TV Cars

[TAKerry]

I probably watch too much tv, but saw something I thought to be interesting last night. I will preface that most of the stuff I watch is old, 1. Its better than whats on today, and 2. I like to spot old cars.

Watching 'Green Acres' last night, there was a 'teen ager' driving a hot rod model a pickup. It was the exact same truck that Ralph drove in Happy Days.

Green Acres was from '68. I thought it was interesting that car was around before Happy Days.

 

Also, there was an episode of Adam 12 with a lady driving Columbo's Peugot.

[wayne sheldon]

Interesting. I also watch way too much tv (taking care of sick family reasons). I never really cared about hotrods, not old enough to interest me, but they are a part of our automotive history. Regardless, I didn't pay much attention to them in movies or tv. But I wonder. Have you seen the hotrod Kookie drove in "77 Sunset Strip"?

I would like to see Colombo's Peugeot in the "Adam 12" episode. But I have not watched that show in a long time.

[46 woodie]

If they are owned by the studio, they are simply a prop and can be used wherever the script calls for that type of vehicle. If they are privately owned, the owner probably has a connection to the studio and can rent it to them.

[padgett]

Not that surprising, often the reason that one year's show car cannot be found it that it became next year's. Also Hollywood was usually supplied a convertible for almost any show.and the pools were not large. Personally have always been amused that cars the mfgs gave to celebrities often became valuable from that fact. Also there were many Buick Reattas in central Florida because Buick always supplid hoardes to the Buick Bay Hill Golf tournament.

[joe_padavano]

Watch the first season of Man From U.N.C.L.E.  They apparently only had about three or four cars for background shots. You see the same ones pass by on the street numerous times in each episode.

[TerryB]

In an episode of Columbo I saw recently they had several 1974 Chevelle Laguna S-3s as Motor pool cars at a University.  The cars all had the University name on the doors.  Someone in CA must have had more S-3s on the lot than they needed as that was not a common car to see on the street.   The Andy Griffith Mayberry shows had lots of Ford cars in the background.  It wasn’t until the later  episodes that GM cars started showing up.  Seems Andy’s sheriff car was always a Ford in every episode I’ve seen so far.  For movies, especially the cheap horror flicks of the 1950s ,Chrysler products were the most common seen.

Edited July 17, 2020 by TerryB (see edit history)

[The 55er]

Gomer Pyle USMC always featured Chrysler Corp. cars & trucks. 

[CarlLaFong]

1 hour ago, wayne sheldon said:

. But I wonder. Have you seen the hotrod Kookie drove in "77 Sunset Strip"?

 

Norm Grabowski, who built and owned Kookie"s car lived up the road from me. I used to see him all the time, driving it and later the Model T Touring car hot rod that later became the "Porter" in "my Mother the Car"

[nzcarnerd]

2 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

Interesting. I also watch way too much tv (taking care of sick family reasons). I never really cared about hotrods, not old enough to interest me, but they are a part of our automotive history. Regardless, I didn't pay much attention to them in movies or tv. But I wonder. Have you seen the hotrod Kookie drove in "77 Sunset Strip"?

I would like to see Colombo's Peugeot in the "Adam 12" episode. But I have not watched that show in a long time.

 

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_745619-Peugeot-403-Cabriolet-1960.html

[Walt G]

OK this will be a bit obscure but my two favorite cars in tv shows were : In "The Snopp Sisters" staring Mildred Natwick and Helen Hayes (which wasn't a regular series but  some episodes were rotated in for a mystery show) there was a green 1925 Lincoln model L sedan by LeBaron. The car was owned by a cool guy here on long island named Al Scaglione who was in the local VMCCA chapter , the L.I. Old Car Club . Al also owned a Pierce Arrow I believe. The other car I love was driven by George Peppard in his mystery series "Banachek". and was a 1941 or 42 Packard Darrin conv coupe. I know I will have some people read this and shake their heads thinking - doesn't Gosden like anything normal?  The answer is no,  "odd is outstanding". 😊

[Carolina Chevrolet]

Ford Motor Co was a sponsor of the Andy Griffith show,  that's why the sheriff's car is a Ford. 

[padgett]

And then there was the Get Smart series where every week he had a different (smaller) car.

[Harold]

We were watching an old episode of 'Adam 12' a few nights ago that included having the officers on a police test track for driver training.  Martin Milner was driving a black and white '69 Belvedere in the outdoor track shots, but the interior shots were filmed in an AMC Matador.

