The Donna Reed Show
(1958-1966)
Comedy / Family / Sitcom
The Donna Reed Show was a sitcom which aired on ABC from September 24, 1958 to March 19, 1966. The series stars Donna Reed as Donna Stone, the matriarch of the Stone family.
The premise focused on middle class couple, Donna Stone (Reed), a housewife to pediatrician Alex Stone, played by Carl Betz. The couple had two children together, Mary (Shelley Fabares) and Jeff (Paul Petersen). Episodes featured problems of the 1950's such as planning a bash for a retiring colleague, firing an inept housekeeper, and finding quality time away from the kids.
In 1962, Shelley Fabares recorded a single called " Johnny Angel " which debuted in the show 's fourth season episode "Donna's Prima Donna" (2/1/62). The single later became a #1 hit and sold over a million copies.
In 1963 Fabares left the show to pursue other acting and singing opportunities, and her character Mary went away to college (Mary later reappeared periodically). Paul Petersen's real-life sister Patty Petersen then joined the show as Trisha, a runaway who was eventually adopted by the Stones. Paul Petersen also had a recording career with his biggest hit being the 1962 single "My Dad". Like " Johnny Angel ", Petersen's "My Dad" was also featured in an episode of the show , also titled "My Dad", from the fifth season (10/25/62).
After 275 episodes ending in the spring of 1966 the show ended following eight successful years.
Cast:
Donna Reed as Donna Stone
Carl Betz as Alex Stone
Shelley Fabares as Mary Stone
Paul Peterson and Jeff Stone
Patty Peterson as Trisha Stone
Darryl Richard as Morton "Smitty" Smith
Bob Crane as Dr. Dave Kelsey
Ann McCrea as Mrs. Midge Kelsey
Jimmy Hawkins as Mary's boyfriend and Jeff's friend Scotty
275 Episodes aired from September 24, 1958 to March 19, 1966
Season One
1. Weekend Trip 9/24/1958
2. Pardon My Gloves 10/1/1958
3. The Hike 10/8/1958
4. Male Ego 10/15/1958
5. The Football Uniform 10/22/1958
6. The Foundling 10/29/1958
7. Three Part Mother 11/5/1958
8. Change Partners and Dance 11/12/1958
9. Dough Re-Mi 11/19/1958
10. Guest in the House 11/26/1958
11. The Baby Contest 12/3/1958
12. The Beaded Bag 12/10/1958
13. The Busy Body 12/17/1958
14. A Very Merry Christmas 12/24/1958
15. Mary's Double Date 12/31/1958
16. Jeff's Double Life 1/7/1959
17. Nothing But the Truth 1/14/1959
18. It's the Principle of the Thing 1/21/1959
19. Jeff vs. Mary 1/28/1959
20. Have Fun 2/4/1959
21. Donna Plays Cupid 2/11/1959
22. Love Thy Neighbor 2/18/1959
23. The Report Card 2/25/1959
24. Boys Will Be Boys 3/4/1959
25. The Ideal Wife 3/11/1959
26. Mary's Campaign 3/18/1959
27. The Flowered Print Dress 3/25/1959
28. April Fool 4/1/1959
29. The Parting of the Ways 4/8/1959
30. The Hero 4/15/1959
31. Do You Trust Your Child? 4/22/1959
32. Grateful Patient 4/29/1959
33. The Testimonial 5/6/1959
34. Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea 5/13/1959
35. Tomorrow Comes Too Soon 5/20/1959
36. Advice To Young Lovers 5/27/1959
37. Operation Deadbeat 6/3/1959
Season Two
38. That's Show Business 9/24/1959
39. Sleep No More My Lady 10/1/1959
40. A Penny Earned 10/8/1959
41. A Friend Indeed 10/15/1959
42. The First Child 10/22/1959
43. Going Steady 10/29/1959
44. The Neighborly Gesture 11/5/1959
45. Nothing Like a Good Book 11/12/1959
46. Flowers For the Teacher 11/19/1959
47. All Mothers Worry 11/26/1959
48. Jeff Joins a Club 12/3/1959
49. The Punishment 12/10/1959
50. A Difference of Opinion 12/17/1959
51. The Homecoming Dance 12/24/1959
52. The Lucky Girl 12/31/1959
53. The Broken Spirit 1/7/1960
54. The Secret 1/14/1959
55. The New Mother 1/21/1960
56. Just a Housewife 1/28/1960
57. The Free Soul 2/4/1960
58. The First Quarrel 2/11/1960
