Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

(1952-66) Starring Ozzie, Harriet, David and the irrepressible Ricky Nelson. Very long running family saga, based largely on the actual actors involved. As the sons age we go through their teenage dating problems, college life, marriages and careers. Ricky became a (real life) rock and roll star while David joined a law firm.

Many episodes include original commercials for Coca-Cola, Kodak, Hotpoint and others.


Captain Z-Ro

Vol. 1 The Rivals: First episode in the entire series. 15-year-old David resists dating a girl. 10/3/1952.
Suggestion Box: Ozzie builds a suggestion box so each of the family can write down how they feel about the others. 11/20/53.
The Law Clerk: Dave wants to get a job as a law clerk based on his own merit, but finds that everyone is out to help him. 10/21/59.
Built-In TV Set: Ozzie gets nothing but trouble when Joe gives him an old TV set. Guest Star: Alvy Moore. 5/10/61. Ricky sings “Traveling Man.”

Vol. 2: Be on Time: After lecturing Rick to be on time, Ozzie gives a speech to the wrong audience. 4/16/1954
A Lamp for Dave and June: June just has to have a new lamp but Dave says they don't have enough money. 2/1/62.
No News for Harriet: Harriet is disappointed because Ozzie forgets to tell her anything that happens during his day. Enter Joe Randolph with a suggestion: make up stuff! 6/8/60.
Ozzie, Joe and the Fashion Models: While on a fishing trip, Ozzie and Joe are joined by two models doing a layout for a magazine. 10/2/63.

Vol. 3: The Speech: An Army officer makes a speech that bumps Ozzie's oration. 3/6/1953.
The Car Mix-Up: Harriet accidentally drives off in the wrong car! 1/27/56. 29:23
The Duenna: When Dave dates a Spanish girl Ozzie goes along to accompany her guardian who’s a knockout and very amorous! Guest Stars: Lucita, Lina Romay. 2/6/57.
The Dancing Lessons: To surprise the girls at the Womens Club Dance Night, Ozzie and Joe secretly take dancing lessons from two beautiful instructors. Guest Stars: Mary Jane Croft, Juli Reding, Lola Valadez. 9/28/61.

Vol. 4: Boxing Matches: Novice boxer Thorny belts experienced Ozzie. . 5/15/1953.
Tutti-Fruiti Ice Cream: After reading an article about a policeman finding a lost boy and giving him tutti-frutti ice cream, the Nelson family go on a madcap search all over town to find that particular flavor, and eventually get lost! 12/11/57.
Road Race: Ozzie pits his junky jalopy against David & Ricky's hot rod. 1/8/58.
Decorating Dave's Office: After June gets the bug to re-decorate Dave’s office, he tries to find a way to tell her he has hired a professional (and female!) decorator. Guest Star: Sally Kellerman. 3/21/63.

Vol. 5: Fall Guy: Ozzie quickly regrets advising David against allowing people to take advantage of his good nature. 10/24/1952.
The Magic of Three: Oz and his friends become waiters at the women’s club banquet. With original commercials. 5/21/58.
The Exploding Book: Dave and Rick plan revenge on Wally who gave David a gag gift to give to his girlfriend. Guest Star: Luana Patten. With original commercials. 3/14/59. Ricky sings “You Tear Me Up.”
The Bird's Nest: A robin builds a nest in the Nelson’s broken rain gutter. 5/7/54.

Vol. 6: The Bridge Group: Ozzie tries to change his routine then feels left out when the new neighbor takes his place with the guys. With original commercials. Guest Stars: Steve Brodie, Gordon Jones. 6/4/58.
David the Sleuth: Dave plays detective in order to follow a sinister character. 11/18/59.
The Reading Room: Ozzie tries to get Harriet, Dave and Rick to do more reading. 2/20/57.
The Fruitcake: Ozzie gets a fruitcake as a present every Christmas, and tries to exchange it. 1/7/1956.

