old love of hers, who phones every once in a while, and doesn’t reveal who he is, but talks to Celeste about books she may have in the shop. Hazel becomes convinced that Marie is correct, and when she sees a dance card that Celeste has kept all of these years that has the name Jeremy plastered all over it, she keeps it. Meanwhile, George is at work with his friend Harry Noll, also a former student of Webster, and they plan a gathering of his former students. However, the number of guests runs up into the 100’s as they go back in forth as to the location, cost, and whether the students can bring their wives. Webster arrives at the Baxter house, and while he’s making his call to the bookstore, Hazel shows him the dance card, which brings more memories flooding back. Hazel takes Webster to the book store and forces him to see Celeste. Hazel also convinces him to join her on a trip to Philadelphia she is currently departing for. George and Harry arrive back to the house and celebrates along with Hazel and Dorothy when they share the news about Webster and Celeste reuniting… until they tell George about him leaving for Philadelphia. However, Webster proposes before they even get to the train station, so they decide there is no need to go. George decides to convert the reunion party to a large engagement party at the Essex Hotel. 2/10/22
  • 060. Hazel’s Navy Blue Tug-Boats – 3/14/1963
    • There’s a department store shoe sale downtown that Hazel wants to get to, but with Dorothy’s car being shampooed, she has to ask Mr. B to borrow his. He has to leave at noon to pick up Mr. Griffin, so he doesn’t think it will work out. Hazel promises to have the car back by noon, and bets Mr. B $9.95 that she can do it. Hazel faces many challenges throughout the day including running into a young father-to-be (Don Spruance) who needs a lift to the hospital, the Johnsons, who need Hazel’s help blowing up Herb’s bicycle tire, and a little girl named Anna Villanova (Marlene De Lamater) who is left behind by her large family at a gas station. She works it out with the proprietor Joe (Harry Jackson) to take Anna with her to the store, and then have her back to the Baxters’ house by noon. Back home, Mr. Griffin calls George and needs some information that is in George’s briefcase… which is in the car that Hazel has. He spends his afternoon trying to track down Hazel at the Ladies’ Shoes department, and when he can’t, he helps Harold put together his model airplane. Dorothy finally gets hold of the Shoe department, they tell her the only lady dressed like a maid has a little girl with her, so she assumes this is not Hazel. After trying on lots of shoes with the salesman (Ronald Long), the only pair that Hazel likes is one that is $35, so she goes home empty-handed. Anna’s mother (Margarita Cordova) and father (Robert Tafur) get an escort from motorcycle cop Sgt. Anderson (Hal Baylor), and rush into the Baxter house in a panic. George demands to know what is going on, and they finally realize that Hazel has Anna. She gets home just before the noon bell, invites the Villanova family in for lunch, and asks Sgt. Anderson, with whom she flirts, to go join them for lunch, while also reminding Mr. B that he can pay her the $9.95 later. While George stands by bewildered, Hazel reminds him that you never know what you’ll get when you go downtown for shoes. 2/10/22
  • 061. The Hazel Walk – 3/21/1963
    • Mr. Griffin comes to see George at their country club and shows him a letter that Hazel wrote to the newspaper, trying to stop a new superhighway from being built along the old Pocono Trail. She claims that it is one of the last stretches of natural beauty in the area, and that it should be preserved. She also invites the highway commissioners to go on an overnight hike to see what they intend to destroy. Griffin is particularly concerned because the alternate route is going to take the highway through their country club. George tries to talk Hazel out of meddling with the new highway plans, but she is insistent, and even invites him to come along, which he resoundingly refuses. However, Mr. Griffin insists that someone should represent their point of view, as he knows that Hazel has the ability to sell the highway commissioners on the idea. Since Dorothy had suggested going on the hike, George pretends to change his mind for her sake, and they all set out on the hike. After six hours of hiking, Hazel is surprised to find that the trail is not as she remembered it. It is now dry, brown, and full of little. The men wind up getting poison ivy and he lead commissioner R.J. Stettner (Hugh Sanders) falls into the dry riverbed where the creek has now dried up. They make camp in a rocky area, and overnight is pours rain on them all. Hazel is convinced that the Stettner and the other Commissioners Cormack (Ed