59. A Place to Go 2/18/1960
60. A Night to Howl 2/25/1960
61. The Editorial 3/3/1960
62. The Gentle Dew 3/10/1960
63. The Fatal Leap 3/17/1960
64. The Perfect Pitch 3/24/1960
65. Pickles for Charity 4/7/1960
66. Mary's Growing Pain 4/14/1960
67. Alex Runs the House 4/21/1960
68. The Career Woman 4/28/1960
69. Jeff, the Financial Genius 5/5/1960
70. Mary's Crusade 5/12/1960
71. The First Time We Met 5/19/1960
72. The Gossip 5/26/1960
73. Love's Sweet Awakening 6/2/1960
74. The Wedding Present 6/10/1960
75. Cool Cat 6/18/1960
Season Three
76. Weekend 9/15/1960
77. The Mystery Woman 9/22/1960
78. Donna Decorates 9/29/1960
79. The Love Letter 10/6/1960
80. How the Other Side Lives 10/20/1960
81. Alex's Twin 10/27/1960
82. Worried Anyone? 11/3/1960
83. Higher Learning 11/10/1960
84. Never Marry a Doctor 11/17/1960
85. It Only Hurts When I Laugh 11/24/1960
86. The Model Daughter 12/1/1960
87. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions 12/8/1960
88. Donna Goes to a Reunion 12/15/1960
89. Someone is Watching 12/22/1960
90. The Lean and Hungry Look 12/29/1960
91. Character Building 1/5/1961
92. World's Greatest Entertainer 1/12/1961
93. Variations on a Theme 1/19/1961
94. The Stones Go to Hollywood 1/26/1961
95. Donna Directs a Play 2/2/1961
96. Trip to Nowhere 2/9/1961
97. The Geisha Girl 2/16/1961
98. The Busy People 2/23/1961
99. Tony Martin Visits 3/2/1961
100. Aunt Belle's Earrings 3/9/1961
101. Poodle Parlor 3/16/1961
102. Mary's Heart Throb 3/23/1961
103. Donna's Helping Hand 3/30/1961
104. The Merry Month of April 4/6/1961
105. Music Hath Charms 4/13/1961
106. Let's Look at Love 4/20/1961
107. For Better or Worse 4/27/1961
108. Jeff, the Treasurer 5/4/1961
109. The Good Guys and the Bad Guys 5/11/1961
110. Military School 5/18/1961
111. Mary's Driving Lesson 5/25/1961
112. The Mustache 6/1/1961
113. Mary's Little Lambs 6/8/1961
Season Four
114. One Starry Night 9/14/1961
115. A Rose is a Rose 9/21/1961
116. The Close Shave 9/28/1961
117. Mouse at Play 10/5/1961
118. The Monster 10/12/1961
119. New Girl in Town 10/19/1961
120. One of Those Days 10/26/1961
121. All is Forgiven 11/2/1961
122. The Electrical Storm 11/9/1961
123. The Paper Tycoon 11/16/1961
124. Private Tutor 11/23/1961
125. Alex, the Professor 11/30/1961
126. The Fabulous O'Hara 12/7/1961
127. Way of a Woman 12/14/1961
128. A Very Bright Boy 12/21/1961
129. The Toughest Kid in School 12/28/1961
130. Dr. Stone and His Horseless Carriage 1/11/1962
131. For Angie With Love 1/18/1962
132. Aloha Kimi 1/25/1962
133. Donna's Prima Donna 2/1/1962
134. Explorer's Ten 2/8/1962
135. The New Office 2/15/1962
136. The Golden Trap 2/22/1962
137. Free Flight 3/1/1962
138. The Wide Open Spaces 3/8/1962
139. The Fireball 3/15/1962
140. Once Upon a Timepiece 3/22/1962
141. Hilldale 500 3/29/1962
142. Winner Takes All 4/5/1962
143. Skin Deep 4/12/1962
144. The Fortune Teller 4/19/1962
145. Man of Action 4/26/1962
146. Donna Meets Roberta 5/3/1962
147. The Caravan 5/10/1962
148. The Swingin' Set 5/17/1962
149. On to Fairview 5/24/1962
150. The Man in the Mask 5/31/1962
151. The Father Image 6/7/1962
152. Dear Wife 6/14/1962
Season Five
153. Mister Nice Guy 9/20/1962
154. Mrs. Stone and Doctor Hyde 9/27/1962
155. To Be a Boy 10/4/1962
156. Who Needs Glasses? 10/11/1962
157. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary 10/18/1962
158. My Dad 10/25/1962
159. Fine Feathers 11/1/1962
160. Rebel With a Cause 11/8/1962
161. Big Star 11/15/1962
162. Man to Man 11/22/1962
163. The Baby Buggy 11/29/1962
164. The Makeover Man 12/6/1962
165. The Winning Ticket 12/13/1962
166. The Soft Touch 12/20/1962
167. Jeff Stands Alone 12/27/1962
168. Just a Little Wedding 1/3/1963