Vol. 7: A Letter About Harriet: Harriet and Clara want their men to enter a newspaper contest; writing an essay on "Why I Love My Wife". 4/1/64.
The Petition: Dave and Ricky investigate a suspicious law client, but they need her signiture to verify she is who she says she is. 1/6/65.
Old Band Pavillion: Ozzie tries to start a band at the men’s club to give a concert in the park. Guest Stars: Edgar Buchanan, Hal Smith. 2/26/58.
Late Christmas Gift: Ozzie and David receive belated Christmas gifts from Grandma Nelson. 12/26/52.

Vol. 8: The Pajama Game: Ozzie & Thorny both get locked out of their house in their pajamas. 4/1/55.
A Ball of Tin Foil: Ozzie rents a trailer to clear the garage of all the junk, but the small job quickly turns into something bigger. 11/25/55.
A Day in Bed: Ozzie decides to stay home in bed for one whole day to relax. 3/23/56.
The Boys' Christmas Money: The boys decide go to work to earn money for Christmas shopping. 12/19/52.

Vol. 9: Ozzie's Triple Banana Surprise: Ozzie has a restless night after eating two huge Triple Banana Surprise sundaes, and dreams about some strange phone calls...or is it a dream? 11/20/57.
Rick Gets Even: Rick borrows David's car just in time for a pretty girl to smash up the fender! She facetiously offers to be Rick's "slave" to pay off the debt, but to her chagrin, Rick accepts her offer. Guest Star: Tuesday Weld. 12/16/59. Ricky sings “Somebody.”
Two Small Boys and a Dog: Dave has a problem when their little friends Steve and Barry find a dog and insist that Dave decides which one gets to keep him. Guest Stars: Barry Livingstone, Roberta Shore, Joe Flynn. 2/15/61.
Seas Captain: A sea captain, old buddy of Ozzie's from Rutgers, comes to visit. 10/7/1959

Vol. 10: Dave and the Fraternity Lease: The lease on the fraternity house is expiring and the landlady wants to turn it into a sorority, so Rick goes to Dave for help. 4/18/63.
The Odd Bolt: Ozzie finds an odd bolt while cleaning out a chest of drawers and drives himself and everyone else crazy trying to find out where it came from. 12/10/54.
The Initiation: Thorny gets worried when his son is about to be initiated into the guy's club. Thorny's afraid because of Ozzie's hair-raising stories of his old club's initiations. 3/5/54.
The Girl Who Loses Things: Everywhere Rick goes he keeps bumping into "the girl who loses things.” He gets into trouble with his girlfriend Joyce and enlists Wally to bail him out. 1/4/1961

Vol. 11 -- Christmas Specials
The Girl in the Emporium:
Ricky and Wally spend all their Christmas shopping money trying to impress a cute girl at the emporium. 12/14/60.
The Christmas Tree Lot: Rick and Dave sell Christmas trees to raise the money to buy Ozzie a present. Ozzie sings and plays the guitar! Guest Stars: Gavin Gordon, Barbara Pepper. Rick sings. 12/18/57.
A Busy Christmas Ozzie is talked into acting as Santa for the Men's Club and also as Scrooge in a short play. He also is asked to sing Christmas Carols with all three things being on the same night. He tries hard to get a Christmas tree and put up decorations on the house but finds it impossible with the other commitments. 12/19/1956.
The Day After Christmas Feeling nostalgic on the day after Christmas, Ozzie is determined to take the family ice skating up at the lake. 12/26/56.

Vol. 12: Dave's Golf Story: Dave hits a hole-in-one while golfing with Wally, who decides to write an article about it in the school newspaper, using himself as the hero. 3/8/61.
A Matter of Inches: Ozzie promises David he will give him $50 when he is the same height as Oz. 12/17/54.
Rick's Riding Lessons: Rick gives guitar lessons to a beautiful girl in exchange for riding lessons. Guest Stars: Venetia Stevenson, Ray Teal. Original commercials. Rick sings. 11/19/58.
David Picks Up the Tab: David invites the family out for dinner at a nightclub. 11/21/56.