Prentiss) and Murray (Walter Reed) will so no reason to preserve the trail and move forward with the highway. However the next morning, the Sheriff (Guy Raymond) sees their fire and tells them that it has to be extinguished because it is a dry fire free area. He also tells them that it is also a landslide area that is routinely flooded. He is convinced that the engineers will not want to put a highway going through this area. When they all return, they tell Mr. Griffin the news, and also that they’ve chosen not to run the highway through the country club area either. They’ve found a third preferred location, so Griffin is ecstatic… until he realizes that it is now going right through the land where he intended to build a new factory. 6/19/22
  • 062. Hazel Digs a Hole for Herself – 3/28/1963
    • George’s sister Deirdre is concerned about going out of town with her husband Harry, because her mother (Louise Lorimer) has been depressed ever since she’s moved out of her house and into a small apartment. Dorothy assures her that they will be able to look after her mother while she and Harry are gone. Meanwhile George is working with businessman Ralph Sutherland, who is developing a new Senior Center, so George brings him over to meet his mother to see if he can interest her in any senior activities. She is not interested in anything he offers, but she confides in Hazel how much she misses all the gardening she did before she sold her house. Hazel suggests that as a great hobby for her, and even mentions that Mr. Griffin has asked Hazel if she knew any gardeners to take care of her place. Mrs. Baxter is intrigued by this, and Hazel finally talks her into taking the job, and even offers to front her the money to get gardening supplies. Mrs. Baxter is very appreciative, but says she’ll use her own money to start her own gardening company called the Busy Bees. She and Hazel go shopping, but Hazel starts to get worried when Mrs. Baxter asks the salesman (Tyler McVey) to have all of the fertilizer and equipment to be shipped to the Baxter residence. She becomes even more concerned when Mrs. Baxter goes and buys a pickup truck. She decides she’s better tell Mr. B about it, but he isn’t home that night. The next morning, he is surprised when they start receiving the garden deliveries in their driveway, and then his mother shows up driving the pickup truck. Although quite shocked that his mother will be the gardener for Mr. Griffin, he gives her his blessing. She continues to get more customers, including Dierdre’s friends the Brewsters. While she is trying out the new lawnmower at their house, Dierdre is back in town and drives by and sees her. She too is shocked, but even more concerned about the social implication of her mother being the gardener for some of her haughty friends. Hazel takes her back to the Baxter house where she tries to get over the shock. Before she can make her feelings known, her mother shows up dressed nicely with Mr. Sutherland, who also runs in Dierdre’s social circle, and finds out that her mother will be putting the landscaping bid on Sutherland’s new Senior Center. Dierdre’s head is then really spinning when she heads out for a dinner date with Sutherland as well. 6/19/22
  • 063. Hazel Sounds Her ‘A’ – 4/11/1963
    • George is the lawyer who represents the local symphony society, and they are bringing in an acclaimed conductor from New York Lord Horace Hobart (Torin Thatcher) and his wife Lady Hobart (Doris Singleton), so that Lord Horace can conduct the orchestra for the season. George is tasked to accompany board member Mr. Sutherland (Vinton Hayworth) to the airport to pick up the Hobarts. When they arrive at the airport, they find out that Sir Horace plans to fire violinist Myra Waverly, whose mother (Ann Doran) is Harold’s music teacher and a friend of Hazel’s. When Hazel hears this, she starts to pester George to try and talk Mr. Baxter into talking Sir Horace into let her back in the orchestra. George claims that he has absolutely no say in such matters, yet he does try to ask Mr. Sutherland to see what he can do, but he also claims that his hands are tied as well. Hazel decides to try and get an audience with Sir Horace, so she heads to the library to do research in books and magazines to read up on Sir Horace so that she might get his attention. Meanwhile, Mr. Sutherland asks George to host a cocktail party for Sir Horace so he can greet the press, but he doesn’t realize that Hazel has taken the day off. Dorothy reluctantly agrees to host it and says she will try to borrow some help from another family. Hazel reads up on the books, and then goes to see Sir Horace at his hotel. However, she runs into Mr. Baxter in the hall who has come to pick up the Hobarts. He also tells Hazel about the party and sends her back home to help Dorothy. As