One of the promotional photos CBS used in the series' first season.
One of the promotional photos CBS used in the series' first season.
Rufus and Bert, together in the original diner location.
The series made the cover of TV Guide's November 16, 1968 issue with an article inside about Herb Edelman. Two months earlier, all three stars were featured on the cover of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sunday TV Magazine; no in-depth story was featured inside--just a brief paragraph on the index page which incorrectly addressed the show by its original working title, Two Good Guys.
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THE FIRST SEASON Whatever faults this series had, the first season episodes were by far the best. These were the ones filmed before a live studio audience (most pre-1970 sitcoms didn't use one), in which Rufus was a cabdriver and certain episodes featured guest appearances by Jim Backus and Alan Hale which, for better or worse, insured more or less that no matter what projects Bob Denver tackled after Gilligan's Island, a part of him would always remain shipwrecked (Hale's character even referred to Rufus as his "little buddy"). Click here to listen to the first-season version of the Good Guys theme followed by the episode credits end music EPISODES: Let 'Em Eat Rolls (Series Pilot) Rufus persuades Bert to manage the career of songwriter Horatio Hollander, whom he found passed out in his cab. One complication: they find they have to employ the services of record producer Arnold Schreck, who was Claudia's old boyfriend, and whom Bert must try to convince that he owns a chain of restaurants--not just one--to avoid having Arnold dismiss him as a failure. GUEST CAST: Arnold Schreck: WILLIAM DANIELS. Horatio Hollander: JIM CONNELL. Bakery Man: BRUCE GLOVER. Unknown Title When Rufus informs Bert about a competing diner offering hickory barbecued hamburgers, Bert invests in the necessary equipment to add the same item to his menu. At the same time, they encounter an insurance agent who feels he's "jinxed", as all his clients tend to become claimants. GUEST CAST: Peckinpaw: HERB VOLAND. Andy: RON MASAK. Hurley: LOU FRIZZELL. Fireman: ED DEEMER Unknown Title Bert and Rufus film a TV commercial for the diner. GUEST CAST: Hal: GEORGE FURTH. Corby: PAUL SMITH. Diane: JANIS HANSEN. Bernice: JUDITH SHERVEN. Bridget: SHERRY LANSING. Unknown Title Bert's at his wit's end and decides to take a sabbatical at a secluded cabin, where he is shortly joined by Rufus, who continues to drive him nuts there as well. (A personal favorite comic high point: the scene in which Rufus slices a loaf of homemade bread the long way). GUEST CAST: Melinda: ANNE HELM. Unknown Title Bert meddles in Rufus' romance with a waitress. GUEST CAST: Roxanne: MARILYN DEVIN. Fred: BRUCE GLOVER. Man: EDDIE QUILLAN. Unknown Title Bert accidently causes Rufus to become injured and allows him to recooperate in the Gramus home. GUEST CAST: Hal: GEORGE FURTH. Judge Bronson: EDMON RYAN. Nurses: ANGEL TOMPKINS, NANCY DE CARLO. Nostradamus Rides Again Rufus seems to have developed ESP and predicts that Bert won't be long for this world. Cause of the impending death: either a gun or a broken lollipop. GUEST CAST: Pop McIntyre: JACK PERKINS. George: THORDIS BRANDT. Louella: LISA GERRITSEN. Credit Won't Buy You Happiness Bert lends his credit card to Rufus, who promptly loses it. GUEST CAST: J.E. Bradley: EDWARD ANDREWS. Repairman: LEW BROWN. Salesman: BOB DUGGAN. Miss Talbot: PAT DELANEY. Unknown Title Mother Watson's, a prosperous restaurant chain, is building a unit too close for comfort to Bert's Place, so Bert fights back by hiring "master builder" Niko Taskovis to do an impressive remodeling job on his diner. GUEST CAST: Niko Taskovis: TITO VANDIS. D.W. Watson: LIAM DUNN. Inspector: MIKE MIKLER. Guess Who's Coming To Poker? Bert is saddened to learn that none of the guys who join him for regular poker-playing sessions want Rufus to join in. GUEST CAST: Hal: GEORGE FURTH. Fred: BRUCE GLOVER. Leon: JAMES McEACHIN. Sake To Me Rufus and Bert try to duplicate the unique recipe for pancakes used by their old Army mess sergeant, the key ingredient for which is sake. GUEST CAST: Hal: GEORGE FURTH. Unknown Title Niko Taskovis returns to ask a favor of Bert: he wants to pose as the diner's owner to impress his mother, who hopes he's achieved success in some way. GUEST CAST: Niko: TITO VANDIS. Katina: LILLI DARVAS. Burns: DON KEEFER. Customer: HOKE HOWELL. Curtis: BOB HASTINGS. Take A Computer To Lunch Rufus, seeking female companionship, tries a computer dating service. His ideal mate according to the machine: Bert's own wife. GUEST CAST: Mike