Let's See Who Tom Is "Courting" -- The Ladies of Courtship...!

[biffbronson]

Considered quite handsome by his many fans, Bill Bixby was excellent as widower Tom Corbett on The Courtship of Eddie's Father. I thought
we would have a look at Tom's romantic interests - did they make compelling couples?
As the song says, "Let's get it on!"

Ann Prentiss (1939-2010) -- Ann's sister Paula of course is so much better known. Sadly, the late Ann led what may best be described as a
tragic life due to some actions on her part that were catastrophic. Here are 3 images of Ann with Bill from her episode, in which she plays
Eddie's teacher Kerry Allen (originally aired Sept. 1969).

At age 29 or so when this episode was filmed, she was age-appropriate
for Tom, as Bixby was around 35. Her dark eyes & hair go well together.
I remember my first time watching this episode, I found her attractive:


Ann's profile - with high cheekbones and a pretty smile, I like her look.
Note her short fingernails - apropos, a 1st grade teacher likely would
not have long nails that would take a beating in the classroom:


May she rest in peace. Well-chosen for this role, it's sad that the one
episode proved to be her only appearance on the series.


Finally we see Ann in color from Love, American Style, airing about
half a year later. With lovely longer hair held by a barrette at the back,
she is strikingly pretty:

[biffbronson]

Suzanne Pleshette (1937–2008) -- Talented Suzanne needs no introduction for sitcom fans.
She plays Valerie Bessinger, who lives in the same apartment building as Tom. Age-appropriate
for a love interest, I need to re-watch her Nov. 1970 episode as I don't remember it well.

Here's something I found exciting. This 1965 photo pre-dating
Courtship by some years shows Suzanne and Bill were dating back
then, an amazing couple. Suzanne looks fantastic, I absolutely
love how she's wearing bangs (fringe), gorgeous:


Here's Suzanne as Valerie; her dark, longer locks would fall to the
scissors some time before her work on The Bob Newhart Show
began. Looking cute here, though I'm not sure that gold hoop
earrings really go well with such casual clothes:


May Suzanne rest in peace. Her impact on TV and memorable
great beauty will ensure quite a legacy:

[stevea]

I don't remember this episode either--I never even knew Suzanne was on COEF, or dated Bixby.

I'll have to find that second season DVD.

[biffbronson]

Yes, and I'll add that this series is a great candidate for a "Complete" set.

Here's our 3rd beautiful dark-haired lady in a row:

Sabrina Scharf (b. 1943) -- Sabrina may be best known for her appearance on Star Trek T.O.S., looking hot in Native-American style garb,
and also she appeared in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Sabrina was about 9 and one-half years younger than Bixby, so perhaps stretching things a bit.

Here are some nice images from her Oct. 1969 episode of Courtship as Diane Kirby. Diane falls for Tom when he's doing a story
about the computer dating service she works for. Things don't work out however, I think her interest is just greater than Tom's.

Sabrina's outfit is very much of the period, but I think would
look perhaps better either with the necktie ditched or tucked in.
The short skirt looks lovely, as do Sabrina's legs. I like how
her hair appears in this image, the color and long bangs are nice:


Sabrina enchants us with her smile. I wish portraits
like this one were available for every show's guest
actors. Sabrina is around 26 years old at this time:


Tom & Diane make a fairly remarkable couple.
Sabrina's pinned-up hair "grows" on me, pretty:


Larger collars of the time are represented in Sabrina's
blouse seen here. I do think her cuffs are attractive.
What a nice profile Sabrina has...!


This image is taken from a Mannix episode of the
same timeframe, with Mike Connors. Sabrina's
tresses are really lovely, I wish she were wearing
them down at times when she appeared on Courtship.
She looks so pretty:


Here's how Sabrina looked in the Star Trek episode I
mentioned earlier. A very good casting choice...!

[Theda Bara]

I absolutely ADORE Sabrina Scharf's outfit

Miss Scharf's ensemble is a lovely primrose silk/polyester blend blouse with long, buttoned-cuffed bishop sleeves and an elongated neck tie bodice.

She is also wearing a bodice, sleeveless, tunic length vest with black buttons, and a matching mini-length A-line skirt. Both vest and skirt are a soft grey cotton/tweed.

Here are some screenshots of Sabrina Scharf's quaint 1960s (mod) ensemble.
(From the Courtship of Eddie's Father Season 1/Episode 5: The Computer)

[Theda Bara]

Suzanne Pleshette, when she made an appearance on The Courtship of Eddie's Father (Season 2/ Episode 7: Hello, Miss Bessinger, Goodbye)


Suzanne and Bill Bixby had a lot of chemistry with each other, it was endearing to watch. It doesn't surprise me if these two used to date.

In this episode, Suzanne Pleshette wore a long, A-line/flared skort (combination of shirt and shorts) in a sandy-beige color. She also was attired in a long, black sweater and a pair of black, leather (vinyl) boots.

The best part (in my opinion) of the ensemble was a tailored safari aesthetic jacket with large-in-size envelope shaped (front) pockets. The jacket was the same color/material as the skort.


Here are some screenshots (sorry for the not-so-great quality).

[Theda Bara]

Here is a screenshot of Bill Bixby and Suzanne Pleshette kissing. The affection between them seemed genuine.

[Theda Bara]

Ann Prentiss appeared as Eddie Corbett's 1st grade teacher in an episode called: Teacher's Pet (Season 1/Episode 2).



Miss Prentiss wore an adorable skirt in this episode.

The skirt was a pencil-silhouette, knee-length, and a lovely lilac color. The most attractive part of this ensemble was the unique pockets that were crescent-moon-shaped and adorned with silver/pearl buttons.


Here is a screenshot of the lilac skirt.