169. A Woman 's Place 1/10/1963
170. The Chinese Horse 1/17/1963
171. The New Look 1/24/1963
172. A Way of Her Own 1/31/1963
173. Three is a Family 2/7/1963
174. Big Sixteen 2/14/1963
175. Pioneer Woman 2/21/1963
176. The House on the Hill 2/28/1963
177. Where the Stones Are 3/7/1963
178. The Two Doctors Stone 3/14/1963
179. Everywhere That Mary Goes 3/21/1963
180. The Handy Man 3/28/1963
181. Friends and Neighbors 4/4/1963
182. Boys and Girls 4/11/1963
183. All Those Dreams 4/18/1963
184. All Women Are Dangerous 4/25/1963
185. The Big Wheel 5/2/1963
186. Day of the Hero 5/9/1963
Season Six
187. The Playmate 9/19/1963
188. Brighten the Corner 9/26/1963
189. Whatever You Wish 10/3/1963
190. House Divided 10/10/1963
191. The Boys in 309 10/17/1963
192. The Bigger They Are 10/24/1963
193. It Grows on Trees 10/31/1963
194. Mary Comes Home 11/7/1963
195. Post Time 11/14/1963
196. Sweet Mystery of Wife 11/21/1963
197. What Are Friends For? 11/28/1963
198. A Touch of Glamour 12/5/1963
199. Air Date 12/12/1963
200. Moon-Shot 12/19/1963
201. Nice Work 12/26/1963
202. First Addition 1/2/1964
203. The Combo 1/9/1964
204. Who's Rockin' the Partnership 1/16/1964
205. Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Altar 1/23/1964
206. Today I Am a Girl 1/30/1964
207. Will the Real Chicken Please Stand Up? 2/6/1964
208. Guest in the Nursery 2/13/1964
209. Home Sweet Homemaker 2/20/1964
210. Teamwork 2/27/1964
211. Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be 3/5/1964
212. Pandemonium 3/12/1964
213. A Day for Remembering 3/19/1964
214. One Little Word 3/26/1964
215. Love Letters Are for Burning 4/2/1964
216. Four's a Crowd 4/9/1964
217. My Son the Catcher 4/16/1964
218. The Pros and the Cons 4/23/1964
Season Seven
219. Operation Anniversary 9/17/1964
220. Dad Drops By 9/24/1964
221. Play Ball 10/1/1964
222. Who's Who on 202 10/8/1964
223. The Daughter Complex 10/15/1964
224. The Tycoons 10/22/1964
225. Instant Family 10/29/1964
226. Royal Flush 11/5/1964
227. Circumstantial Evidence 11/12/1964
228. Anyone Can Drive? 11/19/1964
229. Surprise, Surprise 11/26/1964
230. Quads of Trouble 12/3/1964
231. Donna's Bank Account 12/10/1964
232. It's All in the Cards 12/17/1964
233. Old Faithful 12/24/1964
234. Overture in A-Flat 12/31/1964
235. Thy Name is Woman 1/7/1965
236. Joe College 1/14/1965
237. Painter Go Home 1/21/1965
238. Home Wreckonomics 1/28/1965
239. The Windfall 2/4/1965
240. Now You See It, Now You Don't 2/11/1965
241. The Gift Shop 2/18/1965
242. The Stamp Collector 2/25/1965
243. Peacocks on the Roof 3/4/1965
244. Guests, Guests, Who Wants Them? 3/11/1965
245. The Unheroic Hero 3/18/1965
246. The Mysterious Smile 3/25/1965
247. The Rolling Stones 4/1/1965
248. Indoor Outing 4/8/1965
Season Eight
249. Pop Goes Theresa 9/16/1965
250. With This Ring 9/23/1965
251. Boy Meets Girl Machine 9/30/1965
252. Think Mink 10/7/1965
253. Four on the Floor 10/14/1965
254. Charge 10/21/1965
255. Do Me a Favor, Don't Do Me Any Favors 10/28/1965
256. Author, Author 11/4/1965
257. Trees 11/11/1965
258. The Big League Shock 11/18/1965
259. The Gladiators 11/25/1965
260. Rally Around the Girls, Boys 12/2/1965
261. Slipped Disc 12/9/1965
262. Uncle Jeff Needs You 12/16/1965
263. Never Look a Gift House in the Mouth 12/23/1965
264. How to Handle a Woman 12/30/1965
265. My Son, the Councilman 1/6/1966
266. Do It Yourself Donna 1/15/1966
267. When I Was Your Age 1/22/1966
268. Calling Willie Mays 1/29/1966
269. All This and Voltaire Too? 2/5/1966
270. The Return of Mark 2/12/1966
271. Is There a Small Hotel? 2/19/1966
272. No More Parties, Almost 2/26/1966
273. So You Really Think You're Young at Heart 3/5/1966
274. What Price Home? 3/12/1966
275. By-Line - Jeffrey Stone 3/19/1966