Butterworth: GARY BURGHOFF. Suzi: JENNIFER LEAK. Jim Wheeler: HAL SMITH. Waiter: BOB D'ARCY. Angela: CARLA BORELLI. Jane: PENNY GASTON. Unknown Title When Rufus suggests that the diner could lure more truck driver customers by hiring a worldly waitress, Claudia poses as "Frisco Fritzi", a wise-cracking, hip-swinging server, which doesn't set well at all with Bert. GUEST CAST: Big Tom: ALAN HALE. Gertie: TONI GILMAN. Maurice: GREGG PALMER. Tough Customer: JACK PERKINS. Truck Driver: PETE KELLETT. Mailman: OSCAR LANE. Wanted: An Honest Thief Bert's Place becomes a 24-hour business, requiring Bert and Rufus to hire some additional help--unfortunately, the man they hired turns out to be an ex-con. GUEST CAST: Frank: JOHN McLIAM. Bender: JACK PERKINS. Customer: BOB RITCHIE. Policeman: ROY ENGEL. Arlene: JOAN DELANEY. Man: ANTHONY JAMES. The Importance Of Being Hairy Bert's birthday is approaching, and Rufus, feeling that Bert isn't pleased with the prospect of being bald in addition to getting older, decides to get him a toupee as a gift. His first step in this touchy task: trying to get his head measured without arousing suspicion. GUEST CAST: Selwyn: JAMES MILHOLLIN. Bender: JACK PERKINS. Ice Cream Man: RICHARD HOYT. Bakery Man: ROBERT D'ARCY. Customer: GEORGE PETRARCA. The Courtship Of Miles Butterworth Rufus and Bert's truck driver pal Big Tom is in love with Gertie Zabisco who works at another restaurant, but can't work up the courage to ask for her hand in marriage, so he persuades Rufus to give her the message a la John Alden. But Gertie's three tough brothers know Tom's notorious habit of jilting prospective brides once he goes on a drinking binge after proposing, and they intend to make short work of Rufus if he and Bert can't convince him to go through with the wedding. GUEST CAST: Big Tom: ALAN HALE. Gertie: TONI GILMAN. Steve Zabisco: VICTOR TAYBACK. Minister: PEPPER MARTIN. Harry: OSCAR LANE. |
Big Tom (guest star Alan Hale) begs Rufus to use his gift for saying just the right thing to tell Gertie of Tom's desire to marry her.
Big Tom and Gertie make it to the wedding on time. But how long will they remain in wedded bliss?
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The World's Second Greatest Lover Bert hires Julian Brent--who is irresistable to women and unhappy about it--to help out at the diner. GUEST CAST: Julian Brent: TOM POSTON. Stella: VALERIE HAWKINS. Enrico: JOSEPH MASCOLO. Chauffeur: PAT O'HARA. Girl: SUNNY WALTON. Win, Place And Kill When a bookie who's been operating out of the diner takes it on the lam, Bert and Rufus are left to face a pair of hoods in pursuit of both him and the $50,000 he took. GUEST CAST: Gunner: LEONARD STONE. Chop-Chop: LEE KOLIMA. Charlie: ROY E. GLENN SR. Bender: JACK PERKINS. Pete: NICK STEVENS. Father Knows Nothing Claudia's father Henry Arsdale drops in on the guys and tries to convince them to let him take Claudia on a Florida vacation by making them believe his days are numbered. GUEST CAST: Henry Arsdale: JIM BACKUS. Bender: JACK PERKINS. Once More Without Feeling A Hollywood movie studio uses the diner as the setting for a dramatic movie--with Rufus, Bert and Claudia as its stars. GUEST CAST: Larry Tomack: MICHAEL CONSTANTINE. Script Girl: ANDREE MAC COLL. Customer: GEORGE PETRARCA. The Splitting Headache Big Tom has had it with married life and decides to room with Rufus. GUEST CAST: Big Tom: ALAN HALE. Sylvia: PATRICIA STICH. |
Big Tom pays a pre-marital visit to Bert and Rufus.
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Love Comes To Annie Butterworth Bert schemes to get Henry Arsdale out of his life by finding him a wife. Somehow, the efforts of a lady astrologer get Henry paired with Rufus' mother. GUEST CAST: Dorothy Sherman: PATTY REGAN. Annie Butterworth: MARJORIE REYNOLDS. The Best Ship Of All Is Friendship In a transitional episode, Bert is forced to put his diner up for auction...and Rufus winds up being the top bidder. GUEST CAST: D.W. Watson: LIAM DUNN. Auctioneer: DORT CLARK. First Nun: PEGGY REA. Second Nun: ANN LOOS. Arlene: JOAN DELANEY. Unknown Title GUEST CAST: Henry Arsdale: JIM BACKUS. Dewey Hamilton: JONATHAN DALY. |
This shot of Rufus, Bert and Claudia chasing the taxicab as it exits a tunnel (going in, they were all safely inside with Rufus at the wheel) is from the closing credits footage used in the first season.
Number 42 in the ratings for the week. Not too bad...but not too good, either.
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Bert has paid the price of non-fame: $150 for 3000 rolls he can't possibly use up unless--as he tries to convince Arnold Schreck--his one measly restaurant actually was a whole chain.