View source for The Pruitts of Southampton

{{Short description|1966 American comedy TV series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| alt_name             = The Phyllis Diller Show
| image                = The Pruitts of Southampton.jpg
| caption              =
| genre                = [[Situation comedy]]
| creator              = David Levy<br />(based on the novel ''House Party'' by [[Patrick Dennis]])
| starring             = [[Phyllis Diller]]<br />[[Gypsy Rose Lee]]<br />[[Reginald Gardiner]]<br />[[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]]<br />[[Grady Sutton]]<br />[[Pam Freeman]]<br />[[John Astin]]<br />[[Marty Ingels]]<br />[[Paul Lynde]]<br />[[Lisa Loring]]
| theme_music_composer = [[Vic Mizzy]] (two different themes were used during the season)
| composer             = [[Vic Mizzy]]
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 1
| num_episodes         = 30 [17 ''Pruitts of Southampton''/13 ''Phyllis Diller Show'']
| executive_producer   = David Levy
| producer             = Nat Perrin<br />Everett Freeman
| location             = 
| company              = [[Filmways|Filmways TV Productions]], in association with PhilDil Productions Limited
| camera               = 
| runtime              = 30 min.
| network              = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired          = {{start date|1966|9|6}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1967|4|7}} 
}}

'''''The Pruitts of Southampton''''' is an American [[situation comedy]] that aired during the [[1966-67 United States network television schedule|1966-67 season]] on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] network. The show was based on the [[novel]] ''House Party'' (1954) by [[Patrick Dennis]]. It was ABC's attempt to turn female stand-up comic [[Phyllis Diller]] into a sitcom comedienne very much in the style of [[Lucille Ball]]. Child actress [[Lisa Loring]] formerly of TV's ''[[The Addams Family (1964 TV series)|The Addams Family]]'' also had a small role on the show as Phyllis's daughter 
Suzy Pruitt.

The program starred Diller as Phyllis Pruitt, and featured [[Gypsy Rose Lee]] and [[Richard Deacon (actor)|Richard Deacon]] in supporting roles with Diller feeling the series was an inverted version of ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]''.<ref name=lampshade>{{cite book |title=Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My Life in Comedy |last1=Diller |first1=Phyllis |last2=Buskin |first2=Richard |year=2005 |publisher=The Penguin Group |location=New York |isbn=1-58542-396-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/likelampshadeinw00dill/page/190 190–193] |url=https://archive.org/details/likelampshadeinw00dill/page/190 }}</ref>  The show's producers originally sought comic actress [[Beatrice Lillie]] in the Diller role.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BrIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BJwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3467,6561965&dq=pruitts+of+southampton&hl=en The Curtain Will Rise Soon for 34 New Television Programs], published August 28, 1966, in the ''[[Reading Eagle]]'', page 27; via [[Google News Archive]]</ref>  Exteriors of the [[Biltmore Estate]] in [[Asheville, North Carolina]] were used as the locale.

In 2002, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked it number 20 on its TV Guide's 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list.<ref>{{cite book|title=TV Guide Guide to TV|year=2004|publisher=Barnes and Noble|isbn=0-7607-5634-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/228 228]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/228}}</ref>

==Premise==
The Pruitts, a supposedly incredibly [[wealth]]y family living on [[Long Island]] in [[the Hamptons]], have been approached by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] about overdue [[income tax|taxes]].  An [[audit]] revealed that the Pruitts were in fact broke.  Rather than reveal this fact publicly and cause the economic [[depression (economics)|depression]] which would presumably result, an improbably charitable IRS allowed them to continue living in their mansion and maintaining the pretensions of great wealth, which was difficult given their reduced circumstances. By mid-season, in order to raise more money, Phyllis Pruitt had opened the mansion to boarders, attracting a "nutty" collection of tenants as well, a group that included [[Paul Lynde]] as her hopeless brother, [[John Astin]] as her brother-in-law, and [[Marty Ingels]] as a handyman.

In the [[premiere]] episode, Phyllis Pruitt unsuccessfully tries to roast a turkey in a front-loading washing machine.<ref>[http://www.scrubbles.net/scrubs5/tvmoments.html 100 Favorite Moments in Television at scrubbles.net]</ref>

==Development and history==
The show was created by executive producer David Levy, who also served in the same capacity on the ABC television series ''[[The Addams Family]]'' from 1964 to 1966. When ABC canceled that show in the spring of 1966, a few ''Addams Family'' alumni were recruited for the Diller series. [[Vic Mizzy]], who composed the finger-snapping theme song to ''The Addams Family'', composed the musical theme for Diller's show as well.

According to ''Television'' magazine, ''The Pruitts of Southampton'' finished 77th among the 91 shows rated during the 1966–1967 season. It began the season airing on Tuesdays, opposite ''[[The Red Skelton Hour]]'' on [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]], which finished second in the ratings.