Vol. 13: Boy's Paper Route: Dave and Ricky try to earn more money by taking paper routes, but Ozzie ends up doing it, and makes a mess of things! 10/2/53.
Barking Dog: The neighbor's dog keeps Ozzie awake the night before his fishing trip. 11/16/61.
The Motorcycle: Ozzie and Harriet try to talk David out of buying a motorcycle. Guest Star: Lucien Littlefield. With original commercials. 12/10/58.
Tigers Go to a Dance Harriet's women's club is sponsoring a dance for 7-10 yr old girls but can't get any boys to attend. Ozzie bribes the Tigers baseball team (of which he is an honorary member) with new baseball equipment if they will attend and dance with the girls. 11/1/1962

Vol. 14: The Bachelor: The story of how Oz, Harriet and Darby get a long-time bachelor friend married. Guest Star: John Archer. With original commercials. 4/16/58.
David's 17th Birthday: David invites an "older" girl to his 17th birthday party. While he tries to keep his age a secret, Harriet shows the girl home movies of Dave as a baby! 10/23/53.
The Little Black Box: After explaining why women are more curious than men, Ozzie is challenged by Harriet and Clara that he can't keep from opening a little black box before Saturday. 5/13/59.
Rick and the Maid of Honor Jimmy is getting married to Roberta, but the fraternity brothers kid Jimmy about getting married. 9/27/1962

Vol. 15: Little Handprints in the Sidewalk: When they re-do their sidewalk, Ozzie and Harriet must try to find a place to keep the cement block with Dave and Ricky's handprints. 4/19/62.
Jealous Joe Randolph: When Ozzie helps Clara pick out a fishing pole for Joe's birthday, Joe begins to suspect that Ozzie is running around with his wife. 2/4/59.
His Brother's Girl: Big trouble when Dave falls for Rick’s new girlfriend. 10/19/60.
Painting from the Past An old girlfriend returns a painting that Rick did for her many years ago. The painting then becomes an object of jealousy between Kris and Rick. Wally to the rescue. 3/17/1965

Vol. 16: A Rose a Day: Harriet tells a story of how Ozzie sent her a rose every day when he was away on a trip, but Ozzie doesn't remember doing it, and if he didn't, who did? 9/22/65.
A Bedtime Story: The Dean gets Ricky and his friends to help the school set a record for staying in bed for the longest time. 3/31/65.
A Sweater for Rick: Rick’s girlfriend plans to knit him a sweater for a present. 11/9/60.
Rick Grows a Beard: Rick's new beard sets off a 'chin reaction' among his male friends and relatives, who decide to grow their own. 1/20/1965

Vol. 17: The Manly Arts: Dave and Ricky do some menial tasks for a private investigator, and Mom and Dad begin to worry that they'll get hurt. 3/29/61.
A Question of Suits and Ties: The girls sororiety vows that they will have nothing more to do with Dave and Ricky's frat until they start dressing better. In Black and White. 4/5/61.
David's Almost In-Laws: Ozzie and Harriet think Dave is getting married when they are invited to dinner at a girl’s house. 11/23/60.
A Friend in Need: After Rick lends his buddy $100, Ozzie begins to wonder if he has any real friends. Guest Star: Hal Smith. 11/16/1960.

Vol. 18: Father's Night at the Fraternity: Dave, Rick, Wally and the guys plan a Dad’s Night to hit them up for money for the fraternity pool. With original commercials. 12/2/59.
The Puppy: Trouble starts when the puppy that Ozzie and the boys gave Harriet runs away.
The Table and the Painting: Joe gives the Nelsons a dreadful table he just made, so to get back at him, the Nelsons give Joe an equally bad painting that Ozzie did. 11/2/60.
Rick Counts the Ballots: Rick has a hard time keeping the results of the prom queen election a secret. 12/28/1960.

