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This sitcom aired for a single twenty-six episode season during the 1964-1965 season. Paul Ford starred as Sam Bailey, a widowed curmudgeon who a charter boat service around the affluent community of Balboa. His everyman attitude flew in the face of the primarily aristocratic population and he had frequent clashes with his neighbors.

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The Baileys of Balboa ran for twenty-six episodes on CBS during the 1964-1965 season. The sitcom starred Paul Ford as Sam Bailey, a widowed, regular Joe living in a rich man's paradise. Ford had previously portrayed Colonel Hall on The Phil Silvers Show and critics loved his particular brand of comedy.

The series was set in the seaside community of Balboa, home to aristocratic elite who looked down on Sam Bailey and his easy-going lifestyle. The fact that he didn't live in a mansion like most of the inhabitant's didn't help. Commodore Cecil Wyntoon (John Dehner) was Bailey's chief nemesis; the good Commodore was constantly after his land.

Sam operated The Island Princess, a charter boat, and ran Bailey's Landing, a sort of bed and breakfast. Commodore Wyntoon, on the other hand, was the head of Balboa's yacht club. Wyntoon was eager to acquire Sam's property to expand the yacht club's holdings.

Buck and Sam

Les Brown, Jr. and Judy Carne co-starred as Jim Bailey and Barbara Wyntoon, the respective offspring of Sam Bailey and Commodore Wyntoon. Jim worked with his father at Bailey's Landing and had fallen for Barbara, who returned from boarding school a young woman. Not at all the little girl Jim remembered from their childhood. Sam was of course understandably distraught and did whatever he could to keep the two apart.

Sterling Holloway co-starred as Buck Singleton, the first and last member of The Island Princess's crew. Buck lived in a van and also helped out at Bailey's Landing, cooking and doing other odd jobs. Clint Howard rounded out the cast, playing young Stanley, an obnoxious pre-schooler who constantly intruded on neighbor Sam's life.

Balboa has beautiful waters, in which the annual Balboa Island Swim Race took place. There was also a park, where Sam and his Balboa Marching and Grunion Hunting Society Military Band attempted to play. There was even an annual Balboa-to-Laguna Antique Car Race, which Buck and Sam entered, in an automobile with a top speed of 11 miles per hour.

In the latter part of the show's one and only season, Sam's brainy nephew Chester, played by Michael J. Pollard, showed up. Chester's father was worried that Chester spent too much time in his lab dabbling in chemistry rather then outside in the sun. So, he sent the lad to stay with Sam and Jim.

Raquel Welch guest-starred in one episode as Chester's girlfriend, who he wanted to keep dating despite Sam's disapproval. In order to trick Sam into letting the two be together, Chester and Jim came up with a plan to make Sam think Chester was invisible.

Bailey's Landing

When Paul Ford was approached in early 1964 to star in The Bailey's of Balboa, he was starring in a Broadway play with a contract to expire on the first of June, setting the stage for a move to television. At the time, CBS had scheduled the series for Tuesdays from 9:30PM to 10:00PM [1].

In preparation for series, CBS leased an island in Newport Harbor, California for use in filming the series, production on which was set leased by the network. Production on the series began in July of 1964 [2].

CBS announced its fall schedule in March of 1964, Ford was signed to star, and The Baileys of Balboa was one of fourteen new and returning comedies on the CBS roster [3]. The series was now set to air on Thursdays from 9:30PM - 10:00PM, opposite the second half of ABC's bi-weekly series against Peyton Place on ABC and Hazel on NBC. The series premiered on September 24th. Critics were less than impressed with the script for the first episode, but felt Ford had potential [4].

In early December of 1964 CBS made tentative plans to move the series to Fridays at 9:00PM, but the move never materialized [5]. Instead, CBS cancelled the series in February of 1965 [6]. In the end, the series decimated in the ratings, coming in nearly at the bottom of the series rank for the 1964-1965 season. The final episode aired April 1st, 1965.

Following the show's cancellation, legal troubles relating to the series embroiled CBS. James T. Aubrey, Jr., former president of CBS, was brought to court over his relationship with Richelieu Productions, the company that produced The Baileys of Balboa [7].

Chest and His Girlfriend

According to the lawsuit, Aubrey and Keefe Braselle, president of Richelieu, worked the CBS schedule to their advantage, regardless of the effect it would have on the network or its shareholders. Three programs broadcast during the 1964-1965 season by CBS were sold to the network by Richelieu without pilots, an uncommon practice in the television industry.

In addition to The Baileys of Balboa, Richelieu also produced The Reporter and The Cara Williams Show, with the latter lasting a few months longer than both The Baileys of Balboa and The Reporters. Supposedly, the three programs were given unrestrained budgets and prime timeslots. Still, all three shows were cancelled after only a single season.

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