I've been watching on YouTube The Archives of American Television interviews and am amazed by all of the various connections that actors, producers, directors, creators, writers and shows have with others of the same.

Right off I can see a large "Family Tree" for-

TV Show - The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Producer - Sherwood Swartz
Actor- Jack Benny
Director - Bob Sweeney
Creator - Sheldon Leonard
Writer - Larry Gilbart

So the challenge is to pick actor, producer, director, creator, writer or show and create their "Family Tree" by listinging others who are connected to to that person or show. Feel free to pick from the list above or find your own person/show to work from.

You can pick connections with what ever role they have played. Like if you Carl Reiner you can link others to when he acted, wrote, directed, created and produced. That would include actual family connections. For Carl that would include his son Rob and everything that connects with him.

With a show stick with main and recurring characters, writers and directors who did many episodes rather that one shots.

This will take some time to search this out.

I'm probably going to choose The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. With that I already know that there will be list created for Jay Sommers, Don DeFore, Frank Cady, just to start.

So if you find this a a fun project then please let us know who or what show you want to create the Family Tree for. Give update as you discover new connections to that person or show.

imdb would be a good place to look for connections.

Good luck.

The Archives of American Television interviews

These are great, by the foundation that does the Emmys. If you look at the text beneath each video, there's a link to the person's full interview at the archive. There's thousands of hours of interviews:

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews

These are great, by the foundation that does the Emmys. If you look at the text beneath each video, there's a link to the person's full interview at the archive. There's thousands of hours of interviews:

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews

Actually, I think they are the same interviews.

So I've started my Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet “Family Tree”

All listing’s are based on being involved in 10 episodes or more for the categories listed on both Ozzie and Harriet and the show listed. This can include variety and anthology series. Voice work doesn’t count.

Many of the actors did extensive voice work in cartoons. And others were in shows for 8 or 9 episodes. The "Family Tree " would be enormous if those things were added.

My next step is to take each show and list people who were involved in other show for 10 or more episodes.

Director/writer/producer/actor
Ozzie Nelson- Ozzie's Girls

Writers-
Dick Bensfield – One Day at a Time, Hello Larry, 227, Mayberry RFD
Perry Grant – One Day at a Time, Hello Larry, Mayberry RFD
John L. Green – Bewitched, My Favorite Martian, The Tycoon, The Real McCoys
Jay Sommers – Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Amos and Andy Show

Actors –
David Nelson – (associate producer) Ozzie’s Girls
Don DeFore – Hazel
Jack Wagner – The Ann Southern Show
Lyle Talbot – The Bob Cummings Show
Frank Cady – Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies
Mary Jane Croft – Here’s Lucy, The Lucy Show, The People’s Choice
Parley Baer – The Young and the Restless
James Stacy – Lancer
Kent McCord – Farscape, Galactica 1980, Adam-12
Hal Smith – The Andy Griffith Show, I Married Joan
Richard Gittings – The Days of Our Lives
Barbara Eiler – The Magical World of Disney
Janet Waldo – Valentine’s Day
Dick Ryan – The Red Skelton Hour
Vera Marshe – Meet Corliss Archer
Anthony C. Montenaro – Adam-12
Bruce Belland – The Tim Conway Comedy Hour
Joseph Kearns – Dennis the Menace, Burns and Allen
Stanley Livingston - My Three Sons
Barry Livingston – Sons and Daughters, My Three Sons
Joe Flynn – The Tim Conway Show, McHale’s Navy
Claude Stroud – The Duke
Gordon Jones – So This is Hollywood?, The Ray Milland Show, Abbott and Costello Show
Bill McLean – The Jim Backus Show
Diane Jergens – The Bob Cummings Show
Sharyn Hillyer – The Man From U.N.C.L.E
Joi Lansing – The Bob Cummings Show
Cheerio Meredith – One Happy Family
Barney Phillips – The Betty White Show, 12 O’Clock High, Dragnet (original)
Lloyd Corrigan – Hank, Happy, Willy, The Ray Milland Show

Actually, I think they are the same interviews.

Yes. The youtube ones are excerpts of the ones at the academy site.

The connections that have interested me the most for the last couple of years are those flowing from the Dick van Dyke Show, and somewhat from the Danny Thomas and Andy Griffith Shows. Among the first people to touch "The Dick van Dyke Show" script were:

Carl Reiner, the writer/creator
George Shapiro, Reiner's wife's nephew, who was working as Reiner's agent and eventually becomes executive producer of Seinfeld;
Grant Tinker, the advertisers' rep on the show, who went on to found MTM Productions and then ran NBC when it became the dominant network;
Sheldon Leonard, probably the most important "creative" in TV in the late 50s and 1960s; and, Danny Thomas, "the money guy."