the Hobarts are freshening up in the bedrooms, Hazel tries to get Sir Horace’s ear about Myra Waverly, but he won’t listen. She then goes into the other bedroom to try and get Lady Hobart’s attention. She also happens to have an old Music Digest magazine with Lord Horace on the cover in which he gave a scathing review of his future wife’s singing performance. This is the first time Lady Hobart has ever seen the article, and she reads the riot act to Lord Horace. He is furious at Hazel and demands that George fire her, and if he won’t, he demands that Sutherland fire George. Hazel convinces Lady Hobart to forgive her husband, but she decides to take advantage by demanding that he reinstate Myra Waverly… as well as buy her a fur coat and diamond jewelry. Although she is draining him of his bank account, he agrees. Hedley Mattingly is Mr. Bankhead. John Zaremba is Mr. Handcock. Deirdre Owens is the librarian. 10/10/22
  • 064. Hazel’s Luck – 4/18/1963
    • Despite Mr. Baxter complaining that there is too much noise around the house, it doesn’t stop a yelling Harold marching into the dining room hailing Hazel for winning her bowling tournament and a new watch. She decides to sell off the watch and use the money to take the Baxters to Jefferson for the next championship tournament that she advanced to. Mr. Baxter is reluctant, but when she tells Dorothy it is for her birthday, she can’t say no. Mr. B also doesn’t like the fact that she’s attributing her victory to her lucky rabbit’s foot and asks her to stop talking about it around Harold. Later she gets a chain letter in the mail threating all sorts of bad luck if she breaks the chain. Mr. Baxter asks her to rip it up and pitch it to show Harold that she doesn’t put any weight into the letter causing good or bad luck. She does it for his sake, although she’s not happy about it. As soon as she throws the letter away, bad luck starts, and Rosie backs out of buying the watch. She tries other but cannot find a buyer, so George tells Dorothy that he’ll give her the money so she can afford to pay for the trip. Dorothy doesn’t think she’ll accept it, so instead she uses George’s checkbook, and she buys the watch. Later while getting the suitcases down from a shelf in the garage, the suitcases fall on her, and she injures her shoulder. Mr. B calls Dr. Summerfield to come look at it, and he declares that it will be better in a day. However, he also knows a splinter in her finger that would have soon swelled up and become painful, but he takes it out. He declares that her injury was very luck as it helped her avoid the splinter infection. On the morning they head to Jefferson, Mr. B runs out of gas, so they have to get an attendant (Eddie Quillan) to come help them get going. By this time, they are cutting it close, and while Hazel is sleeping, Mr. B heads toward Jefferson Street in Madison, when he should have going to the bowling alley on Madison Street in Jefferson. By this time it is too late to get to the match on time, so Hazel calls the bowling alley manager (Raymond Guth) to see if her time to bowl just might change. He tells her that the bowling alley was flooded by a water pipe break, and they had to change the location of the match to Madison. Hazel then has plenty of time to get there, and Hazel ends up winning the match. Once they get home, Mr. B gives Hazel a lecture about how she nearly believed her bad luck was being caused by the chain letter, but she tells him that she’s now learned there was nothing luck in the letter. She then tells Dorothy that it was actually Mr. B who had all of the bad luck, since he had to buy the watch, pay the doctor, run out of gas, pay for the gas, and take the wrong turn, all due to him making her tear up the chain letter. But it was her lucky rabbit’s foot that brought all of the luck for her. 10/10/22
  • 065. Oh, My Aching Back – 4/25/1963
    • At breakfast one morning, Hazel gives Mr. Baxter a hard time for not getting the water heater fixed and keeps telling him ‘I told you so.’ She continues her ‘I told you so’ rant when George admits that he had a midnight snack and then didn’t sleep well. Harold starts to get the impression that his father makes a lot of mistakes since Hazel is always having to correct him. Meanwhile, Hazel helps Harold bundle newspapers for a paper drive, while she tells him of her swimming exploits of her youth. George and Hazel are also in a friendly competition of baseball trivia, so he comes outside to ask her a question about the 1882 World Series. He then starts to help with the newspapers, but Hazel warns him that he’ll hurt his back. When Hazel goes inside, George does indeed hurt his back, but makes Harold promise not to tell her because he doesn’t want to hear another ‘I told you so’ from Hazel. Dorothy tells Hazel that she needs to cool it with