Vol. 19: Rick's Broken Arm: Rick pretends to have a broken arm to help out Wally. Now all the girls are so concerned and helpful that he decides to keep the cast on for a while. 3/15/61.
A Lawnmower for Ozzie: It's been a long time since Joe borrowed Ozzie's lawn mower and Ozzie's fed up. With a hacksaw, Oz and Rick try to break into Joe's garage to get it back. Guest Stars: Bill Hummer, Barry Livingston. 12/7/60.
The Special Cake: One year ago Dave proposed to June. She thinks he has special plans. He does. A poker game with Rick, Wally and the guys. 1/18/62.
The Kappa Gamma Party David tries to hold a rush party for his fraternity at the Nelson home--without the rest of the family getting in the way. 10/3/56

Vol. 20: An Evening with Hamlet: Ozzie & gang read Hamlet. Guest Star: John Carradine, 4/23/54
Halloween Party: Halloween with the Nelsons. Guest Star: Jerry Mathers. 10/31/52
The Pancake Mix: Ricky plans to make his first million by exploiting the "double your money back" guarantee on a box of pancake mix. 3/10/53.
The New Chairs: All Ozzie wants are two new chairs for the living room, but the department store gets the order a little wrong! 9/18/53.

Vol. 21 - Separate Rooms: When Ozzie advocates for separate bedrooms for the boys, Harriet thinks he is hinting for his own separate bedroom. 2/6/53.
The Banjo Player: Rick and his band get their first engagement to play at a sorority dance. Ozzie and his friend think they might be able to play banjos at the dance. 10/31/56.
Ozzie and the Space Age: To win a contest, Oz tries to fake a photo of a flying saucer. 1/28/59.
The Pennies: Ozzie, entrusted with a jar filled with pennies that the kids in the neighborhood have collected, takes it to a poker game, unaware that the jar contains some scarce and collectible cents. 10/28/64.

Vol. 22: Ricky the Milkman: Rick takes over a friend's milk delivery route as a short-term favor. 12/14/61.
The Editor: Harriet becomes editor of the women’s club newsletter. 3/27/57.
Ozzie's Daughters: Ozzie becomes a temporary father to two teenage girl houseguests. 11/5/58.
Piano for the Fraternity: The Fraternity needs a piano for their Christmas party. 12/21/60.

Vol. 23: Rick Sends a Picture: Confusion over a picture Rick autographs. 11/15/1962.
David & the Teenager: Teenage girl has a crush on David. 2/7/1963.
The Swami: Ozzie performs a mind reading act at the women’s club dance. 1/8/1964
A Wife in the Office: June becomes Dave’s secretary while his regular one is on vacation. 2/5/1964.
Treasurer’s Report: Oz uses Rick’s tape recorder to give his report at the men’s club. 10/16/1957.

Vol. 24: Selling Rick's Drums: Dave schemes to sell Rick’s drums so he can meet a girl first. 4/19/1961.
E.S.P.: Joe and Ozzie fool the girls into thinking they have E.S.P. 4/26/1961.
June and the Great Outdoors: David takes June on her first camping trip. 1/10/1963
Blue Moose: The frat house is in sore need of a fresh coat of paint, so Wally devises a risky scheme to get another fraternity to do the work for them. 10/23/63

Vol. 25: The Big Dog: Rick gives Kris a Great Dane for her birthday. 1/27/65.
The Desk Photo: Kris decides that Rick should have her picture on his desk. 3/3/65.
A Hairstyle for Harriet: Ozzie does his best to keep Harriet from changing her hairstyle. 1/9/57.
The Jet Pilot: Ozzie is chosen as the first civilian passenger to fly in a new jet plane. 3/13/57.

Vol. 26: Ricky the Drummer: Ricky starts playing drums for the school dance, but aspires to more. 4/10/1957.
The Fourteen Mile Hike: Ozzie’s nature hike with a group of boys will prevent him from playing in the golf tournament. 12/4/1957.
Flying Down to Lunch: Joe and Ozzie impulsively decide to take a small plane to Mexico for lunch. 11/17/1965.
Dave Goofs Off: Dave attempts to impress the senior partner at the law firm. 3/9/1960.