Who came out of the show:

Directors - John Rich (All in the Family) and Jerry Paris (Happy Days)
Writers - Bill Persky & Sam Denoff, Garry Marshall & Jerry Belson, Carl Kleinschmitt & Gerald McRaven (Perfect Strangers)

So the MTM and Garry Marshall shows of the 70s are connected to the Dick van Dyke Show.

James L. Brooks didn't work on Dick van Dyke Show, but he did write on many connected shows in the 1960s: Hey, Landlord, That Girl, Andy Griffith/Mayberry, RFD, Good Morning, World. Danny Arnold worked for Thomas or Leonard on That Girl and My World and Welcome to It, before creating Barney Miller.

There's also Witt-Thomas Productions, headed by Paul Junger Witt and Danny Thomas's son Tony, which turned out Soap, Golden Girls, and their spinoffs.

I agree on the Dick Van Dyke Show. What I'm discovering unwrapping the connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is that there's a good bet that most everyone in the business will be connected to that show. Actually any Show from the '50's or '60's will be similar results.

As I reviewed 77 Sunset Strip I discovered that Jack Webb was involved as a producer. And William Conrad i didn't realize was a producer, director and actor. Not to mention all of his voice over work in cartoons, narrations, and radio.

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 12 O'Clock High.

Directors
Robert Douglas – The F.B.I, 77 Sunset Strip

Don Medford – Dynasty, Baretta, The F.B.I, The Detectives, M Squad, General Electric Theater, Tales of Tomorrow

Actors
Paul Burke – Dynasty, Hot Shots, Santa Barbara, The Naked City, Five Fingers, Harbour Master, Noah’s Ark

Chris Robinson – General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, Another World

Robert Lansing – Kung Fu – The Legend Continues, The Equalizer, Automan, The Man Who Never Was, 87th Precinct

John Larkin – Saints and Sinners, The Edge of Night

Andrew Duggan – The Magical World of Disney, Lancer, Room for One More, Bourbon Street Beat, Valiant Lady

Lew Gallo – (producer) The New Mike Hammer, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Love American Style, That Girl, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Producers –
Quinn Martin – Barnaby Jones, Most Wanted, The Streets of San Francisco, Bert D’Angelo/Superstar, Cannon, Caribe, The Manhunter, The F.B.I, Dan August, The Invaders, The Fugitiv, The New Breed, The Untouchables, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

William D. Gordon – (writer) Ironside

Frank Glicksman –Custer, The Long Hot Summer, (writer/producer) Trapper John M.D., Medical Center

Charles Larson – The Interns,(writer/producer) Cade’s County, The F.B.I, (writer) Rawhide, The Lone Ranger, Cavalcade of America

Philip Saltzman – Jake and the Fat Man, Barnaby Jones, A Man Called Sloan, The F.B.I., Felony Squad

Don Ingalls – T.J. Hooker, Honey West, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Have Gun Will Travel, (writer/producer) Fantasy Island

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 227

Director
Gerren Keith – The Jamie Fox Show, The Parent ‘Hood, Martin, Diff’rent Strokes, Good Times

Writers/Producers -
Bill Boulware – The Parkers, (producer) Family Reunion, One on One, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Ron Bloomberg – One Day at a Time

Actors -
Helen Martin – Baby, I’m Back

Marla Gibbs - Days of Our Live, The First Family, Passions, The Hughleys, The Jeffersons

Hal Williams – The Sidbad Show, Private Benjamin, Sanford and Son, On the Rocks

Alaina Reed-Hall – Cleghorne!, Sesame Street

Regina King - Seven Seconds, American Crime, The Leftovers, Southland

Jackee Harris – Days of Our Lives, The Paynes, The First Family, Everybody Hates Chris, Sister Sister, Another World

Barry Sobel – The Ellen Burstyn Show

Paul Winfield – Touched by an Angel, The Charmings

Stoney Jackson – Santa Barbara, The Insider, The White Shadow

Countess Vaughn – According to Him and Her, The Parkers, Moesha

Producers –
Roxie Wenk Evans – Malcolm and Eddie, Blossom, Diff’rent Strokes, Archie Bunker’s Place

Al Gordon – (writer/producer) Carter Country, (writer) Three’s Company, The Barbara Mandrell Show, Tony Orlando and Dawn, That’s My Momma, Flip, NBC Follies, The Dean Martin show, The Jim Nabors Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Jack Benny Program, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Shower of Stars

John Boni – Wind at My Back, Lassie (1997-99), Out of This World, The Bad News Bears, (writer) Wimzie’s House, America 2-Night, The Electric Company, When Things Were Rotten
Irma Kalish – Valerie, The Facts of Life, Oh Madeline, Too Close for Comfort, Good Times