saying ‘I told you so’ since it might affect the way Harold feels about him. She then tells Harold that she only tells him that as a way of showing off herself, and that his father is right more often than nearly anyone. George tells Dorothy about his back, but insists that Hazel not find out, so he has her send Hazel to the grocery store with a long grocery list. While she is out, Dr. Summerfield comes and tells George that he should be in bed for a few days. Hazel gets back a little early and she sees the doctor leaving. George tells her that he was there for Dorothy since she is coming down with a cold. Hazel insists that she get in bed and George back her up, even though there is nothing wrong with her. Hazel then enlists George to help her bring in groceries, and then keeps sending George up and down the stairs to bring things to Dorothy. Hazel then tells Dorothy that she had a talk with Harold, and she vows to never say ‘I told you so’ to George again. Dorothy calls George up and tells him this, so he eats crow and admits that he heard his back doing what she told him not to. Hazel can’t restrain herself and keeps telling George ‘I told you so’ and puts him to bed and won’t let him hear the end of it. Jack Bryan is Carl the plumber. 2/6/23
  • 066. Maid of the Month – 5/2/1963
    • George gets annoyed that Hazel is telling Mr. Griffin’s fortune for two dollars, but she insists that he loves hearing the nice things she tells him about himself. Meanwhile, a telegram comes for Hazel telling her that she is going to be featured as the Maid of the Month for the month of May in the upscale magazine American Elegance. Since the magazine is usually reserved for high society celebrities or socialites, he thinks there must be some mistake. In fact, he even calls the magazine’s publisher Mr. Anderson (Richard St. John) to check the validity of their selection. Hazel overhears Mr. B talking to Anderson and she gets her feelings hurt. Over at the magazine office, it is revealed that it was Mr. Griffin who pushed Anderson to feature Hazel. Having loaned the magazine a lot of money in their lean years, Anderson has little choice but to comply. He assigns the article to a young writer Miss Sharpe (Mary Scott), who is not happy about getting the assignment, especially since there is a major social reception at the Ashton estate going on at the same time. Hazel is out-of-sorts because of Mr. B, and it causes her to cook a lousy meal for the family and Mr. Griffin. George apologizes to Hazel and explains that he just doesn’t consider himself prominent enough for them to want to feature her. In order to make up for it, he agrees to let Hazel do some minor re-decorating in her room. Miss Sharpe comes to the house with a pair of photographers to take pictures and interview Hazel. Miss Sharpe tries to find out what Hazel has done that is important or would be of interest to the upper-class readers of the magazine. Her snooty attitude and the fact that she can’t come up with anything makes her start to feel lousy about herself. When she asks why she was picked to be the Maid of the Month, Miss Sharpe gives up the information that Mr. Anderson was forced to choose Hazel by Mr. Griffin. When this gets back to Griffin, and he tells Mr. Anderson about it, Anderson fires Miss Sharpe. Hazel goes to see Mr. Anderson, but his secretary (Virginia Gregg) says he’s too busy to see anyone, Hazel alludes to the fact that she hit his fender in the parking lot. She finally gets into see him, telling him that the fender story was a ruse, and she pleads with him to give Miss Sharpe her job back. When Miss Sharpe shows up for her final check, the secretary tells her that Hazel saved her job. Miss Sharpe is shocked that Hazel helped her and writes a very nice article about Hazel for the magazine. Hazel had bought thirty copies of the magazine for the Sunshine Girls. 2/6/23
  • 067. So Long, Brown Eyes – 5/9/1963
    • Barney delivers a letter to Hazel from an old flame named Gus Jenkins (Patrick McVey), inviting her to write back to him where he is staying in Philadelphia if she’s like to see him again. Dorothy encourages her to write him, even though George doesn’t think it is a good idea. Hazel is so excited that she can think of little else and becomes rather sad when she doesn’t hear back from him. One day, he calls her directly and asks her if she’s like to get together. She jumps at the chance and Dorothy take her shopping to get a new outfit for their date. Harold isn’t too keen on the idea, as he fears that he will lose Hazel, who has already been too preoccupied thinking about Gus that she forgets to pack cookies in his lunch. His mother assures him that adults can like other adults without ever forgetting about the children in their lives. When Gus shows up for the date, the two of them quickly