[Lebowski]

My brother said he saw an old episode of Adam 12 and they pulled over a kid in a '70 Chevelle for driving recklessly or whatever and it was Tony Dow who played Wally Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver a few years earlier. Does anyone know where I could find that episode because I'm a big Tony Dow fan....

[Frank DuVal]

Is this the episode? It is the only Adam-12 with Tony Dow I saw.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0505346/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_30

 

Tony Dow was a Corvair owner back in the day. A Spyder. He has the same car again!👍  Google it.

 

Mr Ed and Studebaker was the advertiser. Lots of Larks.

 

I only remember the Karmann Giha and the Sunbeam as Maxwell Smart's cars.

Edited July 17, 2020 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[Studemax]

I always thought Columbo's car was a Borgward....

[nzcarnerd]

2 hours ago, Studemax said:

I always thought Columbo's car was a Borgward....

Definitely a Peugeot. I don't think Borgward made a convertible.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Been watching a lot of "Peacock" lately as we prefer the older shows.  Columbo had great cars (except maybe for his...)

 

Aside from that, the truly fantastic thing about all the 70s cop shows, a mini bar in every living room with fresh ice in the bucket, day or night!  🙂

[Harold]

7 hours ago, Lebowski said:

My brother said he saw an old episode of Adam 12 and they pulled over a kid in a '70 Chevelle for driving recklessly or whatever and it was Tony Dow who played Wally Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver a few years earlier. Does anyone know where I could find that episode because I'm a big Tony Dow fan....

We recently saw an old episode of 'Emergency' where Tony Dow played a hoodlum on a motorcycle.  He had long hair and a beard for that one.

[8E45E]

The FBI, (with Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) ALWAYS used Ford products in that show; even one showing a 'stolen' 1955 Thunderbird.

 

Craig

Edited July 17, 2020 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

Columbo def had a Peugot, '58 or '59? 

Get Smart was pretty consistent, when the series started he drove a sunbeam tiger, then near the end of the series he switched to a karman ghia.

There was one episode of Get Smart that showed the Cheifs car, it was a custom mustang with tiger/leopard interior, and wildly customized, may have been a barris car. I think it was also in an episode of Bewitched.

Bewitch used chevys, there was one episode that the 'ladies' of the town were out to lunch. They showed them getting into their cars all lined up in the parking lot, corvette, ss chevelles, ss camaros, maybe 6 or 7 lined up.

I dream of Jeanie used Pontiacs, lots of cool car spotting there too.

[TAKerry]

I watched the Knight Rider series (dont flame me, please) a year or so ago with my son and grandson. We spotted a yellow VW rabbit in at least one scene of every episode. It got to the point that we were looking for it. My speculation is that it belonged to someone on the crew.

[58L-Y8]

Ford supplied the cars for 'Green Acres"  Oliver Wendell Douglass drove in succession gold metallic with eggshell white interior 1965, 1966 and 1967 Lincoln Continental convertibles, then 1969 and 1970 Mercury Marquis convertibles.   The Monroe brothers drove a 1946-'48 Ford station wagon.  Mr. Kimble, the screwball county agent a Bronco roadster after the first season when he drove a Jeep CJ.  Lisa Douglass's mother arrived in a 1967 Lincoln Continental limousine by Lehmann and Petersen.  Oddly enough, Mr. Haney's truck was a '20's Dodge.  Various other characters have arrived in a 1952-'53 Ford sedan.  Ebb, the hired hand, had a Model A roadster on one show.   ME TV has been showing 'Green Acres' every evening, its the first time I've seen it since I was a kid.

Edited July 19, 2020 by 58L-Y8
Added '65 Lincoln & '69 Mercury Green Acres images (see edit history)

[Lebowski]

We never saw any cars on "Bonanza" but most of us remember that it was sponsored by Chevrolet. Dan Blocker (Hoss) had a '65 Chevelle and I heard that he also liked mini-bikes. He set a record in the Texas county in which he was born when he weighed in at 14 pounds. One of his first acting roles was in a 3 Stooges short in 1957 called Outer Space Jitters. He was also on Gunsmoke a couple of times. Bummer that he died at age 43....

