View Full Version : "Love and the Private Eye, Melvin Danger"


tv star collector
10-23-2005, 01:24 PM
Hanna-Barbera produced two pilots that were aired on LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE.
The first one served as the pilot for WAIT TILL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME,
which was picked up for syndication. Does anyone remember the second one,
"Love and the Private Eye, Melvin Danger" starring the voice of Richard Dawson
(of HOGAN'S HEROES, LAUGH-IN and FAMILY FEUD fame)? It never became a
series, but it was aired on ABC in 1971 (the same year as the WAIT TILL YOUR
FATHER GETS HOME pilot). I haven't seen it in over thirty years, but I remember that I thought it was pretty funny.

TV Knowledge Fan
04-27-2006, 02:04 PM
....Hanna-Barbera produced these animated TV pilots for Paramount (as part of the deal they had with the studio to distribute their theatrical feature, "Charlotte's Web" [1973]). "Love and The Private Eye" [1/28/72] was indeed the pilot for the unsold "MELVIN DANGER, PRIVATE EYE" series...and it WAS funny! I think it would have made a great vehicle for Dick Dawson...but I forgot who the voice of his "faithful secretary" was....

As for "Love And the Old-Fashioned Father" [2/11/72], Bill and Joe knew there was life for that format beyond the episode that aired on "LAS". That's why they took a chance, retaining their rights to the pilot from Paramount, and produced "WAIT 'TILL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME" for syndication {picking up the Chevrolet division of General Motors as its "national" sponsor - they got two minutes of ad time per episode, and the rest were sold locally by the stations who carried the show, including WNBC-TV in New York - and that's why Harry Boyle drives an animated Chevrolet in the opening titles!!!}.....48 episodes in two seasons!