The Courtship Of Eddie's Father

When Tom (Bill Bixby) and his son Eddie (Brandon Cruz) spend an evening touring MGM Studios, Eddie just happens to make friends with a curvaceous young lady named Dolly Daley (Victoria Vettri) who has come alone to Hollywood to be a "star." Always on the lookout for matrimonial matches for his dad, Eddie finds out she has no place to stay and invites her to come home with him. When Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) arrives the next morning to find the attractive brunette sleeping in the living room, Tom has a very hard time explaining.

A romantic situation develops after Tom (Bill Bixby) meets Miss Allen (Ann Prentiss), Eddie's (Brandon Cruz) schoolteacher. When Eddie's classmates find out, he's teased and tagged a "teacher's pet." But,when he comes home with a black eye, Tom and Miss Allen decide it's best for everyone if they stop dating. Meanwhile, Eddie has worked out the problem in his own way.

Tom (Bill Bixby) falls in love, and wants to marry a charming model named Lynn (Diana Muldaur) whom he has known for some time. Lynn is also very much in love with him. But when Lynn volunteers to spend a day taking care of Eddie (Brandon Cruz), who is home with a cold, she realizes that she isn't ready for domesticity, or the responsibility of raising a young boy.

Eddie (Brandon Cruz) decides that Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) should have a "someone" of her own to love. So, one day he brings home a five-year-old Japanese boy named Frank (Mitchell Sakamoto) to "give" to the housekeeper. When Frank won't tell his last name, Tom (Bill Bixby) summons a policeman (Bill Dana) and makes a "kidnapping" report. Later, Frank's father, Duke (Pat Morita), and his mother, Kendis (Miko Mayama), appear. But it is a bittersweet reunion. And Eddie concludes that he and Tom can be Mrs. Livingston's "someone."

Photographer Norman Tinker (James Komack) decides to do a story on computer dating and enrolls his boss, Tom Corbett (Bill Bixby), at a computer service to get a personalized report. Very reluctantly, Tom agrees. When Eddie (Brandon Cruz) takes a strong liking to Diane (Sabrina Scharf), Tom's "computer mate," and Diane starts making wedding plans, Tom tells her that he's only doing research for a story. Tears follow,.and then a discussion in which Diane and Tom find out that while you can't fool a computer, you can fool yourself.

When Eddie (Brandon Cruz) balks at leaving for his first day at school, Tom (Bill Bixby) wonders if his child is too young to go. His doubts seem confirmed when the youngster runs away from the classroom and back to the comfort of his home. Returned to school, Eddie gets into a fight and then refuses to go back the following day. A wise word from Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) and a little reverse psychology on Tom's part solve the problem. But not without a touch of painful "growing up" for Eddie--and his father.

Eddie (Brandon Cruz) can't wait to have dad (Bill Bixby) meet his new little friend Max (Jimmy Cole) -- who incidentally has a beautiful mother, and no father. So Tom phones the boy's mother, Mrs. Betty Kelly (CICELY TYSON - "Sounder," "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman") to arrange for Max to spend the weekend. Tom is charmed by Betty's manner on the phone, and invites her to stay for dinner when she brings her son over to the apartment. The boy and his mother arrive -- and Tom and Betty experience a mutual surprise.

Tom (Bill Bixby) discovers that Eddie (Brandon Cruz) is upset because a bully named Joey (Jody Foster) is always beating him up at school. When Tom unexpectedly finds out that Joey is a girl-- albeit a tough tomboy, who has no mother, but a loving father (David Ketchum) who doesn't know how to cope with her--he invites the two over for a visit. Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) offers Joey some pointers in being a lady. The results are a surprise to everyone, including Eddie.

Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) appears happy but preoccupied, and Tom (Bill Bixby) discovers she is being courted by a well-to-do Japanese manufacturer, Mr. Saito (GEORGE TAKEI - "Star Trek" TV series and feature films). At a dinner party, Mr. Saito tells Tom and Eddie (Brandon Cruz) that he and Mrs. Livingston are going to be married. Eddie and his father are torn between wishing happiness for their housekeeper and not wanting her to leave them. But Mrs. Livingston works things out in her own way.

Tom (Bill Bixby) has always emphasized the value of true friendship to Eddie (Brandon Cruz). But his philosophy is put to a severe test when a not-too-well-remembered "buddy" named Harvey Henshaw (Warren Berlinger) from Tom's school days arrives in town anxious to recall "the good old days." Without meaning to impose, Harvey somehow winds up staying at Tom's apartment for several days, stretching their friendship to the breaking point.

Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki) suffers a loss of face when she flunks a test at her evening English class. A playmate's story about the Japanese custom of hari-kari frightens Eddie (Brandon Cruz) into thinking that the housekeeper is about to follow the old custom. He trails her around the apartment all day long, until Tom (Bill Bixby) comes home, and the situation is resolved.

Norman Tinker (James Komack), Tom's (Bill Bixby) zany, trendy art director, and Tina (Kristina Holland), his slightly kooky secretary, impulsively decide to get married. Tom doesn't think either one of them is ready for such a serious step, but says nothing. It takes a remark by Eddie (Brandon Cruz) to make Tina and Norman realize that they are in love with "love" and not really ready to settle down.

