LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE - THE COLLECTION (ABC 1969-1974) RARE!!! Stuart Margolin, Phyllis Davis, James Hampton
Love, American Style is an anthology comedy television series produced by Paramount Television that originally aired between 1969 and 1974. For the 1971 and 1972 seasons, it was a part of an ABC Friday prime-time lineup that also included The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Room 222 and The Odd Couple.
Each week, the show featured unrelated stories of romance, usually with a comedic spin. Episodes featured different characters, stories and locations. The show often featured the same actors playing different characters in many episodes. In addition, a large, ornate brass bed was a recurring prop in many episodes.
The original series was also known for its 10-to-20 second drop-in silent movie-style "joke clips" between the featured segments. This regular troupe featured future Rockford Files cast member Stuart Margolin, future Vega$ leading lady Phyllis Davis and a young character actor, James Hampton, who was known to television audiences of the era as Private Dobbs from the TV series F-Troop. These clips allowed the show to be padded to the required length without adding to the main segments. They generally consisted of then-risqué, burlesque-style comedy of manners visual jokes.
On February 25, 1972, the show aired an episode with a segment titled "Love and the Television Set", a story about Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard), his family, and friends. The premise and characters would later be used for the television series Happy Days, and the episode would later be recognized as a de facto pilot for the series. For syndication, the segment was retitled "Love and the Happy Days".
This series is chock-full of celebrity guest stars including Burt Reynolds, Tina Louise, Stefanie Powers, Sonny & Cher, Bill Bixby, Connie Stevens, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Tony Randall, Paul Lynde, Michele Lee, Ozzie and Harriett Nelson, Joan Van Ark and Bob Denver (to only name a very few).
Please note: This collection does not include the entire series.