pick up where they left off and head out for a night on the town like they did when they were young. Sadly, the Grotto where they used to eat is now closed up. So they head over to Socksy’s place where they used to eat hamburgers and dance to the jukebox. The place is still open but is under new management and no longer serves food. When they get up to dance among the young folks, one of the boys calls them ‘square’. They then head to the amusement park that they used to frequent and Gus wins Hazel a porcelain cat. Gus then proposes to Hazel and offers for them to live anywhere she wants or to travel the world together. Hazel laments that he didn’t ask her years ago. Back at home, Harold starts asking his father what will happen if Hazel gets married, and if Gus could live with them. George tries to put his mind at ease that it is very unlikely that they will get married. Hazel reminds Gus that marriage would be a lot of eating breakfast, watching TV. worrying about doctors bills, and every other mundane aspect. She thinks Gus would feel like he’s caged up when he really still needs to fly. She drops him at the bus station for him to head out. When Hazel gets home, she finds Harold curled up asleep in a chair in Hazel’s room. He asks if she and Gus are getting married, but she tells him that she plans to stay with him until he is grown and getting married. Harold asks if he can marry Hazel, and she says if he still wants her when he grows up, he can have her. Tom Kennedy appears uncredited as the carnival game barker. 7/18/23

SEASON 3

  • 068. Potluck a la Mode – 9/19/1963
    • George’s senior law partner Mr. Charles Butterworth (now played by Russell Collins) is desperately trying to land the account of noted industrialist Addison Sudley (Philip Ober). Whereas Butterworth doesn’t have any luck getting him to return phone calls, George runs into him in a bookstore and they make arrangements to have dinner at the Baxter house on Saturday to discuss their first edition book collections. Butterworth is thrilled when he hears this, but he is afraid that Hazel, despite her good cooking, might say something to offend Sudley or his equally persnickety wife Lydia (Virginia Gregg). In order to comply with Butterworth’s order, George offers Hazel a week’s paid vacation. Hazel doesn’t think she can plan a vacation that quickly, so she accepts her week’s pay and says she’ll take the vacation later after she planned it out. Harold leaves to go stay with his grandmother, and the Baxters head out for a night on the town with the Mr. Butterworth and his wife (Helene Heigh). During the dinner, Butterworth keeps prodding George about how he can get rid of Hazel after he tells him that his original plan for the vacation has failed. Dorothy overhears the conversation and questions George about the sudden concern about Hazel. While Hazel spends the evening alone watching bowling with Smiley, the Sudleys show up at the Baxter house, thinking that the plans had been made for the current Saturday rather than the next one. Since Sudley’s chauffeur Chaplin (Chuck Webster) drops them off, they can’t leave right away. Making matters worse, Mr. Sudley rips his pants on the house’s address sign on the way in. Hazel answers the door in her bathrobe but tries to accommodate the Sudleys as best as she can. Hazel calls and cancels the Sudleys’ taxi, and then calls Mr. Baxter and tells him that the Sudleys are there. The Baxters and the Butterworths head there as quickly as they can. Although the Sudleys are in a horrible mood and are bickering with one another while wallowing in their anger at George, Hazel wins them over by feeding them appetizers and dinner that they absolutely love. She even gets Sudley to take off his pants so she can mend them and puts him George’s robe, and even manages to get Mrs. Sudley to kick off her shoes. By the time the Baxters and Butterworths get there, the Sudleys are offering Hazel a job working for them as their cook. Mr. Sudley acknowledges that either one of them could have made the mistake about the date, but requests that they are invited back the following Saturday anyway so he can look at George’s book collection then. They are so giddy about coming back for more of Hazel’s food that Mrs. Sudley almost leaves without her shoes. Butterworth acknowledges that everything Hazel does is divine. Robert Johnson is the waiter. 7/21/23
  • 069. An Example for Hazel – 9/26/1963
