It is not just Ozzie, what did Thorny and the boys do? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

esl · 01-18-2009, 11:01 PM

Much has been made over the years of Ozzie not having a job and that he just hangs around the house. But recently I have been watching quite a few of the episodes from the first three years and it was not just Ozzie who did not seem to have a job; Thorny never went to work and was always hanging around. Then there are the boys. Various episodes mention them doing their homework but we never see them actually leaving for or coming from school in those early episodes. They too seem to be always hanging around the house. Never once have I watched an episode where you hear the following type of dialogue:

Ozzie: Harriet, where are the boys?
Harriet: They're at school, where else would they be at this time of the day.

Instead there would be references to them being somewhere else but that somewhere else is never school and we know its the middle of the day as Harriet mentions that lunch is about ready and the Ozzie or one of the boys is going to miss lunch unless they get home soon from the hardware store, playing basketball next door with Will or football down at the field, etc.

It seems that this show existed in some type of Twilight Zone where every day was the weekend or a holiday.

ILUVO&H · 01-19-2009, 03:17 PM

LOL Maybe the episodes were always taking place on Saturday.

When Ricky gets into high school we see him there a few times. 3 Bettys and A picture in Ricks Notebook are a couple episodes that comes to mind. When they were young in the first few years David talks about school dances quite a bit too.

Even in those early years if we didn't see them going to or coming home from school, at least we knew they were doing their homework. They did a lot of homework. Maybe Harriet homeschooled them. lol Or maybe THAT'S what Ozzie and Throny were doing all day!

LOL

It wasn't just Thorny that didn't seem to have a job. We didn't see Joe or Darb talking about having been to or going to work either. They'd talk about being downtown having lunch, even having the business mans special but no talk of work.

I want to live in the world of Ozzie and Harriet!

Goldilocks · 01-20-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILUVO&H

LOL Maybe the episodes were always taking place on Saturday.

Even in those early years if we didn't see them going to or coming home from school, at least we knew they were doing their homework. They did a lot of homework. Maybe Harriet homeschooled them. lol Or maybe THAT'S what Ozzie and Throny were doing all day!

LOL

I want to live in the world of Ozzie and Harriet!

Yeah, right?! I want to live in that world, too!

It's true though...there wasn't much seen of the "coming and going" re: school until the boys got to college. Then we always saw them in the "quad" carrying books and/or going to class or talking about class or checking out the new girls and trying to get dates, etc. So I guess it's good David and Ricky did their homework. That's how they got into college and David became a lawyer! Even making partner like 1 year after going to work at the law firm of Dobson and Kelley!

Just an side observation but I'd like to know how in the heck Rick and Kris afforded that big house with him working only part-time at Dobson, Kelley and Nelson and her just being a full time student?

Maybe he made alot since he was the partner's brother.

Jude The Obscure · 01-20-2009, 01:48 PM

Bottom line is that Ozzie wanted to show home/family life.....not work life. He knew if he was tied down to a certain profession on the show, that would involve limiting the writers to show him actually at the job--having to introduce other characters that would be at said job. Ozzie wanted to be everyman to the general US viewing public, so by not specifically have him go to an office or such, they didn't have to let plots be worked around--"well, we can't help Thorny today since your dad is still at the office", etc

Janine the Dream · 01-20-2009, 02:26 PM

Just an side observation but I'd like to know how in the heck Rick and Kris afforded that big house with him working only part-time at Dobson, Kelley and Nelson and her just being a full time student? Maybe he made alot since he was the partner's brother.

Rick was receiving royalties from all his hit songs which made the purchase of a home possible. During the early 1960's a nice home could be purchased for about $30,000 and Rick was pulling down $1,000 per week in royalties. Either that or Rick embezzled money from Ozzie's Foreign bank accounts which were set up to keep the IRS in the dark about the Nelson's finances.

Goldilocks · 01-20-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janine the Dream

Just an side observation but I'd like to know how in the heck Rick and Kris afforded that big house with him working only part-time at Dobson, Kelley and Nelson and her just being a full time student? Maybe he made alot since he was the partner's brother.

Rick was receiving royalties from all his hit songs which made the purchase of a home possible. During the early 1960's a nice home could be purchased for about $30,000 and Rick was pulling down $1,000 per week in royalties. Either that or Rick embezzled money from Ozzie's Foreign bank accounts which were set up to keep the IRS in the dark about the Nelson's finances.