Jack Elinson –The Facts of Life, Joe’s World, Run Buddy Run, (writer/producer) One Day at a Time, Good Times, The Doris Day Show, Gomer Pyle: USMC, The Danny Thomas Show, (writer) The Andy Griffith Show, The Real McCoys, Hey Jeanie, The Jimmy Durante Show, All Star Review

Larry Spencer – One World, Valerie, Sanchez of Bel Air

George Burditt –Silver Spoons, (writer/producer) Three’s a Crowd, Three’s Company, (writer) The Hudson Brother’s Razzle Dazzle Show, The Sonny and Cher Show

Bob Myer – Happily Divorced, Mike and Molly, Living with Fran, Rodney, Rock Me Baby, Abby, Nikki, Cybill, Rosanne, (writer/producer) My Two Dads, The Facts of Life

Bob Young – Smart Guy, Boy Meets World , My Two Dads, (writer/producer) Melissa and Joey, Maybe This Time, The Facts of Life, (writer) Family Affair (2002-03)

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 77 Sunset Strip

Director –
George Waggner – Batman, Code 3

Writer-
Robert C. Dennis – Dragnet ’67, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Passport to Danger, The New Adventures of China Smith, China Smith, Mysteries of Chinatown

Actors -
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. –Zorro, Insight, The F.B.I, Concerning Miss Marlowe

Roger Smith – Mister Roberts

Byron Keith – Batman, The Man Called X

Robert Logan – Daniel Boone

Richard Long – Nanny and the Professor, The Big Valley, Bourbon Street Beat

Joan Staley – Broadside

Producers –
William T. Orr – Mister Roberts, Hank, F-Troop, Wendy and Me, No Time for Sergeants, Temple Houston, The Dakotas, Hawaiian Eye, The Gallant Man, Cheyenne, Room for One More, Surfside 6, Lawman, Bronco, Maverick, The Roaring ‘20’s, Sugarcoat, Bourbon Street Beat, Colt .45, The Alaskans

Howie Horwitz –Barack, The Immortal, Batman, Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6

Fenton Earnshaw – (writer) State Trooper, Studio 57, Soldiers of Fortune, City Detective, The Pepsi Cola Playhouse, Biff Baker U.S.A., Chevron Theater

William Conrad – (producer/director) This Man Dawson, (director) G.E. True, (actor) Jake and the Fat Man, Nero Wolfe, Cannon

Jack Webb –Sierra, Emergency, O’Hara U.S. Treasury, Temple Houston, , Pete Kelly’s Blues, (writer) Dragnet (2003-04), The New Adam-12, (actor) G.E. True, (producer/writer) Adam-12, (producer/actor) Project U.F.O, (producer/writer/actor) Dragnet ’67, Dragnet (original)

Jimmy Lydon – Roll Out, Mister Robert, (actor) Love That Jill, So This is Hollywood, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, The First Hundred Years

Actors –
Barry Livingston – Sons and Daughters, My Three Sons

You may add Stanley Livingston, Barry's brother, who also appeared in Advs. of O & H: 10 episodes, of course going on to act in hundreds of M3S episodes.

You may add Stanley Livingston, Barry's brother, who also appeared in Advs. of O & H: 10 episodes, of course going on to act in hundreds of M3S episodes.

Thanks for spotting that. The imdb list on Ozzie and Harriet had him in only 9 episodes, yet on his imdb page he's in 10. I'm at the mercy of the accuracy of the website.

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 87th Precinct. Next up is "A Man Called Sloan "

Actors -
Ron Harper – Generations, Another World, Land of the Lost, Planet of the Apes, Garrison’s Gorillas, Wendy and Me

Producer –
Boris Kaplan – Rriverboat

Winston Miller – Cannon, Ironside, The Virginian

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and A Man Called Sloane. Next up is "Abby"

Actors –
Robert Conrad – High Mountain Rangers, Centennial, Black Sheep Squadron, The D.A, The Wild Wild West, Hawaiian Eye

Dan O’Herlihy – The Long Hot Summer, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters

Producers –
Gerald Sanford – Knight Rider,(producer/writer) Barnaby Jones, (writer) Get Christy Love, The F.B.I,

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Abby (2003). Next up " 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd"
Actors-
Sydney Tamiia Poitier – Carter, Knight Rider (2008-09),

Kadeem Hardison – Teenage Bounty Hunters, K.C. Undercover, Between Brothers, A Different World

Randy J. Goodwin - Linc’s, Fast Track

Tangie Ambrose – A House Divided, In Plan Sight

Sean O’Bryan – The Middle, Persons Unknown, Brother’s Keeper, Pig Sty

Producers –
Eric Abrams – (writer) Married with Children

Nat Bernstein – Project Mc2, See Dad Run, Supah Ninja, Ally McBeal, Snoops, The Gregory Hines Show, (producer/writer) Center of the Universe, Over the Top, (writer) 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd, The Weber Show, Doogie Howser M.D.