Vol. 27: The Pills: Ozzie takes pills to win a weight losing contest with Thorny. 10/17/1952.
Ping Pong Tournament: Ozzie must decide which son to enter the tournament with. 3/19/1954.
Rick’s Raise: David must decide whether to give Rick a raise at work. 2/17/1965.
Breakfast for Harriet: Harriet comes down with a terrible cold and Ozzie plays nursemaid. 2/24/1965.

Vol. 28: David Goes Back to Work: It is Dave's first day back to work after getting married to June. He keeps trying to phone her and even meet for lunch but work keeps getting in the way. 10/26/1961
The Prowler: Ozzie pretends to go fishing to avoid playing bridge with Joe and Clara. 10/13/1965.
A Cruise for Harriet: Harriet cons Oz into taking her on a cruise instead of fishing. 6/11/1958.
Rick’s Dinner Guest: Rick invites his girlfriend’s family over for dinner on the night of Ozzie’s big poker game. 1/21/1959.

Vol. 29: The Fraternity Rents Out a Room: Rick and Wally move into an empty room in the frat house. Guest: Wally Cox. 10/19/1961.
Making Wally Study: Rick and the gang have trouble keeping Wally’s mind on the books. 2/22/1962.
The Little Houseguest: The neighbor’s son wants a baby boy to play with but gets a sister. 3/22/1961.
The Rover Boys: Ozzie and Thorny argue over a Rover Boys book and end up hip deep in Ancient Greek History. 1/30/53.

Vol. 30: Kris Plays Cupid: Kris tries to get Ginger and Wally back together. 11/25/1964.
David Hires a Secretary: David needs a temp while his secretary is on vacation. 11/30/1960.
Kelly’s Important Papers: Ozzie and Harriet need to deliver papers to David’s boss. 3/1/1961.
An Old Friend of June’s: Dave invites June’s old boy friend to dinner, then gets stuck at the office with his beautiful new secretary. 12/13/1962.

Vol. 31: Orchid and the Violet: Ozzie is upset when the florist mistakes Ozzie as a homeless man, and sends Harriet orchids instead of the requested violets. 4/3/1953.
Fish Story: Ozzie starts a rumor about a hot fishing spot, then falls prey to it himself. 4/24/1953.
The Play's the Thing: Ozzie and Thorny are lured into the women's club play. 5/29/1953.
Window Pane: Harriet finally gets Ozzie to fix a broken window. 10/9/1953.

Vol. 32: The Ladder: Ozzie and Thorny end up getting stuck on the roof without a ladder to get down.. 11/27/1953.
Parental Guidance: Ozzie lets Ricky stay up late to watch TV, and lets David use bar bells. 12/4/1953.
The Miracle: At Christmas, Ozzie recalls the special childhood wish he had. 12/25/1953.
Lonesome Parents: Ozzie and Harriet haven't heard from Dave or June for two weeks and they're worried there may be some ill feelings. 3/15/1962.

Vol. 33: Over Protection: Young Ricky gets invited to take a bus trip on his own to visit grandparents, but Ozzie fears the worst. 1/17/55.
Friend of the Family: Stuff happens. 5/14/1954.
Cameras: The boys get new cameras. 1/15/1954.
Harriet Gives a Party: Ozzie helps Harriet with invitations. 2/19/1954.

Vol. 34: Tuxedo for David Ozzie has trouble getting tuxedos for David and Ricky for the big dance. 5/21/1954.
The Usher David interviews for a job as usher in a movie theater. 11/12/1954.
Football Hero Ricky milks his football injury - marching in the band rather than playing in the game. 10/7/1955.
Bowling Alley Ozzie sneaks off to bowl. Does Harriet beat his score in her novice game? 3/27/1953.

Vol. 35: David Writes a Column David writes about school baseball team for newspaper. 4/2/1954.
New Neighbor Ozzie gets off on the wrong foot with new neighbor played by Frank Cady. 4/30/1954.
Taking Care of Freddie Ozzie babysits for next door neighbor's kitten. 6/19/1957.
Gas Station Harriet's womens club takes over gas station to raise money. 11/25/1959.

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