Janine the Dream · 01-20-2009, 04:17 PM

Another possible reason for Rick's wealth was that he won a case from Ozzie where he could keep all the money he earned from "Rio Bravo" and " Wackiest Ship" rather than turning it over to Ozzie to be split four ways.

The reason that makes the most sense however is that Rick made Harriet pay 25 cents whenever she smoked a cigarette on the set. From 1959-1963, Harriet turned over $31,250 to the teen idol which paid for the price of the home $30,000, closing costs $750, some decent slacks for Kris $250 and many rounds of chocolate malts at the Campus Malt Shop.

Goldilocks · 01-20-2009, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janine the Dream

The reason that makes the most sense however is that Rick made Harriet pay 25 cents whenever she smoked a cigarette on the set. From 1959-1963, Harriet turned over $31,250 to the teen idol which paid for the price of the home $30,000, closing costs $750, some decent slacks for Kris $250 and many rounds of chocolate malts at the Campus Malt Shop.

OMG! That's too funny!

01-18-2009, 11:01 PM	#1
esl Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 24, 2007 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 50	It is not just Ozzie, what did Thorny and the boys do? Much has been made over the years of Ozzie not having a job and that he just hangs around the house. But recently I have been watching quite a few of the episodes from the first three years and it was not just Ozzie who did not seem to have a job; Thorny never went to work and was always hanging around. Then there are the boys. Various episodes mention them doing their homework but we never see them actually leaving for or coming from school in those early episodes. They too seem to be always hanging around the house. Never once have I watched an episode where you hear the following type of dialogue: Ozzie: Harriet, where are the boys? Harriet: They're at school, where else would they be at this time of the day. Instead there would be references to them being somewhere else but that somewhere else is never school and we know its the middle of the day as Harriet mentions that lunch is about ready and the Ozzie or one of the boys is going to miss lunch unless they get home soon from the hardware store, playing basketball next door with Will or football down at the field, etc. It seems that this show existed in some type of Twilight Zone where every day was the weekend or a holiday.

01-19-2009, 03:17 PM	#2
ILUVO&H Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 08, 2008 Location: New York Posts: 505	LOL Maybe the episodes were always taking place on Saturday. When Ricky gets into high school we see him there a few times. 3 Bettys and A picture in Ricks Notebook are a couple episodes that comes to mind. When they were young in the first few years David talks about school dances quite a bit too. Even in those early years if we didn't see them going to or coming home from school, at least we knew they were doing their homework. They did a lot of homework. Maybe Harriet homeschooled them. lol Or maybe THAT'S what Ozzie and Throny were doing all day! LOL It wasn't just Thorny that didn't seem to have a job. We didn't see Joe or Darb talking about having been to or going to work either. They'd talk about being downtown having lunch, even having the business mans special but no talk of work. I want to live in the world of Ozzie and Harriet!

01-20-2009, 01:48 PM	#4
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,520	Bottom line is that Ozzie wanted to show home/family life.....not work life. He knew if he was tied down to a certain profession on the show, that would involve limiting the writers to show him actually at the job--having to introduce other characters that would be at said job. Ozzie wanted to be everyman to the general US viewing public, so by not specifically have him go to an office or such, they didn't have to let plots be worked around--"well, we can't help Thorny today since your dad is still at the office", etc

01-20-2009, 02:26 PM	#5
Janine the Dream Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 20, 2007 Location: Saddle Brook, NJ Posts: 642	Just an side observation but I'd like to know how in the heck Rick and Kris afforded that big house with him working only part-time at Dobson, Kelley and Nelson and her just being a full time student? Maybe he made alot since he was the partner's brother. Rick was receiving royalties from all his hit songs which made the purchase of a home possible. During the early 1960's a nice home could be purchased for about $30,000 and Rick was pulling down $1,000 per week in royalties. Either that or Rick embezzled money from Ozzie's Foreign bank accounts which were set up to keep the IRS in the dark about the Nelson's finances.

01-20-2009, 04:17 PM	#7
Janine the Dream Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 20, 2007 Location: Saddle Brook, NJ Posts: 642	Another possible reason for Rick's wealth was that he won a case from Ozzie where he could keep all the money he earned from "Rio Bravo" and " Wackiest Ship" rather than turning it over to Ozzie to be split four ways. The reason that makes the most sense however is that Rick made Harriet pay 25 cents whenever she smoked a cigarette on the set. From 1959-1963, Harriet turned over $31,250 to the teen idol which paid for the price of the home $30,000, closing costs $750, some decent slacks for Kris $250 and many rounds of chocolate malts at the Campus Malt Shop.