    • George’s older second-cousin Gracie (Linda Watkins) is going to move in with the Baxters following the death of her father, whom she had been taking care of for most of her life. Hazel thinks it would be a good idea to cheer her up with some jokes, but Mr. B. warns her that she is a soft-spoken, sensitive woman. When she arrives, Gracie asks George if he can call her “Gracie” like her father used to. George hopes that some of her sweet, gentle soul will rub off on Hazel. Grace enjoys Hazel’s boldness and asks her to call her Gracie as well. However, she has a hard time understanding how Gracie can speak so boldly to George, especially when it comes to Hazel criticizing George’s weight. When Hazel denies him jelly on his omelet, Gracie tells him that he’s the man of the house and she gives him all of the jelly he wants. George likes the newfound respect and say that this is what he is going to expect from Hazel, but still hides the jelly when she is ready to come back into the dining room. Hazel invites Gracie to go to the amusement park with her, and she can’t wait to ride the rollercoaster. When Dorothy tells Gracie that George got tickets to a lecture on Oriental art, but Hazel makes Gracie admit she’d rather go to the amusement park. When Hazel hears Mr. B singing Three Blind Mice to himself, she starts a singalong in the living room which Gracie, Dorothy, Harold, and the postman Barney Hatfield joins. Mr. B sends them all to the kitchen, causing Gracie to be extremely apologetic, yet anxious to join in with more singing. Barney joins the ladies at the amusement park and goes on the rollercoaster with Barney, while Hazel stymies some of the game barkers, Mickey (Herb Vigran) and Smitty (Jack Bernardi), by always winning. She brings Gracie over to Smitty’s booth for some plate breaking, and Gracie finds it so satisfying to break the plates that she won’t stop playing. That night, George expresses his frustration that he can’t find Gracie a job. However, she is in full housekeeper mode the next morning, calling the Baxters to breakfast, and then behaving just a boldly with George by telling him which tie he should wear. She asks to go back to being called “Grace.” She also criticizes George for the amount of sugar she is using. She asks Dorothy to borrow the car to go interview for the job as the maid for the Dunhills. George accidentally calls Grace “Hazel” now that they are so hard to tell apart. 11/18/23
  • 070. Dorothy Takes a Trip – 10/3/1963
    • When her sister Barbara sprains her ankle, Dorothy jumps on the first plane possible to fly out and help take care of her and her five children. Hazel thinks that Mr. Baxter and Harold will react badly when they find out. Rosie is more concerned that Mr. Baxter will start chasing women with her gone. When Hazel tells Harold merely sees it as a way to stay up later, and Mr. B sees the opportunity to arrange a poker game at the house. George invites his friend Jerry Dunbar (John Graham), who agrees to come but wants to get even with Hazel after she took him for so much money during the last game. George is adamant that she does not play this time though. He also calls his friend Jack “Spence” Spencer (Gene Blakely) and invites him, but Jack is upset because he’s had a fight with his fiancée Dr. Phyllis Gordon (Bek Nelson) because as he was about to pop the question, she told him that he breathed through his mouth because he had a deviated septum. George offers to invite her to play poker, but he has to deny Spencer’s request to get even with Hazel as well. George has to tell Hazel that she isn’t playing since they already have five players. She thinks nothing of it when George tells her that Doc Gordon is coming to play, but when she shows up and Hazel finds out she’s a woman, she starts to panic and think that Rosie might be right about Mr. B, who is on the phone telling Dorothy that Doc Gordon is coming as he is trying to repair the argument between her and Spence. Hazel starts trying to interfere with any potential relationship between Doc and Mr. B. She sends Harold into the room to recite poetry, she makes Mr. B some cracker spread with loads of garlic, and then talks Mr. B into joining the game and plopping between Doc and Mr. B. She is surprised when she sees Doc and Spence cozying up to each other. She is even more shocked when they announce their engagement. George then tells Hazel why he had invited them over in order to get them back together. Hazel giggles and blames Rosie for thinking there was some hanky panky going on between Doc and Mr. B. NOTE: Jerry Dunbar is referred to as Phil in the credits. Harry Noll is now referred to as Harry Williams. 11/18/23
  • 071. You Ain’t Fully Dressed Without a Smile – 10/10/1963
