Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

I have vivid memories of watching “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” a delightful TV show that aired from September 14, 1965, to April 22, 1967, consisting of 58 half-hour episodes across 2 seasons. The show was a burst of color in an era when black and white still dominated the television landscape, airing on NBC.

September 14, 1965 – April 22, 1967
58 half hour episodes (2 seasons)
in color on NBC
Created by: Robert Stambler & Paul West
Produced by: MGM Television

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies Cast

• Patricia Crowley played the lead role of Joan Nash, a work-at-home journalist.
• Mark Miller portrayed her husband, James “Jim” Nash, a college professor.
• Brian Nash as Joel Nash
• Kim Tyler as Kyle Nash
• Jeff Fithian as Trevor Nash
• Joe Fithian as Tracey Nash
• Their family included four boys, with two of them being twins, and a very large 150-pound sheepdog, Ladadog.

Additional characters in recurring roles included:

• Ellen Corby as Martha O’Reilly
• Shirley Mitchell as Marge Thornton
• Dub Taylor as Ed Hewley
• Harry Hickox as Herb Thornton #1
• King Donovan as Herb Thornton #2
• Bill Quinn as Dean Gerald Carter
• Jean VanderPyl as Ethel Carter

Storyline

Joan Nash (Patricia Crowley) and her husband Jim Nash (Mark Miller)were fairly typical for the 1970’s but a little atypical for the 60s. She was a work at home journalist who abhorred housework and homemaking. He was a college professor and they had four boys, with two of them being twins and a very large sheepdog.

The commotion that four boys and a dog can create and Joan’s indifference towards all things household make for the comedic moments in the show. This actually worked out well for Joan as the column she wrote was a humorous look at family life.

The series was based on a 1960 movie by the same name starring Doris Day and David Niven which was based on a book by Jean Kerr. The movie was a big success the tv show, not so much. It did last for two seasons and in defense of the show the network bosses thought that it would be good competition to pit it against “Combat” and “Rawhide” in the Saturday night lineup…what were they thinking!

Video Clip of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

Passings

Jean Kerr died in 2003 of pneumonia she was 80 years old

Trivia

The dog’s name in the show was Ladadog which was what the producers wanted it called except…
the younger boys (the twins) had a great deal of trouble pronouncing Lad-a-Dog, so by the end of the first season the name of the dog was shortened to Lad.
The score= Kids-1, Producers-0, yeah!