| The Bill Dana Show | |
|---|---|
 Dana as José Jiménez, 1964. | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Danny Thomas |
| Written by | Jack Elinson Charles Stewart Garry Marshall Jerry Belson Ray Singer Dick Chevillat Howard Ostroff |
| Directed by | Sheldon Leonard Coby Ruskin Danny Thomas Stanley Z. Cherry Al Lewis Theodore J. Flicker Howard Morris Jerry Paris Jay Sandrich |
| Starring | Bill Dana Jonathan Harris Gary Crosby (1963-'64) Maggie Peterson (1964-'65) Don Adams |
| Theme music composer | Earle Hagen |
| Opening theme | "Jose's Theme" |
| Composer | Irving Szathmary |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sheldon Leonard |
| Producers | Howard Leeds (season 1) Jack Elinson (season 2) |
| Production location | Desilu Studios |
| Running time | 24 mins. |
| Production company | Amigo Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 22, 1963 – January 17, 1965 |
| Related | |
| Make Room for Daddy | |
The Bill Dana Show is an American comedy series starring Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris that aired on NBC from September 22, 1963 to January 17, 1965. The plot follows the daily lifestyle of Latin American José Jiménez, as a bellhop in a New York City hotel.
The series was a spin-off from Make Room for Daddy, which showed the character of José as an elevator operator before he became a bellhop.
The hotel was practically José's entire world; he lived in special bachelor headquarters provided for hotel employees, ate in the hotel kitchen, and had social contact only with employees and guests of the hotel. In his goodhearted naivete, he saw only the good in the people around him. His biggest problems were his fellow bellhop Eddie (Gary Crosby), who was constantly trying to get José to wise up; the less-than-understanding hotel manager Mr. Phillips (Jonathan Harris, who would soon play Dr. Smith on Lost in Space) and the bumbling hotel detective Byron Glick (Don Adams, in a predecessor to the character he would play on Get Smart). In the second season, Maggie Peterson played Susie, a waitress in the hotel's coffee shop.
Walter Mitty-like dream sequences were occasionally used to extricate José from the hotel environment.
Dana did a cameo as José Jiménez on an episode of Batman. He introduces himself to Batman and Robin by saying "My name- José Jiménez". This episode was titled "The Yegg Foes in Gotham" and originally aired on ABC on October 20, 1966. It was the last time Dana played José Jiménez.
The series, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, premiered on September 22, 1963 and ran for a season-and-a-half, before its run ended on January 17, 1965 (the following week, it was replaced by Branded).
The Bill Dana Show received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Comedy at the 16th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1964.[1]
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "You Got to Have Heart" | Sheldon Leonard | Howard Leeds | September 22, 1963 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Hypnotist" | Sheldon Leonard | Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart | September 29, 1963 |
| 3 | 3 | "Jose, the Playboy" | Sheldon Leonard | Don Hinkley | October 6, 1963 |
| 4 | 4 | "Jose, the Opera Singer" | Jerry Paris | Unknown | October 13, 1963 |
| 5 | 5 | "Jose, the Stockholder" | Coby Ruskin | Sheldon Keller & Howard Merrill | October 27, 1963 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Bank Hold-Up" | Coby Ruskin | Don Hinkley | November 3, 1963 |
| 7 | 7 | "Honeymoon Suite" | Jerry Paris | Don Hinkley | November 10, 1963 |
| 8 | 8 | "Jose, the Agent" | Seymour Robbie | Sam Locke & Joel Rapp | November 17, 1963 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Poker Game" | Unknown | Don Hinkley | December 1, 1963 |
| 10 | 10 | "Mr. Phillips' Watch" | Coby Ruskin | Bill Dana & Howard Leeds | December 8, 1963 |
| 11 | 11 | "Beauty and the Baby" | Unknown | Unknown | December 29, 1963 |
| 12 | 12 | "Jose and The Brat" | Jerry Paris | Don Hinkley | January 5, 1964 |
| 13 | 13 | "Jose's Dream Girl" | Unknown | Don Hinkley | January 12, 1964 |
| 14 | 14 | "A Tip for Uncle Sam" | Howard Morris | Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart | January 19, 1964 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Masquerade Party" | Unknown | Unknown | January 26, 1964 |
| 16 | 16 | "Jose's Four Amigos" | Coby Ruskin | Unknown | February 2, 1964 |
| 17 | 17 | "Eddie Gets Fired" | Coby Ruskin | Unknown | February 9, 1964 |
| 18 | 18 | "Speak for Yourself, Jose" | Coby Ruskin | Jerry Belson & Garry Marshall | February 16, 1964 |
| 19 | 19 | "Jose, the Manager" | Coby Ruskin | Jack Elinson & Charles Stewart | February 23, 1964 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Party in Suite 15" | Unknown | Unknown | March 1, 1964 |
| 21 | 21 | "Jose, the Matchmaker" | Unknown | Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer | March 15, 1964 |
| 22 | 22 | "Jose's Hot Dog Caper" | Coby Ruskin | Seaman Jacobs & Ed James | March 22, 1964 |
| 23 | 23 | "The Hiring of Jose" | Coby Ruskin | Unknown | April 5, 1964 |
| 24 | 24 | "The Astronaut" | Coby Ruskin | Irving Elinson & Fred S. Fox | April 12, 1964 |
| 25 | 25 | "Master of Disguise" | Coby Ruskin | Bill Persky & Sam Denoff | April 19, 1964 |
| 26 | 26 | "Jose Resigns" | Howard Morris | Unknown | April 26, 1964 |
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Blood from Two Turnips" | Sheldon Leonard | Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer | September 20, 1964 |
| 28 | 2 | "Danny Thomas, I Love You" | Danny Thomas | Jerry Belson & Garry Marshall | September 27, 1964 |
| 29 | 3 | "Laughing Gas" | Coby Ruskin | Don Hinkley | October 4, 1964 |
| 30 | 4 | "The Essay" | Stanley Z. Cherry | TBA | October 11, 1964 |
| 31 | 5 | "What Elephant?" | Sheldon Leonard | Bill Dana | October 25, 1964 |
| 32 | 6 | "Jose on the Ledge" | Stanley Z. Cherry | Don Hinkley | November 1, 1964 |
| 33 | 7 | "Jose, the Flower Thief" | Al Lewis | Don Hinkley | November 8, 1964 |
| 34 | 8 | "Jose's Inheritance" | Theodore J. Flicker | Martin Ragaway | November 15, 1964 |
| 35 | 9 | "The Suggestion Box" | Howard Morris | TBA | November 22, 1964 |
| 36 | 10 | "We'll Get You for This" | Theodore J. Flicker | Dick Chevillat & Ray Singer | December 6, 1964 |
| 37 | 11 | "Phillips, the Lover" | Theodore J. Flicker | Howard Ostroff | December 13, 1964 |
| 38 | 12 | "Tonsils for Two" | Jerry Paris | TBA | December 20, 1964 |
| 39 | 13 | "Glick, the Strongman" | Jerry Paris | TBA | December 27, 1964 |
| 40 | 14 | "Beauty and the Bellhop" | Jay Sandrich | TBA | January 3, 1965 |
| 41 | 15 | "Jose, the Old Man" | Jerry Paris | TBA | January 10, 1965 |
| 42 | 16 | "The Court Jester" | Jay Sandrich | Don Hinkley | January 17, 1965 |