Bob (Jonathan Daly), father of Eddie's (Brandon Cruz) friend Danny (Teddy Quinn) is an expert on camping. He invites Tom (Bill Bixby) and Eddie along for a weekend trip in the woods to "build character," as he puts it. The outing almost turns into a shambles as Bob's drill-sergeant attitude clashes with Tom and the Eddie's efforts to relax and have fun. In the end, Bob learns an important lesson in fatherhood.

Eddie's (Brandon Cruz) teacher, Miss Lester (Pamela Peadon) is going to have a baby, and the mothers of Eddie's classmates plan a party for her. Determined that his son will not be left out of the proceedings, Tom (Bill Bixby) volunteers to bring the sandwiches. Reluctantly, the mothers agree, afraid that a man's touch will ruin the party. When Tom shows up with rather strange looking sandwiches that he made himself, even Eddie isn't sure that his dad should have volunteered to be a "mother" for a day.

Conflicting emotions arise when Tom's (Bill Bixby) sister-in-law, Eddie's (Brandon Cruz) Aunt Kate (Francine York), arrives in town unexpectedly. Tom remembers her as an almost twin image of his wife, Helen, but hasn't seen her since she moved to Europe, before Eddie was born. To his surprise, Kate has turned into a flamboyant individualist who captivates Eddie, but angers Tom, who doesn't want his son to think his mother was like that. A touching moment between Kate and Eddie makes him realize that the only real problem has been his own still painful memories.

Tom (Bill Bixby) gets Eddie (Brandon Cruz) his very own library card, with an explanation of the responsibility involved. But Eddie's delight turns to terror when he can't find an overdue book, and a friend tells him the police will come after him. Unable to talk with his busy father about it, Eddie decides to turn himself in to the authorities and face the music.

Eddie Brandon Cruz) thinks he's in love with a girl named Elsie (Gabie Grammer), and invites her to his birthday party as a non-obvious way to get to know her better. Elsie turns out to be a tall, rather plain-looking girl, but Eddie only has eyes for her until one of the boys brings a friend named Margaret (Lori Specter)--tiny, cute and suddenly very interested in Eddie. Not quite aware what's happening, Eddie nevertheless makes an important decision in the matter of love, and makes his father very proud.

Eddie, convinced by Miss Bristol, a new neighbor, that he shouldn't expect his father to devote every Sunday to his entertainment, invents a friend. Tom discovers the truth about Eddie's "friend" by following him, and hears about Miss Bristol. He plans to tell off the meddlesome women, but Mrs. Livingston gets to Miss Bristol first.

Eddie falls in love with Glori, his 15-year-old baby-sitter who has a mad crush on his father, Tom Corbett. Eddie proposes, but joyfully gives up the idea when Glori counter-proposes that she become his mother. When Mrs. Livingston learns of the plan, she informs Tom, who demonstrates that they're incompatible -- he's the waltz type and she's groovy.

Mrs. Livingston quits her job as the Corbetts' housekeeper because she feels she has made things so comfortable for Tom that he won't look for a wife. Tom and his son Eddie try to handle the housework alone, but the apartment becomes a mess. The meals are even worse! Then Norman Tinker advises Tom to place an ad in the newspaper, wording it as an appeal to Mrs. Livingston.

Tom Corbett's search for a guardian for Eddie centers on Norman Tinker after he discovers there's an unbridgeable generation gap between Eddie and his grandmother. Tom observes a complete lack of communication between Grandmother Corbett and Eddie during a visit. When Norman drops in after Mrs. Corbett leaves, Tom sees a demonstration of love and understanding between a child and an adult.

Tom Corbett promises Eddie he will get Mrs. Livingston's expired visa renewed, but at the immigration office Miss Ritter says "no." Eddie, as upset as Mrs. Livingston, reminds his father "a promise is a promise" and asks him to try again. When Tom realizes Miss Ritter misunderstands Mrs. Livingston's place in the household, he takes Eddie along to the interview.

Norman Tinker goes on a watermelon-only diet and resolves to stick to it. He spends the weekend at the Corbetts', asking Tom, Eddie and Mrs. Livingston to help him stay on his diet. At a midnight-meeting in front of the open refrigerator, Eddie bolsters the backslider's will power.

When Tom Corbett realizes Mrs. Cissy Drummond-Randolph, chairwoman of the magazine's board of directors, plans to eliminate the darkroom to get rid of Norman Tinker, Tom threatens to quit his job. Cissy takes an instant dislike to Norman, but Tom defends his friend's creativity. Cissy then uses her business wiles to convince Tom that the photographic operation is too expensive.

Tom Corbett's new secretary, Miss Atwater, is so efficient she makes Tom nervous, and he gets hiccups. Tina, Tom's former secretary, quit because her astrology sign is incompatible with his. When Mrs. Livingston learns the cause of,the hiccups, she arranges a session of I'Ching, an oriental forecasting method, for Tina's benefit.

Tom convinces his son Eddie to return a bank bag containing several thousand dollars the boy found on the street, but instead of praise, Eddie's classmates derisively call him a goody-goody. Eddie vows never to go back to school, telling his father the other kids' parents are referring to Tom as a dummy. Tom is hard pressed to justify his advice to Eddie.