On January 13, 1967, with the episode "Little Miss Fixit", the program changed its title to '''''The Phyllis Diller Show'''''. John Astin, who played Gomez Addams on ''The Addams Family'', joined the cast the same month, and the show began airing on Fridays. In addition, the series marked a reunion for Astin and Marty Ingels who had starred in the 1962-1963 ABC-TV  sitcom, ''[[I'm Dickens, He's Fenster]]''.

In the fall of 1968, [[NBC]] signed Diller to a weekly variety series hoping that the comedian would have the same kind of success that [[Carol Burnett]] had achieved for the rival network [[CBS]]. The program, entitled ''The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show'', did poorly in ratings and was canceled after three months.

==Episode list==
{| class=wikitable style="background:#FFFFFF"
! style="background:#FFD700; width:20px"| {{abbr|Nº|Number}}
! style="background:#FFD700"| Title
! style="background:#FFD700"| Directed by:
! style="background:#FFD700"| Written by:
! style="background:#FFD700; width:135px"| Original air date
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Phyllis Goes Broke
| DirectedBy = [[Gene Nelson]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay
| t = Stanley Roberts;
  | ex1 = Lawrence J. Cohen,<br />Fred Freeman
  | tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}
  | ex1label = {{abbr|S/T|Story and teleplay by}}
  }}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|9|6}}
| ShortSummary = [[Television pilot|Series pilot]].
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Phyllis, the Milkmaid
| DirectedBy = [[Oscar Rudolph]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay
| t = Leo Rifkin;
  | ex1 = Sidney A. Mandel,<br />Roy Kammerman
  | tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}
  | ex1label = {{abbr|S/T|Story and teleplay by}}
  }}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|9|13}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Phyllis Beats the Rap
| DirectedBy = [[Nat Perrin]]
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|9|20}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Phyllis, Take a Letter
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|9|27}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Phyllis, the Cookie Tycoon
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|10|4}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Phyllis Fires the Butler
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|10|11}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Phyllis Saves the Day
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|10|18}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = Phyllis Goes Commercial
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|10|25}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = Phyllis Entertains Royalty
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|11|1}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = Phyllis, the Upstairs Girl
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|11|15}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| Title = Phyllis, the General Stealer
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|11|22}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| Title = Phyllis, the Dress Maker
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = Howard Harris,<br />Sydney Zelinka
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|11|29}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| Title = Phyllis Goes Arty
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|12|6}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 14
| Title = Santa Was a Lady
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|12|13}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 15
| Title = The Hubcap Caper
| DirectedBy = [[Nat Perrin]]
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|12|20}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 16
| Title = Phyllis, Queen of the Road
| DirectedBy = [[Hollingsworth Morse]]
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1966|12|27}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 17
| Title = My Brother Harvey
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|1|3}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 18
| Title = Little Miss Fixit
| DirectedBy = [[Arthur Lubin]]
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|1|13}}
| ShortSummary = First episode as ''The Phyllis Diller Show''
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 19
| Title = Learn to Be a Millionaire
| DirectedBy = Nat Perrin
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|1|20}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 20
| Title = The Ghost of Pruitt Mansion
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|1|27}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 21
| Title = Portrait of Krump
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|2|3}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 22
| Title = How to Rob a Millionaire
| DirectedBy = Nat Perrin
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|2|10}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 23
| Title = Nobody Here But Us Chickens
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|2|17}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 24
| Title = Phyllis, the Bat Girl
| DirectedBy = Arthur Lubin
| WrittenBy = Lou Derman,<br />Elon Packard
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|2|24}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 25
| Title = Marry a Million
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|3|3}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 26
| Title = Goddess of Love
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|3|10}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 27
| Title = My Sister-in-Law Phyllis
| DirectedBy = [[Ralph Levy]]
| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay
 | s = Carol & Joseph Cavella;
 | t = Nat Perrin
 | slabel = {{abbr|S|Story by}}
 | tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}
 }}
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|3|17}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 28
| Title = Krump, the Playboy
| DirectedBy = 
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|3|24}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 29
| Title = Phyllis, the Beauty Queen
| DirectedBy = Arthur Lubin
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|3|31}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 30
| Title = The House Is Not a Zoo
| DirectedBy = Arthur Lubin
| WrittenBy = 
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1967|4|7}}
| ShortSummary = 
| LineColor = FFD700
}}
|}

==References==
* Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''[[The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0060017}}
*[http://www.tvparty.com/pruittes.html Commercial site with Videoclip of opening sequence]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pruitts of Southampton, The}}
[[Category:Television shows based on American novels]]
[[Category:1960s American sitcoms]]
[[Category:1966 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1967 American television series endings]]
[[Category:Television series about families]]
[[Category:Television series by MGM Television]]
[[Category:Television shows set in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Television shows set on Long Island]]
[[Category:Television series by Filmways]]
[[Category:Television shows set in country houses]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company sitcoms]]