 

"Blocker, a performance automobile fan, once owned a 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 "Z-16" (RPO Z16 option), as Chevrolet was the commercial sponsor of the show."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Blocker

 

 

[Billy Kingsley]

My mom was watching Perry Mason with closed captioning on, and somebody they were looking for was driving a "pink thundered bird"...obviously whoever was captioning was not a car nut!

[STEVE POLLARD]

Bewitched - 

[Lebowski]

44 minutes ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

Bewitched - 

 

I wonder what year this episode of "Bewitched" is from? I see two '69 Camaros and a '69 Chevelle and what looks to be the rear end of a '69 Impala next to the Chevelle and the yellow Corvette is probably a '69 model so it's maybe from 1969?  

[STEVE POLLARD]

5 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

I wonder what year this episode of "Bewitched" is from? I see two '69 Camaros and a '69 Chevelle and what looks to be the rear end of a '69 Impala next to the Chevelle and the yellow Corvette is probably a '69 model so it's maybe from 1969?

Air date March 27, 1969

[padgett]

And then there was Anne Francis as Honey West with a Cobra.

 

 

ps Maxwell started with a Tiger, then a plain Alpine, then a Ghia with maybe one other in the middle.

[TAKerry]

Steve Pollard, that is the exact scene I was talking about.

Paul Drake - from Perry Mason- drove a T bird.

[CarlLaFong]

Clark Kent drove a Nash Healey. Perry had a Packard and Lois had her little Rambler convertible

Edited July 18, 2020 by CarlLaFong (see edit history)

[John348]

12 hours ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

Bewitched - 

 

Looks like NYS tags on those cars? I thought Bewitched took place in CA?

Edited July 18, 2020 by John348 (see edit history)

[STEVE POLLARD]

1 hour ago, John348 said:

Looks like NYS tags on those cars? I thought Bewitched took place in CA?

John - I got this info from Wiki:

SettingEdit

The main setting for most episodes is the Stephens' house at 1164 Morning Glory Circle, in an upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood, either in Westport, Connecticut or Patterson, New York as indicated by conflicting information presented throughout the series. The season 3 episode "Soap Box Derby" shows the Mills Garage in Patterson as a neighbor's son's car sponsor, and the Stephens' station wagon is seen with New York plates. Elizabeth Montgomery owned a second home in Patterson. Many scenes also take place at the fictional Madison Avenue advertising agency "McMann and Tate", where Darrin works.

 

 

Just a side note, my brother worked with a Sheriff Deputy from the Putnam County Sheriff's Department here in New York and he rented a house from Elizabeth Montgomery... the house was located in Patterson, NY. He mention that Montgomery would on occasion stop by the house to check on it.

 

Steve

[John348]

True,,,,  I forgot the advertising industry was based in NYC, I just presumed that most production was done in CA for TV, sort of like Green Acres. 

Edited July 18, 2020 by John348 (see edit history)

[Lebowski]

21 hours ago, STEVE POLLARD said:

 

 

 

On the pavement it says "Head In Only" so doesn't that mean no backing in? So then why is every car backed in? So viewers can see all the new '69 Chevy models? 

[8E45E]

21 hours ago, Lebowski said:

 

I wonder what year this episode of "Bewitched" is from? I see two '69 Camaros and a '69 Chevelle and what looks to be the rear end of a '69 Impala next to the Chevelle and the yellow Corvette is probably a '69 model so it's maybe from 1969?  

I remember Bewitched using Chevrolet Motor Division products current to the year of the show.  I recall seeing a particularly nice '69 Chevrolet Caprice 2-door hardtop, which I believe was being driven by Darrin's boss.  She twitched her mouth as usual to make something happen, and the Caprice did a sudden U-turn in the middle of the street.

 

Craig

[Buick35]

I like the Beverly Hillbillies truck,also the Lincoln convertible the banker drove.

[Lebowski]

57 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

  She twitched her mouth as usual to make something happen, and the Caprice did a sudden U-turn in the middle of the street.

 

I wonder if Gladys Kravitz was watching out her window when that happened. She was the nosy neighbor who saw a lot of her nose-twitching stunts but when her husband Abner looked out the window nothing was happening....

[STEVE POLLARD]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

I recall seeing a particularly nice '69 Chevrolet Caprice 2-door hardtop, which I believe was being driven by Darrin's boss. 

This one ?

 

[Buick35]

I turned on Hogans Heros and would like to have one of those old Mercedes.