    • While Dorothy is still out of town helping her Aunt Barbara, she sends home a little statuette for Grandma Baxter. However, when George hears that Hazel has won a lifetime of molasses, he drops the statue and breaks it. Hazel sends Harold to take the statue to Miss Minnie’s Mending Shop to fix it, but she won’t open the door for Harold. He reports back to Hazel that there were two men outside the shop, and she was scared of them getting in. He tells the story of how he called the police, but the police talked to the two men, and then Minnie (Ellen Corby) wouldn’t let him in either. Hazel calls over to find out what is going on and Minnie explains that she had paid off the shop to its former owner Mr. Beatty, but he passed away before giving her any final ownership papers. Now his heirs are trying to serve her with papers and sue her. Since her money is tied up on a frozen bank account, she can’t afford a lawyer, but Hazel volunteers Mr. Baxter to take her case. She tries to break the news to Mr. B, but his mother tells Hazel that he is very busy with another case. When Hazel calls Minnie to tell her the bad news, Minnie doesn’t let her finish talking before telling her that she will be right over with all of her evidence. Hazel then tells Mr. B about Minnie’s situation, and he agrees to see her the next week. When Hazel tells him how dire her situation is, he agrees to see her right away, but she arrives while Hazel is pretending to be on the phone with her telling her the good news. Mr. B rectifies the situation for her with a simple court proceeding, and Minnie insists on paying him back by offering him an antique desk that is falling apart, claiming that she was told that it was once owned by Abraham Lincoln’s law partner, so it is likely that Lincoln ‘leaned on it’. Mr. B doesn’t want it, but doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he tells Hazel to move it somewhere out of the way. While Hazel has the desk at the antique store, selling it to Charlie for $3, Minnie brings a man named Mr. Wilcox (Nelson Olmsted) from the Washington D.C. Historical Society over to the house to see the desk, as he believes it was actually owned and used by Lincoln himself. As Hazel is offering to help Charlie turn the desk into firewood, Mr. B shows up to buy back the desk, and Charlie charges him $25 for it. Unfortunately, once Mr. Wilcox sees it, he realizes that it is made of golden oak instead of rosewood, meaning it could not possibly be Lincoln’s desk. Charlie now refuses to buy it back, and after it starts to fall apart in the street, Mr. B keeps raising the amount that he is offering Charlie to take it. Eddie Quillan is the moving man. 3/24/24
  • 072. Cheerin’ Up Mr. B – 10/17/1963
    • With Dorothy still out of town, George is going crazy with all of the attention and interference he gets from Hazel. He wants to go play golf with his friend Fred, but Fred is unable to play. Hazel tries to tell her usual jokes at breakfast, but they seem to be irritating George more than amusing him. Hazel tells Rosie that she is worried that he has nothing to do over the weekend without Dorothy. She offers to go to the driving range with him, but he declines. Hazel surmises that he wants to bury himself in his work to take his mind off being without Dorothy. When his partner Harry Williams calls the house to see if George wants to play golf, Hazel tells him that George needs to be kept busy with work and asks Harry to bring him some work to do. Knowing this will interfere with his own Saturday plans, he agrees to do it for George’s sake. Hazel also calls Mr. Griffin and tells him that Mr. Baxter needs some weekend work to do, and he jumps at the chance to keep him busy. Finally, Hazel asks Rosie to make up a legal problem to keep Mr. Baxter busy, so she tells him she wants to sue her employers the Bradys for a million dollars for inflaming her character. George finds this suspicious and gets Rosie to admit that Hazel put her up to the lie to make him feel better. He then asks Harry if Hazel had put him up to giving him work to do on the weekend, and Harry admits that he had actually called the house to see if he wanted to play golf. When Mr. Griffin arrives at the house, he also tells George that it was Hazel who asked him to give him work. George blows his stack and calls Hazel an ‘interfering busybody’ in front of everyone. This causes Hazel to run to her room crying, and invokes the wrath of Harry, Mr. Griffin, and Rosie for him being so hard on her. Harold also thinks his mother will be furious and asks his father to apologize. George says that he won’t apologize because Hazel was interfering where she shouldn’t have been. That night at dinner, Hazel keeps calling Mr. B “Mister Baxter” and gives him the cold shoulder. George tries to lighten the mood by telling jokes, but Hazel will only speak civilly to Harold. When George asks for a large piece of cake, Hazel gives him a huge one, which sets George off to see that she no longer cares about his health and weight. When he confronts her, she admits how upset she is with him. He agrees to apologize if she will also apologize, and they agree to a mutual apology. However, now Hazel won’t let him have the large piece of cake. 3/24/24

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