Mathew Berry – Last Man Standing, Devious Maids, Malibu Country, , Ellen, Grace Underfire, (producer/writer) Desperate Housewives, Reba, (writer) Married with Children

Jacque Edmonds – The Wonder Years (2021-23), The Unicorn, Mr Inglesias, Reed Between the Lines, Moesha, Living Single, (producer/writer) Let’s Stay Together, Martin, (writer) Cuts

Mitchel Katlin – Project Mc2, See Dad Run, Supah Ninja, Ally McBeal, Snoops, The Gregory Hines Show, (producer/writer) Center of the Universe, Over the Top, Doogie Howser M.D., (writer) 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd, The Weber Show

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd. Lots of cartoons ans unscripted shows that I didn't include since I'm focusing on scripted programs. Next up - 100 Things to Do Before High School

Actors –
Catherine MacNeal – Days of Our Lives, The Young and Restless

Richard Moll – Night Court (original)

Jason Hervey – The Wonder Years (original), (producer) See Dad Run

Seth Green – Dads, Four Kings, Greg the Bunny, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Byrds od Paradise, Good and Evil

Brenda Song – Dollface, Station 19, Pure Genius, Dads, The Suite Life on Deck, The Suite Live of Zack and Cody

Joe Piscopo – (actor/writer) Saturday Night Live

Producers –
Scott Schwartz – The Secret World of Alex Mack

John Lynch – Spyder Games, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Up All Night

Tommy Lynch – I Work Up a Vampire, The Other Kingdom, The Troop, South of Nowhere, Kids Incorporated, (producer/writer) Make it Pop, Romeo!, The Jersey, Scouts Safari, The Secret World of Alex Mack, (writer) The Journey of Allen Strange, Riders in the Sky

Aaron Staudinger – 100 Things to Do Before High School, Unfabulous, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Phil of the Future, That’s So Raven, Tremors

Gary L. Stephenson – Amber Brown, The Troop, South of Nowhere, Romeo!, The Jersey, Scouts Safari, The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Journey of Allen Strange, Kids Incorporated

Jay Firestone – Dark Matter, Stitchers, Lost Girl, XIII: The Series, Andromeda, Mutant X, Adventure Inc. Relic Hunter, 18 Wheels of Justice, Queen of Swords, La Femme Nikita, Pacific Blue, RoboCop: Alpha Commando

Adam Haight – The Listener, The Jane Show, Andromeda, Mutant X, Adventures Inc. Relic Hunter, 18 Wheels of Justice, Queen of Swords

Jim Hetch – (producer/writer) Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers’ Dynasty
Tim Hill, (producer/director/writer) Welcome Freshman

Erin O’Malley – Doogie Kamealoha M.D., , Bles This Mess, Speechless, The Grinder, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Sarah Silverman Program, The Jersey, (producer/director) Single Parents, New Girl

Bob Rosenfarb – (producer/writer) Step by Step, Who’s the Boss, (writer) Head of the Class

Michael Rubiner – Welcome Freshman

Bob Mittenthal – (producer/writer) The Naked Brothers Band, Welcome Freshman

Greg Hampson – The Villains of Valley View, Andi Mack, Liv and Maddie, Labor Rats: Elite Force, Wizards of Waverly Place, Jonas, Unfabulous, The Secret World of Alex Mack

Dan Coffie – Good Trouble

Barry Gurstein – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, (writer) The Jersey

David Pitlik – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, (writer) The Jersey

Here's the complete list of connections with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and 100 Things to Do Before High School. Next up - 18 Wheels of Justice.

Director –
Savage Steve Holland – Big Time Rush, Zeke and Luther, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Lizzie McGuire, V.I.P., (director/writer) New Adventures of Beans Baxter

Actors –
Owen Patrick Joyner – Knight Squad

Jack De Sena – Chris and Jack, Battleground, All That, (actor/writer) Dorm Life

Max Ehrich – Under the Dome, The Young and the Restless

Producers –
Steve Burgess – Twisted Metal, The Cool Kids, Ghosted, The Last Man on Earth, The Office

Scott Fellows - (producer/writer) Unfabulous, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Big Time Rush, Imagination Movers

Lazar Saric – (producer/writer) Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Big Time Rush

Meg A. Schave – St. Denis Medical, American Auto, Pivoting, The Babysitter’s Club, The Office

Julie Brown – (producer/actor) Clueless, (producer/writer/actor) The Edge, (actor) The Middle, Strip Mall